A/N: This chapter is going to be a bit emotional, so I just thought I'd warn you. Thanks for the comments and suggestions and an extra special thank you to lachach for suggesting that Aunt Susan be added. :)

Serena tried contacting Alex, but there was nobody answering. Figuring she was with the only person who completed their trio, she decided to call Abbie in hopes that she'd be with her.

"Hello?" Abbie answered.

"Eddie?"

"Mom!" Abbie said excitedly. "Mom, what's going on?"

"It's Liv," Serena told her, trying to be as calm as she could.

Abbie could see right through Serena's calm disposition. She was aware of Olivia's behavior and, as much as she hated to think about it, she knew it was only a matter of time before something happened to Olivia.

"Where is she?" Abbie asked.

"She's here in Fallbrook at—"

"Fallbrook Medical Center?" Abbie interrupted.

"How did you know?"

"I just know Liv," Abbie responded. "She's been—well, is she okay?"

Serena started telling Abbie the entire story of what happened to Olivia and Abbie tried to remain calm while she was listening, but her heart was already broken. Before she heard the end of it, Abbie began sobbing. She knew Serena had to tell Alex, but telling Alex would be even worse than telling Abbie. Alex was going to be a wreck and there was no way Serena would be able to handle that, so Abbie volunteered to tell her.

Before making her way over to her bedroom, Abbie rehearsed everything she was going to say to Alex, but it was no use. She couldn't exactly tell her that Olivia was going to be okay because she didn't know—Serena didn't even know. She couldn't tell her she knew why Olivia did what she did or if she did it on purpose, but Abbie had a feeling why Olivia did it wasn't going to matter to Alex. Alex was going to be a distraught girlfriend and the only thing on her mind would be whether or not Olivia is going to pull through. As frustrated as she'd get with her, Olivia was still the woman she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

Abbie fixed herself up before entering the bedroom. She knew there was no need to fix herself up because Alex was going to be paranoid regardless, but she thought of it as a way to stall for another five minutes. Knowing she couldn't stall any longer, Abbie entered her bedroom and saw Alex fast asleep in her bed. She would have looked like an angel if not for her tear-stained cheeks. Alex was unaware of what had happened, but it wasn't unusual for her to cry herself to sleep whenever she wasn't sleeping next to Olivia.

Oh, why did I volunteer to do this? Hearing about her girlfriend in the hospital is going to break Alex's heart.

"Alex?" Abbie whispered as she started to gently shake her. "Alex?"

"What?" Alex asked through her yawns. "Is the baby okay?"

"The baby is fine," Abbie told her. "It's Liv."

Alex quickly sat up and Abbie was surprised when every trace of sleepiness she once had was gone. "What happened to Olivia?"

"I just got off the phone with her mom and—"

"And what?" Alex interrupted. "Abbie, what happened? You can't keep me waiting like this. Wherever she is, that's where I have to be."

"She's at the Fallbrook Medical Center," Abbie began. "She went to a party and something happened…"

"Did someone hurt her?" Alex asked, her own near-experience with a date rape drug running through her mind.

"She hurt herself, Lex," Abbie tried to explain. "She just didn't know when to stop. We tell her when to stop, but these people didn't know her. They don't know how she is. They don't give a damn about her the way we do. We know when she needs to stop, Alex, and we know why she does this. These other people don't know. Nobody knows other than us—not Chucky or any of the guys. We're the only ones who know."

"I hate knowing," Alex admitted. "I want to tell Serena. I want to tell someone—anyone—why she's doing this. She needs help, Abbie, and us keeping her secret isn't helping her. I know this is all counterproductive, but I wish she never would have found out how she was conceived. I wish she would have continued thinking she was the product of a one-night stand or her dad was a war hero who died in Vietnam. She changed that day, Abbie. Regardless of how much Serena loves Olivia, Olivia still hates herself. She tries to act cocky, but she isn't. I'm the one who sleeps next to her. I hear what she says in her sleep and I'm the one who kisses her tears away when she's crying at night. She's scared to death of him and of herself. She thinks she's going to become him and, because of that, there's times when she won't even touch me."

"Lex, I'm—"

"We should go now," Alex urged her. "What if she wakes up and I'm not there? I have to be there. And we have to get Mr. Cuddles. She needs him, Abbie. She's never slept without Mr. Cuddles. What about her Game Boy? She's going to want that, too. Oh, and her Nirvana shirt and her Walkman. There are so many things she's going to need, Abbie."

"Alex, stop," Abbie said as Alex began frantically looking for something—anything—to wear.

"I don't want to stop," Alex insisted. "If I worry about the little details, it means Olivia is okay. It means none of this is happening and I can pretend we aren't visiting her in the hospital. We're visiting her at her mom's house, but all of these things are at her mom's house, so why are we bringing them if we're visiting her there? That would mean she already has them, but she doesn't have them. She doesn't have anything, Abbie. Do you think she's cold? Should I get her Princeton Girlfriend sweatshirt?"

"I'm not letting you drive," Abbie said when they approached Alex's car. "Let me focus on the road so you can focus on Olivia all you want. Tell me stories about her and how much you love her and everything you want in your future with her."

"I don't want to talk," Alex told her once they were on the road. Abbie debated giving Alex some space, but she quickly changed her mind once she noticed Alex was crying hysterically.

"Liv is going to be fine," Abbie promised.

"How do you know that?" Alex asked.

