Well, this is a short chapter, but...

Rachel, believing that neither Kori nor Mari would be able to see Richard in that state again, went to the hospital by herself the next day. While she was gone, Mari knocked on the door of the guest room that Rachel had given them. "Mom?" she asked. No one answered. Mari sighed. She hadn't really expected it. She pushed open the door and saw her mother lying huddled up under the blanket. Her eyes were focused on one spot on the wall. "Mom?" asked Mari again, a little louder. Still no response.

She hated leaving her mother alone, but she couldn't stand being in the same room as her. It would be too much to ask one of the Logan family to keep watch over her mother when they had already given them their home. Dylan came in their room.

"Hey. How're you doing, Kori?" he asked. Mari added that on her gigantic list of things to thank him for. At least he didn't pretend her mother wasn't in the same room, even though he might as well have been talking to a rock.

Dylan turned to Mari. "Mom says she'll be home in a little bit. She has news, but she didn't tell me if it was good or bad. I have to go to work, but call me if you two need anything, alright?" he said. Mari nodded, trying not to show her fear, but Dylan seemed to already know it existed. He touched he cheek lightly. "Hey. It'll be okay, just watch. I know my mom did something, I've never seen her so tired. I didn't know she snores, did you?"

Unwillingly, a small smile appeared on Mari's face. "Thanks, Dylan. And no, I didn't know either."

Dylan smiled back and left. Kori had put the blanket in her mouth and was chewing on it as she stared at the spot on the wall. Mari pulled it out of her mother's mouth, but she didn't seem to mind. Was this how it would be? Mari, the real daughter, treating her mother as if she was a little kid for the rest of her life?

Mari heard the door slam. Rachel was home. Mari heard Rachel's footsteps coming up the stairs and her head appeared in the doorway. She seemed to have noticed Mari's fearful expression, so she smiled. "Your father is fine. He should be getting out of the hospital tomorrow. How about a cookie? There was a snack bar, and if I know you, you've forgotten to eat after we went to the hospital yesterday."

Mari realized she was right. Whenever she was anxious or upset, she would forget important things, including meals. Her mother always used to be there to remind her, but now...

"Yeah. I'll eat lunch in a sec. Should I..." she said, glancing worriedly at her mother. Rachel shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. Eat first. I can't believe how like him you've become." Mari knew she was talking about Richard.

"Rachel? I don't want to be a bother, but...can you tell me more about him?" she asked, blushing. Rachel nodded. They sat down on the kitchen table and Rachel took a deep breath while Kori made a couple of sandwiches.

"Where do I start?"

"Anywhere. What was he like?"

"He was...obsessive, definately. He never really gave up on anything. If a villain got away, or someone got hurt, he believed it was his fault. You should've seen the states he used to get in...beaten up by a hallucination, double-crosser, aprrenticed to the most evil man on the face of the Earth...it was horrible just to watch him. I only saw the softer side of him once or twice. It was your mother, really, that kept him going. I saw in his mind a couple of times, and he was always thinking about her. She wasn't always the first thought he had, though most of the time she was, but she would always be hovering off to the side, bound to come up sooner or later. He resented it at the beginning."

"He didn't like the fact that he loved her?"

"He didn't like having feelings. But he came to his senses about it, when she almost died in Tokyo. We were all so glad for them, but he had already convinced himself it wouldn't last. It was kinda sad, really..."

"But he was the one who messed it up!" said Mari angrily. She wasn't really angry at him, but who else could she blame for the state her mother was in?

Rachel just looked at her sadly. Mari sighed. "Well, thank you, Rachel. For healing him, for everything. I don't want to burden you anymore with this, when it's our fault."

Rachel frowned. "No Mari. You two should stay here until I can do something about Kori. Then you can leave, and I won't say no. You're not a burden, but your mother is my best friend, and I'm not going to leave her in this state."

Mari refused. "Rachel, it's my family, and I have to make this right. No more magic. They're going get together and stay together, if it's the last thing I do." She got up, prepared to carry her mother singlehandedly to their house next door. "And who cares if they're forty?"

"I never said that!"

"Not you. I was talking to myself. I think I'm going crazy, too."

Mari had had Gar's help to drag Kori into their own house. Kori wanted only for the blanket, which Gar gave her and she promptly started chewing. Gar looked at her sadly, as if he was going to say something, but held it in. It took them fifteen mintues to haul her into a bed. She never stopped staring or chewing. This must be how Tameranian depression is. I wonder if she'll still be alive at the end of all this? Mari thought. She left her mother and sat downstairs, not knowing what to do. She turned on the T.V. and found nothing. She made herself a sandwich but didn't eat it. She cleaned the shower and all the sinks and vacuumed every room, but she had no idea why.

As soon as Mari saw Dylan's car pull into the driveway, she sighed in relief. Someone to talk to. But as he got out, Mari noticed his angry expression. She walked out the front door, wondering what could have possibly made him this angry. Dylan was a naturally good-natured person, just like his father. It took a lot to get him mad.

"Dylan, what's wrong?" she asked as she approached him. He turned around, and she saw his furious expression oly for a split second before he kissed her. It was as if an electric shock had coursed through her body, but he broke apart almost as fast as he had come on, looking disgusted. She got angry.

"What the heck was that?" she screamed.

"I don't know! That's the problem!" he yelled back. Mari took a deep breath before calming down.

"Okay. Explain."

"My idiot of a girlfriend broke up with me!" he yelled. Apparently, he wasn't as good at calming down as she was.

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend," she said. He glared at her. "Well, is that why you're angry?"

"I'm not angry about that! I'm angry at myself for not being angry about that! That's the problem!"

"Well, let me know when you figure out how many problems there are," said Mari dryly. He glared at her again.

"Like you would know. The only love life you've ever been involved in is your parents', and even that didn't work out! Now one of them's in a freaking coma and the other one's insane!" he bursted out. Mari's breath caught in her throat as he realized what he said. She started to run back in the house as he yelled after her. She could hear him running, but she had always been faster. She locked the door behind her and collapsed in tears.

He was right. It was her fault, it had always been her fault. She was the baby her mother had never wanted, and she had messed up, yet again, by trying to bring her parents together. She could have killed one or both of them, if Rachel hadn't fixed everything up. She heard Dylan banging on the door, demanding to get in, but she ran up to her room. Now what? she thought. Now she knew where she stood. Was it worth getting mixed up in this even more?

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