*Trisha*

It's been nine days. Nine full days Nate has been in the presidential suite of the hospital due to pneumonia. As much as I hate hospitals, I have been by Nate's side most of the week. When I'm not, Evan is with me so I can run the errands. Richard is still on my back about filling up Nate's schedule, but I have been avoiding him at all costs.

"Have you ever met James's mom?" I ask Nate while helping him take a shower. He is getting stronger but still needs to hold on to the handicap bar and gets winded easily, so I make sure to help him wash up as quick as possible so he can lay back down. I don't bother getting undressed or any funny business knowing if Nate passes out, he could really get hurt in the shower.

"Yes, briefly, here in the hospital when he was in a coma" Nate whispers.

"It's so sad. She came over the other day to see James. She had been asking and asking to see him and can never remember why he doesn't stop by to visit. When she got to the Avalon, I guess she thought the apartment was her home. She was so confused."

Nate nods, having heard similar stories from James and Jonah.

"She was afraid to go home because she thought her abusive husband would be there. James had to lie and tell her he was coming to the Avalon, so she'd cooperate with Gwen and leave. It tore James up to pieces." I feel a lump form in my throat thinking of my friend. "After Carol and Gwen left he broke down."

"God, that's awful. I can't imagine." Nate shakes his head. "Then again, I can't imagine having a mother at all."

I frown hearing this. Nate's family has been a broken one for a while and he will NEVER forgive his mother for what she's done to Cara. I wouldn't either.

"You still care about him. James." He whispers.

"Of course I do. We were friends before anything. Just because it didn't work out doesn't mean we're upset with each other."

"How does he do it?"

"Huh?" I ask with confusion.

"He's friends with ALL his exes." Nate rinses his hair, and I help him step out of the shower.

"You just can't stay mad at James."

*******

*James*

Lindsay is back from her work trip to Colorado so decided to come visit me at the Avalon. She's great and everyone loves her. She doesn't ask questions about Mike who is detoxing but I sit outside with her and tell her a little bit about it. I refrain from mentioning anything about Cara Hollan. I know Lindsay. She can't keep a secret for the life of her and is a huge Nate Hollan fan. She almost passed out when she caught on Julia was engaged to him before it was publicly announced. With Nate being in the public eye I refrain from talking about anything personal that involves him or any of his family.

"So Julia is helping her friend detox after he relapsed?" She asks while throwing the ball for Maggie. She catches me checking out her ass but can you blame me? She's wearing this skintight white yoga pants and spilling out of her black workout tank top. I'm only human. 

"I'm up here, Mr. Gallo." She teases.

"Hey, what can I say. You look good. I'd do ya." I joke right back at her.

"I'm off limits."  She throws the ball again.

"Oh God, who now?" I like that we are still friends and can talk about this, but I worry about Linds. She is never going to settle down and goes through boyfriends like my sister Jennie does. Every other month it's a new guy and every other month she breaks up with him. She gets bored easily. That's kind of what happened to us. Aside from the fact she travels a ton for work, and I had the overnight shift at the Marriott. We NEVER got to see each other. That played a huge part in our falling out.

"His name is Matthew. He is really sweet."

"Um- hmm."  I say and roll my eyes. This is how they all start. "How'd you meet him?"

"Don't laugh."

I start laughing.

"I'm serious James. I really like this one." She chucks the ball, and our pup goes running across the yard happily.

"How'd you meet? For real now. I won't laugh."

"At a gay bar."

"LINDS...." I burst out laughing. "You realize he's probably -"

"No, he's not. I swear! I was just meeting Cindy for a drink and to dance. He was there with one of his friends for the guy's birthday celebration. I swear, he's not gay. He's into me." She gives me a little wink.

I can't stop laughing though and she chucks the soft slobbered on ball at me, making Maggie jump in my lap to fetch it.

"Oh God, you just can't make this shit up. If you guys get married and have kids what are you going to say to them when they asked how mommy and daddy met? A gay bar??"

"I'll lie. I'll say church or something." She smirks and I roll my eyes at my crazy hot ex.

"Only you." I chuckle. 

Lindsay's phone alarm goes off and she pouts. 

"Shit. I have a dinner for work to get ready for." She kneels down and gives Maggie love. Lindsay has been a great sport with all this. She knows Lindsay makes a good medical dog and we no longer switch off every few days. She lets Mags stay with me all the time. 

We say our goodbyes and Lindsay is out the door, leaving me here with Julia, Paul and Mike. Right as I enter the apartment there's a knock on the Avalon door. Paul is always the one to check to see who it is and before he can even open the door all the way, Lauren Denault, my parole office makes her way in. With her is a police officer and a K-9 German Shepherd. Trevor Tremont stands in the doorway, being the one to escort them down from the main entrance.

"Mr. Gallo. Good evening." The officer says. "I'm here to conduct your first home check." 

Right. These visits can happen without prior notice. She can pop in whenever she'd like. At first Maggie starts barking at the other dog who doesn't give my pup the time of day, then she cowers behind me.

