Charlene stood in her kitchen trying to figure out how to work the new microwave. She felt a chill run down her spine. Her Mama would have said someone was walkin' over her grave. But she knew the feeling didn't have anything to do with her at all.

Xxxxxx

Mary Jo was bent over, trying to twist the towel around her dripping hair. She stood up and felt dizzy. The room began to spin. She closed her eyes and saw nothing but red, and her heart- for a brief moment- ceased to beat.

Xxxxxx

Suzanne tried to be reasonable with Julia. She had been with her through Hayden, hadn't she? But this was something different; the hope that Reese had so carefully restored had been shattered. Julia was, once again, completely alone. And this time, Suzanne was absolutely terrified, because she knew her sister might not ever recover.

Xxxxxx

Anthony paced about his tiny apartment. No one had heard from Julia in two weeks. Enough was enough. With one swift movement, he picked up his phone. He paused for a moment, for the sound over the line was not that of an empty signal.

"ANTHONY!" Suzanne belted over the line.

"Suzanne? I was just about to-"

"Anthony, I don't care. You need to come over here and take me to Julia's. I've had enough. I'm breaking down that door!"

xxxxxxx

Payne was sensually removing his wife's clothes- mind a million miles away from his dramatic mother back East.

As she aged, she overreacted over everything. He wished she would just suck it up for a while. The phone rang and he sprang up, pissed at the unfortunate timing.

"What?" He asked tersely.

"Payne, it's Mary Jo Shively. Payne, honey, your Mama-"

"Look, Mary Jo, if she's being over dramatic and refusing to eat again, I don't want to hear it."

"Payne. Your Mother's in the hospital. She's been admitted for attempted suicide."

Xxxxxxxx

Anthony and Suzanne sped down the boulevard towards the Sugarbaker house. She thought she saw a cop start to pull out after them, but Anthony had already whipped the Mercedes into the driveway. Hopping out, Suzanne grabbed the shovel in the back seat.

"Back door!" She called to Anthony, and the pair ran to the back.

Suzanne, slightly winded, cried, "OK! Now break the door!"

"Suzanne, you break that door! I am not dealing with Julia if she is fine and we jus' broke a door for no reason!"

"ARRRRGH!" She screamed, yanking the shovel from off the ground. She raised it behind her head and crashed it into the glass French doors, glass and wood splintering and breaking, crashing down to the floor inside.

"JULIA!"

xxxxxxx

Mary Jo heard the phone ring before it rang. Picking it up, she felt her heart sink with dread.

"Shively residence,"

"Mary Jo, it's Anthony. We just saw Julia. She ain't doin' too good."

"What do you mean?"

"From the looks of it, she took a razor to her arm. I'll call Charlene. You call Payne."

The line went dead.

Xxxxxxxx

"Charlene? It's Mary Jo. Pick up, please. Please pick-"

"I'm here!"

"Charlene… it's Julia…."

"What happened?"

"She tried to… She in the hospit…."

"She tried to what? Mary Jo, you're scaring me!"

"Suicide, Charlene. Suicide."

Xxxxxxxx

The ambulance driver pressed his foot to the pedal, flying past the buildings of downtown Atlanta. He had gone to school with Julia. The girl that had walked around like a Queen in Spanish Lace did not deserve to die like this. He urged the vehicle faster in a race against the clock. He tried to ignore the voices of his colleagues.

Xxxxxxx

"She's lost too much blood…."

"Pressure!"

"No! She didn't cut a main vein or artery! Look!"

"Close the wound!"

"Pressure! Come on, man!"

"Why is there so much blood?"

"Stay with me, Julia!"

xxxxxxx

The doctor stepped into the ER Operating Room and made a beeline for the thin woman on the table.

Her arm was badly sliced; she had lost a lot of blood.

The flow of blood shut off as the nurse tightened the tourniquet in a last-effort attempt to save this woman's life. Thank goodness the sister had come in with her- they were a match for blood transfusions.

Dr. Hadley grabbed his tools and began making sutures on the woman's arm.

"Her name?" He asked, eyes and mind still locked on the task at hand.

"Julia Sugarbaker."

"Designer?"

"Yes sir."

He felt his heart pound faster, but years of training kept his face, eyes, and hands steady. Thank goodness she didn't dig in, because she was only millimeters from her Radial Artery. He carefully and slowly pulled the skin together and threaded the filament, piercing the porcelain skin as tenderly as if it were a sacred artifact.

As the skin came together, he ordered, "Hot." And a small laser fired into the wound, cauterizing it shut. The doctor winked his left eye as confirmation and started the next stitch...

…"Hot."

… Another stitch.

… "Hot."

Xxxxxxxxx

Julia's mind registered a floating sensation akin to sailing. She knew she wasn't sailing, though, because there was no salt in the air. Was there air? Was she even breathing?

She didn't know and she didn't care. She was warm.

Her body was absent; only her mind existed on the planes of this world.

The calm blackness that surrounded her began to turn to a deep purple. The purples soon merged to violet, plum, royal blue…

Her mind then registered pain. Particularly on her left side.

Julia's universe burst into a brilliant white light, sterile and harsh to her hurting mind.

She smelled blood, alcohol, rubber….

"There's a pulse, Dr. Hadley…"

"Then send her to recovery and put some ice on that arm. And for God's sake put some food in her."

Xxxxxxxxx

All of the women, plus Anthony, were crowded around the ICU waiting room. The doctors wouldn't allow them in.

Suzanne felt funny about the hospital protocols for suicide patients. The families were not allowed in unless the patient gave written consent. Apparently in many cases the families were the cause of the suicidal actions.

That puzzled Suzanne. She had always been there for Julia.

Charlene was beside herself. She had been crying since she'd gotten the phone call.

Anthony stayed quiet with Suzanne. He was holding her fur coat as if it were shield to all he sickness around him.

Mary Jo just paced around in small circles. She'd called Claudia twice to tell her how much she loved her and how she could tell her if she was depressed or anything of the sort…

They all decided not to tell Bernice. Too fragile already. She didn't need to worry about her "daughter" Julia.

Perky had been told. She was considering flying home. She, like Payne, thought Julia was being overly dramatic.

Xxxxxxxxxx