Mother took in the soaked figure of her daughter and the look of anguish on her face and immediately knew what had happened. She was going to strangle that boy.

"Crysta?" she asked, catching her before she collapsed.

"I hate him," she choked out. "I'm never trusting him again. I'm never going near him again. Listen to me this time, please!" She tore out of Mother's grasp and ran to her room. Mother was becoming angry at Pips. What had he done to her? That's when he burst in through the door.

"Where is she?" he asked, moving past her.

"What have you done?" she hissed, grabbing his elbow and clutching it hard. He tried to pry her off.

"I can explain," he started.

"Explain what? The fact that my daughter is horrendously upset and hates your guts?" He looked like he'd been slapped.

"No, she...we...I stopped it. I had to. She had a horrific memory the last time I touched her. I did it to help her not hurt her," he tried to explain.

"So you led her on and then broke her heart? You know she's fragile right now!" Mother was furious. He finally yanked free.

"I didn't lead her on!" he cried, clenching his fists. "I swear! Look, how is she going to feel when it's over and she suddenly remembers the children she lost? I don't want to do that to her. I don't want to be the one to make her remember that. I thought we agreed we shouldn't do that to her?"

"You still didn't have to do this to her!" Mother shouted.

"I didn't do anything!" he shouted back angrily. "That is exactly why she's upset!"

"Obviously you did something!"

"Why am I the bad guy for trying to prevent her from having more bad memories?" he demanded. Mother opened her mouth to argue.

"What are you talking about?" Crysta asked coldly, making them both whirl around.

"Crys," Pips started.

"Love," Mother said at the same time. Crysta held up her hand to cut them off.

"What are you talking about?" she repeated, her voice slow and menacing. Pips looked distraught. He had suddenly lost his voice. Mother just looked at the floor.

"Somebody better start talking," Crysta said, approaching Pips. "Or I will leave this place and never come back. Maybe Lily had the right idea after all."

"Stop that," Mother said sharply, looking at her finally. "Leave her out of this."

"All I know is everyone seems to know all these secrets about me," Crysta went on, "but no one has the decency to tell me what they are. I have the right to know!" She turned to Pips, who swallowed hard.

"All right," he finally said. "You want to know, so I'll tell you." She glared at him. He stared back.

"Pips, no," Mother started. He ignored her.

"You lost four of our children. You were unable to carry a child full term," he said, watching her face turn from anger to shock. She was taken aback. She had not expected that at all.

"W-what?" she stammered. "What are you saying?"

"It was so hard on you," Pips went on, "that we thought it was best to not remind you. That's why I stopped earlier. I thought if we did keep going, you would remember that pain. I didn't want to be the one to do that to you." She didn't know what to say.

"You're lying," she said, her voice raising.

"I'm not lying, Crys," he said gently. She looked to Mother, who nodded in agreement.

"Mother, tell me he's lying. That it's not true," she whispered.

"I'm sorry, love," Mother replied sadly, "but it's true." Crysta backed away from both of them.

"No," she said. "I don't believe you. I won't." She turned and fled. Mother looked to see Pips standing there with wet eyes.

"That right there was what I was trying to avoid," he said hoarsely. "Guess I failed at that too."

"She was going to find out sometime," Mother said gently. "Don't beat yourself up over it."

"Easier said than done," he replied. He left without saying another word. Mother sat down and put her head in her hands, listening to the sound of her daughter crying from a broken heart upstairs.

Pips' home...

He felt horrible. He couldn't get her hurt face out of his mind. He berated himself for stopping their intimacy, for even telling her the truth after he hadn't wanted to. What if that memory had never come back to her at all? He had needlessly hurt her. He sat there with his head in his hands until she came inside.

"Trouble in paradise?" Treena asked. Pips looked up at her.

"Don't you know how to knock?" he asked harshly. He was tired of this girl crossing his boundaries.

"I thought we were past that," she said smoothly, coming over to sit next to him.

"Well, we're not," he answered.

"Sorry," she said, feeling not sorry at all. He looked away from her. "What happened?"

"Nothing. Everything. I don't know. I upset her so much..." His face was pained. Treena felt hope again.

"Upset her?" she asked. She wanted to know.

"I told her about the miscarriages. I never wanted to. It hurt her so much before, and now I've done it to her again. I didn't want her to relive that ever."

"Well, I'm sure she would have remembered eventually. You don't just forget trauma like that," Treena pointed out.

"You're probably right, but it still doesn't make me feel better," he said miserably. She reached over and took his hand. She didn't like seeing him hurt like this. She felt victorious when he didn't let it go. If all she had to do was be the one there for him to make him see she was the one, then that's what she would do.

