Jill was nice enough to drive me to the hospital. It was the longest car ride I'd ever been on - and I'd just come back from Massachusetts the day before. It felt like the road never ended; that time dragged on forever. I couldn't breathe.

"You're real stupid, you know that?" Jill muttered. Her stomach almost touched the steering wheel. "Getting yourself drunk like this. If I were Kyle, I'd kick your sorry ass to the curb."

"How is this about me? Chloe's in the hospital - I didn't plan for this to happen."

"Yeah, but you can't drink the way you do when you have responsibilities." She stopped at a red light, leaning back against her seat. "You need to realize you're not the only person effected by your actions anymore."

"Since when did you grow up?" I grumbled, popping open the glove compartment of her car. I rummaged through some registration papers. "Do you have any aspirin?"

"Not in there." She reached into the CD holder below the radio, tossing the bottle at me without taking her eyes off the road. "And I grew up when I had both a baby and a blind Jeff to worry about."

I squinted at the dosage written on the side, fumbling to pop the top off. "What do you even call Jeff?"

"Jeff."

"I meant like... husband, boyfriend... "

"Jeff." She smiled, glancing in her rear-view mirror. "Jeff and I decided a long time ago that we didn't need societal labels to express our love for each other."

"Fuckin' poets." I tossed two caplets into my mouth, swallowing them dry. "Can't you just be normal for once?"

Jill shrugged. "What is normal?"

I groaned, rubbing my forehead. "I'm too stupid for this kind of conversation when I'm not half drunk. Can't we talk about something else?"

"Okay." Jill looked behind her, switching on the blinker. She changed lanes smoothly, knocking the switch back with her hand. "How about we talk about your future."

"Oh, great - "

"What are you plannin' on doin' with Kyle, sweetheart?"

I sighed, dropping my hands against the arm rests. "Marryin' her."

"And after that?"

"Adoptin' Chloe."

"And after that?"

I moaned. My head was pounding. I hated sobering up - it felt so shitty. "I don't know, all right, Jill? I don't know."

Jill drove silently for a while, the wheels turning loudly in her head. "Want my opinion?" she asked suddenly, breaking the tension.

"Do I have a choice?"

"I think you should get out of this mess," she said nonchalantly, turning a corner. "You're not mature, ready or responsible enough for something this heavy."

"But - "

"Shannon, look at yourself. You're half drunk, you're covered in dirt and I'm driving you to the hospital where your girlfriend's child is sick. Not to mention all the drama with the ex." Jill shook her head, sighing. "Get out, honey. You're not ready."

I felt my fists clenching. "You're out of your fucking mind," I gritted.

"No, sugar," she said softly, pulling into the parking lot of the hospital. She looked at me sadly. "You are."

What did Jill know? She wouldn't understand what I was going through if she and I switched fucking bodies. I couldn't stand it when she went all mother on me - I didn't need her advice. I could do what I wanted, when I wanted, where I wanted and with whom I wanted. She couldn't control me; she doesn't think I'm ready? Fuck that. Chloe's practically my kid, already. There was nothing getting in the way of what I desired.

I stumbled up to the front desk, leaning against it awkwardly. The room was spinning and I felt like I was going to throw up, but I pushed through the haze and hit my hand against the counter top.

The receptionist looked up, smiled. "Hi, honey. What can I do for you?"

"Chloe Simpson came in earlier." I scratched my head. "Rushed in, actually. She was unconscious... I need to know where she is."

The woman was nodding, already typing on her computer. "Okay. What's your name?"

"Shannon Moore."

She smiled again, clicking a couple of keys. "And are you related to the patient?"

"I'm... I'm her step-dad." It felt nice to say. Fuck Jill - she didn't know what she was talking about.

"Okay. Her mother came in about an hour ago. Here's her room number." She slid a card over, the numbers of the floor and room scribbled on the back of it. "The elevators are down the hallway and to the right."

Unfortunately, I knew this place like the back of my hand. I nodded, stuffing the paper in my back pocket. "Thank you."

"My pleasure, honey," she drawled.

I turned and headed to where she pointed, pressing the up button. A man pushing his wife came up next to me, a baby snuggled in the mom's tired arms. I smiled at them.

Chloe was on the intensive care unit, in the children's area. Seeing so many sick kids made the bile in my throat rise again. This place was fucked up - I couldn't stand it.

The door was open when I reached it, exposing Kyle's hunched back. She was next to one of those hospital cribs - they were so much creepier than regular ones. Made out of metal and attached to all those gadgets, it looked like Chloe was a robot.

Kyle's thin and tattooed hand was through one of the bars, stroking Chloe's tiny fist. Her hair was flipping out every which way, like she'd been running her hands through it for the past hour.

I raised my hand, hesitantly, and knocked on the open door.

Kyle jumped and looked over her shoulder, eyes settling blankly on me. She turned back to the crib. "What are you doing here?"

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. What do you say to that? I love you? I care about Chloe?

"You need me," I said softly.

Kyle scoffed, shaking her head. She didn't even bother looking at me. "I made it the first twenty-five years of my life without you."

I stepped forward. "I need you."

"Chloe needs me," Kyle whispered, rubbing her thumb against the baby's chubby arm. "And I need her."

I nodded sarcastically. "So you don't need me."

"This isn't about you."

"It isn't about you, either."

She looked at me, mouth agape in disgust. "Who the fuck do you think you are? This is my daughter."

"I consider her mine, too."

She shook her head, looking back at the crib. "Fuck off."

I came into the room, dragging a chair over from the corner. I sat next to her. "No. You're in my life - both of you. I need to be here just as much as you do."

Kyle smiled humorlessly. "You don't want to be here. Just get out."

I grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand out to lace it with mine. "It's not just me anymore, Kyle. Do you understand that? It's not just Shannon Moore. It's Shannon, Kyle and Chloe. Don't tell me to leave."

Kyle was shaking her head, eyes watering. "I fucking hate you," she whispered. She looked up at me. "I can't stand you. I can't stand how you can come in here half fucking drunk and say things that make me realize that this might be more than just a fling."

"Kyle." I covered my other hand over hers, kissing her knuckles. "You said you loved me."

She started crying, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. "No. I can't."

"Kyle." I turned her face, wiping tears away. "I love you. Come on. This isn't pretend."

She blinked sadly at me, eyes red and dripping.

"I love you," I said again, smiling slightly. "And I love Chloe. I want this. I want to be here."

Kyle bit her lip and looked away, watching Chloe breathe evenly. Her heart beat kept beeping behind us.

"How is she?" I asked quietly.

Kyle looked back at me, shrugging. "She's still unconscious, but the doctors got her fever down. I have no idea what brought it on."

"Sometimes it just happens. Right?"

She nodded, smiling slightly. "That's how most things happen."

A/N: I didn't feel forced to write this, it just sort of came out of me. Which is a good thing, I suppose. Review, please. :) Moore tomorrow!