Thank you for your reviews. I'm officially on break from school and am hoping to get quite a bit of writing done for both this story, and my other one. I have a few days off of work in the next couple of weeks too. Anyway, much thanks to Liz for always listening to me rant and rave and all that stuff about this story... I appreciate the heck out of you. And to DarkScribe as well, for always being open to me sending her snippets and being honest. Honestly, a lot of people always ask me for advice about writing (which has always been both super humbling and appreciative on my end... I truly hope I give good advice, but ... well you know) and that's one thing I definitely recommend. Find people, even if it's online (and I prefer that to be honest...) to bounce ideas off of, and share thoughts with, especially those who will be honest with you. You'll never improve or work through writing droughts without people. FF has given me some incredible writing friends and I owe several of my ideas in stories off me spazzily ranting and all to them. They all know who they are. And as always, I am so, so appreciative to anyone who takes the time to read or review my stories. I write because I love it and I have stories I want to tell, but most writers will also tell you that getting feedback and sharing your work is just as rewarding as writing it. Much love to all, hope you guys have a great day. :)

Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Back at the rehab center, Ally was secretly relieved that the trip was over in many ways. It proved both tiring (though fun) to do such a thing, more than she initially expected when coming to Wendy with her plan previously. Austin enjoyed himself, that was the most important part, but she was glad for the safety of the hospital and the diminished responsibility she now had.

"You never told me what you were doing with that calendar," she realized as she went through their things and Austin relaxed in the hospital bed. His features were tired and worn, something he would not admit to vocally but everyone else could see. It was exhausting for most people to spend an entire day at the aquarium, but more so for someone whose sole adventures had been up and down a hallway for the last month.

"I said you'll see," he teased quietly, eyes closed with his head leaning back on the pillow. His IV was in, slowly dripping in the first of several medications. Ally watched it for a moment, before realizing she still had quite a bit to do before she left in a half hour's time. She wanted to go over the trip with Wendy, too, and planned on putting all the things Austin had purchased around the room so that he could enjoy them. Besides, she figured a bit of quiet would do him some good. She didn't want to vocalize that she knew he needed rest, but would busy herself accomplishing two things without any bickering.

"I really think we should get the picture on my phone blown up," she commented sometime later, finally finished with unpacking. She sat down on the seat next to his bed, Austin opening one eye in time to see her lean back too. "I think it would be nice on one of the walls."

"You want to give photo proof that we're friends?" Austin mocked. "Wow, how the mighty have fallen."

"I'd hit you but I'm too tired," she muttered back.

He too laughed quietly, "Me too."

"Who would've thought we'd both be this tired?" she replied, yawning though she was secretly glad that he admitted to it. "I need to wake up. I have to drive home and meet Connor for dinner at his parent's."

"How is he?"

The two of them had discussed her boyfriend in detail one rainy afternoon earlier in the week, with the promise that if Ally spoke of him, Austin would talk more about Piper and his life before the accident. She realized both of them were loyal to the point where it was probably a little unhealthy. It was why, Austin stated, he was having such a hard time with Piper's betrayal. He would've done anything for her.

"Tired," she mused, and the two of them laughed at the irony. "I can't imagine how we're ever going to find time for each other once I actually start med school."

"You'll make it work," Austin countered. "You guys love each other."

"Yeah," she responded fondly, not missing the distant, sad look that overcame his own features in the next few seconds.

The silence that followed was only broken by the beeping of his IV machine to signal the first medication was done and the next was about to start. He had a regimen of five medications in the morning, and seven in the evening. Ally familiarized herself with them two nights before, trying to understand why each was necessary from a medical student perspective, and in turn, how they all interacted.

"You should probably get going," he realized, glancing at the clock. "Time is about up."

"I can stay," Ally insisted, knowing that Austin didn't have many visitors other than his parents and his evenings were often left with his own thoughts, something that made her think it could be quite loud mentally despite the silence in a physical sense.

"You just said that you have to meet Connor," he countered.

Ally frowned, that was true. But dinner wasn't until seven, and it was only almost five. She could stay a bit longer. With that thought on her mind, she grabbed a board game from the other side of the room, and planted herself back next to the bed.

"I can stay," she repeated. "Besides, I'm up one on this game and I'd like to make it two."

His eyes narrowed at the challenge, and Ally couldn't help but smirk as his competitive side took over. Secretly, she was glad to see him smile; glad that somehow, the two of them were getting along better than anyone would've thought.

