Grace tapped her foot restlessly against the floor as she sat uncomfortably in the stiff, plastic chair. She hated this place, always had. She hated everything about it: the look, the feel, and the smell. Everything about the brightly lit hospital reminded her of death and destruction. It seemed that every time her world was falling apart she ended up here.

"I thought she had gone to the grocery store, so I went to the temple. Just for a little while," her father murmured in shock, breaking the silence that had surrounded them ever since Grace had arrived at the hospital. "I came home and she was just lying there…"

Grace's foot ceased its tapping and she turned her head to give him an unreadable look. "I know. I'm the one who found her all the times before, remember?"

The rabbi's eyes shone with regret and he reached out in hope of offering some kind of comfort for his daughter. As she shied away from him, he realized that he was years too late to fix the damage he had caused. All those nights that he tried to ignore his wife's problem, he had never given thought to what it was doing to his little girl. And now, he was left to regret every moment of it.

"I wish I could take all of this back," he told her softly. "Not being there for you when I should have. I should have seen how much it was hurting you."

Grace's expression became cold and hostile, something he had begun to recognize over the past few years. "Well, dad, you can't take it back. And you didn't see because you didn't want to see. You just wanted to pretend everything was okay so that you didn't have to deal."

"Grace..."

"No!" she said loudly, standing up and drawing attention to them. "I have spent all of my life dealing with your shit so that you didn't have to. I am not going to tell you its all okay now so you can feel better. I think it's about time you face your mistakes."

The rabbi watched her turn to walk away, silenced for a moment in his shock.

"Where are you going?"

Grace stalled and glanced over her shoulder at him, "I'm going to the payphone to call Luke. My cell phone's battery is dead."

"Don't bring that boy into our business," he said sternly.

Grace turned all the way around to face her father, jaw clenching. Eyes starting to water, she said evenly through clenched teeth, "Fine. I'm going to get coffee."

Rabbi Polansky watched her stomp away with a sigh. It seemed the more he tried to mend the rift between them; the more she seemed to push him away. His gaze landed on the chair his daughter had just vacated. There was what appeared to be a strip of paper lying on the chair. Gingerly picking it up, he turned it over to reveal the pictures on it. Choosing to ignore a couple of rather intimate ones, he focused instead on the one of Grace and that Girardi boy with their foreheads pressed together and smiling wide at each other. He hadn't seen her that relaxed and happy in years.

Closing his eyes, the rabbi thought back to the tearful look Grace had given him when he had refused to let her seek out Luke. He had, yet again, only been thinking of himself. No wonder she was so angry with him. He hadn't even stopped for a moment to think of why she wanted Luke there. Grace wouldn't accept the rabbi's offer of comfort, but it didn't mean that she didn't need any. It scared him, but he could sense that his daughter needed that boy. And it was about time that he gave his daughter what she needed. Determined, he went to the pay phone to make a call. As the phone rang, Rabbi Polansky felt that he was finally doing the right thing.

"Hello Mrs. Girardi, this is Rabbi Polansky. May I please speak with your son?"

When the rabbi returned to the waiting room, Grace was already sitting in the row of plastic chairs, sipping on her coffee. Even from a distance, he could tell she was still in a sour mood. He has a good feeling that she would be better soon, but he feared to face her rage in the moment.

She ignored him as he sat beside her. He even swore that maybe she inched away a little. Fingering the small strip of pictures in his jacket's pocket, he turned to face his daughter.

"I'm sorry, Gracie," the rabbi told her sincerely. "You were right, I have made mistakes. Too many." Looking momentarily behind Grace, he pulled the picture strip out of his pocket. "Its about time I start making up for them."

The rabbi pressed the strip of pictures into Grace's hand as Luke sat in the chair next to hers. Before Grace could open her hand to look at the pictures, she felt a gentle hand on her arm. Looking back over her shoulder, she was startled to find her boyfriend looking back at her with concern. She turned back to her father to give him a confused look.

"I am going to go check with the doctor again," he offered her a sad smile, knowing that his little girl no longer needed him to be the man in her life. Knowing that there would be no change in his wife's condition, but wanting to give the young couple some privacy, he walked down the hall to talk to the doctor.

"Luke," Grace said softly, turning to face the boy next to her as her father left. "You're… here."

