"How was work?" Will asked when he walked through the door. Grace gave him a half smile while he hung up his coat.

"Not the best, but I'll get over it. How was your day?"

"Great." He hummed a tune as he walked to the kitchen to get a bottle of water.

"Who put the spring in your step?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you only hum like that when you find pants that make your ass look really good, or when you have sex." He smirked and took a sip of his water. He walked to his room to change his clothes. After a moment or so, Will rushed out of his room, concerned.

"Where are Karen's suitcases?"

"I guess she took them with her." Grace continued to flip through a magazine that she had received in the mail.

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know."

"Okay, why did she go?"

"I kicked her out." Her response was simple, but it released a strange kind of anger in him.

"Why the hell did you do that? She needs us right now."

"No, Will, she needs to get away from us. I am so sick of waking up every morning and eating her crappy bacon. It's like she doesn't have her own life so she has to steal ours."

"Who gives a shit about the bacon? Her mind is not in the right place for her to be on her own!" Grace stood from her seat and glared at him.

"Are you seriously mad at me? It's just Karen!" He stepped closer to her, wondering when she had become so cold.

"What is wrong with you? She has been one of your best friends for like seven years and you just throw her out like that?"

"She's overstaying her welcome."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Since when did Grace not care about her friends? He shook his head and walked over to his coat to get his phone. He dialed Karen's number and awaited an answer. Grace watched in disbelief as he began to speak to her.

"No, Kare, she didn't mean it. She just doesn't understand."

Grace threw her pencil to the table and grabbed her purse. She was so angry that she couldn't even think straight. She pushed past Will and walked out the door, on her way to find another place to live. She didn't belong with him anymore.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Karen was sitting cross-legged on Jack's bed with his head on her lap. She was running her hands through his hair as he read quizzes out of a teenage magazine. She giggled when she found out, from a quiz, how good of a kisser she was.

"I can't believe teenagers read this stuff. I would much rather find out by experience." Jack laughed and sat up to look at her. He mirrored her position and smiled. "What?"

"Can I play with your hair?" She giggled, for the millionth time that night, and turned around. She took her hair out of its clip and he ran his fingers through her curls. "We should get highlights tomorrow."

"Why, honey, do I need them?"

"Not really, but I do. It'll bring out the flecks of dark blue in my eyes."

"I was thinking about getting a haircut. Maybe we should go, honey." He grabbed her shoulders and leaned to her side, catching her gaze.

"No, don't cut it. Maybe you should just get it straightened. It would look softer."

They continued their talk about hair, girl talk. He was very excited that she was staying with him, even though her feelings had been hurt by Grace. But he knew that she wasn't too worried about their fight. It would soon be resolved. Their arguments always worked themselves out.

"Are you two here?" Will's voice made them jump in surprise. He made his way back to the bedroom to find them together on the bed, surrounded by magazines and nail polish. "I need your help. Grace and I had a fight, and she has been gone for like five hours. I'm worried about her."

"Did you call her parents, honey? Maybe she went to visit." He sat on the edge of the bed and shook his head.

"I called and they said that they haven't seen her. She was really angry with me when she left and she won't answer her cell phone." Jack and Karen both stood from the bed and began to get dressed. It was when Karen pulled her pajama shirt off over her head that Jack gasped. He picked up his discarded shirt and covered her with it.

"Karen, what the hell are you doing? Will is still in the room." She rolled her eyes and put a tee-shirt on.

"Poodle, he's gay too. Just get dressed, we need to find Grace." Will smiled at how Jack was always trying to protect Karen, even if it wasn't exactly necessary. She met Will's eyes and they shared a moment, a reminiscence of the night before. They finished dressing and all three of them hurried out of the building to look for Grace.

Karen tried calling her cell phone, but, unsurprisingly, she received no answer. All three of them even tried text messaging. It was late and they were searching everywhere for her. From smoky bars, to movie theaters, to the twenty-four hour bagel shop that she loved, they couldn't find her. They were worried, for certain, but they couldn't bring themselves to call the police. It seemed too soon for that.

"I'm going to go home and see if she's there." Jack announced when his eyes began to feel heavy. "I'll check the answering machines." He kissed Karen and Will goodbye before he made his way back towards their apartment building. They continued to walk down the sidewalk.

"Honey, do you think it's my fault?"

"She's just angry." He reached down and took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers. She furrowed her brow in confusion and looked at their seemingly innocent connection. He noticed her gaze and met her eyes. He quickly let go of her hand and looked forward, embarrassed. "Sorry."

