Alison looked on as the figures of Jake, Jason and his friends grew smaller in the distance. She couldn't bring herself to follow. The last thing she wanted to do was see the crushed remnants of her son's racecar. She wondered if this was what her life would be like if she remained in North Carolina, always on the outside looking in knowing that no matter how hard she tried there would always be a part of her that couldn't reconcile herself with or live with her son's choices.

She struggled with the warring emotions that constantly besieged her mind. She loved her son with all she had yet she couldn't find a way to accept his choices and that inability was costing her any relationship that she would ever have with Jason. That was resoundingly clear as she stood alone in the hospital parking lot. Alison felt a single tear slid down her cheek. How was she going to do this? How was she going to be a part of Jason's life when she couldn't get past the fear that was all consuming?

Suddenly a cool wind kicked up around her and sent a chill down her spine. It was a feeling that she hadn't felt in years. Reaching into her pocket, Alison pulled out her cellphone and made a call.

"Thank you," Jason said as Jake made his way out of the parking lot.

"I'm doing this against my better judgment."

"I know." Jason kept his eyes focused on the road in front of him his thoughts wondering to what condition he would find his racecar in when they arrived at the Ryan Racing Compound. He tried not to think about the concern that hung on Elizabeth's features when he mentioned needing to see his car. He hated upsetting her, yet he wouldn't feel settled until he laid eyes on his racecar no matter what shape it might have been in.

"This really could have waited another day," Jake commented knowing that none of them thought Jason was up to what he was about to come face to face with. Jake recalled what it was like for him the first time he saw what was left of Erik's car after the crash. It took his breath away and it is an image still to this day gives him chills.

"I needed to do this."

"Maybe," Jake agreed, "but there are a few others who might not agree with you." Jason knew he was speaking about Elizabeth and maybe even his mother. "You could have played along for one more day don't you think?"

"I've already spent 2 more days than I wanted to lying around," Jason countered knowing how unreasonable he sounded but not really caring.

Jake couldn't do more than shake his head thinking Jason was just as stubborn as his mother. It was like mountain meet immovable object.

"You, okay?" Leo asked Elizabeth as she followed Jake's car through the gates of Ryan Racing?

"I'm fine." He could tell by the way her hands gripped the steering wheel that she was anything but fine. Leo had known Elizabeth for a long time now and he had been around her enough to know that she understood the perils of NASCAR but yet this time was different. She could have lost the man that she loved and that was a hard reality that she wasn't quite up to dealing with yet. "I really wish Jake would have just taken him home."

"Do you really think that Jason would have stood for that? You heard him, he was going with or without us."

"He's not ready to be thrown back into all of this," Elizabeth choked on a sob that threatened to escape her throat.

"He thinks he is," Leo said.

"He's not!" Elizabeth snapped.

"And neither are you," Leo said softly as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"He needs time to recover," she continued ignoring Leo's pointed remark.

"We all do. This is the closest any of us has come to losing someone we truly care about." This wasn't any easier for Leo than it was for Elizabeth. He had formed more than just a casual friendship with another teammate, he had forged a true bond with Jason and the thought of losing that would send him into a tailspin if he let it.

"I don't know if I can do this," she remarked open ended.

Leo knew exactly what she meant though. She had yet to see the carnage that was Jason's car. He knew coming face to face with it was going to be tough. It would only further illustrate just how lucky Jason truly had been.

"We will do it together," Leo said squeezing her shoulder. "We have to be there for Jason. This is what he wants to do. No matter what we think of it."

Elizabeth watched as the dust cloud began to settle around them as she put the car in park. She knew Leo was right. She knew that no matter what she was feeling that she had to put on a brave face for Jason. She had to remember all the time she lost with him allowing the demons from her past to skew her judgement. She couldn't be like Alison; she couldn't let her fear cost her any more precious time with Jason as she knew how short it could be.

"You ready for this?" she asked joining Jason cupping her small hand against his larger one? "And you have to promise me if you start feeling bad, you have to tell me. No playing tough guy," she smiled softly.

"I'm good," he said, "and I will, I promise," he agreed kissing her forehead.

The foursome made their way to where Jason's once pristine blue metallic racecar sat now nothing more than mangled pieces. Elizabeth felt her muscles tense and her breath hitch at the sight before her. She marveled that Jason was actually standing in one piece beside her. He had to have had a guardian angel on his shoulder.

Absently, Jason dropped Elizabeth's hand and inched closer to the wreckage. The events of the accident slowly coming back to him. He could feel the impact against the concrete barrier wall and the sensation of turning end over end was dizzying. He ran his fingers of the cracks and deep creasing in the metal trying to put together the pieces of what happened moments before he hit the wall. Trying desperately to recall what had gone so horribly wrong. Jason leaned into the car's frame for a minute trying to catch his breath and make sense out of the jumbled thoughts in his head.

"Jason," Elizabeth stepped forward placing her hand on the small of you back. "I think you've had enough. We should go."

"I'm fine," he emphasized. "I'm just trying to figure out what happened. So much of it's still a blur. I just don't get what happened. All of the sudden I was out of control."

"Jake, Jason," Pat Ryan's booming voice came up from behind startling the group. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Jason wanted to get a look at his car," Jake announced.