Luke smiled slightly at her rare speechlessness. "Your father called and told me what had happened. Said he wanted me to come here."

Grace eyes became misty as she struggled not to cry in the middle of the waiting area. Luke, unsure of how she might react, slowly pulled her into a light hug. She gave him a light squeeze, but quickly pulled back, not about to breakdown in the middle of the waiting room. She stood abruptly, knowing he would follow as she searched out a secluded space. They reached an empty room nearby and Grace let Luke take her into his arms as she allowed herself to cry for the first time that night.

Rabbi Polansky sat numbly back into his chair. The doctor had given him even more disturbing news. The longer she remained unconscious, the less likely it was that she would wake up. Meaning a coma or possibly death, however it may turn out. The rabbi had never even considered that he might lose his wife tonight. He had never even considered that he might lose his wife that very night. The rabbi had never felt so lost in his life. Not only had he completely messed things up with his daughter, but also he might never see the woman he loved again.

The doctor had also mentioned the possibility of rehab if she did indeed wake up. He had said that she'd been lucky to even make it through the previous four incidents of alcohol poisoning. The rabbi couldn't believe it had really been that many times. And that through all of those times, his daughter had to find her mother like that and take charge in his absence. It made him wonder if he could ever really make it right with his daughter after abandoning her for so long.

It seemed she had found solace though, in the form of a young, skinny teen. She had been noticeably happier and more carefree in the time they had been together. Looking at them in the strip of photographs had been a painful reminder of Sarah and himself when they were younger. When he had been energized and enthusiastic and she had been happy and sober. They had been so in love and deeply connected, but somewhere along the way things had gotten so terribly out of control.

As it neared midnight and there was still no change in Sarah's condition, Rabbi Polansky insisted that Grace needed to leave the hospital and go get some sleep.

"But what if she wakes up?" Grace asked, fidgeting with Luke's hand in her own.

"I will let you know first thing in the morning."

"I don't want to be alone in the house," Grace argued back stubbornly.

"I know," the rabbi assured her. "Which is why I arranged to have you stay with the Girardi's tonight."

For the second time that night, Grace's eyes filled with gratitude as she nodded, accepting his offer.

Only Joan and Helen were awake when Luke and Grace arrived at the house. Both offered an extra sense of warmth and comfort that Grace secretly basked in. After Grace found something respectable of Joan's to wear to bed, Luke came into Joan's room to check on her. He had changed into his pajamas as well and looked especially snuggly. Unable to resist plaid-PJ pants-clad Luke, she immediately sank into his arms.

Joan wisely stayed away from her room, knowing the couple needed some privacy. They laid on Grace's cot in each other's arms for a long time, neither saying a word. Luke noticed Grace's eyelids started to droop after a while and convinced her to let him go up to his room so that they could both get some sleep. After getting up and grabbing something off the dresser, he placed a pink stuffed bunny on her stomach.

"For emergency cuddling," He told her with a lopsided smile. He kissed her forehead and pulled the covers up over her. "Good night."

"Night," Grace answered back as he headed for the door. Joan entered almost immediately after her brother left. She smiled at the sight of Grace fingering the rabbit's long ears.

"Wow," Joan said after she sat on her bed. "He let you have Bunny Foo Foo."

"Bunny Foo Foo?" Grace repeated, raising an eyebrow at the soft bunny that lay on her. "He bought a PINK stuffed bunny and named it Bunny Foo Foo? You people really ARE crazy."

"Well, actually that would be me," Joan admitted a bit sheepishly. Off of Grace's amused look she quickly added, "In my defense, I was three at the time."

Grace smiled at the mental image of a pudgy little blonde boy cuddling the bunny she now held. She gave Joan a questioning look, "You seemed surprised there for a minute, Girardi."

"Well yeah," Joan said with a chuckle, eyeing Grace closely. "I was the only one Luke ever let within a two foot radius of that thing. And that's only because I gave it to him."

Grace smiled affectionately at the bunny, and gave it a little pat on the head. She wasn't planning on actually getting cuddly with a stuffed toy, but she was touched by the gesture of Luke giving it to her for the night.

"He really cares about you," Joan informed her, watching closely for a reaction. Grace only continued to fidget with the bunny. "I'm surprised I didn't have to physically drag him out of here."

