Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, I don't own! Song credit to MayDay Parade

As I am now further into this story I feel I need to tell you that these next chapters are going to be hard for me to write. The characters of Buck and Grams are actually based off of my real life Grandparents who we called Buck and Grams. My Grandparents both passed away this year, within six months of each other, and I felt like I needed to honor them in my own way. Marilyn was my Grams' name and it felt right to give her a Grams of her own. Oh and for the record, my parents are nothing like Mar's…that's just creative license. Thanks again for your reviews and support.


"Stay safe stay strong,

And I may know you'll be here when I have gone.

Because I'm coming home, coming home, tonight.

Let's get this right.

I said I'm coming home, coming home tonight."

Take This To Heart

"Paul, I need you."

"What's wrong? Are you crying?" His voice was panicked and I couldn't blame him for that; I was on the other line of the phone desperately pulling breath in through my mouth trying to breathe through my tears.

"Say something Mar!"

"I'm at the hospital."

Hours Before

"You will not believe the article I happened to stumble upon today!" Jamie laughed into the phone. "It's an article about male obsession with their physique! I printed a copy of it and you better believe I'm going to make you read it."

I rolled my eyes and continued to stir around the meat I was browning for the chili I was making Grams and I. I decided it was best not to try and interrupt Jamie about this subject; she'd only keep bringing it up over and over again.

"Yeah! So, one of the symptoms is a sudden change within a short span of time. Do you know when Paul became all fit?"

"No." I replied. There was no way I was going to tell her that their appearance had changed in a short span of time. While I knew the true reason for that, Jamie would automatically assume that they did suffer from some sort of mental illness or whatever.

"I bet it was quick."

"He could've done it over the course of ten years, Jamie."

"I'm gonna go over to his parent's house next time I'm home and get some picture evidence."

"I'm sure you will." I sighed.

Jamie huffed, "You just wait Miss nonbeliever, I'll prove it to you."

"Alright, I need to go; I'm making chili."

"Ugh, you suck; I want some chili."

"Sucks for you. I'll talk to you later, Jamie."

"Alright, bye."

Despite the fact that I was getting a little tired of her insistence about the guys being affected with some mental disorder, I really was happy that we were closer than we were before. Her decision to break from my parents' financial support had really been a great move for her. She'd always been like this; sarcastic and a little fanatical at times, but it had always been overshadowed by her spoiled demeanor. Now she was only sarcastic and fanatical which usually provided me with a good laugh.

"Was that Jamie on the phone?" Grams asked as she walked into the kitchen, Rex at her heels.

"Yeah, she found an article about guys' obsession with their physique and informed me that she printed a copy specifically for me to read."

Grams laughed, "She won't give up on that will she?"

"Nope."

"So where is Paul today?"

"He's doing the books at Noels today." I replied.

Being the owner of Noels really did have its benefits for Paul. He hardly had to work and he definitely wasn't going in every day either. He'd go in at least a few times a week to monitor things and then there was a day each month that he sat down and did the books in his office at the store.

"I bet he'll be over for some of your chili."

I smiled, "Of course he will. He loved that stuff when we were fifteen and he practically salivated when I told him I was making some tonight. He might be late getting here though. Anyway, you go sit down and let me handle this."

"Okay. Come on Rex, let's go watch a movie."

I smiled as Grams walked out of the kitchen with Rex following faithfully behind her, careful not to get in her way. Paul had trained him to do that; not just with Grams, but with everyone. If he didn't make good money with Noels, I would insist that he advertise his skills as a dog trainer. He'd laughed at that and insisted that any one of the guys would probably have the same success with a dog as he did, but I doubted that. I'd seen Embry with Sally's Poodle, Jelly bean, and there was no way Embry was that fluffy white dog's alpha.

Grams' movie had finished by the time the chili was done. The two of us sat down to eat at the dinner table as Rex went back into the living room to play with one of his squeaky toys.

"This is really good, Marilyn."

"Thanks Grams."

We ate on in silence for a few minutes before Grams' spoon dropped back into her bowl loudly, drawing my attention to my Grandma. Her hands were held out before her on the table while she visibly took deep and concentrated breaths in and out of her lungs.

"Grams, are you alright?"

"No, something is wrong with my heart."

I wasted no time after that statement. Years ago, when I was about nine years old we had almost lost Grams to a heart condition. She had had too much water on her heart, and had been closely monitored since then. So with adrenaline pumping through my veins I ran to the phone. I'd already dialed 911 and had them on the way before I realized that I probably would have been okay to drive her to the hospital, but I didn't want to risk anything. She wasn't having a heart attack, but there was no guarantee something else wouldn't happen before she was at the hospital.

"Calm down, honey. I'm going to be alright." Grams said when I walked back into the dining room to help her outside. I could already hear the sirens coming down the road and paid no attention to our cooling bowls of chili as I led her to the front door.

Xxx

After I hung up the phone I sat back down in one of the crappy waiting chairs to wait for him. While they ran more tests on Grams I had to wait out here all alone, by myself, crying. Every so often I could feel someone's gaze on me; a pitying look.

Then when he finally arrived, I jumped out of my chair and threw my arms around him. My tears had been done for a while, but I held onto him for a long time. Until he finally lifted me up and sat down on a chair with me in his lap.

