Small Choices lead to Big Changes; Big Changes lead to Big Choices

Gracie nodded her head slightly, and then shrugged. "Well, I'm sorry, Jack, you'll never understand me completely, I suppose. You try being broken and in the lowest place you can be at. Try living there for a few years all by yourself, surrounded by empty sympathies and people who just can't take the time to listen. And suddenly be forced into a situation where you have me telling you that I could've been there for you, but I wasn't, even though I claim to love you and have loved you. Then try to believe me when I tell you I love you." Her eyes stared into his, and there was raw pain exposed there for a moment. "It's far from easy, Jackson." She tucked her legs beneath her body, sipping from her cup and staring at the floor.

Wynn's grin widened in curiosity. "Awwwh..." she said, moving close to him and setting her chin on his shoulder. "Am I making someone nervous?"

------

Kenneth chuckled to Sarah's comment, his eyes sparkling with a fatherly kind of love. "I like this girl already, Trav."

"Thank you." Travis kissed the top of Sarah's head, murmuring to her, "Score one for Travis, Zero for the 'Rentals." He guided Sarah up to the door, nodding his head to a few people but saying no audible greetings. He got more and more nervous as they neared the door, but he found it was surprisingly easy to reach out and open it for Sarah.

Sarah giggled, smiling at Kenneth and then looking ahead. When they reached the door she stepped through, and imidiantly went to survey her surroundings "Wow.." She mumbled.

!@!

Jack, being well, a teenage boy, sat there for a minute "Gracie..are we breaking up?" he asked, looking up at her. Maybe they were? She was right. And he didn't blame her if she didn't like him back; he was kind of suffocating and pretty hard to believe sometimes.

Alex gulped, blushing a deeper red. He took a few deep breaths and the redness toned down some "No" He said, grinning, but it was clear in his eyes that he was feeling abunch of emotions. Nervousness and excitement the strongest.

Gracie felt tears rush to her eyes. That was all she needed right now, wasn't it? Another stab in the back. Yeah, that was wonderful. Her lips trembling, she looked up at them. She swallowed hard on a small trace of blood and a large amount of saliva that had formed a tangible lump in her throat. "I don't know," she murmured, her voice sounding hoarse and old. She turned her head away from him, staring at the wall.

I knew it. I knew it. I was so stupid. I knew it.

Wynn, meanwhile, was having a lot better time than Gracie was, by a long shot.

She looked up at Alex, and started giggling too hard to remain so close to him; she leaned back, laughing and beaming at him. "I was too!" she said, clapping her hands. "Oh, that was fun. Awwh, common, Alex, I thought we established that I don't bite?" She winked.

----

"Here we go," Travis mumbled, seeing his parents head right over before he had any time to take anything else in. In seconds he was being suffocated by his mother's tight embrace, and he nearly stumbled. "Uhm, hi, mom," he grunted, gently pulling away.

"Travis!" she said, actually for a second time, smiling brightly at him. "Oh, sweetie, it's so good to see you." Handing her glass of wine to her husband, the woman hugged him again. It was clear that Travis did look like his mother. She had the same nose as him, the same fine features, the same high cheekbones; even the same, slightly-wrinkled forehead. They both shared the exact shade of hazel-nut-brown hair, and the exact-shade of light gray-blue eyes.

His father, meanwhile, stood back a little, watching his wife fawn over their son with a soft snort. He glanced over at Sarah, arching an eyebrow. It wasn't that hard to imagine him as the macho-doctor-type. He was a large man, built like a bull. His features, though defined, were blunt, as if God must have run out of gentle knives to carve them, using instead a mallet. His eyes were deep brown, almost black, and they were intelligently wide behind his spectacles. His hair was short and already quite white, no traces left of the blond that was once there. Unlike his wife, who wore a plain blue cocktail dress type outfit, he was in a clearly expensive suit.

"You must be Sarah?" he asked her, arching an eyebrow. He made an expression that could have been a kind smile...if it would have reached his eyes. "I'm Robert, Travis's father. It's nice to meet you." The words sounded uniform, as if he were reading them off of some sort invisible paper. Either that, or he'd just said something along those lines a million times.

"Gracie..." He whispered, reaching out his hand slightly "I..I don't want to do this. But..b-but..I think we are" His voice cracked as he said this, and tears were in his eyes "I love you but...its...its just not working out" He whispered, and then without any other words, for he feared something more horrible would happen. He got up an ran out of the kitchen into the dinning room, where he had left his shoes

"Stop that" Alex whined, grining "So what, I got abit nervous big deal"

"Hey, Alex, I-I gotta go" Jack said, stopping to tell them bye then bolting out the door

Alex looked over at Wynn, raising an eyebrow.

!@!

Sarah smiled, nodding her head politly. She had her hands clasped infront of her stomach; hopefully nothing bad would happen

"Yes, I'm Sarah. Its nice to meet you Mr. Miller. And you to Mrs. Miller. You have a wonderful home....I'm so happy to be here" Her eyes sparkled when she said this, showing happiness, despite how relunctant she was to actually be there.

