8

"I don't know, do you want me to open it?"  Richie says to him, flipping the large orange envelope over.  "There's no writing on it."




"I'll look through it later."  Jon mutters, uncovering Beth's right hand that lays at her side.  Taking his hand in hers, he notices that she's cold again and is startled by that.  "Tell me this is just a dream, man, tell me that I'm going to wake up."  Jon holds her hand and notices that he wedding ring is gone.  Richie sees this and has a ping in his heart.

"Maybe it's in the envelope?"

Jon caresses Beth's hand as he stands there and looks at her.  He's slowly starting to see the cuts. the scrapes and the bruises.  "Where's that doctor?"  Jon questions, wiping tears from his eyes.  "Where did he go?"

Richie looks around, turning around to look at the door that the doctor left through.  "He went out that way, do you want me to go get him?"

"Will you?  I have some questions."

"Sure, sure.  Are you going to be okay for a few minutes?"  Richie lets Jon know, he's there to do whatever Jon needs.  Jon gives him a nod.  Richie tucks the envelope under his arm and pats Jon on the back  "I'll be right back."

Richie takes his exit and  heads out to find Dr. Rowe.  He has no idea what Jon has to ask and he doesn't even care.  Jon needs the doctor, so Richie is going to find him.

In the autopsy suite, Jon is alone with Beth.  He can't remember the last time that they were alone together.  The times of late that they were even in the same room was to exchange children or hammer out the details of the divorce.  The intimate times were long gone, but that doesn't mean that Jon didn't miss them.  At her side, with her hand in his he tells her, "We were supposed to die together, I'm so sorry that I gave up on you.  I'm sorry that I gave up on us."  He leans over and kisses her forehead, "I don't know what I'm going to do without you.  I can't call you, I can't hear your voice anymore.  I can't see you smile when you look at our children.  Babe, what happened?'  He kisses her again, "Why did you have to leave me now?"  His cries were sobs and with every tear that rolled down his cheek it took a part of him with it.  "You were my rock, my crazy rock - but you were my rock.  I wanted us to start over once the divorce was final, I think being married to me was a subconscious problem for you.  You are the love of my life and I know that it will take me a long time to accept that you're gone."  He kisses her again, this time putting an arm over her, wanting to hold her close.  He wants to hold her and never let her go.

He hears the door behinfd him open and he can't be bothered to look.  He assumes that it's Richie with the doctor, but it's only the doctor.  "Mr. Bon Jovi, Mr. Sambora said you had some questions?"

"Where's Richie?"   Jon quickly asks, not wanting to be alone with the doctor and Beth for too long.

"He's right outside in the hallway.  Shall I get him for you?"

Jon's lips are still on the forehead of his dead wife, as she lays there.  Kissing her head again, he stands and faces the doctor.  "Did she suffer?"

"No.  Her death was instantaneous."

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely."  the doctor replies, with the utmost confidence.

"Does she have drugs or alcohol in her system?" he questions, pretty sure that he knows the answer, but he needed to ask.

Dr. Rowe starts to shake his head as he tells Jon, "There was a trace of nothing in her system.  No drugs, of any kind and no alcohol."

"Have they investigated the accident?"

"In fact they have.  The accident investigator is in the hallway talking to Mr. Sambora now."  

"What happens now?"  Jon has no idea what to do.  He is holding his wife's hand in his and he knows that he needs to let it go, at some point.

"Well. we need to get her to the funeral home of your choice.  From what I understand she's from New Jersey?"  Dr. Rowe doesn't usually have these conversations with people.  He has staff in place to do that, but this case is high profile and requires confidentiality.  All of the i's need to be dotted and the t's need to be crossed.

Jon nods.

"Is there a funeral home that you would like us to prepare her for and transport her to?"

Jon looks at her, the tears start again, "She needs to be buried in New Jersey.  We have 2 daughters and a son resting there."  He knows with every ounce of his being that she wants nothing more than to be buried next to her babies.  The one that she nursed, bathed, cared for and loved and the two that never made it into the world.  He knows, without a doubt that that is where she needs to be laid to rest.

"Oh, Jon, I didn't know.  I am so sorry for your losses." the doctor was caught off guard by that, but was trained to respond the right way.  "Is there a place in mind?"

"We have a family funeral home.  She'll fly home on my plane.  What do you need to prepare her for the flight?"

"I have a few more things to look at, but I didn't want to do anything to invasive until after we had a positive identification."

Jon wipes more tears, "How long will you need?  What do you need to do?"

The doctor moves in closer to Jon, fully aware that what he has to say may not sit well with Jon, "I need to finish her autopsy before I can release her body for burial."

"You need to cut her up some more?"

"We haven't done anything other than draw her blood and clean her up for identification.  I still need to do a complete autopsy."

"Why?"

"To find out if the accident was caused by an unknown medical condition."

"She had no medical condition.  She was the epitome of health, so is that necessary?"  Jon doesn't want them cutting her up and looking around in her body.  The thought of that makes him sick to his stomach.

"It's law.  Unless there is some religious belief, I need to do a complete autopsy."

"Can I stop you?"  He's getting upset, almost to the point of wanting to yell.  Between the broken heart and the upset stomach, he really feels like just losing it.  "A court order?"

"Mr. Bon Jovi, do you really want to do that?  She'll have to stay here as the court process plays out.  I'm sure that your family wants to put her to rest, as you do."

Jon firms his stance, prepared to argue with the doctor.  She's still his wife and he doesn't want them cutting her open and trying to come up with a reason for her death.  "She was in a car accident and that's what killed her.  Whatever you find in the autopsy isn't even relevant at this point."  He's firm in his thought and portrays it when he speaks.

Dr. Rowe can see that Jon is getting irritated and had no intention of doing that.  He can also see that Jon will want to know the truth, maybe not right now but in the future.  If the autopsy isn't done, Jon will always wonder what caused the crash, he will wish that he allowed it to be done.  "Did you know that she was 16 weeks pregnant?" Dr. Rowe softly asks him.  He watches Jon's color diminish and his eyes fill with burning tears again.  He can see that he has just hit the man when he was down, and that was not his intention.  At all.