15. Flat Line

"So the answer is C6Na2O9?" Joan asked. Grace glanced at the book.

"Yeah," she told Joan.

"Finally," Joan said, closing her book, "the nightmare ends."

"Okay, we're done. I'm leaving now," Grace said, getting off Joan's couch and heading for the door.

"Come on Grace, why are you still mad at me?" Joan asked, walking over to the door.

"Because you're a nag Joan," Grace told her, grabbing her jacket.

"Call me Girardi. You're supposed to call me Girardi and Adam's supposed to call me Jane. I don't like you guys calling me Joan," Joan told her. At first being 'Jane' and 'Girardi' had annoyed her, but after she had gotten closer to Adam and Grace, she preferred 'Jane' coming from Adam and 'Girardi' from Grace.

"Too bad," Grace said, putting her jacket on.

"You're doing that whole seeting smoke coming out of your ears thing again." Grace rolled her eyes and went to open the door when Joan grabbed her head and took a step back. Grace looked at her and raised an eyebrow. Joan took another step back and fell right down, hitting her head against the wall and rendering herself unconscious. Grace knelt down beside her friend.

"Joan?" she asked. No answer. "Joan? ..Girardi?"

*

"Miss Girardi?" a faint voice asked. Joan's head was spinning. Who's voice was that? Why couldn't she recognize it? "Miss Girardi, can you open your eyes?" the voice asked. Joan tried to open her eyes without success. What happened? Joan dug through her memory, trying to find something, but everything was blank, like someone had erased it. "Miss Girardi, please open your eyes." Joan tried to open her eyes again without success. She could feel a bright light flooding over her eyes, like she had just waken up and the sun was coming in through the window. She pried her eyes open lash by lash until she could see her surrounding. A white room. Solid white.

"There we go. How are you feeling?" the voice asked.

"Where-?" Joan tried, her throat stinging. The voice seemed to have understood.

"You're in the hospital Joan. You've been out for almost two weeks. Your family and friends have been worried sick," the voice said, who Joan now assumed was a nurse.

"Adam?" she asked.

"He's here. You need your rest. I'll go get a doctor and tell your family and friends you're awake," the nurse said. She walked out of Joan's room and shut the door.

"How is she?" Will asked, walking up to the nurse.

"She's awake. I'm going to go get her doctor, and she's not ready for visitors," the nurse said. "However she did ask for Adam," the nurse told him, walking away. Will turned and looked at Adam, who was sitting in between Grace and Kevin. Will turned and looked at Helen, Kevin, Luke, Adam and Grace.

"She's awake," he said. The five all let out relieved sighs when they heard the news.

"Can we see her?" Helen asked.

"The nurse said no. She went to get Joan's doctor. She also said she asked for Adam," Will told them, all eyes turning to Adam.

*

"Miss Girardi?" the doctor asked, offering Joan some water. She took it and downed it in record time.

"How did I get here?" she asked.

"Your friend, the blond girl, drove you. You fainted and hit your head on the way down. You've been unconscious a day shy of two weeks," the doctor said.

"Why did I faint?" Joan asked the doctor.

"Have you been under a lot of stress lately?" the doctor asked.

"Fire. Iris. May. God's stupid request," Joan muttered.

"You're delirious," the doctor told her. "Your family and friends are anxious to see you, our you up to visitors?"

"Yeah. I want to see them," Joan said. The doctor nodded.

*

"She can have visitors. She still seems a little delirious, talking about fires and iris's and May, but she wants to see you," the doctor said. At the mention of fires, Iris and May, Luke, Adam and Grace exchanged a look. Helen and Will went in first.

"Hi sweetie, how are you feeling?" Helen asked.

"Mom?" Joan asked.

"How are you feeling?" Will asked his daughter.

"Been better," Joan said. "Was I really out for two weeks?"

"Yes. You had us all so worried," Helen said.

"But I just fainted.." Joan said. Helen and Will looked at each other.

"Right.. But we were still worried," Will told her.

*

"Hey Joan," Kevin said, wheeling himself into the room.

"Hey Kev."

"It's weird, lately I've been the one in the bed," Kevin told her. Joan laughed a little.

"So, how's the past two weeks been?" Joan asked her big brother.

"The six of us have spent most of our time here," Kevin told her.

*

"Okay, I know you guys will tell me the truth. If I just fainted, why was I out for two weeks, and why was everyone so worried?" Joan asked as Luke and Grace entered her room.

"Of course we were all worried about you Joan-" Luke started.

"You didn't just faint Girardi," Grace told her.

"Grace-" Luke said.

"Calm down geek, your sister should at least know what happened to her," Grace told him.

"Guys?" Joan asked.

"Okay, you fainted and slammed your head into the wall on the way down, but four days ago you flatlined," Grace told her.

"Wait, I died?" Joan asked.

"Only for a few minutes," Luke said.

"But I died and no one felt like telling me?" Joan asked.

"Nobody wanted to worry you," Luke said.

"Well, thanks for filling me in," Joan said.

"Well, it's about Adam's time to come in, see you tomorrow Joan," Luke said.

"Bye dog boy." Grace went to follow him but stopped.

"You know I don't apologize, so this never leaves the room, but I'm sorry for being a jerk," Grace said, walking out of the room.

*

"Hey Jane," Adam said, walking into her room.

"Hey Adam," she said as he walked over to her bedside and took her hand, like he had after the fire.

"Deja vu," he said.

"After the fire?" Joan asked him.

"Yeah," Adam said.

"Hey Adam?" Joan asked.

"Yeah?"

"Where do we stand?" she asked him.

"Huh?" Adam asked.

"I mean, what about us?"

"What about us?"

"What about us?"

"What about us?"

"Okay, now I'm getting deja vu," Joan said with a laugh. "I love you Adam."

"I love you too Jane."

"See, this is what I mean. Where do we stand?"

"We're friends, yo," Adam told her.

"I want to be more then friends.." Joan told him.

"So do I," Adam said.

"I'm gonna mess up so much," Joan said. Adam squeezed her hand a little.

"We'll mess up together," Adam told her as the door opened.

"Visiting hours are over, you can come back tomorrow afternoon," the nurse said. Adam stood up and headed for the door.

"Bye Jane," he said, leaving.