"Mommy?" A soft voice whispered, wrenching me awake.

I looked around, no one was in the room other than Jacey and I.

Her fingers twitched in my hand and I shot out of my chair. "Jace? Sweetie, it's Ari, can you hear me?"

" sound far away." She managed to whispered.

"Don't move. I'm getting the nurse."

I sprinted out of her room and towards the nurses' station. The girl who had been in every few hours to change Jacey's bandages was sitting there. "Melissa, she's awake. Jacey's awake. She's talking. Her hand moved."

She jumped up and followed me back to her room.

Jacey was still muttering for her mother.

While Melissa checked Jacey's vitals, I ran to Marcus' room to tell Sam that she was awake and then sprinted to the waiting room. Everyone was awake.

"Guys. She's awake. Jacey woke up." I announced.

Jacey's dad and brother went to her room and I saw down next to Ronnie.

"She's really awake?" She asked.

"She was asking for her mom." I answered.

Ronnie frowned. "Ari, her mom's d-"

I cut her off. "I know. I know her mom's dead. I'm just telling you what she said."
"Could she hear you?"

I nodded. "A little bit. She said it sounded like I was far away. It's probably just from all of the medication though."

Ronnie relaxed slightly.

Melissa came into the room a moment later. "Aribella, right?"

I nodded.

"She's asking for you."

"For me? Are you sure?" I asked.

The young nurse nodded. "She said 'Get Aribella in here, please.'"

I stood up and walked to her room.

Her dad and brother were on one side of the bed. I sat down on the other side. "What's going on, Jace?"

She opened her eyes and winced. "Can you shut the light off first?"

I nodded and flipped the switch.

Her eyes adjusted to the light and she smiled softly. "I almost forgot what you looked like."

A few tears slipped down my cheeks but I laughed. "I'm just as derpy as ever."

"When I get out of here, remind me that it's right on red, not left of red." She said.

Her dad made a weird noise, something between choking and laughing.

"I won't let you forget." I promised.

She looked at her dad. "Daddy, when can I go home?"

"Soon, pumpkin. When you're all healed up." He smiled and squeezed her hand.

"Jack?" She said to her brother.

"Yeah, Jacey?" He said quietly.

"Do you remember when you got your permit and promised that when I was 15 you would teach me how to drive?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"But then you went to college and you couldn't. Well, since you're graduating this semester, will you teach me when you get home?" She asked.

He nodded again. "Absolutely."

Jacey smiled. "Thanks, Jack. I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled.

"I love you, Daddy."

"You too, sweetie, you too." He smiled at his daughter.

I slipped out of the room to give the family some time alone and hurried down the hall to Marcus' room.

He'd woken up the night before, briefly, but the pain killers pulled him back under.

Marcus was sure to make a full recovery although he would be in a fair amount of pain for a while. His doctor said he should be ready to go home in a week.

Jacey, however, might be in the hospital for as long as a month.

Sam was sitting next to Marcus' bed watching his monitors intently.

"Babe?" I whispered.

He turned to me. "Hey."

He turned back to the monitors. "How's Jace?"

"She should be okay. She seems like herself, just a little bit more relaxed." I explained.

He smiled briefly.

"They're gonna be okay, Sam." I whispered.

He tensed up. "I know. I know. The question is when? A week from now? A month? A year? When?"

I cringed. "Baby, I don't know. You know what the doctor's said. Marcus should be back to normal, entirely, in two months tops. Jacey should be the same in three or four. They're going to be okay."

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. "Sorry. I'm just stressed."

"I know." I whispered. "Let's go home for a while. You need some food and rest. We'll come back later."

He stood up and took my hand.

I tugged him along to the elevators.

Once we were out to the parking lot, I got in the driver's seat.

"Why can't I drive?" Sam asked.

I looked at him blankly. "Because the bags under your eyes have bags."

He chuckled and stifled a yawn. "Yeah, I guess I am a bit tired."

I rolled my eyes and started the car.

The drive home was fast and quiet.

Sam immediately went to bad while I stumbled into the kitchen to get some food.

I placed a Hot Pocket into the microwave and sat down at the kitchen table. I hadn't realized how tired and starving I was until I collapsed.

(Sam's POV)

"Ari?" I said softly and peeked into her room. No one was there.

I walked downstairs and checked the living room.

She was probably in the kitchen. She had to be hungrier than I was.

"Ari?" The word had just come out of my mouth when I saw her lying face down on the floor.

I knelt beside her. "Ari?"

I shook her shoulders. "Aribella? God damn it, wake up."

Her eyes opened slowly. "What? What's going on?"

"You were asleep on the floor. What the hell happened?"

She squinted up at me. "I was making a Hot Pocket and I feel asleep."

She glanced at the clock. "It's been six hours. I think my Hot Pocket got cold."

I laughed. "I'll fix you another one. Are you hurt at all?"

"No. Really. I'm okay. My head's a little sore but nothing major. I'm hungry, really hungry." She explained.

I got up and made her favorite meal. An egg white omlet with spinach.

She sat at the table while I cooked, rattling on about how upsetting it was that her last Hot Pocket was wasted.

I slid the omlet onto a plate and placed it in front of her with a fork and a glass of orange juice.

She smiled up at me. "Have I ever mentioned how much I love you?"

I laughed. "Once or twice."

Within minutes, Ari made her entire plate of food disappear and I smiled. "Look at you."

She blushed. "I was hungry."

I smiled again. "Which is exactly why you should eat more. You wouldn't be as hungry."

She stood up. "I love you."

I pulled her into my arms. "I love you too, Aribella. So much."

She reached up to kiss me and I leaned down so she wouldn't have to stretch so far.

A few moments later, she pulled away. "I'm going to lay down. Feel free to join me when you're finished eating."

"Suddenly I'm not hungry." I said.

She frowned. "I mean it, Sam. Eat something."

"Babe." I groaned.

"Samuel. I'm serious. No eating, no sex." She ordered.

I nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

She hurried upstairs and I swear to god, I've never eaten so fast in my life.

(Author's Note) Holy hell, you guys. I'm so sorry I took so long on this chapter. I'm so fucking sorry. To make it better, I made a few good things happen so I hope you won't hate me forever. This chapter was actually a lot of fun to write and I really hope you guys liked it. PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. Reviews really do help me update faster. Thanks for reaidng, guys. I love you tons. -Aly.