Disclaimer: I do not own any of the cast or crew of DC, nor do I own the show. This is purely fictional and for entertainment purposes. However, I do own the OC.

McKenzie called Jake and didn't get an answer. She didn't want Aubree to be at the hospital, but for now she would have to.

She walked into the ER and seen her brother and Chelsea.

"What happened?" She asked them.

Chelsea took Aubree and took her to get something from the vending machine.

"We were getting ready to start on the old Camaro and his speech became slurred and he couldn't feel the left side of his body then he collapsed."

"OMG, has anyone come out and said anything?"

"No." He said putting his head in his hands.

McKenzie has never seen her brother this way. She worked in the hospital setting and knew the procedure. They would probably be here awhile before they got any news. She called Mary and Mary said she would come and pick up Aubree. She prayed and walked outside to have a cigarette and called Zach. He didn't answer either, so she left a message. She had told him about her and Jake kissing. He was so pissed that he hung up on her and she hasn't talked to him since. She seen Mary pull up and met her out in the parking lot.

"Any news?" She asked.

"No, but I'm pretty sure it was a stroke."

Mary hugged the girl.

"Thank you for coming to the hospital." She told Jake's mom. "I just don't want Aubree."

"I understand." She said and her phone rang. "It's Jacob."

Jake didn't like the meeting he got out of. He didn't know what was in the future of the business and it scared him. He still couldn't get over the events that happened the night before. He was still lost for words when McKenzie said she couldn't. Maybe she thought that the only reason he was doing it was because he found out about her boyfriend. That wasn't true at all, but he did know something for sure. He wasn't going to let the boyfriend win. It was Jake's family and not the other guys.

"Man up, Jake." He told himself. "Don't let what happened last night stop you. She's just confused now."

He didn't know if he even believed that, but for now it was his only option.

He lit a cigarette when his phone rang. It was his mom.

"Hey, mom."

"Jake I need you to come to the hospital."

"Why? What's wrong?" He asked in a panic. "Who's hurt?"

"It's Mark…McKenzie called me and she said she thinks Mark had a stroke."

"What hospital?"

She told him the hospital and he made a fast u turn. He hung up and got to the hospital as fast as he could. It also brought back some painful memories for Jake. He hasn't been back to the hospital since his dad. He found a parking spot and went into the ER as fast as his legs would take him. He seen McKenzie and his mom. McKenzie stood up and Jake wrapped her in his arms.

"What's the news?" He asked. "Is he ok?"

"We don't know yet." McKenzie said in his chest letting out a sigh.

Matt came back with Aubree and Chelsea.

"Daddy!" The little girl yelled and ran up to him.

"Hi, Aubree." He said picking her up and kissing her cheek.

Even though it hasn't been but a week, the little girl bonded with her father. He was her world.

"Morris family?" A woman in scrubs asked.

"That's us." Matt spoke up.

"He's in fair condition right now." The nurse told them. "He's stable and resting."

McKenzie let out a thankful sigh.

An hour later, Aubree was getting cranky and everyone was outside.

"I'm going to stay here." McKenzie told everyone.

"I'm going to take Aubree home with me then." Jake told her.

McKenzie nodded and rubbed her eyes.

"You need some sleep too, honey." Mary told the girl.

"I know." She sighed. "I want to talk to the doctor first."

She nodded.

She kissed her daughter bye after she put the car seat in Jake's car.

"Be good for daddy and mommy will see you tomorrow."

"Love yew, mommy."

"I love you too baby." She said and looked at Jake. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me." He told her. "I'll call and check on you in a few."

She nodded and went back into the hospital. A few hours later, they finally put her father in a room and went up to see him. Since visiting hours were over she left.

McKenzie got into her car and rolled the window down lighting a cigarette. She looked at her phone and seen that Zach hadn't called back. She tried both his house and cell phones, and didn't get answers on either on. She texted him and waited on a response, and got none. She finished her cigarette and rolled her window up.

"So much, for being here for me, Zach." She said to herself.

She rode around for an hour, not wanting to go home, so she went to the only other place she knew that someone would probably be awake still….Jake's.

She pulled up at Jake's and got out. She knocked on the door and he answered a few seconds later.

"Did I wake you up?"

"No, I'm just watching a little t.v." He said.

"I didn't want to stay at the house alone." She told him.

"You're more and welcomed to stay here, Mac." He said as they sat down on the couch. "You can take the bed and I'll sleep on the couch."

McKenzie couldn't help thinking how cute he was wearing black and white basketball shorts and a yellow t-shirt. His dark hair was messy.

"Any more news about Mark?" He asked muting the t.v.

"No, but I want to go down to the house first thing."

He nodded.

"I hope he'll be ok." She said.

"He will be." Jake told her. "Do you need anything to sleep in?"

"Yeah."

They walked upstairs to Jake's room and he got out a pair of boxers and a DC t-shirt for her to wear. She went into the bathroom closing the door. She came out a few minutes later, yawning again.

"You should get some sleep." He said grabbing a pillow.

McKenzie pulled the covers back and got in. Jake went for the door.

"Jake?"

"Yeah?" He asked turning around.

"I don't want to be alone." She said. "Can you sleep in here with me?"

Jake thought about it for half a milli second and nodded. He went over to the bed and slid under the covers.

"Hold me, Jake."

Jake wrapped his arms around her and they both soon fell asleep.

Jake woke up at 5:45 and smiled. He has still holding McKenzie and she was in a deep sleep. He quietly got out of the bed after untangling himself from Mac. She sighed and rolled over. He went downstairs and let Duke outside. He took a shower in the downstairs bathroom and went into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee.

He wished that his mornings would be like this; McKenzie wrapped in his arms and his daughter sleeping in her crib in the next room.

