Part Twenty-Eight of the PW Timeline
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a complete series I wrote from July 2019 to July of 2022. After two months, Jackie is out of the hospital, Schneep is back in the hospital but slowly improving, and almost all of the boys gather together to go see Jack, who may also be out of the hospital soon. But let’s not forget who’s still out there…]
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Chase glanced at the clock display on his car dashboard. 3:13. They’d agreed to meet up at 3:00. He looked out the window and up towards the upper floors of the apartment building. Did it really take thirteen minutes to get down to street level? Sure, Chase had been a couple minutes late, but he’d expected Jameson to be waiting for him when he arrived.
No sooner had these worries crossed his mind than the building’s front entrance opened, and Jameson hurried out. He immediately spotted Chase’s car and quickly walked over. Chase unlocked the doors and leaned over to open the passenger side. “Hey, man,” he said, giving him a small smile. “How’s it been going?”
Jameson nodded silently as he got into the car, closing the door behind him. Almost two months had passed since the rescue from Anti. In that time, Chase hadn’t seen much of Jameson. He’d explained to Chase and Marvin that, while he really appreciated their concern, he needed some time on his own. They understood, of course, and so communicated almost entirely in text messages. Today was the first time Chase had seen Jameson in person in weeks. He looked…better. There was a bit more color in his face and light in his eyes. 'Oh, sorry, I should probably say more,' JJ signed. 'I’m good, thank you. You?'
“Pretty alright.” Chase started the car and pulled out onto the street. “The kids are turning eight soon, so Stacy and I are talking about party stuff.”
'Soon? I thought their birthday was in June. It’s barely February.'
“Hey, trust me. You want a buffer of a few months when talking about kids’ birthdays. If you order stuff online you need to be sure it’ll be here well before the date.” Chase chuckled. “Uhh…we have a few more stops to make before we get there, and we’ll have to take the busy streets for some of it. So if you want to talk about anything, better do it now while I have the free time to look away from the road.”
JJ smiled a bit. 'How irresponsible of you, Chase.'
“Hey, I haven’t crashed a car in at least two days,” Chase joked. JJ laughed, and he felt relief wash over him. Good. His friend was alright. “How’s the moving going, by the way?”
'I’m actually having second thoughts about that,' JJ explained.
“Really?” Chase asked, surprised. “Isn’t it…safer?”
'It is. It definitely is,' JJ agreed. 'But…I don’t know, it feels wrong to move when I really like this place. It’s like…I’m letting Anti take one more thing away from me.'
Chase was silent for a moment. “Well…it’s up to you,” he finally said. “But it just seems like a bad idea when he knows where you live.”
'It IS,' Jameson repeated emphatically. He sighed. 'I don’t know. My feelings are complicated. Linda and I are working them out.'
“Linda? That’s your therapist?” Chase asked. JJ nodded. “Right, I remember now. Sorry, I’m still fucking awful with names.” He shrugged. “You know…this all could be resolved if we got put into witness protection.”
'You’re going on about this again?' JJ rolled his eyes. 'It’s not up to us.'
“Well it just makes sense! I mean, what sort of police department looks at a situation like this, where the criminal asshole is still at large, and goes like ‘nah, not needed?’ A shit one, that’s what! Agh!” Chase hit the steering wheel.
'They are a bit shit in this city, aren’t they?' JJ mused. 'But you know you wouldn’t want to accept it if they offered.'
“Hah…you got me there.” Chase smiled sadly. “I’d miss Sophie and Nick too much.”
JJ patted his arm. 'Things will work out. I keep seeing those poorly-disguised undercover officers everywhere. That helps.'
“‘Things will work out?’ That’s a lot more…optimistic than what you’ve said before,” Chase said carefully. “And will they really be of any help if they’re so bad at being undercover?”
'It’s the principle,' Jameson said. 'The idea that they can step in if anything goes wrong. And…well, you’re right, I guess it is more optimistic.' He paused for a moment, partially in thought, partially because Chase needed concentration as he went through a roundabout. 'Don’t get me wrong, I still think Anti won’t give up. But saying reassuring things out loud helps.'
Chase nodded thoughtfully. “Well…you’re right. It’ll work out eventually.” Most of him disagreed with that statement. But he might as well say it out loud. See if it really did help soothe the ball of anxiety he’d been carrying around for almost two months.
