It was nearly 3 am when Breksta walked in to her apartment. She yawned loudly as she made sure to lock the door tightly behind her. Dropping her keys in to the bowl on her entryway table, she turned to find her gorgeous black and tan Doberman, Raphael, sitting at the end of the hallway. He was patiently waiting for her. She knew, that if he had a tail he would be wagging it right now.

"Hi, handsome boy." Breksta cooed as she held out her arms for the dog to come to her. He quickly darted to her, his body wriggling in excitement as he welcomed her home. She had trained him to wait til she called him before he could approach her. His breed was very obedient and they thrived on structure. He wiggled in her arms, whining in happiness to see her home finally.

"Sorry, Raph. I had some important matters come up tonight. Did you get some good walkies from the dog sitter though? Huh? Come on, let's get some food!" She baby talked the dog. He bounded off to the kitchen at the mention of food. Breksta quickly followed and found Raphael sitting happily by his food bowl. She quickly dished out some food in to his pan and patted his behind as he dug in.

Grabbing a light snack for herself she made her way to her bedroom and peeled off her work clothes. She let out a moan of relief at the feeling of being free. Exhaustion set in and she sluggishly dressed in her pajamas. Fishing her phone out of her pants pocket, she hooked it in to the on her bedside table and collapsed on to her bed. Once situated beneath the blankets she clicked on the tv to help her unwind. Raphael quickly joined her, jumping up on to the bed and taking his spot beside her. She settled down in to her blankets and pillows and rested knowing that tomorrow was a day off.

It didn't take long before Breksta had finally drifted off to sleep. She had probably been asleep for nearly two hours when she was woken from her slumber to the trilling sound of her phone ringing. The woman sat up straight in bed and looked around the room, sleep making her brain a little cloudy. Realizing that she was receiving a call Breksta quickly kicked her blankets off and pulled the phone from its charger to answer it.

"Hello? Hello. Who is this?" Breksta said, clearing her throat as she realized that it was a little husky from sleep.

"I'm sorry, Bre. It's Nancy down in ICU. Miss Rhea has coded. We've got her stable but you asked us to contact you if her condition has changed." One of the RN's who worked night shift quickly related over the phone.

"Oh. Yes. Yes. Thank you. Give me an hour or so and I'll be there." Breksta said and pushed her hair from her face. The nurse agreed and they hung up. With a small sigh, she stood up and walked off to the bathroom for a quick shower.

After a hurried shower, Breksta dressed even faster, her hair still wrapped in a microfiber towel. That was the issue with maintaining curly hair. You can't just dry it all crazy like or you'd have frizz galore. However, because of this, her hair took forever to dry. Once the initial water was soaked up she quickly braided her hair and wrapped the braid around on itself. It would just have to dry on its own.

She pulled on a pair of faded blue skinny jeans, an old band tee, and threw on an oversized open sweater. Today was not a dress to impress day. Today was for comfort. She was absolutely exhausted at this point. As she slipped on her favorite pair of olive green booties on, Raph came padding up to her, holding his "Therapy Services" vest in his mouth. He dropped it expectantly at her feet.

"You wanna go see the kids, huh? Alright. You can go too." Breksta said and chuckled as she slid the red harness on to her dog. Despite his intimidating look with his pointed ears and his larger frame (he was European bred, not American) Raphael was one of the sweetest dogs who walked the earth. He had a massive soft spot for children. When Breksta had figured that out she took all the necessary steps to have him registered and trained to be a therapy dog. He was a welcome addition to the children's ward at the hospital. "Alright, Raphael. Let's go."

Breksta came strolling in to the hospital at almost 7 am. She held a container of donuts in one hand, an iced coffee for herself in the other, and Raph walked beside her calmly with his leash dragging behind him. He knew the drill. He was trained for it. Once the vest was on and he was in the hospital, he was all business. Except when he got to the kids. Then he was almost a little puppy again.

"Good morning, Nance. How's Ms. Rhea doing so far?" Breksta asked as she sat the box down in front of the woman and motioned for her to help herself. The elderly RN happily welcomed the donut and took one for herself before passing the box off to the nurse beside her. Once the other nurses caught wind they would be gone in no time.

