AN: Okay, I promised another chapter before the hols, and here it is. Hope you enjoy!

PS; thank you for pointing out my typos Wistful Gypsy. I was wondering about the base/bass thing...I'm not really an instrumental person...

Thank you to every one else who's reviewed!

~~Eleri~~

The next day, Katie did sit with them at lunch, but no one said much. Zack had warned them that she might, and not to mention the guitar. She didn't actually stay long. In fact, she left half way through the lunch hour. Summer got up to follow her, but Zack shook his head

And they let her go.

She visited her dad for the first time that afternoon. She didn't really want to go, but she didn't have much choice. It would look wrong if she didn't go, and it would hurt him. Besides, she didn't really have any excuse. She could say she was doing homework, but she had finished most of it the night before, and hadn't been given any extra. And she had to work that evening anyway, so she would be out of the house.

She hesitated outside the hospital doors, already busy with so many people going in and out, then steeled herself and followed an old lady through. She walked over to the information desk, biting her lip to steady her thoughts, and asked for 'Damien Brown'. The nurse gave her the room number and indicated the lift, then turned back to her computer. Swallowing hard, Katie pushed the button to call the lift.

The doors opened and she joined the four people already in the lift, two of whom wore doctors uniforms, and two who were either patients or visitors. She pressed the button for the third floor, then stood in silence. The lift seemed to rise incredibly slowly, and she felt as if she was suffocating. Eventually it stopped and she walked out and over to the door.

Looking in from the door, she could see her father propped up in his bed, a tube under his nose and an intravenous drip attached to his arm. He looked much paler than she'd ever seen him before, and slightly yellow – because it's his liver, she told herself. That was one of the few things she remembered from first aid class. Her mother was sitting by his side, holding his hand and talking quietly.

Watching them, Katie felt a sense of disgust creeping up from her stomach. After everything he'd done to them, there she was comforting for something that was his own damn fault. She almost turned to go then, in fact she was about to, when her mother spotted her and waved for her to come over.

Hesitantly, she walked to the bed, and her father grinned up at her with a grin that made her shiver. "How's my little girl then?"

"I'm fine."

"Still playing in your band then?"

Katie could almost feel her mother's worried glance on her face, telling her not to mention the band, but she didn't care. "I haven't joined since the last time you asked me that, if that's what you mean. Not like I had the choice really, after the way –"

"Katie, your father's ill, he doesn't need to hear this now –" Her mother broke in, but her father held up a hand to stop her.

"No Sharon, she's right. It's my fault she left the band, like it's my fault you have to struggle. I'm sorry Katie, I really am. Forgive me, please?" Somehow his pitiful, puppy-dog stare now was more disgusting to her than the sight of him had been at first.

Katie turned away from the bed, shooting an apologetic glance at her mother. "I have to go. I'm going to be late to work." With that she left the room, leaving her parents staring after her.

"You still haven't told me what Katie said last night. You did go to talk to her, didn't you?" Freddy and Zack where sitting across from one another, munching burgers and waiting to go see Gothika.

"Yeah, I saw her." Zack admitted, and then fell silent.

After a brief pause, Freddy urged him on. "Well, what did she say?"

"She…" Zack frowned slightly, trying to remember what Katie had asked him not to say and what she hadn't mentioned. Finally, realizing he really wouldn't be able to hide much from his best friend, he decided to tell him everything except Katie's last confession. "Well, I had to remind her to open the door when I got there," He decided not to mention her red eyes. "Then she tried to get me to eat some pasta rather than talk about anything."

Freddy pulled a face "Yeah, yeah, spare me the details. Did you ask her about her guitar?"

"I did. She sold it."

"What! She can't do that!"

Zack grinned slightly, "Yeah, she said everyone did that. Anyway, apparently her dad lost his job and they needed the money to pay the bills or whatever. That's why she's not in the band anymore; she had to work to help her mom."

"Her dad lost his job a year and a half ago, and he still hasn't found a new one?" Freddy sounded disbelieving, and Zack shrugged. "Shit, what kind of asshole is he?"

Zack shifted uncomfortably on his stool and Freddy shot him a suspicious look.

"She told you something else, didn't she." Not a question, a statement. Zack said nothing. "What did she tell you."

"Nothing. It doesn't matter. Nothing."

"Bullshit it doesn't matter. Come one Zack, you were telling me about her pasta, if it didn't matter you'd tell me."

"Let's get going, we should go get seats now."

Freddy shook his head. "You're not getting out of it that easily. What did she say?"

"I promised I wouldn't tell you. Look, why don't you ask her yourself. Go talk to her. And now, can we please go get seats?"

In class the next day, Katie hardly paid any attention to the teachers. The doctors had said that her dad could come home in a week, and she couldn't help worry what would happen when he did. He hadn't spent much time actually in the house since he lost his job, and she wondered how he was going to cope. She had been reading a book that mentioned B vitamins, but…

"Miss Brown, would you please at least pretend to pay attention in class?"

Katie snapped out of her thoughts and looked up sheepishly at her chemistry teacher, Mr. Wise. "Sorry, Mr. Wise."

"Humph. As I was saying, you will be working with Mr. Jones on your polymer project." Turning his gaze from her, he scanned the rest of the class. "You have ten minutes now to decide on your topic, and I want everyone to have written it on this list" he held up a sheet of paper, "by the end of class. You may start."

Katie groaned. A project and she hadn't even been paying attention. She had no idea what any of the instructions were. And what a partner…at that moment, Freddy slid onto the stool next to her.

"Well, it had to happen sometime. You aren't Summer, after all, and she's the only person I know who has never been told off by a teacher. Not for dozing off anyway."

"I wasn't dozing off." Katie snapped and he raised an eyebrow.

"Well you were definitely not here, that's for sure." His tone softened a little. "What's wrong Katie?"

She ignored his question. "You saw me dozing off, so why don't you tell me what this project is about."

He was about to say something else, but a glare from Zack – who was sitting at the table beside them – changed his mind and said instead, "It's on a polymer. We have to pick one then give a presentation on it."

"Guess we should pick one then." He nodded.

Ten minutes later Katie wrote 'DNA' on the list (after much argument they had agreed that it was a polymer and that it would be interesting – mostly Katie's arguing convinced Freddy) and headed out of class. Freddy saw her go and swore under his breath. He hurriedly jammed his things into his bag and followed her out. By the time he caught up with her, she was halfway to her next class.

"Katie! Katie, wait up!" She turned round to face him, looking more exasperated than anything else.

"What?"

"We need to fix a time to do the project." He informed her, slightly taken back by her sharp tone.

"It couldn't wait until lunch time?"

"Oh yeah, sure, so you could turn up then disappear again. Please, I'm not dumb." She raised tilted her head slightly and gave him a look that said I'm-not-too-sure-about-that, and he pulled a face. "Why don't you come over to my house after school today."

"Can't. I'm sure Zack's already told you I'm working."

"So when can you come over?"

She sighed and ran through her schedule in her head before she spoke. "I'm free on Thursday from seven-thirty. That's the only time I can think of that doesn't clash with your band practice."

"Thursday and seven-thirty then. I'll pick you up from work." He was about to leave, when he realised he didn't know where she worked. "Um, can I have an address?"

She rolled her eyes and gave him the address of a small French restaurant a couple of blocks from his house. "Can I go now?"

"Sure. See you Thursday."

"Whatever."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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