Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Whenever Henry came into the hospital, Jake was already there, pacing and looking quite terrible. "Dad!" Henry called and ran down the hall, his friends behind him. Jake looked startled when he saw him, but quickly rushed to meet his hug. "I'm so sorry, Dad. I should have stayed with her. This is all my fault. I let her go and it was late and she had a long way to drive, by herself. I'm so sorry…" Henry was trying not to cry again. His dad didn't need to see that. Poor guy was probably already in shambles without Henry failing him again.

Jake pulled back and looked at Henry, "What? No. No, it's not your fault at all. You're the one who HAS been there for her, for a really long time. I've been so… depressed and moody that I didn't even know that she was leaving town. I didn't even realize that she was at Charlotte's graduation until she posted pictures… I didn't even know that Charlotte was graduating! Don't you dare apologize to me for you not being there. If you had been there, I might be waiting on news for BOTH of my children. You two are my only reasons to keep living and I still haven't been getting it right. You'd think by now that I would have figured out a way to prove what you both mean to me. All I've done is make both of you pull further away..." Henry cried and Jake collected him onto his shoulder, "Hey, hey… let's sit down, okay, Henry?" Henry nodded. His chest was tight, and his heart was beating too fast and kinda hurting. He had been in a state of an anxiety attack the entire drive here and hearing these words from his dad right now was just too much for his heart to take at the moment.

.

Usually, whenever he was in a vehicle with Jasper and Charlotte, the two of them were blasting 80's and 90's r&b, singing and dancing routines, and just being a source of joy that made the trip fly by. The two of them would know which parts to take, even though most of the songs were songs by groups. They sang a lot of duets, too. But, even if there was a singular artist, they would know which parts were theirs, even the ad lib portions at the ends of songs - ones that weren't including on lyrics websites..

Tonight, they had been silent, and whenever Henry turned on some music, to try to cope with their sober mood, everything made him either anxious or sad. He felt responsible. It was his fault that Piper hadn't cheered up and was driving alone and sad, and quite possibly a little high off of herbs, and ultimately that she got into a wrack and now his best friends were sad on what was supposed to be a very happy night for them. He apologized to Charlotte for ruining her graduation night, in between deep hard breaths. Charlotte found a stream of breathing exercises and told him to try to follow the directions. He was able to get control of his breathing, but not his heart rate. She told him that none of this was his fault. He nodded, but disagreed silently.

At the hospital, Henry rested his head on his father's shoulder and fell asleep, eventually, wrapped in the man's arms. Charlotte was exhausted, but there was no way that she could sleep - just like when she knew that Henry was on a dangerous mission. She just… couldn't rest whenever someone she cared about was going through something. Piper being in surgery after a serious car accident definitely qualified. Jasper's eyes were barely open, so she offered, "You wanna take a nap, like Henry? I promise to wake you up whenever the doctor comes to us."

"I do, but… I know you'll be awake and distressed and I don't wanna leave you alone like that," he said. She glanced at Ray and Jake, sitting next to each other, Henry resting on Jake's shoulder, as peacefully as he could, considering, and Schwoz toppled forward and snoring, with Ray's elbow on him like an arm rest. Jake and Ray were both awake and merely staring forward, probably trying to play it cool, even though she was sure that at least one of them was definitely worried and the other, if not, had to at least be bothered that he was here.

"Ray and Mr. Hart are both awake. I'm sure that they'll keep me company, if I start to feel lonely. I'm most likely to just be in my own mind anyway." Jasper reluctantly nodded and got on the floor, to lean on her and fall to sleep on her thighs. Charlotte looked over at Ray and asked, "Hey, Ray… You don't seem to have anybody sleeping on you. Can you grab me a coffee?"

Ray looked irritated, but got up and stretched. "You want something, Henry's dad?" He asked. Jake blinked and looked at Ray for the first time since they arrived.

"Umm.. Yes. I would like a coffee too."

"He takes it with a lot of sugar and a lot of cream… like, make it look like milk," Charlotte said.

"Then why even get him coffee? Why not just drink milk?" Ray scoffed.

"I'll take milk," Jake said. "I don't want to be a bother."