Grace yawned loudly, "Sleep calls, dude. We'll just have to save this conversation until a never time. G'night."

Joan rolled her eyes as her friend burrowed down into the covers and shut her eyes.

"Good night," Joan answered back as she switched the light off.

The next morning, Luke awoke to feeling way warmer and cozier then he had been when he went to bed the night before. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes to find Bunny Foo Foo lying on his chest. Lifting his head slightly, he could see an arm that lay over him and the bunny. Upon trying to shift his position, he found that a leg was hooked over his as well. Turning his head to the side, he found himself face to face with a sleeping Grace. Gently moving her leg off of him, he turned on his side to face her.

Softly stroking her face with his fingertips, he savored the feeling of waking up next to her. The second time his fingers passed over her cheek, she let out a quiet snort in her sleep. He bit his lip to keep from chuckling and hoped she would never know he was thinking about how cute she was. Maybe it was a little weird that he liked the fact that she would kill him for thinking about her that way, but that was part of the Grace package. He loved the aggressive rebel girl as much as he loved the more tender side that came out sometimes when they were alone.

Silently watching her peacefully sleeping, Luke wished that he would never have to wake her. Just as he had the thought, Joan came bounding into the room at full speed. So much for that wish…

"Knew she'd be up here," She commented with a smirk. "Mom's making pancakes, you guys should come down."

Grace stirred in her sleep and Luke sternly motioned Joan to quiet down. Joan rolled her eyes as Luke studied his girlfriend, trying to figure out how he should wake her.

"Luke, its not rocket science, you just gotta wake her up."

Another silencing glare had Joan rolling her eyes again and heading back downstairs.

Luke went back to softly stroking Grace's face after Joan had left the room, contemplating on how to wake her. He already knew that she was not a morning person in the slightest, so it would be the lesser of evils to wake her pleasantly. Remembering waking to the feel of her lips on his the morning before gave him an idea. Leaning in with a smile, he started to kiss on her neck.

As he started getting more into it, with a nibble here and there and sucking lightly on her skin, Grace's eyes fluttered open. Quickly realizing what was going on, her hand that had been curled up in front of her moved to rest on his neck, urging him on. Noticing the movement, Luke moved back to quirk a grin at her.

"Good morning, Miss in-my-bed."

"You didn't seem to mind the other night," she commented with a raise of her eyebrow. "Or earlier this morning."

"Earlier this morning…?" He asked, confused.

"Yeah, I came up here cause I couldn't sleep," she informed him. "You were all… mumbling in your sleep and nuzzling up to me like a little puppy."

"I was mumbling?" Luke asked, looking slightly alarmed. "What did I say?"

"Oh, nothing really. Just something about …smelling good," Grace told him dismissively. She looked thoughtful for a moment. "And you were feeling… around…"

Luke gaped at her horrified as she continued, "And you… totally don't get that I am joking, do ya?"

Grace laughed at the relieved look that passed over Luke's face and gave him a tiny, playful shove.

"You are too easy, rocket boy."

"That wasn't very nice," He told her solemnly, giving her the big, sweet puppy eyes that she really, really hated. He looked all boyish and cute with those wide blue eyes, and it made her want to do ridiculously girlish things. It was a streak of true evil in him, she was sure of it. She gave him her best you-will-die-now glare, determined to defeat the dreaded puppy eyes. Ignoring her attempt to disarm him, he only made it worse by pouting slightly at her.

The evil puppy eyes lethally combined with the slight jutting out of his lower lip finally did her in and she let out a whimper of protest. Luke tried hard not to grin as she gave him a look of apology. He accepted her soft 'make-up' kiss and pulled back to smirk at her.

She instantly glared at him and smacked him in the chest, "I HATE that."

"Only cause you love it so much," he told her with a smirk.

"Dude, that didn't even make sense," Grace teased, giving him a light poke in the stomach.

"Oh, you're awake," Joan's voice carried over to the couple that lay grinning at each other. They turned towards her as she continued. "C'mon, its food people! Shouldn't that have you jumping out of bed?"

"Food?" Grace sat up lightening fast. She looked at Luke in amazement. "And you failed to tell me this why?"

"I-" was all Luke managed to say before Grace was out of the bed and halfway down the stairs.