"She's much better now. Dr. Eldric came and made some rounds around 4 am or so and then she coded at 5. I called you shortly after." Nancy said, giving a quick recap as she pulled Ms. Rhea's file to hand over to Breksta.

"Dr. Eldric was here? So early? What did he say about all this?" Breksta asked, clearly confused.

"Nothing. He left shortly after seeing her and when we called him it went straight to voicemail. I assume he made it home and is asleep. So I called you shortly after that." Nancy said, quickly understanding Breksta's confusion.

"Have you made contact with her sons?" The younger woman asked as she read over the report.

"No. I tried all three numbers but I kept rude secretaries or voicemails with full inboxes." Nancy said and shook her head.

"Okay, I'll try contacting them. Can you take Raphael down to the children's ward and dropping him off for a bit, please?" She handed the leash over to Nancy and patted the dog lovingly as he walked off with the elder woman.

Breksta walked in to her office and plopped down in the chair. She decided that the brothers needed to be contacted immediately and attempted the first two numbers. Saving Makonnen's for last. When she got full voicemails for both she called Makonnen's next.

"Devil's Den before hours, this is Gaia. Who is this?" A woman's curt voice sounded over the phone.

"This is Breksta Urbonas down at-" Breksta attempted to say but was quickly cut off by the other woman.

"Sorry, sweet heart. There's no Breakfast Ur-bone-ass on the list here. Have a good day." The line clicked as the woman ended the call. Breksta attempted a second time but was hung up on again. The third time, Breksta was not so nice.

"Listen, Lady. I'm a PA at the hospital where Makonnen's mom is staying. She almost died. I need to talk to him!" Breksta snapped, quickly growing angry.

"I can't believe that you would seriously bring Mr. Tsitak's mother in to this, you bitch! You got some nerve! Call here again and you'll regret it." Gaia yelled and slammed the phone down again.

Breksta cursed colorfully under her breath for several straight minutes as she gathered her things. She decided that she would just go on down to the Devil's Den herself and either beat some sense in to a bitch or burn the place down trying to find Makonnen. She swiftly gathered her things and made her to the children's wing to gather Raph. She hated cutting his stay short but she could always bring him back later. She was going to Low Town. One of the roughest places in this area and she wanted some back up.

Breksta made it to the Devil's Den a little later than planned. She had hit the morning commute rush and it was well after 9 by the time she got there. She pulled her little silver 2010 Mazda coupe in to the parking spot closest to the door and put the car in to park. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself to the dumb bitch on the other side of the door that led in to the night club. Leaning across the seat to Raphael, she removed his therapy services vest and undid his leash. Getting out of the car she whistled for the Doberman and he obeyed.

"Close." She commanded and headed inside after making sure that her car was tightly locked up. She strolled through the doors of the Den and was surprised to find it fairly well lit. Breksta had actually been here years before, right after she turned 21. She had had a particularly difficult week of exams and decided to let some steam off with some friends. It had been pretty funny but the hangover she had afterwards had not been. Breksta was quickly met by a blonde headed woman dressed in a red bodycon with matching heels and lipstick.

"Sorry, ma'am. We're closed. Unless you have an appointment, you'll have to leave now." The woman said, her voice all too familiar.

"I do not have an appointment but I need to see Mr. Makonnen in regards to his mother. Now." Bretska said as Gaia clacked her way across the now empty dance floor towards her.

"Oh, it's you! Leave now before I call the cops! Better yet, I'll get security! Samson! Blaine!" Gaia called as she turned to look to a door off to the side of the room. Two very large men cane walking out of the room, one of them chewing on a breakfast biscuit.

"This is the bitch trying to harass Mr. Tsitak! I want her out now!" Gaia shrieked as she stomped a heeled foot. The two men shared a look between them and shrugged.

"Come on, lady. You gotta go." One of the men said while the other tried to wave her out with his sandwich. When one of the men tried grabbing her, though, Raphael burst into a flurry of aggressive barking. He squared himself between Breksta's legs and began snapping at the large men. All three of the Devil's Den workers backed up quickly. Once they were a good enough distance back, Raphael stopped barking but continued to growl menacingly.

"I would definitely suggest not touching me if you want to keep all of your limbs intact. My name is Breksta Urbonas and I'm the PA that is watching over Makonnen's mother. She coded last night and I would like to speak to him. Now." She snapped as she stood there with Raphael tucked between her legs.

