AN: And here it is: the final flashback chapter.
I'd like to apologize to the people who didn't get what Zack died from. I purposely didn't say, because, as Emily explains at the start of this chapter, it didn't receive the name it has now until sometime in 1982, a year after Zack is infected. Heck, it was only just discovered in 1981, so natually, at the time, no one knew much about it. However, this chapter will fill in the blanks. So, enjoy.

Present Day:

Emily, who had been focusing her eyes on the floor the entire time, paused in her story to glance up at her friends, to see they were all staring, mouths agape.

"They called it GRID," Emily sighed. "It wasn't until later that year that the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention finally decided on a more acceptable and accurate name for the virus that cost Zack his life. I… I suppose you can guess what name they decided on."

"So…" Collins begin quietly. "That means that the man your brother helped, the one who died from the stab wounds; he was…"

"HIV positive? That's what Dr. Jordan's tests during the autopsy revealed. The virus had only recently been discovered back then. Many people didn't even know it existed. When Zack tried to help him to an ambulance, some of his… contaminated blood must have gotten into my brother's wound, and…" Emily trailed off, trying to fight back fresh tears. "I blamed myself for a whole year. After all, if it wasn't for me, Zack would never have had to fight the Rat Fang members to save me, and he never would have been injured from the switchblade, and he never would have been infected with the virus. I called it 'The Devil's Virus' for a long time after Zack died."

"But..." Roger spoke up, "what about treatments? There was…"

"My brother died in 1982," Emily cut him off. "AZT wasn't approved until 1986. Four years too late."

"Oh, Emily," Joanne sighed sympathetically. "Why didn't you tell us that was how he died? You knew we would have understood."

"I know. It's just that… many people are still treating people who… get AIDS… like lepers, and say they deserve what they get. I'm sure you all understand that. Some of you," Emily paused and cast a nervous glance at Roger, Mimi, and Collins, as if wondering if she was about to tread on dangerous ground, "some of you have to deal with that every day. My brother, Zack, was a good person and a wonderful brother. I… didn't want him to be remembered that way. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah," Roger nodded eventually. "I guess it does."

"Now I get it," Maureen stated, trying to lighten the mood. "Your Yankees cap. It belonged to your brother. So that's why we never see you without it."

"As a tribute to his life," Emily confirmed, slightly pushing the bill back so it wouldn't hinder her vision.

"So, what happened then?" Mark asked. "I mean, forgive me if I sound rude or something, but you now had lost your whole family, and…"

"Yes, Mark. I did go through some emotional scarring of my own for a time. But that was when I discovered that sometimes, the prayers of your heart can often be granted in unexpected ways, and unexpected forms."

New York: 1984

"Hello?" Nana answered the phone on the second ring.

"Good afternoon, Nana," Officer Kurtz's voice greeted.

"Oh! Good afternoon to you, too, Officer Kurtz. How can I help you?"

"I'm calling to leave a message for Emily. Well, I suppose it would concern you as well."

"Is it good or bad?"

"It's about the Rat Fangs."

"Then it's bad."

"Yes, but I promised Zack to keep her posted on any information that the NYPD receives."

"I understand. What's the message?"

"Do you know Miss Hollingsworth?"

"Oh dear. That poor woman who worked at the New York Public Library? Of course I know her. The number of times she helped Emily gather information for school research papers…."

"You do know she's been missing for quite some time now, don't you?"

"Yes, I did know that. Her and twelve other women. The news said last night that you found the bodies of eight of them. Was that right?"

"It was. But that's not really why I'm calling. I'm calling about Miss Hollingsworth. We found her."

"You found her? Is she okay?"

"She's alive, if that's what you mean."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"Nana, I'm calling you because of the conditions in which we found her. Someone on the shift before mine brought in a suspicious man for questioning, and he revealed the location of where the Rat Fangs were hiding out- in the basement of a building disguised as a restaurant."

"Oh my…" Nana quickly sank into a chair. "Did you finally get them?"

"Only a handful. The majority escaped, again. We're attempting to make the members we did catch reveal information on the location of the remaining missing women. You see, the eight bodies we found were all killed in a similar manner, so it's a safe bet that they're all connected."

"And you suspect the Rat Fangs?"

