Chapter Ten: ...the Calm before...

Luke Giradi, for the love of Newton, as he began removing his text books from his locker, couldn't get the theme song to Jurassic Park out of his head. This provoked him to further question himself as to why exactly he was friends with Friedman in the first place...

"Hey!"

Luke had, thankfully, took a good step back from his locker, just as Grace Polk stalked up from behind and slammed it shut in front of his face. Startled, "Grace?!"

She regarded him wearily, "You guys really are related..." Grace shook her head, "Never mind, listen up; where is she?"

"Where's who?" The first half of the school day was over, much to Luke's relief. He actually enjoyed school, but lately it's been starting to take a toll on him. Most of the time, he disguised it well... plus it helps considering that hardly anyone notices him anyway. Thank God he actually had few distractions in life to sink into...

Grace held her hand up, "This high, kinda flaky, actually shares your genetic coding..."

"Joan?"

"No, Mandy Moore-- yes, Joan! Where is she, Einstein? I need to find her! Got some important pest control issue to discuss over."

Luke blinked, then with a shrug, "Uh... Beats me. She had left home earlier than me, which is quite a shock in itself... I just assumed that Joan decided to walk with you and Adam."

"Well then," Grace began with a matter-of-fact tone. Surprising Luke, she grabbed the strap of his backpack and began dragging him down the halls. "Let's go find disillusioned lover boy, shall we?"

It wasn't hard to find Adam Rove amongst the halls of Arcadia High School. Besides knowing his class schedule, Grace had a feeling that he was somewhere in the crowd gathered around a big banner like display. Not to mention that she instantly recognized the voice that was orchestrating the event... "Where there's a squeak, the big cheese ain't too far away." Grace mumbled, while Luke tossed a questioning look her way.

Adam's body was bent over on one side of a stretched out banner, his pen diligently sketching. Iris wasn't too far away from him, walking back and forth along the two tables worth of flattened out paper, surveying the many collected signatures. Grace didn't know whether to be impressed by how successful the turn-out was... or disgusted by the hypocrisy that came with it.

"Hey!"

Adam and Iris looked up at Grace, startled more so by the tone in her voice than of her arrival.

"Yes?" Iris asked, curious though somewhat weary.

"Not talking to you, Squeakerella." Grace hissed, not in the mood to deal with Iris. To Adam, "Have you seen Joan?"

Off-handed by Grace's words, Iris bit her lip to refrain from fighting back. Instead, she looked on down and pretended to ignore her presence.

Adam gave a distressed glance between his girlfriend and his best friend before shaking his head sadly, "Not today, Grace." At the sudden thought of trouble, "Why?"

"I've been trying to track her down all morning. Even Luke here hasn't seen her since last night."

Iris tried to her best to appear disinterested, but found herself avidly listening in. Meanwhile, exiting from the Main Office, Helen Giradi glanced around the halls until her eyes landed upon her youngest son. Walking towards them, "Luke? There you are."

"Hey, mom..." He gave her a friendly wave, though his smile vanished upon seeing the troubled look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Have you seen your sister?"

Upon hearing her question, Grace, Luke, and Adam shared a surprised look. Catching their exchange, "Okay, guys, where is she?"

Surprised by the accusation in his mother's voice, "What?"

Helen crossed her arms, "I saw that look. Where's Joan? Marlene had informed me that your sister's name had shown up on the absentee list. I tried calling her cell, but she's not answering. I even had a brief chat with Mr. Dreisbach, Joan's history teacher, and he had told me that she didn't show up in class this morning. So where is she? Luke?"

Holding his hands up in defense, "Like I told Grace, beats me. I haven't seen her since last night, remember? Joan left the house earlier than me."

Turning her suspicious gaze upon her daughter's two best friends, starting with... "Grace?"

"Just as equally clueless, Mrs. Giradi." She replied, shaking her head.

"Adam?" Her suspicions turning quickly into concern and fear.

He returned her gaze with a helplessness all its own. "I wish I knew..." Adam softly replied.