From the Ground Up

"From the test results and your son's therapy thus far, I'm sorry that I do not have a more definitive answer, Mr. and Mrs. Moon," Austin's doctor, an older man with funny shaped eyebrows and a deep voice, said, briefly looking up from the clipboard in which he held. Austin looked at his parents, his mother's watery eyes and his father's expressionless face, knowing inside that this kind of news was not in fact no news, instead bad news. The more time it took to get a true diagnosis of his condition, the more bills piled up.

"When do you think we will see results, sir?" His mother asked quietly.

The doctor shrugged. Dr. Rods was a quiet man usually, speaking in short sentences with the most concise terms. "It's hard to say. Spinal injuries are hard to diagnosis."

"What do we do?"

"We continue where we are," he added. "We have Austin seeing the physical therapist every other day and are monitoring his condition by vitals every six hours. We also are performing routine checks via test every few days to see if there has been any changes. I assure you we are doing everything in our power. There are patients that spend months in the rehab facility before the swelling goes down. It's just how it is."

The words out of his mouth made Austin's stomach drop. Of course, he knew this in some way, but seeing the agony come onto his parent's face at the explanation made him hate it even more. Somehow, he knew the coming weeks, despite whatever the outcome was, would be less than perfect. Even if he found out his injury was incomplete and a high level of function in time would return, there would be months and months of therapy to follow.

"Thank you." His mother touched his father's shoulder and all he did was nod as the medical professional left the room. Silence followed and she busied herself by moving objects around his room, leaving Austin's father to stand in the doorway looking quite out of place.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

Austin didn't know why he called out to her. He just wanted the silence to end.

"I'm sorry," he finally said. "For this."

"Oh, sweetie," she said, but then his father moved.

He closed his eyes for an extended period of time, before they opened directly on him. It was unnerving. "Are you praying?"

"What?"

"Are you praying?" he repeated.

Austin nodded, too afraid to speak. He had not prayed as much since entering the rehab facility but with the tone of his father's voice what it was, he didn't dare say otherwise. The swift nod in return did not relax him. He missed the carefree side of his father, the one who used to let him ride in the fire truck as a kid, even sometimes putting the siren on while they joy-rode. "Keep praying," he demanded, then grabbed the keys off the nearby counter. "I'll be in the car, Mimi."

The air did not change following his father's exit, and Austin was beginning to think his parents did not know what to do with him. They barely came anymore, and when they did, it was practically the same thing over and over again: pray, no Dez, Piper will come around, and the questions about when he would get to come home. He knew the majority of it was fear, but it did not feel empowering to his recovery when they seemed to hinder it.

"I'll call you tomorrow," his mother said apologetically, kissing him on the forehead and then left the room.

Austin sighed, watching as her shadow disappeared down the hallway. It was only a quarter past seven and he was alone. Visiting hours were until nine, but no one ever took advantage of the fact. He figured, glancing at the clock a second time, that Ally was at her boyfriend's parents by now, probably all dressed up in some fancy outfit with layers of make up on and hairspray keeping every hair in place. The thought brought him a tiny smile. The girl seemed to cling to her appearance as if it was the only thing she had going for her. He often teased her about it, but it bothered him. She was pre med, for god's sake! She was brilliant.

"Don't think too hard, you'll hurt your brain," came a teasing voice.

"Wow," Austin muttered, seeing Ally standing there in a pair of pajama pants and a pink t shirt. She was carrying a duffel bag on one shoulder, and a bag of take out with the other. Her appearance was quite the opposite of what his brain drew up seconds before. "What's going on?"

She chuckled at his gawking, dropping the items on the counter nearest the door. She then moved to the DVD wall and grabbed a few of his favorite horror movies, before placing them on the TV stand.

"I didn't know what you liked for Chinese, but you're a guy, so I assume you'll eat just about anything."

He didn't know what to say.

"Isn't it … you were supposed to meet Connor for dinner."

Ally nodded, "That was the plan originally." She sat on the edge of his bed, squeezing his wrist gently. He gave her a quizzical look. "I canceled, dummy. I told him that I forgot I made plans with the girls and said I'd have dinner with him next week. His parents don't mind. He doesn't mind." She smiled widely, far away if only for a moment. "He's great."

"So you came here?"

