Taz wanted to hug her brother through the phone when she got a surprise call from him. Rob was in town for a business trip and didn't bother telling her anything about it because yes, as typical as it might sound, he "wanted it to be a surprise." He said he had arranged a lunch date with her at his French restaurant uptown, and that it was probably all the time he could spend with her while he was in Sac since his schedule allowed no opportunity for extracurricular activities. Taz said "Okay, I'll be there at 12:00 sharp. See you." before hanging up the phone. She ran downstairs, eager to hear Gracie's reaction for what she was about to reveal to her, but stopped dead when an all-too-knowing Gracie confessed to being an accomplice of this whole scheme. "You knew he'd be visiting?" Taz exclaimed, not sure if she could trust anyone in her life at this point. "Does Bud know, too?" Gracie's pug, Bud, looked at her with lazy, unimpressed eyes while Gracie told her off with a simple, "I know everything."

She called Nikki but the answering machine picked up. "Hey, Nik, my brother's visiting town, about to have lunch with him. Sorry I can't stop by anymore, but hey, just wanna wish you luck and remind you to kick ass. Call me, perv. Let me know how it turns out. Bye."

She grabbed her keys, kissed the twins good-bye, and told Gracie, "I still haven't forgiven you" and flew out of the door. This was her first time to go out on her own, unguided. She should be worried but she just missed her brother too damn much to be bothered by anything else. The cab trip to that French restaurant whose name she couldn't even pronounce without humiliating herself didn't take that long. Before she knew it, she was already paying the driver and stepping into a high-class French diner.

The restaurant was, as she expected, the type you'd only see in magazines and James Bond movies. It was elegantly fancy, filled with wealthy-looking people in their nine-hundred-dollar suits. Huh. Describes her brother's general preference perfectly. She went to ask the lady-in-waiting about her brother's reservation and was ushered to a table nearest the window overlooking the busy street outside.

Time check: 12:10. Huh. It wasn't like Rob run late for anything. But then of course, it could be just the traffic. No need to get all riled up. The waiter came by her table, but she shooed him away immediately. She checked her phone for any messages from Nikki, or from Rob, for that matter, but nada. She sighed and slipped it back inside her purse. It wasn't long enough before she was looking at her watch again: 12:25. He said 12pm sharp, or did Taz get it wrong and he actually meant 12am? But she couldn't possibly be stupid enough to mistake 'midnight dinner' for 'lunch.' Ugh. She tapped her fingers agitatedly against the table, beginning to get worried. Taz hoped whatever was keeping Rob would suffer a slow, painful death. Another twenty minutes had passed and Taz still found no sign of her brother coming. If she cared enough at this moment to go down memory lane, she'd realize that it was so typical of her brother to arrive late on family dinners, or any gathering, for that matter. That's because his promotion at the architectural firm that he worked at back in New York demanded too much of his time. Too, too much. Maybe this was one of those too-common occasions that Rob would miss dinner and send apology flowers later. Ugh. But she missed him! She crossed her arms and pouted into space, sinking down her chair.

"Waiting for someone?"

She thought she had fallen asleep before hearing a familiar voice that shook her awake. Her eyes moved up from being glued to the floor for so long and went wide as a beaming Joe stood before her.

"Joe." Her eyes blinked over and over and over again like they had a mind of their own. Of course it's Joe, idiot. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled and dropped his eyes to the floor, gesturing to the white overall he was wearing, or rather, uniform, Taz recognized at once. Why, of course. Joe did say he was a chef at (insert weird French word here) which Taz assumed was the name of a restaurant, this restaurant.

"Wow. You work here." For the first time since she got there, she felt the urge to smile.

"I certainly do." Joe said. "And I was on my way out for my lunch break when I saw you. I thought I'd come and say 'hi'."

Always a gentleman you are, Joe. "Well, hey. Come sit down. You look so handsome in your chef suit."

Joe let out a shy laugh and pulled up a chair. "Yeah, I'm not gonna lie and say you're the first woman to tell me that."

Taz rolled her eyes, gradually growing immune to Joe's antics. "Seriously you look gorgeous. I guess I'm just not used to seeing you in this kind of grooming."

"You ain't looking so bad yourself." Joe said. "So… you wanna tell me what Nikki's up to?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on. How she ended up accepting Phil's job offer is still vaguest thing to digest for me."

"She just needs extra cash and Phil became the answer to her prayers." Taz didn't know why there was a defensive tone in her voice.

"Oh, please. I've lived with Nikki all my life. And the Nikki that I know wouldn't do something as brave as this even if it costs a million bucks. Nikki's a coward, always has been." Taz was about to agree with him, but forced her mouth to shut in place. "I mean, don't even pretend like you don't know she has a thing for him. You and I both know that."

