The following morning, Liv woke up in her bed, turning over to switch off her alarm clock, and found herself smiling broadly as she did so. Although she was still grounded, she had been waiting for this day for a long time. There was a small knock on the door.

"Liv, is it alright if we come in?" RJ asked her. She pulled herself up to sit on the bed, and pulled the blankets up a little.

"I'm fine, come on in." She invited them. RJ opened the door, making his way inside slowly, carrying a tray, carrying a stack of fresh blueberry pancakes and a glass of orange juice. Lily followed him, carrying David in one hand, and a large present wrapped in brightly coloured paper in the other.

"Happy birthday." They called out together. David tried his best to join in, clearly caught up in the excitement of the moment of his sister's celebration. Liv smiled broadly as she saw them all in her room.

"Thanks guys!" She replied as Lily handed David over to her. He had a drawing clutched tightly in his hand which he waved around for her. "Is this for me?"

"He drew it for you last night." Lily told her. Liv looked at the drawing, gasping in excitement for her brother's gift.

"Oh thanks David it's great." She told him, kissing his forehead gently. "Thanks a lot little guy."

"We got you this." RJ told her as Lily handed over the gift. Liv tore open the paper, before flipping the lid off the box. She pulled out a set of silk training robes, patterned in black, and trimmed in white as befitted her animal spirit. She ran her fingers across the Order of the Claw insignia on the breast. "Happy birthday kiddo."

"It's amazing, I love it." Liv replied gleefully. "I can't wait to try this out."

"Well you're 16 now." Lily reminded her. "You have to look the part if you're going to be a true cub."

"We'd like you to put off wearing it for the first time until the wedding though." RJ told her. "Your grandfather will love it if you're there in your robes."

"I'll do it." Liv told them. "This is amazing."

"Well it's only part of your present." Lily told her, reaching into her back pocket and pulling out an envelope and handing it to her. Liv tore it open carelessly, looking inside.

"Kira Oliver tickets!" She shrieked. "These have been sold out for months!"

"Well, if you look carefully, these are a little special." Lily told her. Liv inspected them in more detail, her eyes shooting open wide.

"Backstage passes?" She gasped, looking up at them. "How on earth did you get these?"

"Let's just say we have friends in high places." RJ told her. "When you see her, tell her we say hi."

"You know Kira Oliver?" Liv asked them in disbelief, before shaking her head clear and gesturing them in for a hug. "This is amazing, thank you!"

"You're welcome kid." Lily assured her. "Anyway, we'll leave you to enjoy your breakfast and get cleaned up."

"Uh, mom there's one problem." Liv told her. She held up the tickets. "The concert's this weekend, and I 'm still grounded..."

"We talked about it." RJ sighed, looking to Lily and back to Liv. "We're still not happy that you skipped school, or that you didn't come to us for help when you found out about Jazz, but we think you've learned your lesson." He told her. "If we have your word that this won't happen again, we'll lift your punishment Friday. That'll let you go Saturday."

"Enjoy your breakfast Liv." Lily told her. "I'm heading to the mall early today, so I can drop you at the school on the way."

"Thanks mom." Liv replied happily, hugging them all once more. "This is the best birthday ever."

In another part of town, Jazz was waking up to a decidedly different experience. She had managed to find a Y that wouldn't ask questions that allowed her to get a shower, and she had managed to find a charity donations dumpster that wasn't locked in any serious way, allowing her to secure a change of clothing. She only had a small bag of clothes with her when she left New York, and until she could rustle up enough change to go to a Laundromat, turning up in dirty clothes would likely draw too much attention to her situation. She was already aware that only having about four different outfits would probably also raise some suspicion, and so she helped herself to a few outfits. Although she was sealing, the collection was for the homeless anyway, and right now that was her. That was how she reasoned it out anyway.

She crept into the loading area around the back of the mall cautiously on this occasion. Having been chased out of there the day before, she wasn't keen to repeat the experience. At least this time the worker hadn't seemed to want to hurt her, just get her to leave their garbage alone.

Waiting until she saw the guy taking out some trash leave, she satisfied herself no one was looking and scurried over to the trash, and pulled opened it, finding a full box of jelly donuts. Pressing them with her finger, she found them to be a little tough and stale, but they appeared to still be edible.

"It looks like this is my lucky day." She whispered with a smile, shoving one into her mouth, before scurrying away with the rest.

