Chapter Text
7:12 AM. June 25, 2004. Colorado Springs, Colorado. A quiet suburban house. The phone rang once, twice, thrice. Footsteps went from scattered pieces of a bridge and across the room to the study nook. The phone’s display showed a number with a 575 area code. A young woman’s teary voice spoke up on the other end. “Uncle Sam? Can you get down here? Mom’s gone.”
Around the handset of the phone, the knuckles on Sam Beckett’s fingers turned white. “Yes, I can. Are any of your sisters on their way yet?”
“I just called Ruth. She’s arranging for time off. Sharon and Maxine are making other arrangements...” Polly’s voice hitched. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Stay calm. Can you take a deep breath? Through your nose and out your mouth…” Over the phone, Sam heard Al’s youngest daughter follow his instructions. “Good. Listen, I’ll be there as soon as I can, but I need to talk to Donna first. How’s your father handling it?”
“As soon as we came home from the hospital last night, Dad slammed the door and he hasn’t come out of his room yet. I hope he isn’t breaking anything in there.”
“Have you heard anything from him since?” As he talked, Sam looked over the desk in the study nook. There was a stray faculty application, probably placed there by Donna. Sam crumpled it up, intending to throw it in the trash later.
“No. What should I do?”
“How are food supplies? Other things in the house?”
In his mind’s eye, Sam could see the curly cord of the wall phone stretch across the kitchen as Polly walked over to the refrigerator and pantry to check. “Everything looks fine. We had some neighbors drop off food when Mom went into the hospital…” Her voice hitched again.
“Okay, okay. It sounds like you’ll be fine for a while. Your father will deal with things in his own way, but I’ll be there for you if you need me. For bereavement, Ruth should get her leave soon enough.” Sam had heard Al talk about this enough times to know. “She’ll be there soon. Your other sisters will be there soon too. I’ll be there today. Maybe I’ll bring John. I don’t know yet.”
Polly’s voice cheered up at the mention of John. “I can watch him if you need it. I’m sure my sisters can too.”
“I don’t want him to get in the way too much.” Sam glanced over at where his son was looking up, bridge pieces scattered in front of him. “But Donna’s busy with work.”
“Okay. Thank you so much, Uncle Sam.”
“I’ll call again before I leave for the airport.” Sam hung up. He vaguely remembered having to cheer up hysterical young women before, but he couldn’t imagine what Al and Polly were going through. Beth had been going through a rough patch with the cancer as the Project had wound down, and it was partly for her sake that Al had stayed in New Mexico. Now that this ordeal was over, those two had to deal with the aftermath.
“Daddy?” Sam looked down. His son John, not yet six, was standing there, looking like a much more solemn copy of him at that age with Donna’s eyes in his face. He asked, “Who was that?”
“Polly. Do you remember her?”
“Didn’t I play with her before?”
“Yeah, a long time ago, before we moved here. Uncle Al’s having some trouble, and she wants me to come down there. I need to talk to Mommy, ask if you can come too.”
“Can I play with Polly again if I come?”
“Sure.” Sam didn’t want to try to explain what had happened with Beth to his young son, or at least not yet anyway. But he was the one who stayed home and took care of John while Donna worked, so it would be easier for John to come along. He went upstairs to the master bathroom, where Donna was getting ready for work. As he was coming in, she was putting in a pair of gorgeous gold and turquoise earrings.
“Hi, sweetie.” Sam leaned against the doorframe and looked at her. She was so beautiful. How had he gotten-
“Who was on the phone?” she asked, interrupting his reverie.
“Polly.”
Donna inhaled sharply, her hands going down from her ear. “Was it about Beth?”
“She passed away last night. Al’s not taking it well, and neither is Polly. Polly asked me to come down there, help out with arrangements before her sisters arrive. I was thinking I’d take John with me, since you have work today. Is that okay with you?”
“Let me know what day the funeral is so I can come down too. Yes, John can go with you. Will Polly be fine with looking after him?”
“She seemed thrilled when I mentioned him. I’ll let you know about the day for the funeral from Al’s house.”
Half an hour later, done with packing a few days’ worth of clothes for himself and John plus some other things to keep John occupied, Sam drove them to the airport. He picked up a last-minute booking on a flight leaving in an hour for Albuquerque.