Taz nodded hesitantly, unable to decide which side to take.

Joe tilted his head self-confidently and asked, "You've talked about this with her, haven't you?"

Taz didn't say anything.

"It's ok, Taz. Whether Nikki likes it or not, I am aware of her feelings for my best friend. And that's not even the problem here. The problem is that she's too afraid facing those feelings."

Taz's eyebrows knotted together. It was weird listening to Joe's take on this. "You're really okay with her having 'feelings' for your friend, Joe? You're her big brother; aren't you supposed to be all protective and… restrictive?"

Joe shrugged. "I don't see any reason why I should be. I can't stop my sister from falling in love with a guy even if he's my best friend."

Falling in love? Huh. Funny how Taz never saw it that way.

"I should be thankful even that it's Phil she's falling in love with…" There goes the L-word again, "and not some drunkard from the Bronx."

Taz had a spur-of-the-moment thought that she wanted Joe to be her brother. He was simply the best. He looked at things in a better perspective. In a better standpoint. And he understood things better than anyone else could, why else did you think it had been so easy for him to forgive her after what she'd done to him? But witnessing him in his chef uniform and in that boyish, humble smile, she knew siblinghood was not the relationship she really wanted to get involved with him. Hell no.

"Wow, Nikki sure is lucky to have a brother like you, Joe." And she meant it, a hundred per cent meant it.

"Oh, stop it, you're making me blush." He cooed, bashfully covering that dimpled face with his hands, "Seriously, though, what made Nikki do it? You should know. You've been with her all this time."

"All I can tell you is that Nikki needs money fast and saw Phil's little search for a nanny as an opportunity." And honest to God, that was all Taz knew. "Whatever that will come out of it is beyond my knowledge." Taz pursed her lips. "But aren't you excited to find out?"

Joe smiled like he understood all too well. "Yep. You have no idea."

"You're the coolest brother ever."

"Brother?" It's not what he said, it's the way he said it.

When Taz found herself too choked up to speak, Joe decided to take the things in a different road. "So, you're waiting for someone or something?"

"Yeah." Taz's gloomy mood came back as she suddenly remembered his brother and his missing-in-action status. Taz looked at her watch and oh, an hour late. Great. "Looks like he can't make it anymore."

Joe said nothing and simply stared at her.

She felt her face reddening. "What?"

"Nothing." Joe said. "Just, well…"

"What?" Taz asked, louder this time.

"Nothing."

"Joe…"

Joe looked like he was about to say something when Taz's phone found that perfect opportunity to ring. She searched through her purse and expectedly, she saw the name 'Kuya Rob' blinking at the phone display. About freaking time. Unceremoniously she said, "Are you dead or something?"

"Am I speaking to Tazeana Tan?"

Okay, Taz knew her brother's voice and it wasn't it. "Yes, that's me." She said, confused.

"Are you Robert Tan's sister?" The man on the other end of the line asked.

"Yes, I am." She looked at Joe then and flashed him a bemused look, which Joe returned with a questioning look of his own.

"Um, I'm calling to inform you that your brother met a car accident this morning, and currently he's admitted to…"

"What?" Taz asked, getting to her feet, her voice loud enough to rouse attention from other patrons. Joe got to his feet, too, worried. "What do you mean, met an accident?"

"The rental car that your brother was using was involved in a car collision downtown at around 11:30, and luckily enough paramedics were able to get there on time and wheel him safely into the ER."

"Is he okay? Is he alright? He's not dying, is he?" Taz couldn't care less if she was disturbing the peace of the people in there – his brother just met an accident, for Christ's sake!

"Ms. Tan, please I need you to calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down! You tell me if he's okay or not!" Taz flared up, feeling her heart was about to explode.

"If you really wanna know, come visit him in Sacred Heart Hospital where he's currently at."

"Wait, I – " Taz's jaw dropped to the floor when she heard the other end hang up on her. "Hey!"

Taz jumped up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Taz, what's going on?"

"I'm not really sure. The man on the phone told me my brother had a car accident."

"What?"

"I gotta go see him. He says my brother's admitted to Sacred Heart Hospital. I have no idea where that is but I'm about to find out." Taz grabbed her purse and was about to leave when she felt the hand on her shoulder.

"Wait, I'll drive you."

"Are you sure?" Taz didn't know whether to cry or scream at the drama that was currently going on in her life right now.

"Yeah, I know where Sacred Heart is, Rynan works there. I'll take you."

"No, Joe. I wouldn't wanna bother you."

"I insist. Please let me."

Taz's eyes did start to well up just then. Great.

"Alright, let's go."