"Yes, because not only do we have confessions from the majority of them, but when we raided their hideout, we found Miss Hollingsworth."

"Thank heavens you found one of those poor women alive."

"Yes, but we found no trace of any of the other missing women. This could be a good or bad sign."

"Thank you for the information, Officer Kurtz. I'll tell Emily immediately."

"Nana, wait! There's more. Miss Hollingsworth, she's, well, she's alive, but not exactly well."

"What do you mean?"

"When we found her, Nana, the poor woman was chained inside a closet. There are multiple scars and bruises on her wrists and ankles, and…"

"And?"

"Nana, she's… seven months pregnant."

"What?"

"Dr. Jordan checked her out, and… there are multiple traces of semen in her. Tests revealed that… the semen was from well over ten different men." Nana's breath got caught in her throat instantly. "Nana, do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"Y…yes. I understand. Is… is she holding up…"

"She apparently has lost her voice. I don't blame the poor woman. I can only imagine the horrors she's been through. Nana, I'm calling to ask you if you'd be willing to let her come live with you for a bit. After all, Miss Hollingsworth will truly need some caring company after her ordeals, and… it might not be a good idea if any male tried to provide that, given the situation."

"Yes, of course," Nana agreed in understanding. "I'll be happy to let her stay with us. She will be safe here."

"Thank you Nana. I'll have someone bring her down straight away. Right now, I have to get back to the interrogations."

"Thank you, Officer Kurtz. Good luck." Nana hung up the phone, letting out a long, weary sigh.

"What did Uncle Kevin want?" Nana jumped slightly, suddenly realizing that Emily had been standing in the doorway for the past five minutes. The old woman took a moment to study Emily. Zack's death truly had left serious emotional scars on the teen girl. For starters, she was very rarely seen without Zack's old Yankees cap shoved onto her head, with the bill usually pulled down as far as it would go, as if she was trying to hide beneath it. To top it off, her catatonic episodes had gotten worse, now appearing at least twice a day. But the part that made Nana the most concerned was Emily's stance on photography. The Nikon FM2 that Zack had given her had never been touched and was shoved back on a shelf, under one and a half years worth of dust.

As Nana prepared to covey Officer Kurtz's news, she noticed that some of Emily's frizzy hair had been styled in a way to cover her left eye.

"Emily, what's wrong with your eye?"

"What makes you think something's wrong?" Shaking her head, Nana brushed the hair aside, revealing a fresh bruise forming on Emily's eye, accompanied by a small bleeding cut within her eyebrow.
"Oh, Emily. Not again," Nana sighed wearily, moving to the sink to dampen a clean dish towel to use on Emily's face. "What was it this time? No, don't tell me: it was that St. John boy again, wasn't it?"

"So what if it was?"

"Emily, what did he say this time to set you off?"

"Nothing, Nana."

"Don't give me that," Nana instructed, dabbing the wet towel to Emily's cut, ignoring her winces of pain. "You would not have just up and fought with him out of nowhere. That's not you. You can trust me, Emily. What did he say?" After a short pause, Emily relented.

"We… the teacher in health class told us some news today. Some scientist, he found out what causes… what Zack died off. It's some kind of retrovirus."

"Go on," Nana urged gently.

"We had a small discussion on the disease, and after school, St. John and his friends were walking behind me. They were talking… very loudly, about how they should… just round up everyone with the virus, and ship them off to an isolated location, like what they did with people during the Black Plague. How… anyone who's… stupid and brain-dead enough to get it… deserves what they… deserves to…"

"Oh, dear," Nana sighed. There was no need for Emily to continue to know what happened next. The one thing that could set Emily off was someone insulting her family in any way. "Well, Emily, as your unofficial guardian, I can't excuse that course of action. But, as your unofficial grandmother, who knew Zack very well, I have to say, 'good show'. It's rather funny that you learned about that today, though. I've just been thinking about revamping this old quilt shop into a home for young children who are born with that condition. There has been a shocking increase of sick babies lately, after all. Dr. Jordan told me yesterday. Of course, the doors will also be open to other unfortunate children, such as the ones born to drug addicts."