"You really shouldn't be so hard on yourself," she told him quietly. He gave a small laugh.

"Who isn't?" he asked. She shrugged. He had a point. He looked down at their hands, a look crossing his face. He let hers go too quickly for her liking.

"Why?" she asked.

"Cos it's not right," he replied.

"But..."

"No buts. Treena, I told you, I can't do this with you. Can you go, please? I need to be alone."

"All right," she said, getting up. "You know where to find me." She left hoping he would think about her. She wondered what more she needed to do to completely capture his attention.

In the city...

Lily had walked into the kitchen to find another girl sitting there looking at a rectangular device in her hand.

"I'm sorry," Lily said, "who are you?" The girl looked up.

"Oh, hi," she said. "I'm Angel. I'm here with Zak."

"Oh," Lily managed to say. She wondered what she had meant by that. When Zak entered, Angel gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"How are you holding up?" she asked him. Lily clenched her fists. Who was this person and why was she acting like she was with Zak?

"I'm doing all right," he replied, oblivious to Lily's reaction. "Taking it one day at a time." Angel smiled sympathetically.

"You're so brave," she said, squeezing his shoulder. She didn't miss Lily's snort.

"I'm sorry," Angel said, turning to her. "Is there something funny about me comforting someone who's mother is dying?"

"No," Lily replied. "Not at all. Excuse me." She pushed past them and headed to Kristy's room. It was dark as usual.

"Kristy?" she called softly. "It's me."

"Not today, Lily," Kristy replied from the mass of blankets on the bed. "I'm just not up for it." Lily made to turn and leave.

"Don't go," Kristy's voice reached her. Lily stopped. Unsure of what to do, she hovered by the door. "Can you just talk to me?" Kristy asked eventually. Lily came slowly in and sat on the chair beside the bed. Kristy's face emerged from her blanket cavern.

"You know I do like you, right?" she asked.

"O-oh," Lily said. "I wasn't sure..."

"It's just, Zak has made me try everything. He can't accept there is no cure. I can't believe the lengths he went to bring you here. It's hopeless, Lily. I'm not making it through this one," she said. She grew quiet.

"Do you want me to stop trying?" Lily asked.

"No. Yes. I don't know. I am not good at making decisions. I'm very indecisive. What do you think?"

"I think it's whatever you want," Lily replied.

"I'll sleep on it," Kristy promised. There was more awkward silence. "Can you tell me about it?" she whispered finally.

"About what?" Lily asked.

"The forest. Your home. Tell me everything." Kristy gave her a pleading look. Lily was surprised. She launched into tales of her growing up and her sisters. She even dared to mention Wil. Kristy was enraptured by it all.

"Is Wil special to you?" she asked when Lily paused at his name.

"In a way, yes," Lily blushed. "But he understands I'm here with Zak now."

"Must've been hard," Kristy pointed out.

"It was..."

"I meant for him," she cut Lily off. "Sounds like he was devastated when you left."

"I try not to think about it," Lily answered quietly. She really didn't. It hurt her to think of him hurting.

"Are you ever afraid to die?" Kristy asked suddenly. Lily froze. She didn't have the heart to tell this woman fairies lived a much longer time.

"Sometimes," she answered slowly, truthfully.

"I'm terrified," Kristy whispered. Lily looked at this woman huddled in her bed staring back out at her. She reached for her hand and squeezed it.

"We fairies have faith that Sol will be there for us in the end," Lily told her.

"Sol?"

"Yes, an angel of sorts. Anyway, the end it not really the end. It just is a place where this is no death or fear or sadness."

"Sounds like heaven," Kristy said. "I'm not sure about that place...if it exists."

"What about it makes you hesitant to think it exists?" Lily asked.

"I'm afraid that it won't really be there, and I'll be disappointed," Kristy admitted.

"I think," Lily said softly, "that it would be nice to think about and dream of even if it's not there."

"Why's that?"

"Because it makes you happy, and isn't that what's most important?" Lily watched a conflicted look cross Kristy's face.

"You're right," Kristy replied. "I never thought of it that way. Thank you, Lily."

"You're welcome," Lily smiled. Kristy gave a weak smile in return.

"I think I need some rest," she said. "Thank you for talking to me."

"Anytime," Lily answered, getting up to leave. The sight of this fragile woman made her feel sad inside. The fact that she couldn't save her saddened her even more. She knew nothing was going to save Kristy. She just didn't know how to tell Zak that. She went to her room and stared at her ceiling trying not to think about Kristy lying alone in her bed or what Zak and Angel were doing downstairs.

