Episode 08 - Cassandra Heads For Cedarville

*********************************************
SCENE ONE - Months have gone by since the last episode. As Spring reaches full bloom, we see Cassandra Whitmore at home with her baby boy Christopher. As we zoom in on them, we see they are preparing for a plane trip.
*********************************************

"We're going to go see daddy" Cassandra says.

Christopher sees a picture of what appears to be Leo in uniform and says in his usual baby talk "Da Da" as he points to Leo's picture.

"Yes. That's your daddy", Cassandra excitedly says, almost giggling in the process. "Won't he be surprised to see us too, especially after all these months" she says to herself in a sarcastic manner as she hugs Christopher.

"Yep. Daddy's little secret will be exposed. Or I'll expose him!", she says with a smile and almost vengefully.

*****************************************
SCENE TWO - Baghdad, Iraq - Leo's quarters.
******************************************

Leo and his buddies are sleeping after a long day's work. While he is sleeping, Leo starts dreaming of the reception he may have given what he knows about Cassandra and what she's capable of doing now that she's back in the states.

**********************************
BEGIN LEO DREAM SCENE
**********************************

"It's good to be back home again", Leo says as he and Stacy kiss.

"I missed you" she says.

"Missed you too babe" he says.

"Really?" she says with more authority. "Well, to be honest, WE ALL missed you", she says as she opens the door with Cassandra and Christopher standing just inside.

Leo fumbles for words in respose to the sight before him

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Leo is seen tossing and turning in his bunk bed as we continue.....
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Stacy sarcastically asks.

"Hi there lover boy" Cassandra says as she puckers her lips for a kiss and blows it out towards him and waves her hand as she holds a sleeping Christopher in her arms.

"Ehh.....Stace......I honestly don't know who this woman is", Leo says, trying to cover up his story.

"Don't be so coy Leo. You don't think I know? How long did you think you could hide this from me?". Stacy adamantly says.

"GET A DAMN CLUE LEO. You got this woman pregnant, didn't you?", Stacy says.

"NO. I don't even know who she is". Leo says, still trying to cover his ass.

"Well she seems to know YOU". Stacy says.

"Quite well in fact" says Cassandra as she walks up to him, still with Christopher in her arms.

"What's the matter Leo? Cat got your tounge?" Cassandra sarcastically says as Stacy walks into the house.

"What the hell are you doing here? How long have you been here?" Leo demandingly asks.

"You don't remember our little 'dirty secret' done in the back of that Apache helicopter?" Cassandra asks.

"I remember." Leo admittingly says as he looks at Christopher "Whose kid is this?" he continues, feeling really nervous.

"Why....Dear lover boy.....He's YOURS". Cassandra says. "Meet your son Christopher", she continues. "Doesn't he look just like you?"

"No....No....NO he doesn't". Leo kneejerkingly says. "Take him away".

"What's wrong Leo? Truth hurts, doesn't it?", Cassandra tauntingly asks.

"Ohh sure. Just as soon as your attorney and mine both draw up paperwork for a little something called CHILD SUPPORT" says Cassandra.

"Afterall, we wouldn't want to put a damper on the big parade & BIG HERO'S WELCOME honoring Cedarville's BEST with something as 'petty' as this, now would we?", Cassandra says.

"Get off my property NOW before I call the police and have you charged with bribery, blackmail, extortion and anything else they can think of" Leo demandingly says

"Ohh...BY ALL MEANS....DO call the police", Cassandra says. "If you do, I'll have you charged with being a DEADBEAT DADDY" she sternly continues. "If that happens, there's NO WAY IN HELL ANYONE will show up at Town Square for your 'big hero's welcome because NO ONE WILL GIVE A DAMN".

********************************
END LEO DREAM SCENE
********************************

Leo is now tossing and turning in his bunk so hard he's awakened his buddy, Tyrone, who was sleeping above him.

"No" Leo repeatedy says as Tyrone reaches him wondering what's going on.

"Yo...Leo....Wake up dude" Tyrone says. "Wake up". he continues (Tyrone continues this until Leo wakes up)

"Ty" Leo finally says. "What the hell happened man? Where are we?", Leo continues.

"We're still in Iraq and you were having a bad dream or something". "You alright", Tyrone asks with concern.

By this time, Tony, who is Leo's other buddy, also wakes up.

"What the hell is going on over there? I'm dogged tired", Tony says as he tries to go back to sleep.

"Nothin' man. 'Tis okay. Leo just had a bad dream. That's all" Tyrone says.

"Whatever. Just go back to sleep". Tony says facing the pillow which his head is also resting on.

"Wanna talk about it?" Tyrone asks Leo.

******************************************
SCENE THREE - Chippequah Memorial Hospital
******************************************

Jennifer is seen sleeping in bed. She has a bandage wrapped around her head. Just outside her room, siblings David, Marcie and Stephanie have just arrived after being told of her being treated there as a result of being brought in by a "Good Samaritan". She had no ID on her person and her purse had never been recovered. The hospital had been treating her as a Jane Doe until they learned otherwise. Unfortunately, Jennifer doesn't realize her name isn't "Jane". She is under the care of Dr. James Mathieson. Stephanie, David, Marcie and Dr. Mathieson are joined by Investigator Trombley from the State Police.

