I am just going to say I have no excuses really for the delay in this. But I feel like I say that every time, but it's true. I apologize anyway for the wait, and also wanted to say this chapter marks about the halfway point for the story! YAY. I think this is more of a filler chapter, but it also has some characterization and development for some characters, as well as some moral issues and questions raised about people and how they deal. We'll see more of that in the next few chapters and it's something I think is fun to explore. Anyway, I'll shut up now. ;)

Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Austin spent the late afternoon convincing Ally to try and get some sleep. She refused to leave the hospital, not that he necessarily wanted her gone, but the lack of rest was going to do horrible things to her body soon if she didn't at least attempt to correct it. It took him nearly an hour to make her understand she could use his bed, especially considering the main nurse was Wendy and the thought that she wouldn't care—she knew the situation. It took longer for her to doze off, and several times he wanted to ask the formerly mentioned nurse for some sort of sedative to help her.

He busied himself by going through the DVD collection and putting it into a different order, but quickly grew bored, leaving the room as quietly as his wheels would let him, deciding to see if anyone else was in the same boat. He found Warren by the nurses' station, toting one of those red and white canes that the blind used.

"Austin!" the male patient stated as he neared him—were his wheels that loud? Jeez. "You've been a stranger all day."

"That's because Ally is back," Wendy said affectionately, though there was a brief moment that her eyebrows furrowed and she gave him a sad smile, one that he understood immediately. "Is she finally resting?"

"I convinced her to. I told her to stay as long as she needed to. I hope that won't get you in trouble."

"Not at all," she muttered, giving him a dismissive wave of the hand.

"Blind guy still here," the other chirped, giving the general direction of the two a wide smile. "I still suck at using this thing, so advanced apologies if I accidentally kick you with it or anything." There was a brief pause. "Well, it's not like you'd feel it anyway," he mused, earning a slap on the shoulder from the nurse, and Austin laughed. He liked that he didn't shy away from such jokes. He thought back to Ally earlier, how eggshells were terrible when you've experienced something like they did. "If I offended you, it's a little late for me to apologize."

"I don't care," he laughed back. "Its not a lie."

"See?" he fired to Wendy, who only rolled her eyes, clearly aware she was not going to deter the two boys from their banter. Warren was the kind of teen who didn't listen anyway. "He doesn't care. What are you doing, Austin? Care for some company? I met Jake earlier. He wouldn't shut up about that Cassidy girl. She seemed nice enough, but if you are going to talk my ear off about some chick, I'd much prefer you tell me now."

"I won't," he chuckled, following after the tall kid, finding it had to keep up with his long strides. Everyone else was either short, or in Jake's case a little unsteady so he never really had a problem. For a newly blind guy, he sure moved fast.

"Thanks."

"Did I say that out loud?"

"Yes," came the reply.

"I'd say sorry but I don't think you care. I guess I'm spending too much time with Ally. I've been more blunt as of late."

"Don't really care," he chimed. "I like blunt. No point in beating around the bush. But I thought we were not going to discuss the chick."

"I didn't mean to. I will say one thing though, she's had a rough few days, so when you do meet her, try to keep your mouth shut for a little while."

The dirty blond boy stopped near the end of the hallway, turning to face Austin who only managed to stop just before running him over. "I'm not completely heartless. What happened? Did her boyfriend die?"

"Yeah."

"Rough," he mused. "So, what is there to do around this place? I mean, I get that I'm sort of limited in things that I can do well, but if I have to listen to another movie or get put into another pep talk about how my life is still so great, I might throw myself down a flight of stairs. It would be easy, you know? They'd think it was an accident. Poor blind guy didn't see them coming and he just slipped." He used his hands to make a grand motion, then pretended to fall flat on the floor. "Splat."

"Graphic."

"Just a little," he chirped, leaning against the wall.

He knew the statement was morbid and probably not as comical as he tried to make it come off as, but he still laughed at the joke. He understood how limiting his own injury could be, but he could at least see. All the dumb morale things the rehab facility put in place pretty much included having functioning eyes, so he knew where he was coming from. He didn't have anything to suggest, nor was he really in the mood himself to try and figure something out.

