Thanks for all the comments! I'm not entirely sure yet about which route I'm going to take with this story, so the feedback helps a lot. I've also decided to bump the rating up a bit just to be on the safe side, because this is quite a departure from the light and funny TV show we know and love.

Disclaimer: I don't own the show or the characters. I'm just using them for my own personal entertainment.

Chapter 2

Some hours earlier:

It was dark when Karen's limo pulled up in front of the manse. She had been out for another night of heavy drinking, like so often before – but even more so lately after she had called it quits with Lyle and was back to living alone in the large penthouse. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but the truth was she was lonely, and the more alone she felt, the more she looked for comfort in her pills and in the endless amount of alcohol she consumed. On this particular night it didn't help that the day would have been her and Stan's 10th anniversary…In fact that was the reason she had been popping a few extra pills since morning and downing stronger mixes of drinks than usual, and the effects were certainly showing.

As she now with some difficulty made her way up to the enormous apartment she felt for the first time in years a real urge to vomit – something that hadn't happened since she had taken to keeping her blood alcohol level constantly up. When she passed the kitchen she was for a second in two minds about stopping there for another bottle of gin. A part of her mind was telling her go straight to her room and bed…or even better, the bathroom floor, but her need for another drink was stronger. Hazedly she decided to go for the bottle when suddenly Rosario's dark figure in the dimly lit kitchen made her stop short oh her heels.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Karen slurred, leaning on the doorframe as the kitchen seemed to be spinning and she could barely feel her own feet.

"I live here you drunken cow" Rosario muttered, stepping across the room and folding her arms over her chest. "Besides, people in Puerto Rico would be able to smell your gin soaked breath. That's why I'm here to make sure you go straight to bed."

"You're here to do what I tell you!" Karen snarled, her voice now barely rising above a whisper. "If I tell you to lick the floor, you will lick the floor!" She paused for the effect and tried to cast a commanding look at Rosario, but only managed a disoriented glance in her general direction as the whole room kept spinning around her. "And if I tell you to bring me a…" Karen started again in a rising pitch but her voice trailed off as she began to feel the ground disappear from under her feet and all thoughts leave her head. She was no longer sure about what she had been trying to say, or who in fact she was talking to. She took a few unstable steps forward and found herself sinking in to Rosario's strong arms as the loyal maid had already jumped to her aid.

Two hours later – even though she herself had no idea of how much time had passed – Karen came around enough to find herself in her own bed. She had no idea how she had ended up there, but at that moment it was one of her lesser concerns as she was feeling abysmally sick and her head felt like it had been crushed with a heave object. Even death seemed like a desirable option.

Karen reached for her bedside drawer only to find that it had been emptied from all the pills she usually kept there to meet all her nightly needs.

"Rosario…" she muttered venomously, knowing well that the old maid was the only person who would ever dare to touch any of her medication. "She should be sent back to Guantanamo…or wherever the hell she's from."

"Rosario!" she shrieked out loud this time, wanting to hear an explanation and to get her hands on the pills.

It was at that moment that Karen remembered she had an emergency stash hidden somewhere inside her pillow. Desperate for a quick relief she ripped the cover open with her bare hands and reached inside for the pill bottle. It was still there. Karen sighed in relief as she opened the bottle and started pouring out the pills…one…two…three…Her head was pounding as if someone was hitting it with a hammer. She wanted nothing more than to be knocked out for several hours…four…five…six…In her daze she didn't even bother to check the label for how strong the medicine was supposed to be. She knew from experience she was going to need several of those beauties to get her truly sedated….Seven…eight…nine…ten, she counted. Karen laid the bottle down on the table and for a moment she contemplated the pills on the palm of her hand. She had nothing to down them with, but she didn't trust her legs enough to get up and go find a drink.

Karen sighed, shook her head, and without any further thought, knocked her head back and thrust the handful of pills down her throat. As she laid herself down, closing her eyes, she didn't see Rosario standing in the doorway with a look of horror on her face.

Back in the hospital:

Out of breath, Will and Grace finally reached Jack who was still leaning on the door of the room he had just exited. He had noticed them at the information desk as soon as he had stepped out, and he could see them hurrying towards him, but he had made no move to go and meet them halfway. He had never in his life felt as numb as he did right now – not even when pink had gone out of fashion.

At first they all just stared at each other, and nothing apart from the usual greetings was said. In quiet unison all three of them then sat down on a settee right outside of the room. Will was expecting Jack to start talking; Grace wanted to ask questions, but was too scared for the answers; and Jack who had for a moment overcome her emotions and moved on to a quiet shocked state was finding it hard to find words.

Finally he pointed towards the door behind him and said simply: "Karen's there now". This, of course, the others had already guessed.

"Is she…?" Grace began, but faltered. She wasn't even sure of what she was going to ask.

"They pumped her stomach" Jack replied, looking down at his hands "and I think they needed to restart her heart. They said…" he trailed off and swallowed audibly. The tears were building up in his eyes again.

"What did they say?" Will asked gently, reaching to stroke Jacks hand.

"They said she would probably have been outside the reach of any help if Rosario hadn't found her so quickly." Jack looked up to meet Will's eyes. Then he turned to Grace and added quietly: "They said she could have died."

It was Grace's turn to look down at her hands and hold back tears. She had never known how much she cared about Karen until now that she realized she had come so close to losing her. Sure Karen always made fun of what she wore, who she was with, and how bad her hair was - but the truth was she had always been there for her when times got rough. She may have often pretended she didn't care, but deep down Karen was actually the most loyal female friend Grace had ever had. It pained her now to realize that even these past few weeks Karen must have been putting on a happy and cheerful face for her when she had been wallowing in self pity over Leo. It had never even occurred to Grace that Karen too might be going through some difficult times – after all, her marriage to Lyle hadn't even lasted through the reception. She had lost another important man in her life just a little over a year after Stanley's death. What kind of friend had she been not to have noticed anything?

"Jack…" she choked as a new thought entered her mind "D-do they know if it was…intentional?"

Jack shook his head. "I don't think we will know anything before she wakes up…if she wakes up", he added under his breath.

Grace blinked, tears burning in her eyes. She reached out for Will to hold her hand, which he quietly did, and for a while nothing more was said. Then Will finally spoke for the first time: "Can we go in and see her?" he asked, stroking Grace's hand gently. He knew she wanted to be there.

Jack nodded, getting up. "But the doctor said we shouldn't expect her to wake up tonight. They got the pills out, but there's still a lot of alcohol in her blood." He bit his lip and looked down again, refusing to meet his friends' eyes.

"What is it?" Grace asked, sensing there was something else he wasn't telling them, but Jack only sat back down and buried his face in his hands.

"Jack?" Will, who had also already gotten up, sat next to him and gave him a little nudge to urge him to speak.

"They said we won't know until tomorrow whether there has been any permanent brain damage" Jack muttered into his hands, and Grace was sure she could hear a stifled sob.

TBC

Please R/R