Helen cast a questioning glance at Iris, a glimmer of hope within her that was quickly dashed upon Iris's eyes with a downcast reaction. She took a second, trying to calm herself from going into protective, motherly overdrive. "Okay... there's no need to panic, right? Here's what I'm going to do; I'm going to first call Kevin and ask if he knows of Joan's whereabouts. After all, she was entirely with him yesterday without having told anyone. So there's a slim chance that this is a similar case. And if not..." With a quiet fearfulness, "Then I might have to call Will."

"Don't worry, mom. I'm sure that once you call Kevin, he'll probably tell you that Joan's with him or something. I mean, you're right. She was hanging out with him yesterday, so why not now?"

Grace regarded him with disbelief, "On a school day? Granted I'd rather be anywhere but here, but even I know that's not going to happen when your mother's a teacher at this juvenile imprisoned establishment."

Her statement seemed to provoke Helen's worry as she turned and hurried down the halls back towards the Main Office. Luke glanced at Grace in disbelief, "Thanks, Grace. I was going for optimism here, considering that was my mother we were talking to and discussing the questionable disappearance of her only daughter."

"Hey, don't tell me that you actually believe that your sister would flake out on school just to hang out with big brother at his work place? Better yet, your brother actually allowing Joan to 'hang out' with him at work? I mean, Giradi has picked up on some weird activities..."

"Okay, Joan has done some pretty unusual stuff since we've moved here... however, she was with Kevin yesterday. The whole day, and Kevin wouldn't lie to us-- lie to our parents-- about it. He has no reason to. So maybe, hopefully, this time it's the same scenario."

Grace rolled her eyes, still disbelieving him, "Got a question for you, Mr. Probability Major; what're the odds?"

"The whole day?" Iris spoke up, her voice laced with surprise and confusion. She glanced over at Adam, who was purposely playing around with his black pen and avoiding eye contact.

Luke gazed over at Iris, "Yeah. She even stayed late to run an errand for Kevin's boss."

Grace began eyeing Iris and Adam suspiciously. She watched as Adam focused his entire attention to the pen in his hand, while Iris tried to catch his gaze. Iris's own eyes shifted from confusion to unease.

Finally, Adam looked up, noticing the looks he was receiving from both girls. "What?"

Glaring at her best friend, "Don't know, Rove. You tell us."

With sincere confusion, "About...?"

"A..." Iris began, prompting him, "You know. B and B?"

"What?" Grace glanced from Iris and Adam. She looked over at Luke, who was just as thrown off. "I'm sorry we don't speak MTV here on planet reality check, but what the hell is 'B and B'? Beavis and Butthead?"

"Iris..." Adam exhaled wearily before turning to Grace, "It's nothing, okay? It's none of our business..."

Annoyed by Grace's attitude and Adam's regard to appear detached, Iris replied, "We saw Joan yesterday around lunch hour... but she wasn't alone. And I don't think the guy she was with was your brother, Luke."

"What're you talking about?" Luke asked, crossing his arms.

"Iris..." Adam placed his hands behind his head, letting out a soft groan of frustration. "It's none of our business..."

Ignoring him, "They were right across the street from this arts and craft store we had just exited. Joan and that guy seemed to be having this... this disagreement, I guess. She didn't look too happy at first, but after a while, Joan seemed to have calmed down. Even smiling at him as they started walking away together." Finally acknowledging Adam, "Right, A?"

During Iris's explanation, Adam had sat himself down on the nearest chair, slouched his body over and covered his head with his arms. Upon hearing her calling to him, Adam looked up and shrugged, "Sure... whatever..." A tired sigh escaped his lips, "They were together..."

Luke glanced over at Grace, worried, before turning back to Iris, "Does this guy go to our school?"

Iris shrugged, "Never seen him before..." To Adam, "A?"

"What?" His voice sharp, which startled Iris.

"What is your problem?" Iris replied, her own voice crossed and hurt. This was not lost on Grace, who was silently watching in amusement.

A heavy silence fell between the couple. A tension so thick between them that it became uncomfortably apparent to Luke. Which was why he was grateful that his mother entered the scene when she did.

"Hey, guys." Helen walked up to them with a relieved smile.

"Mom," Luke acknowledged Helen and upon seeing her grin, "I'm guessing that it's good news?"

