ALLY:

I walked to my dad's hospital room. I saw my stepmother, Katie Gilroy-Dawson and I tightly embraced her. I had no step-siblings because Katie didn't have any kids of her own. My parents had been apart since I was nine years old- so sixteen years now. My dad met Katie when I was thirteen and they got married when I was sixteen.

I saw my dad laying in bed, laying there like he was dead, or at least, like the scene in Snow White and the seven dwarves, where she bit the poison apple and keeled over.

I asked Katie,

"How is he?"

Katie whispered,

"Lester hasn't moved in the last hour. But I have hope."

"Me too."

In attempt to lighten the mood a little bit, Katie asked me,

"How was work today?"

I sighed.

"It was so-so. Things that came out of my mouth at least three times were stop, no talking, watch your language, put your phone away, stop texting, etcetera, etcetera. I love my job, but at the same time, it can sometimes be all the gray hairs that I'm getting. Hell, I even had to raise my voice at my third period class because a lot of them were being so rude- talking, blowing bubbles with their gum, texting and the like."

My stepmother studied my hair.

"Stressful."

"I know. But otherwise, I like my students and my job, even though the salary is terrible, and sometimes my students' behavior gives me headaches, and I'm supposed to be the bigger person, which I am."

A doctor walked in, saying,

"I'm here to take some vital signs."

He pulled the electronic sphygmomanometer and wrapped the cuff on my dad's arm. His blood pressure was eighty over fifty. He took the stethoscope, listening to my dad's heartbeat. I asked him,

"Is my father OK?"

"Yes, I think your father will be fine. He has to stay in the hospital for up to seventy two hours."

Even though my dad probably couldn't hear me, I kissed him and I said,

"I wish you well."

I turned to Katie and asked her,

"Do you want a ride home, Katie?"

"That would be lovely. My car is at home considering I rode in the ambulance with your dad."

I said,

"Sounds like you could use a ride home."

My stepmother and I walked down to the parking lot, and I got her into my car, a white honda civic. I drove my stepmother back to her house and I said,

"I really hope my dad's OK."

"Me too. It scared the hell out of me. Your dad was having chest pain and he was sweating like an animal. I called 911 when he passed out on the ground."

"Good that you did that. I would miss him to death if he passed."

"Same here, sweetheart."

I pulled up in front of my dad and Katie's house.

"Thanks for the ride, Ally."

I said,

"You're welcome. I hope you're OK."

My stepmother said,

"I think I'll be fine. Same to you."

I hugged her and she kissed my cheek. She climbed out of my car. It was around four-thirty when I got home and I went to my mailbox. A cell phone bill from AT&T (AT&T had always been my carrier. I got the best deal), a credit card bill from Chase, the latest issue of Cosmopolitan and a postcard from A new smile dental center, my dentist's office, saying I was due for another checkup within two weeks. I looked at my calendar and decided next friday I'd go to the dentist, considering I worked at Starbucks Monday to Thursday from four to eight, and obviously my teaching job was Monday through Friday from eight-thirty to three.

I called the office and scheduled an appointment for next friday at four. I had just gotten to my apartment and I just sat down to watch some TV. I heard a knock at the door, it was Trish De La Rosa, my best friend of twenty years. She was in her work uniform- a light blue scrub top with Anna and Elsa from Frozen on it, light blue scrub pants and Nike sneakers, and her black hair was in big fluffy curls. She was looking at me sympathetically.

"Hey, Ally. I just came over to make sure you're OK."

"Thanks, Trish. I'm worried about my dad, but I think he'll be OK. I have hope."

Trish and her boyfriend, Jace Dillon, lived one floor above me. We hung out together all the time.

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Look I know Trish really ended up with Chuck on the show, but like I said, this is an AU. Because in all honesty I liked Trish with Jace as a couple best.)

"Need a hug?"

"Sure."

My best friend and I tightly hugged. Yeah, Trish at times cursed like a sailor, she was never a person you wanted to piss off, and she could get a little snarky at times, but she always knew when it was time to show off her sweeter, more sympathetic and caring side.

