A/N: Thanks again, to all those that continue to follow my story. It means a lot. Out of respect to you, the reader, I just wanted to let you all know I'm headed to Los Angeles in the morning and won't be back until next week. It will be mid-week, next week, before I will be able to update. I just hope you can appreciate where I'm leaving off for now. No hanging-by-a-thread.  Take good care!

Disclaimer: never changes…I own nothing around these characters, but I did own a house 3 years ago…until I turned it for a profit.

Day 6

11:15am

Ashley is slow to wake, and is finding her body to be very weak. After spending the entire day in bed yesterday, and not eating anything, she feels like she is barely functioning.

She slowly pulls herself upright and swings her legs over one side of the bed, to sit up and contemplate making her way to the bathroom.

I need some water. My throat feels like I've swallowed a gallon of sand.

Ashley slowly stood to make her way to the bathroom, carefully keeping one hand on her forehead in hopes of easing the present ache.

She splashed her face with water and gazed at the reflection staring back at her.

God, Davies, you look like you've been hit by a bus. I have got to get out of this room today and spend some time in the sun. When did I get those circles under my eyes? Ugh, this rehab thing is taking its toll on me for sure.

Ashley filled her glass with water and shuffled back into her room, taking refuge in the oversize chair she had pulled over to the window.

She soon found herself basking in the warmth of the sun that shone through her window. Tilting her chin to get a little closer, she found herself content, for the first time in years. Not happy or ecstatic, just content…content with herself and the feeling the warm sun was giving her.

She reached down beside her, pulling out the pack of crackers she had stored a couple days prior, and sipped her water, while opening the first bit of nourishment she'd seen in almost 2 days. She started to think back to the years before her dad had passed away, a time she rarely allowed her mind to revisit, but seemed to long for right now.

"Daddy!"

"Hey, Sweet Pea, how's my girl?"

"I missed you Daddy. When are you gonna come home to stay?"

"Awww, baby, you know Daddy has to be out making music…but he loves you bunches and thinks about you every single day!"

"I want you to meet my best friend though, Daddy! She's pretty, and funny, and pretty."

"Pretty two times, huh? She must be something else if my little Ashums thinks she's pretty times two."

"Ahh, Daddy, I'm only 8!"

"What's her name, baby?"

"It's…"

Ashley was abruptly brought out of her thoughts with the door clicking shut behind her. Without even turning around, she knew it was her blonde angel from just over 24 hours ago.

"I'm eating some crackers and drinking my water, Doc, so you don't have to worry about me withering away," Ashley joked.

Spencer smiled at the thought that Ashley knew it was her entering the room without even turning around, and that smile grew knowing she was in a jovial mood.

"Well, I had to make sure you weren't still trying to sleep your life away. Especially on a gorgeous day like today," Spencer responded with a smile.

Ashley nodded her head, still looking out the window, "I was just thinking about getting out of here and experiencing some of that sunshine up close and personal," Ashley said, turning her body around in her chair so she could meet Spencer's gaze. "Would you care to join me, Dr. Carlin? Maybe take our session outdoors for a day?"

Spencer nodded, tilting her head in that signature Spencer-Carlin-way, "I think that sounds like a great idea Ms. Davies. Why don't you get ready and meet me in my office. We'll head out from there."

Ashley grinned, nodding in acknowledgment at Spencer's suggestion, "Perfect. I'll meet you in a few minutes, unless you want to hang out while I put my shoes on real quick and then we can just go together?"

"That's fine. I just need to stop in my office real quick and grab my jacket. While the sun feels great, it's a little windy today."

"Always looking out for your health first, Doc, that's admirable," Ashley smirked.

Spencer just grinned shaking her head, "Are you always this sarcastic?"

"Only when I'm awake," Ashley said.

"Well come on already, tie your shoes and let's go. We're wasting valuable daylight, Ms. Sarcasm."

Ashley laughed, standing from her chair after having tied her shoes. She moved toward the exit, where Spencer was standing with her back to the door, her left hand on the handle, ready to go.

Ashley leaned in around Spencer's right shoulder, reaching behind her. Hearing Spencer's breath catch, Ashley grinned and lingered at her ear for just a moment, "Just thought I would grab my jacket too, Spence," she breathed out to the side of Spencer's neck.

Spencer nodded her head and shifted a little towards the door, "Of course. T-that's good. Y-you need to be thinking about your health too," she stuttered.

Ashley grinned as she slid into her black Northface jacket.

"Well, I'm ready, Doc, let's get this show on the road."

Spencer loosened the death grip she then realized she had on the door handle and swung the door open, making her way out into the hall, with Ashley trailing right behind her.

What is this broken beauty doing to me? I don't stutter…EVER. Get a grip, Carlin, she's still your patient!

