Boston, MA

She always found it hard to sleep after her mother died. Her mom had always been the one to tuck her in before bed, and somehow among all of the changes their lives had undergone that seems the biggest. Ghosts seemed to lurk between those four walls, and her protector had joined them.

Her father had begun to notice the change in her; just how tired she looked. Still, it was a surprise to hear her door creak open one night soon after the funeral. There stood Jared, with the same worry writ across his face that had been there for months. He closed the space between him and the bed in a number of short steps, and sat down gently at the edge of her bed, facing her.

Softly, he reached out an arm to stroke the fur on the top of her head gently, and began a slow hum. The sing was something sweet and sad, and reminded her of her mother even without having heard it. It didn't take long for it to work, as she began to slowly drift off to-

Sawyer awoke with a start, with the realisation that she wasn't living the cosy dream she was having. The nurses at her Dad's hospital knew her well, and didn't have the heart to kick her out. She had fallen asleep a few hours after arriving, in as uncomfortable as a person could be, leaning off of her chair with her head resting on his bed. Suddenly, she realised she shared one thing in common with that memory. The hand on the back of her head.

She sat up with a bolt, grabbing that hand and holding it in a vice grip. He lay back on the bed, looking ten years older than he had ever looked before, with the frailest smile she had ever seen. Still, he was there and awake and alive and Sawyer didn't think she had ever seen anything more beautiful in her life. She took that hand and held it to her cheek, squeezing her eyes tight to stop herself from crying.

He seemed to use all of his energy to smirk up at his daughter. 'Expecting the worst?'

Sawyer stood back and watched as a nurse treated her father. There was little that could be done for him bar morphine and bedrest, and he was getting both with great generosity. His nurse sat back, and glanced between the pair of them. 'Well, Dr. McDermid, everything seems to be in order. Just relax and get that daughter to spoil you!' She said, shooting a wink at Sawyer before leaving them alone.

Sawyer stepped forward and sat at the end of his bed, take him in. 'You know, you could have woken me up before. I flew out all this way to see you.'

'You looked tired. I figured you could use the rest.'

She sat down at the edge of his bed, and took one of his hands in her own. 'You're one to talk'. She was right. Even with his hectic schedule, he always carried a certain type of energy. That was totally gone now, replaced with a look of near total exhaustion.

She kissed the back of her father's hand softly, trying to take in all of the vast differences contained in his face. 'Dad...can I ask you something?'

'Shoot'

'Do you remember how you, you know...got in this position?'. The staff at the hospital hadn't been able to give her a definitive answer, only that he had been found by one of the nurses.

'Well...there's only so much I remember.' he shifted uncomfortably in his bed. 'I was on duty and started to feel a little faint, so I went into one of the break rooms for a nap. Then I just remember Next time I came to, you were here.' He smiled softly at that, giving her hand a light squeeze.

Sawyer took a deep breath, and tried to process that. 'I just don't get it...You're a healthy guy, and you've never had anything like this before. How does this just happen?'

'I don't know what to tell you sweetheart. I've been working pretty long hours, and I guess they must have caught up with me.'

Sawyer shot him a mildly annoyed look at that. 'Aw Dad, you said you weren't going to do that anymore! No one can work 12 hours a day, every day. It's no wonder you'd get sick.'

'Here now, that's not exactly fair! It isn't like I have anything else to fill my time, and I'm more than capable of doing this.'

'Clearly you aren't! If you were you wouldn't be here!'

'Well, I'd rather do what I do and be here now, than be at home and have nothing to do!'

Sawyer sighed, noticing how worked up her father was getting. 'Okay, okay...I really don't think now is the right time to fight.'

'Heh, agreed.'

'Okay, I'm going to go home and get some of your stuff. Will you be okay without me.'

'I'll manage.' He smiled up at her. 'Listen darling...Thanks, for coming back. I know you had a lot to leave behind. I wouldn't have expected this.'

'Dad, of course I was going to be back. I love you, I'm always gonna take care of you.'

She stood up, preparing to leave. 'Don't worry about anything Dad. I'm here for a long time. You'll have someone to take care of things.'

Los Angeles, CA

'I can't decide if this proves you're a fool, or that true love exists. Probably both.'

Tillie swatted Cranston on the back of the head, giving him a gentle (Well, as gentle as Tillie could be) warning. Danny only managed to return a soft smile, clearly lacking the energy to return anything more than that.

The backers on his latest project had been less than thrilled with Sawyer's departure, and seemed to be holding him personally responsible. His schedule had been changed to try and shoot any of his scenes without Sawyer first, but that could only last so long. Soon they would need her, and that would prove more than difficult.

None of them had wanted to talk about the possibility of Sawyer not being able to make it back in time, which was more than likely. The backers were furious, and had made it clear that they would make life difficult if she didn't come back.

Danny stood up. 'I'm gonna give her a call. See what's happening.'

Danny stepped outside Pinky's and into the warm night air, coming into contact quickly with a payphone. He dialed the number, and after several rings he was beginning to give up hope when someone picked up.

'McDermid residence, Sawyer speaking,'

'Very formal Sawyer, I don't think I've ever heard you be so polite.'

'Daniel Scott Gene Kelly' she said, voice as warm as either of them had ever heard it, 'If it wasn't for you getting me here I wouldn't put up with your guff.'

'Yes you would, you think I'm cute.'

'Just a little' she paused. 'It's really good to hear from you'

'Ditto. How's your Dad?'

She sighed. 'He's awake, speaking and everything. The nurses sent me home for the night, they said he needed his sleep.'

Danny perked up at that. 'That's great news! Jeez, I was expecting worse news than that! Does this mean we might be seeing you back home sooner than expected?'

He could hear her shuffling at the other end. 'That last part could be a problem. He's still so sick, and he's going to need a lot of taking care of. There isn't really anyone but me to do that.'

'I understand.'

'It isn't just that. He just seems so...lonely. I mean, this happened because he was working himself to death. I don't know when I can get out of here.'

'Listen, don't worry about anything. You need to take care of you Dad, we can take care of everything on this end. He should be the only thing you're worried about.'

'Heh, you know how to treat a girl right Mr. Kelly.'

'So I've been told...I miss you.'

'And I miss you.'

'I'll call soon. I love you.'

She chuckled. 'Ditto'.