A/N: Read, review, enjoi :)

The ride in her small Pontiac was... uncomfortably silent. She had searched through her mind for words to bring into conversation, but she couldn't seem to find anything good. She sighed as she turned another corner, keeping her eyes on the road and off of the passenger.

She then decided to speak up, feeling obligated to do so. "So... how was practice?" She asked lamely. She waited for a moment but there was no answer. She turned for a moment to look at him, but he had gently fallen asleep. She risked a quick smile as she looked at his precious sleeping form. She then turned and sighed once more at the sight of the mall. She hated to disturb his adorable peace, but she leaned over and grabbed his arm, gently shaking him.

His eyes delicately fluttered open. He slightly stifled a yawn and drowsily glanced over at Rachel, "Where are we?" Everything was still a bit hazy for him - since he had just been woken up after all.

"Your house. Erm, well, the mall."

He gave a sleepy chuckle and semi - grin. "It's not my home silly... I just, my home's farther down. Quite actually but it's whatever, I walk more than that. Yesterday? I heaved in the neighbor's rosebush. She was kinda upset. I told her it was like fertilizer ahahah." He then cleared his throat and knew that she deserved an explanation. "I'm sorry; it takes me a few minutes to wake up... if you don't mind."

She gave a sincere giggle, "Oh. Would you like me to drop you off at home? Or would you rather fulfill your neighborhood duty of town gardener?"

He gave a sincere laugh, she was too cute and funny - what a bonus. "Well... I would like that, but I... I'd have to tell you a bit more about me than you know already - besides being a pompous jerk."

"Oh no... You're gay?" She joked once more. She was beginning to feel more comfortable around him, even if she only talked to him for two days now, and that scared her a bit.

He laughed a bit more and gave that sleepy, yet cheeky grin. "Wouldn't that be awesome for you? You could have like, a new gay best friend to shop with." He bit his bottom lip, waiting for a remark about her hating shopping to shoot out.

"Yeah, then we could go back to your bedroom in the middle of Bed Bath and Beyond and talk about that hot cashier at that awesome shoe store!" She mocked with a bimbo voice, using the comment from earlier about him living at the mall.

As a smile crept up her face, she quickly wiped it away, letting a deep breath out, and getting rid of all emotion on her face. She turned back to face out the windshield as she waited for him to respond. The air in the car changing completely from joyful to crisp. She silently cursed herself for letting so many years of practice at hiding her emotions come tumbling down.

Garfield couldn't remember the last time he had such a great time with someone and smiled so much. There were his best friends sure, but this was different. Rae was very different. He adored it. "Oh wouldn't that just be fierce? I'd be right near the food court too. Hell yeah." He joked in return. But then he noticed how crisp the silence had just gotten between them. "I... uh, I'm sorry to be bothering you like this Rae, I'll just leave now, okay?"

"Wait! I'm sorry. What were you trying to tell me earlier?" She let held eye contact with him, but she looked kind of sad, maybe even slightly nostalgic.

He stopped to think about just what she was talking about, "I'm sorry, things are a little fuzzy at the moment, could you clarify that please?" He hoped that she'd explain a little bit - and not give up on him.

"You told me you're... some-what of a gardener, then you said there was something I had to know about you before I brought you ho- Oh my God! I'm soo sorry if I insulted you! You were trying to tell me that you were gay weren't you? I'm soo sorry, there's really nothing wrong with being gay..." She gave a scared, timid, nervous smile as she silently cursed herself once more, believing that she may have offended him.

He just let out a laugh. "No, no Rae... I'm not gay - I was just going along with your joke. Ahahahah. No, no. What I meant was that I had to tell you about my family - who's not my family, but my family for now." He gave her a smile and sleepily said, "It's okay hun." He didn't even register the fact that he called her such a 'cutesy' name. He just loved to see her smile - if she would that was.

"D-don't call me hun," she responded, her cold personality coming back with a hard recoil. "And what do you mean your family for now?"

He gently woke himself up a bit more and glanced at her apologetically. "Rachel, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, it slipped I swear." He then glanced away - man, how many times could he screw up before she actually just kicked him out of her life altogether? "Well, I'm currently living with this foster family. My real folks are dead. Died a long, long time ago."

She sighed, wishing once more that he'd just stop apologizing and make her feel like a bitch. Though, she wouldn't blame him and yell at him, he's a really nice guy and she wasn't sure if she was just scared or didn't trust him, but it may have been both. One guy walks into her life and brings down this façade she has built around herself and it's scary to think he can do it after just a day. "Oh. I'm sorry for your loss. I kind of get it, my dad died when I was just a little girl... How long have you known this foster family of yours?" She wasn't really sure how to proceed.

He shrugged and decided he'd tell her everything - straight up. Well, as much as she needed to know anyway. "Just, a little over a month now... I'll tell you, it's not easy to just let people in and trust them. What if they hurt you - again?" Gar shook his head to clear his thoughts, but immediately regretted it as he was blessed with dizziness. "Ah, damn..." He groaned, just holding his head with one hand. Focusing on trying to stop the whirling sensation he was feeling.

