February 3, 2138 (Late evening)

Carrie was asleep and I hated to wake her because she really needed the rest, but Karl felt like it was important enough to disturb her for a few minutes. And disturb her I did as she woke up startled as though she had been having a bad dream. I can't imagine why with life being so full of friendliness and all anymore. After a quick apology for waking her, we got right into it with her. After explaining that we had her and who she was, I told her that she was the one from the yard that tried to help her. I also told her that if it weren't for Rachel telling us that she might be there, we wouldn't have went back to the hospital and found her like we had. After telling Carrie that I really thought that Rachel was trying to change and see our side of things, she agreed to let Rachel try.

I left to go get Rachel when I ran into Tommy and Kim on the way, and they came with me to make sure there was some back up with me. I really didn't feel like I needed it with Rachel anymore, but not everyone felt the same as me yet. We arrived at her building and opened the door, and Rachel was standing next to the wall within the cage. I noticed that Kim didn't put her hand on her laser this time with Rachel. Not that she couldn't have gotten it out quickly anyway, but she was actually giving her more of a chance this time. I walked to the cage door and unlocked it, saying, "She remembers you and wants your help. And thank you."

"You might want to save that until I see what's wrong with her," Rachel replied.

After this we took the walk back to Karl's makeshift doctor's office and on the way I could see Tad and Sarah by the gate leading out of the zoo. He was holding onto her and it was obvious that she was crying on his shoulder. He had his hand behind her head and was holding her head against his shoulder, and I started towards them. Kim and Tommy noticed what was up right away and didn't say anything as I walked off towards them, but before I could reach them Tad noticed me and shook his head, then motioned me away like he had it under control. I could hear her falling apart at that distance and wanted to go to her anyway, but I turned back and left her with Tad. I didn't think that I could help her any more than he could. She had been there for him all of these years, now it was his turn to tell her the same things that she told him.

Once we reached Karl's building, Tommy said that he would wait outside. We entered and Karl had already helped Carrie turn over. Kim walked forward and said, "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"I'm all right. How's David and Sarah," Carrie asked showing little regard for herself and more for my family.

"They've seen much better days. That's really all that I can say," Kim replied.

"Are you ready, Carrie," Karl asked as if he was anxious to find out what was wrong himself.

"Yeah, I am," Carrie said.

Rachel stepped forward and looked down at her back. She started staring at her spine for a second with her eyes opened wide, and I noticed her left eye started getting brighter in color. It was kind of frightening as I could see the yellow pupil in her eye getting brighter and blending in more with everything surrounding it. After this began, I could tell that she was looking around Carrie's spine only because I could see her normal eye moving around. After a few seconds her eye started darkening again to its typical yellow color, and she looked at Karl and said, "It can be fixed. She has bleeding within her spinal canal. The canal can't be expanded in people and it needs more room to accommodate what it was meant to hold and the blood she's lost to it. We can drain it and relieve the canal of the pressure and fix the problem of it lacking the space it needs. Then she should heal over time if she doesn't become active for a while."

Hearing this kind of overwhelmed us all. Kim walked over to Carrie and helped her back to the position she was normally in as she pushed Carrie's long hair back out of her face and covered her up. Karl even smiled at hearing Rachel say this. I was happy for Carrie even though I was thinking about Mom too. At least if nothing else came from this, we could make Carrie whole again and she was safe, for now.

Karl spoke again saying, "Carrie, would you like me to do it now or would you like to wait until the morning?"

"If she will stay, I'd rather get on with it. The sooner it's done the faster I can get back at it," Carrie said.

"Will you help me do this now, Rachel," Karl asked.

"I'll tell you where you need to go with your instruments. Then I have a date with my cell," Rachel replied with sarcasm.

Suddenly it started feeling really wrong to be keeping her locked up like an animal after everything that she had done for us. After the loss of Mom and the fear of losing another one of us, I couldn't see enough people going along with allowing her to be free to pay me to argue with them right now. Still, I felt that something had to be done. Before I could speak up Kim started talking.