Ray rolled his eyes, but he felt bad for the guy. "I'll get you your weak man's coffee, Dude." He left and returned with three cups, one tucked in his arm and the others in his hands. "Black with an extra shot and 3 sugars," he said handing to Charlotte. She gratefully accepted it with the hand that wasn't strumming Jasper's hair. "Extra strong, black with no ruination for me, a real man," he said and sat next to Jake again, "And your milkmaid coffee."

"Could you go easy on him? His daughter is in surgery?" Charlotte reminded Ray.

Ray sighed. "His daughter who chose to live with Henry and I instead of one of her parents, after the divorce…" Ray mumbled.

"Thank you," Jake said, accepting the coffee, "For all of that. I've always appreciated the time that you've taken with my kids. I wasn't always able to be there for them…" Jake held the coffee in both hands, allowing it to cool for a while. "After my wife left, I just fell apart. I let Piper slip right through my fingers. We were never close, but after that, it was like I was dead to her. And now, she's… here…" His eyes glossed over and Ray reached out and wrapped and arm around him to pat his shoulder, but wound up just strumming Henry's head. Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows. Weird show of empathy from Ray, but… she simply sipped her coffee. It was still too hot and she could already tell that her tongue was gonna be fuzzy for a while, now. Great.

"Hey, Henry's dad… Henry loves you very much. We spent a lot of time together, but when it came to his family needing him, I have always known that was his priority."

Jake scoffed, "Probably because too often, he had to be the man of the house. I never handled my responsibilities properly. That was one of the reasons that their mother finally left. She wanted to wait until Piper had graduated, but apparently, I became more and more unbearable and she didn't want to be around me anymore, and neither did Piper."

"To be fair, she didn't want to be around either of you, not even your hot wife."

"Hot EX wife," Jake corrected. "It's over. Divorce finalized. Assets divided. She's with someone else."

"Well, of course she is, I mean… Look at her!" Ray said, then reeled himself in. "But, your life doesn't have to end just because you lost what was probably gonna be the hottest woman you've ever dated in your life."

Jake furrowed his eyebrows and said, "I've dated hotter."

Ray let out a hearty laugh and Henry and Schwoz both stirred. "Sorry," he whispered.

Jake pulled out his phone and said, "This was my high school sweetheart. I broke up with her to ask Siren out." Ray's eyes grew wide. "This is her last week when we had a class reunion."

"WOW! HOW? How does a man like you get women like this?" Ray wondered.

"Well, I have an entire process. I start out by offering them a free date. They don't have to decide anything. They don't have to pay for anything. They only need to show up, get whatever they want and be themselves. I spend the date complimenting them and listening to whatever they want to talk about. I let them control the tone and the mood of where things are headed and treat them very kindly, the entire time."

Ray winced. "That sounds like a lot of hard work," he shook his head and drank his coffee.

"It is, if they aren't worth it. But, look again," He showed Ray the photos on his phone.

"Yeah… She's hotter than your hot ex wife."

"Right?"

"So… That's it, that's your whole process? Pay for their dates and fake being nice?"

"I don't have to fake being nice… But, that's just how you hook them. When they get really interested in you, that's when you reel 'em in with affection and honesty. Once they trust you and give you access to them intimately… Then you just make sure you love them down like nobody ever has before. That's honestly the catch. A woman will put up with almost anything if you know how to make her body happy."

"Now, we're talking. Why not just skip straight to THAT part, if that's the catch?"

"You have to do the rest to show them that they can have it all."

"Interesting…" Ray said, nodding his head, thoughtfully. Jake was finally ready to try his coffee. Charlotte had been staring at the two of them this entire time, unable to believe that THIS was the conversation that they decided to have.

.

Charlotte was the only one awake whenever the doctor finally approached them. Schwoz was still bent over, Ray was propped up with his head back against the wall and his mouth wide open. Mr. Hart managed to be laying on his shoulder, with Henry still on his shoulder. She gently moved from beneath Jasper and crossed to wake up the Hart men. "Henry, Mr. Hart…" She said gently and shook them a little bit.

Henry awoke with a start and a "Piper!"
"Yeah… Her doctor's here…" Charlotte said. As Henry and Jake stirred to get up, the others awoke as well.

Ray gave Schwoz a little elbow, but neither of them stood up. The doctor talked to Jake and Henry, with Charlotte standing close behind and Jasper came up behind her, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close to himself. Piper was awake and ready to see guests. "She asked for Henry, Charlotte, and Jasper," the doctor concluded, after telling them that everything was fine, she was stable, and should recover nicely.

