"Today we bury the old Jack, for good." I told him as he walked up into the white building.

"That's what Bobby said." he laughed. He looked up at me and smiled slightly. "You ready for this?" he asked me.

"Yes. We need this. Not just for us but for everyone. We can't do it on our own. We found that out the hard way." I told him. He nodded and we walked in waving to the brother's behind us. We walked up to the front desk and Jack went first.

"Name, sir?" the lady asked sweetly.

"Mercer. Jack Mercer." he replied.

"Reason you're signing in?" she asked again.

"Abuse. Drugs." he told her softly.

"I'm glad you're here. We'll make you better. I'm Louise." she told him and handed him a stack of papers to fill out. He sat down and nodded for me to go.

"Name, miss?" she asked me.

"James. Carli James." I told her.

"Reason for coming?" she asked again.

"Abuse. Self-abuse." I told her. She smiled and patted my hand.

"Welcome to Willow Springs Rehabilitation Center. Fill these out and we'll get you two signed in." she said and handed me my papers. I sat down next to Jack and sighed. He grabbed my hand and smiled.

"Thank you for doing this with me." he told me.

"No, thank you for doing this with me." I reminded him.

I remember sitting in the tub and taking th razor to my arm. I cried silently and started to panic as I saw more blood than usual. As scared as I was I couldn't move, I couldn't scream. I watched as it poured down my arm and into the tub. I remember Jack screaming for me to wake up and him singing to me. I remember doctor's trying to get my heart to start after it stopped, again. I remember apologizing to everyone I ever loved. I didn't mean for it to happen. I didn't realize I had cut too deep until it was too late. Of all the little things I remember the thing I remember the most and the thing I will never forget was what I saw when I woke up. Jack.

"Jack..." I croaked. His head shot up and a fresh set of tears fell over the paths of old ones. He smiled sadly and squeezed my hand.

"Carli, I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to happen. It's my fault, I know. I'm sorry..." he began to ramble. I held a finger up and silenced him.

"Stop. I'm sorry. I should have told you about what I did. You confessed to me and I kept my mouth shut. You deserved better than that. I didn't try to kill myself Jackie. I swear, I didn't." I sobbed. He sat on the bed and hugged me.

"I know. I know, you's never do that." he told me. We jumped a little when the door swung open. I looked up to see Bobby. I smiled and he looked like he was about to faint. He walked over to me and held my face. He let the tears fall and never tried to hide them. He looked at me in the eye and got serious.

"If...if you ever. And I mean ever, pull something like that again, Car. I swear I will kill you myself." he told me. I cried harder and he pulled me into a hug. He held me and Jack rubbed my back as I sobbed. I can't believe I did this. Bobby was crying and Jack was blaming himself. I pulled out of their grasps and leaned back onto my bed. Bobby looked at me and Jack and pulled out a piece of paper. He handed it to me and I read it.

"Willow Springs Rehabilitation Center, the place for young adults who seek help. Confidential and helpful. Dry your eyes and cleanse your souls, we'll help you bury those demons." I read out loud.

"I've already talked to them. The deal with all kinds of abuse. Drug and self abuse. They have a few spots available and I reserved two for you guys. No if's, an's or but's. You both are going. I've tried, Angel's tried and Jerry's tried. We can't help you. And neither of you are able to help each other. So you're going to get help and support each other the whole way." he said and then walked out. I looked at Jack who had his head bowed. I reached out and touched his shoulder.

"You think he's right?" he asked me softly. I looked at the paper again.

"Maybe. Instead of trying to help each other out maybe we should get help and support each other that way. But we have to get this done with, Jack. I can't be with you if you're going to hurt me like you have. And I know you can't deal with me waling around with these scars." I told him. He looked up and nodded.

"We'll do it together. We'll go for however long they need us to. We'll get the help we need and we'll get better. Not only for us but for everyone else. So we can be together again." he told me.

"Ok. We'll do it. We'll go the day I get out." I told him. He nodded and kissed my wrist.

"No more." he told me.

"No, no more." I assured him.

We filled out our paper work and turned it in. Louise came back with sheets and pillows. She handed one set to Jack and one to me. She informed us that we would be sharing a room. She said it's more comforting to room with someone you trust and know. I smiled over at Jack who was wearing his own little grin. We walked into our room and looked around. Our bags were already here.

"Well, ain't this cozy." he said sarcastically.

"I miss your bed." I pouted as I laid on my bed. He laughed and jumped next to me almost throwing me off. "Jeeze, hurting me already." I joked. He didn't think it was funny.

"So, how's your arm healing?" he asked pulling the bandage back to look at it.

"Good. I'm putting this scar stuff on it so it won't scar too bad." I told him. He nodded and kissed it. I smiled as he moved up to kiss me. I put a hand up to stop him.

"Jack, we're in rehab and you wanna make out?!" I asked him laughing.

"Well, what if I tell them I have another addiction?" he asked huskily. I shivered and bit my lip.

"What would that be, Jackie?" I asked sweetly in his ear. He got face to face with me and smirked.

"You." he said before pressing his full lips against mine. I returned the kiss and ran my fingers through his hair. He was slipping his hand up my shirt when I saw a man walk over and stand next to the bed. We jumped apart and he laughed.

"Well, I thought this was the..." he looked at his clipboard. "the junkie and the self abuser's room not the sex addicts. Guess Louise is getting a tab bit old for this job." he laughed. Me and Jack exchanged weird looks. Did he just call Jack a junkie?