After stopping by Spencer's office for her to retrieve her jacket, the girls made their way out into the courtyard and into the sun. Finding a bench away from the building, they made themselves comfortable and slipped easily into conversation.

"…and then Kyla grabbed the guy by the goatee and started dragging him away from the bar," Ashley laughed as she proceeded to tell Spencer about her half-sister's crazy antics.

"It sounds to me like you and Kyla have a great relationship, Ash."

Ashley nodded, smiling, "Yeah, we really do. But it wasn't always that way. It took us a while to warm up to each other, but when we finally did, we just clicked. She's great," Ashley said, looking down at her hands, "She's the reason I'm alive."

Spencer watched as the look on Ashley's face changed to one of pain. She suddenly looked hollow.

"What are you thinking about," Spencer asked.

Never moving her eyes from the hands that captured her attention, Ashley responded in a near whisper, "I just wonder, sometimes, what my life would be like if I hadn't fallen so easily into the life I have now."

"It's easy to play the 'what-if's' game, Ashley, but don't lose sight of who you still are, deep down inside," Spencer said. Reaching over and covering her hand with her own, Spencer continued to encourage Ashley to open up. "Were you happy when you were a kid?"

Ashley studied the thin hand covering hers.

The lines on her hand are perfect. I can feel how soft her skin is, even though her hand is barely resting on mine. I wonder if she would freak out if I turned my hand over to feel her palm?

"Um, Ashley," Spencer questioned, "Helloooo, are you ok?"

Ashley looked up and met Spencer's eyes, "What? Sorry, I just zoned out for a second there."

Before Spencer could respond, Ashley turned her hand interlacing her fingers with Spencer's slowly dragging her thumb across her soft palm.

Spencer felt a flash of heat rush through her body at this simple touch, and found her eyes locked on the side of Ashley's face.

"My childhood, right," Ashley asked.

"What?"

"You asked about my childhood, right," Ashley questioned, meeting Spencer's gaze, but not relinquishing her hand.

Spencer could feel her heart beating through her chest. She slowly withdrew her hand, running it through her hair, knowing she needed to separate contact in order to focus on the conversation.

"Yeah, your childhood. Tell me about the little Ashley Davies," Spencer answered, trying to lighten the tension growing between them.

"I can't complain really. I mean, I came from a wealthy family, so I never wanted for anything."

"How were the relationships in your life, your friendships?"

"I loved my parents. My dad was my hero, and I loved every minute I got to spend with him, when he was home. He toured a lot, so I didn't really have a full-time dad."

"And your mom?"

"She was ok. I mean, she took me places, did things with me, whatever…but we were just never really that close, you know?"

Spencer nodded, "Did you enjoy school and the friendships you made there?"

"Yeah," Ashley responded, growing quiet, "I had a really great friend growing up, but just like my dad was taken from me, so was she."

"What happened with your friend, Ashley," Spencer pressed, hoping for an answer she could open up to herself.

"She moved away. We didn't speak once after she left, and it broke me. I mean, we were young, you know, but it was like we were soul mates or something. I thought about her everyday until my dad died."

"What made you stop thinking about her?"

Feeling the tears building in her eyes, Ashley started to look across the courtyard away from Spencer's line of sight.

"My dad was famous, you know?"

"Yeah."

"I know she and her family had to have heard about the accident when he died, but she never called. After all that time, I thought I would here from her at that moment, but the call never came."

Spencer didn't know what to say. She could feel the knot in her throat growing, but her throat was so dry she could barely whisper.

"What if she didn't know, Ash?"

"How could she not know, Spencer? Unless…I don't know…maybe my thoughts about her being a soul mate were all wrong. Maybe she was just a friend from back when, you know?"

Spencer fought every emotion building inside of her, begging for a release. She knew, in that moment, that she had failed her best friend. She could blame it on distance, being young, not knowing…but nevertheless, she had failed her soul mate, the girl she had loved since she was 8 years old.

Spencer felt a tear hit the back of her hand, realizing her eyes were betraying her, she quickly wiped at her cheeks.

"Spencer? Are you crying," Ashley asked with concern, "Why are you crying?"

"I guess I can just relate, you know? I know what it feels like to care so much and think the person you care so much about has just forgotten your existence," Spencer replied.

Ashley just nodded her head, turning her gaze back to the ground.

Taking a deep breath, Spencer jumped out on a proverbial limb:

"What was her name, Ashley?"

Ashley scoffed, "That's the funny thing, I can see her soul in her eyes, but it's like I've erased her name from memory," she shrugged. "I've been dreaming about our memories as of late though, and that's the first time in years I have seen her behind my eyelids."

Ashley raised her head and met Spencer's eyes again, searching in the depths of blue, finding solace in their warmth.

"Do you think it's crazy for me to hold on to those memories, Spence?"

Lost in the whiskey eyes before her, Spencer just shook her head no, "I hope you never let go of those memories, Ash."