"She told me that she felt like I was taking her place with you." She took his hand in hers, ignoring his gaze as she did so. They continued to walk hand-in-hand. "Is she right, honey? Am I getting in the way?"

"Of course you're not."

"Oh, honey, look! There she is!" Karen pointed ahead of them and they rushed to Grace, who was stationed at a light. She was waiting for the sign to say 'walk' and didn't notice her two friends rushing to her side.

"Grace, where the hell have you been?" Her head jerked towards Will in disbelief.

"What are you doing here?"

"Honey, we were worried about you." Grace held up her finger in Karen's face.

"I don't want to talk to you." Karen's mouth opened in astonishment, but she remained silent. She knew that they would never get anywhere if she began an argument. She watched as her two friends began to speak, wishing that she could help.

"Will, I'm not a child. You don't have to look after me."

"We were worried. You leave without saying anything, you won't answer your phone, what are we supposed to think?" She gave Will and Karen a look of anger, confusion. She tilted her head towards their hands, still intertwined. They looked to where her gaze landed and quickly separated, putting their hands in their coat pockets.

"What am I supposed to think?"

"What are you talking about?"

"It doesn't matter. I was on my way back to your apartment."

"Our apartment."

"No, Will, yours. I'm packing my things. Leo asked me to take him back and I said yes." Karen couldn't stand her own silence any longer. She couldn't let someone who she cared about so much throw her life away because of her.

"Grace, you can't…"

"Shut the fuck up, Karen." She began to walk away, but Karen forcefully grabbed her arm to pull her back. They were standing face to face and she had a tight grip on Grace, assuring that she couldn't walk away.

"I know that you're angry, honey, but…"

"Get your hands off of me."

"Stop interrupting me!" Her voice was louder than she meant for it to be, but it silenced Grace. Her mind was spinning and she couldn't help, but open her mouth and let her thoughts loose. "I'm sorry that you think you can be so easily replaced. You know how much we all love you and it's ridiculous to think that you can be so selfish when one of your friends needs help."

"You won't even tell me why you need help! How am I supposed to know why you're so crazy when you won't tell me? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I was raped at gunpoint, Grace. Feel better?" Her gaze was hard and her voice was cold. She released Grace's arm with a shove and turned to walk back to Jack's apartment, her hands deep in her pockets. Will and Grace watched her form hurry down the sidewalk until she was no longer visible.

"So, do you feel better?" Will's whisper took them out of their stupor. She met his eyes, apologetically. Her heart dropped at the sudden confession, and she felt so ashamed of herself. She wanted to hug Karen, apologize for her own behavior. She felt hatred for herself. Will gave her a look of shame before walking after Karen. She stayed frozen to her place on the sidewalk. She couldn't believe how selfish she had been.

----------

Tears were burning her eyes as she quickly walked down the sidewalk towards Jack's apartment. She tried her hardest to stop crying, but it seemed impossible with her confession. She didn't want to tell anyone. She hadn't even said the words aloud, except to Will, and even then it wasn't so direct. People passed by her on the sidewalk and she could feel their eyes on her, pitying her. It made her sick. She hurriedly ducked into an alleyway and leaned her back against a brick building, hiding from the eyes of strangers. She sobbed quietly.

Will hurried after Karen, wondering where she had gone to so quickly. He knew that she would have rather walked back to the apartment than take a cab so he could easily catch up to her. He was almost jogging when she caught his eye. Deep in an alley, Karen was leaned against a wall and crying, her face in her hands. He wouldn't have seen her if he hadn't stopped to catch his breath. He walked down the alley and put his hand on her shoulder. All he received in response was her hand slapping him away.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." She sniffled and wiped her cheeks.

"What the hell are you doing here? You should be with Grace."

"But I'm more worried about you." He took her face in his hands, wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks. "You told her."

"I know." He leaned forward and pulled her into an embrace, running his hands over her back. She sniffled and laid her cheek against his shoulder. "I just didn't want her to be angry with you."

"She's angry with herself, Kare." He kissed her cheek as they pulled away. Their eyes were locked and she felt a surge of electricity jolt through her stomach. His lips were warm against hers when he bent down and caught her in a gentle kiss. He tried to deepen it, but she quickly pulled away, a shy smile playing on her lips.

"We should go and tell Jack that she's okay, honey." They went home, hand in hand.