Chapter 18: Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here

Pulling into a parking space, Susie cut the engine on her convertible and yanked out the key. She glanced over at her passenger and saw an uncustomary, worried expression on his face.

"Hey," she said softly, and Phil glanced up. "Angie said he's gonna be just fine. Just a black eye and maybe—maybe—a broken nose. Might look like he went a few rounds with Mike Tyson, but that's all."

Phil sighed. "Right. Thanks." He opened his door and slid out, then trotted over to Susie's side. As she got out and smoothed down her clothes, he shut her door for her. She smiled. With another guy, the gesture might have been possessive or creepy, but with Phil, it was just sweet. Catching her smile, Phil gave her an exaggerated, goofy wink.

They started walking towards the hospital's main entrance, and Susie felt his fingers brush against her hand as they walked side by side. She cut her eyes over to him, but he was looking straight ahead, seemingly oblivious. Bullshit. But if that's how Phil was going to play, that was fine with her. Susie Carmichael was an undisputed master of this game. Phil DeVille didn't stand a chance.

The hospital was huge. For a good ten minutes, the pair wandered around the corridors, occasionally checking signs and asking for directions. Then Phil stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes riveted to a spot some ten yards away. Puzzled, Susie followed his gaze—restrooms, flower and gift shop, cafeteria. Nothing to do with the emergency room.

"Phil? You okay?"

His focus snapped back to her. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He offered her a sheepish grin and, pointing, added, "I just, uh, need to use the restroom."

"Oh, sure thing. I'll try to track down the ER for us," Susie replied. How weird. And how very unlike Phil, to be embarrassed about a little thing like using the bathroom.

But she shook it off and continued down the hall. Finally, to her considerable relief, she spotted a sign for the emergency room. Almost the second she was through the doors, a small army jumped out of their chairs to rush over. Susie put on a smile that was only somewhat shaky.

Tom reached her first. "Where have you two been?"

"And what have you done with my brother?" demanded Lillian, glancing around.

Susie took a deep breath. Okay. She was Susie Carmichael—could do this. She looked to Tom first. "First off, I'm so sorry about Chuck. I just can't believe anyone would ever want to hurt him," she said, then turned to give Lil the friendliest look she could muster. "And second, Phil's just using the bathroom. That's all."

Skeptically the others studied Susie's face. Tom leaned in to whisper something in her ear while Kim snorted a little. Susie raised an eyebrow when she noticed Dil's arm around Kim's shoulders, and she briefly wondered just how good a time those two had had at the party.

The incestuous nature of this little group's dating dynamics was really something else, she reflected. Her and Phil … Kim and Dil … then Susie frowned, realizing that there were a few players missing. Just as Lil was preparing to launch into a lecture, Susie cut her off, asking with faux casualness, "So where is Angie? She seemed pretty ticked over the phone, so I figured she'd be lying in wait for me."

Tom nodded towards a nearby hallway. "She's in with Chuck, while he's waiting for all his test results." Then his eyes narrowed, and he added, almost in a growl, "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason," Susie lied with a grin. It was time to make a break for it before Tom got too nosy. She took a step back, muttering something about going to find Phil, then quickly fled.

She wasn't three steps out of the ER before she saw him. Smiling in relief, she opened her mouth to ask where he'd been. Then she immediately shut it again. In front of her Phil was standing with a large grin and a bouquet of sunflowers tied together with a single, shiny white ribbon.

"For me?" she asked, unable to hide her surprise.

Phil nodded, holding out the flowers "For you."

Still smiling, Susie took the sunflowers. She ran her fingers over their soft petals. The flowers were large, colorful, happy. Not unlike Phil, actually. As Susie looked up to thank him, she saw his soft brown eyes just inches away and, a moment later, felt his soft lips against hers.

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Author's Notes: Since Fanfiction's letting me update again, thought I'd get in another chapter ASAP.