Thank you for your reviews. Thank you for all the kind words for myself, too. I know it's been a little bit since I posted, but I wanted to get ahead again in the story before I tried updating. I'm about three chapters ahead, so I feel safe enough to post this. I really, really like this chapter because I think it shows some interesting progress in Austin and Ally's relationship, but also gives headway for speed bumps that are to arise, too. You don't think just because Ally gave Austin a pretty sweet lava lamp that all is going to be well, do you? Nope. Sorry, we're only a few chapters in. Most of you should know I'm not that nice. ;) Hehe. That said, I love watching chapters grow and evolve and I think others can appreciate that, too. :)

Let me know what you think. Enjoy!


Ally wanted to think what she said to Austin was just the truth. His injury was disgusting to look at – but watching that blonde girl run from the room like some sort of child infuriated her and she couldn't place why. It also made her feel something toward him she hadn't yet—this so called empathy, maybe even sadness. Hearing him cry out from the hallway sent chills down her spine and while she wasn't ready to start singing about rainbows and bake cupcakes with him, she wanted him to be aware that what the girl did was not right.

Besides, it only took a minute or so to figure out why Ally thought she looked familiar. She was the girl who stole her dress back at the boutique in the mall about a month ago. She automatically was on Ally's bad side, one you didn't want to get on.

Watching him sleep for a few minutes—the first time he looked peaceful all day—Ally couldn't take it anymore. She hated this feeling, the feeling of helplessness and anger, and charged out of the room and down the stairs. Perhaps it felt like an hour, but the clock said it'd only been fifteen minutes since the scene with his girlfriend, and she knew if she sat in there any longer, she might go actually mad.

What she didn't expect was to find the blonde girl sitting on a bench outside the rehab facility, knees to her chest with wide, tear-stained eyes. Ally didn't feel sorry for her. She'd feel sorry for her if she was up in that room, watching her boyfriend sleep. No. She wanted to strangle the pretty porcelain-skinned doll with her bare hands.

Piper didn't see her yet—she was hidden by an overgrown bush and silently, she was thankful for that. Ally needed to check her anger before she did something she would regret.

Then, a snap of a tree branch gave her position away and Piper looked up in alarm.

As if she didn't notice Ally in the room earlier, her eyes rolled. "If you're stalking me over that dress, you can have it. I don't need it anymore."

Ally snorted, "That dress has been out of style for two weeks, not that you'd ever know that."

The blonde sniffled. "Then what the heck do you want?"

Heck. How cute. Ally shook her head, "Aren't you curious to why I'm here?"

"Quite frankly, no. I don't know you—and I've had a really bad morning so in case you want to start some sort of cat fight out here on the pavement, here's my answer: go away."

"He's had more bad mornings than you have had in the last few weeks," she countered without second thought.

Piper looked at her, "What?"

She crossed her arms, shaking her head. "Your boyfriend, dumbass. The boyfriend who clearly loves your pathetic, knock-off wearing, bad hair dye job sporting disaster in which you are." She stepped closer, giving her a look she knew would send most girls running out of fear. She was good at it, and she noticed Piper retreat a bit on the seat—she gave the girl credit, she didn't flat out leave. "I don't care for him too much myself, but even I wouldn't pull what you just did."

"Go away."

"Maybe you should go back in there and grow a pair. Be there for him. He needs someone."

She didn't answer.

"Pathetic," she muttered, knowing it was a lost cause, but then she heard her shuffle on the bench.

Piper turned her confusion into a rage-driven retort, "You don't know me. You don't know anything about me." She pointed a finger. "And you definitely don't know anything about me and him."

"I don't have to," she replied easily. "People like you are a dime a dozen, sweetheart." She glanced down at her cross, which she'd started to rub the moment Ally began speaking to her. "You hold onto your religion like some sort of life jacket when I'm pretty sure you are committing a sin. You are supposed to love someone in sickness or in health." She twisted her head to the side, and then laughed coldly. "Much like most of the church, I'd assume. Preach and preach about being a good person when in reality, you're no better than the rest of us." Ally gave her one last sickening smile. "At least I'm aware of who I am."

That got her going and Piper stood up, stumbling the distance between them so that they were eye to eye.

"What are you going to do?" Ally teased.

Piper just glared, "You have no right to come over here and say these things to me. I repeat: you don't know me. You don't know Austin, either. I don't know who the heck you are, or how you suddenly know my boyfriend, but I am asking you nicely to go away now, before you regret it."

