By the time Peter arrived, Lou was all but done with her IV, and the family was about ready to head home. It was decided that Tim would drive Jack and Lisa and Peter would drive Lou home in his rental. That left the matter of the family SUV.
"Yeah, I'll drive it home. Since I'm the one that brought it here in the first place," said Georgie, volunteering a hand.
"Are you sure?" asked Peter, silently noting how tired she seemed.
"Yeah, I'll grab some coffee before I go," she reassured.
"Okay, then I'll ride home with you," said Katie, standing from her seat.
"No! No, you go with them. Just…" Georgie trailed off, gesturing toward Lou. "C'mon."
Katie inhaled deeply, mentally preparing herself for the ride home with her parents. "Fine."
"Oh," said Georgie, reaching into her pocket. "Here."
Katie took the pill bottle and slipped it into her sweater pocket, feeling like she had just gotten done making a black market exchange.
As the Fleming-Morrises got into the rental, Lou sighed, looking around. "Couldn't we just leave one of the cars here tonight?"
"Lou, it's alright. She's just going to be trailing behind us. Besides, after today, don't you think it's good to have just a little bit of space?"
"Space? For what? We're fine!"
"Mom, just let it go," came Katie's voice from the backseat. Her tone sounded harsh.
That silenced Lou. She leaned back against the headrest as Peter put the car into drive.
When the family returned to Heartland, everyone dispersed into their own little pockets of the house. Lou waited as long as she could before dialing Georgie's number. It rang for a bit before going to voicemail.
She hung up and was about to dial again when her phone began to ring. Lou answered and brought it up to her ear. "Sweetie, how much longer? You said you'd be right behind us."
"I did say that, didn't I?"
Lou waited for her to go on.
"I texted Jade, and she invited me over. I'm going to crash here tonight. Too tired to drive."
"Oh," Lou sighed, relieved.
"And besides, we need the space, right?"
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" asked Lou, frustrated. "Well, honey, if you were too tired to drive, why did you volunteer in the first place?"
"Guess I just didn't realize how tired I was."
Lou didn't say anything.
"You should sleep. It's been a long day."
"I really wish you'd just come home tonight."
"I'll be home soon, I promise."
"Okay, goodnight."
"Night."
Lou shut off her phone, tossing it beside her. "Can you believe her?" she demanded from Peter. "She's staying in town tonight. Not a word of discussion, she just decided on her own."
Peter smiled, putting an arm around her and planting a kiss on her temple. "It's okay, I'm sure she just needed—"
"Don't say space."
"—some time. This is a huge adjustment for her, I think, it'll take some getting used to."
"Yeah," said Lou, unconvinced.
"Why don't you go to sleep?"
"Well, since I don't have a choice," grumbled Lou.
Peter smiled again. His phone buzzed, and he leaned over toward the nightstand. It was a text from Georgie.
Could you call me once she's gone to sleep?
Peter's brows furrowed. He got out from under the covers, his feet scrambling to find his slippers. "I just need a minute. It's work, honey."
"Yeah, okay," said Lou, settling into a sleep position.
Peter walked out to the living room, and then arrived at the kitchen, for some reason looking out the window for some sign of his kid. He dialled her number.
She answered soon enough.
"Georgie, honey, what is it?" asked Peter, his voice hushed.
"She's asleep already?"
"No, your text was so cryptic, I came into the kitchen just now. What is it?"
There was no answer.
"Georgie?"
"Just don't tell anyone, okay, and don't freak out. The car's fine."
"Honey, where are you?"
"In town."
Peter exhaled tightly. "No, I know. I mean, where in town?"
"I'm in the ER."
"I'm gonna need more detail than that."
"There's a cut on my forehead. It hurts. I'm annoyed. Is that enough detail?"
"Okay, I'm—I'm on my way."
"No! Please, just wait till she's asleep. Or I won't hear the end of it."
Peter put a hand to his forehead. "Okay. Fine. I'll be there as soon as I can."
When Peter finally made his way down and found Georgie, the first thing she said to him was, "The car's fine."