"Oh. Yeah, ok..." I don't really know how this works. Julia looks nervous and Paul can tell. And Mike....well... Mike is on the cot sleeping.

"Who is that?" She points to the sleeping man.

"Mike." We all answer and say no more. Paul takes Julia outside during this invasion because she looks on edge. As do I. I don't have anything to hide. No illegal drugs, weapons, booze, but it still feels like I've done something wrong by the way she barges in and talks to me. She's not the nicest of women though I don't expect her to be. I'm sure she deals with a lot.

"Do, I um.. Do I do anything? Like, do you need my help with anything?" I ask full of nerves. Trevor gives me a look of sympathy, knowing this is out of my wheelhouse.

"No sir. Just a routine check."

I stand in the middle of the living room and watch the office start in the kitchen. The male police officer follows her as the German Shepherd sniffs around. 

Maggie stays behind me. She's no longer barking but no longer wagging her tail. She's scared.

"It's ok Mags. She's a good guy." I kneel down and pet my dog.

 Ms. Denault first rummages through all the cabinets, pulling shit out and checking behind canned goods and such. She checks every single inch of the room. The fridge, in the oven, in the friggen toaster. Everywhere. It's kind of insane to watch and I'm glad Paul took Julia outside. 

I follow them down the hall to the bedroom and Maggie runs outside to see Julia now.

"Sir. If you can stand out here." Lauren tells me not to go into the bedroom. I nod, again, nervous as all hell, and watch her go through all of Julia's drawers and then mine. It feels so wrong. I'm not a criminal yet she's treating me like one. I know it's all part of her job but still... it makes me feel so uneasy about everything.

They even had to wake Mike up to search the poor guy's bed. They didn't care he was under the weather one bit.

It takes about a half hour for Lauren to do a thorough search through Julia's apartment. The dog sniffs every nook and cranny as well and comes up clean.

"All set, Frank." She looks over to the police officer. "Enjoy your night Mr. Gallo. We can see ourselves out." 

They walk right past Trevor who nods and stays out of the way.

Once they are gone, I realize I'm shaking a little. I really am NOT used to this stuff.

"Sir? Are you ok?" Dr. Tremont is still in the doorway. "Why don't you sit down, James."

I do sit down which helps tremendously after the nerve-wracking experience.

"I'm n-not used to this stuff y-yet." I stutter, letting my nerves get the best of me. 

"I bet. That was.... well, I guess I've never witnessed a home invasion, if that's what they call it." Trevor sits down next to me. "So they can come whenever they want to search where you live? Is that how it works?"

I nod, giving up on speaking until I am a bit calmer. This is my fucking life now, huh? A criminal. Hell not even this guy sleeping on the cot is getting that treatment and Mike IS a criminal.

Paul opens the slider a little and Trevor gives him a thumbs up, letting him know the search is over. I don't know why I'm so worked up over this. I knew they weren't going to find anything illegal but it still shook me up a little. Julia can tell right away when she comes in. She heads right over and sits on the free spot next to me, throwing her arms around me.

"You're shaking." She whispers when she feels me against her.

"I'm not used to this. They acted like I w-was once a bank robber or something."

Julia looks at Paul and they both laugh a little. I question why and then remember soon enough that Mike attempted to do that exact thing when his addiction took over. I look over at Mike who is back to sleeping.

"I'll help you get changed for bed and help you read your devotional." Julia smiles over at me but I can tell she was just as freaked out about it as I was.

******

Last night I went to bed feeling a little stressed out thanks to the parole officer performing her first unannounced search, so I guess I'm not too that surprised I had a seizure this morning. The only problem with that was I can't remember if I had it in my sleep or if I was starting to wake up. If it happens in my sleep it could be deadly. Either way it was embarrassing as all hell because Julia not only had to wake up to it but also had to clean me up AND change the soiled sheets. All before eight in the morning. 

Fortunately, Casey was already coming by to take the dog for a long run which she usually does early in the mornings, so she checked me out a little to make sure I was fine. While she did that, poor Julia had to then help Mike in the shower after he got sick all over himself. She has her work cut out for her, yet she never complains about taking care of us. Ever.

Trevor Tremont has been a great help. He has volunteered to take me to any sessions I want to attend here while Julia tends to Mike. He seems like a good dude and I no longer share the first impressions I originally had of the man. To be honest, I thought he would some arrogant prick by the way he dresses and how he looks in general. I'm not going to lie. The guy has been blessed with good looks. But his demeaner is very different and he is easy to talk to and get along with. Trevor is an outstanding doctor as well, but then again, so isn't Jeremy Donovan, so that doesn't say much for character traits.

The guy even knows what I can and can't do now too.  Like every other session, AA meeting, and group therapy room, the Avalon provides coffee, tea, water bottles and some snacks to pick at set up in the back of the room. Trevor always pours me a paper cup of coffee as well as himself but is extra aware when he hands it to me. He checks on me often too, to take it from my hands if my coordination is weak or off in any way so I don't burn myself.

On top of that all. We talk. Usually about Julia.

