Title: Midnight Shift: Chapter Forty-nine, Baby Doll
Rating: PG [sadness]

Summary: Summer is in a depressed haze in California while Jimmy visits Robert on his last day at the Jersey hospital.




It was all a blur. How she got from the airport, where Quincy had accosted her, to the passenger seat in Cameron’s car, Summer was completely unsure. Perhaps one day Cameron would explain it to her, or she would remember. It did not really matter. Her darkness once more eclipsed every ray of sun in the sky.

Still on fire from the altercation at the airport, Cameron had yet to realize how quiet Summer was as they headed from the airport. His mind was racing, turning over every word and action, further bolstering his belief he had been in the right. Regardless of everything that had happened, he knew they needed to inform the police or the FBI or whoever.

“Summer?” he spoke up, his hand reaching across the car to touch her knee.

Slowly her haunted eyes turned towards him, but she did not say a word.

As his eyes connected with hers, he quickly forgot about everything else. The darkness in her eyes, her features, was nearly palpable. Even though they had not been friends for long, he certainly felt as if he owed it to her to bring the happiness back to her eyes.

“Where are we… where are we going?” she asked softly, her eyes dropping back down to her lap as she played with the hem of her short dress. “Your apartment?”

“Um, no, not exactly,” he responded.

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry. This is better,” he assured her, squeezing her knee briefly before returning his hand to the wheel.

Not sure what to say, especially as he was worried he would unintentionally bring up what was making her sad, Cameron remained silent. Before long they turned off busy streets and began to wind up Laurel Canyon. Had Summer glanced up, she might have known where they were headed. Yet as he pulled into the driveway, he noticed tears coated her cheeks. He parked the car and removed the keys from ignition before turning fully to Summer.

“Summer… sweetie…” his fingers grasped hers.

Her teary eyes slowly looked up to meet his. She sniffled, her bottom lip trembling. Without pause, Cameron cupped her face with both hands, wiping her tears with his thumbs. Neither spoke; she barely able to remain meeting his eyes. Throwing caution into the wind, he leaned across the car and quickly kissed her tears away.

“Cam…”

“Let’s go inside and we can talk.”

Nodding, Summer carefully pulled away from him. Cameron did not hesitate and jumped out of the car. He quickly ran around the car and opened the door for her. After embracing her tightly, his hand slipped in hers and he turned towards the house. Summer took two steps before glancing up and realizing where they were.

“Cam… Joni…”

“Jimmy called her before he called me,” he explained, leading her towards the front door. “He thought she was precisely what you needed right now.”

“Really?” she whispered.

“Really,” he nodded and reached to knock on the door.

It opened before he even finished his knock. Joni grinned and swept the young woman away from him. Shaking his head, Cameron returned to the car to unload Summer’s luggage. Though he thought Jimmy was a fool to send her back to California, especially alone, he agreed that staying with Joni nearly made up for that. Hopefully the songstress’s mothering would help bring back the smiling girl.

Within moment of entering the house, Summer was curled up on the sofa in the living room, a cup of tea in her hands. She silently stared out the windows, into Joni’s garden. Though the older woman softly spoke to her, Summer did not seem to be listening at all. Cameron watched her every move, the lack of emotional response on her face. It concerned him greatly.

Getting to his feet, he trailed after Joni as she retreated to the kitchen once more, “Joni…”

“Yes?” she refilled her teacup.

“What are we going to do about Summer?”

“What do you mean, Cameron?”

“She’s…been through a lot.”

“I know. Jimmy told me,” she responded, stirring sugar into her cup.

“Right,” he nodded once. “And then at the airport…”

“What happened at the airport?” she tested her tea.

“One of the… guys from the cult showed up and claimed he was her husband.”

“I see.”

“I had to cause a scene to get her free.”

Her brows rose, but she said nothing.

“Erm,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “I kinda punched him in the gut and pulled her away from him and hurried through the airport before he could recover.”

She smirked slightly, “Consider yourself lucky that he did not pursue you.”

“Right, yes. I need to call someone about that too,” he stated. “But I’m worried about that she—”

“Let me take care of her. That girl needs some motherly love,” she proclaimed.

“I… okay,” he nodded. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Cameron. She’s like a daughter to me. I’ll help her out however I can.”



Hanging up the phone with Joni, relieved to hear that Summer arrived okay, Jimmy lit up a cigarette. He paced out onto the balcony. Looking out over the Jersey ocean, he sighed. Nothing seemed to be going okay. Robert nearly died; Summer lost the baby and was harassed by some asshole at the airport. He had not spoken with John Paul or Bonzo in weeks. Was his world completely imploding? What had he done to deserve such a thing?