Ferngully...

Rose had sought out Wil. She actually missed him. It was nice, missing someone in that way.

"Hey," he said when he saw her. He grinned. She grinned back.

"What are you doing?" she asked, looking around at all the arrows on the ground.

"I have to teach a lesson on shooting a bow," he explained. "They wanted me to do it during tomorrow's lessons."

"'They' being my brother and Crysta?" Rose asked. He nodded. "Can I come?"

"Sure," he replied, beaming. "You can even show them how a girl does it." He winked at her. She slapped him playfully on the shoulder. He pretended to cower from her. Then he returned to his work. She leaned against the tree watching him. He turned to her after a while.

"I get the feeling you're here for something else entirely," he said, reading her mind.

"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not," she said vaguely. "You'll just have to guess." He tipped his head back in laughter. She loved it when he did that.

"All right," he said, putting down his work and moving towards her. "I'll indulge you this one time. Just this once though. I am a very busy man."

"Oh really?" she mocked, her eyes shining. "Too busy even for me?"

"I can make an exception for you," he said, tucking her hair behind her ear. She smiled suggestively and pulled him inside. Absolutely nothing could ruin this for her.

The next day...

Carrie knew immediately something was wrong. They weren't even looking at each other today. She wondered what had happened. When she tried to point this out to Bobby, he just shrugged it off. He didn't care. He was more interested about the shooting lesson they were getting today. He thought this might come in handy someday. She also didn't like the way her Aunt Treena kept asking questions about Pips. She knew her aunt was going to ruin everything if she didn't hurry up and make them get together. Wilkea was explaining things but Carrie wasn't listening. She was more interested in the red headed girl that had come with him. Rose was still new to Ferngully, but she was popular already. A mystery was always appreciated around here.

"Carrie, focus," Wil warned. She acted like she was listening. She snuck a look over to Pips and Crysta, who were standing far away from each other with crossed arms. She had to do something. She whirled her head around when her brother crowed with delight. Wil had made a perfect shot. Now he was getting them to practice. She thought boy toys were dumb, but she knew she had to do it. She took one more look at Pips. He was looking at Crysta in a longing kind of way, but she was ignoring him. What was the matter with her? Carrie wondered.

"Carrie!" Wil called. "You're up." Rose winked at her, making her blush. Rose was so cool. She was so relaxed and carefree. Carrie wished she would end up like that when she was older. She didn't notice the brush of Rose's touch on Wil's side when he passed her or the look Wil gave her in return. She was too busy planning her next mission to get Pips and Crysta back together.

Later...

He waited until they had all gone home before trying to approach her. She turned away before he could reach her.

"Come on, Crys," he said. "This is exactly what I was trying to avoid. Don't do this." She spun around.

"Don't make this my fault," she said bitterly. "I put myself out there, and you made me feel so...embarrassed. Then you tell me a horrible secret and expect me to just pretend everything's okay? It's not, so just give it up, Pips. Leave me alone."

"Fine," he said, throwing up his hands. Once he was gone, Crysta let herself cry. She didn't want to feel this way about him again. She had thought she was getting closer to remembering him and how it was to be in love with him. Now it was tainted by what he had told her. Tainted by the vision of Treena touching him. She wondered if that was the real reason she was holding back.

"Excuse me?" a voice startled her. She turned to see Carrie's mother, Tamsyn, standing there.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Is Carrie with you?" Tamsyn asked. "She didn't come home with Bobby."

"Oh," Crysta said, looking around. "I was sure they had left together. Is she just hiding maybe?"

"No," Tamsyn said stiffly. "I know all of her hiding places. She wasn't at any of them, and she didn't come home." Crysta felt worried. Bobby was careless sometimes. She hoped he hadn't abandoned her somewhere.

"I'll search for her," Crysta promised.

"I leave her in your care all day and you don't even have the decency to make sure she gets home safe?" Tamsyn's voice was escalating now. "I knew this 'school' thing was a bad idea. How could you be so irresponsible?!"

"Hey now," Pips cut in. Crysta spun to see him standing there, arms crossed. She hadn't even seen him come back. "There's no need to get upset. We'll find her."

"You better," Tamsyn said, poking his chest. "Or else I'll see to it you are removed from this forest." She left them standing there looking at each other in shock.

"Can she really do that?" Pips asked.

"I don't want to find out," Crysta replied. "Come on." She started the search. They searched for what felt like hours. She wasn't in any of the spots they knew she hid in. When it got dark, they finally stopped and looked at each other with worry. Carrie was officially missing.

Thoughts? Comments? Something? Anything? Please?!