"Yes it is... though more likely than not, your brother and sister will regret ever being born once your father and I get a hold of them tonight. I called Kevin and he said that he had taken Joan to work with him, like yesterday. He also apologized because he had meant to call the school, but had somehow 'spaced out' on doing it." Helen exhaled a breath of relief, "A part of me should just drive down there and drag your sister back to school, but another part is just so relieved that Joan's in safe company."

Luke asked, "So what are you going to do?"

"Against everything else, I'm actually going to let Joan enjoy the rest of the day. She's going to need today's taste of freedom because once your father and I are through with her... it will be a very long time before she ever gets so much of a whiff of it again." A puzzled look crossed her face, "Though, I'm still trying to figure out why your sister would be compelled to spending her time at the Herald..."

An uneasy silence fell upon Grace, Luke, Adam and Iris, which had managed to catch Helen's attention. "What is it?"

Iris gazed over at Adam, her eyes pleading with him to say something. Adam himself shifted uncomfortably, while Luke debated within himself to share the recent development.

It was Grace who broke the silence. With her eyes darting around the area, finally landing on Adam's pen, she reached over and snatched it from his grasp. "Hand it over, Rove."

"What're you doing--?" Iris asked, irked and startled as Grace started scribbling on the banner.

More than happy to send a glare her way, "What does it look like I'm doing?" Grace continued writing until she straightened up, cast a haughty smirk at Iris, and handed Adam his pen back. Pointing to her handy work, "There. I think that Price deserves at least some ounce of reality before becoming suffocated with pure sugar-coated, hypocritical fluff in disguised of well-intentioned sentiments."

Luke looked over Grace's shoulder, reading out loud, "'To Mr. Price. While you're sitting in your private hospital quarters that was undoubtedly paid for by the common tax payers, try not to forget the little people at Arcadia High. It goes without saying that your judgmental tyranny is sorely missed. Get well soon, yours truly, Grace Polk.'"

Helen gave the young woman a half smile, "Okay... well, that was... honest of you, Grace."

"Thus the overall point." Grace nodded, her smirk never leaving Iris's gaze.

The art teacher glanced over the entire project before turning her eyes towards Iris. "This is an incredible gesture, Iris. I'm sure Mr. Price will be grateful."

"I hope so, Mrs. G." Iris grinned, pleased by her teacher's reaction. "I talked to Principal Chadwick, and he approved for me and A to leave campus early to deliver the banner to Mr. Price."

"Well, keep up the good work." She gave an approving nod towards her students, patted Luke's arm with motherly affection, then headed on back towards her classroom.

Once Helen was out of sight did Iris turn her pleased smile to a scowl and directed at Grace. "Why did you write that?"

"Shall I cite the amendments that say that I could? Or would that be extremely difficult for your brain to process?" Grace snickered, more than thrilled to create a rise out of Iris.

The petite girl shook her head, disgusted. "Never mind... it doesn't matter now. In fact, what I want to know is why..." She turned towards Adam, "Why are you guys trying so hard to protect Joan?"

"Excuse me?" Grace replied, answering not only for Adam, but for herself and Luke. The three classmates regarded Iris with the same look of surprise and confusion.

"You," Iris glanced at Luke first, "I can understand because you guys are family." She gazed over at Grace, "And you, well you two are friends. Joined together against the common enemy, which I'm assuming is me." Finally towards Adam, "But you? Well, I bet that your reason has nothing to do with your feelings towards Jane... or does it?"

"Hey!" Grace snapped, causing Iris to turn and meet eye-to-eye with the other woman. Luke had taken a step back, glancing somewhat sympathetically at Adam, who was non too happy about the impending chaos before them. The only thing that seemed to physically stand between the two girls was the table with the banner.

"What?" Iris glared, uncharacteristically pissed. She was never a violent person, but she had grown up with an abusive parent. This fact had caused Iris to grow up and defend herself by any means necessary.

"Back. Off. Minnie Mouse. Don't tempt me into sending you with a one way ticket to Never Never land!"

"My name is Iris. Why do you insist on slandering me with these stupid names?"

"You're the one to talk!" Mocking, "Hey A! How was chemistry, A? What're you? The Fonz? His name is Adam! Adam Rove! God! Even Joan could come up with a better nickname than that!"

