Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."

Author's Note: All righty folks, I'm just poppin in to tell everyone that I have absolutely no idea how a real Police interrogation goes...I'm just sort of working with all of the stuff I've seen on "Law and Order." And even then, I don't really do it any justice...ahahaha! Get it? "Justice!" It...it's supposed to be fun--forget it. Jeeze...tough crowd.

Ahem...All right, onwith the story...

Chapter 33

Michael sat in the intentionally dark interrogation room with his face in his hands. He was tired, felt defeated, and was wracked with guilt. When the police arrested him, he had been walking aimlessly around Main Street, thinking about what had happened.

"Michael Whitman." The police officer said, getting out of his patrol car.

Michael stopped, took one last drag of his cigarette, flicked it away and turned around. "What?" He boomed, even though he already knew what the police wanted.

The officer pulled out his handcuffs…

They had been holding him there for a few hours and no one had come to speak to him. He was just about ready to snap when the door opened and someone stepped inside. It was a man, a police officer, with a pencil, a notepad, and a steaming cup of coffee.

"Hi there," The man greeted politely, "I'm Officer Sanchez."

"When can I call my grandma?" Michael asked, rubbing his tired eyes.

"We've called her for you. She's on her way down to the station as we speak."

Michael straightened up in his chair. "She's seventy eight years old! She can't get here by hers--" Michael stopped when Officer Sanchez raised his hand.

"Don't worry, Mr. Whitman. We sent someone out to get her. She'll be fine."

Michael calmed down again, leaning his head up against his hand. "I didn't do anything." He said, knowing what Sanchez was going to say.

"Okay, but you did, however, know that Rocky Collera, Deckland O'Malley, and Tyrone Jacobs were planning to do something to the girls, right?"

Michael shrugged.

"Did you or didn't you?"

When Michael didn't answer, Officer Sanchez sighed and took a sip of his coffee. "What is this huh? Are you trying to cover for your friends?"

Michael glared at Officer Sanchez, but didn't respond. If he ratted Rocky out, that would be the end of him for sure.

"It doesn't really matter, Michael. We have four eye witness accounts that place all of you at the scene. All of your friends have been arrested. I'm just trying to help you out here. Do you realize how much trouble you're in? Being eighteen, you can be tried as an adult, do you understand that? This is being recognized as a hate crime. Did you know that?"

Michael shook his head.

"Look, I know you're not a bad kid. You just got mixed up in something that got way out of hand. I know this. But don't think the jury's gonna see it the way I see it. To them, you're just another punk. If you are tried with the rest of your buddies, you could go to jail. Not juvenile detention…jail. But, if you cooperate, I can help you out. I can make sure that you don't set foot inside prison. Don't you want that?"

Michael looked at Officer Sanchez, thinking it over.

Sanchez continued. "Michael, you can tell me, man. Your friends aren't going to hurt you if you do. You're perfectly safe, man. I promise you."

Michael looked at Sanchez with watery eyes. "What's gonna happen when he gets out? Huh? I'm as good as dead."

"When who gets out? Rocky?"

"He…he's my best friend, man. The-the fucking only friend I ever had in my life. I-I don't say no to anything he asks for…how the fuck do you expect me to rat him out?"

Sanchez exhaled heavily. "Look, I understand--"

Michael stood up quickly, knocking his chair over, but Sanchez didn't move. He didn't even blink. "No! No you don't! Nobody understands! Rocky is the only thing in my life…that I've always had. Not my ma or my dad, not my grandma and grandpa…nobody else. I lose him and what do I got? Nothing. Nobody at all."

Sanchez looked directly into Michael's eyes. This kid wasn't going to say anything. He was too loyal, or too stupid, probably a little bit of both. Maybe, just maybe…if Sanchez were to say that Rocky abandoned him…

"Really, Mr. Whitman? You say Rocky is your best friend? Some friend he is. He said it was all your idea."

Michael looked at Sanchez, completely stunned for a moment. Then, he shook his head. "No."

"No what?"

"No, that ain't true. You're lying."

"He's was just in the other interrogation room, telling my partner that you planned it all. That you had a crush on Chelsea Daniels and when you found out she was a lesbian, you snapped."

"No…no." Michael shook his head. This couldn't be true.

"It drove you crazy that she wouldn't go out with you. You couldn't take it any more. So after school, you planned to--"

"THAT'S A LIE!" Michael screamed, hearing enough.

"You're so-called 'best friend' sat down and told my partner that it was all you and that you made him do everything he did. He sang like a Canary. He ratted you out. It's a real shame that you feel the need to stay so loyal to him. Apparently, he doesn't feel the same way."

