May – August 2007

Drew followed the ambulance in Sierra's car all the way to the hospital, and then he ran inside, just barely remembering to lock the door. But when he reached the front desk, the woman told him his rushing had been for naught. "Your friend is in surgery," she said.

So he waited. He waited through Sierra's brothers arriving, demanding he recount everything, from Sierra's fall to Zorpox and Kim's deaths. He waited through a doctor coming to tell them that surgery was taking longer than expected. Drew only stopped waiting when the doctor told them they could see the still-sleeping Sierra.

Only the ache that had seeped its way into Drew's legs from sitting still for so long gave him any indication of how long he had been there. He stumbled into Sierra's room and took her hand, rubbing the back in small, slow circles. "You'll be ok," he whispered. "You have to be." And as if she heard him, Sierra's hand twitched under his.

Sierra didn't wake until several hours later. Jack had taken Will and Ryan home – they had school in the morning, he said – but Alex had insisted on staying. He and Drew had fallen asleep on opposite sides of Sierra's bed, but only Drew woke when he heard her stirring. "Sierra?"

"Drew … What happened?"

"Kim pulled you off the roof," Drew said. "After Zorpox was electrocuted."

"Oh." She shifted a bit, then winced. "My legs are kind of numb."

"The fall, um, fractured your spine," Drew said. "The doctor said you'll have to do physical therapy and all that. And you had a really bad concussion."

"Ok," she mumbled, her eyes already closing. She forced them open again.

"It's ok to sleep," he said. "Nothing bad will happen."

"Will you stay?" she asked.

Drew nodded. "Yes." Sierra fell asleep then, a small smile on her face.

The following weeks were rough. And, Drew thought, watching Sierra at physical therapy, that was putting it mildly. She clung to the bars on either side of her as she took another painful step. She had gone maybe a foot in the last minute, and her face was already slick with sweat.

She exhaled slowly, her arms shaking, and turned to her doctor. "Could we take a break?"

"Of course." He took her arm and guided her back to her wheelchair. "Ten minutes?" Sierra nodded, and the doctor left the room.

Drew crouched down next to Sierra, taking her hand. "You ok?"

She nodded again, still breathing hard. "Thanks for being here, Drew."

He kissed her on the cheek, quick, and Sierra laughed. "What?"

"I'm so sweaty."

Drew shrugged. "I still love you."

Sierra blushed, and looked away. But she smiled, too, and whispered, "I love you too."

Though Sierra couldn't walk at graduation – not without crutches, at that point, which she didn't want to do – her brothers hosted an afterparty at Go Tower for her and Drew and Junior. Killigan came, and Mama Lipsky, and Junior's family. After everyone had mingled and hugged the graduates and wished them well, Jack stood up to make an announcement.

He didn't even have to bang on a glass or anything, Drew thought. People just listened when Jack spoke. Drew supposed it had to do with the fact that he was built like a truck.

"For those of you who don't know me, I'm Sierra's brother," he said. "I … haven't always been the best brother. Sometimes I'm really controlling, and annoying. And I've put Sierra in real danger before. But I'm really trying to be better for her. Because she's probably the best person I know." In the corner, Alex rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, she's going to college in the fall and … I know she's going to do amazing things. I love you, Sis. And thank you for believing I could be better."

Sierra gave him a small, half smile, and Jack sat down again to a smattering of applause. On the other side of the room, Alex whispered to Will, "I don't know about the best person. I mean, she's okay." Will rolled his eyes and nearly shoved Alex out of his chair.

Even though Sierra lived at Go Tower officially, she frequently stayed at the Lipsky's that summer. "As long as Drewbie sleeps on the couch," she told them. "I want grandbabies, just not yet."

"Mother," Drew gasped. Sierra just laughed.

August came too soon, and with it, Sierra's departure. Drew had already moved into his dorm at MIST, where he and often Sierra had been staying for the last week or so. He joined her and her brothers at the bus station, where they waited for the 10:15 to Chicago.

"You'll call us when you get to the city?" Jack said. "And when you get to your dorm –"

"Yes, yes."

"And –"

"Jack," Alex interrupted, "I think she gets it."

"Right. Sorry."

Sierra locked eyes with Drew, then turned back to her brothers. "Could you all give us a minute?"

"Oooh, they're gonna kiss," Ryan whispered. Will and Alex both smacked him upside the head as they walked away.

Sierra gripped the handle of her bag tighter. "I'll call you tonight," she said. "And you'll come up to visit in two weeks."

"Yeah. That's not so long."

She let go of her bag and took Drew's hand. "It's going to be different. But we'll make it work. Promise." She stood on her toes and pulled Drew into a kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. For a wonderful moment, Sierra forgot she was leaving. She forgot that Will and Ryan were probably spying on them right now. She forgot everything but her and this wonderful guy that she loved and who somehow loved her.

They broke apart at last, and Drew pressed their foreheads together. "Don't forget me," he whispered into her lips.

She shook her head. "Never." And then a small grin. "You're my Golden Lion."

"Yeah, about that," Drew said, grinning too, "I still can't believe you lied to me."

"I can't believe you fell for it."

"I didn't think –"

"Face it, Lipsky, you would've freaked."

"Maybe just a little bit, but –"

"Yo, Sierra!" Alex called. "Are you two going to let us come back or …"

Sierra rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes." Besides, Drew was coming up in two weeks, and they would be alone together then.

And after that, well, they had the rest of their lives.

A/N:

I usually leave the notes at the bottom for L, but I didn't want any spoilers, and someone hasn't been doing their thank you notes anyway (cough, cough).

Thank you all so much for sticking with me through this crazy AU journey! Really, I think the biggest fault of this whole story is that I didn't manage to get AU Rufus and AU Wade in there. Something makes me think that AU Rufus would have a lot of hair …

I do think Drew and Sierra stay together after this. Maybe they break up once or twice in college, but let's face it, they can't stay apart for long. Her first year of college, Sierra begins court proceedings against her foster father, with the help of Drew and all of her brothers. And since this is my story, I say the asshole went to jail for a long time. Good riddance. Drew still gets bullied in college, but with Sierra to help him through it, he doesn't drop out. She goes on to get certified in teaching and Drew gets a PhD in robotics.