Ally giggled, "Obviously. Well, I stopped for food and dessert first. Then, I made sure I had the most comfortable pajamas and talked Wendy into letting me stay the night. The nurse on duty tonight is dating her brother. Apparently, they owed each other for something. No one is going to say a word."

"Why?" He couldn't figure out why she would drop plans with her boyfriend, a probable delicious meal with fancy people and a great evening. For him? Why would she, even after how well they mended their relationship, be willing to sit with him all night, if his parents and friends wouldn't even look him in the eye? Man, thinking about it alone just made him feel pathetic.

"Why not?"

"Thanks," he finally murmured, letting it sink in. He realized that her appearance saved him from another night of being alone and wondering when he'd wake up from this damn nightmare. His days were filled with friendship via Ally, the others at the facility, and the occasional story from Wendy, but the nights were hard. So, so hard.

He forced a smile on his face, trying to push away the thoughts surfacing in his head.

"I even am letting you pick one of those movies out," she stated, motioning to the stack. "One. Because I do have to draw the line somewhere."

He chuckled, "Can't completely break an old dog of bad habits."

"Dog?" she scoffed. "I think not."

"Barbie Doll?"

"Find a saying that matches that and maybe I'll allow it," she teased. "Seriously though, I brought enough food to feed an army. Pick out whatever you like and I'll bring the rest over to the staff and Jake."

He motioned for her to bring it, and he peered inside at the labeled boxes. He picked some fried rice and a couple of egg rolls. Satisfied, he saw Ally grab some soup, and what looked like steamed vegetables from the large bag, finally grabbing an egg roll before leaving the room. The sun cast pink hues through his room while he waited for her to return, the last of it's light reminding him that it would come back tomorrow.

"Did you pick a movie?"

"This one," he declared, showing her a lesser known horror movie that was known more so for its detailed plot and less for it's gore. He knew that Ally was not a fan of horror and that by allowing him to pick, he might as well try to find a happy medium. He would never admit it now, but a few weeks back when they watched the other horror movie, he picked the grossest one out of the bunch just to annoy her. Slowly, they could find a medium as friends, he figured.

"Alright." They settled into their food, sipping on soda's from a can as the movie started. He stole a glance at Ally, not dolled up with her hair tied into a loose ponytail, many strands falling into her face. Her feet were donning pink slippers. She looked like a normal everyday girl, not the high-class, rude one he met several weeks back.

Summer so far had been rocky, and he knew this night was a rarity out of many bad ones to come, but at least, as Ally squirmed beside him, he'd be able to sleep that night with a smile.

Or so he thought. After two movies, more food than he'd eaten in weeks, and a couple more board games, Ally dragged a bed into the room and put out a sleeping bag, before quickly falling asleep next to him. They opened fortune cookies before she passed out, hers saying a hard task that would require all her strength would happen soon (in which she joked it was dealing with him) and his said that being true to one's self was always important. He didn't know what that meant, but he figured vagueness these days was all the more common anyway.

Still, he went to bed with a smile on his face, much like he thought. It was just the sleeping part that didn't last. First, it started out with pain. The upper part of his back was burning intensely, enough to wake him only an hour after they passed out. He didn't want to wake Ally, especially if he had to call a nurse, so he tried to wait it out. It got unbearable first, and he almost hit the button to call someone, but then it faded. He fell back to sleep relatively quickly, and then it happened.

"I'm going to kick his ass," crowed Dez, a huge smile on his face, drunkenly slurring more threats to people they would probably never actually touch. It felt manly, it felt right and he allowed the redhead to continue.

"Me too," he demanded, shoving the laughing redhead roughly. "Kick him where the sun don't shine!"

"Ha!"

"What kind of jackass hurts a girl as pretty as Carrie," Dez continued, his bravado waning if only for a second, clearly realizing the girl he was so crazy for had been seriously hurt by the loud mouthed football player they were going to see.

"A … a real… jackass," Austin countered, snickering as the alcohol spoke for him. "Wait until…"

He didn't finish his statement, as there was some sort of bright object heading his—

The blaring of a horn did little to stop him from hitting the other car head on, and they spiraled almost immediately after the impact. Only when he noticed brush and trees speeding past him did he realize he must not have hit the car that hard, as the truck was moving quickly still. Panic only had seconds to sit in before everything came to an alarming halt, and went black.

It was momentary.

