Grace had been with Frankie for awhile. At least 45 minutes. The kids were starting to get concerned, so Coyote offered to check on her.

It had been one of, if not the, worst day of his life. He had been an addict for much of his adulthood, and had seen his share of bad days. But this...this topped them all.

He wiped his eyes and sighed deeply before walking into room 324.

He stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw before him.

There, beside his mother's still and unconscious form, was Grace Hanson, curled up and sound asleep. Her head was on her pillow, and her arm was draped over his mother's chest.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and couldn't help but smile.

Grace really did love his mother.

He decided to fetch one of Grace's own offspring to wake her up, so he wouldn't startle her.

He spun on his heels and headed back to his siblings.

Mallory stood up when she saw him approaching. "Everything okay?"

He nods. "Yea. All good. Just..." he gestures to she and Brianna. "Could one of you go wake your mother up?"

Brianna stood up. "Wake her up? Is she okay?"

Coyote nods. "Looks okay to me...she's just sleeping..."

Brianna sighs in frustration. "Why do you sound so cryptic? Ugh..." she decided to head over to see if her mother was okay for herself.

When she saw her strong, sometimes annoyingly so, mother, sound asleep beside her comatose best friend, she could feel her heart break. Oh,

Mommy.

She reached down and gently nudged her. "Mom? Mom wake up."

Grace's eyes flutter open and her heart sinks when she takes in Frankie's still form beside her once again. "Hmmm?"

"Mom, come on. If the nurse catches you sleeping she's going to kick you out."

Grace rubbed her eyes and slowly sat up. She sighed in defeat. "Okay. I just...

I can't leave her, Brianna."

Brianna helps her mother up and she helps her sit down on the small love seat parallel to the bed.

They sit together in silence for a minute or

two, before Grace sucks in a shaky breath. "I've never been so scared."

Brianna puts her arm around her mother, and she allows her to rest her head on her shoulder. "She's gonna pull through, Mom. She will."

"She's the best thing to ever happen to me, you know? She surprised me. She changed me. She's the best part of me."

Brianna sighs. "She knows that, Mom. She feels the same about you."

Grace shakes her head. "Does she really know that? I married Nick. I abandoned her. I made a mistake."

Brianna narrowed her eyes. "A mistake? What do you mean?"

Grace sighed deeply, almost hiding her face in her daughter's shoulder. "I never should have married him."

"Mom, what are you saying?" Oh God. My mother is in love with Frankie.

"I'm saying that when Frankie wakes up, because she will wake up, or maybe even before that, I need to make some changes." Grace swallows hard. "It just...It isn't fair to Nick, it isn't fair to Frankie, and it isn't fair to me. I've spent my whole life it seems trying to be something that I'm not."

Brianna took a deep breath. "Wow, Mom. And... you're sure?"

Grace pulls away and pivots her body to face her eldest child. She doesn't think she's ever been able to be completely honest with her before and she knows that now is as good a time as any.

She sniffs and takes a deep cleansing breath, turning to face Frankie's still form before facing Brianna again. She takes her hand in her daughter's, lifts it to her lips and kisses the back of it lovingly. "I've never been so sure of anything in my life. I only wish I could have figured out what I wanted sooner. Maybe then I wouldn't have been so unhappy, maybe then I could have been a better mother to you and your sister. Maybe then, the love of my life wouldn't be clinging to hers right now."

Brianna can't help it when her eyes fill with tears. "God, Mom. She will. She will!"

Grace nods. "I know she will. I know. And when she wakes up, she's going to need me. I need to put her first. I don't know what her condition will be and how much physical therapy she will need but... I need to be here for all of it. So... " she clears her throat.

"The sooner you talk to Nick, the better." Brianna finishes her sentence for her.

Grace nods. "Listen, sweetheart. Please don't tell anyone about this, okay? I need to talk to Nick, and fix things with Frankie before this all becomes part of our family discussions."

Brianna nods. "Mom don't worry. I won't say anything. I swear."

Grace smiles and wraps her arms around her. "Thank you, honey."

Grace leaves the room only to use the facilities and try to stretch her legs for the next few hours. The kids all take turns sitting vigil in Frankie's room with her.

Grace doesn't want her to wake up without her there. She needs her to know she isn't alone, and that they will get through this... together.

Nick stops by, but she sends him away again. She can't leave Frankie and she won't be able to talk to him until she knows that she's out of the woods.

It's the middle of the night when, while Bud sleeps on the love seat, Grace feels the fluttering of fingers in her hand.

Her eyes widen and she gasps. "Frankie? Honey...?"

She watches as her beautiful eyes start to flutter open. She immediately presses the call button by the bed to alert the nurses, and calls for Bud to wake up and tell the kids that Frankie was waking up.

She starts to cry when she turns back to Frankie. "Hey, Frances...come on... come back to me, hmm?"

She watches as Frankie's eyes flutter open completely and focus on her. "Grace...?"

Grace nods. "I'm here. I'm right here...you...you're going to be okay, Frankie. I'll take care of you. I... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Frankie furrows her brow. "Sorry? What... for?"

Grace manages a sad smile for her. "For marrying him. For not staying with you..."

Frankie's eyes widen and she wants to respond, but is finding it hard to focus enough to say anything more.

She focuses on Grace when the doctor comes into the room and they start examining her and asking her questions.

She knew she felt weak, especially on her left side. Her mind felt foggy, her speech slower than usual. But all she could think about was...

"Grace?"

Grace was immediately at her side. "Yea?"

"You mean it? What... you said?"

Grace nods. "Yea, Frances. I meant it."

Grace knew that Frankie's lopsided smile was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

She knew that this was only the beginning.