The sound of the receiver being slammed down made Dorothy absolutely furious. How dare he hang up on her? Frowning, she picked up the phone and dialed a number she barely knew and waited with bated breath.

"Hanson."

"Tom?"

"Dorothy?"

She laughed nervously.

"Yeah. Um, listen. I, uh, I talked to Doug."

"How is he?" the relief in Hanson's voice was unmistakable.

Dorothy paused, unsure of what to say. She knew Hanson was close to Doug, and deserved the truth, but how could she be sure that he wouldn't overreact?

"Bad," she answered, opting for the truth.

She paused again, knowing that she had to confide in someone, and soon.

"Tom…I'm scared. He sounded so…dead."

"I didn't think the dead had a sound," he pointed out amusedly.

She shrugged, knowing but not caring that he couldn't see. She absentmindedly twirled a strand of hair around her finger, trying to distract herself from the uneasiness that was closing in around her. On his end of the line, Hanson could almost feel her nervousness and sighed.

"Do you think he'd answer if I went over?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly.

"Wait…where are you? Don't you live with Doug?"

"Well, yeah, but after our fight, I left and when I came back and he was gone, I went looking for him. I got back and the door was locked and he'd taken the spare key. I figured I'd crash at my cousin's place for a bit," Dorothy explained.

Hanson sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. The straw he had between his teeth bobbed up and down as he chewed nervously. He knew that Doug was dealing with a lot concerning the death of his mother, but he doubted if Doug knew what this was doing to Dorothy. From what he knew of her, she could be harsh, loud and she didn't like people to see her softer side, but it was obvious she was really worried. She cared about Doug, hell, maybe she even loved him, and Hanson couldn't stand the thought of anyone losing the person they loved, especially to their own pain. He knew what losing a girlfriend or relative was like. It had happened with Amy…

Dorothy noticed Hanson's silence and cleared her throat.

"Hanson?"

"Sorry. I was thinking. Dorothy, why don't you stay where you are and I'll try to see if he'll answer me."

Dorothy smiled gratefully, her first true smile in days, and thought it was a shame that no one was around to see it.

"Thanks, Tom. That means a lot to me."

"You're welcome."

The soft click told her that he had hung up, and she ran a hand through her dark hair. She picked up the phone and dialed Doug's number, the one she had memorized long ago, and waited.

"This is Doug Penhall. Please leave a message."

"Doug, I'm sorry I didn't think your joke was funny. Listen, Hanson's on his way over, so would you let him in? And…I miss you. So, uh, if I come back, would you, uh, you know…let me in, too?"