After her restless sleep and a lot of thinking, Jo finally got out of bed. She's just worried about me, everyone is worried about me. I need to reassure them before they call in a suicide hotline or something.

Jo quietly crept across her living room floor and into her kitchen. Damn, I didn't realize it was so early, 7:00, I hope Blair is getting her 'beauty sleep' I'm not ready to face her yet. Jo turned on her coffee pot and began to make herself some coffee.

After what seemed like an eternity to Jo, her coffee finally was ready. She poured herself a cup and sat down at her kitchen table, still in her clothes from last night.

I was being too harsh and oversensitive to Blair, I really need to apologize. She's my best friend, and I don't mean to push her away but it is what I do when I am hurting. I push everyone away.

Jo continued to sit quietly and think to herself when she seen that Blair had gotten up.

"Hey." Blair came out wearing a pink robe with matching slippers.

"Hey, I made you some coffee. Mugs are in the far left cabinet." Jo responded quietly with shifty eyes.

"Thanks." Blair poured herself a cup and sat down in the chair directly in front of Jo.

"Still take cream and sugar in your coffee?" Jo continued with the friendly small talk.

"Of course, how anyone can drink black coffee is beyond me." Blair responded with a wink, knowing that Jo drinks her coffee plain.

Jo fidgets a minute before starting, "Listen, Blair. I'm really sor-"

"No need to apologize, Jo, I am the one who needs to."

"No you don't, I don't mean to be angry or to push you away. You know that don't you?"

"Yes, I do. I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to be pushy, or make things worse."

"Don't worry about it, Blair."

"Okay." Trying to lighten the mood even more, "I have just had another one of my brilliant ideas." Blair smiles brightly, seeing Jo chuckle. Probably the first time that she has smiled in a really long time.

"Another? Blair, I'm not sure if you have even had one brilliant idea." Jo teases as Blair lightly smacks her arm.

"Anyway, I think we should both stop apologizing and just start over."Jo pretends to think hard about this, stroking her chin. "You know what, Blair? That is a brilliant idea, let's start over." After a beat, she continues, "How are you and Tad doing?"

"Oh, we are just fine." Careful, not to mention anything that might bringsadden Jo about familyand her marriage she changes the subject. "Have I told you that I sold Eastland?"

Jo shakes her head.

"Well, I did. It was becoming too much of a hassle after I got married and started the hotel chain with my husband. I didn't really like the direction the school was going anyway. There was even talk of integrating boys into Eastland."

"Boys, not boys…" came a feigned mortified response.

"It just wasn't the same Eastland we grew up with."

"I know, but you just have to face it, Blair, we are getting old and the times are changing."

"Speak for yourself, Barbarian, I will never consider myself old." Jo laughs at the familiar nickname. "Well, if you excuse me, I think I will take a shower now."

"Yeah, you need it."

"Ha Ha." Blair walked off feeling in high spirits of being in the familiar rhythm of banter with her best friend.

As Jo watched Blair walk off, she realized that she wasn't as depressed anymore. Not completely happy, just not-wanting-to-drown-her-sorrows-in-alcohol type of mood.

……………

Blair got out of the shower and put on her bathrobe.

I haven't checked my messages since last afternoon, I better check them.

Scanning through her messages, she finds one from Charlie Polniaczek and some others that were work related. She decided to call Charlie back first and the rest later.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Polniaczek."

"Oh, hey Blair. How are you?"

"I'm okay how are you?"

"Okay, I guess. So, how's Jo doing? Have you gotten through to her yet?"

"I'm still working on it. We kind of had a fight last night, but we made up and she seems to be in a pretty decent mood this morning. She even made jokes and laughed."

"Really? That's wonderful!" Charlie's tone went from serious to ecstatic. "I knowshe hasn't talked to me in a while, but when she did, she was angry or somber. Thank you so much, Blair. I think you really are helping her."

"No offense, Mr. Polniaczek, but I don't see how I am helping her. We haven't hardly talked and…"

"Blair, you are helping her, just by being there. She wouldn't let anyone else come in the house and she wouldn't talk to anyone but you, don't you think that says how strong of a friendship you two have?"

Blair thinks this over, "Maybe you are right, I have to go right now and make some business calls. Do you think you can pass the news around to the family? I don't think I have time to make too many calls and talk to Jo at the same time."

"Sure, just keep me updated and I will take care of the rest. Thanks again Blair."

After hanging up her phone, Blair laysdown on her bed and stares at the ceiling in deep thought. I hope he's right.

……….

As Jo finishes getting dressed, she thinks of how her life has changed over the last month.

I have no husband andno daughter but for some reason I think things will be okay.

She picks up a picture off her nightstand. It's a picture of Jo and Jamie together, working on the Cadillac. She remembers that day well, it was one of the happiest days of her life.

Jo and Rick, but mostly Jo taught Jamie a lot about cars and how they worked. Jamie listened to her mother ever so intently, she always looked up to Jo and wanted to be just like her.

Jamie and Jo accidentally got oil spilled all over their clothes, but they were having too much fun to care. Rick took a picture of them laughing and carrying on, squirting each other with the water hose to try and clean up.

"I'll always love you, Jamie." Jo smiles sadly as she kisses her daughters face in the picture. She may have lost her daughter but she has not lost her memories.

Jo moves away from the picture and walks out her bedroom door.

"Hey, Jo I have a surprise for you." Blair calls to her from the living room.

"Don't you know that I hate surprises?"

"Not this one, you won't." Blair responds cheerily.

Oh great what am I in for now, Jo thought as she met up with Blair.