Sarah could definatly change her true feelings easily (xD)

Gracie sat there, beneath the shelves and amongst snacks and dried foods and cans of soup. Tears streamed down her face, and she didn't say a word. She listened to what he had to say, but didn't look up at him. Instead, she just took his words as a big, screaming, "I TOLD YOU SO," from her inner self. Part of her had known that it 'wouldn't work out.' Yeah right. Love? He was a kid, what did he know about love.

Her heart firmly shattered into a million pieces she would never be able to fully repair, she pulled her legs to her chest. She found her hands were trembling, and that she was making a soft sobbing sound between ragged, gut wrenching coughs, but she didn't care. She couldn't get over that she'd trusted him. She had trusted him years ago, and he'd just gone and ruined it by leaving her in the dust. And just when he comes to find her again, what happens? The same thing.

Now she understood, though. She really was worthless. Well, Jack, she thought, thank you for proving me right. Yeah, I love you too.

Wynn's eyes went wide and she sat up straight, watching Jack wordlessly. She looked back at Alex, her expression saddened. "I think they broke up!?" she whispered, glancing towards the closet. She could heard Gracie's coughing had started up again, but it didn't sound right. Her hands went over her face and she groaned.

"Oh, shitakimushrooms."

--------

"It's actually Dr. Miller," he rumbled, shrugging not at all modestly. "But, yes, thank you. It's great that we could finally convince Travis to bring you here so we could meet you; we've heard so much about you."

Honestly, Travis had only talked very little about Sarah, and it surprised him that his father even remembered her name, but he said nothing. After prying his mother off of him, he turned to Dr. Miller. When the man didn't move for a hug or anything affectionate, Travis looked slightly deflated. He held out his hand, and received a firm handshake. By the expression on his face, one could tell that must have been a uniform procedure for the two of them.

"Oh! Hello!" Jillian said, as if just noticing Sarah. "Well, aren't you a cutie! It is indeed a pleasure to finally meet you, honey!" From how sweet and gentle she acted, it was hard for Travis to remember how vile and cruel she had been when all those times she'd drank away her sorrows. Jillian, being a hugger, hugged Sarah; she smiled. Travis actually had told his mother a lot about Sarah--almost everything, minus the one big detail that was still under wraps--that, surprisingly, neither parent seems to have noticed so far.

Jack ran full speed towards his house. Tears were streaming down his face. He knew this would happen if he wasn't too careful. He was such an idiot. A stupid, stupid idiot. Why was he ever still alive? Of course, this was all he was thinking.

He ran in through the front door, slamming it behind him

"Hey, shh, Logan's almost asleep!" Jag called, walking out of the kitchen while drying his hands

"I don't care" Jack said bluntly, turning and running up the stairs to his attic-bedroom and slamming that door as well, locking it and then throwing himself on his bed.

!@!

Alex didn't waste any time after listening for a moment. He hopped up, imidiantly running the pantry. "Oh Grace.." He mummered, kneeling down and pulling her into a hug, rocking her slightly and rubbing her back

In his head, Alex was furious. How DARE Jack break Gracie's heart like that? That was just horrible of him to do. Lets just say, Alex wasn't going to let Jack get away with it.

!@!

"Well. Then its a pleasure to meet you DR. Miller" She said, smiling and then turned to Jillian. She smiled even wider when hugged, glancing at Travis as if saying 'she isn't that bad' and hugged ehr back "I've heard alot of wonderful things about both of you. I'm really happy to be here..infact, I feel honored to be able to visit such a beautiful home"

Wynn sat there, quietly watching Alex disappear. It was best he handled the situation; she always seemed to say the wrong thing to Gracie when she was upset. She didn't understand why, she just did. It was her luck, she guessed.

Gracie sobbed and coughed, making the worst sound as she did so. Her body shook violently and tears tumbled down her face endlessly. Between weeping and hacking, there was that terrible, sharp sound of her gasping for breath. It wasn't that she was so hysterical and worked up over her troubles that she couldn't breathe, but more so that whatever sickness she had was leaving her particularly unable to breathe.

"Can-can y-y-you ca-call A-a-amanda?" she stuttered, her body still trembling. She turned her face up towards him, and then away as she coughed particularly hard onto the napkin that she quickly crumbled. "I-I l-l-love you a-and all, Ale-Alex, it's j-just, I...I need A-a-a-amanda." She viewed Amanda as her motherly figure, something she had always wanted; a mother. And mothers usually knew just exactly how to comfort crying daughters...and hopefully how to stop them from coughing up blood.

At that moment, Gracie felt her stomach churn. She tried to swallow, she tried to hold it back, but she couldn't. She coughed and gasped harder than she ever had before, spitting up a mouthful of blood onto his shirt. Afterwords, she just about collapsed, looking terrified, paler than usual, and horribly upset. "Imsosorry..." she mumbled, feeling her body start to shake again.

------

Meg frowned, standing next to Jag and watching Jack for a moment. "Something's wrong," she murmured, looking up at Jag. "Do you want to talk to him, or do you want me to?" Biting her lip nervously, she felt a little hand brush against her own. It happened so quickly that she jumped.

