Princess
Love - Chapter 29
Jen slowly opened her eyes and looked around the white room, she looked
to her left and saw Jasmine sitting in a chair next to her.
"Where is everyone?" Jen asked, sleepily. Jasmine looked up from
her magazine and smiled at Jen.
"They are still at the courtroom, they are waiting to see what the judge
will do, I didn't want you to wake up alone so I stayed her." Jasmine said
and pushed her chair closer to Jen's bedside in the small hospital room.
"Oh god... I forgot!" She shook her head and remembered seeing her mother
stand in the middle of the courtroom. The woman that was supposed
to be dead, but wasn't.
"Don't worry, it will all work out. This is going to nail them even
harder." Jasmine went to the foot of the bed and looked at her chart.
"You can leave when you get your CAT scan, then you are free again."
"Jasmine... I am so glad that you are my friend." Jen looked over at Jasmine,
seeing the girl that had been through so much in the past year.
"I am too, if it hadn't been for Nick we wouldn't be friends." Jasmine
reflected on the phone calls that had been made back and forth to Orlando
and London. Jasmine had called to wish her luck and a friendship
had begun.
"I am glad that you are here with us again." Jen said and the doctor came
in. He ordered the CAT scan and Jen was wheeled off while Jasmine
waited.
"We will have a recess until tomorrow. Mrs. Thompson, could you please
speak with the lawyers and I after court is ajourned?" The lawyer asked
and the solemn woman nodded.
Carra Thompson was now 50 years old. She wore a bland black dress
and had her greyish brown hair pulled back in a bun. She was slightly
large, but she was a pretty woman.
The baliff ended the court and Nick stood up and went to Carra.
"Ms. Thompson, I am Nick Carter, Jen's boyfriend." He shook her hand and
she smiled at him.
"My, my, my, my little girl certainly has a handsome boyfriend. Do
you think she will be okay?" The worried mother asked.
"Yeah, she will be fine. Sammi is too, she is outside with Howie."
Nick said. They had taken Sammi out of the room because they thought
it would be to hard for her to see her mother after all that she had been
through.
"Okay, where are you staying?" Carra asked and Nick gave her the address.
"I will be there once I am done here." He nodded and the group left.
Carra walked to the judge's chambers and sat in her seat to wait. Finally
the judge came in, followed by the two lawyers.
"Okay Ms. Thompson, we have some talking to do." The judge began and sat
across from her with either lawyer next to her.
"Yes, I think we do."
"Please... tell us your story." The judge asked patiently and sat back
in his chair.
"My husband, James, and I fought a lot. More than little squabbles,
but violent fights. I knew that he was doing illegal business behind
my back, he wasn't smart enough to know when I was listening on to the
other end of the phone. I also knew about John, who had been like
a family secret.
"John is a genius, in both computers and drugs. He is probably the
richest man alive from illegal dealings. James would tell me that
he killed people and that if I weren't careful enough he would come kill
me, which shut me up.
"One night James came home and I was waiting for him. He yelled at
me and I didn't really care, I was use to it. He hit me, more than
once, but I didn't feel the pain, I just felt the pain of having the man
I loved gone. He ran into the kitchen and I didn't know what he was
doing, but he came back out with a knife. He looked at me and I knew
he wanted to hit me, and he did. He hit me in stomach, but the knife
didn't go very far. He stuck it in and pulled it right out, it was
the worst pain I have ever felt, but I didn't think about the pain.
He got scared, I don't know why, he looked across the room and he looked
horrified. He threw a candle at the couch and ran. I sat
up and ran all the
way to the hospital, saying I was mugged and stabbed. I didn't give
my name, I said I was suffering from amnesia.
"Ever since then I have been living in California, I heard about the case
with the Prince and knew I had to come help. I will never forgive
myself for not coming back to my children, but it would have been to heard
to explain and to deal with.
"So it was James that tried to kill you?" Jeremy asked and Carra nodded.
"Who do you think killed the Prince?" Jeremy asked.
"John, definatly. James has a heart, it may be hidden, but it is
there. I think he could never forgive himself for trying to kill
me and I don't think he would ever try to kill a prince."
"But your daughter, Samantha, testified that he told her..." Robert looked
through his files. "Quote 'If you are going to kill someone, kill someone
important, than you will get more attention.'"
"She said that!?" Carra looked horrified and the three men nodded.
