Chapter 4

'Are you sure she's all right?' Sara asked as she swept away a tendril of hair from Hope's sweaty forehead.

Cam had gently placed her on the couch and Sara hovered as she took in the sight of the usually responsible young adult who was her daughter looking… well, not very responsible at all. Hope's breath smelled wicked; it was obvious she'd emptied the contents of her stomach - at least once. Her hair was plastered to her forehead in a most unbecoming way and Sara knew her daughter would be horrified to be seen by her boyfriend in this state - if only she'd been conscious. She ran her hand over her face, lovingly wiping the spittle at the corner of her mouth.

'The girls said she had about six or seven margaritas and she was really smashed by the time I got back from shooting a few games of pool' Cameron said, embarrassed.

Although Hope was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, Neal had made it clear on more than one occasion that he expected Cam to look out for his daughter who was known to act impulsively on occasion — where she got that from, he had no idea. Neal glared at his young protégé who had, up to this point, proven himself to be a caring boyfriend to his baby girl.

'How could you let this happen, Cam?' he couldn't help but ask, his voice betraying his disappointment.

'We go there all the time, Mr. Caffrey. And she always has a few sodas while I shoot some pool... I don't know why she decided to drink tonight' he said, feeling horrible about the way things had played out.

'It's not your fault, Cam' said Sara, glaring at Neal. 'She's old enough to know what she's doing.'

'Well, she threw up twice, including once in my car, so I figure she's got most of it out of system' Cam added sheepishly.

Hope lay there, unresponsive, obviously a rookie at this drinking thing and now that they had been reassured that she wasn't suffering from alcohol poisoning, Neal's feelings morphed from concern to annoyance at how stupid and irresponsible she'd been.

'I'm really sorry. I know you count on me to keep an eye on Hope and usually she's...' Cam stopped as he looked down at his girlfriend lying there.

Neal shrugged, letting Cam know he was well aware that no one could make Hope Ellis-Caffrey do anything she didn't want to do – or stop her from doing something stupid when she set her mind to it.

Cam moved in closer and placed a gentle kiss on Hope's forehead before retreating.

'I'll call and see how she's doing in the morning' he muttered, preparing to leave.

'Thanks for bringing her home safe' Sara said as she stood to walk him out.

Neal stared down at his little girl and shook his head in disbelief; she was just like her mom, so stubborn and pig-headed. Anger and disappointment flared inside him at the thought of her irresponsible behaviour.

Sara made her way back and leaned over, trying to rouse Hope from her stupor. 'Hope, honey, wake up' she insisted as Hope groaned in response.

She let out a most vulgar snort as she half-heartedly pushed her mom away.

'Leave her' said Neal, uncharacteristically angry. 'She got herself in this state, she can bloody well spend the night on the couch in her smelly clothes.'

WCWCWC

'Who was that, calling so late?' Sara asked as Neal returned to their bedroom.

'It was Lorna. She talked to the staff at Marigold and they confirmed they're moving June to Mount Sinai's palliative care unit on Monday.'

He settled on the edge of the bed. 'I'm just not sure how she's going to react to the move. She's so fragile - and confused.'

'Why don't you go along and get her settled' Sara suggested.

'I might do that - depending on how Liam's feeling. Do you think we should bring him to the clinic before you leave tomorrow?'

Sara shrugged. 'Let's see how his night goes and if his fever keeps going up.'

'What was it the last time you checked?' Neal asked as he began to undress.

'101.8' she replied, facing him. 'Honey, can you set the alarm for 3:00, I want to get up and check his blood levels.'

'Really?' Neal asked as he began to clue in to the precariousness of Liam's condition.

'I don't want to take any chances' Sara said, her face tense. 'You know you're going to have to do this until he starts eating normally again.'

He nodded in response; Liam's condition could not be taken lightly and he needed to rise to the occasion despite his concern for June and her predicament. He thought of his usually level-headed daughter, lying drunk as a skunk on the couch downstairs. Hopefully, she'd morph back into her old responsible self and lend a hand; it was looking to be a particularly eventful week.

'As if that wasn't enough, we have to worry about our perfect child who's lying in a drunken stupor on our couch' he added, looking defeated.

Sara placed her hand on his shoulder and gave him a loving pat. 'I'm pretty sure she won't be doing that again.'

Neal shook his head in disapproval; he was still furious at Hope for her lack of judgement – and at Cam for not keeping a better eye on her. He shook it off and settled into bed, his arms settling around his wife.

'Hi' he said, looking fondly at Sara as if he was seeing her for the first time.

She chuckled at the serious look on his face. 'Hi' she cooed back at him.

'I'm going to miss you' he said tenderly as he ran his hand down her cheek.

'Good' she said with a smile. 'You know what they say - absence makes the heart grow fonder.'

He settled back and opened his arms, inviting Sara to snuggle up against his chest as she did most nights. She let out a loud sigh as Neal laughed in response.

'What's that all about?' he asked, jostling her.

'Nothing. It's just that, even when things go bat shit crazy around here, nothing can get to me when I'm lying in this bed next to you.

'That's nice babe' he said wistfully. 'I feel the same way.'

'What do you say we shut out this crazy world for a while?' he asked, running his arm down her side and making his amorous intentions known.

She turned to face him, her eyes meeting his. 'That sounds great Caffrey.'