"Come in, have some Sangria and snack with me."

"Have I ever turned down Sangria? FUCK NO."

Unlike me, Trish was a registered nurse at the Pediatrics Associates pediatrician's office. So, she got paid to give shots, prick fingers and take vital signs on babies, kids, teens and anyone up to the age of twenty-one. Her salary was certainly better than mine. Mine was unbelievably and abhorrently shitty. But at least my Starbucks job was a semi-acceptable compensation for that.

I pulled a bottle of Sangria, two wine glasses, some red grapes, salami, cheddar cheese slices and triscuits. I grabbed the bottle opener, opened the bottle and poured Sangria into the glasses.

"How was your day?"

"It was very long, considering my dad just had a heart attack. My day at Kinloch Park was average though. Some of my kids behaved, some of them treated my classroom more like a three-ring circus than a classroom, Even though I did have to raise my voice at my third period class. Things that come out of my mouth on a daily basis are put your phone away, stop texting, stop talking, watch your language. I teach seventh and eighth graders, they should know how to act."

"At least you don't have to deal with tantrums from kids who get shots or have their fingers pricked. But they are fucking adorable nonetheless, and it's kind of fun."

"Yeah, I was just going to say, you shouldn't complain about kids considering you have a toddler daughter."

Trish and Jace had an adorable two-and-a-half-year-old daughter named Isabella (or as we often called her "Bella") and she was one of the cutest kids I had ever met. She was just so full of energy, happy all the time, and she was very sweet. I just loved how she was always calling me "Aunt Ally". Trish took another sip of Sangria and made a sandwich with the salami, cheese and french bread slice, and took a stalk of red grapes. She giggled.

"I do love my kid."

And bit into the sandwich she'd made.

"So what are you doing with those junior high kids?"

I said,

"For the past four weeks, I had my class read Oliver Twist, and I assigned them a paper on the book. I have faith that most of them will do the paper well. But I've said to my class before, it's better to turn in something, than to turn in nothing. Of course, I want them to put time and effort in their papers."

Trish told me,

"Of course you do. If I was a student in your class, I'd kick the asses of the miscreants and also kiss your ass."

I laughed.

"I'd certainly prefer you kissing my ass over how my third period class behaved today. I hate having to raise my voice, but I hate having to give commands more than twice even more, and I hate it when my kids take out their phones in class. It's so rude and linked to cheating. But just because my kids at times are very rude and disrespectful doesn't mean I don't like them. I like them, just not their disruptive behavior."

"You know, I like your teaching style. You're a soft, gentle, almost motherly kind of person, and then you command respect."

I said,

"That's the Ally Dawson dynamic."

She told me,

"Thanks, Ally for the snacks. I gotta run home to Jace and Bella. Again, I'm sorry about what happened to your dad, if you need anyone to talk to, feel free to talk to Jace or I. I'm here, mamacita."

I smiled.

"Thanks, Trish."

I hugged her tightly and she picked up her white and gold chanel purse and headed out.

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: I decided to skip ahead to the next week to avoid filler. Nobody likes filler)

So I got a lot of papers on the Oliver Twist. I had between twenty-four and thirty kids in my class, seven periods a day. So that meant I had to read the papers (which I didn't mind doing. Reading had always been one of my hobbies, and after all, I was an english teacher) and grade them and add comments. So I had like over one hundred papers to grade- Yipee.

It was going to be a very tedious process for me. On the bright side, Katie had texted me, saying my dad was out of the hospital. But he was still off of work for five weeks. But what I cared about most was that he was alright.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

It's about the reviews. If you guys are going to leave reviews that you want me to update, that's fine, but please, don't say hurtful things to me. Recently, I got a review from a person, I'm not naming names, who called me a "dumbass". It kind of hurt my feelings. Also, the same goes for criticism. It's alright if you want to give me constructive criticism. In fact, I think it's great, it actually helps me improve my writing. But if you don't like my stories, just don't read them. Just don't be hurtful.

But all of that aside, I love all the reviews you guys give me. I strive to please you guys.