Ally laughed, "Or what? You're going to hit me? Insult me?"

Before Piper could get another word in, a minivan pulled up beside them. A woman who resembled her rolled the window down and obliviously waved at Ally like she knew her, telling Piper to hurry, she was going to be late for a job interview. With one last (frightened) glare, Piper turned her back and walked to the car, leaving Ally with a pleased smile on her face.

From the Ground Up

In his nightmares, one of two things happened since the accident. The first was that he awoke at the scene of the accident and found Dez, dead in a pool of his own blood. He sometimes would find him only minutes before he died, and watched him choke to death before him before he could do anything to help. He often wondered if this had anything to do with Dez's absence in his life following the accident, but somehow, even despite him not being there, he hated and felt gutted by watching his best friend suffer.

The other nightmare was worse in a different way. He sometimes felt awake in these nightmares… and he was fine. He had both of his legs, and they worked like they were supposed to. He could run, jump, and do any sort of physical activity he dreamed of without pain, fear, or spasm. Nurse Wendy said these kinds of nightmares would happen the rest of his life… they would start out innocent enough, where he was running for sport, or swimming in a pool, and then he would suddenly look down and notice he was injured.

It didn't make it any easier, especially when he woke up the morning after Piper walked out screaming, only to see Ally in the corner of the room in that damn chair, staring at him like he was a wild man. He didn't have enough energy to say a word, only shifted the bed covers around him, glancing at the clock. Somehow, the nurses let him sleep in until nearly eleven am. He was pretty sure he had a therapy appointment that morning.

As if she read his mind, Ally finally spoke, "Your physical therapist stopped by about a half hour ago. She said she would reschedule your appointment for later. You looked peaceful."

He wanted to laugh at the irony.

There was a brief pause.

"Are you alright?"

Austin's eyes narrowed at how nice she was being. Dressed today much more sensibly than the other morning, Ally sat there in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt with an unreadable look on her face. Her hair was even tucked away in a ponytail, and her make up was to a minimum. It was all he had in him not to ask with a grin if she was on her period.

Instead, he just shrugged. "I guess."

She didn't elude to any further assistance.

Austin sat there for a few minutes following this, feeling uncomfortable in more ways than one. His throat hurt from screaming himself awake, his body ached from laying in the same uncomfortable position, and he was pretty sure the spasm in his leg was getting worse—and since the doctors had noticed that he could feel this burning pain in his amputated leg, it seemed as if the pain was unbearable. He could only explain it as if someone was putting a fire on your leg and letting it sit there, minus the actual burns.

Finally, Ally made a frustrated noise. "You're sweating and look like you're constipated. Should I get a nurse?"

Austin bit back surprise at how well she was reading symptoms he hadn't even noticed. He didn't have an answer for her, but she took it upon herself to walk over to his bed and gently pull back the blanket to expose his injuries. While he felt the burning, the sudden gush of what he assumed would be cool air went unnoticed to his lower extremities.

"What are you doing?"

"I said you were sweating," she repeated. "You cannot regulate your lower body temperature anymore, so I am trying to do that for you."

"How did you learn that?" he couldn't help but ask. It was probably the first medical-related thing he'd heard her say, and he couldn't hide the impressed tone that came out.

"I have been reading your file," she said, walking over to the sink and rinsing a towel with the cold water. "Here. Put this on your forehead. I'd like to see if I can get it under control before I have to call a nurse." Then, she sat down in the chair nearest his bed. "And I've been doing research online."

"Why?"

Ally bit her lower lip, as if admitting this pained her, "I wanted to understand more." She glanced at the door and then added, "Cassidy seems to know a lot about Jake's condition and I do not want to look like an idiot in front of her."

He huffed out a laugh, a wry smile breaking out on his lips. He should've known. There was no interest in him; he just didn't want to be out done by the pretty strawberry blonde a few rooms down. "Figures."

Her eyes narrowed, "What does that mean?"

He figured he probably shouldn't start a fight—especially when she had been right. With the cool compress on his head now, he could feel the itching of his skin disappear, and even the spasms seemed to calm down somewhat, but he was pretty sure he was on a regulated medicine for that, so maybe that was why. Ally had just saved him a half hour of poking and prodding by one of the nurses.

"Nothing. Nevermind."

They sat in silence again, Ally satisfied by his answer enough to not argue back.

Then, when he felt more human, he shrugged his shoulders a bit and asked, "Can you grab the chair?"

"Sure."

