New Years Eve 1979

"My head hurts." He whined, his head over the toilet.

A laugh came from the other side of the room.

"That's called detox." The response was dry, the room was dark. The shades were drawn to prevent the pounding in his head from getting any louder.

"Some way to spend New Years Eve, huh?" He shook his head. "I can't believe that my parents sent me here." The boy in question, his roommate, was in here for an offense. A marijuana-related offense. His eyes had almost rolled right back into his head at that one.

They probably would have, if it didn't hurt to do so.

Before checking himself into this low-grade place, he had attempted to do it on his own. Unfortunately, the process didn't go as he had planned it to. He needed solitude, a place where he had no liquor store to go to, or beer to drink, or even people to lie to. He needed somewhere that he wasn't allowed to blame everyone else.

"What day is it?" He had asked.

"New Years Eve, the 80's start tomorrow." His roomate hung upside down off his bed, his silky hair fell in tendrils across his floor. "Hey man, things will start to look up soon."

"Things will start to look up when I'm not detoxing on the floor of this seedy old place." He spoke,head in his hands. The nurse entered the room, and he waved her over.

Nurse Julia was a soft personality. Someone who had cared for others. She smiled at him, watched him, waited on him. Sure it was her job, but the other nurses were stone cold and harsh. "Hey, Steven. I have some Ibuprofen for your headache, and I was told to tell you your sister called. I told her I'd let you know. I know you've been feeling pretty rough."

Julia was tiny, maybe about Jackie's size in height, and thick with all muscle. She was a force to be reckoned with, and yet she was the sweetest soul he had met. "I didn't know we had phones here." He winced, standing up.

"How do you feel today?" She asked, leading him down the hall towards the pay phones. He shrugged, sniffling.

"Better than yesterday. Or the day before. Those two were the worst." He confessed. He pulled the quarter from his pocket, and dialed the familiar number.

"Angela Barnetts Office." A sickeningly sweet voice answered the phone. He cringed as her voice sounded like nails in his head.

"Tell her it's Steven." He grumbled. Shuffling, before she spoke again. "One moment, babe."

"Callin' me babe-" He grumbled, rolling his eyes. Nurse Julia laughed. "Hello?" Angela's voice finally rang.

He jumped. He stayed silence. "Hello?" Her sass was evident.

"Angela?" He asked. He hadn't meant for it to sound so weak. He cringed at himself. Who the hell was he?

"Stevie, you sound awful." She spoke. He grunted.

"I feel awful." He confessed.

"I'm coming to see you tomorrow." She told him.

For the first time in two weeks, he cracked a genuine smile. "Good, we can play chess." He quipped.

"Get ready to have your ass kicked, big bro." She taunted.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." He grinned.

December 1984

"A baby?" She finally asked when they were out of ear shot. "Like a live and breathing child?"

"I didn't know, Ang, otherwise I would have come straight home!" He complained. "I've been guilty about it since I laid eyes on her."

She sighed, scratching her head. Her hair was long and curly now, down past her shoulders. She never cared about professionalism as they had called it. There was nothing unprofessional about her hair, and she knew it. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a sweatshirt, with a pair of tennis shoes. She crossed her arms.

"There's no way Jackie wouldn't have at least called. Also, didn't you come back-"

"Yes, I did. And I still didn't know, even when I went home with her!" He ran a hand over his face. "Eric is considering explaining to her that I'm her Dad."

"And how does that make you feel?" Angie asked, quirking a brow. Steven shrugged. "I don't feel anything but guilt." He confessed. She rested a hand on his shoulder, and pulled him into a hug. He leaned into her embrace as a silent tear ran down his cheek. He kept his composure, though, his shades stayed on his face.

"Boots missed you like crazy."

"I'm sure Ty did too." He told her, looking down at his hands. She just frowned, and rested her head on his shoulder, both leaned over the balcony resting on their elbows side by side. She sighed, mocha eyes scanning out over the twinkling city.

"Yeah." She swallowed. "So am I."