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Crisis & Catharsis -- Part XXIV “I’ll get it,” Bo yelled as the doorbell rang insistently. He pulled open the door to the smiling face of the pizza delivery guy.   “Commissioner Buchanan! I don’t see you in this part of town much.”   Bo handed him some cash. “This is my vacation house. Thanks, Jimmy. Keep the change.” Bo closed the door as Jimmy tried to respond. “Pizza’s here!” he called up the steps.   Rachel wandered into the room. “Hey, I’ll have some of that.”   Bo grinned. “So much like your mother.”   Rachel grabbed the box from him. “Watch it, Mister.”   Bo looked toward the stairs. “Think he heard me?” Rachel nodded. “Think he’s ignoring me?” Rachel nodded again. “Think I should go up there?” Rachel shook her head.   Bo frowned at her. “Think he’ll starve himself just to spite me?”   Rachel laughed. “No, I think he’ll draw the line at food deprivation. He’s mad, Bo. He’s not on a hunger strike. I’ll take some up to him in a little while. I think we should gorge ourselves and he can have what’s left.”   Bo shook his head. “I’m glad someone can find amusement in this situation.”   Rachel walked into the kitchen and dropped the pizza box on the table. “Come on, Bo. He’s been through a lot. He’s entitled to be mad at his parents. I used to ignore mom for weeks for far less dire reasons than what Matthew is going through. At least allow him the privilege of being a kid and tuning out his parents. He’ll get over it. I always did.”   Bo sat in the chair with a sigh. “I seem to remember you took it to the extreme of moving to Llanview to get away from your mom in Chicago.”   Rachel grinned at him. “True, but I was a bit older than Matthew. And that’s how she met you. So I think that turned out pretty well, don’t you?”   Bo smiled glumly. “I’m not so sure about that.”   “Don’t say that, Bo. You conveniently ignore how great you and mom were and how happy you were. All the bad stuff doesn’t negate the good stuff. Especially the best thing of all – my little brother, who is pouting upstairs. Do you ever wonder why he is so exasperating to both of you? He’s the perfect combination of the two of you. He’s genetically designed to be the most wonderful and most aggravating of both of your personalities. He is God’s little gift to make you both see who you really are. I love that about him!”   Bo couldn’t help but smile. “You’re right. Sometimes I want to scream at him that he’s just like his mother and then I remember how much I used to love her annoying habits.”   Rachel nodded. “I’ve lost count of how many times mom has compared him to you just in the time I’ve been here. And she wouldn’t change a thing about him.”   Bo grinned. “You are a wise woman. I’m glad you’re here.”   Rachel set a glass in front of Bo. “You better enjoy it while you can. I’m headed back to Chicago tomorrow.”   Bo was disappointed. “So soon?” Rachel nodded. “I’m sorry to hear that. I wish you could stay longer.”   Rachel shook her head. “Now that I know mom is okay, it’s time for me to get back to my life in Chicago.”   “I’m going to miss you. Even though you give me grief and tell me off, I love having you around.”   Rachel laughed. “I think you get the gist of what I’ve been saying. You can take it from here. You’ve been given another chance with Matthew and with mom. Think you can refrain from blowing it this time?”   Bo shook his head as he reached for more pizza. “I don’t know. Maybe you better stick around and keep me in line.”   Rachel dropped some pizza on her plate. “I think you know where you messed up. It’s time to fix things with mom. If you can do that, Matthew will be a breeze.”   They ate in silence for a bit, Bo lost in thought about the situation with Matthew. Rachel tossed a couple pieces of pizza on a plate and got up. “I’ll take these up to Matthew and talk to him. Hang in there, Bo.” Bo smiled. “Thanks, kid.”   Rachel left the room and Bo picked up his plate and put it in the sink. He made his way out to the living room just as Nora came through the door. “Hi! How did it go?”   Nora walked in and dropped onto the couch. “Fine. I didn’t do anything stupid if that’s what you’re asking.”   Bo sat beside her, taking her hands. “No visible blood. That’s good. If we did a test, would there be powder residue?”   Nora pulled her hands away. “Very funny, Buchanan. I told you we were gonna talk. That’s what we did.”   “What did she say?”   Nora looked at him. “Can we not get into this now? Where’s Matthew?”   Bo nodded toward the stairs. “Still in his room. Rachel went up to talk to him.”   Nora looked up the stairs. “Hope she has more luck with him than we did. Is that pizza I smell?” Bo nodded. “Any left?” She got up from the couch and disappeared into the kitchen.   ************************ Rachel knocked softly on Matthew’s door. When she got no response, she pushed it open. “Go away,” Matthew muttered, not bothering to look up from his game.   “Hey!” Rachel admonished. “You don’t get to talk to your big sister like that.”   Matthew set aside his game. “Sorry, Rach. I thought it was him again.”   Rachel set the plate and a can of soda on his nightstand. “If by ‘him’ you mean Bo, he’s still downstairs. You’re going to have to talk to him sooner or later.”   Matthew shook his head. “Mom said I can be mad if I want to.”   Rachel sat beside him. “What exactly are you mad about?”   Matthew grabbed a piece of pizza and took a bite. “Do you know what Paige did to mom?” he asked.   Rachel nodded. “Chew first and then we’ll talk about this.”   Matthew swallowed quickly and took a drink of his soda. “If you know what Paige did, how can you ask me what I’m mad about!”   Rachel wiped a glop of sauce off his shirt. “I can understand why you would be mad at Paige, what I want you to explain is why you’re mad at Bo.”   Matthew sighed. “Duh, Rachel. Paige is his girlfriend. It’s because of him that Paige wanted to hurt mom.”   Rachel shook her head. “Bo is not responsible for what Paige did.”   Matthew looked away. “That’s what mom said too. But it IS his fault because he’s the one who liked Paige in the first place.”   “Liking Paige doesn’t make him responsible for her actions. Paige and only Paige is responsible for what she did. Do you think Bo would have allowed Paige to hurt mom if he knew what was going on?”   Matthew shook his head. “No, but he sure didn’t seem to care all that much that mom was sick even before he knew Paige was poisoning her.”   Rachel nodded. “And that’s what you’re really upset about, isn’t it? You wish Bo and mom loved each other like they used to.”   Matthew avoided her eyes. “Sometimes I can’t believe they ever did love each other. Mom could have died and dad wouldn’t even have known.”   “Do you really believe that?” Matthew nodded. “I think you’re being too hard on Bo. He does care about mom. I can see it.”   Matthew shook his head. “You weren’t here, Rach. You didn’t see how they wouldn’t talk to each other and when they did, it was just yelling.”   Rachel shrugged. “Well, maybe that was true. But what I see right now is two people who have both been hurt recently. I think things are going to change. You just need to give it some time.”   Matthew sighed. “I have given it time, Rachel. I just think they’re never going to get along.”   Rachel shook her head. “Do you think sitting here in your room pouting is going to force them to get along?” Matthew shrugged. “Take it from me, little brother. Parents will get along only if and when they want to. You’re looking at the champion pouter of Chicago and it didn’t get mom back with my dad. Do you want to spend your childhood locked in your room wishing for something you have no control over?”   Matthew shook his head. “No, but I don’t want to be around them fighting all the time or just ignoring each other.”   Rachel nodded. “Fair enough. Why don’t we go get some dessert? Just the two of us.” Matthew shrugged. “Come on. It’s more fun than sitting here doing nothing, isn’t it?”   “I guess.”   Rachel grinned. “I know. Finish your pizza and let’s go.”   ****************** Bo sat in the chair opposite Nora, watching her silently. Nora looked up from her pizza. “What?”   Bo shrugged innocently. “Nothing. Just waiting for you to finish your pizza and tell me what happened with Paige.”   Nora looked toward the door. “I don’t want to discuss it while Matthew is here.”   Bo followed her look. “Do you want to go out?”   Nora shook her head. “No, I want to spend some time with my son. Why don’t you go home and we’ll talk tomorrow.”   Bo shook his head. “No way. I see by the look on your face that something happened with Paige. I’m not going anywhere until I know what it is.”   Nora raised her voice. “I said I don’t want to talk about it, Bo. Can’t you listen to me for once?”   Just then, Rachel came through the door. “Hi guys…” She stopped in the doorway, Matthew right behind her. “What’s going on?”   Nora looked back at Rachel. “Nothing.”   Matthew sighed. “They’re fighting again. Just like always. I told you, Rachel.”   Nora got up to go to Matthew but he turned and ran out of the room and they all heard the front door slam. Rachel turned to her mother and Bo. “What is with you two? I just spent 20 minutes convincing him you were going to make more of an effort to get along.”   Bo stood. “I’m sorry, Rachel. It was my fault. I’ll be going now.”   Rachel shook her head. “Matthew and I are headed out for dessert. I suggest the two of you use this time to get your act together.” Before waiting for a response, she turned and left the kitchen, slamming the door to match her brother as she went out the front door.   Matthew watched Rachel from the driveway. “See what I mean?”   Rachel walked over and unlocked the car door. “I know, Matthew. I didn’t say they would never fight again. I just said they were going to try harder. Get in and let’s go to the diner. It will give them time to get it out of their system. You have to know they are the two most stubborn people on the planet, right?”   