Michael leaned back against the wall, hot tears running down his cheeks. "I-I never wanted to talk to her. Rocky made me do it. Like I give a shit about some dyke. I don't care! She never did nothing to me! But Rocky wouldn't let them alone. He just kept on pushing and pushing…and he got me in trouble! I got two weeks of detention because of him! Then, he got me suspended. He got all of us suspended! It was his fault!"

Michael slid down the wall to the floor. He felt like such a baby, crying like he was, but he didn't know how to stop it. "He went and fucking wrote that shit all over their lockers! I didn't! I didn't do a damn thing! And we all get suspended because of something he did and he says it was the girls' fault! So he made a plan. I didn't want to do anything to them…I didn't even like them. But when Rocky starts you can't stop him, and I couldn't say no because I didn't want to lose my best friend! Some fucking best friend…"

By this time Michael had become so distressed that he was practically choking on his sobs. Officer Sanchez got up and ran to the boy, putting his hands on Michael's shoulders, trying to calm him down. "All right, all right…"

"I didn't do anything to them, I swear I didn't!"

"Listen, I know that you didn't attack the girls. Eddie Thomas even said that you called the ambulance for them, correct?"

Michael stopped crying long enough to mutter a low, "Yeah."

"It'll all be okay. Rocky doesn't even have to know that you told us anything. I promise he won't find out. But…you have to tell me everything. Every little thing you can remember. You have to help me. Can you do that?"

Michael wiped his tears, sucking in air in short gasps. He relaxed, hanging his head, staring at the floor. Officer Sanchez waited patiently for a response; he knew the kid was going to crack. After a couple of minutes of silence, Michael looked up at Sanchez, his eyes filled with pain and sorrow.

"What do you want to know?"

Ben turned the television off, lying back in his hospital bed and sighing loudly. He had been stuck here for three days and it was starting to get to him. He had never broken a bone before, but he didn't think it would be as hard as it was to deal with it. Having his leg trapped in plaster wasn't fun at all. It itched, it hurt…it itched and hurt at the same time. It was so heavy too. Getting up to go to the bathroom was an adventure all its own.

His parents weren't helping either. Julia fussed over him constantly, fluffing his pillows and straightening out the blankets; she even offered to help him with going to the bathroom. It was really embarrassing. Ben knew it was only because she loved him, but there were only so much a man could take.

Philip was an entirely different story. Philip would come to the hospital and terrorize the doctors and nurses with his lame, "knock-knock" jokes, complain about the hospital food (even if he wasn't the one eating it) and would turn the television to "The Medical Channel" to watch horrible and depressing documentaries about people with 200lb tumors and rare skin disorders. Then he would fall asleep with the remote in his hand and Ben would be stuck watching the show. Ben knew that his father cared for him, and that's why he came to visit for hours, but there was only so much he could stand.

Eddie and Raven had stopped by as well, and they weren't bad, but they didn't stick around as much as his parents did. Some of his other friends came for a visit on the second day of his hospital stay, but they had a football game today and couldn't visit any more.

Philip and Julia had gone out to dinner after Ben practically begged them to leave. (He didn't actually tell them to get out…it was more of a, 'go have a good time' kind of thing.) Now, he was all alone, there wasn't anything on T.V. and there was nothing to do. Ben closed his eyes thinking he could try to take a nap when there was a soft knock.

"Come in." Ben said, wondering who it could be.

Chelsea shuffled in, wearing a polka-dot hospital gown with scrub pants and plain white socks. She had her broken arm in a sling, hanging loosely over her chest. She looked tired, but good. Ben sat up in his bed and smiled.

"Chelsea, how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." She said softly, smiling a little as she reached the side of his bed. "How are you doing? How's your leg?"

"It's okay…just itches a lot."

"Tell me about it." Chelsea said, looking at her own cast.

"How's your head doing?"

"Okay. The doctor said the stitches are coming out in a few days." Chelsea said, feeling the back of her head."

"Should you be out of bed?" Ben asked, seeing how pale Chelsea looked.

Chelsea shrugged. "I couldn't stay in there for one more second. I heard you were still here, so I came to visit you and thank you for helping me and Raven."

Ben looked away. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be in here."

"That's not true. It was Rocky's fault."

"If I didn't try to tackle Rocky, he wouldn't have thrown me into you--" Ben started, but Chelsea cut him off by placing a gentle hand beneath his chin and leading his gaze back to her own.

"Ben, you were only doing that because you wanted to help me. Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault at all. So cheer up mister."

Ben lowered his gaze and smiled a little.

"Come on Ben."

"All right, all right." Ben finally relented. He couldn't remain sad around Chelsea, no matter how guilty he felt.

