A/N: Sorry it's been a while! I'm still sans internet on my computer, and since my USB ports crapped out, I can't move anything from computer to computer without the use of a good ol' fashioned floppy disk. So, after a long wait and I hope not the loss of my readers, here is chapter two. I'M SORRY! Please be gentle with the idea that I am working with in this chapter.

Chapter Two: Is This It?

She ignored the people in the room. With her back to the world, she drowned in the forgotten music of her lost father. The hospital had been kind enough to allow her the use of a cd player, provided her roommates didn't mind. Waves of relief washed over her when the other occupant in the room turned out to be on the edge of deafness and said he didn't mind her music one bit. Bobby sat in the chair by her bed, had been for the past two hours, silently flipping through a magazine. But now that he had reached the last page, he felt up to talking to his troubled niece. As he prepared to open his mouth, the cd changed tracks, filling the room with something he least expected. And that was how he chose to open the conversation.

"What the fuck is this shit you're listening to?" he demanded, throwing the magazine down in disgust.

"It's the suite from Forrest Gump. It was dad's favourite movie," Camryn replied, keeping her back to him.

"No shit. Jackie liked Forrest Gump?" he mused. "So why are you listening to this?"

"These are old mixed cds of his I found in the attic. It's the closest I've ever been to knowing him," she sighed, brushing tears from her eyes.

Bobby whistled. "Wow Cammy. Why the sudden interest to know your father?"

"I can't really say it's sudden. I've ALWAYS wanted to know him," she growled, reaching over and switching the song and, hopefully, the topic of discussion as well.

Bobby had other plans. "Is this…Red Hot Chilli Peppers?" he inquired. "I didn't know he listened to these guys."

"From the sounds of things, you didn't know much about him did you?" she snapped.

"Not knowing that he listened to the Chilli Peppers and liked Forrest Gump doesn't mean I didn't know him," Bobby shot back, eager to defend himself.

She rolled over and sat up. "What do you want, Uncle Bobby? Because I know you didn't come here to talk about Tom Hanks or the Chilli Peppers."

He clenched his jaw and rubbed his forehead. "You have a drug problem, Camryn."

"No I don't," she whispered.

"They found you on a bathroom floor with the fucking needle still in your arm," he hissed. "It's a damn miracle you survived."

"Someone was watching over me," she stated, touching the place on her stomach where she had felt the hand.

"Who?" he demanded. "Wendy, your druggie friend who got you into this whole mess?"

Camryn pursed her lips and lay back down on her bed. "Go away Uncle Bobby. I don't want you here anymore."

"I know you don't mean that Cammy," he sighed, standing up. "Your mother and I placed you in a rehab program."

She scoffed. "Don't try and make it sound like a favour."

"You're checking in as soon as you're discharged from the hospital," he stated, scooping his magazine off the floor. "Whether you like it or not, you're doing this."

"And I can't see Wendy anymore. Blah, blah, blah," she snorted. "Why didn't my mother come and tell me all this, instead of sending her lapdog?"

"She's too disgusted to come in here and see you this way," he replied coldly. "You let her down."

He knew it was harsh, and he knew it wasn't true. But he knew she needed to hear it. She reacted-violently-to the comment by whipping the bedpan at him. It clanged against the wall next to his head, missing him by no more than an inch. Her breathing was ragged, fuelled by pure hatred for him in that moment. Bobby clenched his jaw once again and turned to leave the room. No more words were spoken between the two, probably for the best. Camryn laid back, staring at the white ceiling and losing herself in Jack's music. She wanted to scream; she wanted to sob. But as she lay there, blinking tears from her eyes, she realized that all she really wanted was to hear his voice again. She wanted to hear him tell her he loved her and she wanted to hear him say her name. But she knew she wouldn't hear it unless she had her drugs and Bobby and Lauren had made sure she'd never have those again. When the nurse entered the room, Camryn sat up, an idea already forming in her mind. Visiting hours weren't over yet and she knew just the person she wanted to see.

"I need to make a phone call," she said, sweeping her legs over the edge of the bed and placing her feet on the floor.

The nurse smiled. "Of course dear. You can hurry down the hall and use the phone in the visitor's lounge."

"Great. Thank you so much," Camryn beamed, rushing from the room.

---

He looked down in horror, willing her away from the phone. He knew exactly where her call was going and he wanted nothing more than to stop it. He had saved her life with nothing but pure luck on his side and he didn't think he had the abilities or privileges to do it again. But that didn't stop him from kicking and swearing up a storm, drawing attention not only to himself but also to the two others with him. They yawned. Clearly his tantrum was having no affect, even if they knew his intentions were right. Once he realized he was getting nowhere, he whirled on his companions, fury blazing in his pale blue eyes.

"Stop her. Stop her from doing it again," he demanded, pointing down at the young girl.

"You know I can't do that," the taller of the two replied, brushing her long auburn hair over her shoulder. "She needs to make these mistakes on her own."

"That is bullshit and you know it!" he shouted, turning back to the scene below him.

The other body stepped up to him and placed a warm, comforting hand on his shoulder. "You can be with her when the time is right. She's not ready to accept you yet."

"How do you know that? How can you be sure that she'll reject me Ava?" he inquired, not taking his eyes from the girl.

She smiled softly, hinting at the sadness lurking behind the hazel of her eyes. "You just have to trust us on this one. For once?"

He sighed, raking his fingers through his shaggy blonde hair. "I hate being so helpless to save her. What is the point of being here, watching over her, if I can't help her?"

"You'll get your chance. Right now, you need to let Bobby and Lauren take care of her in the best way they know how," Ava assured.

He turned to face the other woman. "Does it ever bother you that you can't help the ones you love Candice?"

"All the time Jack. All the time," she whispered, blinking her wide brown eyes and turning away from them. "But you learn to do what he tells you. Even if it takes you seventeen years."

He snorted. "I only do what he tells me because it gets me closer to my baby. I could do a better job of raising her than those two fuck ups ever have."

"You don't mean that. I know you still love your wife," Ava sighed, shaking her brown curls loose from their confined ponytail.

"She sold me out without a second thought. For my brother," he spat, wiping tears from his eyes.

Candice stepped in front of him and grabbed onto his shoulders. "Stop it Jack. She did not sell you out for your brother. She brought a male role model into your daughter's life, never once thinking that he would be your replacement. She still loves you and you know it. So stop being a baby about it. Stop torturing yourself by watching your daughter poison her veins with that terrible junk, and think of what you can do to save her."

Jack blinked, startled by her outburst of reasoning and logic. In the seventeen years he had known Candice, he had never expected her to be the one to snap. Ava was always the loud one. But he knew they were both right, so instead of retaliating as he usually did, he merely sighed and walked away from them, unable to stand the sight of his misguided, junkie daughter any longer.