"Because she's invincible," Abbie insisted. "She's not going to die like this. We both made a pact to live to be 100 and I know she's sticking to it. When we're retired, we're going to spend our days sitting on rocking chairs and listening to Nirvana while we talk about how much we hate the new generation's music, clothes, and hair."

"You would," Alex said and flashed Abbie a half-smile. "Ever since I was a little girl, Olivia has been my hero—my protector. It hurts me to know that she is so vulnerable right now. It's all because of him, Abbie. Then again, he's the reason she's here in the first place. Without him, she wouldn't be here. He's the reason she cries all the time and he's the reason she drinks so much. She just wants to forget, but she can't. I've never told anyone this and I promised I wouldn't, but you're our best friend, so I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you know. This bothers me, Abbie. It really does, but she can only make love to me after she's been drinking. We try to when she's sober, but she can't get turned on. She asks me how it's even possible for me to get turned on by her because she doesn't believe anyone could. She keeps thinking that she's forcing me and then she'll start crying. Then she starts saying that she's ugly and she wishes she could get him out of her. This has been going on our entire relationship, Abbie. It's not like this all the time and there are plenty of times when we're able to be intimate with each other and enjoy that experience together, but then there are the bad days and those are becoming more frequent. I don't want her going through any of this. I know when she drinks and when she parties with the guys, it takes her pain away and I know I'm being selfish for saying this, but I wish I could take her pain away instead. I wish there was something within me that could make everything better for her."

"There is," Abbie said and held her hand. "She's going to need professional help, but there are still things you can do for her. You can love her, Alex. You can be there for her and hold her whenever she needs you to hold her. Be a good girlfriend to her and then a good wife. Just keep loving her."

"Yeah," Alex said meekly.

Abbie wanted to cry just like Alex was, but she knew she couldn't. She was trying her hardest to be strong for Alex and she didn't know how much longer she could put on an act for her. With Alex's silence and a long stretch of open road came an opportunity for Abbie to think, which was the last thing she wanted to do. She thought about every milestone she had experienced with Olivia ever since they were in the fourth grade and started to imagine what life would be like without her.

There is no life without her, Abbie thought. What the hell would Alex and I do?

"Olivia is going to be just fine," Abbie said aloud, not quite sure if she was saying it to convince Alex or just to convince herself.

"Sure she is," Alex responded, also wondering whom she was trying to convince.

When they finally reached the hospital, Alex nearly jumped out of the car. Abbie had told her she would go to the house and pack a bag with Mr. Cuddles and some of Olivia's other belongings, so Alex wouldn't have to worry about it. With a quick hug from Abbie, Alex was on her way to the waiting room.

While she was walking, Alex became lost in a fantasy world. She imagined all of this being over with—not just Olivia's hospitalization, but everything else they were going through. She imagined the two of them with their careers and a place that was truly theirs. Their youth would be gone, but Alex didn't care. All she wanted was for the two of them to finally be settled and for her girlfriend to be without dreams of the man who raped her mom. You'll have it all, Alex kept trying to convince herself. Your girlfriend is going to be okay. Just be strong for her, Alex. Be strong for her.

After getting lost more than once, Alex finally found the correct waiting room. She was surprised to see her aunt Susan seated next to Serena, but she was in no mood to question them. Susan was holding on to her hand and trying to comfort a nearly hysterical Serena. Alex had never seen her aunt Susan so gentle and loving with someone before and she couldn't help picturing herself and Olivia when she looked at them.

"Alex," Aunt Susan said as she rushed over to where her niece was standing.

"Where's my girlfriend?" Alex asked frantically. "Where's Olivia? I need to see her. I need to see that she's okay."

"Sweetheart, she's not okay right now," Susan tried to tell her. "We hope she will be soon, but she's not okay right now."

"You're lying," Alex insisted. "I know you're lying because nothing can hurt Olivia. And why are you here? Where's Peter? Is he coming or is he one more person who let Olivia down? Everyone lets her down. Why do they do that? I know she can be hard to love sometimes but loving her is worth it. I'm going to love her for the rest of my life. Even if she doesn't make it, I'm not going to love anyone else. I'm going to spend the rest of my life mourning her because when you really love a woman, that's what you do. You love her for the rest of your life. Is that how you feel about Serena? Do you still love her the way Olivia and I love each other? Maybe it's a good thing. Abbie would be thrilled. It'll give her hope for her own Serena. What is it with women named Serena, you know? It's like they're the ones who you'll love forever regardless of whether or not you have them, but I wouldn't know. I've always loved Olivia and Olivia has always loved me—ever since we were four years old. Four years old! That's a long time to love somebody, but it's not long enough for us. It's nowhere near long enough. Olivia and I were going to get married. Did I ever tell you that? Did I ever tell anyone that?"

Alex soon realized that she had an audience. Nearly a dozen other people in the waiting room were staring at her and she had no idea what she should do. The more their eyes fixated on her, the more anxiety Alex had. Her breathing became more rapid and she felt as if she wanted to jump out of her own skin.

"She gets like this sometimes," Susan told Serena after they had finally gotten Alex to sit down.

"I know," Serena responded. "Olivia always knows what to do when Alex has an anxiety attack. She calms her down in no time at all."

"It's not an anxiety attack," Alex insisted once she had calmed down. "My brain just processes a lot of information and sometimes it spews out."

Alex continued to ask for Olivia, but there was still no word on her condition or when they'd be able to see her. Alex knew she was probably in for hour after hour of waiting, but she didn't care. Each hour that passed brought her closer to seeing Olivia again and Alex couldn't wait to tell her girlfriend just how much she loved her and how she knew she was going to love her for the rest of her life.