Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock.

Heh, this chapter will probably be really weird. I dunno. Maybe it's just me, but it just seemed really surreal when I was reading it over. I dunno. You can be the judge of it. :)
Warning: Not as much Shaitlyn fluff.

Hope you guys like it!

"You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes." –Winnie the Pooh

After that night, Caitlyn spent every night there for a week, only returning to her home when her mom wasn't home. She would cook dinner for Sarah and lay out a blanket before grabbing an outfit for the next day, leaving before her mom ever got home. Though she was upset with her mother, Caitlyn couldn't stand to leave her without care.

Occasionally, Caitlyn would see her mother waiting for her outside of her school. Sarah's troubled and regretful eyes would always meet with Caitlyn's hurt ones. Caitlyn would always rip her gaze away before hopping into the car with Shane and his mom with one last glance at Sarah's terse expression. It happened again on the eighth day Caitlyn spent with Shane, and she told him she planned to go back home that night.

Shane wrapped an arm around Caitlyn's shoulder protectively, hugging her. "I'm not letting you go back there. Not without us with you."

"Shane's right, Caitlyn," his mom, Katrina, added worriedly. "I don't want that to happen to you again. You could've gotten badly hurt."

"Auntie Katrina, I'll be fine. I think Mom just had something different that night is all."

"What, did she switch from vodka to a martini?" Katrina scoffed disdainfully, and her expression turned sour. "I guess a diluted alcohol has that affect on heavy drinkers instead of hard liquor."

Caitlyn looked sternly at the back of Katrina's seat. "Auntie, please don't talk about my mom like that."

"After all this, you're still defending her?" Katrina demanded incredulously. How could the girl go back to that psychotic drunk after such an event?

"She's my mother," stated Caitlyn simply, shrugging. "If I don't defend her, who will?"

Shane gave his friend a concerned look and told her he couldn't help but agree with his mother. "But there does seem something weird with Aunt Sarah," he admitted thoughtfully. "When I see her at school, watching Caitlyn, it's like she's hiding a secret. I don't know exactly what it is, but it's not like her at all."

Caitlyn nodded, agreeing with Shane. "Mom seemed different that night. She wasn't slurring, as usual. She was kind of almost… psychotic."

Katrina pulled into Caitlyn's driveway and turned around in her seat. "I just want to get this clear: You are always welcome in our house, Caity. You'll never overstay your welcome. And if it means adopting you to keep you from getting hurt like this again, so be it. We just want to know you're safe."

"…Thank you," Caitlyn managed to choke out, touched by Katrina's words. It was nice to know that she had other family she could count on should her mother go completely senile. It was hard to express all her gratitude in words, so Caitlyn merely hugged Katrina tightly and gave Shane a kiss on the cheek afterwards.

Shane blushed and gave Caitlyn a hug as well. "I can't lose you, Caitlyn. Remember? I said I'd do anything to protect you."

Giving a beaming smile at Shane, Caitlyn got out of the car, ready to go into the house. She got out her key and unlocked the door, only to find her mother standing right in front of her. Caitlyn let out a shriek and was just about to run back to the car until her mother grabbed her hand and fell to the ground, sobbing.

"Please…" Sarah cried, holding Caitlyn's hand and pressing it to her cheek. "Please stay, even for a little while… Let me explain. After that, I'll understand if you want to leave me for good."

Caitlyn hesitantly nodded and went into the house. She nodded at Shane and Katrina, who had rushed out to see why she'd screamed, that it was alright. Both of them looked reluctant to let her go but decided to respect her choices and waited on the front porch.

Closing the door behind her, Caitlyn walked in and took off her shoes and sat down in the seat across the couch Sarah was sitting on. "Explain yourself," Caitlyn demanded tersely, slightly wary of her mother's outbursts.

A heavy sigh was released from Sarah's chest, and she stared into Caitlyn's eyes with a turbulent expression on her face. "There is a reason for my temper from the other night," she began hesitantly and her hands began that uncontrollable twitch she'd seen the other night.

"Yeah. Your drinking problem. What else is new?" the youth snapped bitterly. Caitlyn didn't want to deal with her mother's long, drawn out explanations of why she was so irritable. She had had them all before and was not in the mood for another. Not after what happened the last time she saw her mother.

Sarah exhaled deeply before saying, "It's not because of that. I wasn't drinking that night."

Caitlyn inhaled sharply, not wanting to believe her mother's temper was of her own accord.

"It's because…" Sarah paused and gazed at Caitlyn with turmoil-filled eyes. "Because I have Huntington's chorea."

"What?"

"It's a genetic disease that I got from Grandma's side of the family. She wasn't affected but her other sister was. Huntington's is a disease that can't be cured and…" Sarah sighed heavily. "I only have about another two decades to live."

Caitlyn's eyes widened and stared into her mother's solemn ones before jumping up to hug Sarah tightly. "How long have you known?" she whispered into her mother's shoulder.

"Two years. I figured you'd just think my symptoms and outbursts were because of my drinking, but apparently the symptoms have been showing up since you were in grade school," replied Sarah just as quietly.

"And you didn't tell me?!" Caitlyn ripped away from her mother and glared furiously at her mother, half hurt and half angry that she wasn't informed of her mother's condition.

"I'm sorry!" Sarah cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. She put her head in her hands. "I was—I always thought the clumsiness, the shaking, the memory loss—I always thought it was just because of the drinking, because of the depression and anxiety. But then I found out"—She let out a choked sob—"it was Huntington's, and I only had a couple of decades left to live. I won't be able to take care of you 'til the end, Caitlyn. I'll die when you're still young."

"But I'll be over thirty."

"Yeah, but by the end of the first decade, I'll be of no use to you. I won't be able to take care of my grandbabies or comfort you when times are hard. By then, I'll probably be in some sort of mental hospital, totally insane and suicidal."

"And what about now?" Caitlyn asked wearily. "Will you blow up at me and scream at me like last time?"

Sarah gave a shuddering sigh. "I'm truly sorry about that, Caity. Right now, I'll try to behave as well as I possibly can. But please," she pleaded, "don't be ashamed of me. Don't be mad at me for acting a way I can't help acting. But I understand if you want to leave me and go find a foster home or live with Shane. I know you'll be better off without me."

Caitlyn gathered her mother in her arms once more and let her sob on her shoulder. "I won't, Mom. I love you. I'll never leave you."

And so a family was mended.

Damn. Does anyone think that was really weird? It just seemed really awkward. And for all you readers who want to be doctors or know about Huntington's, please don't criticize this. I don't know much about it, actually. Only a few facts here and there. x) I got it all from watching House and Wikipedia. But I did want to do something that would traumatize Caitlyn and plague her for all her life. I hope it was okay. And sorry that there wasn't much Shaitlyn fluff in it. But I promise, the next one will have lots!! :)

Feedback is appreciated!