Restart

"Yeah, she is . . ." Ty said softly, trailing off sadly.

Alyson raised an eyebrow. "This is pretty serious though," she said. "You're not worried at all?"

----

Chase did not move, but his cell phone started ringing shrilly.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

A (Slightly) Less Normal Life

Ana just laughed and said," None taken. Paranoia is how I've lived as long as I have. That and shooting first."

The Jedi Master took one last look around the interior of the ship and then said," I should get going. Don't want to anger that imposing-looking member of your crew more than we already have."

Ana calmly walked out of the ship and walked around the next street corner in as casual pace as she could manage. Once out of sight, she pulled out her com-link and tried to raise Gawain for a few irritated minutes. Finally she gave up, planning on lecturing her former apprentice on keeping in contact for once.

Restart

"I don't want to be here," Shelby suddenly announced the obvious. "I don't want to see her. I didn't miss her when she was gone." She had felt the need to tell someone how she felt about all this, but now that it was out she was ashamed that she said it. She lowered her gaze and shifted on her feet.

Bradley tilted his head and thought about it for a moment. "No-puh" was all the answer he would give.

~~~~~~

Mary Jane jumped at the loud ringing, startled that a cell phone could be ringing at such a time. She searched Chase's pockets, afraid she would miss it, and finding it she flipped it open hastily.

"Hello?" Her voice was hoarse, but her mind wasn't processing to her that she had to be heard so she didn't clear it.

Restart

Ty smiled sadly. "It's okay. Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, I understand completely. Dotty is a pain in the butt. But don't be glad this happened. I mean, she's really hurt in there." He bit his lip slightly.

Alyson snorted. "Jerk," she muttered, turning away.

----

"Chase?" Layla's voice came confused through the speaker. "Is that you? Where are you? I've been trying to get a hold of you, I guess my calls didn't go through. Are you done with your date yet? Peyton needs you back home. Apparently something went wrong in your room."

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Restart

Shelby looked up at Tyler and studied his face. "Do you want to see her?" she asked curiously. This was the first person she heard to have concerns for Dotty and she was slightly shocked, as she always thought it was impossible for someone to care for Dotty.

~~~~~~

"No--Chase's hurt." Mary Jane hardly listened to what Layla was saying and she cut her off towards the end. "His head. . " she groped for words, trembling in shock. "We were in an accident."

Restart

Ty nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I do." He looked back curiously at the little girl, wondering how much Shelby knew about Dotty.

----

There was a pause before Layla asked in a tense voice, "Where are you? Are you okay? Have you called nine-one-one yet?"

As she spoke on the phone, she made her way to John Luke, who was playing with his Legos in the living room. She covered the mouthpiece of the phone and spoke to him urgently.

"Go get your shoes on," she said firmly.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Restart

"Why?" Shelby asked immediately, curiosity heightening.

~~~~~~

"No, no, I-I haven't." Mary Jane looked around outside the truck. She didn't see anyone and the driver of the car that had smashed into them didn't move from inside his vehicle either. "I don't know," she mumbled, momentarily forgetting where she was even though she had crossed this intersection a million times before. "We were just coming back. And we stopped at a stop sign, and--and the car hit us!" Her voice cracked as she turned back to Chase. "And he's not moving! Oh god, Chase! Wake up!" she cried as she shook him, frenzied and not thinking she could be doing more harm than good.

~~~~~~

With his arms above his head John Luke looked up from playing with his Lego airplanes. He frowned at Layla's order, not liking the worried lines on his babysitter's face, but he got up wordlessly, dropping his toys, and raced to do what he was told quickly. He sensed the urgency for speed.

Restart

"Because . . . I'm her friend," Ty said, slowly, almost uncertainly.

----

"Mary Jane," Layla said sharply. "Don't try to wake Chase up if he's unconscious. You might do more damage than good. You need to calm down and call the police. There should be a road sign above the stop sign that says what road you're on. How far from home were you?"

