Her damn phone kept ringing. She looked down from the road. It was Daniel again. She pressed the ignore button one more time. Soon it became five more times. She was just driving to clear her head, but she didn't want to talk to him. He had changed since getting out of prison. She understood that it would change him, but she didn't think it would change that much of him. Her phone beeps. Six missed calls from Daniel. Something must've happened. He usually stops calling from three times when she's frustrated with him. He knows that she normally doesn't want to talk after a fight, especially one this bad. He's trying to make their wedding huge and all she wants is something private. They are not his parents and she doesn't want to be them. She presses the send button in order to call him.

"Emily finally."

His voice sounds almost weak and relieved at the same time. It strikes a cord in her that she didn't know she had. That piece of her that started truly caring about him grew a little. She must remember that he knows everything about her father and he did not nothing. She cannot forgive that. At the same time, however, she would've done the same thing if their roles had been reversed. But it didn't make it right. He should've outed his father when he ha dthe chance, then she could've actually let herself fall for Daniel Grayson.

"Daniel, what's wrong?"

He lets out a deep breath and a noise. Is he crying? No, he can't be crying. Daniel never cries, he's always the strong one.

"It's Charlotte. Mom found her this morning. She over dosed and..and she's in the hospital. They don't think pumping her stomach will do any good. Can you come to the hospital? Please? We're in the ER."

She checks where she is. Charlotte is confusing. She's Amanda's sister. Emily's soon to be sister-in-law. But she always wanted a sister and if Victoria wasn't "Queen Victoria" things would've been different. She cares about Charlotte, she knows that much. She can pretend it's because she's Daniel's sister.

"I'll be there soon, promise."

"Thanks. I…I love you, Emily."

"I love you too, everything is going to be okay."

It takes her five minutes max to get to the hospital and by this point she's rushing to get where she's going. She just wants to find Daniel and make sure her sister is okay. Her sister. She has a sister. That she never knew, that she never put any effort into. If Charlotte dies, she doesn't know what she'll do. She'll probably just be even more broken then she already is. She doesn't even know how that is possible.

"Daniel!"

She calls across the hospital corridor. It's not a large space but she feels so far away from him in this moment, she feels like he's a million miles away. It surprises her but all she wants is to feel his arms wrap around her and him to tell her that every thing will be okay. But since he's the worried brother, that's her role today and she has to be able to play it. She rushes toward him and hugs him and doesn't plan on letting go, not caring that Victoria and Conrad are shooting her intense glares.

He breathes her in for a just a second. Feels her warmth envelope him. He knows she's mad right now and he isn't very happy with her either, but he needs her. He doesn't think he'll make it through if Charlotte dies. It'll break him, because it'll be his fault and his mother's fault and his father's fault because they didn't stop her. She joked about it, said they could add it to the book of Grayson shame. What she never knew is that she's the best one. She's honest and trusting and caring. She's nothing like the rest of them. She's the good one.

"Have you heard anything on Charlotte?"

He lets her go and runs a hand through his hair. He just wants his baby sister to be okay. He knows he's done everything wrong so far with her. He should've gotten her out of their family the second he was old enough. He should have taken her and run far away from the two people who ruined her most. Protected her from them, maybe then she'd still be okay.

"They haven't said a thing since we got here. They were going to try and pump it, but there were so many pills, Em. I can't even imagine how she got her hands on so many. She…she was the only good thing about my life until you came along. I can't lose her, she's my baby sister."

She analyzes what he says about her and Charlotte being all that's good in her life. If he only knew that when Sammy died she kissed Jack. But Emily doesn't love Jack, Emily loves Daniel. But that part of Amanda that sometimes comes out still loves Jack. She just needs to lock her away for now until this all is over. She watches as his eyes slowly fill with tears and she's reduced to them herself. Charlotte isn't just his baby sister but hers too. Somehow they manage to make it to the chairs that are lined up against the wall. A chair separates them and where Charlotte's divorced "parents" sit.

"It's going to be okay, Daniel."

"You can't say that with absolute certainty."

"You have to believe it though. If you want Charlotte to be okay, then you have to have faith in her."

She knows faith and hope and all of that other crap can only get you so far. As a child she had faith that one day she would see her father again, she had hope that the people who promised to bring him to her would be able to accomplish their objectives. Everything she had ever hoped for had just been a lie. He's about to respond when a doctor walks up to them. They all stand and unconsciously squish together like they may be able to hear the doctor better that maybe the closer they are the better the news he will bring.

"How is my daughter?"

Victoria is the first to speak, her heart breaking because this is her fault. She should've sent Charlotte somewhere to get treated for this, instead of just giving her a therapist to talk to. Why wasn't she there for her own daughter? Now the last living proof of her and David's love could disappear just like he did.

"I'm sorry to say that through the tests we know that Charlotte is not going to pull through this. Her heart rate is slowly lowering and even with our attempts to practically restart it, it isn't working. You should have a few minutes to say your goodbyes. I'm very sorry for your loss."

She watches as Daniel slowly loses it. First he shoves his father into his mother.

"Daniel!"

Victoria's voice is harsh, but she's in tears so it's low.

"Do something, dad! Fix this like you supposedly fix everything else. You have all the money in the world, use it to save her. Use it to save Charlotte."