"Thank you for coming", Dr. Mathieson said

"You think you have been treating my sister Jennifer, correct?" Marcie asks.

"Not only do we think, but we also now KNOW that Jennifer is here".

"I don't understand", Stephanie says with a puzzled look on her face.

"The DNA sample which you gave us was traced and matched to a Jane Doe being treated here in Chippequah", Investigator Trombley said.

David, Marcie and Stephanie all look excited.

"Y...Y....You mean Jennifer's here?" David excitedly, but inquisitively asks.

"Yes". Dr. Mathieson says.

"Wait....Wait....Wait. How do you know this?" Marcie asks. "We've been searching high and low for her", she continues. "Better question....How long has she been here?" she persistingly asks.

"She's been here since the accident". Dr Mathieson says. "That would be just about six months" he continues.

"So....Why are just now finding all this out?" David asks

"Because up until the last couple of months....January or February or so....There was no suitable place on Jennifer where we could get a usable DNA sample to send to proper authorities such as yourselves to cross reference to missing persons cases", Dr. Mathieson said.

"Right. But it's now May Dr. umm...." Marcie says, trying to remember Dr. Mathieson's name.

"Mathieson", Dr. Mathieson said. "And I can only assume that with all the missing persons everywhere, there was little doubt it would take time to trickle down to the right person.", he continues. "We thought we had a match a few other times before, but...." Dr. Mathieson says

"I see", Marcie says, interrupting him.

"Do you suppose we could see her?" Stephanie curiously asks.

"Yeah, but there are a few things you should know first", Dr. Mathieson says.

"Okay....Like what?" David asks

"We think Jennifer has amnesia", Dr. Mathieson said. "Basically put, she has no memory", he continues.

"Doc, what do you mean she has no memory?" David asked.

"Just that". Dr. Mathieson responds.

Stephanie, David and Marcie all look puzzled. Investigator Trombley is emotionless.

"To give you an example of what I mean, one of the nurses told me when she (Jennifer) was asked what her name was, she had to look at her chart before she could answer the question", Dr. Mathieson continues. "This was when she was still known as a Jane Doe and her chart had that name on it", he adds.

"Ever since then, she thinks her name is Jane. Jane Doe", Dr. Mathieson continues.

"Ohh brother", Marcie exclaims as David rolls his eyes and Stephanie sighs and shakes her head.

***********************************************************
SCENE THREE - LaGuardia Airport, New York City
***********************************************************

Cassandra Whitmore and her son Christopher are going through security.

"Next please" says one of the TSA Agents at the checkpoint. Cassandra approaches.

"Walk through the metal detector please" says TSA Agent #1 Cassandra complies. The metal detector beeps as she's waking through.

"Maam, I need you to please go through your pockets and place anything that's metal into this tray", the agent says.

Cassandra embarrassingly rummages through her pockets, but doesn't find anything metal, but then it hits her that her military issue dog tag and necklace around her neck would trigger the detector.

"I think these are the culprits", Cassandra says, pointing to her dog tag and necklace.

"Please remove them and put them in the tray", TSA Agent #1 says as she brings out the search wand to do a manual scan.

"Just to make sure there's nothing else, I'm going to search you using this device, okay?", the agent says.

"I assure you I'm not a terrorist", Cassandra says as she embarrasingly spreads her arms out. "In fact, up until a few months ago, I was fighting terrorists in the Middle East as an active military officer", she contends.

"We're sure you have been, but we need to make sure you don't have any contraband in your possession", TSA Agent #2 says. "Since you've been out of the country and among our armed forces in the Middle East, are you aware of the latest items which you can and cannot take on board an aircraft?" TSA Agent #2 asks as her partner completes the manual check

"Ohh yes. I downloaded the latest list from the TSA website. Thank you", Cassandra said.

"Well, it looks as though you could be right Maam", TSA Agent #1 says. "But let's do this first...Please step back through the detector and then back towards me" the agent continues.

"C'mon lady", a tourist way back in the line exclaims. Cassandra ignores the remark and complies with the agent. The detector beeps again.

"Next, I will need to check your baby's carriage for any metal items that may be hidden there. Please undo the straps and lift your child up so I can see", says TSA Agent #1. Cassandra complies. The agent finds nothing.

"Now I will do a quick scan of the baby", TSA Agent #1 says as she hovers her wand scanner over and around Christopher. He begins to cry.

"Oooo....It's okay sweetie. The lady is just doing her job", Cassandra says, trying to reassure Christopher while giving the TSA Agent a glare that says that''s ALL she'd better be doing.

"I'll still be able to fly out today, right", Cassandra asks with concern.

"As far as we can tell, yes you will, but you'll just need to undergo a more complete screening", the Agent says, trying to relieve Cassandra of her concerns. "I'm going to mention the dog tags and necklace on this ticket that I'm about to give you so then this way the next screener will know about them ahead of time, All you'll need to do is to give the ticket to the screener at the next checkpoint", the Agent continues.

