Zac and Vanessa were quibbling over coffee brands in the grocery store when Zac's phone rang. "Hey dad, what's up?" Zac answered with a smile but his face quickly dropped. "Why didn't you call me sooner? It's gonna take me three hours to get there, Dad, can she hang on that long? I'll be on my way as soon as I drop Vanessa at home. What? I dunno if she can, I'll see. Dad, tell her I love her, please?" Zac hung up the phone with tears in his eyes.

"Zac, honey, what's wrong?" Vanessa knew it was something serious but she couldn't hear anything that David Efron had said on the other end of the line.

"My, um, my Gramma Aames…mom's mom…she had a heart attack. She's in intensive care. It doesn't look good." Zac was shaking. They left the shopping cart in the middle of the aisle and Vanessa took him by the hand and led him to his car.

"What can I do?" Vanessa had already taken the keys from Zac and was making sure he got buckled into the passenger seat. Zac didn't like for anyone else to drive his car. But in this case, Vanessa wasn't taking 'no' as an answer. She started the car and headed toward his apartment.

"Um, I gotta grab a suitcase and throw some clothes in it and head home." Vanessa's phone rang in her purse. Zac grabbed it for her and looked even more confused. "Uh, my dad's calling you, do you want me to answer it?"

"No, no. He must be calling me for a reason. Just let me pull over for a minute. I'm sure it won't take long, he knows you want to get on the road." Vanessa slid into the next parking lot to take the call. "Hey David, it's Vanessa. What can I do?"

"Vanessa, I don't want Zac making this drive alone. I assume you were there when I called him a few minutes ago?" Zac's father was all too familiar with his son.

"Yes, right beside him. I'm driving him home right now to get some clothes."

"Vanessa, honey, Starla wants you to come up with Zac. She, well, she thinks he's going to need you here. The situation doesn't look good at all." Vanessa looked at her boyfriend who had leaned his head back against the seat with tears streaming down his face. "We understand if you can't make it, but please, if there's any chance…"

Vanessa didn't even let him finish. "I'll be there. If that's what you want, if you think that's what Zac needs, I'll be there."

"I know he wants to get here quickly, but you guys take the time you need. Get here safely. She's on life support right now. Grandpa Aames won't let her go without seeing her grandsons." David's voice trailed off. Vanessa heard him talking to someone else, she assumed it was Zac's mom, Starla. "Honey, it's okay. I'm talking to Vanessa right now. She's going to come up with him. He'll be fine if Vanessa's with him. You know she'll take care of him and get him here. Go with your dad, I'll be in in a minute." His voice turned back to Vanessa. "Vanessa, dear, I've gotta go. They're letting Starla and her dad go in to see her mom, I need to go with them. I've gotta turn my phone off though."

"Okay," Vanessa answered. "We'll be on our way in half an hour. Oh, David, what hospital?"

"Saint Luke, Toluca Lake." He answered.

"Does Zac know where that is?" If needed, Vanessa figured she'd get her mom to get directions and call them on the way.

"He should know. Tell him it's where mom had her knee surgery a few years ago. That should remind him. If not, go by the house and one of the neighbors can fill you in. We'll see you both a little later."

"Got it," Vanessa answered. "Take care of Starla and Grandpa Aames. We'll be there as soon as we can."

She turned to look at Zac and found him staring at her, still with tears in his eyes. Vanessa put her phone away and grabbed Zac's hand. He just pulled it to his lips and kissed her soft skin. She turned and gave him a warm but sad smile as she headed back to his apartment.

"Grab your suitcase and your toiletry bag. I've gotta call mom and dad and tell them what's going on." Vanessa took charge as they hurried into Zac's apartment. "I think I have a pair of jeans and a sweater in the closet. Just throw those into your suitcase and uh, put one of your old t-shirts in there for me too. I doubt we'll be sleeping much, but just in case, at least I'll have that."

Zac started following directions. He was trying hard to focus on what Vanessa was saying and not the situation with his grandmother. "Ness?" He couldn't stop his mind from swirling. "Yeah?" She answered from the living room. "Is my mom okay?" Another set of tears started forming in his eyes.

"Oh baby," Vanessa ran into the bedroom and wrapped her arms around him. "She's okay right now. She's trying to be strong for your Grandpa. Your dad's right there with both of them." She was trying to comfort him. But she knew he wouldn't find any comfort until they got to the hospital and he was able to analyze the situation for himself. "What about Dyl? Where is he?" Zac asked. Vanessa didn't know the answer to that question. "I don't know. Your dad didn't say. I kinda assumed he was there at the hospital, but I don't know. David had to turn his phone off, or I'd call him back."

"No, no we don't need to do that. I was just wondering." Zac rambled. "Go, call your mom and dad. Wait, didn't you have an appointment with your agent tomorrow? You can't miss that."

"I'll have mom take care of that. Yes, I can miss it. This is family Zac, family comes first, no matter if it's mine or yours." Vanessa answered directly. "You just go pack. Let me take care of these phone calls."

"Okay, I'm going." Zac answered like a twelve year old boy to his mother.

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"Mom, Zac's got a family emergency. We've gotta go to Toluca Lake asap." Vanessa reached her mom at home. "His grandmother had a heart attack. The situation doesn't look good according to David. He's at the hospital with Starla and her dad. What? No, we don't have time to come by the house, I had some jeans and a sweater here that I'll take. If I need something else I'll just buy it there, or I'll call you and dad to overnight it to me. We'll be careful mom, I promise." Vanessa turned her head toward the window and looked outside while listening to her mom.

"I don't know anymore than that mom. She's on life support and it doesn't look good. That's what David said. They don't want Zac to drive up alone, and Starla said she wants me to be there for Zac. I can only assume the worst and I need to be there for all of them. I will, Mom, I'll call if I need you. Oh, Mom, I was supposed to have a meeting with John tomorrow. Can you call and cancel that for me? No, don't reschedule, I'm not sure when we'll be back. Okay, gotta go, I'll call you when I know more. Thanks Mom, love you!"

She turned around to find Zac behind her with a suitcase in hand. Vanessa wrapped her arms around him and pulled his head to her shoulder. "This is from Mom." She said as she kissed his cheek. "She's saying a prayer for Grandma and the whole family right now." Zac took Vanessa by the hand and grabbed the suitcase in the other and headed out the door.

"Why don't you let me drive?" Vanessa asked as they reached the car.

"No." Zac said as he put the suitcase in the trunk. "I'm okay. I can do this. If I don't drive I'm just going to be a basket case by the time we get there." He slid into the driver's side as Vanessa climbed in beside him. They both knew this three-hour drive to Zac's hometown was going to take forever.

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