He looked at her, almost bewildered. "Honey, I don't care about the car, you…" he trailed off, taking in the scene. There were two small-sized butterfly stitches on her forehead. She was leaning back against the bed, obviously tired but refusing to close her eyes. "What happened?"
She squinted her eyes, kind of looking at him, kind of not. "Nothing. I was exhausted, and I shouldn't have gotten behind the wheel."
"You said you were going to grab some coffee."
"It wasn't the kind of exhaustion that's made better with caffeine."
Peter sighed, slipping into a chair beside her bed. "Okay. So, how's…" he gestured toward her.
"They won't let me go until the results from the CT scan arrive, but I'm pretty sure I'm fine."
Peter nodded, clasping his hands together.
"I'm sorry for making you drive all the way. And for putting you in this position."
"Don't be sorry. I'm glad you called me. I would be offended if you hadn't."
Georgie was having a hard time meeting his gaze. "I'm sorry for how I spoke to you on the phone."
"It's alright."
"No, it isn't."
"I shouldn't have left. I mean, I know Lou and I have our fair share of arguments, but…it wasn't fair of me to leave. Because then it fell on you to handle things at home."
"So, you knew what she was up to."
"I had an idea. I hoped she wouldn't actually go through with it."
Georgie nodded a little.
"We're still trying to figure out how to be a unit again, and it's taking much longer than I anticipated. I try to take care of her, she insists she can do it herself, and then we go back and forth until it's time for me to get back to Vancouver. It's not the most ideal routine, and then top it off with this whole situation…"
Georgie sighed. "That about sounds like my routine with Mom, too. Just minus the Vancouver part."
"Yeah, she told me what you guys talked about."
"I hate when I get iced out. Makes me feel like an outsider. And maybe I am."
"Iced out?"
"She says she can't stand being taken care of by me."
Peter clicked his tongue, standing up and planting a kiss on Georgie's hair.
"Dad?"
"Yeah, honey."
"I think I wanna rest my eyes for a bit."
"Sure thing. You do that."
Georgie and Peter arrived back home in the early hours of the morning, thankfully before anyone had gotten up. Georgie went back up to the attic, where Katie was sound asleep. She made her way over to the spare bed, and collapsed, pulling the covers up over her head.
Hours later, Georgie was shaken awake. It was Katie, no doubt. "What?" Georgie grumbled.
"What did you do?" Katie demanded, her voice slick with accusation.
Georgie's fingers reached for her injury, and upon impact, she grimaced. "Ouch."
Katie smacked her arm. "Now who told you to do that?"
Georgie had no answer.
"What did you do?" asked Katie again, her voice pressed.
Georgie sighed. "Doesn't matter. Nothing happened."
"Oh, yeah? Is that what you're going to tell Mom?"
Georgie finally opened her eyes. "Does she know?"
"No. But she's asking for you. She knows you're home."
Georgie exhaled noisily. "The car still isn't."
"She knows that too."
There was silence for a few moments. And then, "I really don't want to do this."
Katie looked at her sister. "Then don't. Stay up here all day."
Georgie considered it a moment. "No, I think I need to at least make an appearance. How's Jack doing?"
"Honestly, I think pretty okay. It was a mild thing, right?"
"Yeah, it was."
Katie nodded. "Then yeah, he's good."
When the coast was clear, Georgie headed to the bathroom to wash up. Katie stood guard nearby. And it was a good thing she did, because Lou soon appeared in her doorway.
"Katie, honey, is your sister up?"
"Mm-hmm," she returned, nodding. "Can I talk to you?"
Lou agreed, and the two of them returned to her room. Lou took a seat at the edge of her mattress, and Katie stood by.
"So…" Katie began.
"So…?" said Lou, wanting her to go on.
"Georgie needs to talk to you."
"I thought you wanted to talk to me."
"Yeah, and I just did."
Lou sighed. "What's going on?"
Katie smiled in an attempt to deter Lou. The bathroom door swung open, and Katie called out, "We're in here!" Before Georgie came into view, Katie quickly slipped in, "And remember, it could've happened to anyone."
"Wait, what—? Katie!"