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“Alright, we went a little over time for today, but that’s okay.” Laurens closed her new notebook, folding over the corner to mark the notes for today’s session. “Before I leave, is there anything you want to talk about?”
Schneep, sitting across the table from her, shrugged wordlessly. He looked down at the wooden surface, tracing the grains with a finger.
“Are you sure?” Laurens asked.
“It is not a good sign when your therapist asks you that,” Schneep said, chuckling a little. His eyes flicked back up to look at Laurens.
“I just like to be sure,” Laurens explained. “We can go over time if we have to, I don’t have any other patients today.”
“Hmm.” Schneep went quiet for a little, thinking. “I suppose…there is nothing else. Nothing that we have not discussed. I…” He sighed. “I am still thinking about it.”
“That’s alright,” Laurens reassured him.
“It has been two months now, I am still thinking about it.”
“Schneep. Henrik. Of course you are,” Laurens said gently. “Even just seeing Anti again would be incredibly traumatic, let alone that. You shouldn’t push yourself to move on.”
“Because everyone recovers at different rates, I know, that is not what I was trying to say.” Schneep sat up straight, clasping his hands together while they rested on the table. “I was…trying to empathize that it…that everything from that…is still heavy in my mind. All of it. Since my usual symptoms are calm again, I think that is what we should focus on.”
“Oh. You were trying to emphasize that, I see.” Laurens nodded.
“Empha—right, that is the word.” Schneep grunted in frustration. “Those two words are too similar.”
“They trip me up too, don’t worry,” Laurens laughed. “But more to the point…I understand what you mean. And…Schneep, I have to ask you a question. I want you to answer honestly.”
“What is it?”
“Would you…” Laurens braced herself to ask. “Would you prefer to have a different therapist?”
“What?” Schneep blinked, utterly shocked at the direction the conversation was taking. “What do you mean?!”
“I’m not going to leave if you don’t want me to,” Laurens hurried to say. “But I was wondering. Perhaps my methods and—and specializations aren’t being as helpful on…those matters, matters of trauma. Not to mention, I…I am somewhat close to this case.” Her voice cracked. She was just as scared of Anti as Schneep was. That wasn’t exactly an ideal situation, when your therapist also needed therapy for the same thing. “So, if you think it would be better to have someone who might…help more with this in particular, then I can get you someone else.”
“I-I…” Schneep was at a loss for words for a moment. His eyes dropped back down to the table surface, then returned to Laurens’ face. “I think…that you are a very good therapist. And that…you have not failed me yet. So, until you do, I would like things to stay as they are.”
Laurens nodded. “Alright. But…Schneep. Please do keep in mind that…that there’s supposed to be some distance between a therapist and a friend. If that makes sense.”
“I do not mean it that way,” Schneep denied. “I-I mean that—that you have gone very far in your job, and I…I appreciate it.”
“Well. Thank you very much.” Laurens smiled softly.
But before she could say anything else, her pager beeped. Surprised, she looked down to see what that was about. “Huh.” She looked up at Schneep. “Looks like we have to stop now.”
“Ah, fantastic. I suppose I will see you same time tomorrow? No, wait.” Schneep paused. “We have been doing more spread out sessions. Sorry, I swear I can remember this.”
“Time blurs together when you’re stuck in one building, it’s understandable,” Laurens said. “But you’ll actually be seeing me for a while longer. You see, you have a visitor.”
Schneep sat up straight. “Who?”
“I don’t know, there’s only so many characters you get on these little things.” Laurens shook her pager. “Let’s go see together.”
A short time later, the two of them stood outside the visitor’s room. Oliver was there as well—it was his turn to supervise patient visits. He nodded at the two of them. “Hey, doc. Henrik.”
“You can call me Schneep, Oliver,” Schneep said, smiling a bit.
“And you can call me Rya,” Laurens added.
“Right, right. Still getting used to it.” Oliver nodded.
“Who’s visiting?” Laurens asked.
“Uhh…” Oliver glanced down at the sign-in clipboard—obviously taken from its station at the front desk, probably without the staff member stationed there noticing. “Mina Pfieffer.”