"So, what did Officer Kurtz want?" Emily asked again, showing no sign that she had heard Nana's plan. Nana began to tell her everything about them finding Miss Hollingsworth, and how she was going to stay with them for some time, not failing to notice how Emily stiffened when the Rat Fangs were mentioned. As soon as Nana's explanation was done, the elderly woman decided to try to find a more cheerful topic.

"Emily? I was reading the paper today. There's a special exhibit down at the museum, all about photography. Maybe we could…."

"No," Emily hissed. "For the millionth time, Nana. I'm not interested in photography."

"I just think it's a shame to give up on your passions. You always loved photography, and…"

"Nana, don't you get it! My stupid photography was the reason my brother died! Because of me, and my dumb camera, Zack got infected with that… virus. He'd still be alive now if I…" Emily suddenly stopped and moved to the door. "I'm going for a walk," she announced. "I'll be back in time for supper."

Emily walked alone aimlessly, not really paying attention to where she was going. After what seemed like an eternity, she found herself outside Marble Cemetery. Hesitating for only a moment, Emily pushed open the gates and moved along through the rows of cold stone markers, contemplating the irony of the situation. No matter what someone did, no matter how loved or well-known someone was, in the end, their life would only be represented by a cold slab of stone. Before long, Emily fond herself kneeling in front of Zack's gravestone. Had it really been over a year since…?

"Hey, Zack," Emily chocked. "I wish I had the same way with words as Mom and Dad did. I really don't know what to say in situations like this. But I know you'll be listening. You always listened to me.

"Officer Kurtz came pretty close to getting the Rat Fangs, but many of them got away. The good news is, we found their hideout, so this might mean they'd be busy looking for a new den, and they won't have much time to continue everything they've been doing lately. But, you probably know that, don't you?

"Nana's okay, but… she's trying to make me go back to photography, and act like nothing's changed. But I can't pretend. Because things have changed. It's never gonna be the same, is it? I want things to go back to the way they were before. Believe me, I'd give anything to make that possible, to wake up each day, knowing you're going to be waiting in the kitchen before heading off to work, just to wish me a good day at school, or going down to the park for picnics on weekends when the weather's good, just because we can. But I can't pretend. Because pretending things are the same just makes remembering that things will never be the same again... it makes it hurt more. You're not going to be there anymore. You're not going to be waiting up for me, or being there to talk with me, or picking me up after school to just spend the rest of the day together, or…

"YOU PROMISED ME! YOU PROMISED YOU'D ALWAYS BE THERE TO PROTECT ME! You promised me. You broke your promise, Zack. And it's my fault. You'd still be alive if it wasn't for me. It's my fault." Tears were now starting to flow from Emily's eyes. "Why'd you have to go away? I need you, Big Brother. I…I can't do this on my own!"

The next few months flew by like seconds. Miss Hollingsworth, despite living with Nana and Emily, who both tried to make her feel safe, still did not show any improvement. She never spoke, or uttered a sound. The only true signs of life came from the fact that she would still eat, and would occasionally rub her round belly. Things continued the way they were, up until one night at dinner.

"Heading up to my room," Emily announced after finishing her meal. But before leaving the room, she made another attempt at getting through to Miss Hollingsworth.

"You know, the weather's supposed to be nice tomorrow. Want to come to the park with me for hot dogs? My treat." Miss Hollingsworth simply stared blankly. "O-kay. Guess that's a 'no' then, huh?" Again, no response, and Emily gave up and left.

"Forgive me for saying so, Miss Hollingsworth," Nana began. "But you should know that, if you can only trust one person, it would be Emily. She knows somewhat how you might feel, like you need to just give up. Her brother died almost two years ago, but she's still hasn't fully recovered from it. You remember how much she used to love photography, but she has not touched a camera in ages. So, perhaps you can help one another heal." Miss Hollingsworth blinked, and left the table, as silent as ever.

That night, Emily was shaken awake by Nana.

"Emily, get up, now!"

"Hmm." Emily blinked sleepily. "Nana? What is it?"

"Just hurry and get downstairs! I need your help!" Emily, confused by Nana's urgency, crawled out of bed and followed the old woman downstairs, where she immediately saw Miss Hollingsworth on the couch, sweat covering her entire face, which was scrunched up in pain. "Hurry, Emily! She's in labor!"

"The baby's coming? Like, right now?"

