This is a work of fiction loosely based on the character of Terry Thorne established and defined in the movie Proof of Life.  It is strictly for entertainment purposes. Please do not copy, publish or alter this work in any way without the written permission of the author.

In Sickness and in Health

By: Thorne's Rose

©2008

Part Four

The weeks flew by and before she knew it, Christmas was just around the corner. Angie and Jake invited Star to stay with them for the holiday. She though it was kind of funny as they were both in wharf apartments anyway, but they said there was no way they were going to let her spend her first Aussie Christmas all alone. She momentarily wondered what they meant by ‘first’, but let it go as there seemed to be a lot to do. High on the list seemed to be decorating the office. She couldn’t get her head around the fact that it was almost 40 degrees outside and the girls were merrily trimming a tree in reception.

“Blows your mind a bit, doesn’t it,” a voice spoke softly behind her. She jumped, having not heard Jake come out of his office. She turned to face him.

“It certainly is a bit strange. It’s roasting outside. I’m used to snow at Christmas, not heat haze.”

“Would you rather I arranged for you to go home for the holidays, Star?”

“Oh no, Jake, I must sound very ungrateful. I’m loving every minute of the experience. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Jake smiled with relief. “Good oh. Why don’t we leave the girls playing with the tree. I think it’s time we went Christmas shopping. If there’s anything you still need to get for your family, we can get it today, we can go back to the apartment and wrap everything up, and I can arrange for Jim to fly it over.”

“Jake! I couldn’t possibly ask you to do that…” she stopped as Jake held his hand up. Realising that it was something he would most likely do for any of his staff, she smiled shyly and accepted his offer. She was secretly looking forward to skipping out of the office with the boss to Christmas shop, and wondered how many of her college friends would be able to do the same thing back home.

Four hours later, a pile of packages, closely followed by Star and Jake, fell through the door of Jake’s apartment. Angie looked up and giggled at the sight. She knew Jake was trying to make sure Star didn’t get home sick. They both wanted her to enjoy a traditional Aussie Christmas, but he would send her home in an instant if that’s what she really wanted. Angie stood up to help untangle her husband from all the designer bags, then turned round to try and find Star behind all the boxes.

“Have you left anything for everyone else in Sydney?”

“Just about, luv. Now the big question is are we ever going to get this all wrapped up ready to send off with Jim?”

“Oh, when is he flying out?” Star asked, a worried look on her face.

“Whenever I tell him to, Star. Don’t worry,” laughed Jake.

Angie went to put the kettle on, and after a refreshing cup of tea, they all got down to business, asking Star what she would like them to wrap for her. She sorted things into small piles, and put a label on each pile with a name on it, so that things wouldn’t get mixed up.

“As long as we wrap one pile at a time, I can put the tags on and Aunt Lettie won’t get Uncle John’s things by mistake,” she grinned.

Angie watched as Star grabbed hold of about six large bags and took them into the guest room, telling them that they were for the people in the office so she could do them later. When she came back out, she saw Angie sitting back watching Jake with a smile on her face. He was really enjoying wrapping, and was very good at it.

“I always let him do any gift wrapping, Star. I usually just write the tags. So, if you get them out we can start writing.”

“Oh help. I got the gift wrap and the ribbon, but I think I forgot the tags!”

“Don’t worry. Come and take a look at these. They might be okay for you.”

Angie led Star into the dining room and opening a drawer, pulled out a large cardboard box. Star looked inside and smiled. “They’re beautiful.”

“You’ve met Carol from the café in the gardens?” Star nodded. “Her daughter makes these and we always get way more than we need. These are left over from last year, and the other unopened box in the draw are the ones Jake got from her for this year.”

“They are certainly nothing like the folks back home would have ever seen. What exquisite work.”

“Rosie is a fantastic artist. You’re bound to bump into her one day in the gardens. She’s often found working there painting the plants. We’ll introduce you to her the next time we see her.”

With Jake and Angie’s help, what would have been a monumental wrapping session was finished in just over an hour. Jake got two large cartons from the garage and packed everything up ready for Jim to pick up and take to the airport.

“They’ll be in Chicago at the end of the week, and Alex will courier them across to Virginia for you,” Jake assured Star. “Now, let’s go eat.”