Iris stared in disbelief, shaking her head sadly though her eyes were flashing, "All roads lead back to Jane... Jane, Jane, Jane!"

"Hallelujah! Miss Brady Bunch gets the point! Someone give her a cookie!" Grace sneered in amusement.

"Stop it!" A voice cracked into the thick tension that had developed between the two girls. Half expecting a teacher, they turned towards the voice and were stunned at the person it belonged to. Adam Rove stared hard at the two, his eyes cold and laced with disappointment. "Just stop it. I'm really sick of this thing you guys have against one another! If you two are going to kill each other, can you at least do it where neither Luke nor I would end up in the middle? As a casualty in your war?"

"Fat chance." Both Iris and Grace mumbled simultaneously.

"Look, he's right." Luke stepped in. "And if you won't be civil just for the sake of being civil, at least do it for Adam. This tug of war is going to end up killing him."

The girls stared each other down, not budging to acknowledge either side. Finally, they both walked away, giving a flighty response.

"Going to grab some supplies." Iris spoke, heading towards the art room.

"Going to grab a soda." Grace commented, heading towards the vending machines in the opposite direction.

They watched the girls walk away, Adam regarding them sadly and desperately wishing that Joan was here Luke gave Adam half a helpless and half a compassionate smile. Their silent understanding was, however, interrupted by a presence signing the banner a few feet behind them.

"Y'know..."

Looking up, they caught sight of Friedman, just as he was placing the cap back on his pen. As he sauntered up to them, Luke inwardly groaned at the impending Friedman-ism. Once he stood next to Adam and Luke, Friedman continued, "If you're looking for something, other than your bloody corpses, to get in between Lady Montegue and Lady Capulet... I have an idea."

"What, Friedman? A continent?" Luke replied, bracing himself for Friedman's response.

"Actually," He began, a simple yet crude smirk on his face, "I was thinking more of a rink..."

Adam looked on, confused, "A rink?"

Nodding, and with a twinkle in his eye, "Preferably muddy..."

JoA~~JoA

Sitting in a hospital's waiting area, patiently and anxiously awaiting news of someone in surgery, wasn't exactly a new development to Joan Giradi. She had gone through all this with Kevin and his accident. The only difference between this situation and the past was that Mr. Price's life didn't depend on the success of the operation.

After having breakfast with Kevin at the same diner as last night, Joan was dropped off in front of the hospital building. Joan had asked Kevin for one last favor before she was to finally tell their parents about Price. So, while Kevin was receiving the frantic phone call from school, Joan was making herself comfortable in the waiting room.

An hour ago, she had talked to Doctor Wyatt before they had wheeled Price into surgery. Joan didn't have the chance to talk to Price himself because the nurse had injected anesthesia into his body. Wyatt informed Joan that Mr. Price had told him that she was to receive the same visitation privileges as any immediate family member. Joan herself thought that was kind of fair, considering that she has been Price's only visitor. Wyatt also informed Joan that she was to stay in the waiting area until he is to approach her with news of the operation.

Doctor Wyatt had estimated that the operation would take as long to an hour or two, three maximum, but not unusual. After that, they'll bring Price into the recovery room, which he will have to remain in there for at least another hour or two for observation. Joan, using basic math skills, figured that she had at least five hours to wait before she could actually see Price. A part of her reasoned that she could have spent those hours at school, but another part pointed out that she would have spent those hours constantly worrying about him. If she had shown signs of anxiety at school, Adam and Grace would most likely pick up on that and then how would she go about explaining?

So here she was, sitting in the hospital waiting area, lunch hour hastily approaching. Joan knew that Someone, with a capital G, was aware of her truancy, but she didn't care... that much. Figuring on balancing the odds, she brought along a bunch of various class notes and three texts; AP Chemistry, French, and History.

Chewing absently on a Snickers bar while leafing through her history book, Joan hardly noticed the figure taking a seat opposite of her. There was a small, long table set between the chairs, holding various magazines. Joan had used the table as a place to prop her feet up on.

"Hi. Wanna play?" A small, pleasant voice spoke to Joan, causing her to look up. Her eyes settled upon a little boy, no older than ten years old, with big brown eyes, black hair, wearing a black shirt with a wolf design, holding a checkers board on his lap.