“She is here again?!” Schneep gasped. He grabbed Laurens’ arm in a vice grip, shaking it a little. “She came back!”
“Whoa! Uh, a little tight there,” Laurens said, pulling her arm back. Schneep took the hint and let go, ashamed. Laurens decided to not address it. “Yes, she came back. You don’t need to say that every time she visits.” Mina had shown up a lot in the two months since the rescue. The exact day was always irregular, but she would find time at least once per week.
“I-I am always—always surprised to hear it.” Schneep laughed a little. “She—she does not have to—”
“You’re right, she doesn’t have to, but she wants to,” Laurens said. Personally, Laurens thought Mina was making up for not visiting for the first seven months. She always seemed so guilty about that time period. “And she’s here now, so we better not keep her waiting.” Laurens grabbed the doorknob. “Shall we?”
“Yes, we shall.”
Laurens laughed a bit, and opened the door as she and Schneep went inside. Mina was sitting on one of the sofas, looking through a magazine, but she immediately put it down and stood up as soon as she saw them walk in. “Schneep, hallo,” she said, a small smile on her face, and waved. “Wie geht es dir?”
“Mina.” Schneep couldn’t help but smile back. He crossed the room and gave her a quick hug. “Mir geht es gut. Und du?”
The two of them sat down, immediately launching into German conversation. Laurens lingered in the doorway, watching. Regulations meant all visits were supposed to be supervised, but she didn’t feel the need to keep a close eye on them.
Oliver walked up next to her. “Things have been going good, then? With all the…y’know, sessions and stuff.”
Laurens nodded. “Really well, actually. I’ve been talking with Dr. Fells about town privileges. Supervised, of course.”
“He’ll be okay with that?”
“For short times. In non-public places where An—you-know-who couldn’t get to.” Laurens watched quietly for a moment. She saw Mina take her phone out and start showing pictures to Schneep. No doubt pictures of Elise, their daughter. She wondered if Mina would bring Elise for a visit one of these times. She wondered if visits with children and infants would be allowed in this case. Well, she could put in a good word for Schneep in that regard.
“And how’re you doing, doc? Uh, Rya?” Oliver asked.
“Um…good, overall,” Laurens said.
“Hmm.” Oliver nodded. “So…you’re not in any trouble with the whole breaking-into-a-killer’s-flat thing?”
Laurens laughed nervously. “You…heard about that?”
“Yeah. And I figured out you made me knock on his door.” Oliver shook his head. “I mean, it was pretty obvious you were trying something, but I didn’t expect you to do something that risky.”
“We…weren’t planning on it,” Laurens said carefully. “But eventually, we…just couldn’t walk away.” She looked down at the notebook in her hands. “Uh…we’re not in trouble. Marvin knew this really good lawyer, she’s the same one who got Newson in trouble for all the stuff she did. So we got off without any…well, not without any consequences. I’m still paying the fine, but at least we’re not in jail.”
“Ballsy,” Oliver commented.
“Wh—?!” Laurens turned sharply to look at him.
“Hey, it’s true.” Oliver shrugged. “You ever notice how a lot’s changed? A year ago you had to talk yourself up to stand up to Newson.” He grinned. “And now you’re being all ballsy and stuff.”
“Huh.” Laurens thought about that. “You’re right. It’s…different. But that’s how things are. The self is not a constant. People change.” She leaned against the doorframe and looked at Mina and Schneep, talking together. “…people change.”
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Chase leaned on the steering wheel, letting the horn blare. JJ gave him a sideways look. 'Really?' he asked. 'I’m sure he can hear you.'
“Yeah, but he takes forever to come out, and we’re already a bit late,” Chase countered. “This’ll be sure to get his attention.”
Along with everyone else on the street. JJ grabbed Chase’s shoulder and tried to pull him back, only to be shaken off. Chase, come on. The neighbors are probably staring.
“Aha! There he is!” Chase leaned back, waving at Marvin as he appeared in the front doorway and walked towards the street. Marvin gave him a glare, then got into the back seat. “Hi, Marv.”