"Time's up, you lose the game."

"Are you ever not sarcastic?"

Warren shrugged, "I'm not sure. Probably not. I'll get back to you never."

"Great. You and Ally are going to want to kill each other."

"Aha! There you go with the Ally girl again. You must really wanna bang her."

"What?" he said much too quickly. "No way. I mean, she's my friend. I'm just thinking that she's probably going to want to throw you off the stairs herself within a few minutes. I sort of drove her nuts the first week or so. But, in my defense, she was rough around the edges herself."

"Yeah, but you've only talked about her since I found you before." He wanted to point out that he didn't find him, that Austin came up to him beside the station, but figured it was a pointless endeavor to try and argue. "I mean, I heard you earlier with some guy. I didn't recognize the voice, not that I recognize everyone's voice yet, but I assume he must be a friend of yours from outside this place. I mean, you do have those, right?"

"Yes," he said defensively, though he was beginning to realize just how little people really cared. He got some cards in the actual hospital, and a few of his mutual friends with Piper showed up to 'wish him well' but other than Dez, no one really seemed to be in his corner. It was a depressing thought, one he didn't want to dwell on too long. Popularity only went so far, he was coming to realize. It would only get worse if people were to find out the truth. He couldn't let Dez take the blame, but how would anyone ever believe him? Realizing he'd been in his own mind for the last few minutes, he gave a delayed response, "I haven't seen anyone come for you, either."

"Ouch," he laughed, pretending to clutch his chest. "That's harsh, dude."

"Sorry," he apologized, realizing it wasn't fair to say such things. It was a touchy subject for him, and he didn't want to take away that feeling for someone else either. "I'm just noticing how little some of my so called friends really care."

"Same boat. I mean, who wants to deal with the blind guy?"

"The wheelchair is extra scary. Oh no, you might have to actually touch me now! Its like they think I'm diseased or they can catch it. You should've seen this one kid I played baseball with a few years ago. He kept his distance from me in the hospital, wouldn't even look me in the eye. It was ridiculous."

"I can't say if they would look me in the eye or not," he mused with a grin, "But all jokes aside, I get that dude. My friends who are still around think that it's sort of funny." There was a lull in the conversation for a second, as the other looked away and Austin understood that walls were up in everyone in some shape or form. "I make jokes, its just how I get by. But it's like they really think it's some punch line they can keep going at, never really seem to realize this is permanent. Maybe it's a defense mechanism, or something like that but it sucks. We're dudes, but it wouldn't hurt to have actual concern thrown my way once in a while."

"I get that, but from how you tackle most things, would you respond the same way?"

"Fair point. I guess not."

Austin was going to ask him something else when he felt someone touch the back of his shoulder. Ally stood beside him with some disheveled bed hair going on, which he smirked at and went right over her head.

"I smell perfume. Would there be someone else here now or do you have something else to tell me?"

Ally glanced over at Warren's figure, giving him a quizzical look with her tired eyes. He noted she only slept for about an hour, which bothered him but some rest was better than none at all. "I'm Ally. I don't think we've met."

"I don't believe so. I have heard a lot about you."

"Really now?" she said, giving the blond below her another look, one that he only shrugged over, as if he couldn't help but talk about her. "I would think with him it would be all negative, so I apologize for whatever monster that you think I am."

There was humor in her tone, but still Warren looked confused. "Oh, quite the contrary. He hasn't shut up about you since I got here. I'm Warren by the way. I'm the blind guy, just in case you missed my wandering eye and the obnoxious cane at my side. I apologize in advance if I stare at your chest or somewhere else that might be offensive."

"Hilarious," she muttered and Austin snorted, since his humor obviously didn't bother her whatsoever.

Austin was about to point this out when Warren's knees buckled much like the day's previous and he slid to the floor, alarming both himself and Ally as he sank. "What's going on?" she said to Austin as she ran over, immediately putting her hand on the small of his back. It made him jealous for some god forsaken reason and he pushed the thought from his mind, realizing his new friend was having another one of those post-concussion things he seemed to experience.

"Do you want me to get Wendy?" he asked Warren, who had dropped the cane at that point and was covering his eyes with his fingertips, curling into himself. If he heard Ally, he didn't bother to answer.