Grinding out the cigarette on the balcony banister, Jimmy returned to the hotel suite and called for a car. He figured checking in on Robert could ease some of his worries. Drinking a glass of wine while he waited for the car, Jimmy glanced around the room. The large suite seemed far too large and empty without her presence. Normally that would not be a problem; Jimmy liked his solitude. But there was something about Summer that… infected his entire being. 

That could be problematic, very problematic.

Shaking her from his thoughts, Jimmy set down his empty glass and headed out of the suite. A few long minutes later, he arrived at the hospital. Trying to ignore the fluttering of thoughts concerning the beautiful young woman he wheeled out those very doors a few days before, Jimmy headed in to see his mate.

Surprisingly, Robert sat up in his hospital bed, seemingly lucid. He chatted with the nurse as she scribbled on the chart, though not as flirtatious as Jimmy would have expected. The woman rolled her eyes before leaving the room to the two men.

“How are you feeling, mate?” Jimmy asked, casually strolling towards a chair.

“The other day…or night…or maybe even a few minutes ago…”Robert stated vaguely.

The guitarist sat down, saying nothing.

“I had the loveliest of visions. She was… She was here, Jimmy,” his blue eyes met Jimmy’s.

“Who?”

“My angel, my beautiful angel,” he whispered, his face contorting slightly in pain.

Jimmy remained silent.

“Her hair… was like this beautiful golden halo about her shoulders. And her eyes were… two brilliant sapphires… Jimmy… she was here… She was here.”

Still the guitarist said nothing.

“She said… she said she loved me and…”

“Yes?” his brows arched.

Robert broke eye contact for a brief moment, “That we are having a baby.”

“Summer is not here, Robert,” he declared.

“She’s not? Where is she? With Jonesy? Bonzo?”

“No,” Jimmy replied cautiously.

“Then where?”

“California,” he answered emotionlessly.

“Was she ever here? Did I really just dream all of that?”

Jimmy kept quiet.

“The children?”

“Shirley is taking care of them now. They will be here this afternoon to visit,” he answered.

Robert paused, glancing at the window, “Maureen?”

“She’s stable. You can visit her tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” his eyes went back to the guitarist.

Jimmy nodded, “You are being released tomorrow. We will fly with the children back to London before departing for Switzerland. You will have a few hours to see Maureen before we leave.”

“I… thank you, Jimmy. I appreciate everything you have done for me,” he declared softly. “But answer me one last thing?”

“I will try.”

“Summer… she is okay?”

Jimmy sighed, “I do not know, but I hope so.”

“You don’t know? How can you not know?”

“Like I said, she’s in California. I have not spoken with her in a couple of days,” he claimed.

“Where… where is she staying?”

“Worry not. She’s in good hands,” he said.

“Jimmy, just tell me.”

“She’s staying with Joni right now. That’s the best place for her.”

Robert visibly relaxed, “Yes, being with Joni will be good for Summer. She… I presume she is still dealing with losing her mother and with my… being with Joni is what she needs.”

“I concur. Is there anything else I can get for you?”

“New legs?” he smiled slightly.

A bit surprised at his almost-joke, Jimmy smirked slightly, “Yours are going to heal up just fine, Percy. You’ll be strutting on stage by Christmas.”

He shook his head, “I just want to walk again.”

The two men fell silent for a few minutes.

Figuring Robert was more lucid than he had been in awhile, Jimmy crossed his legs and spoke up, “Do you remember… anything about the accident?”

The singer looked to one of his best mates, “I…do.”

The guitarist remained quiet, waiting for the blonde to share anything he wanted.

“We were driving down the road, Maureen at the wheel, the kids in the back. The kids were singing songs and giggling, doing happy kid things. I thought… it was going to be my only chance to have a conversation with Maureen and be assured that she would maintain composure. At the villa, she would have screamed and slammed doors. But driving… with the children… I thought she would maintain composure.”

“Naturally.”

His blue eyes looked away, glancing out the window, “The last thing I remember before the accident is telling Maureen I wanted a divorce.”

Jimmy coughed in surprise, “I see.”

“And then she veered off the road and into a tree,” his gaze returned to the guitarist. “I nearly killed my wife by asking for a divorce. And… I could have killed our children, your daughter too. I am such a stupid fool.”

“You thought you were doing right… by Summer.”

His face screwed up in pain once more and he looked away, “I never wanted to hurt anyone, Jimmy. I just love her more than I ever thought possible. And now I may never walk again, my children have more memories of the hospital than they should, and my wife could die. Why does love have to hurt so much?”

“I am certainly the last person who can answer that for you, Percy. I wish I could.”

A nurse breezed into the room, paying little attention to the two men as she began to check on Robert’s vitals.

“Tomorrow,” Jimmy stood and grasped Robert’s hand briefly, “I’ll fly with you to see your children and wife. We’ll figure out love later.”



