Everyone else was still in the waiting room when Karen came in. They all looked up to see Karen with tears in her eyes.

"Is everything okay Mom?" Eli asked, worried for his little sister.

She looked at everyone with a serene expression. "Not yet, but it will be," nobody knew what to make of this statement. "Jessie's awake. She's going to be alright," Karen smiled through her tears. Everyone was relieved beyond imagination.

"Hey Jess," Katie said while tentatively entering her friend's hospital room. Jessie whipped her head up and stared at her with shock. "How are you doing?" She asked cautiously.

"I...uh...how...how did you know?" Was all that Jessie was able to say. She couldn't look Katie in the eyes.

Katie stood there a moment, assessing Jessie's actions. "You weren't in school today. I got worried and went looking for you," she admitted.

Jessie looked up, confused. "How did you know though?"

"I went to your Dad's and Eli was there. He told me everything," Katie said with her eyes downcast.

"But why? Why would you do that?" Jessie almost shouted angrily.

"I was worried about you Jess. I really care about you and I was worried that something bad had happened to you," Katie blurted out, almost in tears

Jessie looked into Katie's eyes, searching for a trace of insincerity. She didn't find any trace. "I care about you too," Jessie now had tears of her own. Katie leaned over and the two hugged. They pulled apart and Katie wiped her eyes and looked at Jessie. The two smiled at one another.

From the doorway, Grace had witnessed the whole exchange. I knew it. I God damn knew it! She had a big grin plastered on her face and knocked on the door. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything," she smirked at them. Katie averted her eyes and scowled down at her hands before looking over at Jessie again.

"Why would you be interrupting anything?" Jessie asked, shaking her head in confusion. She looked over at Katie, who only shrugged.

"Oh, no reason. Just an expression," Grace glanced over at Katie, who glowered back. Jessie missed the whole thing. "How are you?" Her tone suddenly turned serious and concerned.

Jessie paused to think about it a moment. "I'm feeling better," she gave them both a thoughtful smile. Then she turned toward the window. "After all, it's a beautiful day. See," she said, nodding toward the window.

Katie smiled, though she wasn't looking outside, she was looking at Jessie. "Yeah, beautiful," she said quietly.

Grace saw it and smiled at Jessie's obliviousness. This is going to be good. And Jessie's going to have no idea what hit her. "I'm gonna go. I'll see you later Jess," she then left them.

"Grace is such a freak show," Jessie stated as her stepsister left. Katie just giggled and nodded in agreement. Jessie turned her head back out the window.

Katie looked at Jessie sitting there with a smile on her face. She looked down at the bandages on her wrists, then frowned. When she looked back up, Jessie was staring at her, with a self-conscious expression. "I'm sorry...I just...What happened?" Katie said, apologetically.

"Uh...I couldn't," Jessie turned away, biting her lip to hold back the tears. "I couldn't take it anymore. I felt...trapped," she looked back at Katie with tears in her eyes.

Katie was staring intently into Jessie's eyes. She started to move her face forward, slowly. Jessie knew what was coming, but she didn't move away. They closed their eyes as Katie's face moved closer. Suddenly, Katie pulled her head back before anything happened.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have...I shouldn't have come here." She grabbed her things and left, wiping the tears from her eyes. Jessie just sat there, wondering what the hell just happened. She just...we almost...I didn't pull back and...I wanted to. Oh my God. She sat there, staring at the doorway.

She didn't have enough time to ponder this though. Lily and Zoe came in. "What was her deal?" Zoe chirped, referring to Katie. Jessie gave her a confused look. "Katie just went through the hall crying," Zoe said slowly.

"Oh," Jessie replied, distractedly, "I don't know." She shook herself out of it and said, "How are you?"

Lily knew something was going on, but she didn't know what. "Good. How are you doing?" Jessie rolled her eyes and sighed. This is going to be a long day.

"When does Jessie come home?" Lily asked Rick on their way back to the house. Zoe was sleeping in the backseat, so they had to whisper.

"The doctor said probably by Sunday at the latest. She's still really weak from...everything that's happened," he faltered some, tears rising.

"Where's she going, our house or Karen's?" Lily asked gently.

"Probably Karen's. They have a lot of things to work out," he sighed heavily.

"That's good, right? It's good that they're going to talk through things because all this has to stop," she waved her hand for emphasis, referring to everything from the past two weeks. Rick just nodded.

Jessie was sitting in the hospital, thinking about things. Reflecting on everything that has happened and trying to sort through her feelings. However, her thoughts were interrupted by her mother.

"Hey," Karen said tentatively. Jessie looked up, shaken from her thoughts. "We need to talk," Jessie just nods and Karen takes a seat by her daughter.

"Things have been pretty bad haven't they?" Jessie says, looking down at her hands. "I mean, you and I have a lot of stuff to work out," she looks up to see Karen looking at her.