"Think she'll ever be bored with coming to these sessions?" I turn to the doctor as everyone files out at the end of the meeting. Some with nurses, some walk out alone. Most look disheveled in some way shape or form. I've even seen a few very famous celebrities here, but just like working the 4th floor of the Marriott, I'm trained well and don't give anyone a second glance. Paul has instilled that in me right from the beginning.

"Hard to say. She doesn't trust doctors so probably won't trust counselors in any way either. Eventually she WILL need to take part in these programs offered to her but right now she has her hands full. I really want to take it slow with Julia. She's gone through a good deal. For now, I'm just trying to earn her trust." Trevor explains.

"So you were seriously only hired here for Julia and only Julia? Doesn't that get boring hanging out here all day long waiting for her to come around? I mean, aside from all the fun you have here with me." I joke to the doctor.

Trevor leans in a little like he's about to tell me some big secret.

"Technically I'm not even hired by the Avalon. I have nothing to do with Dr. Cohen or any of the Avalon big wig directors." He says candidly. "Dr. Donovan hired me privately and is paying me out of his own pocket to help Julia."

"What?" I gain a little attention from some stragglers near the coffee table. "Wait.... so, Jeremy hired you to be Julia's personal doctor? I thought you were taking over that lady Melanie England's position, no?"

"I mean, that's what it says on the Avalon forms but no. I'm here because Jeremy thinks I am the missing link to helping Julia recover. Because of my previous patient similar to Julia...."

"Eric Furgeson." I will never forget the name.

"Correct."

"And if she never comes around?" I take my final sip of coffee, and the man takes the cup out of my hand for me.

"Then... I guess I go back home. Get a job back east again. It's just me anyway. No wife or kids so it's not like I'm uprooting anyone else's life but my own. But I'm dedicated to help Miss Moretti recover."

"Yeah, that's what Jeremy said too." I exhale.

*****

*Trisha*

People think L.A. is really big but when you have lived here for a while you realize it isn't at all.  So, when Evan escorts me into the drycleaners to pick up everyone's laundry and I stop short, making the bodyguard bump into me from behind, he sees why.

Waiting for his own order at the front desk is Dave. The minute the bell on the door jingled when we entered, he turns and sees me. This is the first time Evan has seen Dave in person. I've shown him pictures of him but that's it. Regardless, the man recognizes my ex instantly and takes hold of my arm, now in full on bodyguard mode.

"Trish. Hiya. Sorry, I'll be out of your hair in a second. I know...." Dave looks at me and doesn't want to say restraining order out loud so the cashier would have something to gossip about later.

I relax a little and nod, but Evan doesn't let go of his grip on my bicep. We wait patiently for the tiny woman to fill the two orders ahead of Dave which can take some time.

"You still going to your AA meetings at the Avalon?" I say a bit softer but feel Evan squeeze my arm a little tighter, reminding me I shouldn't be communicating with a man I have a restraining order against

Dave has his back facing me but answers politely. "Yes. It's going really well. My sponsor is great too which helps." He turns his head a little to make eye contact. "I'm trying to get better."

"Good." I respond in an approving manner.

"You have him cuz of me, huh?" He frowns with sad eyes and turns back around.

My throat tightens and I look down to the ground as we move up in the line. After Dave exchanges his ticket for his wardrobe, he turns to me and smiles.

"Hope you are doing well." Dave says then rushes out of the building.

When I hand the worker my ticket Evan notices it right away. Of course he would. It was obvious. My hand trembled and I almost dropped the ticket, now all out of sorts. He doesn't point it out in any way until we are back in the SUV.

"You alright?" Evan sits in the driver's seat and looks me over.

"Yeah."

"You shouldn't have spoken to him, but I have a feeling you know this already." He starts up the vehicle.

"Yeah."

The bodyguard shakes his head at me and begins driving.

"He was once a good guy..."

"Stop. Please don't." Evan snaps, throwing me for a loop. "I've seen it so many times. I've heard it all, Miss Banks." He says in a professional manner.

"We live in the same fucking apartment. You're back to calling me Miss Banks now?"

"You are no different than any of the other women I've had to work for, you know that?" He keeps his eyes on the road like I need him to but I glare at the kid.

"Excuse me??"

"Exactly. Excuses. You make excuses. Listen, it's not my place. You know who you are and how you are. Let's just leave well enough alone."

I feel my face heat up. "No, go ahead, Mr. Scofield... Tell me who I am and how I am?" I cross my arms and wait for his answer.

"You're a strong, smart, independent woman. But you have an addiction. Everyone's addicted to something. You were going to marry yours and will always make excuses for him. Even if he abused you. You're smart about it for a while, getting the restraining order, hiring a bodyguard, but then you grow stupid over time and will probably let him back in to ruin your life again. Over and over."

"You have some nerve! You don't know shit about me." I clench my jaw tight.

"Hit a sore spot? Truth hurts, doesn't it?" Evan raises his brows at me then turns back to the road.

The sad part about it? He's spot on. Dave IS my addiction. Evan could see it right away. 

"I don't intend to let him back in my life. I just wanted to make sure he was keeping up with his AA meetings."

"Mm-hmm..."

*****