"Once you do that, then just simply follow the instructions they give you and repeat the process until you have cleared all checkpoints, okay?", the Agent said.

"Thanks", Cassandra said as she takes the ticket.

"Have a safe trip. Next please", TSA Agent #1 says as Cassandra grabs her luggage and moves on to the next checkpoint.

******************************************************
SCENE FOUR - Leo's quarters - Baghdad, Iraq
******************************************************

"I had this dream that Cassandra told Stacy about our affair and the baby", Leo says to Tyrone in an almost whispering fashion so that Tony can sleep. "The thing is, I haven't told her myself", he continues.

"Dude....Like I keep tellin' ya, you're playing with fire", Tyrone says. "And one of these days, you're going to be left wondering why she hasn't called you or emailed you or nothin'. Know what I mean?", Ty continues.

"I know man, but HOW do you just simply tell your wife that you HAD an affair with another woman who just happened to have been serving your country with you AND gave birth to your child?", Leo asks. "Lemme know when you come up with an answer for that one matchmaking genius", he continues.

"Hey...Lemme know when you guys are going to go back to sleep so I can expect to be able to do the same", Tony frustratingly exclaims as he tries to go back to sleep.

Tyrone dims his locker light and redirects it away from Tony.

"Well....All I'm gonna say is you had better tell her", Ty said. "You know Cassandra is back in the states and you know she can do WONDEROUS things to ruin what's left of your marriage" he continues.

"Man Ty, Leo....Talk about it TOMORROW. Go back to sleep dudes. 0500 is fuckin' early and I'm getting fuckin' pissed", Tony adamantly cries out.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow Ty. I need to get back to sleep myself", Leo says.

Ty shakes his head as he stands up, turns off his locker light and climbs back into bed.

*****************************************************
SCENE FIVE - Chippequah Memorial Hospital
*****************************************************

"So, what you're telling us is she probably won't even know who we are?" Stephanie asks

"Not just probably", Dr. Mathieson says. "She won't know who you are", he exclaims

David, Marcie & Stephanie try to absorb all the information Dr. Mathieson has given them.

"Remember, she has no memory, which means she won't know either of you or anyone else she's been with before either", Dr. Mathieson continues

"So, what can we do?" Marcie asks. "How can we help her?"

"You can help her simply by being there for her", Dr. Mathieson responds. "You can also help her with photos of people (ideally during happy occasions such as a wedding for example)", he continues.

"We can rule out wedding pictures", Stephanie exclaims, interrupting Dr. Mathieson. "Those don't exactly back fond memories", she continues.

"Well, I'm sure you'll come up with something else then", Dr. Mathieson says.

"I don't know about the girls but uhh....I'd like to see her if that's possible", David says.

"I think that can be arranged, though I should remind you....She won't know you", Dr. Mathieson says. "It'd be like visiting the room of a complete stranger", he adds.

"If that's what you want to do, I'd be happy to set it up", Dr. Mathieson continues.

"Of course. Please do. We all want to see her", Stephanie says.

"Well then, in that case, just give me a few minutes with umm..."Jane" so I can prepare her and then you can see her, okay?", Dr. Mathieson offers.

"Fair enough", David says. "Unless there's anything else, we'll be in the waiting area", he continues.

"That's it", Dr. Mathieson responds.

David, Marcie & Stephanie leave Dr. Mathieson's office followed by Dr. Mathieson himself, who's seen talking with a nurse at the nurses station on the floor.

**********************************************************************************
SCENE SIX - Acme Airlines Flight #499 - NYC/LaGuardia To Cedarville
**********************************************************************************

Cassandra has made her way past the rest of security and is now on board the plane that will take her and her son Christopher to Cedarville.

"It won't be long now sweetie", Cassandra says as Christopher is looking all around the aircraft and making verbal baby noises.

"Daddy's in for a big surprise", she continues. "A REAL big surprise", she adds with a devilish eyebrow-raising smile.

**************************************************
On The NEXT Edition Of Against The Storm
**************************************************

* Cassandra arrives at Leo & Stacy's house. Can Leo prevent a marital disaster in time by telling Stacy about Cassandra? Will he confess his infidelities to Stacy? Will Stacy FINALLY tell Leo about the baby SHE is carrying or will her insecurities get the best of her once again?

* David, Stephanie & Marcie visit Jennifer. Will Jennifer remember them or has she lost her memory?

* Will Greg & Courtney's marital woes come to a head?

Don't miss the next episode!!

ATTENTION - You can now find Against The Storm at its NEW HOME which is http://againstthestorm.blogspot.com/ Thanks to our friends at Google for this WONDERFUL service. Our RSS Feed also has a new home at http://feeds.feedburner.com/AgainstTheStorm/ You can also access this feed by clicking on the ATS RSS Feed located near the upper right hand corner.

In the meantime.....This is Pat Cook saying SO LONG FOR NOW. :)

This show is Copyright 2005 Pat Cook & Jeeper One Media - All Rights Reserved.