She was taken aback by the fact he just summed up exactly what she was thinking in her mind about him. She turned away from him. "Right. Well, I'm sure they're waiting for you," she decided afraid of letting too many emotions get to her. "Where do I drop you off?"

"Here at the mall is fine, I... just hope I run into a bush or something, I think I'm going to heave and if I did that - I couldn't forgive myself, you've been so kind driving me home like this. Thank you Rae, and it won't ever go unnoticed, that I can promise you." He hoped that was a good enough speech to let her know that he did indeed care and appreciate what she did, but didn't want to freak her out again. Until he opened the vehicle door and heaved up his stomach contents right there. And once he got started he couldn't really stop.

She gasped and turned to gape at him. She definitely saw that coming. She unhooked her seatbelt to reach over and rub his back gently, not sure of what else she could possibly do. "Uhm...wow." She couldn't say much else, because he had a habit of always leaving her speechless... in more ways than one.

He was rather surprised that she didn't... shove him out of the car. Or freak out that he was actually throwing up. No she just reached over and comforted him - and it worked. Once he felt he was done, Gar slowly regained his breath and felt too ashamed to look at her. "Rae, I'm so sorry. I... really have to leave. I really didn't mean to." He secretly wondered just how enraged with him she was as he unbuckled the seatbelt. "I... should've walked. This never would have happened, at least not here."

"Nope, totally fine. I feel better that you didn't walk, you know, just so I know you get there okay. Whenever you need a ride don't hesitate to ask. And, uh," She riffled through her purse for a quick moment before pulling out a water bottle and a pack of gum. She handed them to him and sighed, "That helps with the taste at least. It sucks being sick. Maybe you should see a doctor... or something... Please don't feel embarrassed. I promise I'm done with my judging days." She wished she could do something more but at the same time she was kind of grossed out; she was NOT one for sickness.

Garfield gently took the water bottle and pack of gum from her. "Thanks Rae, this really means a lot to me. You have no idea." He gave a soft smile and figured that his wall of trust, should be brought down a little bit. "If you do want to drive me... all the way home, it's about four blocks after the next left turn. You don't have to... but you can if you want. I wouldn't want to... y'know; make you feel that you have to do something you don't want to." He just hoped that she could see, that he was letting down his guard a bit and opening up to her. His best friends never even saw where he lived. But yet she was going to. Although this feeling frightened the hell out of him - Rachel Roth was worth it. That, and so much more.

"No problem," She responded, buckling the seat belt and driving to his house. This ride was a lot more than she bargained for. So she drove him home and had to admit the small blue house she dropped him at was cute. She didn't see much of his family because it was only around five in the afternoon.

He stumbled out of the car and expressed his graciousness, then staggered into his house. She sat for a moment, just watching the silent house, then held in a deep breath and shut her eyes tightly.

"Ew," She let out quietly, pulling disinfectant out of her bag and sanitizing her hands, only wishing she had some kind of aerosol.

He couldn't help but to think about how incredibly nice it was for Rae to drive him home – twice so far this week. The more he thought about it; perhaps she did have to go out of her way for him. It made him feel bad if she did, because then he'd definitely have to pay her back somehow. In some way. Maybe he'd try to catch a glimpse of what books she read – so he could get her a brand new one as a thank you gift for going out of her way just for him. It was totally sweet and he truly wanted to get her something because she was doing all of this and she expected nothing in return, so it'd be a nice surprise anyway.

He was about to go inside when he noticed a young girl, who was aged around four years old, just seated upon the steps outside the home. Garfield sucked up his feelings of illness and decided to wear a smile as he approached her.

"Hey Squirt!" She glanced up at him, her blue eyes brightening. She seemed so happy to see him that it melted his heart. Of course he had only been with these people for a month, but she had grown to like him and accept him as her big brother and in all honesty – she was the closest person to him within this foster family.

"Hi Gar!" She greeted ecstatically as she stood up – knowing what would happen next. He gently picked her up and carried her small being within his muscular grasp. "How was your day?" She inquired gently. If it was one thing she was interested in, it was what he did at school and such. She couldn't wait to go to school herself someday soon. He just gave a shrug as he made his way up the front porch steps.

"Well, my day was alright. I'm not really feeling well but besides that it was okay." She wrapped her small arms around his neck and latched on to him, as if she never wanted to let go. "Although, there's something – more like someone who's been on my mind a lot. I can't stop thinking about her, Emma." He told the child in his arms truthfully, she let out a soft sigh and wanted to look directly at him when indulging in conversation, as she was taught it was rude to do otherwise but she felt too drained of energy to do such a thing. Besides, the way that Garfield was gently rubbing her back soothed her.

"Was she the really pretty girl who gave you a ride home?" He felt a little bit of a chill at the fact she mentioned that this place was actually his home. How could it be? Gar made a vow that he would never become close to any foster parents he was ever given because in his mind, if he didn't become close to them, they wouldn't mean much when they left. But he just kept holding on to this little girl in his arms.