"Who are you?" Jack asked.

"I'm Dr. Woods. I'll be helping you through your stay here. Try not to make too much noise in here though. Your neighbor is OCD and hates funny noises. She's been here a while." he told us. I raised an eyebrow and looked over at Jack who had the same look on his face. "No, I'm not your ordinary type of doctor. I'm more fun. Now you're here for 16 days. If you wish to stay longer, you can. At the end of the 16 days, we'll tell you if we feel you need to stay longer but it's your decision that is final. Now each day except for Saturdays and Sundays you have a new step. Today is step one. Step one is admitting you have a problem. I will talk to you separately then have a group she-bang. Jack, I'll see you now and Carli, I'll send for you when I'm done." he told us. Jack looked at me and sighed. He kissed me and left. Now what was I supposed to do. I looked at our bags and decided to unpack.


Step One: Admitting Your Problem - Jack Mercer

I sat down in the chair that was set aside for me and looked around. It was a nice little office. Dr. Woods sat in front of me and pulled out a notebook.

"Okay, Jack. You ready?" he asked me.

"Yeah, I guess." I sighed.

"No guessing. You have to be ready." he told me.

"Ok. I'm ready." I told him.

"Ok. What brings you here, Jack?" he asked opening his pen top.

"Drugs."I told him simply.

"Drug of choice?"

"Cocaine." He nodded.

"When did you start?"

"About a year ago." I sighed. This was already bugging me.

"How often a day did you use it?"

"I did at least six lines a day."I said softly. He nodded again.

"And at max?"

"Nine or ten."

"Why did you do it?" he asked looking at me.

"It made me feel good. Kept the pain away."

"Did any one know you used it?"

"Yeah. They knew."

"Did they ever ask you to quit?" he peered from over his glasses.

"Yes. Lots of people, lots of times."

"But you didn't?"

"Nope. That's why I'm here." I told him sardonically. He smiled and nodded.

"I thought you were here because you got high, came down bad, choked her girlfriend and she ended up trying to kill herself. But that's what I heard." I jumped up and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"I did not do that on purpose! And I didn't provoke her to try and kill herself! She wasn't trying to kill herself anyways! Get your fucking facts straight!!" I spat at him. He smiled at me and adjusted his tie.

"Were you always this angry?" he started again.

"No."

"Not until you started?"

"Yeah."

"Do you like hurting the people you love, Jack?"

"No." I answered softly.

"Do you think you have an addiction, Jack?" he asked me. I looked down and thought about the times I had hurt Carli.

"Yes. I do."

"When did you realize this?"

"When I found Carli laying in a pool of her own blood." I answered flatly.

"Are you ready to get over this addiction, Jack? To stop hurting Carli and yourself?"

"Yes. I am." I told him honestly.

"Good. Now say it. Admit it." I sighed and rubbed my face.

"My name is Jack Mercer and I have an addiction to cocaine."

"Hello, Jack. I'm here to help you." he said holding his hand out to me. I shook it and left.


Step One: Admitting Your Problem - Carli James

I walked into the office and sat down. I figured Jack had just left because it was still warm. Dr. Wood's sat in front of me and smiled.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes." I answered.

"What brings you to Willow Springs, Carli?" he asked.

"I hurt myself."

"How?" he asked looking at his paper.

"I cut."

"Where?"

"My wrists."

"When did this start?"

"About three years ago."

"Why did you start?"

"I just felt I couldn't control anything in my life. But this I could." I told him ashamed.

"How often do you cut yourself?"

"Three times a week, maybe." He nodded and wrote on his pad.

"Do they scar?"

"Some do."

"Do you like scarring yourself?"

"No. I don't." I shook my head.

"Did anyone know?"

"No. Not until Jack found me."

"In a pool of your own blood, as he put it?"

"Yeah." I felt tears prick my eyes. Jack had talked about me.

"Did you wan to die?"

"No. I didn't mean to go that far. It was an accident."

"So the blade just happened to slice your wrist all those times?"

"What?! No." I cried trying to be calm.

"So then it wasn't an accident. You wanted to cut yourself. You wanted to feel pain."

"Stop!" I screamed.

"Just this time someone found you. Jack found you."

"I didn't mean to." I cried.

"Do you think you have an addiction to hurting yourself?" he asked.

"Yes."

"When did you notice this?"

"When I woke up in a hospital room." I wiped my eyes and sat back.

"Do you want to keep hurting the people around you?"

"No."

"Do you want to stop hurting yourself?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now say it." he told me. I looked at him and wiped my eyes again.

"I'm Carli James and I have an addiction to hurting myself."

"Hello, Carli. I'm here to help." he said holding out his hand. I shook it and walked out. I walked back to my room and hoped that Jack was there. I pushed the door open and he was sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. I sat across from him on me bed. He looked up and I saw tears in his eyes. I felt my own tears fall as he kneeled I front of me.

"I'm so sorry for hurting you." he told me softly.

"I'm sorry for hurting you too." I cried. He reached up and kissed my lips softly. I tasted the salty tears on his lips and deepened it. I felt something burst inside of me when his tongue touched mine. I moaned and grabbed a fist full of his hair. I felt my Jack coming back. I felt me coming back. We broke the kiss and looked in each other's eyes.

"I love you, Carli." he said wiping a tear away.

"I love you too, Jack." I sniffed and kissed him again.