Chapter 12, part 1: Hallelujah

Heaven has the pleasure of having You here
Nothing can measure the love that You share
Angels sing welcome home
Welcome home

Emma sat in Snake's hospital room, looking at all the wires hooked up to him. A few tears fell down from her eyes, resting on her cheeks. She turned her attention to Jack, who is only seven, turning eight. He looked incredibly sad, which made Emma feel even worse. Spike was trying her hardest not to cry. She always knew, in the back of her mind, that this day would come, but always, always wished that it wouldn't. Emma wiped her cheeks with her palms, and took a deep breath. Her boss, Madeline, thought this current situation would be a great story for Cancer & Animal Research, and it would help Emma with closure. This was going to be her first article that wouldn't be one-sided. She didn't know where she was on this issue. Since Snake has cancer, she always supported cancer research, but she also always supported not testing on animals. She is on both sides of the fence. Emma looked up when she heard a soft knock on the door, it was Manny. Manny came inside, giving Spike and Jack big hugs, tears already forming in her eyes. She came over to Emma, and the two hugged forever.

"How is everyone holding up?" Manny whispers, sitting down in the chair beside Emma.

"Um, I guess as good as we can." She whispers back, jotting down notes in her notepad. Every time something came into her mind, she wrote it down, not fully knowing what she would need for this story.

"What are you doing?" Manny asks, reading over what Emma is writing.

"Madeline thought this would be a good story." Emma underlines the title on the top line of the pad again. "Cancer & Animal Research."

"It does seem like a good story." Manny agrees, "But, will you be able to write it?"

"Um," Emma looks up at Snake. He looks so thin, so pale, and practically lifeless, except for his eyes fluttering opened and closed as he blinked. "I'm hoping it will help me face what's to come."

"Makes sense. Is he in any pain?" Manny asks, now looking at Snake. Her eyes extremely sad, a tear falling from her eyes.

"No." Emma rubs Manny's shoulder, "They gave him some morphine, so he doesn't feel anything."

"It's so sad." Manny states, her voice so soft you almost couldn't hear her speak. Emma took Manny's hand in hers, more for herself then for Manny. Manny squeezed her hand, her attention still on Snake. The girls sat there, holding hands, solemnly watching Snake, with Emma writing down some more thoughts and observations. Emma felt vibrations on her leg, she put her pen down, and reached into her pocket to fish out her phone. Gently, she squeezed Manny's hand before letting it go, she walked over to her mom and brother, giving them each a kiss on the head, and left the room. She flipped her phone open.

"Hello?" She says into the phone, not wanting to talk right now.

"Hey Babe." Tristan says, in his usual tone. Emma rolled her eyes a bit.

"What's up?" She asks half-heartedly.

"You wanna come over?" Tristan asks a little louder. Emma can hear the band in the background.

"I can't." Emma tells him, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Don't tell me you're still mad at me, that happened over a week ago." Tristan says, his tone changing to slightly annoyed.

"No Tristan, it's not about that." Emma retaliates, agitated by his selfishness. "Snake is in the hospital."

"Snake?" Tristan queries. Emma can hear Zack say 'her step-father' in the background. "Your step-dad."

"Yeah, my step-dad." Emma rolls her eyes, realizing just how much Tristan listens to her when she talks. "I have to go. I'll talk to you later." Emma hung up and shoved her cell back into her pocket. Walking back into the room, she notices no one has moved. Jack is sitting silently on the side of Snake's bed. Spike is on the other side, tenderly stroking his arm. Manny is in the chair a little ways away from them, a few tear stains on her cheek. Emma choked back tears as she walked over to her family. She kissed Snake, Spike and Jack, lightly whispering 'I love you', before sitting back down next to Manny. Manny moved her arm, allowing Emma to rest her head on Manny's shoulder. Emma sighs, picking up her notepad and pen again so she can write out her emotions.

"Hey Em, where's Sean?" Manny asks, just realizing that the guy she grew up with wasn't with her.

"He can't get out of work, but he'll be by later." Emma replies, drawing tiny hearts in the top corner of her pad. The vibrations of Emma's cell phone start up again. She stands, and pulls the phone out of her pocket. Emma gives everyone a kiss before leaving the room. "Hello?"

"Hi Em, how are you doing?" The sweet voice of Zack fills her ears.

"I'm doing okay..." Emma trails.

"Do you need anything?" He asks, sympathy running through his tone.

"No, no, I'm good." Emma replies, looking down at her feet.

"Okay, well if you change you're mind, just call me. Someone's coming, call me later." Dial tone now fills her ears. She closes her phone, wondering what would happen if Tristan knew how often Zack and her talked. Emma walked back inside, giving everyone another kiss before settling back down next to Manny.

"Who keeps calling?" Manny queries.

"First call was Tristan. The second was Zack." Emma answers, placing her notepad back on her lap.

"Oo, your love triangle." Manny turns her attention to Emma.

"I'm not cheating on Tristan." Emma tells her, looking her in the eye.