A smile found its way onto Joan's lips. How could she say "No" to the child, especially as he was looking at her with soft expectant eyes? Deciding that playing checkers with a child was a lot more fun than studying history, "Sure. I'm game."

"Okay. Do you want to be black or red?" He asked, indicating towards the pieces.

Joan saw that the black pieces were already facing her side on the board, and deciding not to trouble the little boy, "I'll take black."

The little boy placed the game down on the table between them. He sat himself on the floor, Joan following suit. He looked at her, curious, "Do you want to go first?"

She shook her head politely, "That's okay... you can go." Joan gazed warmly at the child, briefly thinking of Rocky, the little boy that she used to baby-sit until he passed away. As the little boy moved his first piece, she introduced herself to him. "By the way, my name's Joan."

"I know..." He replied simply, which caused Joan to gape at him. Joan inwardly groaned a "Oh God..." She was about to make a snap comment when he continued with, "That's what your friend told me."

Joan stared at the little boy, even more confused. "What? Wait... you're not--"

"I believe it's your move, Joan." A familiar voice entered the scene.

Joan looked up, this time there was no mistaking the form. Minus the cast and crutches, though still wearing the form of a student soccer player, God sat Herself on the chair next to the little boy.

Unable to ignore the apparent difference, Joan smirked as she indicated to Her leg, "Wow, that was a quick recovery."

"In medical terms, they'd call it a miracle." God quipped, smiling at the irony in Her statement. Indicating towards the checker board, "Kris is still waiting for you to make your move."

Joan looked over at the little boy, Kris, and gave him an apologetic smile. She reached over and moved a piece before turning her attention back on God. "You really had me fooled, y'know. Was that some kind of test?"

"Is it my fault that you didn't bother to ask Kris for his name?" God's eyes were on Kris, who had just moved another of his piece. To Joan, "Your move."

"I can see that!" She hissed at God, though began blushing as she realized that she was getting mad at God in front of a little boy. Then again, Kris didn't know that her "friend" was God...

Once Joan, who wasn't paying much attention, moved a piece, "Why are you here? Let me guess, you're here to tell me that skipping school, no matter how good the cause, was a stupid move on my part?"

Joan's eyes were on God when Kris moved his second piece over Joan's first piece, thus capturing it. God chuckled at the move, more so when Joan realized what had happened. "Hey!" She protested.

"You should pay attention, Joan. You could learn a lot from Kris." God noted, though there was a lot more to her voice than just amusement.

Not ignoring the cryptic remark, "Is that a snarky comment or one of your suggestions?"

"Your move, Joan." Kris spoke, smiling expectantly.

She groaned, having this feeling that she'll lose a game of checkers to a little kid, "Fine... there. Your turn."

"That's not an assignment if that's what you're asking." God smiled, which didn't give Joan any comfort. She realized she had a right to worry as God stood up and continued, "Though this might be: I'd like you to watch Kris for a while. His parents are up in the children's ward keeping his brother company."

"What?"

God turned to Kris, "You're in good hands, Kris." To Joan, "I'll talk to you later, Joan." She began walking away, "And if you have to go, just accompany Kris upstairs, third floor, children's ward."

Joan stared at God, especially as She gave Joan the backhand wave. Speechless, Joan turned to Kris, who was merely focused on the board game. Meekly, "My move?"

"Uh-huh." He nodded.

"Great..." Joan mumbled, though not as eager to play as before. Cheering herself up a bit, she had to admit that this was a lot better than being asked to play chess.

JoA~~JoA

By their fifth game of checkers, both Joan and Kris decided on a draw. Noon time was within a few minutes and Joan had offered to take Kris up to his parents if he was hungry. Kris replied that he had a big breakfast and that he didn't want to bother his mom and dad.

"They have a lot on their minds..." He spoke softly, with a hint of sadness that Joan couldn't mistake.

Remembering what God said earlier, Joan approached the subject with hesitation, "Is it about your brother?"

Kris gave a sad smile, though it brightened upon proudly telling Joan, "I'm a twin! My brother's name is Kyle."

Smiling at Kris's enthusiasm, "That's cool."

