Joey Jeramiah woke with a start when his alarm clock buzzed. He was trembling and bathed in sweat. Staring at the ceiling, he caught his breath and allowed his heart to return to its normal speed.

Just another dream, he reminded himself as he silenced the alarm.

Joey had been having nightmares about the day the accident had occurred. What was the worst about some of them was that in them, Angela had survived and everyone was happy again. But then he would wake up and remember the truth.

With a sigh, Joey rolled out of bed and took a fast shower. Upon emerging from the bathroom was surprised to see that his stepson, Craig's, door was still shut tight. Quietly, he pushed the door open and entered the dark room. He could see Craig's sleeping form curled up under the comforter. Apparently he had shut off his alarm clock when it buzzed and fell back asleep.

Joey hated to wake him, but it was Craig's first day back to school in over a week. He had missed a lot of work and needed to catch up.

"Craig?"

"Mmm?"

"It's morning Craig. Time to get up." Joey went over to the window and opened the blinds, allowing thin streaks of light to appear on the bed. Craig groaned and rolled over. "Come on, Craig, you're gonna be late."

"Don't feel good," Craig mumbled.

Joey sighed and sat on the edge of his stepson's bed. "I know you don't Craig. I don't either but you have to go to school and I have to go to work." When he received no answer, he continued. "I miss her just as much as you do but right now, you need to get up and get back into the world. See your friends. You haven't talked to them since-since the funeral and I really think it's best that you keep-"

"I have a fever."

"Oh." Joey leaned over and put his hand on the boy's forehead. Sure enough it was warm and slightly damp. "Okay, I'll go get the thermometer." He hurried into the bathroom and returned a few minutes later.

Craig obediently opened his mouth and Joey placed the thermometer under his tongue.

"I'll be right back." Joey left to call the school and tell them that Craig still wouldn't be coming in that day. When he returned he checked the thermometer. "One hundred and four! Come on Craig, we've got to get you to a doctor." He opened the closet and found Craig's jacket then helped him get it on. Within minutes they were in Joey's car on the way to the neighborhood clinic.

Joey parked in the first vacant spot he saw then helped Craig out of the car and through the front doors straight up to the counter.

"Hello," Joey said to the young receptionist. "Uh, my stepson, Craig, is running a very high fever of about 104."

"Here, fill these out," the receptionist replied, handing him a clipboard with a form attached to it. "I'll have a nurse come out in a few minutes. You two can wait in the waiting area."

Joey took the clipboard and tucked it under his arm. He was so busy guiding Craig along that he didn't notice the other three people in the waiting room until one of them said his name.

"Joey?"

He looked up to see Spike, Emma and Manny sitting in the waiting room looking very surprised. "Spike, girls, what are you doing here?"

They all glanced at each other as Joey eased Craig into a chair across from them then sat beside him.

"School project," Emma piped up suddenly. "We're doing research for health class."

"During a school day?" Joey asked, surprised.

"Yeah, um, Radditch was okay with it, because it's for learning purposes," Spike told him. "And I had the day off so I decided to take them."

Joey shrugged. "Okay."

"What about you guys?" Emma asked, glancing at Craig. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, Craig was just running a high fever. I'm sure it's nothing serious," Joey assured them. He noticed that Manny had been silent the entire time, staring down at the pamphlets in her hands. He remembered that Craig had broken up with her and realized why she felt awkward.

Just then a doctor emerged. "Manny Santos?" she called.

"That's us," Spike said with a quick smile. "Sh-she's kindly offered to talk to us about everything for the girls' project."

"Feel better, Craig," Emma said.

"Thanks," Craig murmured.
Manny said nothing as they followed the doctor through the swinging doors but Joey noticed Craig watching her go with a slight frown on his face.

"You two still on the outs, huh?" Joey asked as he began to fill out the form.

"I guess."

"That's too bad. What exactly happened between you guys, if you don't mind me asking," Joey said, a bit too casually. He had noticed Craig had been withdrawing from his friends since his sister's death and wanted desperately to help somehow.

Craig shrugged. "No reason. I had a lot of stuff going on."

Joey was about to pursue the matter when a nurse came out and led them both into another room.

After some tests, it was discovered that Craig had a mild pneumonia. The doctor informed them that he should stay out of school for another few weeks until he was completely better. Reluctantly, Joey agreed. Not only would Craig grow even farther behind in his classes, this was an opportunity to distance himself more from his friends.

When the doctor left to write out a prescription for some medication, Craig spoke. "Don't worry about school. I'm sure the school will arrange something to get me the work."

Your schoolwork isn't all I'm worried about, Joey thought as he nodded. Then he had a thought. "Craig, do you know how you managed to come down with pneumonia?"

+++

Craig was sure of the day he had gotten sick but didn't want to share it with Joey. Instead he told him that one of his friends at the funeral had been sick and the cold weather must have made it worse.

But during the car ride home, Craig recalled the day after his sister had died. It had been a cold day, one of the coldest that year. The wind had blown through the leafless branches of the trees with ferocity and eventually the skies had opened up, a light drizzle falling.

Craig couldn't take being inside his house anymore. The phone had rang nonstop with relatives and friends offering their condolences. Everything reminded him of Angela. Walking past her room had made him break down in tears. Joey had been busy trying to plan the funeral with Caitlin's help. When they left to pick out a coffin, Craig had decided to escape for a few hours. With no real destination, he had walked outside for a long time, not caring about the dismal weather or the fact that it was nearly pitch black outside. He thought about everything, recent events and past ones. More than ever, he wished that his mother was still alive. When he had been younger, she had always had a way of knowing what to do, ensuring Craig that everything would work out. Older and jaded, he had figured out that that rule didn't work for him. Nothing seemed to work out for him ever. Even the most joyous events were often torn apart and Craig had decided that he was done with it.

When he had returned home, wet through and nearly frozen, he had come to the decision that he wasn't going to let himself get hurt ever again. Joy only brings pain; the sun only brings rain, he had scribbled into the notebook he used to write songs. It had taken him a long time and he'd been through a lot but now he understood that. Being close to people wasn't worth it.

He'd never make that mistake again.