"Yes. Dr. Jordan's on his way, but he had to take a detour. Stupid road construction. He might not make it time, so it's up to us."

"Nana, what do I know about things like this?"

"Don't worry; I'll handle the hard part. I delivered your brother, after all. Now, here," Nana handed Emily a stainless steel cooking bowl filled with water and a clean washcloth. "You just have to wipe off her sweat, and make the poor woman comfortable. I'll take care of the rest."

The labor continued for over an hour. Nana kept hurrying into the kitchen to get more hot water for the washbasin that was at the ready, which always made Emily panic, for fear of what would happen if the baby came out while she was gone. In order to distract her in those moments, she tried to talk to Miss Hollingsworth.

"Okay, I… I guess you're doing okay. I hope so, at least. You'll be okay, though. My mom… she did this too, you know. Twice in fact." Miss Hollingsworth opened her mouth in a silent scream.

"Okay, then!" Nana announced finally. I think I can see the head, now. It will be over soon, Miss Hollingsworth. Just a few more pushes, and that'll be it!" Emily turned her head, trying to fight a fainting spell when she saw the blood pouring out, only looking back when the sound of a baby cry filled the room. The teenage girl watched in amazement as Nana placed a newborn baby girl into the washbasin to clean her up.

"Whoa. She's so tiny. Almost the size of a penny," Emily breathed in wonder. "Nana, was… was I that small?"

"More or less," Nana replied, smiling. Emily chuckled softly before looking back at Miss Hollingsworth. However, she instantly knew something was wrong. The new mother's eyes were now glassy and vacant. Emily held a hand close to Miss Hollingsworth's mouth, and felt no breath.

"Nana?" Emily's voice shook. Nana moved over to examine Miss Hollingsworth, checking for a pulse. After a brief hesitation, Nana sighed heavily.

"She gave birth to that baby. That was all she had been holding on for. Now that it's done, she had no reason to go on." With that, Nana slowly pulled Miss Hollingsworth's eyelids down, to forever cover the now-sightless eyes.

"Emily!" Nana shouted up the stairs, the infant Penny wailing in her arms. It was shortly past one in the morning, and Penny had woken up during the night again, crying to be fed. "Emily, will you get out here? I need your help down here."

"It's been three days; doesn't that kid ever stop crying?" Emily grumbled between yawns as she shuffled downstairs, holding a quilt around her tightly, her eyelids drooping.

"She's a baby, Emily. Crying is the only thing babies know how to do," Nana responded, as she walked over. "Poor dear. She needs her mother. The one thing she wants, we cannot give. Here, Emily. You take her for a moment."

"What, me!?" Emily suddenly snapped awake completely. "Nana, no! I can't! I don't know anything about babies!"

"Don't be silly, Emily. I just want you to hold her for a moment, so I can get a bottle ready."

"Bu... but Nana, I…" Nana, without listening, held Penny out. Realizing that she was fighting a loosing battle, Emily gave in and took the baby, holding the infant awkwardly as Nana moved to the sink. A second later, they suddenly noticed how quiet things had gotten. Emily looked down at Penny in surprise. The little baby, who had stopped crying almost instantly, was looking back at Emily, as if she was appraising the teenage girl. Then, to Emily and Nana's surprise, little Penny started to laugh.

"Well, I'll be," Nana looked on in wonder. "Babies that young shouldn't know how to laugh. I do believe that little one's taken a shine to you, Emily." Emily took a moment to think about this, and then looked back at Penny, who was smiling up at her. After a moment's hesitation, Emily returned the smile.

Spring had come again to the city. Inside the park, Nana was currently resting her feet and eyes, sitting on the edge of a fountain.

"Thinking about the good old days, Nana?" The old woman looked over to see Officer Kurtz standing at her side.

"Officer Kurtz! Any luck finding the rest of the Rat Fang Gang?" Nana asked, as the policeman walked up.

"No, not yet. But we're not going to stop looking. At the moment, they appear to be lying low for a while. I just hope we can find them soon, before someone else ends up like Miss Hollingsworth." Officer Kurtz took a seat next to Nana on the fountain's edge. "By the way, that reminds me. Where's the baby? You said you named her Penny, but that's all I heard. So, is she doing okay?"

