LogicalGoth: Thanks!

SpiritoftheBlackRose: Yeah! Hooray! But don't get too happy...hehehe...

Softball has officially started, but I've got one more chapter before some delays. (but if you hit the little review button, I'll write a bit faster...heheh..)

"Gracie Lou!" Cheryl squealed as threw her arms around her best friend. "I'm so glad you're gonna be okay!" Eric grinned from the couch as Gracie was crushed by Miss United States.

"Glad to see you're fine too, Cheryl." Gracie managed to say through Cheryl's bear hug. It had been a week since the pageant finale, and Gracie was well on her way to recovery. Her face had lost most of the bandages, only one piece of tape by her left ear and the other covering a nasty cut underneath her right eye. The rest of her face had the rough look of marble; tiny cuts and scrapes were left in the skin from the tiara's diamonds. Her forearms were still wrapped tight, between the fractured wrists and second-degree burns she had to spend another few days in San Antonio. Cheryl was finally allowed to visit. She released her friend and pulled a thermos from her purse.

"I brought you some hot cocoa."

"Oh thanks… How's everyone else?" Despite Eric's constant reassurance, Gracie was still worried about her friends at the pageant.

"Well the FBI- or would that be you guys?" Cheryl asked pointing to Gracie and Eric, "It's still really weird, you being an FBI agent and being assigned to the pageant. If I could've gotten in that way I wouldn't ve had to-"

"Everyone's okay?" Gracie interrupted her.

"Oh, yeah. We can FINALLY go home today, and EVERYONE's so excited about that. Remember Miss New York? Karen? Her girlfriend Tina came and picked her up this morning. My parents think she's –"

"How's Mary Jo?"

"You broke her nose, but the doctor said she'd be alright. Once we got her some tacos, she calmed down. "

"Do you think she's still mad at me? I konked her pretty hard."

"Gracie…" Cheryl hesitated, and her voice started to crack. "We saw… we saw you get blown open. Everyone thought you were trying to steal the crown, and then..." she trailed off, staring down at the hospital blanket. "After the bomb went off everything just sort of stopped. We all stopped. Then your coach and him,: She motioned over to Eric, and swallowed. Tears ran down her face. "They ran over to you. I was crying, because I had just lost my crown, and then you were on the ground, shaking really bad, and they were trying to help you, and the the FBI showed up. No one knew what was going on, we didn't even know if you were…" She broke into sobs. "Gracie, I thought you were dead!" Gracie wrapped her arms around Cheryl, letting her cry. "Ms. Morningside and Frank…arrested… We all went back…hotel…couldn't leave… My parents called me…I couldn't talk… They finally explained that you were an FBI agent…I thought I was dreaming from all the pizza and beer and tubie thingies… They got me a new crown…"

Gracie held Cheryl tighter. God, crying ws awful.

"Cheryl, Cheryl… I'm alright. I'm gonna be alright. It's my job. It's my job to do what I did. It was your job to win the pageant. You're Miss United States. I'm-"

"A Hero." It was Cheryl's turn to interrupt. She squeezed Gracie tighter. "Thank you for being such an awesome friend. Here, I- we-have a present for you." She dug into her purse once again. "After the pageant there's always a farewell breakfast, but this year it was postponed, and we had to have it without you. It was really quiet. Everyone prayed before they ate anything, just like you did at orientation." She pulled out a big manila envelope. "Here."

It took Gracie a few tries to undo the string; she still couldn't use her fingers very well. She finally opened the flap, and pulled out an oversized "Get Well!" card. Inside was filled with 49 signatures and phone numbers, along with a piece of folded satin. She unfolded the satin, "Miss Congeniality" written in pretty cursive.

"The vote was unanimous."

"Oh, Cheryl!" Gracie threw her arms around Cheryl. Cheryl giggled. The door opened, and Assistant director McDonald walked in.

"Oh, excuse me, m'am, but this is Bureau business. I'm afraid you're going to have to leave."

"Oh," Cheryl was startled by Gracie and Eric's boss. She immediately stood up. "That's alright." She gave Gracie one final hug before snatching her purse and scurrying from the room. Gracie put her sash back in the envelope, but left the card out.

"How you feeling Hart?" He asked, looking down at her.

"I'm feeling better, sir." McDonald nodded, and turned to Eric.

"Matthews?" Eric stood up, organized his papers and handed them to McDonald.

"All set with the final reports, sir." McDonald scanned the report while Eric settled himself on the edge of Gracie's bed.

"Whoa…" Gracie whispered. She bent her head forward, massaging her temples.

"Gracie, you alright?" Eric asked, putting a hand around her.

"Yeah, I think…" She looked up at McDonald, then over at Eric. She blinked a few times.

"Gracie?"

"Hart?"

"Or not…" Gracie's eyes rolled back as she fell into her pillows. Eric immediately hit the blue button beside the bed.