"Yep, that was her. Beautiful isn't she?" A chuckle made its way across his face when the young girl nodded sleepily. Even though he had only been there for a month - she was the only one he let become close to him. She was a ball of light when he felt darkness creep within him. Although he noticed that she seemed to be a little down today and that wasn't normally like her at all. "What's up buttercup?" He inquired as gently began to pat and rub her back soothingly.

"It's mom and dad. They're fighting." Garfield didn't know much about his foster parent's relationship - as he tried to communicate with them as little as possible, but he knew that hearing your parents argue mustn't have been the most comforting thing in the world, especially depending on what was said.

The young blond stood there, still holding on to the small child as he continued to think about the couple who took him in. Cole was a successful man who ran his own catering company and it was doing quite well. Needless to say when he made dinner - Gar simply drooled at the pure scent of the amazing dishes that were prepared. Whereas Hillary worked in Jump City's most luxurious spa and she enjoyed it very much so. They were both pretty decent careers and they definitely weren't hurting in the financial area. But it seemed as if right now - their relationship was hurting. It'd be a shame to see this little girl having to witness her parents go through a divorce.

"I'm sorry Squirt, I'm sure things will be alright. Just you wait and see." He took note that it had been awhile they were standing outside, so he figured that it'd be alright to take her inside, as well as maybe get a start towards that homework he had piled within his backpack. So he skillfully opened the front door and entered the spacious home.

"Maybe if you kept me satisfied - I would never have had those thoughts!" Hillary shot her snide remark towards her husband of six years, Cole. He knew that this wasn't the case. He knew so, because she complimented him way more than she took those compliments away.

"Hills, you know that's not true. Just relax, calm down and tell me what happened. That's all I want to know. The only thing I know is that you slept with him. You went behind my back and openly slept with this guy. If anyone should be raising their voice, it should be me. But I'm calm, so just take a moment to breathe, we have our little girl with us and Garfield too, this needs to be settled as soon and quietly as possible." He explained softly.

Gar had to admit that Cole was right, things needed to be settled, especially when Emma was so worried about her parents hating one another, they didn't of course - but that's probably what she feared. As much as Gar didn't want to feel selfish, he couldn't help but to wonder what would happen to him if they did decide to divorce.

"You're right. Cole, I'm sorry. I really didn't even consider it, it just happened. I didn't mean to hurt you, it's just that... you've been at work so much lately and I haven't seen you. We haven't had our alone time y'know?" Cole could definitely understand where she was coming from and Hillary was never a person to take the easy route. She normally tended to complicate things - especially feelings and not mean to.

"Hillary, I know. If you agree to put this behind us - I will definitely make more time for our family, all of us. Gar too."

Garfield didn't want them to get attached to him, the fear of losing them terrified him - he didn't want to be left alone again. So he quickly and silently made his way towards his room, it was kindly given to him and resided in the completely finished basement, which was accompanied with its own on - suite bathroom as well. There was tons of space and it was certainly an upgrade from what he had been given in the past. Not that he didn't appreciate what he was given, but still. He set Emma down and she watched as he peeled off his backpack and made himself a bit more comfortable.

"You can go ahead and play with your toys, Emma. I'm just going to get some homework done alright?" She nodded and maneuvered her way over to her toy box, which was kindly kept downstairs in his room just for her. He didn't mind it and she always cleaned up after herself so it wasn't like there was a big mess to clean every time she wanted to be in his company.

Several minutes had passed and Garfield just couldn't concentrate on his homework anymore. The words within the texts just made him feel rather dizzy and light - headed. He closed his eyes for a couple moments, hoping that this sudden case of vertigo would just leave him be soon enough, but that wasn't the case. Upon feeling his stomach making those not so flattering noises he quickly got up and covered his mouth just in case he didn't make it. Luckily he did just at the right moments where all the contents that were within his stomach, weren't anymore.

"Gar, are you okay?" Seeing Garfield like this, all sick and weak made her very nervous and scared for him. He was her loving 'unofficial' brother, the unofficial part being that he wasn't actually part of their family - no matter how badly she wanted him to be. She watched him heave up a bit more before finally flushing his vomit down the drain.

"I'm alright Squirt, just needed to get that up. It's all good, no worries. Go play sweetheart." He told her softly yet his voice rather hoarse from that bout of nausea. She solemnly walked away, leaving him be as she didn't want to annoy Garfield. He then grabbed some tissue paper and absent - mindedly wiped his mouth for any traces of evidence that he had gotten so sick. The last thing Cole and Hillary needed was to worry about a sick teenager. He then went about freshening up after that rather icky incident. Just rinsing out his mouth, brushing his teeth, and grabbing the mouthwash as well. After he was done with all of that he did feel a bit better, but now he just felt the need for a nap. A nice, long one.

When he strolled out of the on - suite bathroom, a smile spread its way across his face when he saw little Emma asleep on his bed. He tip - toed over to the bed, took his school books off of it and crawled upon the bed, only near the foot of it, since the young girl was curled up at the other end with his pillows. "Night Squirt, sleep tight." He expressed softly before letting himself become comfortable and his eyes sleepily closing, leaving his mind to drift off with thoughts of Rachel once again.