“Oh, why’d you stop? I’m sure there are people in Wales who didn’t hear you!” Marvin immediately dove into a rant without bothering to return the greeting. “Go ahead! Why not belt out some Morse code while you’re at it? Beeeep-beep-beep beep-beep beeeep-beep-beeeep-beep beeeep-beep-beeeeep! ‘My name is Chase and I can’t wait five minutes for my friend to leave his house!’”
“Did you just ‘beep’ actual Morse code at me?” Chase muttered as he pulled back onto the street.
“Yeah, I spelled out what you are,” Marvin grumbled. Then he noticed Jameson staring at him, and his expression softened. “Hi, JJ. Uh…how are you?”
'I’m good,' Jameson said. 'Sounds like you’re having a bad day.'
“I’m really not, I just hate car horns,” Marvin said.
“Don’t worry, if all goes well I won’t need to use it again,” Chase said.
'How have things been with you?' JJ asked Marvin. 'Any luck on the job search?'
“Yeah, I got a couple offers back,” Marvin said. “Including the theatre job, so that’s great. I have an in-person interview for that on Tuesday.”
'Oh that’s wonderful!' JJ signed cheerfully.
Marvin smiled. “Yeah. I guess it is.”
The group still had one last stop before their final destination. Chase drove farther north as the buildings became red brick facades in uniform lines. He pulled to the side of the street, stopping right in the middle of one of these rows. The house he’d stopped in front of looked just like its neighbors, except someone was sitting on the front steps. Jackie was wearing a new green hoodie, his hair pulled back away from his face. When he noticed the car, he stood up and hurried over, getting into the backseat with Marvin.
“Hey, bro!” Chase turned around to grin at Jackie. “How’s it going? Are you all settled in?”
“You mean in the house? Yeah, mostly.” Jackie let out a puff of air, exhausted just thinking about the moving process. “I am so lucky my last landlord kept my stuff. She could’ve easily auctioned it off, you know.”
“Yes, we know, you’ve only said this a hundred times,” Marvin drawled.
Jackie shot him a look, then turned his attention to Jameson. “Hi, JJ.”
'Hi Jackie,' Jameson said. 'Everything alright?'
“Why d’you look so concerned? I’ve been out of the hospital for weeks now, of course everything’s alright,” Jackie said. “Uh…okay, maybe not perfectly 100%, but alright. Hey, have you guys heard of maladaptive daydreaming?” The other three responded with headshakes and general negative mumbles. “Ah.” Jackie looked thoughtful.
JJ raised an eyebrow. 'If you’re thinking that you might have a thing, you probably do.'
“I didn’t say anything!” Jackie protested.
Well that’s how it usually works. JJ shrugged. Don’t you have someone you can ask about that?
“That’s a fancy way of asking if I’ve found a therapist, isn’t it?” Jackie narrowed his eyes, but relented. “Well…yes. That makes me the fifth one in the group, right? At this point, Jack is the only one who’s not in therapy…for the mind, I mean. Physicals don’t count.”
“But that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Chase pointed out.
“I…you’re not…wrong, I guess,” Jackie said.
“Speaking of Jack, are we gonna be late?” Marvin pointed at the dashboard clock, which now read 3:42.
“We’re not gonna be late, we just won’t have as much time,” Chase clarified.
“Oh jeez,” Jackie muttered. “Can we go faster? I-I don’t want to cut it close.”
“On it,” Chase said, stepping on the gas.
They arrived at Southpoint General Hospital around 4:00. By now, everyone was intimately familiar with the sign-in process for visitors, but getting to the room was a different process. After all, Jack had recently been assigned to a new one. After a few extra minutes of getting lost, they arrived at the right room. Chase went first, swinging open the door. “Hellllo?”
“Hey!” Jack looked up from the book he was reading, waving to the others. “About time. I almost thought you guys weren’t going to come.”
“Ah fuck, I knew we were gonna be late,” Marvin muttered.
“Hey, visiting hours are still going, aren’t they?” Chase rebutted.
The group piled into the hospital room, leaving the door open behind them. There weren’t enough chairs for all of them, so Jackie and Chase ended up sitting while Marvin and JJ stayed standing. “Oooo, reading books now, I see,” Jackie grinned. “I didn’t take you for the type.”
“Hey, books are good for your brain, up here.” Jack tapped the side of his head. “Besides, you can’t say I’ve never read a book ever in the time you’ve known me.”