"I guess we do. We need," she wasn't sure how to phrase it, so she decided to keep it simple. "We need to stop feeling guilty about...about," she was drawing a blank.

"Everything?" Jessie offered. "I know. Nothing is my fault and nothing is your fault? Is that what you're trying to say?" She had taking an almost sardonic tone.

Karen nodded. "That's right. To forgive ourselves," she was trying to stay strong for her daughter. The whole speech she had developed had flown out the window with one look in her daughter's tormented eyes. Her heart sank.

"I can't do that," Jessie stated indignantly, pulling Karen out of her thoughts. "I will never be able to forgive myself for what happened only a week ago. And I won't be able to forget about how I'm feeling right now," her tone had taken a sad turn. "I also know you won't either."

Karen looked up, almost shocked. After a pause, she conceded. "You're right. But we have to."

"Move on with our lives, huh?" She giggled darkly, gently tossing back her head to stare at the ceiling. "And how are we supposed to do that? You can forgive me and I can forgive you, but it really doesn't solve anything does it?"

"Wha...what do you mean?" Karen asked confused and a little scared.

"We can forgive each other all we want, but we will never forgive ourselves. Hell, what do we even need to apologize for? Love means never having to say your sorry," she chuckled again.

"What are you getting at Jess? What are you trying to say?" Karen was worried. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"Well, if you love someone, you automatically forgive their mistakes, right? I forgive you and you forgive me, that's obvious, but what does that say about how we feel about ourselves?" Jessie turned and stared at her mother.

"Jessie, I...how...what..." Karen sighed, she didn't have a decent defense against anything Jessie had just said. "Why can't you forgive yourself?"

"Because I know there had to be something I could have done to have stopped you, but I didn't even try," tears were welling up in Jessie's eyes. "Don't you feel the same?" The tears now began to flow freely.

"Of course I do, but we're okay now. I'm still alive and so are you," Karen said, feeling proud for making the connection.

"We're not okay," Jessie scoffed. "We only think so, but we are so far from it. I wish we were okay again, but we aren't," Jessie added the last part tearfully.

Upon hearing this, Karen's heart broke. "Jess, we saved each other," Jessie looked skeptical. "You found me before I actually died. You gave me a reason to keep on living. I found you. I hope that you will keep living, for you as much as for me."

Jessie broke down and started crying into Karen's shoulder. "I guess we need each other then, right?" Karen smiled and nodded. "We should stick around to, you know, be there for each other."

"We'll get through this honey," Karen said confidently, even through her tears. "I'll always be there for you Jess. No matter what."

"Same here," Jessie agreed. She pulled back to look in her mother's eyes. "Mom, I just want you to know that I love you."

"Of course I know. I love you too," they shared a smile and Karen pulled Jessie close.

There was a knock on the door to Jessie's hospital room. "Huh?" She grunted while getting her stuff together.

"Hey," Katie said softly and entering slowly. Jessie smiled as she turned around. "Your mom said you were going home today and I asked if I could bring you back and I-"

She was cut off by Jessie's giggling. Katie looked up sharply. "Katie, it's okay, I know," Katie had a confused expression on her face. "Phone," Jessie nodded at a phone by the bed. "She called me about ten minutes ago. What took you so long?" Jessie teased.

"I...uh...I drove slow," Katie was still confused.

"You drove slow?" She quirked an eyebrow with a slight grin on her face.

"You're feeling better I see," Katie said, relieved. They began their decent to the car. Jessie was more cheerful than Katie had ever seen. This was the first time she had known Jessie to be in a playful mood.

"I am actually," Jessie said in an exaggerated matter-of-fact tone. She broke into another grin.

They got into the car and Katie turned to look at Jessie. Katie didn't want to ruin the moment, but she had to ask. "How are you going to be at school tomorrow?"

Jessie's grin was almost completely wiped off her face. "Oh. Right. That place," she rolled her eyes and sighed. "I don't know. I guess I haven't given it much thought. It's not exactly on my Top Ten list of things to ponder." Katie smiled and they continued on their way.

"How's your mom doing? The other day she was really upset."

"She's doing better. We all are," Jessie turned out the window with a blissful look in her eyes. It is a beautiful day.

Katie smiled at Jessie before turning back to the road. Did she completely forget about the other day or is she pretending nothing happened?

Before Katie got to deep in thought, Jessie turned to her. "Katie," Jessie began and Katie looked over at her. "Thank you."

"For what?" Katie asked, puzzled. "I didn't do anything," she shook her head.

"Sure you did. You were there and I want to thank you," Jessie smiled at Katie.

"A lot of help I was," Katie scoffed at herself.

"You tried and you didn't give up. And that means a lot," Jessie's expression was serious this time. She reached down and took Katie's hand in her own. "Thank you," Jessie repeated quietly this time.

Katie turned to Jessie, a shocked expression on her face. Her shocked expression faded into a smile. "Your welcome," she answered in a soft tone, gently squeezing Jessie's hand.

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To Be Continued