WCWCWC

The sun came up with a vengeance on Sunday morning and Neal reluctantly opened his eyes to check the time. It was already eight o'clock and there was still a lot to do. Sara's flight was at four o'clock and he needed to get her and Lydia to the airport in plenty of time. He looked over at Sara, sleeping soundly. She'd been up to check on Liam twice during the night, returning to bed and reporting that all was well. He wanted to let her sleep a little while longer and he slipped out of bed quietly and closed their bedroom door behind him. The door to Liam's room was open and he spied his son fidgeting restlessly on the bed. It was his turn to look in on him.

'Hey buddy' he said quietly as he made his way inside the room. 'How are you feeling?'

Liam opened one eye to look at his dad. 'It would be great if you guys let me sleep for more than one hour at a time' he moaned.

Neal chuckled in response. He made his way into the washroom to get a wet facecloth and a fresh glass of water and returned to his side.

'So, you know the drill' he said as he grabbed for the thermometer. 'Let's start with your temperature.'

Satisfied that his fever hadn't spiked, he moved to the glucose meter and prepared a lancet. Neal hated pricking his son's finger and was secretly thankful that Liam usually did the test by himself but he cowboyed up and prepared to take the sample as Liam lay impassive.

He put the strip into the monitor and stared bleary-eyed – squinting because he'd left his reading glasses in the other room. '4.3' he read out loud, noting that was a little on the low side. Neal well knew that his fasting levels should be closer to five and he looked at his son with concern.

'Have a sip of juice, okay buddy?' he said, not waiting for a response and bringing the glass of OJ up to his son's mouth.

Liam reluctantly took a sip.

'And you're going to have to sit up and eat a little. How do pancakes sound?'

Liam nodded with a muted smile – he usually loved his dad's blueberry pancakes.

'With blueberries?' he asked, barely a whisper.

'With blueberries' Neal responded as he ruffled his hair.

He gave Liam a short reprieve, telling him to rest until he returned with food and made his way downstairs to get started, momentarily forgetting that Hope was camped out on the couch, foul breath and all.

He glanced over in her direction, noticing her squirming in her sleep in response to the sound of his footsteps. He proceeded to get started on breakfast, grabbing eggs and milk from the fridge and taking out a bowl and some dishes. He kept one eye on his daughter, watching as she stirred, her eyes briefly opening.

He watched her sit up, groggily taking in her surroundings; likely wondering what the hell she was doing fully clothed on the couch with the sun coming up. She blinked, looking up at her dad, working away at the kitchen counter; she could have sworn he was taking some perverse pleasure in banging the pots and pans a little louder than usual. She felt crappy, hung over from her excesses from the night before and all she wanted was complete silence so she could turn over and sleep it off.

'Dad!' she finally shouted, her voice impatient. 'Can you keep it down?'

Neal looked over at his daughter, unimpressed with her little outburst. She'd always had a good head on her shoulders, showing herself to be trustworthy and capable of making good decisions. He had not been impressed to see her slung over Cameron's shoulder the night before and he sure as hell wasn't impressed with her current behaviour. He gave her a glaring stare as he waited for her to come to her senses.

To his surprise, she just glared back defiantly; even her hair hurt and she threw her head back down dramatically on her pillow, eager to resume her nap.

Neal stormed over to the couch and hovered, waiting for her to open her eyes.

'You know, Hope, we have a life here and if you're going to go on a bender, you can't expect the world to stop turning while you sleep it of' he said, his voice growing angry.

'Dad, I really don't need this shit right now!' she shouted uncharacteristically as she opened her eyes a crack.

'Well, you're behaving like a spoiled brat. If you can't be civil, I suggest you go up to your room and have a time out' he answered a little too loudly, realizing he was talking to an eighteen-year-old young woman and not some unruly toddler.

Sara suddenly appeared at the bottom of the stairs, wondering what all the ruckus was about.

'Hey, you two! I'm pretty sure the neighbours are on the verge of calling the police. Take it down a notch, will you?'

Neal had not said his last word. 'Miss Tequilla here doesn't appreciate the noise I'm making while I'm preparing her breakfast' he said, sounding like a petulant teenager himself.

He was furious at his daughter for her arrogant attitude and he looked over at Sara who was giving him a death stare. He took a deep cleansing breath, deciding he needed to take the high road.

'You know Hope, what you did last night wasn't just stupid and irresponsible, it was potentially dangerous. And to top it off, you're underage! What you did is illegal!'

'Illegal?' she said, totally losing her cool. 'Well, that's rich coming from you, Dad! I'm sure with your… colourful background, you know all about illegal activities' she spat out with all the venom she could muster.

'Hope! That's enough!' said Sara sternly as she realized what their daughter had just said.

As soon as the words had left her mouth, Hope knew she had gone too far. Her anger had led her to a place she had sworn she would never go. She could see all the blood draining from her dad's face as the full force of her words hit him and she watched as he instinctively took a step back as if he'd been kicked in the stomach.

She looked from her mom to her dad, and realizing she had stepped over the line, she retreated, running towards the stairs, up to the safety of her room.

Neal just stared at Sara in shock; he never expected such malice to come from his beautiful daughter. She was his 'sweet pea', the perfect little girl who'd always looked up to him.

'She didn't mean it, Neal' Sara said, hoping to soften the blow.

Neal looked at his wife expressionless, and he took a deep breath, returning to the kitchen in silence so he could finish getting things ready for breakfast. He'd been hurt plenty of times in his life but this unexpected attack coming from someone he loved so very much was more than he could handle.

Hope couldn't have hurt him more if she's stuck a knife through his heart.