With that, Katie exited the conversation, and both her and Lou's eyes fell on Georgie as she appeared in the doorway.
Before Lou could say anything, Georgie's hands went up in surrender. "I'm fine," she said, stepping into the room.
Lou's eyes were wide, panicked. "What did you do?" she let out, her voice barely a whisper.
Georgie took a seat beside Lou. "I, uh…I was driving. That's, that's how it happened."
"Oh, my God…" exclaimed Lou, her fingers going up to her lips.
"Yeah, you swerved to hit a deer, right?" interjected Katie.
Georgie turned, not sure what to make of her comment.
"There was an animal on the road?" came Lou's voice, almost hopeful.
Georgie turned back. "No, there wasn't. I just shouldn't have been driving, that's all."
Lou looked up at her youngest. There was no longer even a hint of amusement in her expression.
"Just don't worry," said Georgie.
Lou couldn't even meet her eyes. "It's because of me that this happened."
"Like I said, I shouldn't have been driving."
"That's not an answer," said Lou.
"What do you want me to say?"
"I want you to point blame where it should be pointed," said Lou, looking up.
"Yeah, right," scoffed Georgie, pressing a finger between her eyes.
Lou extended a hand, caressing a spot on Georgie's forehead, as far away from the injury as she could allow herself.
"Mom…" said Georgie, her hand going to cradle Lou's face as she turned away from her. "It's okay, it's fine. I'm…"
Lou was waiting for her to say the word, to say fine, but it never came.
Katie cleared her throat. "Mom, you don't have to worry. I'm going to keep an eye on her. Make sure she doesn't do any more stupid things."
Georgie was offended.
"What I wanna know is why she did this," said Lou, her voice suffused with tears.
"Okay, I didn't do anything. It just happened. And it was nobody's fault, except maybe mine, as you two have so kindly put it," Georgie let out, exhaling.
Nobody said a thing in response.
"And I'm right here, I'm going nowhere," said Georgie finally, standing up to go. "And just so you know, the car's fine."
"Yeah, because that's what we care about," Katie retorted.
With that, Georgie walked out.
A little while later, Lou made her way to Jack's room, preparing to get scolded.
But when she got there, she took one look at Jack and lost it. Him and Lisa were sitting up in their bed, Lisa at his side.
They were both startled at the outburst, and Lisa made her way over. "Oh, honey, what is it?"
"Georgie spent the night in the emergency room."
"Well, what happened?" asked Lisa, looking toward Jack.
"There was a, uh…situation with the car. She's fine, aside from a cut on her forehead, but I…" Lou trailed off, shaking her head. "Peter knew. He's known since last night, and he didn't bother to—" she broke off. "I'm sorry, I'm…"
Addressing Jack, she went on. "What I'm trying to say is, I know that was my fault, and I know that this situation with you is on me. But I went back. I went back to chemo, I'm not planning on leaving again, and—and you can hate me, you can be disappointed in me, but you can trust that I'll see it through to the end."
Jack finally spoke. "If only you had realized your mistake sooner."
"I got scared," she let out, her voice rugged. "I didn't want it to be like Grandma Lyndy. The way she was in the end. I thought that I was protecting us, and I got caught up. And I'm sorry."
It was silent for a long time.
"I'm really sorry," she said again. "If I could, I would take all your pain. I'd take it, because that's what I do, and I'm just, I'm so sorry."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "The pain I'm in, you wouldn't be able to handle it."
Lou scoffed, involuntarily, looking away. "So my sorry means nothing to you."
"I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to."
"What?" asked Lou.
"Why do you think Georgie crashed last night?" asked Jack
The question made her jolt, and a chill ran through her. "Grandpa…"
"You broke her trust. You broke Katie's trust. The day you walked out of that cancer ward, you robbed them of a lot of things."
"Jack," said Lisa, scolding him.
"No, let him. He's right," said Lou, the tears missing her face and dropping on her sleeves.
"They can't even trust their own mother. So really, what do they even have right now?" Jack added, the disgust apparent on his face.
Lou looked at Lisa, teary-eyed and apologetic. She tried to mouth a sorry, but found that she couldn't.
A/N: Merp.