Johnny was pacing nervously at the school gates, waiting for Liv to arrive. He was carrying the bag from the clothing store, still grateful for the help Gabby had given him in choosing a present. It had been expensive, but he was just looking forward to seeing how she reacted when she got it. He saw Lily's car rolling up, and Liv hopped out.

"How's the birthday girl?" He asked her, making her way over and greeting her with a soft kiss.

"I'm great; this morning's been really great already." She answered him. Johnny held up the bag for her to see.

"I got you something." He informed her, handing the bag over. Liv smiled broadly. She reached inside, pulling out a black leather jacket.

"Johnny this is amazing, this had to cost you a fortune." She gasped; quickly whipping off her own jacket, before putting on the one Johnny had bought for her.

"I had a little help picking it out." He told her. "Fortunately one of the sales girls was about the same size as you."

"Johnny I love it, thank you!" Liv yelled, hugging him tightly. "Oh, you will never guess what we're going to be doing on Saturday."

"I'm guessing we'll be going to the Kira Oliver concert." He responded. "I had tried to get you tickets, but your mom told me she had managed to get some..."

At that point, Jazz arrived, accidentally bumped into Johnny.

"Sorry Johnny, I didn't see you there." She muttered.

"Well I can understand that, I mean I am only 6' 4"." He replied with a small, sarcastic laugh. "I can see how I'm so easy to miss."

"Hi Jazz, did you see what Johnny bought for me?" Liv asked her, hugging him tightly. Jazz just looked around, noticing the new jacket.

"Yeah, it's really nice." Jazz told her. "What's the occasion?"

"My favourite girl just turned 16." He told her. "Yes that's right; I'm dating an older woman."

"Hey, there's only a little over a month between us." Liv reminded him.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." He responded. It was only then he noticed that Jazz was breathing a little deeply, and was quite pale. "Jazz, is everything alright?"

"I'm fine." She told him. "I think I'm just coming down with something."

"You don't really look that good." Liv commented, coming to her new friend's side. Jazz just looked away from her.

"I'm fine, I just..." Jazz grip on her books failed and she clutched her stomach, her face contorting in pain. She appeared to be sweating badly. Johnny caught her, holding her up.

"Something's wrong, Liv go and get help." Johnny told her. Jazz yelled out in pain, clutching her stomach more tightly as waves of agony coursed through her. She vomited over Johnny, but he just held her as she fell to her knees, unconcerned with the state of his clothing. Donny rushed over with Liv as he saw the commotion.

"What's happening?" Donny asked them.

"I don't know, she looked a little sick, and then she just started throwing up." Johnny informed him. "She seems to be in pain."

"Hold her steady. I know a little first aid." He told him. "Jazz, I need to take a look at you, do you understand?"

Jazz nodded weakly as he straightened her out as much as he could, pressing her stomach gently. Her flesh was cold, and clammy to the touch. Every time he touched her he seemed to cause her stomach more pain.

"What's wrong with her?" Johnny asked him.

"I don't know, but it's clear this is too serious to deal with here." Donny told him, pulling out a cell phone. "Hello, I need an ambulance at Ocean Bluff High School."

Johnny held her gently, holding her gently as Donny gave information to the operator.

"She's exhibiting signs of intense abdominal pain and she's sweating badly." Donny told them. "We'll need to transport two students..."

"Wait, two?" Liv asked him.

"There's no reason for you to miss school, we'll keep you posted." Donny told her. "Johnny, she threw up on you. We don't know what she has; we need to make sure she hasn't passed anything on to you."

A few minutes later, an ambulance arrived. The paramedics came over, carrying a stretcher.

"Her name's Jazz, she collapsed a couple of minutes ago." Donny informed them. "She threw up and she's been complaining of stomach pains."

"We'll take it from here." The paramedic told him. He looked to Johnny, seeing the stains on his shirt. "We'll need to take him too."

"I understand." Donny replied. "I'll follow in my car, Johnny, you go with her."

Liv watched as Jazz was rolled onto the stretcher and loaded into the ambulance. Johnny wanted to reassure her, but he knew that if it was possible he had been contaminated with something, touching her could risk her being infected. Instead all he could do was dutifully get into the back of the ambulance.

"Everyone get to class, everything's being handled here." Donny told them. He looked to Liv. "I promise I'll keep you posted. I'll call Mrs. Martin when I know what's going on."

With that, he made his way to his car to follow.

Susan was sitting on the couch in the apartment above JKP, helping her mother look through some recipe books for ideas of what she wanted to have prepared for the meal after the wedding.