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Restart

Shelby frowned sceptically, finding it hard to believe.

And she wasn't the only one. "Oh, really?" Bradley leered behind Tyler, chortling in amusement. "Is it an arranged friendship?" He waved his hand in the air. "You know, like a you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours kinda thing? Or . . ." he raised an eyebrow, "is it one way?"

~~~~~~

Taking Layla's advice, Mary Jane twisted in her seat to look behind. "Uhh, Fourteenth and Belleview," she read the street sign aloud. "We're at that intersection."

~~~~~~

John Luke came back out of his room with a shoe in each hand. He plopped himself at Layla's feet to slip them on, looking up at her between his task as he wanted to hear what was going on.

Restart

Ty flushed in anger. "That's none of your business," he said through gritted.

----

"Good," Layla said with a nod. "I can be there in a few minutes, but first you need call an ambulance." She glanced down briefly at John Luke. "I'm going to hang up so you can do that. Once you're done you can call me back and I'll stay on the phone with you until you reach the hospital, okay?"

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Restart

Bradley shrugged, not put off. "I can see how Dotty could find you useful," he mused aloud as he folded his meaty arms over his stomach. "She could make a pesky bug work for her if she set her mind to it."

He snorted and Shelby looked uncomfortable as he pressed the issue. "So how would Tyler Waters find Dotty Hennessey useful? Hmmm, makes one wonder, huh?" he said, looking at the movie star pointedly, then smacking his lips.

~~~~~~

Mary Jane nodded, forgetting that Layla couldn't see her. "Okay," she said and then hanging up so she can dial 9-1-1.

As she waited for someone to answer she stroked Chase's hair. "Stay with me, please, stay with me," she pleaded softly over and over again.

~~~~~~

John Luke stood quickly as he finished with his shoes and pressed himself closely as he waited for Layla to get off the phone. Looking up at her his wondering eyes asked all he wanted to know.

Restart

Ty ground his teeth together. "It's Ty," he growled, not liking the sound of his real name coming from this beefy jerk's mouth.

"And you're sick," he added.

----

"Come on, John Luke," Layla said. "Your sister is in a little trouble. We're going to go check on her."

Chase's face twitched slightly as Mary Jane stroked his hair, but otherwise gave no response.

"Nine-one-one operator. What is your emergency?"

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Restart

"Am I?" Bradley asked indignantly. "It's all over the news, bud. With pictures and everything. And ain't it worth a thousand words?"

He tilted his head as a smirk slithered across his features. "It's obvious what kind of agreement you guys have."

~~~~~~

John Luke wasn't surprised but concern pressed on his youthful features. Taking Layla's hand firmly in his, he started to pull her hand as he marched to the door.

~~~~~~

Mary Jane jumped when her call was answered. "Yes, I've been in an accident." Her voice was pleading for help to come and for Chase to wake up. "A car hit us, and my friend is unconscious. I don't think the driver who hit us is okay either."

Restart

Ty tightened his jaw and turned away from Bradley, doing his best not to stand up and punch the guy in the face again. He stared down at Shelby's shoes instead.

"Shut your mouth," he muttered. "Or you'll have Dotty on your throat when she gets better." He hoped that would be more threatening than saying he would throttle Bradley.

----

"Okay honey, calm down. Do you know where you are?" The voice on the line was soothing and calm.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Restart

Shelby's bottom lip quivered while Tyler stared at her shoes. She wasn't going to deny that she didn't have any nice sentiments towards the teen girl under her aunt's care, but what her cousin was jeering about made her ashamed to call Bradley family.

Bradley snorted. "Uh, don't think so," he told Tyler in a correcting manner. "I think Dotty's going to be out of commission for a looong while." He grinned in an almost satisfied way.

~~~~~~

"At the intersection of Fourteenth and Belleview," Mary Jane said immediately, remembering the street names clearly from before. She didn't know why she hadn't before but a tear trickled down her cheek. "Please. . . come quickly."