He woke on the ground, cold and wet to Dez shaking him. "Bro, you gotta wake up. I-I think the cops are coming. Please, wake up. Wake up, Austin! Damn it! You can't die like this. We're supposed to be old in…" the boy broke off, sobbing. Austin groaned, unable to wake himself from the fog enough to tell him he sounded ridiculous. Besides, he was fine. He didn't feel any pain except for his head, which was throbbing. Probably from Dez's monologue. The guy never did know when to shut up. "I'm gonna move you man," Dez stated. "I've gotta get you next to the truck. You went so far. They can't know you were driving! Your parents would freak." He snorted pathetically. "Mine won't care. They already know I'm a screw up. Just hang on bro… we're gonna be alright."

He blacked out again, too soon to tell Dez he wasn't making any sense. Everything was fine. He probably just got a little concussed. He'd get up himself.

He woke with a start, panting at the memory. But was it a memory, or just a vivid dream? He had no idea what happened that night, as when he did awake, the doctors told him he sustained a serious concussion and was lucky there wasn't any permanent damage to his head.

"Are you okay?"

"Jesus," Austin panted.

Ally smiled slightly in the darkness, "I believe taking the lord's name in vain is a sin."

He gave her a pointed look, but then fell silent.

"Are you in pain? I'll call a nurse."

"No. Why aren't you sleeping?"

She sat up, "I was. You were groaning in your sleep."

He wanted to roll his eyes at his own vocals. Great. So now, Ally knew he was dreaming of something, something that obviously caused him some sort of pain.

"We can ignore it," she added after a second. "We don't have to though. I mean it. If you want to talk about it, I will. If not, I can turn my shoulder and go right back to sleep." She smiled coyly. "It's a gift."

He considered his options. "I dreamt of the accident."

"Yeah?" she asked. "What about?"

"The aftermath mostly. Dez was there. He was telling me it was going to be alright, that the police were on their way, you know, normal stuff. Then," he hesitated. He probably shouldn't mention this. Maybe Dez didn't come visit because he was in legal trouble. He was driving, so they probably arrested him for underage drinking and being intoxicated under the wheel. "What else do you know about my accident?"

"All that's in the file," she responded, furrowing her brows. "Why?"

"Did it say what happened to Dez?"

"He wasn't injured," she told him. "Remember?"

"I know," he countered. "But I mean legally. What kind of trouble did he get in I wonder?"

"Well he—" Ally froze early into her sentence. Austin gave her a look, willing her to continue. "What?"

"What?" he repeated. "You were going to say something. What?"

"Nothing," she murmured. "Nothing important."

"Ally," he demanded, seeing she was trying to cover. Ally was bad at that. It made her a bad liar, most of the time. The only time he saw her successful at it was that night at truth or dare. "What is it?"

She was only silent for a second before, "I saw Dez here. He said not to tell anyone."

"What?!"

"He's been visiting when Wendy is here. She knows, but no one else. That's all I could get out of him. He misses you," she said softly. "I've been suspecting that he knows something you don't. That's probably why your parents won't talk to you about it."

A realization came over him, "He covered for me."

"Huh?"

"He wasn't driving," Austin said, using the buttons on the side of the bed to sit up quickly. "He covered for me, that's what he meant in my dream! It wasn't a dream though, it was me remembering! He covered for me because he knew what kind of trouble it would mean for me and my future. He thinks he doesn't have one, so he took the blame. He wouldn't drive; he's terrified of driving. I know this, we both do. That's why he hasn't actually snuck in here because he knows I'd demand he tell the truth! God, how could I be so dumb?"

Before he knew it, he was hyperventilating and Ally was beside him, willing him with encouraging words to calm down and try to even his breathing. The machine next to him was only seconds from going off and alerting a nurse that something was wrong.

"Alright," Ally murmured, when he finally was able to think clearly again, "So let's say that you're right… that's a really nice move."

"Dez is my brother," Austin defended. "It makes sense. He's not avoiding me because he doesn't want to see me, he's avoiding me because he knows I'd never allow him to take the fall for me. Oh my God."

"Alright," Ally said again. "What now?"

"I don't know," he sighed, annoyed with himself and with Dez. His best friend always told him his future was small; how Austin had this great plan and set up while he'd probably end up stocking shelves. He hated how Dez often thought of himself. He knew the kid well enough to know he was probably hurting emotionally since the accident and didn't trust anyone as much as he trusted Austin. He made a note to text him the moment it was morning and make him aware he knew the truth.

His stupid heart of gold best friend.