Christmas Eve started bright and sunny and Star wondered why she was being rushed through her breakfast. She had already been told that the office was now closed until the second week in January, and thought they might be taking it easy today. Angie and Jake hustled her out of the door and they were soon walking towards The Domain.

“Where are we going, Jake?”

“You’ll see,” he smiled back at her.

She soon saw a great crowd of laughing, smiling people, and thought she spotted Jenny, Dee and Sandi as well as some of the men from the office. Darren was there with his parents as well.

“Welcome to the Domain Carol Service,” Darren said, kissing Star on the cheek and introducing her to his folks. “We do this every Christmas Eve. What do you think?”

“It’s wonderful. I’ve never sung carols outside in the sunshine before. What an experience.”

“Just wait until tomorrow morning. I’ll bet Jake has something else new in store for you,” Darren grinned.

Sure enough, the next morning there was no Christmas Day lay in. Jake had Star up bright and early, and they were in the car before breakfast.

“Where are we going?”

“We’re off to get Christmas lunch,” Jake replied.

It didn’t take long to reach their destination. Looking out of the car window, it seemed to Star that the whole of Sydney had the same idea.

“Wow, now this is what I call a crowd,” she remarked as they made their way to the entrance of the Sydney Fish Market. “We could be spending our entire Christmas Day here.”

Just then she heard someone call Jake’s name and looked over to where a stall holder was beckoning them. He handed Jake three over stuffed bags which Jake quickly paid for, and before she knew it, they were back in the car and headed home.

“So, what’s in the bags?”

“Fish,” Jake laughed.

“Well, DUH…I think even I worked that out,” Star giggled.

“You’ll see soon enough, young lady.”

They got back to the apartment and Jake stuffed the bags into the fridge. Angie had breakfast waiting for them out on the balcony, and Star noticed there was an extra place set. Just then the security phone chirped, and Jake smiled as he pressed the button to release the glass security door downstairs. He opened the front door and welcomed Jenny in.

“Merry Christmas, luv,” he whispered, giving Jenny a kiss and a hug. “Brekkie is ready, and you’re just in time for the great debate.”

“Oh lord. Do we have to go through this every year? I know, we’ll let Star decide as it’s her first Sydney Christmas.”

“Good thinking,” Angie and Jake said in unison.

“Decide what?” Star asked, looking a little worried.

“Where we’re having Christmas lunch.”

“Oh. I thought we were eating here.”

“No, mate. That’s not the way things work. You have a choice of two locations. The park, or the beach.”

“Oh, how wonderful. Um, would you all be disappointed if I chose the park?”

“Not at all luv, I’d rather not get sand in me tucker. The park it is. We haven’t taken you to Centennial Park yet, have we? It’s quite civilised out there, they have bbq’s already set up, all we need to take is charcoal and food.”

“And my camera, please.”

“Ah, want to take pics of the monkey’s eating,” Jake giggled. “No worries, luv. Of course you can take your camera. We’ll take the bikes too, there are some nice cycle tracks around the park, and we’ll need it after stuffing ourselves stupid. Let me make a quick call, then we can enjoy brekkie.”

Star was pleased to see Darren and his parents and David and his partner already setting things up when they arrived at the bbq area of the park. She then realised why they hadn’t packed any charcoal in the car, and why Jake had brought so much food. The men gathered round the brick bbq while the women set the picnic tables. They were lucky to have a place under the shade of a giant tree. Star was relieved, it was certainly the hottest Christmas Day she had ever  experienced.

They had a wonderful time. The food was wonderful, the company even better.  Just as she felt herself dropping off to sleep, Jake nudged her arm.

“Ready for that bike ride?”

“Oh yes, I think that’s just what I need,” Star replied, stifling a yawn.

“It’s a bit cooler now, and we can stay under the trees. There’s a nice cycle track that goes past the duck pond. I think you’ll like it down there.”

“You got a spare bike, Jake?” Darren enquired.

“It just might be your lucky day, mate. We brought four, so if Jin doesn’t want to come, you can use the one I brought for her.”

“Ripper!” Darren grinned.

Jake and Angie let Darren and Star go on ahead and grinned at each other watching how animated Star became when Dazza was around.

“Love’s young dream,” Angie whispered.

“You think so?”

“I know so. Come on then, mister. Let’s see if you can keep up.”

Jake laughed as Angie shot off down the cycle path, enjoying the rear view of his wife as she peddled off into the distance. He soon caught up with her and they cycled slowly, hand in hand, enjoying the wonderful day.