"Finn was trying to convince me to go for a fish main course." She informed her daughter. "Personally I think he's just trying to find an excuse to go fishing before the ceremony."

"Well I guess it's one way for him to spend his bachelor party." Susan replied with a shrug. "I guess you're looking forward to moving in after the ceremony."

"I am." Her mother replied. "It's been a long time since I shared my home with a man."

"Well I can't wait until the little one's born." Susan commented. "I know he comes by almost every day, but it isn't the same. I just want to get back home to Jarrod."

"It's natural to feel that way." Barbara assured her. "How are you feeling?"

"Like my baby's due in a couple of weeks and is showing no sign of trying to get out." Susan grumbled. "I know I'm meant to be patient."

"Well patience never really was one of your strong points." Barbara laughed in response. "I think I'd like Johnny to see if he can rustle up something for the soup. I might just have to ask him."

"I'm sure he'd love that." Susan replied. "I know RJ tries to include him, but sometimes I get the feeling he feels a little left out."

Over at the hospital, Donny was waiting out in the hall when Johnny arrived, having changed into fresh clothing. His uncle had arrived with fresh clothes when he heard what had happened.

"So what's the verdict?" Donny asked him.

"I feel like a pin cushion. They took a load of tests, but they said they're happy." He told him. "They're confident there's no risk of hepatitis."

"Well that's one less thing to worry about." Donny told him. Just then, Michelle arrived, finding them waiting.

"How is she?" Johnny asked her. "What's happening?"

"Johnny, how well do you know her?" Michelle asked him.

"I've known her for years." He replied.

"The thing is, we've had very real problems here. I checked her background to find her next of kin. Since she's under 18, her guardian needs to be contacted." Michelle told him.

"She said she's staying with her uncle." Johnny informed her. "I don't know where he lives though."

"We found her enrolment form in her possessions, there was a name and address." Michelle informed them. "However, when we checked, it appears no one's lived at that address for many years."

"I don't understand." Donny told her. "I spoke to her uncle on the phone yesterday..."

"I had some of my sister's old friends at the precinct run a background check." She interrupted him. "She doesn't have an uncle. Her mother was an only child, and her father has a sister who lives in Germany somewhere. She doesn't have any relatives here."

"So who's she been staying with?" Johnny asked her. Michelle just shook her head.

"Her symptoms have started to ease up now; it's beginning to look like she was poisoned." Michelle informed them. "I saw it all the time back home. It's pretty common among the homeless."

"Homeless?" He asked her. "Being poisoned, what does that have to do with anything?"

"A lot of restaurants try to discourage homeless people from going through their trash." Michelle explained. "Sometimes they fill the bins with bleach or cleaning fluids to render the food inedible, but some places just spray the food, so when someone hasn't seen them doing that..."

"They eat the food and get sick." Donny concluded, looking regretfully to the door to her room.

"Someone could be killed." Johnny responded in disgust. "I can't believe they're allowed to do that."

"They aren't." Michelle told him. "Unfortunately most places that do that are never found out."

"I can't believe I didn't figure this out." Donny muttered, unable to believe he had been deceived so easily.

"Jazz is pretty slippery when she wants to be." Johnny added, consoling Donny over his failure to realise that she was in difficulty. "I've known her for years, and I didn't have a clue. If she doesn't want you to know something about her...she can be pretty evasive. She keeps a lot of stuff to herself."

"What was her home life like?" Michelle asked him. "Her mother's still in New York, if she's all the way out here..."

"She and her mom haven't been close in a long time." Johnny informed them. "She never talked much about her family, but she always told me she and her mom never got along. She got together with some deadbeat a few years ago who gives her a hard time."

"So what do we do now?" Donny asked her. "We have to report this."

"We should talk to her first." Johnny cut him off abruptly. "If she hasn't talked about this, then obviously something's pretty seriously wrong."

"Johnny she's underage." Donny reminded him. "She needs a parent or guardian to look after her. I have a responsibility for her welfare; I need to tell the authorities..."

"Did you ever stop to consider what she's running from?" Johnny asked him. "I don't know much about her home life, but if she left her mom's place like that, if she's been living on the streets, then she's obviously running from something."

"Either that or she was thrown out." Michelle added, getting in between them. "Johnny, the fact is Donny's right. If we don't report this to the authorities then we're guilty of negligence. We could lose our jobs."

"Fine, but talk to her first." He suggested. "Maybe she'll tell us what's going on..."

"I think I might know." Michelle said sadly. "I found something else when we were treating her for the poisoning. It seems she has recently suffered a miscarriage."