"So how long will you be in school this time, Reine?"

"Not much longer, I'm nearing the end of it. Just a few more months."

"And then you're a full-fledged Psychiatrist? That's amazing with someone so young!"

"I'm sure I'm not the first and not quite. After I complete schooling I'll need eight more years." Reine replied with a nervous chuckle at the gaggle of women who surrounded her at lunchtime.

"My goodness. But you are picking things up rather quickly," said a nurse at the coffee maker. Reine stirred her soup slowly and shrugged, "I still have lot to learn. That's why I'm shadowing Dr. Teneid in the neurology wing."

"Ah yes, he's the one seeing 's daughter right?"

"Of all his patients that's the one you remember?"

"Well Reine and her have history, isn't that right Reine?" the nurse looked up as Reine stood to rinse her bowl and put it in the dishwasher. "We… used to go to the same school…" was all they got out of her.

"Reine," another nurse butt in. "You started studying psychiatry right after high school, have you done anything with your personal time? Is there someone in your life?"

Reine pretended to wash her hands over and over. She tried to ignore the question as images of her first meeting with Jade in the medical room attending her cut up fist at Hollywood arts. Their first laughter and first kiss came rushing back. She grabbed the counter to steady herself and a nurse was immediately at her side, "You alright? You haven't been properly resting have you?"

"We know you are doing overtime to see Jade after your sessions. You need to sleep, you have exams coming up."

Reine shook her head and breathed in deep. She ruffled her hair and sighed. "Yes, yes, I promise I will get more than average on them. I just want to be the one that helps Jade wake up." She walked out quickly dismissing them with a polite wave.

"Reine!" A young paramedic chased after her when he suddenly stepped away from the receptionist. She stopped enough to acknowledge him with a kind smile and then kept walking, hands in her white coats pocket. "How is the lovely doctor tonight?"

"I'm fine thank you for asking, Travis." She dismissed that he had called her doctor when she wasn't one. After telling him various times to quit the title, he had bestowed upon her, he didn't stop. "Have any free time tonight?"

Reine stared straight ahead as she continued walking, "I have a lot of homework to catch up on."

"Want some help?"

"You're on the graveyard shift. I wouldn't dream of it."

"Oh, some risks are worth it aren't they?"

Reine stopped to look at him squarely in the eyes. "Have a good night, Travis," she said softly and then promptly marched away, leaving him dumbfounded.

She continued down a hallway and then took a left toward the first room and knocked gently before letting herself in. She smiled at the nurse who was scheduled to regularly maintain Jade's joints by exercising her limbs. She was gently pushing Jade's left leg up to stretch it and then gradually bend it down so her foot rested on the bed and then repeated it. Reine took her coat off and went to her opposite side and did the same.

"You don't have to help every time I do this, I'm capable of doing this on my own," the nurse said in a calm collected voice. Reine smiled at her, "You're doing a great job, Candace. I'm not here to help you; I'm here to help Jade if you don't mind." The nurse nodded and they made small talk.

"Your brother keeps trying to ask me out," Reine said with a chuckle. Candace shook her head and looked amused. "He never quits. If you tell him you have a boyfriend he might stop."

"I'm not going to lie to him. He needs to understand that I'm not interested, plain and simple."

Later that night Reine sat beside Jade's bed while she played a soft melody on the guitar while staring out the window. She was hoping the sound of music was getting through to Jade and touching her subconscious, hoping for a reaction of any kind. It had been weeks now that Jade had been in this hospital and never so much as a finger twitch. Tori and Beck texted her every second day to ask about Jade and she always gave them the same reply. She did notice however that Cat was never mentioned in the texts. When she closed her phone she looked over at the sleeping beauty at her side. She sighed and nestled back into her chair, raising her knees to rest her cheek on as she gazed at Jade.

Sometimes she woke up in the chair with a blanket covering her the next morning. Try as she may, the nurses knew more than they let on about her and the patient. They never asked directly but somehow they knew. She wrapped her arms around her knees and doze off.

.

Niomi was lying on her side, fully clothed while Cat had insisted on being in her underwear. The redhead fell asleep nearly as soon as she hit the bed. Niomi watched her sleep in the dim glow of the morning creeping in. Cat had been sleep talking. Niomi stayed quiet, sleep never consuming her. She listened intently and kept her eyes on her face. She noticed every twitch and every sigh. The girl was dreaming.

.

Reine slowly raised her head at a glow that awoke her from her nap. On the opposite side of her she saw a pair of boots facing her but she never looked up. "You don't sleep deep do you," said a female voice, a statement more than a question. Still, Reine never raised her eyes, "And you've been asleep too long."

A slight scoff and the boots turned away, the person now facing the window. "This place?"

"New York. This is the hospital they've brought you to. You're in my care."

"Seems we keep meeting in stupid circumstances."

Reine sighed and lowered her head back to her knees, "Seems that way."