He made himself a cup of coffee and sat down on the couch. McKenzie's cell phone started ringing on the coffee table. He looked at the phone and seen it was Zach and looked at the stairs.

"Plan A fucking bombed, so now it's time for Plan B." He said with a smile and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Who the hell is this?" The guy asked pissed.

"Who is this?"

"Put McKenzie on the phone, motherfucker!"

"Motherfucker?" Jake asked now getting pissed.

"Yeah, bitch. Put McKenzie on the damn phone."

"I don't think I will, bitch." Jake responded.

"I know who you are. You're the loser from that wack show. You ain't nothing but a drug addict."

"Is that right?" Jake asked with a chuckle.

He was really getting a kick out of taunting the guy.

"You won't ever have McKenzie again." Zach told him. "She left you and she came to me. I'm giving her what she needs and deserves. She damn sure didn't get it from you."

"Well she damn sure needed me last night, because she's sleeping in MY bed right now and not yours."

Jake heard the line disconnect and looked at the phone. He let out a laugh and deleted the call.

"Plan B, might just have worked." He smiled turning on the t.v.

He knew that McKenzie would be beyond pissed at him but he had to get that douche bag out of the picture one way or the other.

His daughter woke up 20 minutes later and he gave her some cereal and made a mental note to go to the store for groceries later.

McKenzie woke up and walked down the stairs stretching.

"I wanted to be at the hospital at 6."

"You needed to get rest or you wouldn't be a help to anyone." Jake told her.

She made herself a cup of coffee and kissed her daughter. She grabbed her phone from the table and looked for missed calls. She sighed when she didn't see any.

"Matt called and said he was bringing you some clothes from the house." Jake told her. "And that was 15 minutes ago so he should be here any minute."

"Thanks for last night." She told him blushing slightly. "I just was so emotional."

"I understand."

She nodded and sipped her coffee. Just like Jake said, Matt came over with a bag full of clothes.

"Don't worry…Chelsea picked them out." He told his sister.

"Where is she?"

Before he could answer, Chelsea walked in and hung up her cell phone.

"That was the doctor." She informed everyone. "He wants us to be there in an hour."

McKenzie headed upstairs to shower quickly and Jake would keep Aubree here with him.

Jake was playing with building blocks on the floor with her daughter when his front door opened. It was Josh.

"What are you doing?" Josh asked his little brother with a smile.

"Unca Josh." The little girl smiled.

"Playing with her."

"Where's McKenzie?"

"Oh shit, dude." Jake said forgetting. "I forgot to tell you that Mark had a stroke and he's in the hospital."

"Is he ok?"

"He was stable last night." Jake informed him.

McKenzie decided she didn't want to play with the blocks anymore. Jake put her in some more clothes and shoes. They walked outside and Aubree chasing Duke around. Jake told his brother about answering Mac's phone and arguing with her boyfriend and about deleting the call.

"Dude, she's going to find out and it's going to be brutal."

"Well the jackass didn't even respond back to her last night when she texted him about her dad." Jake told his brother.

"You went through her text messages too?" Josh asked and shook his head in disbelief. "Dude, I think that's 2 strikes."

Jake didn't feel bad about it, well not at the moment he didn't.

McKenzie was at the hospital all day. She called Jake off and on to check on her daughter. After finding out that her dad would be fine and would stay at the hospital overnight again, just to be on the same side. Now McKenzie didn't want to go back to Colorado. She called her job and requested a leave of absence. She extended her stay here for at least 3 more weeks. She told her dad the news and he was happy.

"Alright, daddy…if you need anything and I mean anything…call me." She said kissing her dad's forehead.

"I will." He said. "Go get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow."

She nodded and was on her way back to Jake's. She pulled up and didn't see Jake's car, so she called him.

"I'm on my way back from the store." He told her. "You know where the spare key is, just let yourself in."

She hung up and got out. She walked over to the flower-pot by the garage and moved it aside and picked up the spare key. She unlocked the door and went inside.

Jake came in holding grocery bags in one hand and Aubree in the other.

"Ok, now I don't know how woman take their kids to the grocery store." He said. "She wanted EVERYTHING!"

"Welcome to my world."

She took Aubree from his arms and followed him to the kitchen.

"Your dad getting out of the hospital tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll go pick him up when he calls." She told him. "I also took a leave of absence from work. Someone has to look after him for a few weeks."

"Well I'm glad and I'm sure Mark is too."

"He is."

"Oh, mom wants to babysit Aubree here tonight." Jake said.

"Babysit?" She asked confused. "Why?"

"I thought you could use a night out, so I'm going to take you out."

"I could use that." McKenzie said without thinking twice about it.

McKenzie was glad that Chelsea had packed some clothes from Aubree also earlier that day. Mary came and got Aubree and Jake and McKenzie got ready to go out.

Hours later, they were pulling back up at his house and went inside. They had drunk a few beers and shots at the restaurant and was a little buzzed. It was after 11 and Mary was flipping through a gossip magazine.

"She was so great." Mary told them. "She ate all of her dinner and was bathed and asleep by 9."

They talked for a few minutes and Mary left to go home.

"I had fun tonight, thank you." She told Jake.

"You're welcome." He said pulling two beers out of the fridge.

"I think we should talk about the kiss we had the other night." McKenzie said moving closer to Jake.

"What about it?" Jake asked looking down at her.

"I think we should try it again."

"No problem" He said sitting his beer on the counter.

He picked her up and sat her on top of the bar. The kiss was even steamier than the one before.

"Are you going to stop me?" He asked pulling away to look at her.

She shook her head and pulled him back to her. They pulled away for air both gasping.

"I wanna go to your room, Jake."

Jake picked her up again and took her upstairs.