Saving Grace

When John and I returned to the O'Callaghan residence, we made an alarming discovery.

An ambulance was in the driveway and Shane and Ross were standing on the front lawn frozen in both fear and shock. It was obvious that they had just returned.

John pulled up to the curb and we jumped out, the humorous chit-chat between us gone.

As John ran to his father, I hurried to his brothers, my flip-flops slapping against the bottom of my feet as I jogged. "What's going on?"

"It's Mom," Ross said, his face void of any emotion.

I assumed that it was revolving around her already but in the serious situation we found ourselves in, I didn't make a comment. "W-What happened?"

"She wasn't waking up..." Shane said, his voice controlled.

I, like Ross and Shane, hid my worry and fear as the ambulance pulled away from the house with Jay now inside also, leaving John standing in the middle of the yard.

"Don't move," I commanded softly to the two, though I knew it wasn't necessary. With that, I walked forward and rested my hand on John's shoulder as I stepped beside him. "What did your father say?"

John shrugged a little, "Not much. We should go to the hospital though."

I nodded in agreement. "You go lock up the house, I-I'll tell them," I glanced to Shane and Ross, "to get in the car."

-----

It had been hours since we had arrived at the hospital. Shane had curled up in a chair and had fallen asleep after Jay had walked out to tell us that there was no news on Bree's condition. There probably wouldn't be for a few more hours.

Ross had wandered off in attempt to find the cafeteria or something moderately interesting to do to take his mind off of things for a while.

John was slumped in his seat, staring at the blue-green walls of the corridor, occasionally looking to Shane.

I walked toward him as he found interest in the blank wall. I came to a slow stop in front of him, causing the morose boy to lift his eyes to meet mine. I smiled softly, hoping to lighten his mood even a little, before holding out a Styrofoam cup filled with coffee.

I watched the corners of his mouth lift slightly as he reached up and carefully plucked the steaming cup out of my hand. I bit the inside of my lip as he took a small sip. A small sigh escaped my lips as I sat in the chair beside John.

My hands fell to my lap. "Is there anything I can do?" I asked softly, glancing at him discreetly.

He shook his head. "I don't think so."

There was a moment of silence. "I'm s-sorry I puked in your car," I admitted.

"It's okay."

My hands fumbled in my lap as I thought of something to say. "It's odd to see you in here," I said. He turned to me and gave me a curious look before I furthered myself. "It's just, this place-" I gestured to the hospital, "it's so- broken. You're anything but that."

John eyed me skeptically, as if fearing where this conversation was leading.

"I mean, I- you- never mind," I said, giving up on trying to word my thoughts. I could tell that he wanted to know what I was thinking by the look on his face. I sighed. "It's just, I don't know how to explain this... You're the oldest brother; you're the strong one here, keeping Ross and Shane composed. Just forget it," I said. Feeling stupid, I turned my eyes to the wall he had been staring at for the past hour.

John's sudden movement caught my attention. He reached for an aged newspaper that sat on the table beside him and stopped a nurse who was walking by, asking her for something to write with. I watched as the worn-looking woman tossed him a pen before continuing on her way. John's hand moved almost frantically across the newspaper as he wrote in his sloppy, scrawled handwriting.

By the way he wrote the lines that I could barely distinguish, I knew that he was working on song.

Nick had done this plenty of times.

Not wanting to read over his shoulder, I looked away to see Ross coming down the hall in a wheelchair. A smile placed itself on my face as he grinned at me. I stood and walked toward him, not wanting to snap John out of his thoughts. "What are you d-doing?" I asked.

"I broke my leg, Amelia," he said as a nurse walked by and shot him a dark look.

I looked to the blanket that covered his legs before shaking my head and walking behind him. "Let's go find something to eat," I said before turning his wheelchair around and pushing him down the hall.

-----

I pushed Ross back down the hall after buying food from the hospital cafeteria.

Shane was still fast asleep as I had expected but what I hadn't was the tall blond standing before John, her twinkling laughter filling the nearly empty hallway. Ross looked up to me with disgust and I returned the look.

"What the hell is Marissa doing here?" he asked, his voice nothing but a grumble.

I shrugged. "Want me to turn around before they see us?"

"Too late," Ross said before taking a bite of the sandwich in his grip.

I glanced up to find John and Marissa's eyes on us. I groaned inwardly but approached them with a light smile. "Marissa, right?" I asked, sugar-coating my voice. She nodded. "That's what I thought. I see you're bruises have finally faded."

Her fake smiled faded at the reminder of the bruises that Linnely had caused around her stunningly beautiful eye.

"Ross and I got some dinner for you and Shane," I said, looking to John.

"Thanks," he said as Ross held out a sandwich to him.

Marissa tucked a perfect blond curl behind her ear before speaking. "I heard through the grapevine about your mom," she said looking to Ross. "I thought I'd stop by to check on all of you."

Ross snorted and rolled his eyes before taking another bite of his sandwich. "How thoughtful of you," he said, sarcasm dripping from his mouth. "I think we're okay, though. Especially John; he has Amelia for support now."

John looked like he was about to punch Ross in the face but his younger brother was oblivious. "Ross, I'm just being a good friend," Marissa said, false innocence radiating off of her. "If you think I'm trying to get back together with John, you're wrong."

"I never said that," he replied bitterly.

She batted her long eyelashes before looking to John. "I should get going- I'm obviously not welcome here," she said before wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him for a long moment.

I watched as Ross's hands clenched.

She finally pulled away and gave him a smile before walking by Ross and I.

John didn't see the devilish look she shot me and the smirk that was meant to piss me off.