"You know," the boots now faced her again. "I've missed you."

Reine slowly lifted her head again and finally looked up at Jade who didn't smile while gazing down at her. Reine exhaled and lowered her eyes to the floor again.

.

Cat snuggled in closer to Niomi's chest, burying her face with a smile. Niomi prodded her with her forefinger to see if she was awake. No movement. Niomi sighed and laid her head down on the pink pillows. She closed her eyes for a few minutes and when she opened them Cat was staring at her. Niomi jolted awake at the sudden sight. She quickly realized Cat wasn't awake at all when she saw the glazed look in her eyes. Still dreaming? "Cat?"

.

"Even in my dreams you tease me," Reine closed her eyes with the sound of the heart monitor gently beeping in the background and the slight hiss of Jade's respirator lulling her to sleep.

.

When Cat's mouth reached for hers, Niomi abruptly sprang backwards, rolling off the bed and quickly jumping to her feet, hands extended out in case Cat followed her. But the other girl remained on the bed, still sleeping. Had she only imagined that? Assuming she was jittery from alcohol and no sleep she decided to sit in the lounge chair beside the bed. After a few minutes her head nodded off as she tried to fight sleep but it crept up on her. She heard the bed creak and her eyes sprang open in alarm and yet again she found Cat asleep on the bed with no sign of movement. Was she so paranoid of Cat trying something?

The next time she opened her eyes she found herself lying on the bed under the covers without her jacket or boots. Her heart hammered and she bolted up to a sitting position, looking down to her side searching for Cat. Nobody was lying beside her. She panicked and scrambled out of bed, hurriedly grabbing her boots and jacket. She stumbled to the door putting her boots on and swung the door open, hair a mess, wild eyed. Cat flinched on the other side, almost spilling the two cups she carefully guarded when she climbed the stairs. "Heeeey, you're awake!" she said cheerily.

Niomi gave a nervous smile and rubbed her head, "H-how long was I out?"

"Not entirely sure…" Cat set down the cups on her table and finished preparing them. "You were sleeping in the chair when I woke up. You could've slept on the bed you know."

Niomi bit her lower lip as she sat back down in the chair she selected yesterday. "And you moved me?"

Cat chuckled and shook her head. "I came over and took your hand to pull you up but you got up easily and followed me to the bed. You lay down and you were snoring before I even covered you. You must've been so tired."

Niomi looked at her hands cautiously and peered up at Cat who offered her the mug of steaming tea. She took it gratefully and sipped it gently, grimacing at the amount of sugar in it. Cat giggled and took it back, "Sorry, that's probably mine." She gave her the other cup and it was slightly better. They sat in silence, drinking and smiling awkwardly at each other.

"Uhm, listen… I…" Niomi started but wasn't sure where she was going with any of it. Cat put down her cup and smiled, "I had fun last night. It's been awhile since I've done anything like that."

"Go out?"

"I mean … have fun…" Cat's cheerful facade faded and she seemed downcast. Niomi put the cup aside and went to kneel at Cat's feet, gently taking her hands in hers, rubbing the knuckles with her thumbs. They seemed so small and delicate and the light lacerations were harder to disguise this way. Niomi swallowed hard and looked up at her imploringly. "Cat, tell me what I can do to help. You shouldn't be in this much pain. Things have ways of working out. There has to be something I can do."

Cat was quiet for a few minutes and Niomi kept reassuring her she wasn't leaving any time soon. After a few hard swallowed attempts Cat spoke. "Jade doesn't visit me anymore…"she replied with a watery smile, trying hard not to let them spill, crystal pools glittering in her eyes. "I'm not sure what I've done wrong. We had a small hiccup but I thought we could get over it." She shook her head and shut her eyes, two little streams spilling down her cheeks. Niomi saddened by her distraught sobs reached up and hugged her, squeezing her gently.

"I'm sure she's just busy. Have you … been calling her?"

"Her phone's always off, she's avoiding me I know it."

"Have … Tori and your friends talked about her?"

Cat shook her head, bottom lip trembling as she tried to cover her face. "I don't think they know we were dating or that we broke up. We were keeping this a secret cause we didn't know how our friends would react."

Niomi sat beside her and rubbed her back. Her sob wracked body left Niomi feeling useless. She looked at the carpet without word and shook her head. None of this was piecing together. What did she mean they didn't know? Just the other day Tori was being completely defensive about Cat's relationship with Jade. She didn't know what questions to ask. She looked at the blinking cellphone that was on the dresser.

.

Tori was quick to peel her car into the drive way of the coffee shop. She had gotten a text from Cat to meet her at 6pm to talk. She was putting her shades and phone away into her purse when she rushed up the steps and saw Niomi sitting, arms crossed by the parlour outside on a bench. A few guys were talking to her but her words were short and curt. "Niomi?" Tori said in suspicion. Was Cat with her?

