Playing an instrument of any sort, particularly his clarinet, always relaxed Jeffrey, but it wasn't doing much good tonight. No matter how deeply he tried to engulf himself in his music he just couldn't seem to forget that, downstairs, his fiancé and his best friends sat, debating the fate of their father.

Trying to distract himself, he replayed the last run a few times. He was having troubles with the trills. But even then, it didn't take him but a second to notice when the light from the room next to his went on. The light was shut off again, rather quickly, and was followed by the sound of a window opening and then slamming shut.

Curious, he pressed his nose against the window, trying to see out. The sight was one he should have expected. Skye was sitting on the roof, hugging her knees, and talking on her cell phone. Smiling gently, he opened his own window and crawled out next to her.

"Yes, we've decided to try that treatment plan. ... If it doesn't take effect, then we will really have no other option but to end it there. ... Yes, you're right. Thank you so much, Dr."

Well, apparently they had come to a decision. It was the one he would have made, too. Quietly, Jeffery scooted closer to Skye, sliding his arm around her shoulders. She relaxed into him.

"That was a hard choice to make, Skye, but I think you did the right thing."

"I know. A fool would refuse a new treatment plan. At this point, it would be murder not to try it." She sighed heavily as her body slumped. "But if it doesn't work, we're going to murder him anyways. Oh, God."

"Skye... It isn't murder; it's love. You have to love someone very, very deeply in order to be able to do something that will hurt yourself, even if it does put them out of misery. And it's what Mr. Pen would have wanted."

"I know. The last thing that Daddy would have wanted was to be a vegetable, but that doesn't really make our part any easier."

"No, it was never going to be an easy choice. What's the time frame for this new treatment?"

"They'll start it tomorrow morning, and we should be seeing effects by tomorrow at around noon. If we don't see anything by four that evening, then -"

Here she cut herself off, unable to finish the rest of the sentence. Jeffrey squeezed her shoulders and learned over to kiss her temple.

"Well, then. I guess will have to just wait and see..."

The next day, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon...

Jeffrey was in Batty's room, seated at her piano. It was a small, upright, but it was still a piano. He was trying to play Rachmaninov's 3rd Piano Concerto, and was having a bit of trouble with it. The fact that it had no key signature only added to his difficulties. He was just working on a very complicated run, full to the brim with accidental sharps and flats, when the door burst open and Skye flew in.

She slammed the door behind her, and strode over to the window. Ad then she just stopped, and stood there, staring out at Gardam Street. Concerned, Jeffery got up from the piano and, hesitantly, walked over to stand behind her.

"Well?" He asked quietly.

"Well, what? We have an hour left, and nothing's happened!"

"We still have an hour... A lot can happen in an hour."

"Jeffrey, I don't know if I believe that, but it sure sounds nice."

All of the sudden, without any warning, she spun around to face him and planted a hearty kiss on his mouth. He responded almost instantly. For the past two days, any kisses they had shared had been him kissing her, offering her comfort. But this was different. This was more of how it used to be; the two of them, kissing each other for the thrill of it. Not because one of them needed the reassurance that there was still someone alive who loved them, but because they loved each other, and it felt good to share something.

This was not the soft, chaste, kiss of comfort. This was the kiss of love, desire, and pent up despair. Through this kiss Jeffery could taste all of the emotion that Skye had been concealing for the past 36 hours. A tablespoon of love, a touch of heartbreak, and a pinch of despair.

They both moved into it. In a time of such deep grief, they were starved for basic, simple, love. Had they been less involved in each other, they would have noticed the noise of heavy footsteps running up the stairs, and they would have had time to break apart before Batty burst in on them. As it was, the poor girl was treated to the sight of her sister and her soon-to-be brother-in-law kissing by her window.

"You do realize that this is my room, don't you?" She asked, chuckling. Startled, the two pulled away, blushing. "This is the second time I've caught you in this situation. Do you guys ever do anything else?" She grinned at the murderous look on her sister's face. "Never mind, don't answer that. Dr Thompson is on the phone, Skye. She wants to talk to you."

"What?! What did she say?"

"Just that she wanted to talk to you..." But it was too late. Skye was already halfway downstairs.

"Hello? Dr Thompson? ... Yes, this is Skye. What's the matter?" The whole family watched as Skye's whole face lit up, her eyes filling with tears. "Really? Are you sure? ... Oh, Dr Thompson! Oh, we'll never be able to thank you enough! Yes, we'll be right over! Thank you again!"

Silently, she hung up the phone and turned around to face her family. A grin took over her face as she broke out laughing, tears of joy running down her face. "He's waking up! It worked!"

Well, things should be more cheerful from here on out. :-) Finally... Please keep the reviews coming. Even if they aren't perfectly positive, I enjoy them. :-) If you have any ideas as to should should happen, please let me know. I need all the help I can get, as you well know.