At 6 o'clock that night the pizza that Darlene arrived and Jackie, Becky, Mark, David, D.J. and Darlene sat at the kitchen table chowing down. Jerry was next to Jackie in his high chair.

Darlene was at the far end of the table, and had a creepy feeling for two reasons. One she was sitting at her dad's spot at the head of the table and two this was the family's first ever meal at the dinner table after her mom died. Also it was the first dinner all those people had eaten at that table without her mom and dad.

The creepy feeling loomed in the air as everyone, sat quietly just eating. Jerry was the noisiest as he gripped his plastic baby spoon and waved it in the air muttering baby gibberish.

The creepy feeling subsided when there was a knock on the door. Jackie stood up and answered it. She grimaced when she realized it was her mother.

"Mother?" Jackie said, and the whole family gathered in the room. DJ took Jerry from the high chair and went in the living room too.

"I've come here because I want to talk to my grandchildren. ALONE." Bev said, her words directed at Jackie.

Jackie went quiet and switched her weight from one leg to the other and crossed her arms. She looked at each of her nieces and nephews and quietly decided to leave the room. Mark and David followed her into Dan and Roseanne's room.

When they were gone, Bev sat on the chair but at the end like she was going to be brief. Bev held her purse in front of her with both her hands.

The kids sat on the couch and glared at their grandma. DJ sat Jerry in his lap, and held him up with his hands under his arms.

"I wanted to talk to you alone because I wanted to know how you all feel about your father taking care of Jerry." The kids all gestured with their hands and sighed in disgust.

"I knew it. I knew it." Becky muttered shaking her head. D.J. glared daggers at Bev.

"Now I know which parent mom inherited her "bitch" gene from…" Darlene said looking at no one in particular.

Bev watched all this in disbelief. "That is not nice, Darlene. Your father is an alcoholic, I will not let five month old grandson be raised by a hopeless alcoholic."

Darlene smiled as her next words formed in her head. "Why not? You let your own kids be raised by a child beater."

Bev sat straighter and grew more sternly. "That was different. I was there."

Becky shook her head again. "Your right grandma it was different. But it was also worse because you let your kids get beat."

Bev held her ground, but said through gritted teeth. "That was the past. I will not let Jerry be raised alone by an alcoholic."

D.J. moved Jerry off his leg and handed him to Becky in the middle. He stood up defensively.

"Dad is not an alcoholic. We learned about Alcoholics in DARE and the cop told us that alcoholics start shaking when they go without drinking and the only way they'll stop shaking is if they drink again. When the cop said that alcoholics drink way more than other people I thought you were right and dad was one until I never saw him start to shake! Besides that mom would never let him be an alcoholic!" DJ was shouting at the top of his lungs and Jackie and the boys came in the living room.

Jackie had a concerned look on her face as she looked at her nieces and nephews.

"Mom what in the hell are you saying to them?" Jackie asked as Bev sat innocently.

D.J. looked at Jackie, but pointed at Bev. "She's saying she won't let Jerry be raised by dad because she says Dad is an alcoholic!" D.J. was still yelling but he had tears in his eyes and voice was cracking.

Jackie's expression went from concerned to anger. She launched forward and pulled her mom by her shirt and led her to Dan and Roseanne's room.

Jackie closed the door. "How dare you call Dan an alcoholic in front of his kids!"

Bev stood there emotionless. "The man is an alcoholic. How can you tell me that he has any business raising a child?" Bev's attitude went unchanged.

"Dan's life is hell. His father married his friend and had kids; he lost his dream with the bike shop and had to go back to drywall, Becky blamed him for everything wrong with her life and ran off and got married, he went to jail, Roseanne wouldn't let him have anything to do with the problems she was having with her pregnancy, he found out that his mom was mentally ill all his life and that was why HE was the one that had to commit her to a mental hospital. Dan may drink to cope with all of this but he isn't an alcoholic."