"I thought there was something wrong with you, Mar. What's going on?"

"It's Grams." I whispered.

"Is she alright?"

"Her heart was out of rhythm. Apparently they've gotten it back in rhythm, but the doctor is running more tests to determine what else needs to be done."

Paul nodded thoughtfully and held me closer. He knew why I was upset because I'm sure he felt it to. Of course for me, Grams was the last person alive that had really truly taken care of me. I couldn't lose her now, not when I needed her the most. Paul had awesome parents, he didn't have mine and he didn't need Grams as much as I did, but I knew he loved her. And I'm sure that since I was his imprint the pain he was feeling was tripled because of my pain.

"Miss Jameson?"

I hurriedly climbed off of Paul's lap and faced the doctor that had addressed me. I knew he was Grams' regular doctor and that made me feel better because I knew how much she liked him. It was easy to see why though, he was an older man with laugh lines carved into his face and he had kind blue eyes.

"Yes?"

"Your Grandma is alright for the moment, but we're going to have to schedule a surgery in a few weeks or more. That's what I want to talk to you about; we need to place a stint in her heart. Considering her age and prior conditions this procedure will be very risky. There's a good chance she won't make it through it."

"And what happens if we don't do it?" I asked as I felt Paul's supporting arm slip around my waist.

"It needs to be done, but not right away. I think we should be okay if it waits until late March."

"Okay."

"We've already talked to your Grandma about it and I'm sure you two will talk about it, but for now you can go back and see her."

Grams was sitting up in bed when Paul and I walked in. She greeted us with a tired smile and held out her hand for me. I smiled back, feeling my eyes water, and went to her bedside to hold her hand within one of my own.

"I'm going to be okay, so I don't want you to worry okay? You either Paul." Grams ordered and squeezed my hand.

She held out her other hand for Paul and I watched as he walked over to the other side of the bed to hold her small wrinkled hands in one of his large tan ones. She smiled contentedly with his warm hand encasing her own and looked back at me with a smile.

"This procedure is going to be nothing, I'll pull through it."

"You better." I warned.

"Like I want to miss the two of you getting married and giving me great grand babies."

My face flushed red at that statement and a shy look aimed at Paul showed the red on his face as well as a little smirk.

Xxx

"I'm coming home!" Jamie cried into the phone.

"No, you need to focus on your classes. She's going to be alright." I assured my baby sister, trying not to let myself cry from the sound of her own tears. "You come the first week of March like we planned okay? If anything changes I promise I'll have Paul come and get you immediately."

"Okay." She sniffed.

After I hung up the phone I moved to the dining room to take care of the bowls of chili we had left. I no longer was hungry for the stuff, but Paul had no problem eating three bowls of it before he kicked his feet up on the coffee table and rubbed his belly contentedly, Rex at his feet.

I had no appetite anymore, especially with Grams still in the hospital. They'd kept her overnight for observation and if all went well, Paul and I were going to pick her up in the morning to bring her home.

"You alright out there?" Paul called from the living room.

"Yeah."

Paul arrived in the kitchen a second later and took the sponge from my hand. "You go sit down; I'll take care of this. Rex looks like he could use a good belly rub from you."

I smiled my thanks and made my way out to the living room where Rex was sprawled out on the floor. When he saw me approaching he rolled over onto his back and presented his tummy to me. I smiled before I crouched down onto the floor to rub his belly vigorously. His leg started kicking when I hit a ticklish spot and I laughed as his eyes closed in contentment.

"You have the best life, you know that Rex?" I sighed. "We feed you nice, play with you and you can sleep all you want without worrying about anything."

"I'm sure he worries about you and Grams though; I trained him to protect you guys." Paul stated as he walked back into the living room.

I quirked a brow at him, "You know what I mean."

Paul chuckled, "So you're saying you want to be a dog? What kind?"

I didn't answer which only caused him to laugh and start guessing dog breeds. "I think you'd be a Weiner dog."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, just wanted to get a rise out of you. So what breed of dog would you be?"

"I'd be a mix. Have the best of both breeds and just be an all around awesome dog. Not to mention cute."

"No doubt about that." Paul agreed with a smile. "I'd be a Siberian husky."

"That doesn't surprise me. You're hardy and hard working just like a Siberian husky as well as smart."

"Those were some nice compliments you just gave me, Mar."

I grinned, "Oh, but I wasn't done. Your fur is just as silky as theirs and your breath is pretty similar."

Paul shot me a look before he swept me up off the floor and into his arms. He threw me down on the couch and started tickling me mercilessly until I was screaming and gasping for air through my laughter. Sadly, he had not forgotten all my ticklish spots over the years.

"Stop! Stop! Can't breathe!"

When he finally did stop I was panting and scowling at him fiercely; he just laughed and sat down next to me. Once I was calmed down I turned to him and just stared at him for a few minutes. He turned to look me in the eye and we just sat like that; the two of us looking into each other's eyes. If anyone walked in at that moment, they'd probably think we were weridos, but it just seemed normal for the two of us. It didn't creep us out; we used to have staring contests all the time.

"Thank you for being there for me today." I whispered.

Paul finally broke our eye contact and wrapped his arms around me for a warm hug. "You're welcome, but you know that I'll always be there for you no matter what. Imprint or no imprint."