"How are you feeling, son?" Pat asked.

"I'm fine." Jason disliked that Pat felt the need to call him son. That term was reserved for Jake and Jake alone. "I think we should have the car towed to back to your place Jake," Jason said with total disregard to Pat Ryan. "We need to figure out what the hell happened."

Elizabeth watched her father's features. She could see the anger he was attempting to hide from the group.

"Jason," Pat began, "You are still part of the Ryan team. Your car can be worked on here."

"I don't think so," Jason retorted. "Jake is back, and I only agreed to this arrangement until he was able to be back on as my crew chief."

"Jake, what about our arrangement?"

"I agree with Jason, it's best if we rebuild his car on our own."

"That's ridiculous!" Pat argued.

"This is something that I want to handle personally," Jake said. "Between myself, Jason and Tom, we can take care of this."

"Where is Tom, by the way?" Leo asked thinking it was odd that Jason's long time best friend was no where to be found.

"I haven't seen him," Pat said. "Now about hauling Jason's car out of here. That's not going to happen. He is part of my team now."

"The car is mine!" Jason countered angrily. "I can have it hauled out of here any damn time I please." Elizabeth looked on at the exchange between her father and Jason. She knew neither was about to back down, but she couldn't help but notice how pale Jason suddenly looked.

"Jason," she said softly, "How about we sit for a minute?'

"I'm fine!" he yelled. "If you think that you're going to…" Jason's voice trailed off as the world around him began to spin.

"Leo," Elizabeth shouted just in time for her friend to reach for Jason before he nearly collapsed.

"Enough!" she shouted in the direction of her father just as he was beginning to open his mouth in retort.

In the distance Billy Weston heard raised voices and came around the corner in time to see Pat Ryan walking away from the group surrounding Jason's car. He could tell by the way Pat was skulking off that he was pissed about something. Billy looked around for Tom Boudean wondering if maybe his accomplice hadn't heeded his earlier words of warning. But Tom was nowhere to be found. Billy wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing, He hated that Tom was suddenly the wild card in all of this. He had to figure out a way to shut the mechanic up one way or another.

Tom saw Jake's car in the compound and realized that sooner or later he was going to have to face him, all of them and started walking in the direction of Jason's car. He approached silently eyeing the scene in front of him. Jake and Leo had their heads together talking about something in the engine compartment and Elizabeth was hovering over Jason who looked a little green around the gills.

"Nice for the "crew chief"," Leo said those two words sarcastically, "to finally show up."

Tom did his best not to wince at Leo's caustic remark. "I didn't expect to see you here," he finally said to everyone. "How are you feeling?" he turned and spoke only to Jason. Tom wasn't able to face the other pairs of eyes staring him down.

"I'm good."

"Liar," Elizabeth whispered in his ear. All she wanted to do was take him to Jakes and force him to rest.

Tom could feel Leo's cold stare on his back, and he knew that he should have joined them in looking over Jason's car, even if he already knew what they would find. He should have been keeping up appearances, but his guilty conscience was getting the better of him.

"Get over here boy. We could use a third set of eyes," Jake said.

The fact that Tom was merely going through the motions wasn't lost on Leo. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but Tom was more off them usual. Something was definitely going on and while Leo wanted to chalk it up to the fact that Tom was probably dealing with all the same fears, they all were about how close they had come to losing Jason, in the pit of his stomach it all just didn't sit right with him.

Alison closed the door to the yellow cab with a resounding thud and watched it drive off into the distance. She probably should have had it wait for her but instead she allowed it to drive off. There she stood before the wrought iron gate vowing so many years before that she would never again visit but here, she was.

Slowly she walked the well-manicured cobble stone paths lined with marble grave markers, knowing exactly where to turn even though she hadn't been there in more than a decade. The sight of Erik's tombstone took her breath away. Instantly she was transported to the day they buried him. Her chest got tight and tears she had no control over poured from her clear blue eyes. Tears from years of bottling up the anguish and loss she tried to run from.

Erik Morgan had been the love of her life. She had given up everything she knew to follow him and his racing dreams. "I miss you," she sobbed running her fingers against the cold black marble. "I miss the life we were supposed to have." Alison sat down before the headstone and finally allowed the memories that she had kept at bay to pour forth. She saw the excitement in her husband's face for his first NASCAR win. She saw Jason covered in oil and grease following his father and Jake around soaking up every bit of mechanical knowledge he could. She smiled despite herself recalling the first time Erik let Jason behind the wheel of his racecar. She remembered how much her husband loved her for the first time in years. Erik Morgan thought Alison hung the moon and stars. He would have given her the world on a silver platter if he could have. She had allowed herself to forget that. She let her anger at the life that was stolen from her taint everything that had once been good. Erik could have as easily been killed crossing the street as Jake always liked to point out.

She touched the inlay photo of Erik at the center of the tombstone. "What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to move on? I won't survive losing our son too." The wind surged again, and it was as though Erik was speaking to her. Alison sat there for what seemed like hours until she finally had no more tears left to cry knowing that she held the key to the life she wanted with Jason she just had to be strong enough to turn the key in the lock that would allow her entrance into his life.