As an outsider, Anastasia knew it wasn''t really her ce to give rtionship advice. All she wanted was for Monica not to shortchange herself—she hoped Monica could just live a little and not let things get her down.
Monica nodded. "I''ll talk to him when he gets back to me."
"And what about that resignation talk from before? Any news?" Anastasia asked.
"Mr. Taylor means the world to him, and his parents absolutely refuse to let him quit. If Jason left the force just because of Alisa, it''d be such a waste. Being a cop has always been his dream," Monica said. "I should support him in that. Besides, if he quit now, what would he even do?"
Monica didn''t want Jason to feel pressured to make a huge sacrifice for their rtionship. Being a police officer was his calling-a real act of selflessness. How could she let love get in the way of that? If she asked him to quit, she''d never forgive herself.
Anastasia got it. "Why not take a little trip? Or find something new to focus on? Don''t let your whole world revolve around a guy. You''ll drive yourself nuts."
Monicaughed. "Trust me, I''m not that obsessed."
But the moment she left the hospital, Monica couldn''t stop herself from calling Jason.
He was out on a call, phone on silent,pletely unaware. Monica tried a few times, but no answer. Frustrated, she went back to the salon, turned down Abby''s dinner invite, and justy around in her office, alone with her thoughts.
As evening settled in, Monica''s mom called. She assumed it was about dinner. She picked up, half-distracted. "Mom, Jason''s busy-guess we''ll skip dinner tonight-"
"Monica, sweetie, you need toe to the hospital. Your dad''s hurt. The doctor says... they might have to take his leg." Abby''s voice broke into sobs.
Monica froze, her heart dropping. She shot upright in her chair. "Mom, don''t cry! What happened? Which hospital? I''ming right now. It''ll be okay-just hang on."
Trying to keep her mom calm, Monica grabbed her keys and hurried out the door.
Through tears, Abby managed to exin: her dad, Chase, had fallen into a recycling machine at work. If a coworker hadn''t pulled him out in time, he could''ve lost more than just a leg. As it was, his leg was mangled beyond saving.
It was all so sudden. That morning, everything had been normal-they''d even nned to have dinner together. By afternoon, disaster had struck.
Stunned, Monica hung up and instinctively tried to call Jason. She needed someone to lean on, even if he couldn''t do anything. At least he could listen.
But Jason didn''t pick up. Monica felt her world crumbling.
She called Anastasia, crying, "Ana, my dad''s hurt..."
At Hope Hospital, outside the operating room, Abby sat anxiously wiping away tears.
Monica rushed over. "Mom, how''s Dad?"
"He''s still in surgery. The doctors said... they can''t save his leg," Abby whispered, her voice thick with grief.
Not long after, Jackson and Anastasia showed up.
The surgery dragged on-amputation was no small thing. It''d take hours. There
was no avoiding it; it was the only way to save him.
Monica tried tofort her mom. Jackson just sat silently on the waiting room bench. Anastasia,
seeing how devastated everyonen et
was, didn''t know what to say. She just stayed close and textedo Herman, asking him to keep an eye on Pattie and let her know she''d beteing back to the other
hospital.
It was almost nine-thirty at night before Monica''s phone finally rang―Jason.
He''d just got back to the station
after a call, still in uniform, his own
injured hand untreated. He didn''t
hesitate to call Monica as soon as he could.
When Monica saw his name, she hung up immediately and put her phone on silent.
On the other end, Jason was confused. Hank came over with some ointment. "Jason, man, get that hand looked at."
"Yeah, I''d better, or Monica''s going to lose it if she sees it," Jason said.
"Look at you two-always thinking about each other," Hank teased.
Jason just smiled and started treating his hand, figuring Monica was probably busy. He decided he''d just stop by her ceter and check in.