"I'll do it, Momma," Katrina said, looking up at her. Then she started up the stairs, knowing she was going to be yelled at by Jack.

=====

"Awwwh, you're such a sweetie!" Jillian cooed, giggling. "You can call me Jill, or Jillian, you don't have to be so formal like Robert is." She stuck her tongue out at her husband, who snorted. "We're quite pleased you like the house so much! And I'm personally surprised that Travis hasn't brought you by before; it's my understanding that you've been dating for a while, right?"

Travis shot her a little smile and a shrug, then looked at his curious mother. He nodded. "Yeah," he mumbled. "I dunno, we've just been busy I guess, with college and all that junk." He waved his hand dismissively.

"Ah, yes." Jill nodded her head. She paused, looking back at the two of them and clasping her hands. "So!" she said, smiling. "Why don't we walk and talk, no? Here, I'll give you a tour of a house--how does that sound, Travis?"

"Fantastic," Travis replied, barely using enough enthusiasm in the statement to make his mother's smile widen. He put his arm around Sarah again, and kept it there as he walked with his mother and now silent father.

"So, Sarah," Jill said, taking a sip from her whine. She was walking in front of them and walking backwards. "Tell me something about yourself! I do know a bit, but I'm sure Travis has left things out." She playfully stuck her tongue out at Travis.

After holding her for a minute, and she pulled away, Alex nodded "Yeah, I'll call her" He said softly. He kissed her forehead, and was about to get up with she coughed the blood. His eyes went wide "Has this happened before?" He asked, glancing up at her with worried eyes.

He shook his head, getting up and pulling out his cellphone and dialing Amanda's number. He talked for a minute, explaining what happened, and the hung up "She'll be her in a second" he said quietly, kneeling back down beside her.

!@!

Jack, in the back of his mind, knew that Katrina would be the one to come talk to him. Truthfully, he wouldn't yell at her. Jack wasn't one for yelling. But he wouldn't be that nice either. He didn't feel like talking. Really, what he felt like doing was dieing. He had lost alot of his friends choosing Gracie over Ashley, and he knew Alex and Wynn would be mad at him now as well. So that basically left him with no one...

!@!

Sarah followed after them, looking around as she did so "Well...I'm the co-owner of my sister's clothing store thing. She makes all her own stuff. Belts, purses....she even made this dress" She smiled, looking down at her dress then back up at Jill.

Jill smiled brightly with curiosity. "Oh! Really?" she asked, looking thrilled and astounded. "That's so neat! I absolutely adore fashion, don't I, Travis?" Travis grunted something and nodded his head, resisting the urge to role his eyes. "That is a rather neat dress, too, may I add." She smiled, giggling a little. "Oh, to your right is the entrance to the living-room-type area, and to your left the large hall. It's like a dining room, but quite big." People swarmed around these finely decorated areas, occasionally glancing at the backwards-walking Jill.

Meanwhile, Dr. Miller handed his son a fancy looking glass of wine. Travis murmured a thank you and took a sip, his eyebrows raising slightly. "This tastes good," he remarked.

"It does," the doctor agreed matter-of-factly. "Sarah, would you like a glass?"

