Controlling Vulnerable

Chapter 30

When Joe let himself into the condo he shouted out, "Hey Mom." Pat came from the bedroom carrying a couple of sweaters and Joe saw her case lying on one end of the couch, "Joe! What brings you here? Shouldn't you be at work?" Joe kissed her and said, "I needed to come and tell you something that happened yesterday. I'll just make us a drink first. Pat came around the counter to get him a couple of cups from the cupboard and looked concerned, "Is everything alright son?" Joe sighed, "No. But Yeah, I guess it will be." When the drinks were ready they sat down. Joe gave her the bare facts of what had happened, and Pat clapped her hand over her mouth in horror. Joe moved next to her and pulled her close, "Mom, I'm fine. Lara's going to be fine." Pat kissed him and whispered, "I'm so sorry son, I'm so very sorry." Joe fought back the emotion but Pat saw as she released him. She took a deep breath, "Joe, put my flight back a couple of weeks. I'm not going back now this has happened. I'm not much use, but I can sit with Lara while you go to work. I can make sure she eats, has company. Joe took a shaky breath, "I'm glad you said that. April's free, she loves Lara and she's doing better, but I don't want to put any pressure on her. We'll all have to go into work and I don't want to leave Lara alone. She's hoping they'll let her home tomorrow, but I think it'll be at least another day. I didn't want to upset her by telling her that." Pat nodded, "Is anyone there now?" Joe nodded, "Yeah Linda's with her. I'm going to go home, grab a couple of hours sleep, some food, then I'll head back before I go collect the girls from school and take them to see her. I'll take you to the hospital tomorrow if she's still there." Pat nodded, "Does Sid know what he did?" Joe clenched his jaw, "I don't know and I don't care. I guess he'll have called his Dad since the cops pulled him in. I don't care what trouble he was in, he led them to Lara, he knew how much danger she'd be in. He could have come to me and I would have helped him sort it out. Mom, she must have been terrified. She's never been anything but nice to Scotty, and he's the reason she's lying in a hospital bed. You've gotta hope I don't see him anytime soon because I'm not sure I'll be able to resist knocking his fat ass on the floor."

In the Callex offices, Abe came in to see Dean, carefully closing the door behind him. He looked up, "Dean, what the hell is going on? First Lara goes AWOL, now it's Linda and Joe as well. Level with me, is there a serious problem here?" Dean sighed, "I got a message from Joe this morning. No phone call, just a text. Lara's in the hospital and none of them will be in today. He said she's going to be okay, but he's been there all night and he'll explain when he can." Abe shook his head, "You know Kelly's spreading a rumour Lara's been having an affair with Scott, Joe found out and that's why he's really gone?" Dean looked irritated, "Abe you send her in here so I can put her straight." The Finance Director raised his eyebrows, "They will speculate in a vacuum Dean." Dean snapped back, "Yeah well, as you know as well as I do, the only person who caused Scott to leave was Scott." He sighed, "Listen, Joe didn't want anyone to know, but when we figured out it was Scott that leaked that file, Lara collapsed and she ended up having to go to the hospital. She said it was just the stress, but I don't know if this is related and she's actually sick, or whether something else has happened. What I do know is that Joe will be out of his mind regardless. He rarely takes a day on vacation, so we need to let him deal with whatever has happened and hold the fort here. And Lara, she doesn't have a soul over here." Abe put up a hand, "Okay, I get it. I'll send Kelly in so you can rein her in. Just let me know when Joe calls."

Joe had set his alarm to give himself two hours' sleep. He grabbed a bowl of cereal realising he'd not eaten a thing since the previous day. When he'd showered and changed, he sat on the couch and called Dean before making his way back to the hospital. Dean reacted in shock and Joe reflected that it wasn't often he heard the older guy curse, "Shit Joe. Poor girl. Are you at the hospital now? Joe said, "No, I'm just going back there now. Linda stayed with her while I got some sleep." Dean could tell he wanted to say something else and after a pause, Joe said, "Dean, listen, this is just for you okay. Lara was pregnant. She lost the baby." Dean gasped and groaned, "Oh my good God Joe. I'm so damn sorry. There's nothing else I can say. I won't tell anyone. Just take the time you need. We'll keep the wheels on the bus here, and let me know if there's anything I can do." Joe looked at the ceiling, "Thanks. I'll be in tomorrow or the day after at some point. I just need to figure out how long they're keeping Lara in the hospital." Dean exhaled and said, "Okay, I'll see you then, and Joe, tell Lara I'm thinking of her will you?"