"Daniel, that's not how it works. Even if I could save Charlotte, there's no time to."

"If she was really yours, you would be doing everything in your power instead of standing here like a coward. I'm going to say goodbye to my sister."

He leaves without further words and Emily is left standing there, confused on whether or not to follow him. She looks at Conrad and Victoria, for a second she feels sorry for them. But if Charlotte wasn't her sister there would be no remorse.

"I'm sorry."

She can't formulate any more words to say so she runs off in the direction Daniel went and she finds him sitting next to his- their- sister's bedside. He's crying and when she looks at Charlotte she begins to cry too. For whatever reason, Declan pops into her head. He still loves her sister. She pulls out her phone and texts Jack for Declan to get to the hospital immediately. Daniel is talking to her, so Emily doesn't dare say a word.

"I'm sorry I wasn't the best big brother, Charlotte. We fought so hard, even as kids, sometimes I forgot to tell you I love you, but I do. I love you so much. You're so good, so trusting. You held me together for so many years without even knowing it. I still need your silent strength and resilience. How am I not going to kill mom and dad without you? Please don't go, Charlotte, please don't go. I'm the older brother, I'm supposed to be the one to die first. Let me take your place, I'll do anything to se your eyes open one last time. Please, please."

Her heart broke a little and she tried to steel her resolve. None of this was going to help her. If the Grayson's hadn't framed her father he would've been there for Charlotte and she wouldn't have needed the drugs to get by. She just has another reason to get back at Victoria and Conrad.

"Daniel.."

She trails off as she sees Conrad and Victoria coming up the hall. He lets out a deep sigh and gets up off the chair to kiss her forehead. For the first time, Emily actually looks at her little sister. Pale, with a barely there heart beat, having machines practically breathe for her. That was her sister that she had never known. Before everything- before Emily came to town- she was normal, she was okay. Emily couldn't help but feel responsible, she changed the course of her sister's life.

"I love you, Charlotte, always."

He walks over to his fiancé, hoping to pull from whatever strength she has. But there is no output from her, she doesn't have any strength to loan to him. Once he gets to the door, Emily walks to Charlotte. She brushes back her hair like she did the day they sat on the porch swing together and just talked. She chokes back the tears, because she's certain that, just like Daniel, she would die for her baby sister.

"I was so looking forward to being your sister. You always made me smile, no matter what your brother did. I love you, Charlotte."

Together they leave the room and let Victoria and Conrad speak to her one last time. Declan even gets there in enough time to say a few last words. Emily and Daniel stand outside the room for what feels like an eternity before the inevitable sound of the flat line comes. The nurses walk slowly and deliberately to Charlotte's room to turn off the machines. Emily watches as Daniel breaks down again and she questions why she's not sobbing, she questions her humanity. Inside the room she sees Conrad holding Victoria, she's confused and disgusted by the change. Their daughter wanted nothing but them to be together and now that she's gone they may be back together.

"Emily, I need to get out of here. I can't…"

"Okay, okay. Do you want to go back in their one last time? It's your sister, Daniel."

"I can't. If I see her again, I won't be able to leave her. I can't say here."

She sees a panic in him so she silently says her last goodbye to the sister she never really knew. They walk out of the hospital to her car. The reason why she was mad at him has completely slipped her mind, along with most other things except for Daniel and Charlotte. The drive back to her place is quiet, he's crying, but right now she can't say a word to him. Finally they make it home and even though it's still cold outside they sit on the swinging bench on her porch. Daniel is the first to speak.

"I remember telling mom that she was no fun to play with when she was born. I mean I was eight at that point and they told me that I would be able to play with her. But then she started to get older and by the time I was ten she was fun. I can see us running on the beach now, right in front of this house. She'd splash me and then I'd splash her but softly because she was little. One day these older kids came by and knocked her over, mom and dad didn't see, but I did. I chased after them and yelled at them for hurting my baby sister. I promised her I'd protect her always. I failed her, this is all my fault."

She taken aback by the story, he had never talked about when he was a kid. She actually wanted to hear more stories, she wanted to hear more about them.

"Daniel, this is not your fault. She over dosed, she got drugs from someone and she took them. You both got older, it wasn't your job to look after her anymore. You weren't the one that needed to send her somewhere to fix what was wrong. This isn't on you, Daniel."

"I just love- loved her so much."

She swiped a gentle hand through his hair.

"I know you did and she loved you so much. She idolized you."

"This is my parents' fault, Emily, they did this to her. They could've helped her but they didn't. They were her parents and they did nothing. When the therapist wanted a group session, dad was late and then he got into a screaming match with mom. Charlotte left, they did nothing."

She didn't want to deny the fact because it was true, but she blamed them for everything that it had become a second nature thing for her to do. She looked into his eyes as they pleaded with her to help him. He felt so lost without his baby sister, she was like a shining star pointing the way.

"Daniel, shh. I know it's hard. Maybe you need to go to bed, sleep a little. I'll sit beside you, protect you."

He shakes his head. He doesn't want to sleep, he doesn't want to lay down. He doesn't want to wake up and find a world without his baby sister. Charlotte had been a constant for most of his life and he always assumed that he would never have to live a day without her.

"No, no. I have to tell you something and it's important. It's a way to get back at my parents."

What's Daniel going to tell her? Please review!