"See for yourself," Nana gestured over to a park bench nearby, where Emily was bottle feeding the infant Penny with the most genuine smile she ever had on her face.

"Well, look at that," Officer Kurtz chuckled. "Miss Goodhall's looking like a seasoned mother there."

"Lately," Nana nodded, "she can't last an hour without taking up the baby-care duties, from feeding, to changing, and everything in between. She's become most attentive to that little baby. It comforts her, I think. Reminds her of Zack."

"Understandable," Officer Kurtz agreed. "After all, Zack had always been the one to take care of Emily. I suppose it's safe to assume Miss Goodhall's attempting to keep him alive by doing the same for someone else, by completing the cycle."

"Mmm," Nana paused before continuing. "Meanwhile, Emily's catatonic episodes have started to disappear. A few weeks ago, they were coming along at least twice a day. But now, they've practically disappeared altogether."

"Well, that's something I haven't heard of," Officer Kurtz looked on in wonder at Emily and Penny. "Therapy dogs and cats, maybe. But therapy babies? That's definitely a new one on me." Nana and Officer Kurtz continued to sit, this time in silence, watching Emily and Penny as the newborn finished eating and drifted off to sleep as Emily gently bounced the infant in her arms.

"Yeah, that's right, Penny," Emily whispered. "You can sleep, without any worries. Because I'll be here to take care off you when you wake up. No matter what, I'll always be here to protect you. That's a promise."

The very next day, Emily sat across from Nana at the kitchenette table inside Nana's residence, with Officer Kurtz and his wife, Beverly, who was holding a sleeping Penny, standing nearby.

"I want in," Emily announced suddenly.

"What did you say, Emily?" Nana looked at the young girl in surprise.

"I want in," Emily repeated. "You were talking about turning this old place into a home for young children; children who have HIV and drug addictions, remember? If it's true, I want to help you look after them all." After a pause, Nana responded.

"Emily, it… it won't bring him back."

"I know. But that's why I've got to do this."

"But Emily," Beverly imputed. "What about your plans for going on to college after high school? You won't have time for that if you're here caring for children."

"Sometimes, priorities change," Emily stated. "Please, Nana! I need you to let me do this. It's what Zack wants me to do." This made everyone give Emily looks of shock. "I know that probably sounds crazy," Emily admitted. "And maybe it is. But I've just got a strong feeling, deep in my gut, that this what Zack would have wanted me to do. He'd want me to help take care of those children, the ones who no one else would be willing to look after because of some unfortunate circumstance surrounding their birth. They're condemned to be outcasts, because of the personal choices their parents made. I know what that's like. You all know how many of my classmates treat me because of what my mom and dad did to bring in enough money to properly care for me. When you think about it, these children, they are me. This is exactly what Zack would want me to do. I can't explain it. I just know."

"Emily…" Beverly began softly.

"Will you let me?" Emily looked up at Nana, who studied Emily's fiercely determined expression. It was at this moment, that Nana was suddenly taken aback by how much Emily looked like her mother. The resemblance was always apparent, but it was even more striking now. Nana finally sighed.

"Could never say 'no' to that face," she announced, relenting.

As night fell, Nana went to check up on Penny. However, the baby was not in her crib. Nana started to panic, but as she moved back into the hall to search the entire building for the missing infant, she heard a strangely familiar clicking sound, coming from behind a door that was open a crack. Slowly, the elderly woman peered into the room, and held back a gasp. Emily was standing by the window, with little Penny strapped to her in a baby carrier. In Emily's hands was the Nikon FM2, the one Zack had given her the day he had died. At the current time, Emily was using the camera to take pictures of passing cars and people down in the street, pausing every now and then to smile down at Penny, and ruffle the small patch of strawberry blond hair that was starting to grow on the infant's head. The sight of Emily once again taking photographs brought tears of joy to Nana's aged eyes. The healing had finally begun.

AN: And that brings us up to date, yes? The full back story on the Rat Fangs, why they're after Emily, the origin of The Center, Penny's birth, and how baby Penny helped Emily get over her guilt.
Also, if anyone is unsure of exactly what happened to Miss Hollingsworth, Penny's birth mother, when she was held captive in the Rat Fang's hideout, let me know, even though I'd hate to spell it out for you.
So, until next time...