"Good." Chelsea said and kissed Ben on the cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Ben said, sighing loudly.

Chelsea looked around the room, pulling up a chair and sitting in it. She noticed a once vibrant "Get well soon" balloon all deflated, hanging from the end of Ben's bed by the bright red ribbon attached to it, slowly floating just centimeters from the floor. "Looks like your room depressed the balloon." Chelsea said, pointing.

Ben nodded, but didn't say anything. The room remained silent for a few minutes before Chelsea took the remote from Ben's bed. "Hmm, I wonder what's on."

"Nothing." Ben said as Chelsea turned the television on and began to flip through the channels. She stopped flipping a few channels later, sitting up straighter and smiling widely.

"Ooh! The National Dog Show is on! How could I forget?"

Ben groaned, leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "Oh God, not the All Animal Network!" He whined, laughing a little when Chelsea shushed him.

"Oh, look at that cute little puppy!" Chelsea cooed, speaking as if she were actually talking to the dog. Ben looked at the screen and frowned.

"Chelsea, that's a Saint Bernard."

"I know! Isn't he adorable?"

The big, slobbery dog walked swiftly up and down the ugly green mat, dragging his handler around. People clapped as the announcers spoke about the breed. "How much longer is this on for?" Ben asked.

"Well, from what I can tell…I think we have three more hours to go!"

Ben exhaled. "I'm going to need more painkillers then."

Chelsea swatted at Ben's arm. Ben laughed, leaning back in his bed. He watched Chelsea as she pointed out all of the different breeds of dogs, telling him random facts about each and he began to feel better than he had in days.

This was one visit he actually enjoyed.

Chelsea leaned her head against the car door window, watching as clouds flew by rapidly.

"Honey, are you okay?" Chester asked, darting his eyes from the road to Chelsea and back to the road again. Chelsea moved her gaze toward him for a moment before taking its place on the window again.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I can't wait to get home." Chelsea answered, meaning every word. After four days, Chelsea didn't want to see the inside of a hospital for the rest of her life. She just wanted to go home, take a nice, hot shower, and crawl into her soft bed.

"Are you hungry? Your mother is making veggie burgers and fries."

"That sounds great." Chelsea said. It had been a while since she had some normal food. The hospital kept trying to get her to eat meat. It was like she was the first vegetarian ever admitted into that place. She had been living off of frozen peas, instant mashed potatoes and Jell-o for what seemed like forever.

They pulled up to their house; Chester got out first and ran around the car to help Chelsea out. "Dad, I'm fine." Chelsea said, giving her father a small smile to reassure him. He nodded, backing away.

"I'll get your bag, you just go on inside."

Chelsea closed the car door and made her way up the stairs to her house. It felt so nice to be home again. She opened the door, stepped inside and nearly jumped out of her skin when people yelled, "SURPRISE!"

After the initial shock, Chelsea looked around. Above the doorway leading to the living room was a very nicely designed sign that read, "Welcome Home Chelsea!" Colorful balloons seemed to be attached to everything in sight. Charlene, Eddie, Tanya, Victor, Cory, and Raven were all standing in front of the entrance, smiling. Chelsea rolled here eyes and smiled, walking into the living room.

"You guys…"

Charlene was the first to move toward her, kissing Chelsea on the forehead and resting both hands on her shoulders. "Welcome home sweetie, how are you feeling? Is your head all right? How's your arm?"

"I'm good Mom. A little surprised, but good."

Raven was next, wrapping Chelsea in the best hug she could with both of them having their arms in slings. "Is it too much? Too many balloons?"

"It's perfect. Thank you." Chelsea said, kissing Raven on the cheek.

One by one, everyone else hugged Chelsea and asked how she was, and then they all sat down for some veggie burgers and fries, followed by cake. Not once did they mention the incident, and everyone had a good time.

After a while, Eddie had to go. He had to get home and baby sit his little brother. Chelsea thanked him and gave him a great big hug before he left.

While everyone elsewas cleaning up, Chelsea took Raven by the hand and started to lead her to her bedroom. "Hey Chels, are you okay?" Raven said, concerned.

"I'm fine." Chelsea whispered as they entered her bedroom. Closing the door, she said, "I just wanted a few minutes alone with you."

Raven smiled, walking over to Chelsea's bed and sitting on it. Chelsea did the same, but when she hit the bed, she fell back and sighed happily. "Oh my God, I've missed this bed! I don't ever want to leave it again."

Chelsea laughed, sitting back up again, but stopped when a tear trickled down Raven's cheek. "Hey, why are you crying?"

"I'm sorry Chelsea." Raven whispered hoarsely, turning toward Chelsea.