"We'll update you right away, Dad," Henry said, cupped his father's face, then rushed off with the doctor. Charlotte gave Jake a sad smile and rushed off too, with Jasper in step with her.

Jake sat next to Ray again and they gave each other a little smile. "I'm sure she wants to see you. Probably just wants to talk to Henry first," Ray offered.

"She also asked for the other kids."

"Well… they're as much her family as Henry is at this point. Look, Henry's Dad, your daughter is a teenage girl. 16 now, right? I declared my freedom at that age. Sent my dad packing. At least she still speaks to you."

"She hasn't answered my call or responded to my texts in months, Dude."

Ray sighed, irritated that he'd taken the time to try to cheer this gloomy lump up and this was the thanks he got. "Well, she still listens to and reads your messages and she hasn't blocked you or changed her contact info. TRUST ME, she has the wherewithal to vanish from your life completely if she wanted to."

Jake looked confused. "From working in a junk shop?"

"We also have stuff!" Ray said and gave Jake a pat on the back. "Just… be happy that she's alright and know that means that you still have a chance to be a better Henry's Sister's Dad than you were a Henry's Dad."

Jake smiled, but his eyes were confused. "Do… you not know my name after all of these years?" He asked.

Ray paled a little and let out an awkward laugh. "Sure I do. It… is…" he began texting.

"Are you asking someone?"

"Nope. I just got a message in and gotta answer it right away. Got a little sidetracked but your name is definitely one that I know. And that name is…"

"It's Jake."

"Jake! That's exactly what I was about to say, because I definitely knew that." He was actually about to say Party Buddy Hart, because that was what Jake had on his social media. "And of course I'm.."

"Henry's Boss," Jake said, with a teasing smile. Ray's nostrils flared. "Aka, Ray Manchester. Record Winning Most Handsome Man in Swellview."

Now, Ray smiled, "Yes. Yes, I am."

"Swellview doesn't have very many handsome men," Jake mused. Ray frowned. "Not saying you don't deserve it!"

"Just, zip it, Jack."

"Jake."

"Whatever." Ray folded his arms and fought off a grin. He wasn't sure why Henry's Dad was making him want to smile, anyway!

.

Piper sat up when Henry and the others entered. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" Henry said and rushed to try to hug her.

"Wait!" Charlotte called out. Henry froze.

"Just gimme dap," Piper said, with a weak smile and offered a fist bump.

"Surgery," Charlotte reminded Henry.

He nodded, "Surgery at 16… because I wanted to go drink with a bunch of college dudes that I don't even know." He shook his head.

"That had nothing to do with this," Piper said, shaking her head. "If you'd come along, that truck would've smashed right into you. They hit me from that side. It was crazy! They flew out of their car. There was glass everywhere. I would've checked on them, but I got pinned in."

"So.. you were like aware of everything?" Charlotte asked, horrified.

"Not at first. I didn't notice them coming until the lights were coming right at me. I didn't even have time to try to swerve. I just… sat there like an idiot and took the hit." She shook her head, tears in her eyes. "Car went spinning and finally landed against the railing. I couldn't get out and I couldn't reach my phone, and I was in pain. The first thing I thought was… they're all gonna be so upset that this happened." She choked back tears, blinked them away and shook her head, "But, I'm fine now! So.. nobody has to be upset."

Henry folded his arms. He definitely WAS upset. "The doctor said that you had internal bleeding." Internal bleeding was always bad.

"Yeah, they fixed it." She shrugged. She knew she wasn't exactly "fine," but she knew that she would be and that Henry was a worrier, especially when it came down to her. "How's that other car?"

"She didn't make it. They had me thinking you were dead!" Henry said.

"Yikes. How long did you think that?" She asked, sadly.

"Not too long. Char hacked into the emergency room records."

"With her smart ass," Piper said, settled back down. Sitting up was uncomfortable.

"So… what happened?" Jasper wondered. "Did your calm down smokes make you drowsy? Were you tired and dozing off? Did the other car come out of nowhere? What… happened?"

