A/N: Disclaimer from Chap. 1 applies to all chapters in this fic… Yeah.

To Bear – You have no idea how much your friendship means!

Sorry it took me so long – midterms are a killer!

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We sat in silence as the ambulance bumped along the highway. I sat in a chair by the gurney, with Luke beside me. I held my mother's hand the entire way, through the bumping and the screeching.

My panic had subsided by then. I had gotten a grip on myself somewhat. I felt strangely calm, very centered. Very "ohm" with myself. That was weird, because my mother was on the verge of dying and that pair of eyes was sitting next to me, his hand on my thigh. Very distracting, but very cute.

The EMT back here with us was calling out numbers and all sorts of statistics to the EMT up front. I really wasn't paying attention. I should have been paying attention, but that Girardi kid was still rubbing his hand on my thigh.

"Dude… Girardi… enough with the hand." I said, brushing his hand away. He immediately took his hand back, and mumbled a quick apology.

We rode the rest of the way in silence.

---

When we reached the hospital, the EM techs took Mother out and ran her inside. The driver pulled me aside, told me to just go wait in the emergency room and someone would talk to me soon.

I walked into the emergency room and found a couch open. I sat down, stretching out my legs in front of me. I put my head back on the back of the couch, and just sighed. Luke sat down on the couch in front of me and took my hands into his own.I was surprised that his eyes hadn't started pouring blood and tears to make room for the concern.

"Grace?"

"Get off it Girardi." I dropped his hands.

He stood up suddenly. I could feel his eyes on me as I pointed my own towards the floor.

"Why don't you want to talk about this?"

I looked up at him, not meeting his eyes exactly.

"What is there to talk about?"

He looked surprised.

"What do you mean, what is there to talk about?" He sat down on the couch next to me. "This whole… situation… this whole… your mom thing. Isn't that what's wrong?"

I looked at him fully this time. Did he not get it? I was frustrated, yes, but my emotions hadn't suffered any from my mom downing two cases of beer every couple of days.

"Girardi… you're not understanding me. My mom is a drunk, yes… but that doesn't affect me any. You're assuming that I do feel responsible. You're assuming I need help. I've done it on my own for at least five years, maybe more, and I don't need help now. Fact is, I don't feel any responsibility or care about anything except that my mom lives. Got it?"

He stood up again.

"What do you mean? Why did you start crying when you saw me after you told me? Something's going on inside there Grace, and I wanna figure it out."

"I'm not a puzzle for you to figure out! I'm not one of your science projects to sit and analyze and make better." I glared at him. "Isn't there something else you'd rather be doing then standing there and having a fight with me?"

He looked at me. Suddenly he stood much taller. He ran his hands through his hair, and he continued his glare.

"Yeah, actually. There is. I got science fair I could be doing… without you…" He took two steps towards the door. "Have fun."

He left me.

I couldn't believe he left me.

Wasn't he supposed to be supportive of me? Stick it out even though I was tired and frustrated with him? He was so supposed to not leave me!

But Grace… I reminded myself. You didn't want him there in the first place. Why are you so mad to see him go now?

I flopped back on the couch, now taking up the entire space between the armrests. I felt so empty, alone, and confused.

The best remedy for that was sleep.

---

I woke to the vibration of my cell phone in my pants pocket. I pulled it out, and said sleepily "Polk."

"Grace?" My dad's worried voice haunted my ear.

Blast. I'd forgotten to call him and inform him of mom's situation. I was so in for it.

"Grace? Where are you? Its 11:30 at night!" I rolled my eyes. Did he not notice the horrible stench eradicating from the house? It was probably rotten by now, and there was no way he did not smell it.

"Dad, Mom's in the hospital. Alcohol poisoning. I fell asleep. Sorry."

"And you didn't tell me this why?"

"I fell asleep. I told you. Just get down here ASAP." I shut my cell phone, and stuck it back into my pocket.

I sat up more now, my head less fuzzy. I blinked away the sleep, and looked around. The waiting room was less crowded now, with just a few people and nurses strutting about.

One of those people strutting about looked like a familiar blonde.

Luke sat down next to me, holding out a soda for me to take. I took it, and drank greedily.

"I thought you left, Girardi." I sat the soda down on the floor beside the couch.

"Yeah… well… I got outside… and I walked for about twenty minutes before I realized that you probably shouldn't be alone and I didn't care if you were mad at me or not, I wasn't leaving you."

I was touched by his concern. I really was. It would also explain why I had an unfamiliar coat draped about my shoulders.

He continued. "I talked to one of the nurses about your mom… they didn't know anything. It looks like your mom OD'd on something as well, in addition to the booze."

I curled up into a ball at the end of the couch. My mom? OD? Why would she do that? I thought she was happy, drinking the day away without worrying about her family. She was probably drunk when she did that… but that could come later.

Luke moved closer to me, and moved me gently so I ended up with my head on his chest with him leaning against the arm of the chair. He stroked my hair, causing me to feel very sleepy.

"I called Joan and Adam," he said. "They said they'd be here in about half an hour."

I fell asleep to the familiar scent of cheap cologne.