Chapter 3! Waring Signs Mean Something's Wrong!

Grace had finished work without Karen at the office. After locking up she went home to her apartment. Her roommate Will was sitting on the couch reading a book. He looked up as she entered.

"Hey Gracie. How was work?" he asked putting his book down. Grace sighed. She had been debating with herself the entire way home wether or not to ask Will about Karen. Maybe she was just imagining it all.

'After all if Karen was in danger we would know right? If she wasn't supposed to take so many pills and drink so much alcohol she wouldn't be able to.' Grace had reasoned with herself.

"It was fine." She said putting her coat over a chair and her bag on the table.

"Come on Gracie. Talk to me. I feel like we haven't talked in ages." Will said getting up and walking over to her.

"Well Karen left early today."

"Ah it's a Cruella problem is it? Why is Karen leaving early have anything to do with you having a bad day? You would have gotten all your work done… isn't that a good thing?" Will asked.

"We had a fight." Grace said.

"I did tell you not to wear the pilgrim shoes now didn't I?" Will joked.

"Will I'm trying to be serious!" Grace said. Will starred at her.

"Ok talk. What happened?"

"Have you ever noticed how many pills she takes? And how much she drinks?" Grace asked.

"Gracie this is Karen. She's built up immunity to it." Will said.

"Today at work she pulled out this thing… you know those racks you're supposed to put bottles of spice in?" Grace asked.

"Spice racks?"

"Yeah those things."

"I'm familiar with the apparatus."

"Well instead of spice Karen had bottles of pills."

"And?"

"They were all perscripted."

"So?"

"They were all different… ones to make you sleep, ones to wake you up, ones for hallucinations, ones for multiple personalities, they were for all different things and they conflicted each other. It doesn't fit Will." Grace explained.

"No doctor would prescribe all of those to one patient." Will said.

"That's what I said." Grace said.

"Then what happened?"

"Well when I saw her take out the spice rack I asked her what was going on." Grace said. "She asked what I meant and I said the pills… what are you doing. And she tells me she's trying to chose."

"And then what did you do?"

"Well I went over and that's when I saw they were prescription and I asked her how she got them all… I told her one doctor wouldn't prescribe them all for her and she tells me one doctor wouldn't but five would if they didn't know about the others." Grace explained.

"Did she take any of the pills?"

"Yeah. She took a handful or two while we were talking and washed them down with vodka. I told her she couldn't keep doing this to herself… I said she could really hurt herself… I said she might even kill herself."

"And how did Karen reply?"

"She told me I was sweet to care but I shouldn't… the only way to kill her was with a wooden stake through her heart."

"That is true." Will said trying to lighten up the mood.

"Will! It's not funny… I'm really worried." Grace exclaimed.

"I'm sorry Grace but this is Karen we're talking about." Will said. "What happened next?"

"I said I was serious… I asked her to talk to me."

"Did she?"

"No she asked me why I cared now, she said I never had before so I shouldn't care now."

"Why do you care now?" Will asked.

"Well I'm her friend, I care about her and I told her that and she yelled at me well then don't, swallowed another handful of pills and left." Grace said.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Will said.

"You're right I'm probably over reacting." Grace said.

"How about we call for take out? Chinese?" Will suggested.

"Yeah… I could really go for some 'couldn't kill you to call your mother'." Grace said smiling. Will smiled back.

"Should we get a movie?" Grace asked.

"Sure. I'll get it." Will said.

"I'll call for the take out." Grace said.

Will was standing in the video store trying to decide wether to rent 'Dirty Dancing' or 'Suddenly 30' for Grace when he heard the unmistakably sound of Jack.

"Ohhhh! If I could turn back tiiimmee!" he sang. Will looked over and saw Jack standing across the video store at the musical section.

'I bet it's Cher.' Will thought.

"Jack!" he called. Jack's head snapped up and turned to Will.

"You!" he said. "How dare you interrupt my Cher moment." He came over to Will.

"Where's the missus?" he asked referencing Grace.

"Grace is at home ordering takeout." Will said.

