Chapter 2-

Disclaimer: Only own Callie, Rachel, and Sarah. They're mine, all mine!

AN: Wow, thanks to all my reviewers! All of you seriously make my day. Not to mention, you inspire me to write! This chapter is a little different, I wanted to write it from Callie's point of view, since I'm of course bringing in "the parents" a little more, and was thinking this was the best way to do it! This chapter will hopefully give a little more background too- I know the first chapter was a little sporadic, but hopefully this one makes a bit more sense. Enjoy-and of course, review! Your reviews definaltey make me update faster (hint, hint, lol).

Callie's POV

To me, Maureen Johnson- since the time I was born- was always 'Mo' to me. There was really nothing formal about our relationship- but then again, there was nothing really all that formal about Maureen Johnson. I could say the exact same thing I suppose about my parents though, too. If Rachel randomly walked up to my mom and requested a glass of water from 'Mrs. Davis', my mom would either think Rachel had gone crazy, or was on drugs. Either or.

As soon as Sarah called 911 and told us that they were on their way, I rushed over and called Mo. By now, Rachel was conscious again, but unfortunately not making too much sense. She was still extremely dazed, but she did remember everything that had happened, which I was thankful for. Rachel already had memory problems to begin with, but a Rachel with amnesia probably would have been too much for me to handle today. Thanking God silently, I quickly dialed Mo's number, hoping she would pick up.

She did, and I hurriedly told her what happened. There wasn't any Spanish, but Mo was plenty concerned. Despite being wild, spontaneous, rabble-rousing, and just all around sporadic, Mo made a pretty good mother. My parents were understandably concerned about Mo's parenting skills when she had gotten pregnant after a random one night stand with someone who's name is still unknown to us. This apparently happened after Mo had gotten mad at her then-girlfriend, Joanne. They aren't together anymore, but their really good friends, and to Rachel and I, Joanne's like an aunt. Even though the concern about Mo was understandable, I never thought my parents were really ones to judge Mo and her parenting skills- they were far from being saints as well- in fact they were probably worse. But all three friends turned out to be excellent parents, and by now, had totally turned their lives around.

One thing I liked about the three of them- my mom, dad, and Mo- was that they were really honest to Rachel and I. As far as we could tell, they hadn't hidden too much from us. From the AIDS, the riots, the drugs, the exotic dancing, and simply the Bohemian lifestyle, we were pretty sure they had told us the whole truth. And Rachel and I loved them for that. The five of us, along with our 'Uncle' Collins and 'Aunt' Joanne, made a pretty tight knit family. Rachel and I had been best friends since before I could remember.

Mo was, by now, living up to her reputation of being a drama queen, and on the definite verge of having a panic attack. I tried to assure her that Rachel was fine, and that the ambulance was almost here, which only resulted in, "Ambulance? Their taking my baby to a hospital?" A panicked Mo did not help the situation, so I tried my best to tell her that we were only sending her there to be safe (which was a lie) and that she wasn't really injured (also a lie, but at least it calmed her down...). All I made out from the other end of the phone was a rushed, "I'll meet you there!", and then the line went dead. After Mo hung up on me, I called my mom again, and after what seemed like five minutes of rambled Spanish later, she assured me that she'd be at hospital as soon as she could.

I ran back into the living room and found Rachel spread out on the couch. Sarah was sitting on the floor beside her, and Mr. Cohen was pacing around the two of them, staring out the window every two seconds. I took a place beside Sarah on the floor and looked up at my best friend. She had her eyes closed, and she looked deathly pale, which made the red gash on her forehead appear even worse. Mr. Cohen walked into the kitchen and came back with a wet washcloth. He put it gently on Rachel's forehead, who only mumbled something incoherent and then went back to being silent.

I realized how seriously she could be hurt, and felt tears spring to my eyes. I was sure she would be fine eventually, but...It was scary, how everything had change in a moment. I head the distant sounds of the ambulance. Me and Sarah looked at each other and nodded, knowing that everything would probably be okay in a few moments...

"I hear them coming, they'll be here any minute...Callie you called her mom?" Mr. Cohen asked.

"Yeah...she kinda freaked out, like I expected, but she said she'd meet us at the hospital. And I called my mom too, she's coming also."

Mr. Cohen nodded and walked over to me. He glanced at my forehead and said, "When we get there, you should probably have a doctor check that cut out. It might need stitches..."

"Yeah, you're right...It feels okay, but after what happened to Rachel, I should probably have it checked out..." my eyes drifted again to the still figure on the couch. The sirens were growing a lot louder, they were probably coming down the street by now. I started thinking about the hospital...

I hated hospitals. Absolutely detested them. I guess this sort of thing happens when both your parents are HIV positive. I could see the dread in my parents eyes every time they went to the hospital. I could tell they were terrified. Each visit brought more bad news. The hospital was the source of all this bad news. And a hospital would be the place where both of my parents would eventually die, slowly and painfully, and all I will be able to do is watch.

I've dealt with this reality for quite a while now, and I try to shove it away every time it surfaces. And every time it does surface, it gets worse. It was the inevitable, and it was only getting nearer with each passing day. My parent's honesty does ease the situation at times. I'm glad they've told me the truth, instead of hiding it and then one day in the near future saying, "Oh, by the way, we both have AIDS and we'll be dead in a month." I much preferred it this way. But it's a tremendous burden- a burden some days I honestly don't think I can handle.

So- the hospital. I really don't want to walk through those doors. But as the ambulance arrives, and I see them put Rachel on the stretcher and drive away with her, while Mr. Cohen follows with Sarah and I in his car, I feel guilty, and selfish, for even thinking of not wanting to go to the hospital and be with my best friend when she needed me most.

The drive to the hospital seemed to take forever, and was driven pretty much in total silence. Every minute or two, Sarah would nervously glance over at me to see if I was okay. I finally gave her a little smile, which finally seemed to calm her down a bit. It was odd, but I found myself thinking about how Rachel and I had only met Sarah about an hour ago, and how it felt like I had known her for quite awhile. I guess the three of us had just clicked, there wasn't really another explanation for it.

It only really took about ten minutes to get to the hospital. Rachel had already been taken into the emergency room, and Mr. Cohen led me and Sarah to the waiting room. It was a tense atmosphere, and I started nervously glancing around fearfully. The dreaded hospital...Mr. Cohen must've noticed, because he gave me a smile and said, "'Fraid of doctors or something?", in a half-joking voice, probably with the intention of trying to get me and Sarah to relax a little.

I smiled back at him and said, "Yeah, something like that..." I spotted a nearby water fountain and jumped up to get a drink. I was halfway there when Mo came sprinting in through the doors and crashed right into me.

"Callie! Oh God Callie, where's my Rachel? Is she okay? Where is she? What happened? Where is she?"

"Mo, calm down-" But before I could get anything else out, Mr. Cohen's voice interrupted me.

"Maureen...?"

Sarah, who had followed her dadover, and Igave each other odd glances, and at the same time blurted out, "Er-You two know each other?"

Review! And please don't hurt me for the cliffy...I know the story is moving slowly, but I wanted to give some background this chapter...There'll be Roger and Mimi in the next chapter (yay!), and hopefully I can start calling Mark Mark, because calling him 'Mr. Cohen' is starting to creep me out. Anyways, hope are enjoying it so far...