Charlotte was about to say something, but Piper spoke too quickly, "I was stupid. I wasn't paying attention. I went into my own head. I was thinking about how I used to hate having my family around for stuff, but at my sweet 16, all I wanted was for us all to be able to be in the same place. Instead, it was a room full of strangers, and even though they showed up… my parents were the most unfamiliar people there. Who are they, now? How is Henry and his friends the only family that I have left?... And while I was thinking about that stupid stuff, she came out of nowhere. I barely snapped out of it before she smashed into me." She sighed. "So.. I'm the one who needs to say I'm sorry. I should have been focused on the road and my surroundings, not having some late night pity party."

Henry gently collected her into a side hug and kissed her on her hair.

Charlotte finally said, "She was drunk. I found out that she had 3 times the legal amount to drive in her system. Her social media had her out at graduation parties all night. She was graduating from Bordertown High and got carried away. It happens a lot around this time of year and it's not your fault. Even if you were thinking about something else, our brains are made to think about stuff while doing other stuff and I'm sure you've driven a hundred times with stuff on your mind. I'm just glad that you're okay! You have nothing to be sorry about."

Piper looked at Jasper, "You alright, Dude?" She just wanted the focus off of her and this subject, and Jasper looked unwell.

He but his lip, came closer to the bed and leaned against it. "Apparently, when I was a few months old, my dad was getting ready to go somewhere, drunk. He picked me up out of my crib, dressed me, because I was gonna go with him, but then he left me in the living room by myself, on the floor, forgot that I wasn't in the car, and he got into a wreck…"

"What?" Henry and Piper asked. Charlotte just blinked and avoided the urge to touch him. That might not necessarily be comforting right now.

Jasper laughed, uncomfortably, "He backed over the fire hydrant, then panicked and drove through the side of the house to get away from the water. He and my mom don't agree on much, but both say it was a miracle that the car didn't hit me. The rubble and the vehicle just missed me. I'm oblivious, crawling around and shit. My mom freaks out, wondering how I even got out of my crib and stuff, then she sees who it is that drove through the house. He's crying and apologizing to me and to her and promising that he could repair the house… but… he couldn't repair them. So.. I… guess that's why I don't drink. Why when I turned 21, it wasn't some intoxicated rager for me, and why for the past year or so, hearing about a car wreck makes me kind of anxious, kind of exhausted." He laughed and offered Piper a hand, "We're our own little club now. We made it out."

Piper stared at his hand with her lips quivering. Charlotte rubbed her arms. She was cold. Piper cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "I thought that I was doing a pretty good job at keeping it together for this bunch, but that was one of the most depressing things that I've ever fucking heard." She couldn't help but to cry. "At least your dad wanted to be there. Where the hell are my parents?"

"Dad's here and mom's rushing in from out of town."

"Dad is here? Why didn't he come in to see me?"

"Doc says you asked for the three of us."

"I… guess I wasn't really thinking that he'd be here. Dad is here?"

Charlotte offered, "I'll go get him." Piper cried even harder and leaned on Henry now. Jasper followed Charlotte out, figuring that they could use the family time.

"I should've told you that first," Jasper said, apologetically.

"No. You weren't ready and this was a fitting time, around trusted loved ones and reaching out to Piper. She was trying really hard not to let any of us in. You did good…" She told Jake, "Piper wants to see you. She would've asked for you too, but she didn't know that you'd be here."

Jake's face lit up. Ray smiled at him and said, "See there?"

Jake gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, overjoyed. Ray's eyes went wide, as did Jasper's. Charlotte just pursed her lips. "Thank you, Ray. You helped me get through this night."

"Go see Henry's sister, Jack."

"Jake."

"Yeah, yeah."

Jake rushed to Piper's room and Ray watched him leave. He knew his name now, but he couldn't let him think he was that important.

Jasper asked Charlotte, "This may sound weird, but do you think…"

"That Ray and Henry's Dad were flirting? Yes."

Ray scoffed, "We were not!"

"I've been sitting across from you for hours!" Charlotte said.

"I was just being nice to that adorkable man. Dorkable. Dork.. face… Jack dude."

"I was awake the entire time!" Charlotte said.

Jasper asked, "When are you ever nice to someone you aren't flirting with?"

Ray stammered over his words while Charlotte said, "Good point, F Sized." Jasper smiled proudly.

