Author's Note: I own no part of Once and Again and I own no part of the song Someone Still Believes in You by Mary Beth Maziarz. I love the song and since I don't make vids, I do the next best thing with the song! I simply enjoy both and add my own little twist. This fic takes place after the Gardenia episode and I suppose during Falling into Place. These are some of the Black and Whites and other scenes I thought could happen, should have happened,or maybe wished would happen. Thank you for reading and I hope yall enjoy!

Take me to heart here
Have I ever done you wrong?
If I have, I'm sorry
I want you to know
That whatever's going on
I love you
But I'm worried
Cause I remember when your spirit shone
Smiling you'd light up a room
Lately you move in shadows
But know that someone still believes in you

Rick sat beside the hospital bed in an uncomfortable chair watching his ex-wife fight for her life, harsh white sheets surrounding her bruised and battered body. As he stared at her, he hoped in his heart she was truly fighting, that she wouldn't completely give up, that she would remember those in her life that loved her so much. Over the years, he hadn't always been there for her as she'd needed and now he wanted, needed her to know he had loved her then and a part of him would always love her.

Rick B&W

"Karen was so full of life when we met. I fell in love with her smile every time it lit up her beautiful face." He sighs and wipes his eyes with his hands. "I should have been there for her. Jessie asked me and I said I'd be there for her mom but was I really there for her each time she needed me? Had I forgotten how deeply she hurts? Was I so careless that I didn't care what my love for Lily might do to her, being forced to see it day after day? I didn't do anything to stop the whispers about our lives. I'm here for her now. I'll be there for her through this…through all of this."

Karen stirred in her bed and they talked. Rick held her hand and it was as soft as he remembered it to be all those years ago. He would make certain Karen always knew he would be there for her.

Rick B&W

"I had to ask her. I didn't want to, and I hated needing to ask. I just wanted to make sure she didn't…that it wasn't something she…my god I can't even say the words." He takes a deep breath and looks up. "What would I have done…what could I possibly have said if Karen answered yes? What if she'd said she meant to step in front of that car?" He looks directly into the camera with tears in his eyes.

You must be so sad
To be pushing us away
What makes you so mad and jaded?

Jessie B&W

"I had to buy the shirt. I didn't want the words floating around in her mind while she's alone in that horrible hospital bed…alone in that room…thinking that I didn't care what she thought or how she felt. She's my mom and she's lying there in this cold uncomfortable bed, IVs sticking out of her, bandages all over her, barely able to speak…she's in so much pain. It's breaking my heart watching her suffer and there is this part of me that knows she's better today than she was a week ago when she was walking around healthy. I love her so much. She's my mommy. She's taken care of me and watched me grow and now I wonder…is it my turn to watch her grow? Is it my turn to take care of her? Is it my turn to keep telling her she's loved, telling her she's beautiful in every way and that we all need her so much? I can not lose her."

Jessiesat in the chair and watched as her mother slept. Jessie knew it was the medication they had her on that kept her sleeping but she wanted her mom awake and talking to her. There were so many questions she wanted to ask but knew she was afraid of the answers. There were so many things she wanted her to know and was afraid she would never have the chance to tell her and yet she couldn't find the courage to say the words. Instead, she sat in the hard, cold chair staring at her mom, willing her to get well, praying she'd find happiness and that the two of them could share their laughter once again. Jessie never wanted to leave her side again. She always wanted to be there for her mom, reminding her every day how much she loves her.

"Jess, it's time to go. You need to go home and get some sleep." Lily stood in the hall and instead of arguing like she'd done so many times before, Jessie agreed. She picked up her things, walked to her mother's bed and kissed her forehead, careful not to wake her and slowly she left her mom's room.

You're still so young
Please don't give up like this
We need you around
And you seem to be fading

As far as Eli was concerned, the walk to his mother's hospital room took an eternity. He hated hospitals but even more, he hated the fact his mother's accident was the reason he was visiting the hospital in the first place. Each step he took closer to her room tore off another tiny piece of his heart. She's his mother and yet, Eli couldn't honestly say that she would have any reason to want to see him right now.

Eli B&W

He's pacing in the dark. "I was horrible to her. Mom isn't going to want to see me. I wouldn't want to see me if I were in her place. I never should have said what I said. I never should have treated her that way. I should have reacted differently. I should have listened. I shouldn't have fought her so much. I shouldn't have yelled at her." He stops pacing. "Why am I trying to do the 'should have', 'would have', and 'could haves'? I know what happened has happened and no matter what I want, there is nothing I can ever do to change it. I screwed up again. I don't know how to fix it or how I can help Mom."

Eli sees the doorway to his mother's hospital room. Hands in his pockets, he walks closer and stops on the other side of the door so he can see her, not knowing if she was awake and terrified to enter. Karen slowly turns toward the sound in the hall and struggles to whisper one simple emotion filled word. "Eli." He didn't know what to do.

Eli B&W

While continuing to pace around the room, he speaks. "Mom hasn't been truly happy in a long time. I don't even think we could blame Dad or Lily. The light left her soul ages ago. She would pretend and for a long time I believed. I am her son and I wanted to believe in her happiness. Now I know what it is to look in someone's eyes and see true joy. I haven't seen that true joy in Mom's eyes in a long time. Now she's in that bed so helpless and…" He stops, sits on a stool, and wipes tears from his eyes. "She's got too much life left to live. I can't lose her. We need her." He sighs. "God I need my mom so much and she just doesn't know."