A/N: After spending more than an hour digging my car out of 2 feet of snow with a stupid children's shovel, I'm tired and decided to write. My goal is to have this finished by the next new episode, because it will deal with Sara's backstory, and I don't want to write a different story after the fact. We'll see how well that works out, but bear with me and please let me know what you think. Reviews really do make me want to write more.

Walking through the sterile walls of the hospital, Sara felt unusually relaxed. For some reason, hospitals had never bothered Sara. They were a place that could heal, offer comfort, and offer protection from the outside world. At least that's how she felt until Pamela Adler entered her life, just lying on the hospital bed, being completely brain dead, but still living in every possible way. But that was just one memory out of many regarding hospitals and it wasn't the one that was flashing through her head as she made her way to her brother's room.

A thirteen year old Sara woke up in a white room, tubes running from her arms to the bags of clear saline next to the bed. A nurse was changing a bandage on her forehead. "Why am in the hospital?"

"You were in an accident, honey, but you'll be alright."

"Where's my mom?"

"She's down the hall, but let's not have you worrying about her right now, okay?"

She could feel herself drifting away, "Okay."

Down the hall she recognized Julie's mother, Angie, and slowed her determined pace to a slow stride. Angie was sitting stiffly, as if she was trying to hide her grief from everyone around her, but Sara could see she was hurting. Curled up into Angie's side was a little blonde head that Sara easily recognized as a sleeping Amy. She let out a long sigh of relief seeing her niece was alright. Angie looked up when she heard the sigh, and gave Sara a very small, very forced smile.

After greeting each other softly, Sara sat down next to Angie, keeping Amy between them. She asked quietly, "What happened?"

"Erich and Julie were driving back from dinner, coming by my place to pick up Amy, and someone plowed right through a red light, slamming into Julie's side of the car."

"How is…"

"She never made it to the hospital."

Sara reached over and placed her arm lightly across Angie's back, rubbing her shoulder blades lightly. She watched as tears fell down Angie's cheeks, and allowed her the time to grieve; knowing that she probably hadn't had the chance because she wanted to stay strong for her granddaughter.

Amy. Sara looked down to her niece, and brushed a piece of hair that had fallen down in her face, behind her ear. The little girl would soon be living without both parents, and the dream that Erich had, the dream of keeping the family together always, would be shattered.

When Angie had composed herself, she turned to face the woman she would always feel was like a second daughter. "Your brother has been waiting for you. He's goddamned determined to see you, and won't stop asking the doctor's when you'll be here."

A small, knowing smirk made its way to Sara's lips. "That sure does sound like Erich." She stood up, and after looking to Angie for direction, she walked slowly into her brother's room. She gasped when she saw the pale form on the bed in front of her. He had always seemed so strong to her, and she knew that this was the one time in her life that he was going to be looking to her for strength, not the other way around.

"Sara? Is that you?"

She smiled, "Of course it's me."

"Finally," he tried to sigh exasperatedly, but it ended up sounding like a sigh of pain.

"Hey, now, you know there are no flights out of Vegas after midnight. I had to drive my ass out here to see you," she joked, knowing it would help lessen the tension already present within the walls of the room. She sat down in the chair next to his bed, and reached out for his hand.

"And I'm glad you did. I wanted to ask you something in person." He stopped to catch his breath. "Julie and I, we had barely talked about it, thinking that wouldn't ever have to deal with it."

"Erich, what are you talking about?"

"Amy. We discussed asking you to care for her in the event of our deaths, but we never got around to it. Angie's health is deteriorating, and can't take care of a three year old like Amy. You're her only other living relative that I would consider, Sara."

She huffed out a tiny, unsure laugh, and ran her free hand through her hair. "You want me to be Amy's guardian?"

"You sell yourself short sometimes, you know that?" He smiled as much as he could as she nodded her head slightly, knowing he was right. "You are perfectly capable of caring for a child. I know you are, and Amy adores you."

"Does Angie know?" She really didn't want to step on any toes, or start a long chain of custody battles with the one woman she considered to be a second mother.

"I just talked with her a few hours ago, and she agrees. Sara, you can do this, I know you can, and I need you to. I need you to be strong for Amy."

"But Erich, I was never the strong one."

"Bullshit!" he yelled, but the outburst caused a sharp twinge of pain in his chest, and his face contorted into a grimace. She stood to get a doctor, but he wouldn't let go of her hand. She turned back to face him, and he was shaking his head. "No, I'm fine. Just a little sharp pain. It'll pass in a second."

She nodded and sat back down as his breathing slowed down, and she could see beads of sweat that had built up due to his strain. She reached for a towel on the bedside table, and wiped his brow with it, and he started speaking again.

"Sara, I know that when you're around me, you feel like you still need protecting. But you don't, you've moved on with your life. We both know you've been through some rough stuff in the past, but look at you. You're so strong and independent. You made it, when so many of the kids you lived with didn't stand a chance. And I know you're sitting there thinking that the only reason you made it was because I was there. It may be true, but now I need for you to do the same with Amy. I want her to grow up and be just like you, Sara. Strong, smart, and able to think on her own. You can help her become someone like that."

The tears that had built up in her eyes finally fell. "I'll do it. For you, I'll can do it."

"Thank you."

She nodded, and wiped the tears from her cheeks, diverting her gaze to the room around her. It was the first time in a long time that she had walked into a room and not observed the surroundings. This time though, it didn't matter and she turned her attention back to her brother when she felt him squeeze her hand.

"Can you bring Amy in here? I think its time to say good bye."