"I know, but you should." Manny says, looking at her a little more intently.

"Manny!" Emma half whispers and half exclaims. Manny shrugs her shoulders. Suddenly, the noise of Snake's heart monitor goes dead. Manny and Emma jump up, going to over to Snake's bed. Spike breaks down, not able to hold her emotions in any longer. Emma holds Jack as he starts crying. The doctor and nurses rush into the room. The family takes a step back, letting the staff do their job, but knowing that Snake is now gone. The doctor allows them more time to say goodbye. He tells us he's sorry before heading out of the room. Emma watches everything, as if it's going on in slow motion. She can even see everyone's tears falling, one at a time. She blinks her eyes, hoping to escape this slow motion nightmare. Emma walks around the bed to the other side, giving her mother a tight hug, not knowing what else to do. Everything was going to change now, everything is going to be different.

Chapter 12, part 2: New Wave

Come on and wash these shores away.
Come on and wash these shores away.
I am looking for the crest,
I am looking for the crest of a new wave.

"Jay? Where are you?" Greg calls from the shop. He enters his new garage, calling out for Jay.

"In here man." Jay yells back, not bothering to get up.

"In here? What is that supposed to mean? I've never been in here before." Greg replies, a slightly amused tone coming out of his mouth.

"The office." Jay calls out. He stands up from the desk and goes to the doorway. After getting his boss's attention, he turns back into the office.

"The place isn't looking that bad." Greg tells him, stepping into the office. "This place needs a women's touch."

"What did you just say?" Jay queries, fighting a smirk.

"You've seen my office. My wife worked with me for years, which is why it looks so clean and organized." Greg lets a smirk form on his lips. Jay shakes his head a little. "So, what have you got?"

"Idea Arc bill, Yellow Pages bill, and I haven't finished the marking up the inventory. Oh, a couple cars have already been by, but they were easy tune-ups. Here are the receipts." Jay hands a pile of bills and receipts.

"You're doing really well here." Greg signs some papers, and stuffs the others into his carry-all clipboard. "Have you given any thought about whether you're going to stay here or not?"

"Um, I'm not sure."

"Look, Jay, I don't have a problem if you need some more time to decide, but you have to decide." Greg looks at Jay. "You better be grateful that your boss if so cool."

"Oh yeah, the coolest." Jay laughs to himself. He goes to pick his pen back up when his cell rings. "Greg, I gotta take this." Greg nods to him, so Jay flips his cell phone open. "Yo."

"Jay, listen up man, Snake's in the hospital." Sean tells him, his voice serious and filled with worry.

"Is he okay?" Jay asks, unsure of what else to say.

"No, he's doing badly; the doctor's don't think he's going to live much longer. I wanted to give you a heads up because the girls are going to be really upset." Sean says. "I'm trying to get off work, but my boss is being an asshole, so if I can't get off before tonight, can you just check on them. They might not come home, they might stay with Spike, but Emma will call me."

"Yeah, sure, no problem." Jay replies, his voice reaching its own sadness, even though he never got along with Mr. Simpson.

"Thanks man, I'll catch ya later." Sean hung up, and Jay follows suit.

"What's up man?" Greg asks.

"Um, a friend's step-father is dying of cancer." Jay tells him, leaning back in his chair.

"This friend wouldn't happen to be a girl, would it?" Greg gives Jay a suspicious look.

"Yeah, maybe this friend is a girl." Jay's voice is low, just above a mutter.

"And this would also be the reason that you aren't sure whether or not you want to stay here." Greg raises one eye brow as his suspicious look towards Jay grows. Jay avoids eye contact, and avoids his suspicious stare.

"If we're done here, I have to go." Jay stands up, gathering up all the papers together.

"Yeah, to the hospital, to see your girl, who's a friend." Greg half-jokes, enjoying being able to annoy Jay.

"Later." Jay mumbles. He walks out, shaking thoughts out of his head. Emma has nothing to do with the reason why he doesn't know if he wants to stay or not. He got into his car and went to the grocery store. Jay picked up some ice cream and cookie dough. Then he drove to Sean's apartment, which was more like theirs, since he pays half the rent. Jay grabbed the spare key to Manny's and Emma's place, putting the ice cream in the freezer and the cookie dough in the fridge. He went next door to take a shower, and change, before picking up the phone.

"Hello?" A voice sniffles on the other end of the phone.

"Emma, hey, how you doing?" Jay asks, noting the tone of her voice, thinking she must be crying.

"Um, Snake died." She managed to choke out.

"I'm sorry Em, do you need anything?" He asks, feeling bad that Em has to go through it. He realized that him going through his mother's death is what's helping him to be so sympathetic.

"No, I'm gonna stay with mom tonight." She replies, trying to make her tone even.

"Well call if you need anything." Jay waits for Emma to say bye before hanging up. He stared at the screen of his phone, noticing how he really isn't up to face another death. His mom pops into his mind, but he can't quite put a finger on what he feels. He opens his contacts and presses send when he gets to the one he wants.