New Year’s Eve! Star could hardly contain herself. She’d even spent a few days watching the men rigging up the fireworks across the bridge, and this morning, the fire barges were being towed into place ready for the show later on. She was amazed when Angie told her that there would be two displays, one at 9:00pm for the children who were too young to stay up until midnight, and then the grand display, set to music, at midnight. She told Star that it usually lasted between ten and fifteen minutes, and was worth every second. Jake had a surprise in store for her as well. He had managed to arrange for one of the firm’s clients to make space on his cruiser for them, so they were going to watch the main display from the harbour and not amongst the million others who would be vying for the best spot along the shore.

January 2nd found Angie rushing around packing for her trip up country. She was rota'd for the next outback clinic and would be  gone for just over a week. She was flying up later that day and would join the RFDS flight the following morning. Jake was going to miss her, but had the annual grudge cricket match to look forward to. He was taking Star along to see something he told her was infinitely better than baseball, which he likened to the girls’ game of rounders. He knew Jenny would be there too, but as the office was closed until the following Monday, he didn't think many of the others would bother to turn up as they were all most likely still away after the Christmas break.

Wednesday found Jake alone in the office. He might have given the staff the extra time off, but there were things he really needed to get done, and as it was all paperwork, an empty office was ideal. The phones were all switched to their message service, so he didn't expect any interruptions, even kidnappers seemed to like a Christmas break. He was elbow deep in papers when he heard the lift stop and the doors open. He looked up towards his open office door, straight into the face of Mike.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he growled.

“I thought the place would be empty.”

“So it would be safe for you to make an appearance? Well, sorry to disappoint you. Now, what do you want?”

“I came to talk to you, Jake.”

“Ever heard of the phone?”

“Yeah, right. And let you hang up on me like you've been doing for weeks? We need to talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do.”

“Can I stay at one of the apartments?”

Jake opened his desk draw and threw a set of keys at Mike. He then turned his attention back to the papers on his desk and ignored Mike, who sighed and turned back towards the lift, deciding to see if Jenny was at home.

“Mike! What a wonderful surprise, come in please.”

“Hey Jenny. A belated Happy New Year to you. Can Tori come in too?”

“Of course she can. Where is she?”

Mike turned to the parked car outside Jenny's place and beckoned to the passenger. Tori stepped out and made her way cautiously to the front door. Jenny greeted her warmly and ushered them both inside.

“Do you have somewhere to stay?”

“Yeah, the big guy threw some keys at me. Looks like I have the east side apartment. I'm guessing Star has the good one.”

“You saw Jake? Wow, that's brave of you. You're still not the flavour of the month you know.”

“Yeah, I have a strip of frostbite down one side from the glare he gave me at the office.”

“He's at the office? Oh lord, and I bet you thought it was safe to sneak in and pick up the keys from his desk. He wouldn't be there, but Angie had to go off on the outback clinic run this week, so he must have decided to catch up on some paperwork while it was quiet over there.”

“He wasn't pleased to see me, Jen. I think this bridge is going to be very difficult to mend.”

“Tell you what. Why don't you both come to the cricket match on Saturday? Jake's playing. He's in good form so I think his team will win, so he'll be in a good mood after, and he won't start a scene in front of everyone. Maybe you can tell him what you need to on neutral ground.”

“Jen, that's a good idea, and until then, we'll keep a low profile. I think we can avoid each other for a couple of days.”

“Good thinking, Batman,” Jenny giggled in reply.

~*~

Mike was on his feet before the bowler was half way through his run up and had vaulted over the barrier heading towards the wicket as the ball left the bowlers arm. He had a sick feeling. He had almost reached Jake when the ball made contact with his skull. He crumpled, unconscious before he hit the ground. Mike kneeled beside his friend, looking up and calling for medical assistance. He rolled Jake into the recovery position, checking to make sure his airway was clear, then sat guard over him until help arrived. Luckily there was always an ambulance on standby at the ground, and there was more than one doctor watching the match.

Jake was gently lifted onto the stretcher and rushed to the waiting ambulance. It didn’t take too long to reach the Royal Prince Albert, which was the nearest hospital from the ground. Scans were made and the earlier gash to his cheek was properly sewn up as they checked the results of the scan on the computer. Luckily there was no skull fracture, and brain activity seemed to be normal. Jake was moved an observation room with Mike by his side. Until they could get hold of Angie, Mike had power of attorney over Jake’s medical care, as Jake did for Mike, so the doctors allowed him to stay. It was getting late by the time the door quietly opened and Angie crept in.

