Chapter Eighteen: In A Sweet Dream

A/N: The title is based on a Strata song, and they own the lyrics in here.

Manny awoke in a hospital bed. At first, she wasn't sure why she was there, but then it all came back to her: Chris killed Sera. She was dead. Manny couldn't believe it. No one she knew that young had died since Rick. But now Sera, an innocent girl mixed up in stupid drama, was dead. Manny remembered how tiny she looked when they pulled her out of the car. She began to cry, but stopped for a moment when she noticed she had company. It was Jimmy. He was sitting next to her bed, tears in his eyes, staring at the ceiling.

"Oh Jimmy…" she started to say. As soon as he heard her voice, he looked down at her and smiled.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said. "You went into shock. They were taking you away when I got there."

"Jimmy, I watched her die," Manny said, crying uncontrollably. Jimmy threw himself around her and hugged her for a few minutes, as if he was afraid to let go. When he finally backed up, Manny noticed that he was crying too. "Don't cry," she said, stroking his cheek. "Is Chris…?" she started to ask, but didn't need to finish the question.

"He's alive, but he's surrounded by police officers. He's going to be arrested," Jimmy explained.

"How long have I been here?" she asked him.

"A few hours. Paige came by to see you, but she had to get Avery from your house. She tried to stay until you woke up."

"Can I leave soon?" Manny asked.

"The doctor said that he wants you to stay overnight, to make sure you're going to be okay," he told her.

"Will you stay with me?"

"Of course." Manny moved over and patted the bed next to her. Jimmy slowly got up and sat down.

"Lay with me Jimmy, I'm scared," she said, and burst into tears again. Jimmy lay down next to Manny and put his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head and then stroked her arm until she fell asleep.

Chris awoke in the hospital about twelve hours later, his head pounding. He broke his left arm and three ribs. There were bruises all over his body, and a huge gash across his left cheek. Every time he moved an inch, pain seared through his entire body. But he was the lucky one. The first person he saw was a police officer, standing next to his bed. He had no visitors. His parents didn't even show up. He wanted to see Manny, but he knew it wouldn't happen. He had blown his chance, and done much more damage than he already had.

"Where's Sera?" he whispered groggily, not caring who answered, just as long as he knew.

"She's dead," he told Chris, who immediately began to cry. He killed her. He got drunk and was stupid enough to drive, but even more stupid when he made her get in. My life is over, he thought to himself. No, her life is over, all because of you. Now you'll be living in hell. "Your blood alcohol content was .13 and you're going to jail kid," the officer said coldly. Dr. Anis walked into the room.

"Now that he is awake, you may take him," the doctor told the officer. He looked at Chris with his eyes full of disgust and left the room. Officer Thomas stood Chris up, turned him around, and put handcuffs on him. Chris winced as his broken arm was twisted behind his back, but there was nothing he could do.

"You have the right to remain silent…" he began to tell Chris as he led him from the hospital. Chris walked with his head down, knowing that everyone was staring at him. He allowed the officer to bring him to the cruiser and put him in the back without struggling. It wouldn't do him any good.

Chris' trial was held three days later, and Manny refused to go. Emma and Paige waited at Manny's house with her. They waited patiently for Jimmy to tell them what happened when he got back. The doorbell rang and Manny jumped up to answer it.

"What happened?" she asked him after she led him to the couch across from her and her friends.

"He was convicted of driving under the influence and vehicular homocide. He got eight years," Jimmy told them.

"Can you guys stay here with the twins? I'm going to see him one last time," Manny said. The three of her friends agreed to stay and watched Manny drive off.

At the prison, Manny had to go through a metal detector, and then was led by a guard to the visiting room. She was hoping that she'd be able to sit at a table and talk with him, but instead was sat in front of a plexi glass window with a telephone that was connected to the other side. She saw Chris being led to the other side, his head down. When he saw her, he immediately became happier and picked the phone up. She picked her end up too and he spoke first.

"I love you Manny," he said. Manny immediately began to cry and Chris knew from then that this wasn't going to be the happy visit he needed.

"I wanted to be with you Chris. I was going to tell you that I still loved you. I asked Jimmy for advice, and he told me to go to you. I was going to," she cried to him. A tear rolled down Chris' cheek when he realized that Manny had wanted to be with him, not Jimmy.

"Manny, I really screwed up. I still love you, and I always will. As soon as I get out of here, I'll do anything to make it up to you. The four of us can move away and start our family over," he said, putting his hand up to the window. Manny briefly put her hand up to his, but then realized that this was the closest they could ever be.

"You don't get it Chris. I watched her die! You did the worst thing that anyone could ever do. You made a mistake that you can never make up for by taking a mother away from her child. She'll never get to see him walk or talk, and he'll never know her!" Manny's tears were pouring faster.

"Manny, I…" he started to say but she cut him off.

"Sera didn't deserve to die!" Manny yelled.

"I know she didn't and I'm so sorry. You have to believe me when I tell you that I didn't want anything like this to happen. I never wanted to hurt anyone Manny. Not you, not Sera, not anyone. Instead of acknowledging his words, Manny continued to tell him what she needed to.

"I talked to your parents. They said that they couldn't raise another child, especially because of the way he would remind them of everything," she told him. "Jonathan is going to be placed in foster care, and I'm sure he'll be adopted before you're out. He's a beautiful baby, and I'm sure he'll be loved by a lot of people."

"Can you wait for me Manny?" he whispered into the telephone. Manny paused a long time before answering.

"No, I can't," she said truthfully. Chris broke down right then and there, and couldn't control his tears. He calmed himself long enough to ask her one last thing.

"If you love me, and can't wait for me, I want you to take my son. I want you to raise him and give him a good home where I know he'll be loved," he said. "Can you do that?" Manny thought for a few minutes before answering him.

"Yes Chris, I'll do that for you because I love you," she started to cry again.

"I knew it was going to come down to this, so I signed some papers. The guard behind you is going to give them to you when you leave. I've signed away my parental rights to Jonathan so you can adopt him. Thank you so much. I'll never forget you Manny, and I hope you won't forget me. I was never ready for any of this. I'm sorry," he said and sighed.

"Goodbye Chris, I love you. I'll never forget you either," she said and hung up the phone. She saw Chris mouth 'goodbye' from the other side of the window. Manny took the ring off her finger and placed it on the table in front of her. When she stood up, the guard handed her the papers Chris was talking about and she began to walk away. Chris watched her, crying, until a guard came to bring him back to his cell. It was the last time he'd see her for eight years, and possibly forever.

You probably wish you were
Anywhere but here...
Remember this now cause it soon will disappear
You'll find yourself wishing
You're anyone but you.
I'm starting to wish I were
Anyone but me.
And I will be broken by this...
As soon as you wake you will
Find me on my way.
And soon when it's safe you may
Find a love again.
And I will be broken by this
Sweet dream
But it's all I have.
Seems that it, oh it
Always bleeds like this
When nothing's wrong
But nothing feels right
You're knocked down and dying,
You'll stand right back up
And you'll fall all alone...
All in this...
Sweet dream
It's all I have
A sweet dream
It's all I have
It's the finest moment that you've ever had.
Like a fallen star in the palm of your hand.
A sweet dream
It's all I have
A sweet dream
It's all I've got...

Manny walked back through the metal detector and outside into the cool, fresh air, where she found Jimmy waiting for her. She ran to him and threw her arms around him, and never wanted to let go. He held her in his arms as long as she needed, and when she finally pulled away, he looked into her eyes and for the second time, he wiped her tears.

"I love you Manny," he finally told her. Her eyes widened and she just stood there, looking into his eyes.