"For wha--wait, oh not you too!" Chelsea shook her head in a tsk-tsk fashion. "Raven, it's not your fault."

"I know. It's just…I should have told you about my vision--"

"Hey, hey. Rae, I made Ben keep his vision from you. We both made that mistake." Chelsea said, taking Raven's good hand with her own. "Now come on. I don't want you to feel guilty any more. I mean it."

"I was so afraid that I lost you forever. WH-when I thought about you d-dy…I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think…couldn't live if you…" Raven trailed off, another tear running down her face. Chelsea felt her own eyes grow watery as she slowly wiped Raven's tear away with her thumb.

"Well, don't worry, because I'm not dead. I'm fine. We're going to be fine. And I'm not going to leave you…ever. You can't keep blaming yourself for something Rocky and his stupid gang did. It happened, it's over, let's move on." Chelsea placed her hand on Raven's cheek, rubbing her thumb just beneath Raven's eye.

"Every time I close my eyes I can see you falling." Raven whispered hoarsely. "I don't know how to make that stop."

"It will, because every time you open your eyes I'll be here. We'll get through this. We will." Chelsea pulled Raven into a tight hug, resting her head on Raven's shoulder. She couldn't believe that she was actually the stronger person at the moment. She had never seen Raven so vulnerable; it scared her. They had to be able to move past this. If they couldn't, Chelsea wouldn't know what to do.

After a while, Chelsea broke from Raven and looked deep into her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Raven nodded, sniffling one last time. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be all right."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I feel much better."

"Okay." Chelsea stated before there was a knock on the door. "Come in."

Charlene opened the door. "Hi girls, sorry to interrupt. Raven, you're parents wanted to let you know that they're leaving in a few minutes."

"Okay, thanks Mrs. Daniels."

"We'll be out in a little bit, Mom." Chelsea added, and Charlene nodded.

"All right…as you were." Charlene said awkwardly and both Raven and Chelsea's eyes grew as wide as saucers.

"MOM!" Chelsea said between clenched teeth, turning at least fifty different shades of red. "We were just talking!"

"O-oh! Oh my. I'm so sorry!" Charlene half-laughed out of humiliation. She quickly said, "I'll leave you alone," before closing the door.

"Oh my God." Chelsea muttered, closing her eyes and shaking her head. She was sure she would die of embarrassment when Raven started to laugh. Chelsea opened her eyes and stared at Raven, who had started laughing so hard that tears were rolling down her cheeks. "What?" She asked, beginning to laugh herself.

"Girl, you should've seen your face!" Raven said breathlessly between her laughter.

"That wasn't funny!" Chelsea shrieked, but she was nearly as hysterical as Raven. Soon both girls were in stitches with tears running down their faces as they laughed.

They fell back on Chelsea's bed, their heads touching as the laughter died down. Chelsea turned her head to Raven and kissed her sweetly on the cheek. Raven smiled, turning back to Chelsea. "What was that for?"

Chelsea shrugged. "I don't know. I just wanted to do it."

"Well then, this is happening." Raven said, kissing Chelsea on the lips as passionately as she could. Chelsea rolled on to her side, making it easier for Raven to kiss her. Raven pulled her closer and then led them both to an upright position (because of their arms) and kissed Chelsea with such a passion that it sent tingles up and down her back.

Chelsea ran a hand through Raven's soft hair and then ran her hand down the side of Raven's cheek. They continued to make out, barely coming up for air, when suddenly Tanya yelled from outside.

"Raven! Let's go!"

Raven reluctantly broke away, panting heavily. Chelsea smiled and kissed Raven quickly. "I missed that." She said as both girls stood.

Raven pushed a stray hair behind Chelsea's ear and ran her fingertips down her jaw line, tickling Chelsea's face. "I did too." She smiled, kissing Chelsea one more time.

"RAVEN!"

"All right! I'm coming!" Raven shouted and Chelsea chuckled a little. Raven sighed, grabbing Chelsea's hand and giving it a small squeeze. "I'll call you when I get home."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too."

They kissed one more time before Raven finally left. Chelsea shuffled back over to her bed and plopped down, yawning as she made herself more comfortable. She scratched her hand just outside of the cast, wishing that somehow she could scratch inside it, because the itching was just horrendous. Chelsea frowned as she thought about Raven. She looked so sad, it made Chelsea's heart hurt. Raven shouldn't feel as guilty as she did, but Chelsea didn't know how to fix it. Well, maybe Raven had to fix it herself. Whatever it was, Chelsea was too tired to figure out anything now. The shower would even have to wait. Her eyes burned from fatigue, so Chelsea thought the best thing to do was close them.

Soon, she was asleep.

Happy Halloween!