“Mike! What are you doing here?”

“Hi, Angie, that’s just what Action Man said when he saw me, only with colourful additions of course.”

Mike got up to hug Angie as she asked, “How long have you been in town?”

“We got here on Wednesday.”

“We?”

“Yeah, Tori’s here too.”

“Ah. I bet that was interesting. I’ve been at the bush clinic and haven’t spoken to Jake since Monday night.”

She went over to the bed and took hold of Jake’s hand. “How’s he doing?”

“The doc said there’s no brain damage, and no fracture. He hasn’t woken up since it happened though, which is a worry.”

“Can you tell me what happened?”

“I think I can,” a voice said behind her. Angie turned to see Tori standing next to Mike.

“Mike still doesn’t understand cricket. It was the last over before tea and Jake was on 89. I think they were determined to stop him getting his hundred, and were equally determined to get him out before the tea interval. The first ball was a bouncer, but Jake managed to get underneath it and hit it for 6. Their bowler looked distraught, but their team manager looked livid.”

“I’ll bet,” Angie answered. “It’s always a grudge match.”

“The second delivery was a no ball, but it struck Jake in the ribs and took him down. He got his second wind and said he was fine. The third delivery went for two runs, putting him on 97, with four balls to go. The bowler looked over to the club house and got some kind of signal from his manager. He delivered another bouncer, which was yet another no ball. This one struck the guard on Jake’s helmet and spun him around.”

“Yeah,” Mike interrupted. “The next thing we saw was Jake tearing at his helmet and there was blood everywhere. The ball hit the guard so hard it buckled and tore into his cheek. The team medic went to sort him out. I think he wanted him off, but Jake told him to strip it until the end of the over.”

“His helmet was wrecked,” Tori continued. “He said he would be okay without as there were only a few more balls to go, remembering the two extra to cover the no balls. The next two deliveries gave him no runs at all. Now there were just two balls to go and the next delivery was short. Jake judged it just right, coming up the wicket to meet it. He hit it for another six. The crowd erupted as he acknowledged their applause at passing his century. The bowler was beside himself. One ball left, he had to try to get him out.”

“That’s when I thought something was wrong,” Mike said. “I saw the look between him and his manager and felt I had to get to Jake. The ball never hit the ground. He was aiming at Jake. I got to him just as he hit the ground. He was out for the count and already bruising up.”

Angie turned back to Jake to look at the bruise which covered most of the right side of his face.

“Thanks for watching over him, guys. You look all in, why don’t you go get some rest? I’ll stay here with Jake.”

Mike nodded and gave Angie a kiss and a hug before wrapping his arm around Tori’s waist and leading her out the door. Asking Angie to call him if Jake woke up during the night, he winked at her and was gone.

Angie sat holding Jake’s hand and stroking the hair away from his forehead. He was a little warm, and restless, but when the doctor came in to check on him a bit later, he wasn’t too worried, saying that sleep was probably the best thing for him right now.

~*~

“I'm not sure if I should go see him, Tori. Even when he's less than 100% he's more than a match for me, only don't tell him I admitted that.”

“Oh, Michael. I think you're safe while he's in hospital. I don't think he'll do anything to you, if only for the fact he's going to have the mother of a headache.”

“You're right,” Mike smiled. “I'm being a bit of a coward, aren't I? He's my best friend as well as my partner. I'm hoping even he can't hate me forever.”

“He doesn't hate you, my love. He's bitterly disappointed with you though.”

“Disappointed?”

“Yes. Not so much by you breaking your own rule, but because you tried to hide our relationship from him. I don't really know him at all, but I'm thinking if you'd gone to him and told him, maybe he would have let rip at you, but then it would have blown over. In his eyes, we've both been underhand and devious. I'm thinking he's a little old fashioned in some ways, and is very honourable, am I right?”

“As always, my sweet,” Mike replied, kissing Tori gently. “Jake would forgive me almost anything as long as I'm up front about it. I played this wrong and risked losing the thing I hold as dear as my love for you...his friendship.”