"Austin," Ally stated with authority and alarm, though gave him a panicked look, "What is going on?"

"It's from his accident. He gets these… headaches, I guess. Sometimes they pass or sometimes he gets a lot of pain. I don't really know much about them. Warren?"

"Give me a minute," he spat, and Ally released her grip from his shoulders.

The two others watched in anticipation as the dirty blond tried to sort through whatever his body was doing to him. It was weird to be on the other end of it. It also seemed to annoy Ally, who was fidgeting beside the sunken teenager, still grasping at his head like it would will it away. Austin knew she didn't like being helpless and not in charge, something Warren was taking away from her without realizing it.

"Warren, let me get Wendy."

"For fuck's sake, Austin shut up a second."

"Maybe—"

"Just shut the fuck up," he growled.

Ally's look grew protective and she folded her arms, but she didn't say a word while he writhed. "Throw words at me all you want, Warren, but I'm going to get Wendy for God's sake."

He left the room without waiting for an answer, wheels squealing for added insult.

From the Ground Up

Ally was already mentally exhausted, so why not throw some rehab newbie with severe headaches her way? Austin had left only a moment ago to get Wendy, and she was trying to decide if the mouthy teenager below her was in any shape to move off the filthy floor. She didn't know him, even if her friend did. She didn't want to overstep boundaries, but this was still a form of a hospital and they were not known for cleanliness.

"Hey, maybe you should move off the floor. It might help."

"Why does everyone think they have a fucking answer to something they haven't experienced?" he growled, turning upright and curling into his knees. The lanky boy's body seemed to relax if only for a second or two, and he sighed, leaning his head back against the metal bed frame.

"I get that," she replied. "But I wasn't talking about helping your head. I was just thinking you've got yesterday's lunch remnants all over you now."

"Fucking fantastic," he muttered, rubbing the inner parts of his eyes. "It's stopping, go tell hero boy that he doesn't have to save the day."

"He was just trying to help you." She grabbed him by the upper arm, bringing his lanky body to the bed. "He doesn't have a lot of control over things these days. Try not to be so harsh on something you haven't had much experience with," she clipped icily, glaring at him even though it didn't matter—she was good at fighting battles, that much she knew.

Warren looked like he wanted to argue but Austin returned with Wendy in that moment. She was holding several medications and a chart to her chest, but seemed surprised to find the room as calm as it was. It was Austin who spoke first, "What? It's over?"

"Yeah, if you would've waited you would've seen that. Because you can see."

Ally had enough. She was not in the mood for the guy's self pity, regardless if it was warranted or not. He was not around only abled people, he was attacking someone who was in an immensely similar situation and was struggling enough on his own, forget having the guilt of doing the wrong thing for someone when his goal was the opposite.

"Warren's fine, Austin. Let's go take a walk somewhere so Wendy can remove the giant stick that's in his butt."

Wendy's smile was short, but she understood regardless. Ally secretly sighed in relief, knowing the statement she made while technically fair could be overstepping her boundaries, but she suspected that the nurse was struggling with this new patient herself. It was no secret by her expression she knew just how the blind teenager could be, and while professionally exasperated or annoyed, she was probably not as much the sort privately, in return for showing concern where it was needed. She placed an arm on Ally's shoulder when she passed by.

"I'm sorry about that," he said when they were out of ear shot. "He's moody."

"I get that, but he doesn't have to treat you like crap."

There was a brief pause. "You were worse to me in the very beginning."

She wanted to be offended by the comment, but she knew it was true. The thought made her feel sick, and she tried to force the past out of her mind. They both knew how they acted in the first few weeks was over, but she still felt guilty. There was so much more she could've done had she not been such a jerk to him. He didn't deserve it, nor did she understand why he brought the worst out in her. Maybe it was because he saw more in her, something that few people bothered with.

"Maybe that's part of it. I gave you such a hard time for no reason, I don't want to see you be abused by someone else again. You were trying to help him. He just wants someone to yell back, so he can pretend everyone is trying to hurt him."

"Everyone reacts differently to shit situations."