Ray finally said, "He's a dude! I don't flirt with dudes!"

"You did tonight," Charlotte reminded him.

"You're the only alleged witness to that, Charlotte!" Ray said, not admitting a thing.

"I saw only 2 minutes of it and I believe her," Jasper said.

"You always take her side! She's your fiancee… you know what, I'm gonna go get myself another coffee and none for either of you!" He got up and stormed off.

"We'll have to ease him into the realization that he's attracted to at least one man," Charlotte said. Siren came rushing in and she offered, "I'll show her where they are."

"I'm coming with. C'mon. What was I gonna do, watch Schwoz sleeping?"

.

After the Harts were settled in Piper's room and had a chance to sort to some things as a family, Henry came out and thanked everybody for coming along.

"You kidding? She's our Piper too," Ray said. "And we should be able to see her before we go. I've been stuck listening to your dad mope all night."

"Loving it," Charlotte said.

"Being nice to him in case she died!" Ray corrected.

"Comforting each other," Charlotte revised.

"ANYRAY! I'm gonna stop in and check her out before we hit the road."

"Check HER out?" Charlotte asked.

"You know what, Charlotte!" Ray snapped, but stormed away, towards Piper's room.

"Ummm… what did I miss?" Henry wondered.

"Ray's got a crush on your dad," Charlotte replied.

"Is no parent safe from his lusts?" Henry asked, but he didn't really seem upset as the trio walked towards the room.

"I'm actually gonna stay with them, but I'll definitely see you before the graduation ceremony."

"Yeah," Charlotte said. She and Jasper came to tell everyone that they'd see them later. They needed to get some rest. Charlotte noticed Ray getting Jake's number on his way out, "in case you wanna check in with me how she's doing on those nights she's not answering…" Mmmhmm… she thought.

Ray and Schwoz met her and Jasper at the door and Ray called out, "Later, Pippen!"

"You know that isn't my name," Piper said.

"If you say so," Ray said. He, Schwoz, Jasper and Charlotte left the hospital at the same time. Everybody was exhausted except for Schwoz, who had slept peacefully to "the soothing sounds of medical science," aka Hospital sounds… stuff that keeps normal people from being able to sleep.

.

Whenever they got to the car, Jasper said, "You've had the least amount of sleep, so I'm driving. I know how tired you are after you've worried all night."

"Technically morning, but thank you, Babe." She gave him a hug, then just collapsed onto him. He held her tightly, closely, protectively and caressed her back. She sniffled and he kissed her hair. "I'm just now feeling it," she admitted.

"That's how you are," he said with a smile.

Her body felt like it was quaking with all of the worry, fear, stress, sadness, and anticipation she had been suppressing the entire morning. "There's never enough time to really feel things in the moment. There's always work to be done." This time, it was trying to figure out some information about the accident. Was there a vehicle malfunction? Was the dead girl reckless? Charlotte just needed to know that her younger friend hadn't driven in the path of a vehicle and gave up. She needed to know that it was indeed an accident. She backed away slightly, still held tightly and looked at Jasper. "But, you're always here whenever I remember to feel again. "

"Always will be," he promised with a half smile and pressed his forehead to hers.

She gave him a kiss that lasted longer than she intended. It wasn't until they heard a horn honking and Schwoz tease, "Get a room," that they stopped.

Jasper stared at her for a while, like he had something to say. "What are you thinking about?" She wondered.

He blinked, sighed and admitted, "The surprise of Piper whenever she realized that their dad was there… it was heartbreaking. You and I… no matter whatever happens between us, the kids have to always know that we're gonna be there, yeah?"

"Definitely."

"Even if I drive a car through part of the house…"

"You'd better not."

"Like… not drunk, but what if I get lost in my own mind or something, like Piper did?"

"The odds of that seem extremely low. It's not a common accident."

"But…"

"No matter what, Jasper."

"I never want them to have to go through us not being there. It's so scary and hurtful and lonely. All those people at Piper's party and her parents were strangers? That's gonna keep me awake at night."

"It'll never happen to us."

"Everybody thinks that. Everybody says that."

"When have I ever lied?" Charlotte asked. He thought for a moment, then let out a sigh of relief. Never. She never lied to him. Maybe not told him everything, at times… but she would never commit if she wasn't positive. He was okay now. He'd be alright.