Hunter came flying down the stairs as fast as he could. "Mari! Mari! You're
not gonna BELIEVE what I just saw!!!"

Mari was slightly skeptical of Hunter. "Uhm...I don't know....what did you
see Hunter...was it Mommy kissing Santa Claus?"

Hunter stared at her in confusion for a moment, but wrote it off to a bout of
silliness. "No! It was Christina kissing Adam!"

Mari just stood there, shocked, until she heard a tiny gasp from beside her.
She and Hunter both turned to see Kasy staring at them in horror. They stood
there for a moment staring at each other, then Kas turned and ran up the
stairs, Hunter and Mari close behind.

"You goddamn BASTARD!!! How could you?????" Kasy was screaming when hunter
and Mari reached her. Adam stood in front of her, still wobbling with the
alcohol. "I have had enough of you fucking with my head!" Kas continued. "I'm
leaving!"

Adam looked down. "You don't have to do that Kas. I'll be the one to leave,
this is my fault..."

"Yeah, you should leave ya bastard..." growled Hunter from behind Kas.

Adam didn't respond. just continued to throw his clothes into a bag. Kas
stared at him for a moment. How could he have done this to her? She had
trusted him, given him chance after chance...and yet he had betrayed her
again. She shook her head and walked into the next room.

Christina looked up when she saw Kas enter. So this was it...the news had
gotten out that fast..."You don't have to say anything..." she started.

"What the hell do you MEAN, I don't have to say anything? You were making out
with my boyfriend and I'm gonna say something about it..."

Christina bit her lower lip, trying not to cry. Just because she had made a
huge mistake, she could still hold on to a scrap of her dignity. "I know..."

"Hey, what's going on here?"

Jericho's voice was cheerful, but his smile fell as soon as Kas turned to
face him. "This SLUT was making out with Adam!!!!"

Jericho stared at Christina. "So what is this? I kiss you and you nearly have
a panic attack, but you can play tonsil hockey with Adam, no problem?"

Christina lost her battle with tears. "I'm sorry...I was drunk.." she
whispered.

Jericho ignored her. "I don't understand you? What's your problem?!"
 

Christina stood up abruptly from the bed, tears still running down her face.
"I don't have to take this shit from you...what happened between me and Adam
was an accident! We were both drunk! I would NEVER make out with Adam if I
were thinking clearly! And Kas, if you let him go because of one mistake.
then you're a bigger idiot than me." She turned to Jericho. "And you....you
have NO RIGHT to yell at me, you don't own me....from the day we got here you
have basically ignored me and you expect me to believe your sudden change of
heart was for real?" She angrily wiped her tears away. "I know all of you
hate me now, and I don't blame some of you, so I'm just gonna go. It was
great meeting you all." Christina picked up the bag that had been sitting on
her bed and walked out of the room.

Mari turned to Hunter, Kasy, and Chris. "Great tact, you guys."

Kas narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, two of us are leaving now because instead of dealing with this like
rational adults, you two went on a witch hunt!"

Chris crossed his arms over his chest. "Christina was making out with Kas's
boyfriend! How much gentleness do you expect from us?"

Mari sighed. "They were drunk. Tell me you guys haven't made mistakes while
you were drinking. Hell, two of you nearly lost your jobs last time we went
out drinking!"

Jericho shook his head. "I don't really feel like listening to this right
now. I think I'm going to go get drunk enough so I can do something stupid
too and not be held accountable in the Mari court of law." With that, he left.

Meanwhile, in the driveway, Adam was about to pull out when he saw Christina
running towards the car. "Can I get a ride with you?" she asked him.

Adam sighed. "I'm going to the airport."

Christina nodded. "I know....that's where I'm going too."

Adam looked at her for a moment, then sighed again. "Hop in. Might as well
leave the mess we caused together."

They drove for awhile. It had started to rain, and Christina stared out the
window. "Do you think he really liked me?" she asked out of nowhere.

Adam glanced over at her for a moment. "Chris, you mean?" She nodded. "Yeah,
I do think he liked you. I know this probably isn't when you wanted to hear
that...."

"No...." Christina swallowed the lump in her throat. "I like knowing there
was a 'what might have been'.....to think there might be a me in a parallel
universe who didn't screw up."

"I get the feeling you screw up a lot." Adam meant it to be joking, but his
sadness made it sound serious. He took his eyes off the road for a second to
wipe at his eyes. It was at that moment the car in front of him slipped out
of control, and before Adam could stop, he too was sliding, sliding towards
the oncoming traffic.......the brakes squealed but had no effect as the sound
was lost in the crunch of metal hitting metal.....

ONE HOUR LATER

The phone rang back at the house. "I'll get it..." Mari volunteered. No one
had spoken since Jericho had stormed out earlier. "Yes....yes, this is
she....WHAT? How...how could that....are they....you can't TELL me??? Then
why did you call.....yes, I'll be down there....yeah, same to you!" She hung
up the phone, then looked at Kas and Hunter, her face dead-white. "There was
an accident." she said slowly. "Adam and Christina....they won't tell me how
bad they're hurt because I'm not family...but they said we should come down
to the hospital."

***

Kasy ran up to the receptionist at the emergency room desk. "Where's Adam?"
she yelled. "Where the hell is Adam???"