------

Katrina's little fist knocked on the door. "Jackie," she called quietly. "Jackie, you're gonna have to unlock the door, I can't get in." She didn't ask if he was alright, or ask to be let in. No, she simply asked him to open the door; that way, if he said no, she'd just talk through the door to him.

~~~~

Gracie felt tears swim down her cheeks. "I ruined your shirt," she mumbled unhappily. She was on her knees now, her hands planted firmly in front of her as she tried to push herself up. "It's happened-happened one-one-once or tw-twice. I'm so s-s-sorry. Ughh." Her arms wildly shook and them she was laying down, clutching her stomach. "I don't feel good," she gasped.

Wynn was there now, listening to Gracie cough and gasp away as she cried. Tears were in her own eyes. "Is that...blood!?" she cried, clasping her hands over her mouth. She looked terrified. "Oh my god, where did that come from...?"

Oh, and just so you know, Cole was rushing back with Amanda.

"I need to get her in bed" Alex said, picking Gracie up in his arms "Its fine. Amanda's a magician when it comes to stains" He was trying to cheer her up, though he doubted it'd work

"She's really sick. She coughed up the blood" He looked at Wynn, looking extremly worried before he rushed up the stairs and laid Gracie down on her bed "Shh...its okay" he whispered, trailing a finger down her cheek.

!@!

"No" Jack said throwing something - a pillow - at teh door as if I sign to leave him alone "I'll stay in here for the rest of enternity"

!@!

"Wow these rooms are beautiful! Did you pick out the furniture and everything?" She asked, looking at Jill then up at Dr. Miller

"No thank you Dr. Miller. I don't drink alchohal.." That and she was pregnant. "I'm really not even 'sposed to" she realized what she said after she said it, and looked over at Travis, looking as if she might cry. She'd just let it slip. She imagined they could put two and two together, considering her baby bump was showing at the angle she was in.

Travis winced a slightly, biting his lip. He put his arm around her, trying to reassure him that whatever happened just next, he was there. His other hand held the wine glass; it shook ever so slightly, and that was probably visible, being the dark red wine was gently sloshing around. He cleared his throat when his parents didn't say anything for a moment, murmuring, "Oh, yeah, uhm...Sarah's kinda...pregnant."

Dr. Miller's expression immediately darkened. It was almost as if he looked let down; disappointed in his son. He looked to Jillian, who looked surprised, but not completely surprised. She laughed sort of uneasily. "Well, you left that out in your phone calls! Congrats!" She smiled brightly and hugged the two of them again, looking surprisingly happy. And by that, it is meant that even she was surprised that she was so happy. Jill just couldn't help it, though. It was as if it were natural for her, being told she was going to be a grandmother, to be happy about it. She smiled, pulling away slightly.

Travis visibly and mentally relaxed. He didn't look up at his father, but locked his gaze on his mother. "Yeah..." He smiled weakly, shrugging slightly and loosening his arm around Sarah's waist ever so slightly. "I dunno, I just couldn't think of how to bring it up."

Someone called for the doctor just as Travis had finished speaking and, silently, the man walked off. Jill winced, looking at the two apologetically before smiling and sunny again. "Do you know what gender it is yet? Oh, probably not, because you don't look like you're that far along. Unless you're just one of the ones who doesn't show. Ooh, I can remember with Travis, I swear, I was so...rotund!" She giggled. "Even from the beginning! Travis was a big baby. But, when's he or she due?" Her eyes sparkled and she had stopped walking now; her arms were still outstretched, one around her son, one around Sarah.

-------

Katrina snorted. "Don't be a Drama Queen, Jackie," she said, sitting cross legged in front of the door. "Alright, I guess I just have to talk to you from here. Look, Jack, I'm gonna take a wild shot in the dark and say that you just broke up with Gracie." Though she was a six year old, Katrina could make her words sound as intelligent as an adult's. This was probably just because she Knew so many things. Besides these rare moments when she sucked up her childish tenancies and held lengthy, deep conversations, Katrina was a very random and, well, childish child.

<-=--=-=->

Gracie smiled weakly. "I still feel bad," she choked out, and then just started coughing again. Her body was wracked with the coughs, and her pale white, steaming hot skin gave away that she had a fever. Her eyes closed and she curled up on her side when she was in her bed, feeling more tears manage to ooze there way out onto her cheeks.

Wynn followed after, her eyes round. "Alex, that's really bad," she breathed, looking as if she, too, were about to start weeping. She hugged herself, staring down at the two of them; smiling at how tender Alex acted, but still feeling fear over come her. She rocked back on her heels, whispering again, "That's not supposed to happen, that's not normal...."

Cole, meanwhile, threw the car into park when they were in the driveway. He was pale himself, and his hands were all sweaty as they usually got when he was nervous. He slammed the car into park, turned it off, and fiddled with his seat belt. He looked terrified; his baby sister was coughing up blood? She was bleeding internally? That was terrible, that couldn't happen to her, not his little sister.

Amanda pulled up in her car beside him, getting out and barely having time to turn off the car she was in such a hurry. She ran to the front door, inside, and up the stairs "Alex? Wynn?" She called, her voice filled with nervousness and fear.

"Where in here!" Alex called, his voice sounding worse then hers did. He sat by Gracie's bed, running a finger up and down her face gently as if he might break her. He looked terrified.

!@!

"Katrina, its none of your business" Jack called back, his voice cracking; yes, she was right.