Niomi turned her unruly blond head toward her and brightened up. "There you are."

Tori approached the girl and eyed the boys wryly, "Have you seen Cat?" she asked but her eyes were on a tall dark young man with a flashing smile. Niomi sighed and waved the boys away like they were birds.

"See ya, Nio!"

"You better let us come with you next time!"

"Don't forget my cousin's birthday party tonight!"

Niomi sat back and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. Tori sat down beside her and lowered her purse. She examined Niomi, it looked like she had been in a hurry and had left the house as if it were on fire. Her jeans were rumpled and worn, her boots were unlaced, her shirt was loose and slightly see-through, hinting at her blue bikini top underneath it. Atop that her hair was a fine mess but even still she looked ready for public. Tori shrugged her light coat off and sat back. "So is Cat here or not?"

Niomi opened her eyes and stared straight ahead, her eye lashes unwavering, "I sent you that text."

Tori looked away, "Right. I … sorta figured. Cat doesn't come to us for anything anymore."

"About that," Niomi turned her blue eyes at Tori vehemently, "Where the hell is Jade?!"

Tori pulled back at the severe tone in Niomi's question. "What?"

"Exactly! Just WHAT is Jade doing by ignoring Cat completely! You know about their relationship! Why haven't you told Cat where Jade is or vice versa for that matter! Do you guys seriously not like communicating? I stayed up all night watching over her for fear she would do something. I don't know what's going on but it has to stop! Tell me where Jade is! I'll knock some sense into her myself."

As if you could get close to Jade. Tori's shoulders sagged and stayed quiet. Niomi got fed up with her silence and stood up abruptly. "If you won't say anything then I'll find Jade myself. Andre will tell me…" she pulled out her phone and immediately started texting. "Wait."

Niomi turned to face her again and waited this time for her to speak. Tori gathered up her coat and purse. "I'll take you to her house."

.

Once they arrived at the house Niomi gawked at the mansion. "This bitch lives here?"

They got out of the car and slowly ascended the driveway but Niomi stopped in her tracks once her eyes fell on the retail House for sale sign. "She's … moving?"

Tori looked back at her and returned to her side, "Jade was going to move to go to university and her mom can live just about anywhere, but that was all before things fell apart."

"What about Cat?"

Tori inhaled deep and exhaled.

.

Niomi listened intently to every word that spilled forth from Tori, watching her hand gestures and eye movements, not missing a thing. She was speechless the entire time until Tori finally felt exhausted from explaining. "And even still I don't know all the details… but that's the gist of it."

Niomi slowly turned her eyes away and stared at the pavement; letting it all sink in. "This is shit that happens in the movies…" she whispered. "Goddamnit, Hollywood."

Tori shifted her weight on the steps of Jade's house.

"So … Cat doesn't even know Jade was in the hospital?"

"She knew…" Tori rubbed her palms on her pants, "She was in the ambulance right after they took Jade and according to Reine and my dad she was not taking it well. It's possible she's blocked it out. But I should've figured something was wrong with her when she kept saying she was hanging out with Jade but she never set foot in the hospital."

"And now where is she?"

Tori lifted her head sorrowfully, "At Helen Hayes."

Niomi bolted to her feet. "New York!? And Cat has no idea!? How do you not tell her that her girlfriend is in a coma in another state!?" She grabbed her head as if she had a headache, "You guys are horrible to each other!" Tori began to open her mouth but Niomi interrupted, "Do you know she gouges herself? It's not the same as cutting but it's still abusing your own body! She's abusing herself thinking that she did something wrong that Jade isn't visiting her! She thinks it's her fault! And by keeping her in the dark you are all not helping! How many of you know?! All of you I bet! Everyone except Cat! What are you trying to gain?!" Niomi spun around to face her, eyes aglow by the streetlamp nearby. "I swear to god if that girl commits suicide I will hold all of you responsible!"

Tori angrily stood up to her face. "How dare you! Cat is not that weak! She isn't selfish-" she stumbled back when Niomi back handed her, catching herself on the stairs, staring wide eyed up at her.

"Cat is a human being! She has feelings! Hardly anyone can stop themselves when they are driven by emotional pain! She needs therapy! Councillors! People not like the lot of you!" Niomi turned to leave but stopped halfway down the driveway. "I'm sorry, Tori," she said softly then spun around and ran down the street.

Tori sat herself up. Niomi hadn't hit her too hard but it had been a shock. She remained in the same spot even after sundown. Was it too late to tell Cat? She slowly rose to her feet and eventually made it to her car, got in and bucked up. Before she started the ignition, her fingers shook and she slumped over the wheel and started to cry.
.

A/N: Boy this was intense, them catching breaks? Naw~ I do feel sorry for what I'm putting Cat through though. You can do it CAT! You are strong and you will get through this! Just hold on a bit longer!