"Rachel, I'm sorry. You seem like a good person and you've helped us a lot. I won't lie to you. I want to let you go, but it isn't my decision alone. I have to consider the safety of the others here. If they want to risk it, then they have to voice their opinions first. I'll ask them on your behalf because of everything that you've done for us, but I can't promise you anything. Only that I'll speak for you and try, but there are other things to consider too. If they agree to let you go, what will you do? Where will you go? Back to them, Rachel? Because if that's where you would go, you'll be risking us all if we let you go. If you return and they turn on you…," Kim said before Rachel interrupted.

"I don't want to go back. Why trade one metal prison for another that I'd be living in eventually," Rachel replied.

"What do you want, Rachel," I said.

"I want what you have someday. I want someone to care about me. Even if it's just one time only," Rachel said.

"I care about you. I think it's safe to say that Kim does now. Karl likes everybody. And you might grow on Carrie if you stop freaking her out with your eye," I said trying to change the mood like Kim would have.

"She already has. Thanks for helping me in the yard of the hospital. You kept me from dying and gave me a second chance to do things right," Carrie said.

"Right? What is it that you think you've done wrong," I asked her as I could see Kim smiling like she already knew what she was going to say.

"You're going to do it, aren't you," she asked Carrie.

"If he'll still have me, yes," Carrie replied as Kim laughed and took Carrie's hand.

Kim was still smiling as a tear fell from her eyes and Rachel looked on with a confused look about her. Kim said, "He will. He loves you. I know that he's wanted you to change your mind forever. And he's still waiting. He made it back to the Carillon tower and they sent us a message telling us so. He's there waiting for you right now."

Carrie started getting emotional too as Rachel spoke up saying, "Wait a minute. You're both happy, right? But you're both crying like you're not? That makes no sense at all. And you want me to embrace emotions like this as though they're good things?"

"You'll understand someday, when you have them for yourself. Sometimes we cry when we're happy too. It has something to do with how hard it was to get to the point where we are now happy. We reflect on that for a second and it makes us emotional," I said.

"How is that supposed to be a good thing? When I cried it was because I was hurting," Rachel replied.

"I think it's the remembering how much hurting and pain that it took to get you where you are now that makes us cry when we're happy. Someday you'll see what I'm saying when you find that moment of happiness and you remember all of the bad things that you had to go through to get there," I explained.

"Whatever. I'm glad that you're all happy. You can take me back now," Rachel replied as I was reminded of what we were doing to her.

Kim looked back to us as we walked towards the door saying, "I'll talk to the others. And Rachel…I'm sorry."

Rachel didn't reply as we walked outside. Tommy was still waiting for us and as we walked together towards Rachel's building, I came up with an idea. I looked at Tommy and then told Rachel to stop for a second.

"What are we doing, Amber? Don't we need to be getting her back," Tommy asked me.

"Yes. But I'm going to stay with her," I replied.

"You are? Are you sure," Tommy asked as Rachel looked more confused now than she did before with Carrie.

"Yeah, I'm sure. You could choose to stay with the two of us too. If you want to," I said.

"I'll get what we need after we get her back, and I'll bring it back with me. Maybe Dad's hording some more hot chocolate somewhere and I'll bring it along too," Tommy replied.

"You would stay with me? In a cage when you're both free? You don't have to do this," Rachel said.

"Maybe not inside of the cage, but yes we do. I know that we don't agree on everything, but I know that you want much of the same things that we do. I know that you've been hurt in your life and you just want it to go away. We want the hurting to go away too. Even if that's all that we had in common, wouldn't it be worth trying to work with. At least you won't have to spend another night alone in a cage with nobody there with you. Not if you don't want to," I said back to her.

"Thank you for being my friends. No, I don't want to be alone in there anymore," Rachel said as we entered the building with the cages.

"Then you won't be. As long as you're here, one or both of us will be too," I said.