Jack got up however and went and sat by teh door, a pillow in his arms. See, Jack was one of those kids who whenever he got upset, he needed something to hold.

!@!

Sarah looked up at Travis; that sure had gone alot better then expected "Uhm, well, I'm two months in...so, around July" She was beaming; clearly happy Jill was so excited "Well, my mother didn't show much when she was pregnant, from the pictures I can see anyway. So, I'm guessing I won't show that much...but then again, JJ was really tiny.." Of course, she was babbling. Sarah did that when excited.

Travis's drink had stopped sliding about, and there was a relaxed smile on his face, so one could tell that now, he was calm. He kept his arm gently around Sarah, listening to her talk with his mother as he sipped from his glass.

"Oh, July!" Jill giggled. "That's a wonderful month to be born in! And good for you, that way you aren't pregnant during the summer; that is not a fun thing to be, nope!" Shaking her head, she laughed again. "Who exactly is JJ, darling?"

"Oh, uh, Mom, you remember Bo?"

"Yes, dear."

"His younger sister."

"Oh! Joan!" She nodded in agreement now. "Oh, she had kids, too?"

"Yeah, a little boy and then sort of recently a little girl." Travis smiled. "Apparently, Sarah's already picked her as the Godmother of the child." He chuckled softly, kissing Sarah's cheek. "But, yeah, she was a little person, if you remember, and when she was pregnant she was like...not little." Travis snorted.

--------

"Yes it is," Katrina replied, watching as an ant scuttled past her with a piece of candy on its back. She squished it with her thumb, sighing softly and apologizing to it silent. Then she looked back at she where she knew his face must be. "You know Mommy and Daddy always end up picking me to come talk to you." She touched the wall gently, absently. "Look, Jackie, I think you need to know this." She took a deep breath. "You chose a really bad time to dump Gracie. In a few weeks she's gonna get terrible terrible news and she's just gonna get sicker and sicker, and she's gonna be upset...really upset. Partly because of you." She was being blunt about this all, knowing that if she wasn't blunt and didn't scare him, he might not listen to her.

--~~~--

Gracie started to cough again, and this time the sound was wet, deeper than it should have been for such a tiny body. Her shoulders shook violently and she began sobbing once more, squeezing her eyes shut. "It hurts," she gasped out, pulling her face away from Alex. Her chest ached violently from the pain of loss and as well from the pain of her choking coughs.

Wynn covered her face, standing out of the way of the door way, feeling her shoulders gently start to shake. She was terrified. Was Gracie...dying? It almost seemed that way, being how hard the poor thing was coughing, how loudly she was gasping. To Wynn's relief, there wasn't any more blood...yet. But she was guessing that there would be, especially from the way she was coughing now.

Cole was right behind Amanda. "You calm down Grace, I'll talk to the two others and get out of them what happened. We're going to the hospital." He grabbed a phone from nearby, shutting off the TV as he did so, and dialed the hospital's number. Then he was sprinting up the stairs, pulling Wynn out of the room and then Alex. "Alright, I need you two to tell me what happened to her, right now," he said, his eyes staring into theirs.

ALEX went into overdrive, speaking nearly ninty miles an hour "Gracie's been coughing alot, right? Well, she was coughing and coughing really really hard, and then she went into the kitchen to get some chips, Jack went to follow her, she was coughing really hard then, and then it got quiet and then Jack ran out. They broke up. But then I went to check on Gracie, cause I could tell she was upset by her thoughts. And she was practically in hysterics. She then coughed up blood all over me-" he stopped to point at his shirt "And thats when I called Amanda and after calling her I took her up here and put her on the bed where she was laying down like that" He pointed back in the room, out of breath.

Amanda sat down beside Grace's bed and did the same thing Alex had been doing, running a finger down her cheek "Shh, its gona be alright. Cole's gona call the hospital, and we're gona get you help, okay?" She leaned foward, kissing Gracie's forehead, then slowly and gently pulled in her her lap where she could hold her, like a mother would "Its gona be alright. You're a strong little trooper"

!@!

There was clicking and scrambling, and suddenly the door was yanked open to reveal a red-eyed, pale faced Jack with wet trails down his cheeks "Get in here" He said, pulling her inside and closing to door. He sat down on her level, held her by her shoulders "What happens?" He asked, tilting his head.

!@!

"Yes, especially with the weather we get!" She giggled, nodding "Oh, yes, JJ 's the Godmother, cause she's been there for me ever since I was sixteen" Sarah smiled at the fact "She was Moxie's, Bo's girlfriend, best friend, and she slowly became mine as well" Sarah obviously looked up to JJ by the way she was talking.

Katrina yelped as she was pulled in, her eyes widening in surprise. She hadn't thought he'd have that strong of a reaction. Shee sat there, feeling his hands on her shoulders, her mind bouncing about too quickly for her to speak. After a moment if getting her barrings, she blurted; "Cruoremrarus." She stared up at him. "It's cancer of the blood. Gracie has it. They don't know that yet, and they have to do a bunch of testing. Blood work. It's why she was coughing up blood. She goes to the doctor's today and they keep her there for a few days, and then she can go back to school, while they do the tests in a lab somewhere. She's really, really quiet and she doesn't eat and she won't even look at you. Neither will Wynn, Wynn's upset and, well, Alex beats you up and shuns you. Sorry. But then they get the test results back, and then they see and then--" Her head started to ache, and she whimpered. "Jack, I don't wanna do this, it hurts my head." She put her hands on her forehead, feeling tears roll down her face. It was indeed hard to her for See and Understand things so swiftly.