“Yeah, no, not you of all people, who only own comic books,” Chase joked.
“I do not!”
'Debatable,' JJ said, humming. 'If you own printed books you must store them in an invisible closet somewhere, because I never saw any in your flat.'
Everyone laughed, even Jackie.
“Alright. So. Guess what?” Jack grinned. “They said I’m almost good to go home! I can be out of here by next week!”
“What? No way!” Chase gasped, leaning over to give Jack a quick side-hug. “That’s great, bro!”
“Yes, join me in the no-more-hospital club!” Jackie said.
'Congratulations!' JJ signed. 'I know it’s been a long time.'
“Hey, don’t be so awkward, James,” Jack said. “I know we just met, but you’re friends with these guys, so you’re friends with me.”
JJ ducked his head, still feeling a bit awkward, but smiling.
“Seriously?! Next week?!” Marvin laughed. “Man, we have to do a thing for that. Like, a party or something. Everyone can come!”
“Uh…define ‘everyone,’” Jackie said. “Cause, yeah, everyone in this room could come. But—”
“You mean Schneep?” Chase asked. “Funny thing, actually. You remember when we went to visit him last week? While you headed back to the car after, I talked to his doctor, and she said he might be able to leave soon. Not permanently,” he hurried to add. “But for like…trips into town. With some supervision.”
“What?!” Jackie almost shot out of his seat. “If I’d known I’d be missing important shit like that, I wouldn’t’ve gone back to the car so soon!”
Chase laughed. “See, this is what you miss when you hurry out of everything.”
“So it can happen,” Marvin said, punching the air. “Yes! Finally! Everyone will be in one place for the first time in fucking months! God, they warned me that adulthood would make getting together with friends hard, but nobody said anything about this.”
“Hey, don’t talk about adulthood like you’re fresh out of university,” Jack said. “You’re almost thirty.”
“Oh my god…I’m almost thirty,” Marvin repeated, covering his mouth in exaggerated horror.
'Ha, sucks for all you guys,' JJ grinned.
“Excuse you, but it’s not like we chose to be born a year earlier than you,” Chase said, mock-offended.
'How’s it feel to suck at being born?' JJ said smugly.
Everyone else in the room immediately broke into loud protesting and ribbing. Marvin leaned over to bump JJ with his shoulder. Jackie threw his arms in the air and shouted something that couldn’t be heard through the others’ noise. Jack started laughing, leaning over to the side. And in that moment, Chase thought that maybe…maybe things really will work out.
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The overhead light in the hotel room buzzed, annoyingly loud in its use of energy. Old, faded wallpaper covered the walls in a pattern of various beiges. The curtains were drawn over the window. The bed was unmade with its covers flung to one side. A door was ajar, showing the bathroom.
A man paced back and forth in the small bit of free floor space in the small room. He pressed his phone to the side of his head—the left side, the side that was covered in scars—and listened. His free hand fidgeted with the watch he wore around his neck. An old watch that had been broken years ago.
“No, I don’t think you understand,” the man said. “I’m not asking. I’m telling you that I need them within the week. This is not an offer, this is a demand.” He paused as the caller on the other side spoke. And he smiled. “No, I think I can.” Another pause. “Listen. Mr. Morris. Or…can I call you Gary? No, I said LISTEN. You are going to deliver them within the week. Because I don’t think your wife wants to know about this side business of yours.” A short pause. “You know, your wife. Who lives at the address 67 Benjamin Avenue in Kettleville—It doesn’t matter how I know, it just matters that I do. And if I don’t have them within the week, your wife will find out. And, hmmm, your mistress will, too. Why not?” A long pause. The man’s smile grew. “Perfect. You remember the location, right? Get to it. Within the week.” And he put down the phone, hanging up.
There was a desk in the hotel room. Its surface was absolutely covered with electronic and mechanical equipment, with just enough room for a laptop and mouse. The man sat down at the desk and shook the mouse to light up the laptop’s screen. Diagrams were visible on the monitor, complex and hard to understand. The man scanned them, then opened up another document: a list, with every item but one crossed out. He highlighted the final item and selected the strikethrough option, crossing it out as well.
Anti reached up and clasped the old watch around his neck one more time. It would all work out soon.