Soon after our phone call, Cee Cee came over, followed by Adam and Father Dominic. As soon as she saw me, Cee Cee gave me a hug. Her face was streaked with tears.

Brad yelled as he walked by out the door, "I'm going surfing!"

"Brad-" my dad started to say, but the door already banged after him. Dad sighed and turned to our visitors. "Thank you for coming."

"What's going on?" Adam asked.

"I wish I knew," my dad said softly. "The doctors have no idea what's wrong..."

I happened to be looking at Father Dominic when Dad said that, and for a split second, I could have sworn that he knew something...

Then the look passed, and he just looked old and sad.

A door banged, and David came down the stairs. His eyes were red and when he spoke, his voice was shaky. "I want to go back to the hospital." He looked around. "Where's Brad?"

"Surfing," I said shortly. "I'll go with you-"

"We all will," Cee Cee said softly.

"Can-can we bring some stuff for Suze?" David asked.

I knew instantly what David meant. "Yeah. Of course." David went upstairs and I followed.

~*~

I paused when we reached Suze's room. It sounds crazy, but for a second, I was expecting to open the door and find Suze there, practicing some kung fu moves for her next ass whooping.

No, Jake, she's in a hospital bed with a million tubes stuck in her-

I opened the door. Everything was still the same. Somehow, it just seemed wrong that everything should still be the same.

I walked in, feeling like I was trespassing. We went over to Suze's CD player.

"What are you doing?" Cee Cee's voice. I looked up. She and Adam were standing in the doorway.

I picked up a CD. "We're bringing some stuff for Suze. You know, play some CD's, read her favorite book-she might be able to hear it." I looked back down at her CD collection. "I don't even know what she'd want to hear-"

"Kylie Minogue," Adam offered. "Some Janet Jackson, Coldplay...no boy bands though. Suze hates boy bands."

"Who doesn't?" I asked. "Coldplay, though...she's got some decent stuff in here," I remarked. I turned to her bookcase and groaned. "Cosmo?" Okay...no."

Cee Cee said defensively, "She likes reading about fashion."

The things I do as an older brother... "Okay. Cosmo it is."

~*~

All of us, minus Brad, went back to the hospital. When we walked into the room and saw Suze, Cee Cee's eyes filled with tears. Adam grabbed a chair and sat down next to the bed. He took Suze's hand, and then looked at me, as if asking for permission. I nodded.

"Hey, Suze," he whispered, his eyes flickering over her face. She was still unmoving. He turned back to us. "Are you sure she can hear us?"

I shook my head. "No. But she might."

He nodded and turned back to her. "You have to get up, Suze," he told her. "Who else is going to keep Kelly Prescott in check? Who's gonna help Cee Cee diss my lame jokes?" Adam's voice started to break, but he kept going. "Hey, if you wake up, I'll even buy you a new pair of shoes."

She didn't stir. Adam looked at her hopelessly. "Just wake up, Suze. All you have to do is wake up."

David and Cee Cee were tearing up by this point. So was I. I pulled out the CD player and plugged it in. Coldplay blared out of the speakers.

"Where do we go?...Nobody knows...I've gotta say...I'm on my way...down..."

"This is one of her favorite songs," Cee Cee said quietly.

The four of us looked at her. She didn't move.

~*~

When we got home, the phone was ringing off the hook. Brad was back. I could tell from the sound of the Beastie Boys blaring from his room upstairs. Dad didn't even flinch, though. He was too drained to deal with Brad right now. We all were.

I looked over at Mom, who looked like hell. "You need to get some sleep," I muttered hoarsely.

She looked over at me and touched my cheek. "So do you," Mom whispered. "Don't you have classes tomorrow?"

I shook my head. "I don't want to go," I told her. "If I go, I'll just worry and-" I stopped, then started speaking again with an effort. "I don't wanna go, if you don't mind."

"Neither do I," Dave told us.

Dad nodded. "That's okay," he said. "You can stay home."

~*~

Later in my room, I stared up at the ceiling.

"Dad! Suze won't wake up..."

"911, what's the emergency-"

"My sister's unconscious...she won't wake up..."

"Is she going to die?"

"We don't know that yet..."

I closed my eyes.

That wasn't a good idea. Now I saw Suze. Suze at our parents' wedding wearing the leather jacket over her gown and smoking a cigarette...Suze playing with Max...Suze in the hospital connected to all those machines...Mom connected to all those machines...

I stopped that train of thought fiercely. Stop it, I told myself. Suze is not Mom and nothing is going to happen to her.

Nothing can happen to her. You can't go through that again...

I opened my eyes and waited to go to sleep.

It was a long time before I did.

A/N: The lyrics are from Coldplay's song God Put A Smile On Your Face. A great song, you should really check it out. This story is based partly on my belief that there is a lot more to ALL of Suze's stepbrothers than either she or the readers give them credit for. Thanks for all the reviews and I'm sorry it took so long to update.