Ally walked back over, wordlessly locking it into place and offering her arm to help him into a sitting position. He thought following the accident that he was strong enough in his upper body to have the strength to pull himself around, but Austin discovered that more of his upper body strength was greatly supplemented by a strong set of abs and lower body muscles. Without them, he was only as strong as probably Ally. He didn't like asking for help, but he was not yet there most days to transfer himself from bed to chair as of yet.

Ally, much to his surprise, put her arm on his shoulder and got herself into a position so that she could help him ease over. A part of him knew that she had witnessed the physical therapy nurse transfer him into the chair a couple times, and was aware just how tender and fragile his 'good' leg was despite the inability to feel it. She was careful to maneuver him and herself in a way that didn't put any unnecessary pressure on it.

He would've thanked her, but he didn't want to give her too much satisfaction.

"Where are you going?" she asked, unlocking the wheels.

He shrugged, "Dunno yet."

"It's sunny today," she called after him, and he smiled when he was sure she couldn't see him.

"And?"

"I thought maybe you were going to make another run for it," she deadpanned.

He pointed down to his useless legs, "Can't exactly do that, can I?"

She laughed, only stopping herself when she realized that she had.

Austin spun his wheels back around, smirking to himself. He let her catch up to him as the neared the elevator, and then he admitted that he did have a plan, "I am going to find Jake and I am going to ask the nurses very nicely to go outside so that I can enjoy the sun for a bit. I hear there is a physical therapy set up out back and I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

She didn't answer, but followed along. They met up with Cassidy and Jake near the doors, and the nurses okayed the outing as long as Cassidy and Ally were with them, and keeping a careful eye. He wondered what that exactly meant—did people really try to escape the rehab facility, or were they worried for their wellbeing in an area that was not really as handicap proof as they liked?

This was especially true for the worn, cracked sidewalk. It had many dips and jets in it, making it especially hard to wheel himself through the area and to the backyard. Even Jake struggled with using his crutches in the right place. Austin hit a particularly bad patch of pavement and he jutted forward, grabbing onto the chair to balance himself last second. Ally didn't say a word, but chatted with Cassidy, who he noticed out of the corner of his eye was watching him.

There was a brief silence in the girl's conversation before Cassidy blurted, "Austin, would you like me to push you?"

Ally stopped when this was said, and he couldn't help but be relieved by the gesture. It was harder than it looked to keep yourself balanced (without his ab muscles or lower body muscles, keeping himself upright was becoming a challenge) and push the chair at the same time. He didn't like admitting that he needed help, but falling out of the chair and onto the hard ground didn't exactly sound like fun, either.

"That would be great, thank you," he said quietly, and he swore he saw Cassidy shot Ally a look of annoyance as she started walking again.

She placed a hand on his shoulder before starting to push him through the bumpy tertian. Finally, they made it to the back area of the facility, seeing different equipment that could be used for various trauma related injuries. There was also a section for outdoor picnic dining, and instead of going toward the equipment, the group went there.

Jake looked more than relieved to sit down and rest. His face had gotten red and blotchy from the execution of also keeping himself upright. Cassidy seemed like a nurse type, Austin soon realized, as she immediately pulled a bottle of water out of a bag and gave it to him, removing the crutches so that he could be more comfortable. Looking at Ally, he noticed that she seemed almost uneasy. How could two girls that couldn't be more different be going into the same profession?

"How was physical therapy this morning?" Jake asked him, breaking a silence that they'd acquired.

He shrugged, "Apparently slept through it."

"Wait, they let you?" Jake whined. "They never let me do that."

He offered him a tiny smile, more preoccupied by how distant Ally seemed, even for her stuck-up self. He wanted to make a comment about it, but he didn't want to risk an argument in front of Cassidy or Jake. They had no idea just how rough their relationship really was.

"This sun feels amazing," he said instead, leaning his head back so that he could feel the warm southern sun on his face. He missed the lake. He missed it so, so much.

"I could use a nice sun tanning day myself," Cassidy agreed and he bit back a laugh. She was pale as could be and littered with freckles—how could the girl even tan?

"I tan, thank you very much," she laughed, giving him a look.

"Did I say that out loud?" he laughed as well. "Oops."

"Very unkind of you, Mr. Moon," she teased.

Austin grinned back, "It's the brain injury. Makes me a bit loopy."

"The one you were born with, I assume?" she immediately retorted. "Because I do believe your brain is quite fine otherwise."

"Ooh, low blow," Jake crowed. He glanced at Ally. "You okay over there, Ally? Seem a bit distracted."