“Well, now's a good time to sort things out. He's due home in a couple of days. Why don't you go and see him today on neutral ground? I'll come with you, but wait outside.”

“Sounds like a plan. We'll stop on the way and pick up something for him.”

Angie was sitting quietly holding Jake's hand when there was a quiet knock on the door. They both turned to watch it open and saw Mike pop his head through the gap. Angie smiled and signalled him to come in. He was carrying a carton of fresh orange juice and a bag of Pineapple Lumpies. Jake pushed himself up into a sitting position and smiled at Mike.

“G'Day, Mike. What you doing here?”

“I've been here for a week now, don't you remember?”

“'Fraid not, mate. Everything's a bit fuzzy right now.”

“Jake can't even remember the cricket match, let alone the hits he took at the wicket,” Angie informed Mike. “The doctor said that in time he might remember, but the knock on the head might have erased it altogether.”

“How much have you forgotten, Jake?”

“Well, I obviously don't remember you coming over. I don't remember Star coming over either, but she tells me she's been here since before Christmas. I remember going over to Chicago, well, I seem to remember getting on the flight, but that's about it.”

Mike let out a little sigh of relief, which Angie noticed but didn't remark on, and handed over his gifts to Jake. Angie rolled her eyes when she saw the sweets. She tried to keep them away from Jake as much as possible as she knew he was addicted to them, but on this occasion she thought she'd make an exception.

Jake was soon back at the apartment, on strict instructions not to go anywhere near the office. He was feeling too woolly brained to think about anything more than sitting on the sofa, so there was no chance of him trying to get to work. Mike had offered to stay, but Jake told him if he spent too much time away from Chicago now, he wouldn't be able to take the time in March to come back down for the anniversary party. He insisted that Jenny was quite capable of keeping the office ticking over, and David and Darren were both in need of admin experience. Mike laughed and agreed.

The following day, Mike was back on the sofa opposite Jake, Tori was in the kitchen with Angie, biting her nails with worry.

“Tori, Jake isn't really the monster you think he is.”

“You didn't see him when he found Mike and I together.”

“Hon, I've known him since I was about five years old. I've seen most of his moods, and I've actually been on the receiving end of his temper before now.”

“Oh, watching you together, I would think you never have a cross word.”

“I'll admit that it's quite rare, thank goodness. Jake has the power to crush me with a look, but I'm lucky that he doesn't feel the need to unleash that power. He let rip at Mike, but once he got home and calmed down, he regretted it. Unfortunately, they are both as stubborn as each other.”

“So, you think everything's okay out there?”

“Of course. We'll give them a few more minutes, then take the drinks in and see how they're going.”

When they went through to the lounge room with the tray of hot drinks, the boys were no longer on the sofas, but had moved out onto the balcony. Mike was leaning over pointing to a rather flashy boat.

“That's a new one,” he remarked. “I'm sure I'd have noticed that one last time I was here.”

“Yeah, belongs to a bloke on the ground floor. Flash bastard, always flaunting his wealth in our faces at any residents meetings.”

“Not to worry, Jake. I'll hazard a guess that you're worth double.”

“At least,” Jake replied, trying to keep a straight face. “I don't think he'd speak to me if he saw my bank balance. He hates anyone with more money than him.”

“Better not tell him about the boxes at the ANZ stadium and the SCG then,” Angie giggled. “So, are you boys okay?”

“Yeah, we're good. I was telling Jake about Tori and me. I've been eating humble pie about breaking one of the company rules.”

“Are you okay with that, Jake?” Angie asked.

“I guess. Not much I can do about it realistically, is there? I'm just pleased that you two didn't try to hide it from me, that I couldn't forgive.”

Tori walked to Jake and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, boss.” Then went to Mike and held his hand. “We won't stay too long, we've a flight to catch tomorrow.”

They finished their coffee and got up to leave, promising to stop by on the way to the airport in the morning to say goodbye. Angie saw them out and joined Jake on the balcony.

“Have you really forgotten all about your trip to Chicago?”

“No, luv. The only thing I can't remember now is the cricket match.”

“Then why...”

“Mike looked so worried when he came to see me at the hospital, I thought it was kinder all round to make out I couldn't remember our blue. I dare say when he gets back he'll tell the girls not to let on the next time I see them.”

“Oh, Jake. Have I told you what a sweet man you are?”

“I try, luv...I try,” he smiled, hugging his wife close.

THE END

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