Chapter 103 - Seven Days Of Monday Morning

Frantically reading his email, he calls Dorothea and asks if she had heard from Stephanie.  "No, she's up at school, why?"  Jon is pacing his hotel room, thankful that he was going home today, but the plane doesn't leave for 5 more hours.  

"Beth sent me an email and said that Stephanie overdosed on heroin last night and they were going away for a few days.  You haven't heard from her at all?"

"No, she's mad that I wouldn't take her shopping and she's still pissed at me for dumping out that milk.  Did she say if she's okay or not?"

"She said that she was fine, that she was experimenting and it got out of hand.  Their phones are off."

"When are you coming home?"  she asks him, hoping that this maybe a great opportunity for them to talk.

Running his fingers through his hair, he grabs sunglasses and his hat, and heads out of his hotel room.  He's headed to the corner store for a pack of cigarettes.  "I'll be home tonight, but I intend to find Stephanie and Beth."

"Jon, she's with Beth, she'll be fine."

"I don't care, that's the only daughter that I have left.  I'm going to find her.  If you talk to her, call me and I'll do the same."  He presses the red end button and flips his phone case closed.  After he hits the corner store, he takes a stroll and finds himself in a park.  He lights a cigarette and sits there minding his own business, stressed to his max.  

His phone beeps, alerting him to a Google alert.  He has always said that fans are the best babysitter - they alert him to where his kids are and what they're doing a lot of the time.  This Google alert was about Stephanie and her drug overdose.  It made national headlines and it also slams him that he wasn't available for comment and that he was going to finish his tour before coming to the aid of his daughter.  Now he's pissed.  

After he found Ken's number, he calls him, forgetting the time change.  Ken answers, "Hello?"

"Sorry about calling at this hour, but I need you to do some damage control."

"I just heard about it, is she okay?"

"Yes, she's fine.  Her and Beth are going away for a few days and I need to your stop this before it gets out of control.  NO ONE has tried to contact me regarding this, have they tried to call you?" 

Ken shakes his head as he tells Jon "No, but they never do.  They make it up as they go along."

"Can you release a statement that says she's fine, and that I am on my way home.  My flight isn't till later today."

"I'll take care of it.  You just worry about getting home and taking care of your daughter."

"Bye."

Jon sits there and thinks to himself, here we are in another crisis and this time Beth was brought into it.  It has nothing to do with her.  But she's there to save the day and she's there to take care of his one and only daughter.  His heart races when he thinks that he's several hours from Stephanie and there is nothing he could do.  He can't even talk to her on the phone.  However, he does know one thing, he's glad that Beth is there to take care of her and he knows that Steph will be just fine.

Beth,

There are not words that I could ever write to express to you how comforted I am in knowing that you're there to take care of Rose.  She's pretty special to me.  I'm over here in Hawaii sick to my stomach about the whole thing.  I'm almost a day away, but I'll get there as soon as I can.

You took a big risk in telling me about it, and I thank you.  We both know that she's going to be pissed at you for telling me, but in time she will understand why you did it.  Thank you!

I am sorry about everything and the way that it all played out.  I'm not sure where you were or what you were doing when you got the call regarding Stephanie, but thank you for putting aside your personal feelings toward me and going to take care of her.  I do appreciate that and that makes all of this even harder.  It's a true testament to your character, a character that I fell in love with and still love very much to this day.  

Can any part of you see my reasoning behind ending the gloom and doom relationship?  I mean look, here we are in the middle of another crisis, further proving my theory.  I hate being without you, but I love you to much to be with you.  I am here if you ever need anything, you know that.  All you have to do is say the word.

j

Was what she read when she was allowed to turn her phone back on.  Honoring Stephanie's wishes was quite easy.  Beth didn't want to be bothered any more that Stephanie did and the time together is proving to be therapeutic to both of them.  Beth and Stephanie drove to the Poconos and enjoyed a three vacation, just the two of them.  Stephanie was ready to go back to school, even though the press is still heavy on this story.  She needed to get back to school, she told Beth, "I just want to be normal for a while, is that too much to ask?"

Beth smiles and says, "No, I don't think it is."

"What happens to us now that you and dad aren't together?"

"Nothing, we keep doing what we're doing.  Your dad broke up with me. I didn't break up with you and your brothers.  You're a little different though, you 're and adult and you can talk to me if you want."

"But you're moving, then what?"

"Just because I am changing where I sleep at night, nothing has to change.  Granted, I can't get up in the middle of the night and run to you, but I'll get to you as fast as I can."

"Are you staying for the trial?" she asks with hesitation, and Beth can hear that.

Beth shakes her head no.

"How come?" the young woman asks her best and truest friend.  "Why would you miss that?"

"Well, Rose - to me, I know that it will be too painful to hear all of the details of what she did and why.  It took me a while to come to terms with what happened, when it happened.  I can't relive it in every gory detail.  I can't look at her face and honestly, I don't want to see your dad."

"But..." she pauses, "Maybe you're right."

"My lawyer will be there though, in my place so nothing gets missed.  I want her locked away for a very long time."

"Me too."

They make it back to school, after the day classes are dismissed.  The campus is abuzz with kids running, walking and hanging out.  Stephanie is able to get out of the car virtually unnoticed.  "Call me if you need anything, okay?  And I mean it Stephanie, anything!"

"I will."  he hugs Beth and kisses her cheek, "Thank you for everything.  I love you."

"I love you too Rose."  Stephanie walked away and Beth felt like this time might be forever.

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Jon and Richie are eating in the Bowery when they are bum rushed by reporters.  The first Bongiovi sighting since the news of the overdose hit the wire.  Jon has a few choice words and is surprised when he learns that his daughter is back at school.  Anyone that knew him could have read his face, she's home and she hasn't called anyone?  

Richie aided him in his get away and he had his driver take him home and Richie went to his moms.  Since the tour ended and they got back, Jon has been staying in his NYC apartment.  Hoping that Beth was in New Jersey.  Hoping that she was there, that house had become more hers than his over the years, but he knows better.  He really thinks that she's upstate or at the vineyard.  Little does he know..............