Forgiveness
The day after his revelation, Jesse packed up his things and drove to the hospital. He ignored the surprised looks of his colleagues and stayed his course for the pathology lab. When he entered, Amanda looked up and saw him. A gasp escaped her and she could only stare at her gaunt, nervous friend. Slowly, he walked up to and, after a moment's hesitation, put his arms around her neck and started crying. She instantly embraced him back and the two sobbed against each other without regard for the corpses in the room.
No hug had ever felt so good.
Why, though, had he chosen Amanda as the first person with whom to reconcile? Truthfully, Steve still scared him horribly and Mark represented Steve. Besides, Amanda exuded motherly warmth and gentleness—when she wanted to, of course—and Jess craved that.
Having taken this first step, he sought out Dr. Robbins, who cheerfully demanded to readmit him, given, as the doctor pointed out, Jesse's (a) exhaustion, (b) malnutrition, (c) weakness, (d) earlier hypothermia, and (e) need to have his previous injuries evaluated. Not only did Jesse comply, but he asked for some lunch.
Mark and Steve showed up and Jesse greeted them cautiously, not yet ready to let down his guard, especially with Steve. Everyone walked on eggshells with everyone else, but at least they were walking.
Days passed and Jesse started seeing a counselor to help him work through his massive issues. The therapist, Dr. Stiller, assured him that given time and hard work, he could find his way back to the life he'd known so long ago. "Hope springs eternal in the human breast," Dr. Stiller told him. "This isn't the kind of thing you'll ever look back on and laugh at, but it is something you can learn to draw strength from."
A cold, grey evening found him staring out the window of Mark's house as January came to a close. The sun, obscured by blankets of dull clouds, began setting into the ocean. Jesse watched the waves claw at the sand and then get pulled back into sea and he wondered if they were trying to escape the frigid water. Give it time, he assured them. The sun'll return, stronger and ready to warm you up. It's never failed you before.
"Jess?" Steve interrupted softly. They'd begun to mend their unbearably frayed friendship, but anything sudden on the detective's part still caused Jesse to recoil. "Dinner's ready. You gonna come and eat?"
"Yeah."
"Dad said you guys took care of those train accident victims today," Steve commented as they walked towards the dining room. "D'you hear they think it might have been sabotage?"
Jesse's eyes widened in surprise, interest, and mortification. "Really?"
"Mm-hmm. Some eyewitnesses saw an explosion before it derailed and the manifest says it was carrying loose gems that haven't been recovered. Maybe…" He didn't quite know how to phrase this. It had once seemed so natural. "Maybe you can give me a hand when dad starts budding in? You know he will and…well, you're not half bad for a doctor-detective."
Jess stopped and looked at his friend. He smiled slightly and nodded. "I'd like that."
"Great, because I suspect that, whatever my dad gets us into, we're gonna need somebody who's really persistent and pestering. Y'know, the kinda guy that just won't quit. Doggedly obnoxious."
"Yeah, I know. It's a good thing he's got you to help in that department."
Both men smiled as they sensed another aspect of their lives returning to normal.
A/N: Well, this is the last chapter. I am wholly unsatisfied with it and the previous one, but the revising process will take me a good long time and I don't want everyone to have to wait. I'm sorry it's not what it could have been. Time and hard work will improve this story, but I guess you'll have to deal with what I can offer at this point. –your humble author.