"But it's only Wednesday." Jack said. "You guys have movie/take out night on Friday."

"Jack first of all it's Tuesday and second of all Grace and a fight with Karen at work today." Will explained.

"Was it the hair?"

"No."

"Did she wear orange?"

"No."

"Green?"

"No."

"Red?"

"No."

"Yellow?"
"No."

"Did she wear feathers?"

"No."

"Did she wear pokadots?"

"No."

"Did she wear fake fur?"

"No."

"Real fur?"

"Jack… no."

"Did she wear stripes?"

"Horizontal or vertical?"

"Vertical?"

"No."

"Horizontal?"

"No."

"Plaid?"

"No."

"Sequins?"

"No."

"Did it have pleats?"

"No."

"OMG! She wore those ugly buckle pilgrim shoes and that ruffle thing didn't she?" Jack asked, his face contorted in horror.

"Yes." Will said. "But that not it."

"Well what is?" Jack asked.

"Karen and her had a fight because Grace asked Karen why she takes so many pills and drinks so much." Will explained.

"Well that's a stupid question." Jack said. "There is no why… she's Karen that's why."

"Do you think Karen drinks too much? Or takes too many pills?"

"No… not for Karen standards." Jack answered simply.

"Grace thinks there's something wrong." Will said.

"She's just being Grace… the ruffles and buckles are going to her head." Jack said.

"Probably." Will said nodding.

"What are you renting?" Jack asked.

"I can't choose between 'Suddenly 30' or 'Dirty Dancing', they're Grace's favourites." Will explained.

"That's… nice." Jack said.

"Stuff it I'm getting both." Will exclaimed as though he'd just made a life altering decision.

"Ok cool. Can I have some money for my Cher?" Jack asked holding out his hand.

"Alright then Jack." Will said.

"Do you know that Cheri is the only female artist credited to having a number 1 single in the 60s, 70s 80s and 90s?" Jack asked.

"And Jack Cher has also had so much plastic surgery no one knows if she's in her 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s." Will said smiling at his own little joke. Jack scowled.

"How dare you insult my Cher! Shame on you, I'd storm out but I need money for my Cher DVD." Jack explained.

They went and paid then left, each going they're separate ways.

Will went back to his apartment and to Grace, they ate and watched their movies together happily. They thought nothing of the 'Karen' issues.

Jack however went home and couldn't concentrate on anything, not even his beloved Cher.

Karen… drinking… something wrong… so many pills… drinks so much… these words whirled around in his head.

'Stupid Will, stupid Grace! Of course there's nothing wrong with Karen. She's fine! And now because of the stupid homo and the stupid fashion impaired crazy I can't concentrate on my beloved Cher.' Jack thought annoyed. Jack decided to turn in early. He wasn't in the mood to hit the clubs and pick up guys. Suddenly Jack was tired and overwhelmed.

'Don't be so stupid…. Karen doesn't have a problem. If she did she'd tell her poodle. Grace and Will are just being dumb.' Jack thought. He turned the volume up on the television and tried to concentrate. Cher was wearing her best outfit of her first tour and she looked… in Jack's opinion… great. But he couldn't concentrate on Cher… his mind was wondering to Karen.

"Will and Grace don't spend as much time with Karen as I do." He reasoned aloud to himself.

"You can't count parties or anytime we're with Will and Grace. You can't count work functions of business deals or anything to do with Stan or the step-brats.'

"It's not like she drinks or takes pills every single day."

"Like the time we went on her boat to that weird little island… no she drank then. But that was for motion sickness."

When we went to see that play… no she took pills all through that.

What about when we went to the step kids school thing… no she took pills during that and afterwards we went to a bar.

Shopping…. No she takes pills and drinks every time we go.

Jack racked his brain for a time Karen was sober and not popping pills.

'Oh God! What if Will and Grace had a point?' he thought. Jack turned off his share DVD and went to bed. Thoughts of Karen her drinking and her pills plagued his brain. Snippets of the time they spent together flashed through his brain.

Jack couldn't think of one time.

Throughout their whole friendship Jack couldn't think of one time that Karen wasn't drinking or using.