Bobbie is sitting in her room when Stefan comes in.

" Hello, Barbara."

" Stefan."

" I spoke to the doctor. She informed me that you were well enough to return home. I have made arragements for your release."

" I know."

" So, there will be no discussion of you returning to the Brownstone?"

" No. I know that the place for me to be is Wyndemere. For now."

" Yes. I am glad that we finally agree." Stefan turns to leave.

" Stefan?"

" Yes, Barbara."

" Would you just come and talk to me for awhile. I'm about to go stir crazy. I've read everything anyone's brought me. And, daytime television isn't exactly my cup of tea."

" What do you want to discuss?"
 
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

" Am I pregnant?", Katherine asks.

" Why would you think that?"

" Well, I'm late. And, I am usually on time."

" Have you been under a lot of stress lately?"

" Honestly, it's been a rollercoaster for me. So, am I?"

" Katherine, no. You're not pregnant. "

Katherine sees the dark look on the doctor's face.

" What's wrong?"

" I ran a series of tests for you. There's no easy way to say this, Katherine. But, because of your shooting, you won't ever be able to carry a child."

" Never?"

" No. I'm sorry."

" Oh well. Easy come, easy go. If you'll excuse me, I have a meeting and I don't want to be late." Katherine gets up and leaves the office.
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bobbie is reading when Jason comes in.

" Hi, Bobbie."

" Jason."

" I thought you should know. Carly's awake. The doctor checked her out, and she's doing fine. She and the baby should be able to go home in a few days."

" Jason, thanks. That's wonderful news.  "

" Well, I thought you should know."

" Did Carly say anything about me?"

" No." Jason leaves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Justus Ward is jogging through the park. He's been trying to clear his head for his meeting later that evening with Jax, where he will start setting the trap. He stops to retie his shoelace when he sees Katherine sitting on a bench.

" Katherine?"

As Justus walks up he realizes that Katherine has been crying. " Katherine, what's wrong?"

Katherine wipes the tears away from her eyes. " Nothing."

" Nothing that left you in tears."

" Yes."

Justus sits down on the bench. " You can talk to me."

" What? Are you like a priest? I can confess all my sins?"

" Are there that many?"

" More than you have time for today."

" I see."

" It's nothing really. I lost something."

" Do you need my help? I will try and help you find it?"

" No. It's lost for good."

" Something of value?"

" Yes, I suppose. I didn't even know that I wanted it, until I lost it." Justus looks at her with a puzzled face. " Don't worry, Justus. I'm just babbling."

" I see."

" Well, you, a jogger? I would have never pictured this."

Justus laughs. " I wasn't. But, I found that running helps me rid myself of demons."

" I never took you as the kind of man with demons."

" Appearances can be deceiving."

" Don't I know that very well. You know, this might be taken as a sign of desperation.."

" You? Desperate? I don't think so. But, shoot."

" How would you like to have dinner with me?"

" I can't. For a couple of reasons."

" Them being?"

" One. I have a business meeting tonight. And, two, I consider myself involved."

" Sasha Cassadine."

" Yes."

" May I give you a friendly warning?"

" Sure."

" Watch out for her. She's a shark."

" So I've noticed. But, 'Jaws' was my favorite movie as a kid."

" As someone who's experienced the Cassadines up close, I can tell you, they bite."

" I'll keep it in mind. Take care, Katherine."

" Bye, Justus."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jax decided after the night that he had spent with Dara that he would only redouble his efforts. So, back to the inter-racial support group it was. He recognized most of the faces from the other time. They all sat down and began to talk about the topic of the evening, which was ' living in public.' They were going around talking about the most difficult times that they had as a family. Some of the confrontations, when a gentleman walked in.

" Phil!", more than one member exclaimed. The gentleman sat down in a chair. Jax looked at him, he was almost in despair.

The gentleman is given a cup of coffee, which he downs in possibly three gulps.  He fingers the cup, looks down at the floor and begins talking.

" I consider myself a rational man. Even a patient one. But, I found today that I was full of a rage that I didn't know was possible. "

He takes a few minutes and then he begins.

" I just came back from a funeral. A 17 year old young man that I have known since he was two, and he and my son played in the sandbox together. I coached him in little league. I was his Boy Scout Troop Leader. I was the one, because his father isn't good in math, that he came to for help. I watched him grow up. He was in my house about every other day. I was at his birthday's, his first communion, when he helped win the state championship. And, today, I saw him placed in the ground.

Why?

I don't know. The official report is that he 'resisted arrest'. That, out of nowhere, he became violent towards police officers and they had no choice but to use brute force against him.

That's bull. He didn't have a temper. He was the calm one. My son was the one with the temper, and he used to lecture him on it.

Resist arrest? I don't think so. When  we had the course down at the church about how the kids should act when encountering the police, it was he who was leading the pack, telling the kids what they should and should not do.

Wild and random violence?

No, not this kid. Was he a saint? No. But, I KNOW HIM AS I KNOW MY OWN SON.

And, he simply wouldn't have done anything that they said he did.

My son, of course, is devastated. He asked me today, right before the funeral, why it happened. What is the point of us telling them all these rules that they must live their lives by, when someone can follow the rules and still wind up dead. How can these police officers just get away with this. Would his life ever be his own, when, a routine traffic stop could mean the difference between life and death.

I had no words for my son. I couldn't even look him in the eye. Ashamed, because I know, by the color of my skin, reduces drastically, the chances of what happened to that young man, ever happening to me. Seeing how helpless I am to protect my own child. My Black son. It's the helplessness that overwhelms me right now.

My wife, she can't talk about it. But, I see this look of terror in her eyes, everytime my son says he wants to go anywhere. He's a teen. He should be able to live his life; the one of a normal teenager. Yet, I share my wife's fears. I want to tackle him everytime he steps near the door.

I would watch cases like this, the newsreports on the TV, and in the back of my mind, I would always say, 'There had to be another story. The man MUST have done something wrong. Those people who say they knew the young man, are just saying it.' Well, I'M one of those people on the TV, and I know down to my soul, as I know my own name, the young man those police officers desribed, is in no way, the young man I loved for 15 years.

The brutal truth of it was that he was a Black teenage boy stopped in a White suburb on a routine traffic stop, and he died. And, I haven't heard a logical reason  yet why it happened. It is the senseless taking of a life, and I feel nothing but rage. And despair. Because, it easily could have been my son.

What makes this difficult, is that, over the course of our marriage, when I have had these doubts, these problems with it, my wife has been the one that always had something that I could take comfort in. She had words  that would soothe me. Not this time. This is shaking her down to her core. And, she can't take comfort from me, her White husband. "

He puts his head in his hands. Jax believe that he hears him sobbing, but, he feels that he's intruded enough. He leaves the church. When he gets outside, he sits on the steps, thinking about what he just heard. After a few moments, Mr. Mills comes and sits besides him.

" Does is get any uglier?"

" No, Mr. Jax. It doesn't get any uglier than that. Seeing what the demon of racism can do to a child, your child in particular, is about as ugly as it gets."

Jax gets up. " Mr. Mills, I would like to thank you. For everything." Jax extends his hand. " I've read everything that you gave me. Found the books and tapes. Listened to them all."

" And?"

" Honestly, sir. Up until today, I would have told you it didn't matter. But, I can't say that anymore. I'm right where I was before I came to you initially. In fact, I'd say I'm worse off now than then. Then, I believed that loved conquered all. "

" Well, Mr. Jacks. If you ever need anything. "

" I have your card, Sir. Thanks."