"Will you testify tomorrow?" The judge asked and Carra nodded. She
was allowed to leave and she got up and headed to the hotel.
"How are you doing?" Nick asked as he walked in the room with a rose in
his hand. He handed it to her, bent down and kissed her.
"Better." She said and smiled up at him, everyone else came closely behind.
"Hi!" She stood up, she was fully clothed and ready to go. "Let's
go!" She said and walked out the door.
"Are you sure?" AJ asked and then looked at Jasmine, who nodded.
"She will be fine."
They all walked outside and into the van where they drove to the hotel,
where Howie, Valerie and Sammi where waiting. Brian opened the door
and was surprised to see Carra there, she stood up and looked at her eldest
daughter.
"Oh Jenny!" She stood up and held her daughter in her arms.
"Mommy..." Jen cried in her mother's arms and Nick stood hopelessly by
her side. "Mom, I want to go home." Jen said and looked at her mother,
forgetting about everyone else that was standing there.
"We can honey, but I can't. I have to testify. Let's go talk." They
went into the room that Jen shared with Nick and talked.
"What happened? How did THIS happen?" Jen asked as she sat next to her
mother on the bed. Her mother told her long story and Jen was amazed.
"I am so glad that you are here with me again." Jen said and hugged her
mother once more.
"I am even happier. BUT, you should go home. I can tell that
you are stressed and so is that girl, Elizabeth. You two look exhausted."
Her mother looked at her carefully.
"I don't want to leave you or Sammi." She whined and her mother smiled.
"I will call you every night. I will tell you what is going on and
you can bring Sammi with you."
"But I really don't want to leave you." Jen said, frowning.
"We need to get this case done with and you have had enough time here,
I think it is about time you go home... Now, tell me about this new guy
in your life..." Her mother smiled and Jen giggled.
"I love him with all of my heart. He is a singer with the Backstreet
Boys."
"I thought he looked familiar." Carra laughed. "Does he treat you
right?" She asked, seriously.
"Never could be better."
"Good. Just don't do anything stupid." Her mother said and Jen nodded.
"I know, I wouldn't do anything like that." She said and smiled at her
mother, thinking about how good her life really was going now.
"Good. Now let's go tell everyone." Her mother stood up and wrapped her
arm around her daughter. They walked to Howie's room and looked at
everyone.
"I have made a decision. I think we should go home now." Jen said
and Nick walked up to her.
"Are you sure?"
"Postive. I just want to be home and happy again." She said and looked
up at Nick and her mother. "We are going to take Sammi with us."
Sammi smiled from her corner.
Sammi had spent awhile with her mother, and she was young and slightly
confused over the situation, but she was happy that she now had a mother.
She was extremely excited to be going to Orlando to live with her sister
and her new friends.
"Yeah!" Sammi smiled and Nick came over and threw her up in the air and
she burst into giggles.
"I will call and tell you all about the case, I plan on going to visit
you guys when this is over." Carra said.
"We would love that." Nick said and smiled with Sammi in his arms.
"Are you okay with this?" Brian asked Elizabeth carefully and she nodded.
"I am happy, I just want to go home." She rubbed her eyes in tiredness.
"Okay, I want to stay here for a little while longer, but you all should
take the next flight home, tomorrow. I will be there a little later
but I want to stay here for one more day." Jen said and looked at her friends.
"Then why don't we just wait here?" Kevin asked and then stopped himself.
"Nevermind, I understand that you want to spend time with your mother."
Jen nodded and smiled.
"Yes, but I will try to be back as soon as possible."
"I'll miss you." Nick said and kissed her.
Carra got another room that she shared with Sammi. The next morning
everyone left, including Sammi. There were tears and kisses but by the
end they were relaxed and happy that they would be home soon. Jen
was going to take the red-eye and be there the next day, she just wanted
to stay with her mother.
"Don't come to court, you heard the story and you should stay home." Carra
said and Jen shook her head.
"No way, I'm going."
They left and Carra told her story in front of the court and jury.
It took a long time and both lawyers spoke with her. Nothing major
was revealed that the lawyers didn't already know. All they knew
was that John and James were going to be nailed for the crimes they committed.
Jen borded the plane that night, kissing her mother goodbye and smiling
to herself as she thought about what was waiting for her in Orlando.
She sat on the plane and didn't realize what was going to happen next...