----~----

Cole looked at Wynn for her input. Whimpering, she shrugged. "What he said."

Nodding, Cole murmured what Alex had said into the phone, his brow furrowed deeply. Wynn, seeing that Cole's hand was shaking as he ran it through his hair, hugged him. After a moment, Cole fell quiet. "Was Gracie hurt at all recently, Wynn? Like hit in the stomach or something?"

Wynn shook her head. "No, she's just been coughing."

Cole relayed this information to the lady on the other end, who seemed shocked at the answer. "Are you sure, Wynn?"

"Positive."

Cole sighed softly, saying this to the lady. "Alright. Yes. I--...alright, okay." He nodded his head. "Yeah, that's fine, that'll work. Okay. Yes. Thank you." He hung up.

Gracie coughed and sobbed, her body twitching. But when Amanda held her, she snuggled into her arms, looking up at her. Terror was etched in her eyes; she whispered, "I l-love you." Her eyes shut and she sobbed and gasped, trying desperately to breathe. After one instance where she really, honestly couldn't draw a breath, she reached out and grabbed a fistful of Amanda's shirt, tensing.

Cole walked into the room. "We're gonna take her down to the hospital. They think she's got some sort of internal bleeding going on, but we don't know why." He knelt down next to Amanda, touching Gracie's cheek. "Hey, Gracie, do you cough more when you sit up or lay down."

"Down," Gracie croaked.

"Okay, then we'll sit you up a bit in the car. Let me carry her, Amanda."

=====

"She sounds like such a sweet girl," Jillian said, smiling. "I only met her once. She was dressed quite...." She frowned.

Travis started to laugh. "My mom met J when she was really, deep into her gothy stand-out phase," he explained to his fiance, smiling crookedly. "You met her when she was starting to come out of it." He nodded his head.

Jill smiled. She glanced over to see where her husband had gone and, well, he was just that. Gone. She sighed. "Please don't mind Robert," she murmured. "He's very...." She bit her lip. "Particular, about things, I guess." She shrugged helplessly, as if she'd had to deal with this for a long time.

"Oooh. You mean she wasn't always like that?" Sarah asked, tilting her head slightly, then shrugged, giggling lightly "I guess thats the effect meeting Kam had on her"

Sarah frowned "Its okay. My dad was always...er...dissapearing and stuff so I'm used to it" She got quite talking about her dad.

!@!

Alex stood in the hallway, tears running softly down his face now. He had his hands on his head; Gracie's painful thoughts were leaking into his head, along with everyone else's scarred thoughts "Ug!" He said, his eyes squinted close.

Amanda smiled weakly "I love you to sweetheart" And then carefully lifted her into Cole's arms, looking absolutly heartbroken at the site.

!@!

Jack let go of her, letting it all sink in "Where's your stone?" he finally said "Grab the stone, go lay down" he said, kissing her forehead "Sorry I made you do that" With a still shocked and scarred look on his face, Jack got up and walked over to his bed, laying down.

Katrina frowned. She watched him go, whispering, "Jack, it's not gonna go away." She touched her chest, where, beneath her shirt, her stone was. "It's already here, so I might as well tell you the rest." She shut her eyes and started rocking herself, setting an eerie mood for her following whispers.

"Everything's all fuzzy, 'cause it's not set in stone. Which isn't normal. Usually They know what's going to happen, but sometimes, I guess, Fate changes its mind." She inhaled deeply. "But they do bad things to Gracie. She gets all red and hurt." She frowned deeply. "It doesn't make sense. She's all red and all hurt and all sad and then there's a New Kid." She shrugged. "But then there's needles and more blood and she gets really sick. People feel bad for her. Ashley cries. Wynn is upset and Cole is too and Cole is worried about the money he's saving for the baby and he's trying to find ways to help with Gracie. And then there's more pain and then it just..." She raised her arms, opening her eyes and looking up at him. "Black, nothing, poof. The end. Either They don't know what's gonna happen, or she dies. I don't know."

------

Wynn looked at him. Then she was hugging him suddenly, tightly, thinking, It's gonna be alright, Alex. It's gonna be alright. She squeezed him gently, and then paused, standing on her tiptoes, she kissed his cheek. Carefully she pulled away from him, moving to stand in the doorway of Gracie's bedroom.

Cole murmured a thank you to his wife and then grabbed Gracie's blanket. He wrapped it around her gently, taking her pillow, too. "Comfy?" he asked, looking down at her. She nodded a little, starting to cough again, harder. He glanced at the clock; it was nearly eleven. The ER might be full, or it might be empty. It just depended on how many people had drank that night at their New Years festivities, he supposed.

"Do you want to come with the hospital with us, Wynn?"

"Of course. Common, Alex." She turned, darting downstairs to slip into her coat and shoes and then open the door for Cole.

"Amanda, can you do me a favor and grab me an icepack quick from the fridge? Her forehead's really hot." Holding the sick child in his arms, Cole walked from the room and down the stairs. Gracie, meanwhile, coughed up a storm, her body trembling wildly, even though the blanket was keeping her warm. Her eyes slowly shut, and she clamped her jaw together, trying not to let anything besides air out of her mouth.

======

Travis laughed and so did Jill. "Far from it," Jill said with a slight smile, guessing at how JJ looked now. She glanced at Travis, who seemed to share the thought, and he nodded.

Then Jill gave a soft sigh. "No, no, he's just...impossible. If he has an idea in his head, it's stuck there and no one can remove it. Whether the idea is an idea, or his preferences to what's right and wrong, it's...there. I'm sorry he's not over here and being enthusiastic like he should be." She frowned, shrugging her shoulders.