"Yes, but he doesn't get a free pass, I don't care what is wrong with him. Either he realizes that soon, or he can spend his time alone," she ranted. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't say that. I'm now acting like I know what is going through his head, when I don't. I can't talk from experience, something that he was saying to me and I … forget it. It's not important. Just don't let him run you over, Austin. You don't deserve that."

"If anyone is getting run over, it probably would be him, by me. I mean, if we grease my wheels enough, he would never hear me coming."

Ally giggled, stopping near the entrance. He stopped too, smiling up at her. Austin had such warm, welcoming eyes that she grew to crave. They gave her peace and comfort. "I missed you. Thank you for letting me stick around today. Things have made more sense since I came here. It's not a lot, but it's enough to keep me going." She leaned down and wrapped him into a tight hug. She knew by coming there she was technically overstepping rehab boundaries and could get herself, him, and the staff in a lot of trouble. But no one seemed to care, and she was so appreciative of the little family she garnered in her last few weeks there.

Ally knew she couldn't stay the night at the hospital and had to go home and face her father. She promised Austin she would be back in the early morning, ready to tackle their next adventure and the fate of his injury in the later afternoon. She could see in his eyes he was petrified for that outcome and vowed to make sure the morning leading up to that appointment was filled with positive energy and things that would not remind him of what was to come.

Until then, she gathered her things and took the long drive home, wishing that every green light would go red and that there would be road work on every road. She wasn't ready to talk about things with anyone and she knew that her father would be gushing apologies and promises that he did all he could, things she very well knew deep down but just couldn't bare thinking of yet.

She stopped at a food joint near her house, figuring if she didn't eat soon she would pass out. The salad was bland and basic, much like she needed and she took it inside of her house and placed it on the table, figuring she would first take a shower and change her clothes, seeing as they were stained and way too ripe. Her father's car was in the driveway when she entered, meaning he had yet to bring it into their garage. This was a sign he'd only been home a few minutes himself. She took advantage of the fact and raced up the stairs, dodging one of the cleaning staff and running smack into her mother.

"Mom," she gasped, having not seen her car in the garage or in the driveway. She didn't see much of her mother in the summer anyway. She tried to pick up extra hours during this time, knowing that it was a slow period in medicine yet people tended to call out because of the weather. "I thought you'd be at the clinic."

"I left early," she said softly, trying to pull Ally into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Sweetie. I tried to call you and you didn't answer. I was growing worried. Trish said you sent her a text though, so I figured you were safe."

"I'm okay," she forced out, really not ready to have that heart-to-heart. Her mother only saw her pain, which was understandable, and wanted to make it better. She had no idea that Ally just wanted to push it away for the time being and not talk about it. "I spent the day with friends and I'm really tired. I just want to freshen up, eat, and go to bed. It's been a really long day."

"I know my baby, but don't you think you should come down to the kitchen with your father and I. We're worried and it would be good for us to sit as a family for once. Maybe we could even watch a movie. I requested the next few days off. Maybe your internship would allow you some time off, too. I bet they would understand. Your father was granted time off—we never spend time together so this is perfect. It wouldn't hurt to get away, we have that rental house down in—"

"Honestly, I appreciate it but I really don't want to take any time off. This internship is the only way I'm getting into school and I have to be there for my patient. It just doesn't seem fair to him to take time off. I want to be there."

"Honey, that's the pain talking. Take some time off. Come down to the beach with us. I bet we could even find that old restaurant you loved so much if we tried. Please."

Ally forced a smile onto her face, "Maybe in a few weeks. I'm going to take a shower. I wouldn't wait up, okay?"

"Ally—"

She darted past her and pumped her body forward fast enough to get to her room and close the door. Regardless of how much she was trying, her mother knew that a closed door was just that, a sign to leave her alone and let her be. She took a deep breath and sighed, leaning against the frame and closing her eyes. If her mother was that pumped about it, it meant she had already spoken to her father and he would be much worse. Her stomach grumbled angrily, but she made a choice. If she went down to the kitchen, the two of them would be waiting. So, instead, she took a shower, and curled up in her bed, in her sheets and waited for complete darkness to cover her eyes.