"Jay, man, haven't seen you in a while, what's up? Todd asks.

"Not much, you got anything?" Jay queries, slightly turning to his old ways.

"Yeah, the guys are over, and a few of the girls, come down." Todd replies.

"Cool, I'll be there in ten or so." Jay hangs up, grabs his keys, and heads out the door. He went through his mother's death, but he's not ready to face his feelings about it; right now, he needs a fix.

Chapter 12, part 3: Jay Jay's Song

I am myself and no
one else because my eyes
See so much negativity
Pressuring me every day
Thy judge me as
Something I'm not

"Jay, man, what are you waiting for?" Todd asks, slightly leaning into Jay. Jay shakes his head, still staring down at the pill in his hand. He rolled it around in his fingers. For some reason he felt as if he had split personality. Should I fall back into the category after fighting to get out of it for five years? Taking some Ex won't totally put me back there, but what if staying here makes me do it more. I went five years without doing drugs, sure I drank, and partied, but five years without drugs. That is a huge step for me. Hell, finishing school was a huge step, going to college was twice as huge, finishing college was triple that, so not doing drugs has that whole huge thing quadrupled. What's it matter anyway? It's my life, I can do whatever I please, but if I stay here, and fall back in with the gang, it will definitely affect my work, and I know Greg will talk me out of it, but he won't put up with me if I continue doing drugs. Working with Greg was the best thing that happened to me in my whole life, I can't betray him. I can't betray myself. This stupid pill is smiling up at me. Maybe I should just go back to Sean's. Maybe I should... I don't know. Damn, this is so frustrating. "Man, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Todd's voice interrupted Jay's thoughts. "This is a party!" His grin spread wider across his lips. "Speaking of which, I'm gonna go have myself a party." Jay watched Todd get off the couch and walk over to a trashy looking girl. She was overly intoxicated, and Todd was flying high. Jay chuckled to himself, remembering all the old times he's had with his 'friends'.

"Eh, fuck it." Jay says to himself. He pops the ecstasy into his mouth and throws his head back. He grins to himself, keeping his head back, relaxing it on the back of the couch. His mind starting swirling, random, and not so random thoughts popping into his head. He kept his eyes closed, knowing that if he opened them that the room would spin and he'd get a headache. Suddenly, he left a hand on his thigh. "What?" Jay asks, not bothering to open his eyes.

"You looked lonely on the couch all by yourself." A girl replies, rubbing her hand up and down his leg, reaching further up each time.

"Maybe I was, maybe I'm not." Jay smirks, still keeping his eyes closed.

"Well," The girl starts, "I'm sure you can have a lot more fun with me, then sitting here by yourself." She leaves her one hand on his thigh, and brings her other hand up to his chest.

"I don't even know you, how can I trust you?" Jay asks, still not opening his eyes, and keeping his voice emotionless besides the smirk on his lips.

"My names Emily, now you know me." She replies, pulling herself closer to him. Jay felt her breath in his cheek as she brought her lips to his. He let her kiss him, and decided to kiss her back. It's not like he has anything better to do. "Let's go find a room." She whispers into his ear, breaking away from their kiss. Jay finally opened his eyes, following Emily into a vacant room. He closed the door behind him and sat down on the bed next to the girl. "Now, where were we?" She puts her lips back on his. Jay lets her do what she wants. He's a little surprised when she breaks the kiss, but then she pulls his shirt off, and then hers. Jay just watches, not saying or moving, just letting her do whatever she wants. Emily kisses his lips once more, but then kisses his neck, and trails down his chest as her hands undid his jeans. For a reason unknown to Jay, he was a little apprehensive about Emily taking off his jeans, but as soon as she touched him he forgot about it.

"Oh, Em." He managed to mutter. Emily brought herself up.

"Nicknames already, I like it." And she went back down...

-------------------------[Meanwhile--------------------------

Sean knocked onto the Nelson-Simpson door. He hurried from work, only taking a two minute shower before going to check on the girls. Emma answered the door, her cheeks stained with a few tears. He could tell that she had been trying not to cry. He stepped inside and pulled her into a tight hug, kissing her on her head. He saw Manny, Spike, and Jack, sitting down, in a comfortable silence, watching a movie. Jack was sitting in Spike's lap, while she gently stroked his head, and Manny was curled at the other end of the couch. When Emma let go, Sean gently kissed Spike's cheek, and rubbed Jack's head before sitting down between Manny and Emma. Both girls turned their body towards him, resting their heads on his shoulders. The five of them sat on the couch, a little crammed, but enjoying the silence, besides the murmur of the Television. Emma reached her arm around Sean's stomach, finding Manny's. The two girls held hands, a silent tear falling from Emma's cheek. The family was doing well with the grief, they were dealing with it together. Emma smiled slightly, happy that they were all together to deal with this. If she was by herself, she knew she wouldn't be able to. Being with her family, Manny, and Sean, made her wonder what Jay was doing, along with Tristan, and Zack. Hopefully they were having a good night, like she was; as good as it could get with the current situation anyway.