Lost Cause, Chapter 18
by SIPort

Simone was sitting up in her bed, listening to music when Whitney came in.

“ Where’s Daddy?”, Whitney asked.

” He went back to check on Mom. You look upset. Did you find something out about Mom?”

” No.”

” Then, why do you look so upset Whitney? More than you were when you left.”

” Simone, it’s nothing.”

” Whitney, we have a long way to repair our relationship. But, if we’re going to do it, no more lies. I can’t take feeling that you’re lying to me or hiding something from me. Understand?”

Whitney nodded. “ I just finished talking to Julian Crane.”

” Julian Crane made you so upset? Why?”

” I asked him if he was in love with Mom, and he said yes.”

” Ok….”

” And, then I told him that it didn’t matter if he loved Mom because she didn’t feel anything for him. He challenged me on it.”

“ THAT’S what upset you?”

” Yes. I mean, it can’t be true, Simone. Mom can’t have feelings for Julian Crane….can she?”

“ Whitney, I don’t know. Before I woke up, I would have told you that it was impossible. But, so much has happened. To be honest, we don’t know Mom. She had a whole other life. A life where she was involved with Mr. Crane. Had a CHILD with him. Now, whatever we know about our mother, we know how seriously she takes certain things. She wouldn’t just ‘ have’ a baby with someone. It had to be serious.”

” What are you saying, Simone?”

” I’m saying, Whitney is that we don’t know what’s going to happen, and to be honest, we don’t have any control over it. This is between Mom, Dad and Julian Crane. This is ‘grown folks business’. Do I want Mom and Dad to break up? Of course not. I want them to stay married, but we have no control.”

” Sure we do. We’ll tell Mom…”

” Tell Mom what? If she feels something for Julian Crane then she’s not our mother anymore? Whitney, come on!”

” Simone..”

” Whitney, I love Daddy, but his two Achilles Heels are his temper and his pride. If Daddy doesn’t play it smart, and play it straight, he could  run Mom away.”

“ Mom loves Daddy!”

” Yes, she does. But, he put a lot of pressure on her. If Mr. Crane doesn’t put that pressure on her..”

” Simone, you’re talking nonsense!”

” No, Whitney, you need to be prepared for possibilities. “

” Mom and Dad will be fine, Simone.”

” I don’t know, Whitney. Think about this. ALLL those times that Daddy beat the crap out of Mr. Crane, he could have been mean. Been vindictive. Gotten back at Daddy by revealing his relationship to Mom. Didn’t you find it strange that one of the most powerful men in the world would routinely let a high school athletic director beat him up? Sure, we chalked it up to Mr. Crane being a chicken. But now, look at the bigger picture. He said nothing. He took beating after beating from Daddy. Why? He took them in silence. Why?

Because he LOVES Mom. And Whit, she knows it. “

Fox Crane was sitting at his computer, jotting off the latest email to his friend, Dylan.

Dylan,

            You’ll never guess the wild things that have been happening here. First of all, the girl that I rescued, she’s finally awake. She’s a pretty girl, with the most soulful eyes. Yes, I know, the Foxster finds ANOTHER pretty girl, but she’s different. I can’t explain it. I ..uh..can’t wait to go and see her at the hospital again.

            But, of course, there has to be MORE to the story. So, it seems as if this girl is the daughter of the ONLY woman my father has ever loved. Yes, Julian Crane was once in love. The woman’s husband absolutely HATES my father. This is what they call a ‘ sticky’ situation….but, those are the most fun, right?

                                                            Later,

                                                            Fox

TC was sitting in the Surgical Waiting Room on one side. Julian was on the other. They didn’t acknowledge the other’s presence, but of course they knew the other was there.

When the doctor came in, both approached him. The doctor looked from TC to Julian. He knew Julian wasn’t immediate family, but he WAS Julian CRANE, so…

” Doctor, whatever you tell me, you can say it in front of HIM.”

“Ok, Mr. Russell. Your wife is out of surgery. The damage the bullets did was extensive, but we patched her up. She lost a lot of blood. The next 72 hours are very critical.”

” Is that all?”, TC asked.

” Yes.”

Julian made his way over to them, and Phelps looked at Julian.

“ Doctor, you can talk in front of him.”

” Ok. Your wife suffered a brain bruise. It’s swelling. I had to go in and relieve the pressure. It’s touch and go. There are so many things that can go wrong. The swelling; the effects of the bruising; your wife’s other surgeries. I can’t promise anything. Only that I did my best, and I’ll keep a close watch out on your wife.”

“ Doctor, what are the worst and best case scenarios?”, TC asked.

“ No problem.”

Once Phelps had left, TC turned to Julian. “ I’m going to tell the girls.”