"What in the fuck is going on in there?!" A familiar male voice bellowed from that back room. A few seconds later out walked Makonnen clad in a very flattering tailored midnight blue suit. His black hair was slicked back and his beard was combed nicely. "Oh. Mrs. Urbonas what are you doing here? Is everything okay? Is my mother alright?"

"I'm sorry to show up so abruptly Mr. Makonnen but we have been trying to contact you for several hours. The lovely Ms. Gaia here has been stonewalling us and quite frankly she's rude. Not to mention tacky!" She snapped as she snapped her fingers and Raphael backed out from between her legs and sat down beside her.

"She did what? Gaia, what the fuck did you do? Please, Mrs. Urbonas, come with me to my office. Gaia. Get her something to drink and apologize." Makonnen snarled at the blonde and then motioned for Breksta to follow him.

She strolled smugly past the three workers, Raphael hot on her heels. He growled lowly at the three but stayed close to Breksta. She entered Makonnen's office and sat down in one of the offered chairs. Raphael laid down quietly at her feet but kept a watchful eye on the door.

"Mrs. Urbonas-"

"Miss. I'm not married."

"Oh. Oh. Well. I apologize. Miss Urbonas, I'm so sorry about the treatment from my staff. Please tell me, is my mother okay?"

"Yes, she is fine now, but earlier this morning around 5 or so she coded. As of now, her state is unchanged."

"Why am I just now hearing about this?!" Makonnen snapped, anger flashing across his face.

"We've been trying. For several hours. Blame Gaia." Breksta replied pointedly as she blinked at him for a few seconds.

"Oh. Yes that's right. I'm sorry. Here, let me give you my cellphone number. Let's cut out the middle man. I don't know why you were even given the Den's number." Makonnen said as he jotted his number on a piece of paper before handing it over to Breksta. She tucked the paper in to her pants pocket and cleared her throat.

"Is my mother okay? Do you know why she coded the way she did?" Makonnen asked as he leaned back in his chair. Anxiety and worry clear across his face.

"I'm not sure. I haven't had a chance to talk in depth to Dr. Eldric about it yet. I'd like to talk to prepare you though. The likelihood of a patient surviving a second code... Well, it's not very good. I think you maybe need to speak to your brothers about what your options are for the future." Breksta said slowly, not trying to offend. Makonnen nodded but remained quiet for a while.

"Thank you, Miss Urbonas for your honesty. I'll call my brothers and speak to them about the events of today. In regards to my mother, I think we may move her to a different facility. Not saying anything about your particular skill sets because you and your team have been wonderful. I just think that maybe we have somewhere else that would suit her better." The man said as he drummed his fingers on his desk.

"I think that is a mistake. Your mother is in no condition to travel. You may be putting her health in jeopardy if you do that." Breksta replied, taking no offense to his words. She really did have Ms. Rhea's best intentions in mind. Makonnen nodded his head solemnly as he considered her words.

There was a sudden quiet knock at the doors. A second later Gaia came walking through, holding a bottle of water. She quickly clacked her way across the room and handed the bottle to Breksta, muttering a half hearted sorry in the process. Breksta took the water but said nothing to the woman. Instead, she offered a small nod and that was it. Gaia puffed her cheeks slightly and quickly left the room.

"Ugh. I need a new secretary and hostess. She's terrible but some of my wealthier clients like how she looks." Makonnen admitted as he shrugged, a small half hearted smile pulling at his lips.

For the first time since he had met the woman, Breksta gave him a small smile back. When her face wasn't in that perpetual state of frown that she always had, Makonnen realized that she was actually quite pretty. He could tell, however, just how tired she was. He wondered to himself just how long she had been at the hospital last night before she was called right back because of his mother.

"Miss Urbonas, would you like to go get brunch with me? I would really appreciate some intelligent company right about now." Makonnen said as he smiled fully at the woman. Breksta studied him quietly for a few seconds as she thought it over.

"Alright, I'll go, but only on one condition." She said.

"And what is that?"

"Please, call me Bre."

"I can do that, but only if you will call me Mak."

"Deal." She agreed and smiled just a little bit more.