"Yeah..." Kris nodded, "We have the same eyes, same hair color... mom says that we even have dad's smile! Oh, and we like a lot of the same things!"

"I bet you and your brother often play tricks on your parents, huh? Making them guess who's who." Joan grinned, though it quickly vanished upon seeing Kris's own smile slowly disappearing.

Quietly, "Not really... you can usually tell us apart. Mainly because..."

"Because...?" She softly encouraged, though quickly adding, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"That's okay," Kris replied earnestly. "People always ask me about Kyle anyway, but I don't mind talking about him. Not many people know that we're twins, but we are! My dad had told us that we were born only fifteen minutes apart." The proud grin appearing once more on his face, "I'm the oldest."

"Wow." Joan remarked, sincerely impressed.

"Which is why I have to look out for Kyle, y'know? I'm his big brother. I'm supposed to protect him."

"I bet that you're a great older brother." Joan smiled softly, thinking of Kevin.

"Yeah... there were some mean kids at school, always picking on Kyle. Just because he can't hear like anyone else."

Joan straightened up on that last sentence. Cautiously, "Your brother is deaf?"

Kris gave a small nod, "Uh-huh. So mom and dad sent him to a special school, but I didn't want him to go. Me and Kyle wanted to stay together because if he went to a different school, who would protect him?"

Joan's heart broke upon hearing his story. "Well, at least now that he's at the other school, those mean kids aren't going to be there to pick on him."

"That's what my mom said..." Kris replied sadly. "But I still miss seeing him at school."

"I'm sure you do."

"Joan? You want to hear something cool?" His mood brightened, which caused Joan to smile as well.

"Uh, sure. What is it?"

Proudly, "I'm the only kid in my class that knows how to sign! Watch!" Kris then continued to talk both verbally and with his hands, "My name is Kris-to-pher..." With his right hand, he spelled out his first name, then continued to spell his last name. "Wal-ton!"

Joan watched him with a mixture of amusement and awe. "Wow, and you're how old?"

Continuing to talk and sign, "I'm nine years old. And you?"

"How do you sign the word 'sixteen'?" Joan feebly asked, which caused Kris to laugh.

For a moment, he stopped signing as he explained to Joan how long he's been signing. Joan learned that Kyle was born hearing impaired, that his family had to quickly adjust to a slightly different lifestyle. It was still of the norm, but they now had to learn how to speak in sign in order to communicate and understand Kyle.

Kris then asked if Joan would like to learn how to sign, which caused her to laugh nervously. "Uh... I don't think I'd be as good as you..."

"But you can try." Kris insisted. "Want to at least know how to spell your name?"

Unable to resist the appeal of a nine year old with a bubbly personality, Joan relented and allowed herself to be taught some of the basics to sign language. Joan found herself surprised at how quickly she picked up on some of the words. By the time an hour had passed, Joan found herself able to sign a few common words, her name, and a few sentences. As a half hour passed, Joan was also able to understand some of what Kris signed to her without speaking.

It was around quarter to two when Kris's mother and Doctor Wyatt exited off the elevator. They approached the waiting area, their eyes upon a young woman and a little boy silently speaking to one another. The only sounds coming out of their mouths were a few laughs here and there, with Joan giggling on her mistakes and Kris laughing and correcting her.

"Kris? Sweetheart?" Mrs. Walton approached the pair, her eyes smiling kindly upon Joan. "You made a new friend, huh?"

"Mom!" Kris stood up, grinning excitedly. He glanced over at Joan, "C'mon... talk to her."

Joan shook her head at first, but when Kris began to pout, she reluctantly stood up and approached his mom. Slowly signing, praying that she doesn't mess up, "Hello. My name is Joan Giradi." She bit her lower lip as she concentrated spelling her name correctly. When she was talking with Kris, it was a lot simple because he was this patient little boy with no real expectations.

Mrs. Walton played along, both verbally and with her hands, "It's nice to meet you, Joan. I'm Kris's mother, Dana Walton. Thank you so much for watching my little boy." She stopped signing as she turned towards her son, "Sweetie, the doctor said that you can come up now and visit Kyle. Say 'thank you' to Joan, okay? For watching you." Back at Joan, "Thank you again. I hope he wasn't too much trouble."