Bev replayed Jackie's recount of Dan's life in her mind and zeroed in on one thing in particular. "Dan went to jail?"

Jackie rolled her eyes and then spun around and exclaimed in anger; "Of course everything I say and you focus on that. Dan went to jail, mom, because he beat up the man who beat me up. He was only there for one night and the charges were dropped." Jackie took a breath, but added; "The reason he went to jail was more honorable than why you went to jail. You accuse him of being a drunk but I never recall him getting arrested for DUI!"

Bev huffed, but remained standing they way she was. "I have may have had an alcohol problem but at least I'm not in denial and realize it."

Jackie shook her head for the millionth time and spoke more quietly. "I cannot believe you mom. Your daughter is dead and you're trying to take her kids away from their dad. You know I have always hated you. Roseanne did the best she could to make me see that there was a good side to you, but I couldn't. I just went with Roseanne all these years because I thought that if I just held out a little longer something would happen and I would see the good in you. It never happened though. It was just like when I was dating Fisher. He'd beat me black and blue but then he'd apologize, and I stayed with him because like you, I was waiting for the good to show. No matter what happened somehow you'd make me feel like crap. Roseanne managed to tell me every time that what you said was you're way of making me feel better, but I always figured you had her snowed. You stand in that living room and tell those kids that their dad is an alcoholic, trying to make Dan out to be the worst father in the world when in reality he's helped give those kids ten times a better life than you gave us. I don't know if you know this but Dan and Roseanne have taken everything their parents did and did the opposite. They didn't believe in beating their kids, or keeping their kids from speaking. Maybe that's why they're little smartasses, but those kids are happy, healthy and are getting college educations. And they don't HATE their parents, like other people." Jackie finished and realized she was sweating and had her hands made into fists.

Bev was about to say something but Jackie spoke before she had the chance. "You know what mom? Just leave and never comeback. If your dead set on taking care of Roseanne's funeral arrangements just know she wanted to be cremated. Dan can't leave the hospital until tomorrow so don't schedule anything until at least Tuesday. Call when you do make the arrangements and I'll see you at the funeral."

Bev said nothing and left the room. She walked through the living room where the kids were sitting down without saying nothing, opened the door and left.

The kids watched and then looked to Jackie for an explanation.

"I kicked her out…again." Jackie took Jerry from David and then sat on the floor with him and absent mindedly played with him.

Everyone just sat there watching TV, with their dinner plates still sitting on the table. No one felt hungry anymore.

At 6:30 Dan sat at a table, surrounded by an extremely skinny Asian man, an African American man of thirty who sucked his thumb, a white guy approximately his height and weight and a redheaded women who seemed to have nothing wrong with her.

Dan began dealing cards to each person. He noticed the man who was his size was shaking uncontrollably in his arm. He looked at it and asked; "Something wrong with your arm buddy?"

The man smiled like it was no big deal. "The Shakes. I get them after I quit drinking."

Dan watched the man's arm shake, and found himself asking. "How long does it take before it starts?"

"Usually two to three days. You fond of the bottle yourself?" The man asked like it was no big deal. Dan became embarrassed; his new poker buddies saw this put their hands on him in comfort.

The red head gave Dan encouraging words. "Don't worry Daniel; this is a place of healing. No one will look down on you. We're here to support you."

"At least that's what they tell us in group therapy." Said the African American man.

The other patients lost interest in Dan. "How would you know? You never go to group therapy!"

A man called for clean-up and the patients put away their stuff and lined up. Dan didn't know why they were lining up but lined up anyway.

He figured out the line was for medicine after the he followed the line to a counter with a sliding window. Nurse Intman had a tray of tiny paper cups with the patient's names next to her as she stood behind the counter. When Dan stood at the counter she took the Cup labeled CONNER, DANIEL and dumped its contents into Dan's palm. He looked at the pills, and decided he didn't want to know what they were for so he didn't ask. He swallowed the pills after Nurse Intman handed him a paper cup filled with water.