"It's okay, Ma, I actually expected worse." Travis replied.

"You did?"

He nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, I thought you two would be mad...."

"Honey, you know I would never be mad over something so wonderful like a child," she murmured, hugging her son gently.

Travis smiled. He couldn't help it, he did; he glanced over at Sarah, and she might have noticed that his eyes were brimming with tears of relief. "That's good," he said gruffly, snuggling his free arm around his mother.

"No" Jack was nearly in tears now "No..no no no no no no! NO!" He cried, then then glanced at his window. He suddenly was running to it, and in one quick movement he flung it open, starring at the world around him.

Did he really want to just run from it all?

!@!

Alex took a deep breath "I'll be down there in a second" he mumbled, fumbling down the stairs and into the kitchen, where he silently grabbed the ibreprofin bottle and stuffed it in his pocket, following them out with a pained look in his eye.

Amanda didn't even see Alex she was in such a hurry. She grabbed the icepack and then ran back to the car, trying to calm down.

!@!

Sarah smiled "Its okay, I'm not offended or anything. He's a doctor, he's got to be busy.." She frowned slightly as she said then, but then smiled when she saw the look on Travis' face.

Katrina burst into hysterics. She ran from the room, screaming, "MOMMY! MOMMY!" Almost tripping down the stairs, she ran into the hallway, her arms out, her shoulders shaking.

Meg was there, wrapping her arms around Katrina and hugging her. "What's wrong!?" she cried, her eyes round.

"I'm sorry, Mommy," she screamed, covering her eyes. "I'm sorry, Mommy, I'm sorry! DADDY!"

Meg crouched there, her eyes round in confusion. She stared at her wailing daughter, not sure out to comfort her or what was wrong.

-------

Jill smiled weakly at Sarah, sighing softly. "Yes, that's it, it's just 'cause he's a busy doctor," she murmured to herself, shrugging it off. She glanced up; she knew her husband was off with one of the ladies he liked. She knew he had a tendency to cheat on her. But she couldn't bear leaving him; if she left him, she'd have no other place to go, being she was an old child and her parents had died when she was eighteen.

She clasped her hands again. "So, Travis, why don't you go show Sarah your old room?"

Travis' face got red, and he laughed, shrugging. "Okay--"

"I'll be right back." She nodded, walking off to go find someone with a stronger wine.

Travis sighed softly. "My dad's a [childinapproiateword]," he grunted, shaking his head. He put his arm around Sarah again and leaned her up the stairs towards the second floor, towards his room.

------

Wynn was now sitting in the backseat with Gracie. Cole had managed to prop Gracie up with a pillow, and he was holding her up with the seat belt and Wynn's arms. "You comfy?" he asked, almost sarcastically. "When Alex comes out, he'll be like a bookend, so you don't fall over, okay, Gracie, sweetheart?"

Gracie glanced up at him. She shrugged slightly, trying not to cough. Her lips pursed and she whimpered. "I don't feel good," she mumbled again. If anyone noticed, her ever-tearing eyes seemed glazed.

"It'll be okay, Grace." Cole kissed her cheek lovingly and then hopped in the front seat, starting the car.

Alex slid in the backseat, becoming a 'bookend' and kept starring strait ahead, his eyes having a glazed over look to them.

Amanda hopped in, handing the icepack to Wynn and buckling her seatbelt

!@!

Jack sat there, looking out the window. He took a deep breath and jumped, and then it something came to reality.
His wings were coming out.
Jack skrieked, tumbling towards the ground and meeting the earthy ground with a thud.

!@!

"Mine was to" Sarah breathed "Promise me you won't be like that" She said, looking up at him and kissing his cheek as they walked through the house.

Hours Later
Around Three A.M.

Cole had just learned that his brother-in-law, Meg, Katrina, and Jack were also at the hospital. It had at first astounded him that Jack could end up in the E.R. on the same night Gracie did, but then he remembered how inseparable they used to be...and that the boy had dumped her earlier that night. Maybe his accident had happened out of guilt? No, no, that seemed highly improbable.

Cole talking to a nurse outside of Gracie's room. His voice was soft and hushed, for he was trying not to let his words carry into room behind him. A tired hand ran through his hair, and he nodded to her words. "So she can come home in a few days?"

"Yes, most likely so. The testing for her blood work, however, may not be back for several weeks. It's best we keep her medicated and laying down for a while. That will at least help with the coughing."

"Good," he sighed softly, frowning at her. "Do you happen to know whether or not her insurance will cover this?"

Gracie was laying in a hospital bed. She felt so small; she could feel herself practically sinking into the pillow, and the metal bars on either side of the bed rose up around her like small towers. She stared up at the ceiling, her eyes only half open. Sighing deeply, she tilted her head towards Wynn. "Are you still awake?" she whispered.

Wynn looked up, nodding. "Yes, surprisingly."

Gracie smiled. "Cool."

Her skin was very pale, but not as near white as before. It also wasn't as hot; in fact, she felt cool to the touch. There were needles in her arms, both arms, one of them containing blood, the other containing some sort of medicine that prevented her from coughing up blood. Once it was pumped into her system, it would stay there for a few days before she'd have to come back to the hospital and get another dosage. As well, Gracie was now dressed up in a in a hospital gown, but that wasn't visible besides her soft white blanket. The whole room was that color, that white. It was dotted with flowers, since this was a child's room, but otherwise, it was clean and white. Too clean and white.

Amanda was curled up asleep in a chair beside Gracie's bed, her hand under the pillow she had found. She had practically worried herself sick, getting sick to the stomach and then being forced to try and take a nap.