Joan smiled, this time just speaking, "He wasn't. As you saw, he was teaching me how to sign. And I had fun learning from him. It was a pleasure, Mrs. Walton. Your son is a very bright kid." Her eyes spied Doctor Wyatt and immediately thought of Price. Since her time with Kris, she had nearly forgotten why she was initially here.

Kris looked up at Joan, signing as he spoke, "Thank you, Joan. I hope to see you again. I had fun showing you how to sign!"

"Well, thank you for teaching me to sign. I really had a lot of fun. You should be a teacher some day." Joan reached over and ruffled his hair, causing him to laugh.

Joan watched as Dana and Kris Walton headed towards and entered the elevator. She gave a small wave to Kris, who was waving his hand frantically just as the elevator door closed on them. Allowing a small laugh to escape her lips, she finally turned towards the doctor.

"Miss Giradi?" Doctor Wyatt addressed Joan, recalling their brief formal introduction earlier.

"How is he?" Was the first thing out of her mouth. Realizing that the anxiety over his operation was finally getting to her, "I'm guessing that the operation is over? I mean, why else would you be down here, right?"

Giving her a reassuring smile, "He's fine. He's under observation right now and because the operation had gone smoothly, he'll remain in the recovery room for at least another hour. After which, we should be able to transfer him back to his room and the anesthesia should have worn out by then."

"So... when can I be able to see him?"

"If you want, Miss Giradi, you may be able to see him now. Under normal circumstances, we usually allow immediate family members to visit patients in the recovery ward. However, considering the situation, I can allow you to see him for a few minutes."

Joan had cast him an appreciative smile, "Thank you." She quickly grabbed her bag, shoving her textbook in, then followed Doctor Wyatt.

On the way up, Wyatt had filled Joan in on what Price should expect on his road to recovery. How, because of the extent of his accident, and the amount of surgery they had to inflict upon his leg joints, it would be awhile before Gavin Price could walk on his own again. He was required to stay in the hospital for two more weeks and kept off his feet. Once the two weeks had passed, he'll be examined to see how far the extent of healing has progressed. Upon getting the okay, Price could leave the hospital on his own accord, though recommended to still stay off his feet. Physical therapy was in order, but it would start off small. Mostly leg stretches and not too much emphasis on the walking, for fear that the joints would be weak, fragile and unable to hold up the body weight. Doctor Wyatt's own estimation on how long before Price could walk again: Six months to a year. Mostly depending on how dedicated Price was to his therapy. He had told Joan that the odds seemed to be in Gavin Price's favor, considering how under normal circumstances, that accident could have permanently shattered his leg bones.

Joan listened attentively, wondering if this is what it would be like if Kevin's injuries were temporary instead of permanent. She also decided to keep mental note in the possible event that God "suggested" that she help Price along the way.

Doctor Wyatt ushered Joan inside Price's observation room. She noted that it wasn't that different from his private quarters, except maybe a bit smaller. Joan glanced over at Wyatt, who had taken upon himself to leave them for a bit. He reminded Joan that she could only stay for a few minutes, which she agreed to make it quick.

"Hey..." She softly whispered to him, though knowing well enough that he couldn't hear her. However, a thought did cross her mind that maybe he could, but considering that he was still under medication... "Y'know, you're lucky. From what Doctor Wyatt told me, a year from now you could be back at Arcadia High. Strolling down the halls and reigning terror like only Vice Principal Gavin Price could."

As she regarded his form, eyes closed as if only sleeping a blissful dream, Joan couldn't help but think how angelic Price looked. There's much that could be said about watching someone sleep... and Joan, for the life of her, couldn't take her eyes off him. He looked so at peace that one could forget that he's been a certain way, acted with a certain attitude, lived a life or two, been someone's friend and foe, lover and father... Watching him right now, Joan didn't see VP Price... she just saw a man that's completely unaffected by the world around him. In other words, Joan thought he was the most luckiest man alive.

With as light a touch, she took his hand into hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. Softly, "I'm here... and I'm really glad that you're okay." Quietly, she placed his hand down and slowly made her way towards the door. Taking one last glance over her shoulder, she smiled at him. "I'll see you later."

JoA~~JoA~~JoA