He actually did have someone in his corner all along. But his parents would freak out if they ever found him there, so what did that mean in general? Was he going to have to deal with this situation forever like this? How could his convince his parents to see otherwise? Dez was his best friend. He needed him to get better. He wanted him there.

He glanced at Ally, who was calmly waiting for him to get his thoughts together. "I just want my life back."

Ally sat down beside him on the bed, squeezing his hand. "We'll get there."

He sat like that for a few more minutes, trying to process all of what they just discovered. Then Ally, glancing at the time gently hit the button beside his bed, watching as he was eased onto his back. She sat down next to him a second time, squeezing his hand with a tired, but supportive smile on her face. She fixed the blankets, and if the fear and worry wasn't enough weighing down on him, the exhaustion was more than enough to stop him from making a motherly joke.

Instead, he squeezed back. "Thank you for coming tonight."

"I wanted to," she stated. "I know I'm far from Dez, but it has to get scary sitting here all alone."

He didn't answer her sentence. His eyelids answered for him, lulling him back to sleep.

He woke a few hours later, the sun casting morning glow spots through the room. The bed in which Ally slept on was long gone, as were her bags and other belongings. He almost thought she went home and would be back later when she entered the room, holding breakfast food from outside of the center and a few assortments of drinks. She grinned, bringing the food over to the counter. Without any words, she helped him sit up and he saw her also wordlessly look over his body for any signs of discomfort. He was shocked that despite the late night chat which kept them up, he felt pretty good.

"I feel fine," he assured her. He made a face, "Well, as fine as you can be like this."

Ally smiled widely, but did not laugh. They joked about his condition now, but he knew she knew that the jokes were only a mechanism to hide how he truly felt about all of it. At least, that's what he gathered. "I picked out a few different things on the menu at the deli. Take whatever you like. I wasn't sure if you could have coffee and its hard enough sneaking food in, so I didn't ask."

He shrugged, "Not my favorite thing. This is great. Thanks."

"There's talk about a few new patients coming in today." Ally reached for a napkin and sat down on the edge of the bed, taking a sip of her coffee. "I heard Wendy talking about a blind guy, and a girl who's got some kind of muscular disease."

"Oh," he nodded as he ate, not sure what to say to that. He knew Ally wasn't the best social person, and honestly, it was enough to try and keep up with Jake and Cassidy. As much as he didn't want to be alone, there was something less than welcoming about meeting more people who were either as less fortunate as you health wise, or worse off.

"Not wanting to join the welcome committee?" she mused, giving him a teasing smile.

"I don't think so," he joked lamely back. "I would love to hear from Dez."

She set down her drink at the sound of his request. "I can try to make something happen. Your parents don't come in until after I leave, right? If I can somehow get in contact with him before that, he could come when Wendy was here and visit you. I mean, by now, I'm sure he's got enough nerves to make it somewhat hard for him to come, but if your friendship is as great as you make it sound, I'm sure at the drop of a dime, he'd be here."

Austin nodded vigorously, "He would. You would do that?"

"Yeah." She gave him a curious look, and then smiled. "Besides, he seemed even weirder than you. I can only imagine how you too became friends."

"I would protest that, but you're right. He's super weird. But he's a good guy. He'd do anything for someone he cares about." Austin bitterly looked down at his useless legs. "Obviously."

"Great, I'll make the—"

Ally held up her finger at the sound of her phone ringing, though the confusion on her face mirrored his thoughts. It was barely eight am; who would be calling her this early?

"Hold on. Hello? Hi Mrs. Shore… what? Wait, what?! Slow down, I can barely understand what you're saying. You're not making any sense. What's going on? Is everything okay? Where is Connor, can I talk to—"

Ally's face lost all of its color.

"When? Why are you just calling me now?" she asked shrilly. "I'll be there soon. Alright. Bye."

The phone bleeped down, and Austin started to ask what was the matter when Ally burst into loud, panicked tears. "I need to go. I'm so sorry. There's been an accident."

"Ally?" he asked in alarm. "What's going on?"

She already was up, gathering her things while she muttered apologizes and making it up to him. He didn't understand, but he wouldn't let her leave the room without explaining whatever she was going through. Stuck in bed though, he desperately reached out and grabbed her hand as she tossed her forgotten coffee into the garbage, stopping her short.

"Talk to me," he whispered.

Her eyes were already bloodshot. "Connor was in a car accident late last night."