Alex was sitting on the little counter infront of the window that lead to a view of the town below them. His knees were brought to his chest, and though they were filled with pain of his own, his eyes were focused on Gracie. He was worried about her; she was practically his little sister.

There was something...odd about Alex this time though. He never really liked going out in public, to places with alot of people, and most of the family knew that and was good about it. But this was horrible.

The thoughts of nearly every patient were to strong for Alex to batter off. He could hear all their pained thoughts, and in some cases, feel the pain they were experiencing. Ontop of that, he had to listen to the thoughts of all the people worring or grieving over loved ones who had passed.

He couldn't figure out how to block them out. So, for now, Alex sat there, rocking back and forth slightly, eyes locked in the direction of Grace.


Jack was laying in the hospital bed, looking asleep, which he was. He was unconscious, because of the fall. During the fall, Jack had hit the ground hard enough to break his right leg, left arm, two ribs, and his jaw. The jaw had been the first thing to be fixed, and it was wrapped up tight now and pretty much fixed, just sore, but he could talk. But the doctors had informed Jag that he would have part of his mouth stuck a certant way for the most part of his life.

Jag was pacing back and forth "Gosh Jack..." He said, sighing and looking at his brother "Why'd you have to jump out a window?" Since they hadn't been able to talk to Jack, they were assuming it was a suicide attempt, not a failed flying attempt.

Katrina had barely stopped crying for two minuets since Jack had thrown himself from the window. She felt it was entirely her fault; she should have just controlled her urge to tell him and shut up before changing History itself and causing him to jump. It shouldn't have happened, and now a plethora of things were messed up. She kept clutching her necklace and crying, no matter what was happening, no matter who was comforting her. She couldn't stop the visions from coming now, and it was killing her.

She sat on a chair in the room, watching her Daddy pace, hearing him talk. Quietly, she began crying again. Mommy wasn't here to comfort her this time, being Mommy had needed a bathroom break and had left literally one second ago. Katrina's blue eyes found her father's face, and she felt tears stream down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Daddy," she whimpered, swinging her legs.

-----

Cole sighed deeply, thanking the nurse and walking back into the room. He glanced worriedly towards Alex, winced, and then sat down next to Amanda. Gently he reached out his arm and it settled around her. His eyes followed around her face, and then to her stomach. Hopefully she'd only thrown up out of being nervous, and not out of some sort of midnight-morning sickness, or a cold or something. Lightly his thumb rubbed her arm, and he stared down at the floor.

Gracie looked up at Wynn again. "Go sit next to your little boyfriend," she whispered. "He looks upset."

"He's not my boyfriend," Wynn grunted, rolling her eyes and blushing.

Gracie giggled. "I may have been gasping and coughing hysterically, honey, but I saw you kiss him."

"It was on the cheek, because he was upset!" she hissed, narrowing her eyes.

Weakly, Gracie's arm raised a little. "Raawwr," she mumbled, wiggling her fingers.

Wynn rolled her eyes, standing. "Fine, I'll go." She walked over next to Alex, gently leaning against the counter. "Sooo..." she said, glancing up at him, then away again. "Are you a'ight?"

Jag looked up at her, frowning "Awh, sweetheart, it isn't your fault" He said, walking over and picking her up in his arms, sitting down "Uncle Jack was just upset is all. Alot of things are going around in his little messed up head" He nodded, kissing the top of her head, glancing worriedly at Jack.

The doctors said he would wake up, but it'd be an hour or two.

!@!

Amanda's eyes opened slightly, and she turned so she was snuggling towards him "Hi" She whispered, looking up at him and yawning slightly "Anything new?"

Alex gasped softly, as if the voice of a person speaking outloud shocked him. He shook his head slightly, then looked over at her, eyes wide "The thoughts" He whispered, his lip trembling; the boy looked on the verge of tears "So...much pain.." his tone was no louder then a whisper, if that level.

He rubbed at his temples "It hurts my head" He remembered he had teh medicine in his pocket but...that would only numb it for about thirty minutes.

Wynn winced sympathetically. She patted his hand, frowning deeply. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "Maybe--you know what, why don't we go stand outside? Sure it's three in the morning and I'm about to pass out, but I bet it's quieter out there. Common." She hopped to her feet, pulling her jacket on and shooting Gracie a look.

Gracie gave her a weak thumbs up before her energy was gone again. She could lay for about fifteen minuets and then have enough energy to move for two seconds. It just wasn't fair. She sighed quietly, letting her eyes close lightly.

Cole smiled down at her tiredly. "No, not really," he murmured, pressing his lips lightly to her forehead. "Just talked to one of the nurses. Thankfully, Gracie's insurance is covering a lot of this, so we'll probably only have to pay like twenty bucks or something. Oh, and we'll be able to take her home probably...I dunno. Six, seven days at the most? They want her to regain her strength and they want to watch her coughing for a bit is all. Her blood work won't come back for a few weeks."

------

Katrina shook her head. "It's my fault," she hiccuped, staring up at him as she sobbed. "I shouldn't'a said nothin', Dada, I made him all mad and upset. I didn't want to tell him, but I coul-couldn't help it!" She cried harder, staring at her knee caps and forgetting that he didn't know, forgetting that she'd promised she'd never tell anyone but Jack.