"Girl's gotta eat," Joan told him with a smirk before following Grace out.

By the time Luke had made it downstairs, the girls were already well into their pancakes. Joan gave him a grin as she snatched some of the remaining few that had been obviously set-aside for him.

"Joan," Helen reprimanded, pointing the spatula at her daughter.

"What?" Joan asked, mouth full of stolen pancakes, innocent look on full force.

Luke looked down at his wimpy two-pancake plate and gave his mom the hurt little boy eyes, hoping she would do something.

"I already made all of the batch," Helen told him apologetically.

Joan smirked at him, "You snooze you lose, dork."

Throwing his hands up in surrender, Luke commented, "I thought it was teenage boys who ate like pigs."

"I am not a pig," Joan mumbled between gulps of her orange juice.

Grace raised her eyebrows at her friend, yet again amazed at how mean she could be to her little brother. Luke sat down to grumpily pick at his soggy pancakes as the phone began to shrill.

"I got it!" Joan exclaimed, managing to nearly knock everyone's meals onto the floor in her rush for the phone. "Hello? Hi…Mr. Polanski."

Grace paused mid chew and slowly rose from her chair. Reluctantly taking the phone from Joan, Grace put the receiver to her ear.

Luke watched intently as Grace talked on the phone. She didn't look too upset, so he assumed there was no more bad news.

Grace hung up and headed back to the table, where everyone sat quietly, trying not to stare at her.

"My mom woke up late last night," she informed them. "She's going to be fine. I am just going to go meet them at the house."

"Well, that's good!" Joan piped up cheerfully, sensing that her friend wasn't exactly relieved by the news. Grace said a quick goodbye and grabbed her bag, attempting a swift exit. Luke reacted immediately, jumping up and chasing after her.

Joan's eyes strayed over to the remaining pancakes left on Luke's plate.

"Don't even think about it," Helen told her sternly. Joan pouted slightly and slumped down in her chair.

"Grace," Luke called out as he caught Grace's elbow before she could open the front door. She turned to face him. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," she answered. "Its just… nothing is going to change. So, she made it through this time, good for her. But what about next time? Because, believe me, there is going to be a next time."

"I'm sorry," Luke told her softly. "But you are right… nothing has changed. You still have me."

"Getting a little mushy, Girardi," Grace warned, fighting off the smile that wanted to appear due to his sweet nature.

Choosing not to push the issue, Luke told her, "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, bio closet, 7:30, you better be there on time, dork."

"If I recall correctly I am not the one who is usually late and blames it on 'not being a morning person'."

Grace looked semi annoyed and about to comment, so Luke leaned in and placed a firm kiss square on her lips to silence her.

"I'll see you then."

"Bye, dude," she told him as she turned the doorknob, smirking at his diversion tactics.

Luke was pleased to find Grace already waiting for him in the biology closet when he got there at 7:30 sharp. He sat down across from her and gave her a smile in greeting. She gave him a tiny smile back, which seemed a bit forced. He looked at her questioningly.

"After I got home yesterday, my dad told me the big news," Grace started after a moment. "He had my mom put in rehab."

"Really?" Luke asked, surprised. "Is that… a bad thing?"

"Well, no," Grace admitted with a sigh. "Just kind of caught me off guard I suppose. I'm trying not to hope for too much. I mean, there's a huge possibility that it won't help."

"But its something," Luke pointed out, laying a comforting hand on her leg.

"Yeah," Grace agreed, setting her notebook aside and enjoying the feel of Luke gently rubbing her leg. They sat like that for a moment, just enjoying each others company. Grace gave him a little smirk.

"I saw your away message last night. I can't believe you let your sister drag you off on one of her crazy endeavors."

"Yeah, well," Luke said with a sigh, "you were gone and I had nothing better to do."

"That's kind of pathetic," Grace teased, giving him a soft kiss to let him know she was kidding.

"Yeah, what can I say, I don't know what to do without 'my sweet'," Luke joked, giving her a grin.

"Dude-" Luke cut off her remark with a deep kiss. Several minutes passed before Luke pulled back to quirk a grin at her.

"What were you saying?"

"I… was saying something?" Grace asked, looking at him dazedly.

Luke chuckled and gave her a fond look before leaning back in to use their make out time wisely.