A/N Glad you guys like the story. Here's Chapter 3 hot of the press

A Street Confrontation

Matt picked Ruthie up and Annie led them all down the hall to Simon's room. Mary gasped as she withheld the angry welts on her brother's face, her anger at Aunt Julie resurfacing. Ruthie buried her face in Matt 's shoulder whimpering softly.

"Oh wow", Matt whispered as he noticed Simon's left eye, which was swollen shut. "All this over a stupid key."

"It looks at lot worse than it is", Doctor Mendel reported from where he stood in the shadows. "The chance of scarring is slim to none. We would still like to keep him a little while more for further observation."

"Of course", Annie agreed. "Oh." she said as Simon began to stir. "He's waking up."

"This seems like a family moment", the doctor said, bowing himself out. "I'll be here if you need me."

Annie nodded absentmindedly, still focusing on her son.

"Mom?" Simon's voice was barely audible. He blanched, trying to sit up and fell painfully back on the pillows.

"I'm right here baby", Annie said soothingly, moving toward the bed and placing her hand on his shoulder. "Don't move!"

"Where am I?" Simon asked.

Ruthie was shocked. "Don't you remember?"

"No."

"You're in the hospital, sweetheart", Annie told him, tearing up. "I'm so sorry!"

"What happened?" Simon wondered.

"Aunt Julie beat you up when you wouldn't give her the key to the liquor", Mary explained. "You blacked out."

"Oh, yeah" Simon said, beginning to remember. Suddenly a ruckus could be heard outside. Lucy.

"Let me see my brother, I want to see him! Let go of me!"

Annie hurried outside to see her hysterical middle daughter being restrained by two of the hospital's residents.

"Luce!"

"Mom!"

"She's mine", Annie confirmed. The residents nodded letting her go.

"Jimmy's dad got me here as quick as he could", said Lucy, trying to convince herself as much as Annie.

"I know honey."

"I can't believe this happened. Poor Simon."

Annie smiled sadly. "Let's go see him."

"You're looking better", Annie observed, resuming her seat on the edge of Simon's bed. He was sitting limply against the pillows, some of the color having returned to his face.

Simon nodded. "Hi Lucy", he said weakly.

His sister didn't answer right away, her jaw hanging down to the floor, but eventually Lucy found words.

"You haven't been given a mirror, have you?" she joked. They all laughed

The sound of an intercom announcement abruptly ended the merriment.

Annie Camden you have a call on line three, Mrs. Annie Camden call on line three!

"What now", Mary asked, rubbing her arm in pain when Matt smacked her.

She turned on him. "You jerk."

Annie glared at them reproachfully. "Just to catch everybody up we are in a hospital", she growled. " So you better behave yourselves because I've my fill of injured children today, get it?"

"Sorry Mom", whispered Matt.

"Yeah sorry."

5555

It was Eric on the phone; he said they were in the hospital parking lot and wanted her to meet them. Who did her husband bring with him, Annie wondered,

A concerned parishioner?

Or maybe his seminary friend Morgan Hamilton and Morgan's wife Patricia, the Hamiltons were dear family friends after all, and had even stayed with the Camdens when Morgan's church was burned down earlier that year.

But none of them were in the passenger seat of Eric's station wagon when Annie peeked in.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Annie fumed.

Slumped in the front seat was a drunken Julie, drool dribbling from her slightly open mouth and onto the car's interior.

"Start explaining", Annie demanded hotly.

Eric glanced innocently at his wife. "She's my sister, Annie", he said defensively. "I couldn't very well leave her in the bar, could I?"

"Well considering she's responsible for what happened here I would say yes you definitely could!"

After a while (Annie assumed the booze had slowed her ability to form a coherent thought), Julie hiccupped and joined the conversation.

"I c-can't believe I d-did this to S-Simon", she slurred, letting out a tipsy sniffle. "I w-wanted a dr-drink so bad."

"It's okay", Eric assured Julie unbuckling the drivers side belt and getting out. "We know you didn't mean it."

Annie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "It is not ok!" she screamed glaring at Julie and then turned around to Eric. "What she did to our son will never be ok, and here you are righting it off to extenuating circumstances."

This little spectacle had now caused a lengthy backup in the hospital parking lot and many frustrated people were honking and yelling at Annie.

"Hey lady get outta the street already", one such driver complained.

"You wanna mess with Mama Camden", Annie asked him raising her fists at the ready. "Bring it on punk boy!"

"Honey", Eric pulled her aside and spoke in the calming tone of voice one might use when talking to a lunatic. "Why don't you, Julie and I talk about this someplace else… where so many people aren't uh, staring. How does that sound?"

"Oh like I give a damn if people stare", his wife replied, writhing out of his grip. "They can stare all they want!"

Eric sighed, hanging his head in resignation. Just then—as if a godsend—Matt showed up to see what the commotion was about.

"Hi, s-sport", Julie called, waving as she saw him.

"Jules, you're ok!" He reached through the open front window to give his aunt a lopsided hug.

Julie laughed. "I'm just fine."

"She's drunk!" Annie retorted, but it was Eric who spoke over them both. "Matt! Good! How's your brother?"

"Feeling better but they still want to keep him", Matt reported, slightly puzzled to look out of the corner of his eye and see his mother throwing dagger-stares in Aunt Julie's direction. "Everything ok here?"

"Yeah", Eric lied. "Fine. Listen Matt I want you to hop in and take your mom and Aunt Julie home. The rest of us will come back in your mother's car as soon as we can, I think we've all had enough excitement for one day."

Matt nodded in agreement. "Yeah, ok."