As a child, the one thing Emily always wanted more than anything else was a sister. She had said as much to her mother once and been crushed by the response that it was never going to happen. Naturally, when she found out Micah had a sister, Emily had been delighted. Joyce and Micah already felt like family, so it was fantastic to know there was yet another Barnes with the potential of filling the sister role in her life. Micah was curiously reticent about the two meeting, making disparaging comments about his sister's choices and behaviors, but that was normal behavior for older brothers, right?

As it turns out, Micah's concerns were completely justified thinks Emily now, sitting with Liz Barnes at a table in the hospital cafeteria, clutching her coffee and desperately trying to think of something to say in order to fill the awkward silence. Liz is scowling, sunk into her chair and picking at the polish on one of her fingernails. Emily wonders for the hundredth time how such a sullen and unruly person could possibly belong to the Barnes family she knows. She also wonders again why she ever thought volunteering to spend time with Liz was a good idea.

"Stupid question, Emily." her mind immediately answers. "You are doing this for Micah and Joyce, so make an effort. Find something… anything…to talk about!"

"So do you have a boyfriend?" she asks, trying the first topic that comes to her mind.

"Sort of" says Liz, not even looking up. "He's kind of boring, so I'm thinking about breaking it off."

"Oh" says Emily, awkwardly.

She tries again. "Your mom said you work at a hair salon. That must be interesting."

"I quit." states Liz bluntly, looking directly at Emily as if challenging her to comment.

"Huh." says Emily, trying to mask her chagrin by quickly taking a sip of coffee.

Liz leans forward suddenly, still looking at Emily, her eyes narrowing.

"So what's going on between you and my brother?" she asks.

Emily almost chokes on her drink.

"Nothing" she stammers.

Liz sits back in her chair, smirking. "Liar" she says. "I've seen the way you two look at each other, and my mom won't stop talking about you. It's like you're the one who's actually her daughter or something."

"That's not true" Emily replies defensively. "Your mom was really excited that you were coming. She even showed me a bunch of pictures from when you were a kid."

"Well I bet Mouse wasn't happy." snorts Liz. "He is so full of it sometimes! He thinks he's so much better than I am just because he's a big fancy doctor or something." Liz's voice is thick with irritation and her volume is beginning to rise.

"I'm sure Micah loves you." says Emily gently, "He probably just worries about you. Isn't that what big brothers are supposed to do?"

Liz's eyes narrow. "You think he's right to be worried about me, don't you?" she challenges.

Emily, realizing she has just trapped herself, takes another sip of coffee and looks towards the entry, hoping desperately that Micah will come around the corner and save her from this conversation.

"What is so wrong with who I am?" Liz exclaims, slamming her hands down on the table, and causing the other people in the cafeteria to look their direction.

Emily shoots an apologetic smile in the direction of the closest occupied tables as her mind reels. This conversation is going to spin completely out of control if she doesn't figure out how to rally in the next few moments.

"We've all got our own stuff to deal with." Says Emily quietly. "You should hear how badly I screwed up this week."

"I'm listening" says Liz, calming as she waits expectantly for Emily to talk.

So Emily takes a deep breath and tells Liz about her crush on Will, her enmity with Cassandra, her confusion in developing feelings for her boss, and the night with Will a few days ago that has strained things with Micah to the point that she wonders if it will ever be repairable.

When she finishes, Liz sits quietly for a moment, before finally taking a sip of coffee. "You're really messed up" she says.

Emily lets out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "Do you have any advice on how to fix things with Micah?"

"Are you really sure you want to date him?" asks Liz dubiously.

"Yes!" exclaims Emily. "Will was a mistake….a giant, colossal mistake. I just…I had wanted him for so long, that when he showed up at my door I turned into Old Emily again. And now Micah can hardly even speak to me."

"Does my mom know?" asks Liz, clearly still pondering the situation.

"I don't know" groans Emily, putting her head in her hands.

"Probably not" says Liz suddenly. "Mouse is pretty protective that way, so I doubt he's told her. That's good for us, 'cause I know she really likes you."

Emily looks up at her in surprise. "Us?"

"Here's what we're going to do" says Liz, leaning conspiratorially towards Emily, her eyes narrowing again. "I'm going to talk to Mouse and see if I can't get him back on your side, but if you guys start dating, you have to promise me you'll stick up for me when he starts to get all judgmental."

"Okay" says Emily, still in shock from the drastic change in Liz's attitude and the direction the conversation has taken in the last few minutes.

"You're okay, Emily Owens" says Liz taking another sip of her coffee and sitting back in her chair. "A little anal, maybe, but that's probably why my family likes you so much. I can see how you'd be good for my brother."

Emily is speechless.

"So what time is Mom supposed to be done with her lab work?" asks Liz suddenly, checking her watch.

"We could go check" says Emily invitingly.

"Okay" says Liz, rising. "The coffee in this hospital tastes like crap." She says in disgust, pitching her cup into the trash.

"Right?" agrees Emily with a smile. "The doctors usually get their coffee at the coffee cart across the street. I don't know why Micah didn't tell you that."

"Probably thought I would do something stupid and he would never be allowed to get good coffee again" says Liz with a snort.

Emily laughs good-naturedly although she hasn't really been listening. She is too distracted by the fact that not only has she successfully bonded with Liz Barnes, but she's feeling hopeful about the Micah situation for the first time in days.

"I knew having a sister was a good thing", she thinks contentedly as they walk down the hall towards the elevator.