Matthew grinned. “Yeah, I knew that.”   ********************** Bo and Nora sat on the couch, neither meeting the other’s look and neither saying a word. Bo glanced around the room, anywhere but in Nora’s direction. He knew her well enough to know she was glaring at him and waiting for him to speak. Several minutes passed as they played their game. Finally, Bo turned and looked in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly.   Nora nodded. “Me too.” She looked at Bo with tears in her eyes. “Why can’t we do this right and make it better for him?”   Bo shook his head. “I don’t know. We used to be able to talk and work through things. Maybe we’re just more hardheaded now than we were before.”   “We have to find a way to stop this. Matthew shouldn’t have to grow up in this environment.”   Bo nodded. “I agree. So why don’t we start with what happened with Paige today?”   Nora took a deep breath. “You’re not going to like it.” Bo shrugged. “Tell me anyway.”   Nora look him straight in the eyes. “I believe her,” she said quietly.   Bo looked away, taking a deep breath and willing himself to be calm. “And?”   “And I don’t want to press charges. Paige is leaving town ASAP. I think it would be best for everyone to just let it go and move on.”   Bo shook his head. “So you just want to let her get away with it?”   “No. It’s not about her getting away with it. I don’t believe she did it. I think it was Spencer Truman. And from what Paige said, he’s still a threat to you and by extension, to Matthew.”   Bo watched her carefully. “What did she say that convinced you?”   Nora shrugged. “It’s not so much what she said as… When I looked in her eyes, Bo, I could tell she was telling the truth. And she said Spencer has a vendetta against your family and he’s out to hurt you.”   Bo nodded. “Kevin has said as much to me.”   “He’s right. This is serious, Bo. Think about it. Spencer was willing to let me die to set Paige up and to hurt you. And it doesn’t matter to him that Matthew is caught in the middle of his little game.”   Bo shook his head. “But that doesn’t mean that Paige isn’t keeping something from me, does it?”   “No, it doesn’t,” Nora said, avoiding his eyes. “Paige has a secret from her past that Spencer is holding over her head and she is afraid of him. She wouldn’t tell me what it is or where she is going but she did say that Spencer isn’t finished and that he will come at you again. And he would be more than willing to hurt Matthew.”   Bo sat back with a sigh. “This is never ending, isn’t it?”   Nora nodded. “I’m scared, Bo. We don’t know what Spencer is capable of. What if he hurts Matthew?”   Bo shook his head. “I would never let that happen, Nora.”   “But you didn’t notice what he did to me. And neither did Paige.”   Bo took her hand. “That was different. I didn’t know that he was a threat and I had no idea he would use Paige to hurt you. Now we know who our enemy is. I’m not exactly powerless to fight him, you know.”   Nora shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. “I can’t take any more of this. I don’t want to live like this.”   Bo put his hand under her chin. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. I promise.”   The tears fell down her cheeks. “You can’t promise that, Bo.”   Bo leaned forward and pulled her close. “Sure I can. I will protect you and Matthew.”   Nora didn’t pull away. She rested her head on his shoulder. “I want to believe that. I’d love for my life to get back to some semblance of normal.”   Bo smiled. “We were never very good at normal, Nora.”   Nora laughed in his arms. “No, we weren’t. But I want to give it a try. For Matthew’s sake.”   Bo nodded. “Then that’s what we’ll do. The three of us are going to work to put our family together. It’s not going to be easy, but I think we can do it.”   Nora moved back and looked at him. “You want us to be a family?”   Bo nodded. “Yeah, I do. I want us to work together to make Matthew’s childhood everything we dreamed it would be when you were pregnant with him. I’m tired of messing it up. I’m tired of seeing distrust in his eyes. I want to make things better for him. And I want us to work as a team. We’ve always been much stronger together than we’ve ever been apart.”   “But do you really think it’s possible after everything we’ve been through? All the pain we caused each other?”   Bo took a deep breath. “I think it will take a lot of work and I won’t say that we’ll never argue again. But I do believe that if it’s what we both want, we can figure it out. Are you with me?”   Nora smiled as she nodded. “Yeah, I’m with you. But what about Spencer?”   Bo shook his head. “You leave Spencer to me. I don’t want you to worry about him. Why don’t you take some time off from the DA’s office and spend it with Matthew?”   “I’d like that. Some time away from the office might do me a world of good. And I know Matthew will be thrilled.”   Bo grinned. “Then we have a plan.”   TBC