Cameron looked out into the garden as Summer strolled in the soft late summer sun. His brows knitted in concern, his gaze focusing on the baby doll in her arms. He was not entirely sure her actions with the doll were… sane. He understood she needed to mourn the child she lost, but transposing all of that onto a doll could not be healthy.

“Joni,” he turned away from the window, “where did Summer get that doll?”

The songstress looked up from her book, “Down at the market, I think. Or maybe one of the rummage sales in the Canyon.”

“Do you think… that it’s good that she… thinks it’s her baby?” he asked, sitting on the sofa across from her.

“It’s… different, but I do think she needs to deal with the loss of her baby in some fashion. They never let her hold or see it in the hospital, so she never really got to say goodbye to the child,” she claimed. “If this is how she deals with the immense grief she’s feeling… and it doesn’t hurt anyone… then I think we should play along.”

“Are you serious?”

Joni stared at him blankly, “I am. Summer needs to come to terms with what happened in her own way, on her own terms. She lost her mother, the man she loved, and her baby all in a very short time period, Cameron. While, yes, she has gained a wonderful friend in you, that girl is very, very fragile.”

He sighed, running his hands through his hair, “Do you think… she’ll ever smile again?”

She smiled slightly, “I think as long as there’s good men in this world looking out for her like you, there is a very good chance that girl will be happy again.”

He flushed slightly, “Thank you.”

“Oh, her father is coming to visit soon. This weekend, I believe,” she stated, turning her attention back to her book.

“Her father…”

She glanced over the top edge of the book, smiling slightly, “You have met Bob, right?”

Cameron shook his head.

“Well don’t get too star struck by him. He’s just coming here to check in on your girlfriend.”

His eyes widened, “She’s not my girlfriend. We’re just friends.”

“Right,” her eyes dropped back down to the open pages in front of her. “This is precisely why you’re going to go outside and check on her right now.”

Shaking his head, he got to his feet and headed out to the backyard. As he had not been watching Summer for a few minutes, he was not entirely sure where to find her. Not entirely surprisingly, Cameron located the blonde California girl sitting on a hammock, rocking gently and talking to the baby doll.  He tried to conceal his concern of her actions from his expression before approaching her.

“Hey, pretty girl,” he stated softly, coughing slightly midway through it.

Her tear-rimmed eyes slowly rose to meet his. Cameron’s heart broke all over again seeing the raw pain in her eyes. Saying nothing, he carefully sat on the hammock next to her, looping his arms around her. She easily molded into his arms, her body trembling slightly with sobs.

“He never had a chance, Cam.”

“Who, sweetie?”

“R-robert. He never had a chance to be a daddy to our baby.”

He kissed her temple, not sure what to say.

“He didn’t even know I was pregnant.”

Cameron sighed slightly, “I am sure once you talk with him, he will share in your pain.”

“I can’t.”

“Can’t what?”

“I can’t talk with him.”

“Why not?”

Her eyes left the doll to meet his once again, “I don’t know where he is.”

“Well… doesn’t Jimmy?”

She paused in thought briefly, “He must.”

“Well, when you talk to him next, ask if you can talk with Robert or if he knows how you can.”

“Maybe…”

He squeezed her again, lips touching her temple, “What’s your baby’s name, Summer?”

“Tova,” she stated. “That was my mother’s middle name.”

“Tova is a beautiful name,” he nodded, touching the doll’s head, “for a beautiful little girl.”

“I was… I spent a lot of time with Robert’s children since his wife is in the hospital too…I was really starting to like taking care of kids, being a mother,” she proclaimed softly. “But then suddenly…”

“Shhhh,” he squeezed her again.

“What did I do so wrong that I couldn’t keep my baby? Am I so evil that—”

“Absolutely not,” Cameron interrupted. “Sometimes these things happen. No one really knows why. You most certainly are not evil, Summer. You are the sweetest, most pure girl I have ever known. You are not evil.”

“But I have done some very… naughty things.”

Flushing slightly at what she was insinuating, Cameron attempted to brush it aside, “You are still the sweetest, most pure soul I have ever known. Losing Tova was not a punishment for things you have or have not done. It sadly just happens sometimes to good people. It just means… we need to hug the ones we care about a little longer, a little tighter.”

She snuggled into his arms at his statement, “What would I do without you, Cameron?”

“Well you’re never going to have to find out, now are you?”

“I’m glad you’re here.”

He smiled, placing his chin on her head, “Joni says your dad is coming to visit.”

“He is?”

“I’m sure he’s concerned about you too, Summer.”

“I don’t really know him, Cam. Have you met him?”

He paused, “No… I haven’t. So I guess this will give us both the chance to get to know him.”

“Do you think he would have been a good grandpa?”

“I’m sure one day he will be. You’ll have children when the time is right, Summer. It just wasn’t time yet.”

She wiggled closer, “I miss him, Cam.”

“Who? Jimmy?”

“No… Robert.”