The next hour was excruciating. The family sat in the waiting room just counting the minutes until they could go back in and say goodbye to Mrs. Aames. They had decided that Dylan, Zac and Vanessa would go in first. Then David and Starla would switch out with them and finally Alexander would join them and try to let Amanda go.

Vanessa offered to run and get something for everyone to snack on as they waited. Starla admitted she could use a diet Coke and Dylan was fidgeting, he could really use a walk and a bottle of water. The three teens decided to take a walk to the cafeteria. They left the adults in the waiting room, knowing the situation would not get worse before they returned.

Zac took Vanessa's hand as they headed down the hallway. Dylan straggled behind by just a couple of steps. Vanessa reached her other hand behind her to him and Dylan gingerly put his fingers into hers. Dylan glanced up at Zac sheepishly as the two brothers both tried to get closer to the wonderful girl in between them. Zac wrapped his arm around Vanessa's waist and pulled her a little closer, but he made no attempt to dislodge Dylan's hand from hers. They walked silently to the elevators, each with separate thoughts of Amanda Aames running through their minds.

When they reached the cafeteria Zac and Vanessa grabbed some bottled waters and headed for the checkout. Dylan had grabbed a cup for coke, and one for his mom's diet coke. They all met at the cash register and Vanessa pulled out the cash to pay for their drinks.

"Let's stay down here just a few minutes, can we?" Dylan asked. "I've been in that waiting room since noon, I just need to look at something different for a little while."

"Dyl, did you go in to see Grandma at all?" Zac had just assumed that his little brother had gone in to see her.

"No, not yet." Dylan dropped his eyes down to the table. "Zac, I just don't know if I can handle seeing her, just laying there with all those machines hooked up to her."

"I know what you're saying little brother." Zac sucked in a deep breath. "I never thought my last time seeing Grandma would be like this." Vanessa could see the tears glistening in both boys' eyes again.

"Guys," Vanessa nudged, "You know your Grandma wouldn't want you to remember her this way. It's like Grandpa said, she wouldn't want to continue living like this. So you know she wants you to remember her in happier times, not here in this…environment."

"You're right," they both agreed and smiled softly at Vanessa. "Dylan," Zac started, "tell me something you remember about Grandma."

Dylan smiled. "I remember her trying to play video games with me when I had the measles a few years ago. She really, really tried. She wouldn't let me win, but she was trying to be gentle as she really worked to beat me…but it was hopeless. She got so frustrated, I think she almost cursed at the tv a couple of times." Dylan finally laughed thinking about it. "She finally said she would just consider the time as practice and maybe she'd be able to beat Zac when he got home from school."

"That's why she insisted on playing that game with me before I started my homework. You know she almost beat me and I was really impressed!" Zac smiled a quirky grin. "I also remember how she took us in when Mom and Dad used to go on their anniversary trips." He looked at Vanessa. "Dyl and I could never figure out why Mom and Dad insisted on getting away from us on their anniversary. And we would always ask Grandma why they were going away. Every year, without fail, we would ask her."

"How did she explain it to you?" Vanessa smiled just imagining Amanda avoiding the very adult reason that Starla and David wanted to get away. She was also imagining the curiosity of two pre-teen boys who wanted to know everything that happened with their parents.

Dylan was trying to remember her various explanations. Zac pulled one right off the top of his head. "I remember one year she looked me straight in the eye and said, 'Maybe this year they've gone to get your little sister.' I think my eyes bugged out of my head and I just turned around and went looking for Grandpa. I spent that whole weekend thinking that Mom and Dad would come back with a minivan and a pink car seat and another little person riding with them. I don't think I was scared, but Grandma kept dropping hints about it that whole weekend."

"She was a little devious then?" Vanessa asked, still smiling at Zac.

"Mom says that's where Dyl and I get it from." Zac cocked his eyebrows up and down a couple of times in Vanessa's direction.

"Then a little piece of her will live on for a very long time," Vanessa commented.

The three teens agreed on this somewhat happy point and headed back up to the ICU. As soon as they walked in with soft smiles on all of their faces, David and Starla were impressed again. They knew that Vanessa had helped turn the boys' sadness around, at least for a little while.

Dylan brought a drink to his mom and sat down beside her, giving her a kiss on her cheek. "You okay my baby?" Starla asked him.

"Yeah, a little better, I guess. This is just something we have to accept. And I realize now that Grandma and Grandpa will both be better off if we can let her go now." Dylan stopped to think for a minute. "Vanessa and Zac helped me think about Grandma in happy times, and that helped a lot," he admitted.

Starla squeezed Dylan's hand and looked over at Zac and Vanessa who had sat down opposite from them. They were talking quietly to each other, Zac having his arm around Vanessa's shoulders, holding her close. Starla could see the outline of the ring box in Zac's pocket. There was no doubt in her mind who Zac would give that ring to eventually. And she could only think that she would be proud to be Vanessa's mom-in-law.

Finally that long hour came to an end and Amanda's family was called back to say their final farewells.

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