She glanced up from picking at her nails, giving him a weak smile. "Just tired."

"Yeah?" he said. He grinned ear to ear at her, not picking up on how rude she could really be. "Me too. But I crutch-raced one of the other guys across the hallway earlier. Might be why I am."

She gave him another weak smile and he wanted to snort. She could at least pretend to care. "What are we doing for lunch?" Cassidy asked. "I'm starving."

Jake poked her, "You're always starving!"

The two bickered for a moment like they knew each other longer than four days, and a part of Austin was envious. Then, before he could process his jealousy any further, Ally peered up with a gentle smile this time, "I could go get us some fast food. Greasy cheeseburger, maybe? I think that can solve a lot of the world's problems."

Cassidy's eyes widened, "Oh my God, yes."

"You sound like you just had an orgasm," Jake snorted at her. "Good Lord."

The two continued to bicker as Ally gathered her things, having made an agreement seconds before to get them food. There was a brief pause, and then Austin stated, "Hey, can you get me a milkshake too please? I'd love a chocolate one."

He was surprised when she smiled genuinely at him and nodded. "Chocolate is my favorite, too."

Time went slowly, especially when you were stuck in a wheelchair watching two lovebirds flirt like children. Cassidy was much more professional than Jake, as she was working but when he made a comment, she didn't hide her responses by any means. About ten minutes after Ally left, Austin felt the pain returning in his lower leg. Without the IVs he was attached to in the morning, there was not a constant flow of different medications coursing through his body. He didn't want to bother either of them though, and figured he'd wait for Ally to get back.

It took another antagonizing twenty minutes, and by then the pain was so bad that he was digging his nails into the cushioned part of his chair so that he didn't alert his friends. It seemed like common sense to let them know there was something wrong, but they were so happy with each other, he didn't want to be a burden.

Then, Ally walked back over, holding several decorated paper bags and nearly dropped them when she saw his expression, and a part of him felt stupid.

From the Ground Up

Ally couldn't stand how happy Jake and Cassidy seemed with each other, especially when she'd been more than civil with Austin all morning to get a very recluse, almost polite response from him back. It only made her feel worse when she neglected to notice Austin struggle along the sidewalk and have Cassidy offer assistance instead. But like she told Austin that morning, she had been doing research the night before (three pages of notes—detailed notes, thank you) and was trying to understand his condition, perhaps more for selfish reasons but still to help him, too.

That's when she saw how pale he was-holding bags of soggy, grease-filled food-and how clammy his skin looked from a distance. She all but jogged the rest of the way over, dropped the food in front of her friends and for once was as professional and calm with him as she could be.

"What is wrong?"

It seemed to alarm him that she realized, but she was relieved when he didn't lie, "I am in agony," he whispered quietly. "It's my leg—damned thing feels like it's going to burn itself off."

Ally stood back up and she saw Jake give a curious, also worried glance in his direction. She caught his gaze and she nodded once, as if to say I'm aware, don't worry. She then glanced back toward the front of the rehab facility, knowing it was quite a distance away and that the bumpy ride back might irritate his dysfunctional body further.

"Do you want me to go get a nurse?" she whispered.

He contemplated his options.

"Or I can wheel you back inside, but they're going to know something is wrong then. If a nurse comes out and pretends you're late for medication, no one will make a fuss."

He appreciated that and then he nodded. "Yeah."

"Alright." She dusted off her sweatpants and forced a smile. "Sorry guys. I forgot something in my car. Be right back."

With a final look in Austin's direction (God, how could someone pale that bad?) she ran off and practically flew all the way to the second floor where she explained the situation to Wendy. Wendy cursed and shook her head, and a part of Ally wondered if this morning's issues never really went away, were only masked for some time. She saw the nurse grab a few things out of locked containers as well as some other unfamiliar items to her and usher her to follow.

Together, they walked back outside and made it seem like they were chatting. Ally was appreciative of how Wendy made it seem like she'd forgotten something and gently pushed him a distance away. Ally watched for a second, but then sat down, opening her bag of now cold fries and damp cheeseburger, which she ate wordlessly until Wendy pushed Austin back. He was still deathly pale and his amputated leg was spasming, but he didn't seem as much in pain. Whatever she gave him seemed to work quick.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

He shook his head, "Sorry. Not after that."

She came forward, reaching to where she'd laid the drinks in a hurry. "The milkshake might be a better option."

There was a brief pause and he smiled at her, "Chocolate always is."