Chapter 8 - We Gotta Go Around Again, So Let's Hold On??

When and where do you want to meet Peter to go over what we need to do and know for tomorrow?

My hotel has nice conference rooms or the two of you can  just come here.  Room 1415.

I'll let you know.

OK.  See you later :-)

The text exchange was brief, but it got their points across.  Beth was feeling a little unsettled and she really didn't look forward to the conversations that they would have tonight, to prepare them for the hearing tomorrow.  She doesn't want to relive it and she's sure that Jon doesn't want to either. 

In her room, she unpacks her bag, hanging her clothes in the closet and placing her under garments and casual clothes in drawers.  When she finishes with her clothes, she then takes care of her bathroom stuff.  She takes it all out of the travel bag and puts it on the bathroom counter, neatly.  She's trying to stay busy, keeping her mind busy.  She knows that she is going to see Jon again today and while she loved being with him, she also hated it.  She hated how weak she DID feel around him.  She thinks about his smile and that naughty look that he would give her.  When he gave her that look, she could read his mind and it often read like a penthouse forum letter.  She could see his desire, she could see the urge when he gave her that look.  It had been a long time since she seen that look.  The more she puttered around the hotel, the deeper she let her thoughts get.  She has so many questions for him, so many questions for Melissa and so much to say.  Her anger has been hidden by her grief and she thinks that she is finally where she needs to be to ask what she wants to know.

Brrrrrrnnnnnggg.  Her phone alerts her to a text message.  She retrieves her phone and slides it to read the message. 

We'll be there at 7:00.  How about we meet in the restaurant?

That's fine.  I'll see you down there, then.

She sets her phone down, knowing that it's almost 5 pm now, she quickly locks her door and jumps in the shower.  She left LA after being at the doctor's office and when she travels she always feels gross when she lands at her destination.  A quick rinse will freshen her up and refresh her. 

Dressed and armed with her confidence and her knowledge, she heads down stairs.  She's the first to arrive, so she finds a table that is out of the way and quite private.  She didn't want the media to know that they were there or that she was even in time.  She wanted to be the ace in the hole in the morning, when Melissa walks in and sees Beth, she's hoping that Melissa will be scared and fearful that she will stay locked up.  The press assume that Jon will be there, no one knows that Melissa is in town other than Stephanie, Tammy, Jon and Peter.

The waiter asks her, "Can I get you a cocktail while you wait for your guests?"

"A martini, dirty with 5 olives please."

The waiter looks at her odd and says, "Coming right up.  Would you like a menu or would you like to hear our specials?"

"I'll wait for my guests, but thank you." The waiter excuses himself and gets Beth her dirty martini.  When she has it in her hands, she takes a sip and loves it.  It's extra dirty, just the way she likes it.  She takes a drink and another.  Patiently she waits for the guys to arrive, but it looks like they are running behind.  Traffic in the city is brutal at this time of the day, but Jon and Peter should get through just fine.  The longer she waits, she feels the urge to order another drink. 

Three dirty martini's in, she sees Jon and Peter approaching her table, but there is someone with them.  This third person is behind Jon and she can't see who it is until they reach the table.  When Beth sees that it's Stephanie, she flies out of her chair and hugs the young lady that she loved so much.  "Rose, what are you doing here?"

"I asked dad if I could come, he didn't think you would mind." she smiles at Beth, kissing her cheek.

"I don't mind at all.  I'm so happy to see you." Beth hugs her again. 

Once they have gone through the greetings, they all take a seat and the waiter reappears.  Jon, Peter and Stephanie place a drink order and all of them look at menus. 

Over dinner, Peter starts the dreaded conversation.  "We all know why we're here and we all want the same thing, right?"

"Yes."  Beth blurts out.

Jon nods his head, he just loaded his mouth with his salmon. 

"This is what her doctor is telling me." Peter pauses, and looks at Jon.  "Are you sure we want to have this discussion with Stephanie right here?"

Stephanie is pissed, "Peter, I'm an adult and not only that, I was there for all of it.  You can't say or ask anything that I don't already know."

"I'm sorry Stephanie.  I'll proceed with what I was doing."  He wipes his mouth and takes a drink of his water.  The restaurant was pretty empty and they were tucked away in a corner, "Her doctors say that she had a mental breakdown when she killed McKenna.  She believed that she was in a relationship with you Jon and that Beth was the threat." 

"So she killed our baby?"  Jon manages to say, "Beth was the threat."

"I guess her line of thinking was to kill the bond that you and Beth had.  She knew what happened with you when you lost the twins, McKenna out of the picture and she had a chance, in her mind."

"She is crazy." Beth mumbles, thinking about the time that Melissa was in their life.  They welcomed the psycho into the house and look what happened.  "What do we have to do to keep her locked up?"

"For starters, Jon is going to need to go public, on the record about the one night stand.  And you Beth are going to need to go on the record that you have no idea who she was."

"I had no idea."  Beth states.

"She had plastic surgery, Peter.  I didn't recognize her.  And Beth had no idea who she was." Jon reiterates, "We didn't know that was her."

"At anytime were you alone with her, once she was fully into your lives and helping with the care of McKenna?"  Peter questions Jon, "Is she going to be able to say that there was a relationship, albeit innocent?"

"Rarely.  I was always uncomfortable around her and now I know why." 

Beth is watching this word exchange like she is watching a tennis match, never once having given an indiscretion between Jon and Melissa a thought.  She never wondered that, and she really don't think that she needs to give that another thought now.  "There are cameras in the whole house except the areas that were mine and Jon's.  There is no doubt footage that can clear that up, if ever needed.  What do we need to do to keep her behind bars?"  Beth's anxiety is about at peak, she is doing something she never thought that she would do.  She's reliving her past in a way that she doesn't want to.

"They are going to say that 1) she was led on by Jon.  2) She will say that they were in a relationship and that you were the one that wouldn't leave.  And on that note, taking McKenna out of the equation, she felt that she would win Jon's love when he turned to her comfort."

"I never did that."  Jon states.  "I only went to Beth and my parents."

Peter shakes his hand in front of Jon, "Don't worry about that.  She can't prove that there is anything between you if there isn't anything."  Peter leans forward and rests his elbows on the table, "We need to prove that she's crazy and would be a threat to society."

"She killed my baby sister, doesn't that automatically make her crazy?" Stephanie jumps in.  "She pretended to be someone that she wasn't - that says crazy to me."

"But will the judge think that it is, that's what we need to ask.  Yes, taking McKenna's life is a great foundation for building our case to keep her locked away."

Beth  takes her turn, "What else do you need from us then? How do we make this happen?" 

"Full disclosure on everything.  From the one night stand to the day that she was arrested.  You need to tell the judge everything, no detail is too small.  If you think it's not important,  it is.  You will be asked questions by her attorney, be truthful."  At that moment, Beth looks to Jon remembering the day that she found out about Melissa the day that she found the email he composed to her but didn't get the chance to send.