The receptionist pushed her glasses down her nose and seemed to be prepared
to answer her with attitude, but a weak "You called?" stopped the
questioning. Adam stood there, a large bandage across his head and assorted
scrapes decorating his face, but otherwise seeming ok.

Kas ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. "Oh my God Adam...are you
all right? I was so scared when I heard you were in the accident..."

Adam smiled sheepishly as he wrapped his arms around her. "Shh...I'm
fine...but I thought you hated me?"

Kasy shook her head. "Life's too short for hate. Let's just forget this every
happened, ok?"

Mari allowed them to stay wrapped together for a few more minutes, then she
said softly "I hate to break the mood, but...where's Christina?"

Adam looked over Kasy's head, frowning. "She...the impact was mostly on her
side...she's got a few broken bones and...." He swallowed. "They think it's a
concussion, whatever it is, it's bad cuz she's been unconscious since we got
hit."

The four of them stood in silence for a moment, until Kasy whispered. "We
need to tell Jericho." The rest of them nodded, and her voice grew louder.
"If you want...I'll go try to find him...I don't want him to find out like I
did."

Adam held her tighter. "If I can get released, I'll go with you."

Kas and Adam signed him out, and, leaving Hunter and Mari to wait for
anything to happen with Christina, they left. They tried about five different
bars before finally finding Jericho slumped over a bottle of beer. "Chris?"
Kasy said gently.

Chris looked up. "What’s up Kasy? Why you here with the bastard?"

Kasy thought about telling him what had happened, but decided against it when
she saw how drunk he was. "Chris, we're gonna take you home..."

"No!" Chris protested. "Don't wanna go home!"

Adam grabbed him by his arms. "Whoa there little buddy, just relax. We're
gonna find you some better beer, ok? That's all."

"Oh...ok..." Jericho let himself be led to the car and once home, into bed,
where he promptly fell asleep.

A few hours later, Adam and Kas were taking a nap in their room and Mari was
home, taking a break from watching Christina. Jericho stumbled down the
stairs. "Hey Mari...what's going on? Why'd Adam have a big bandage on his
head? Was he listening to Fozzy....."

Mari shook her head, smiling slightly. "It's a bandage, you goof....Adam was
in an accident."

Jericho sat down on the couch next to her. "What kind of accident?"

Mari suddenly remembered that she wasn't supposed to let Jericho know what
had happened until he was thinking clearly. "Just a little accident....he's
ok, really."

Jericho looked at her oddly. "Is there something you aren't telling me?"

Mari shook her head. "Nope...nothing I can think of...."

Jericho continued to look suspicious. "Where's Christina?"

Mari swallowed. "Uhm...."

Jericho leaned over her. "Where is she?"

Mari shrugged. Jericho started to tickle her until she yelled out "Stop!
stop!! this isn't the right way to tell you!"

Jericho stopped, folding his hands in his lap. "Ok, I'm being a good boy now.
Tell me what happened."

Mari sighed. "Chris....Christina was in the accident with Adam. She's in the
hospital right now."

Jericho's eyes widened. "Is she...is she ok?"

Mari closed her eyes. "I don't know. None of us do yet."

They sat in silence until Jericho asked, "Will you take me to see her?"

Mari paused, then nodded. "Take a shower first though. You smell like beer."

Jericho stood with his hands on his hips. "I don't trust you...you'll just
take off while I'm in the shower."

Mari stood to face him. "I will not!"

"Will so! Take me now!"

"If you want I'll stay in the freaking bathroom with you, while you're taking
a shower…HAPPY!"

Jericho grabbed her by the hand, dragging Mari with him. "Fine with me."

Mari tried to resist, yelling "No! No, it was a JOKE I tell you!" but it was
no use.

***

Finally, after an action-filled fifteen minutes where Jericho poked his head
out of the shower every two seconds to make sure Mari hadn't ditched him,
they got to the hospital. Hunter was there, asleep in one of the waiting room
chairs. Mari sat down next to him as a nurse guided Jericho to Christina's
room.

Chris walked in quietly. "Christina?"

The voice from the bed was weak and strained. "Chris? Is that you?"

Chris walked hesitantly to the bed. Christina was a mess, full of bruises and
cuts. He could see the shape of a cast on one of her legs. "Oh my God..." He
sank down into a chair.
 

"Why are you here?" It hurt Christina to talk, but she needed to speak to
someone...she had been so scared when she woke up with no one there.

Jericho held back a sniffle. "Because I heard you got in an accident...are
you ok?"

Christina's focus was blurry, but she could see what looked like tears on
Chris's face. To tired to lie, she whispered. "It hurts really bad."

This time, Chris couldn't hold back the small sob. "Oh God...I'm so sorry, I
shouldn't have let you and Adam go out like that..."

Christina struggled to move her hand to lightly touch his. "Why are you
crying? I'm not dead or anything..."

The tears fell faster. "But you could be." Jericho's voice was quiet and
pained. "You could have died, and you never would have known...I never would
have made you see...how much I love you....." Christina automatically started
to protest, but Jericho cut her off. "Don't tell me my feelings aren't real,
because I know they are. I don't cry over people I don't love, and in case
you can't tell, I'm pretty teary over here." He picked up Christina's hand in
his own and held it. "Christina, I love you. And it's not because I pity you
or I feel bad, it's because you're sweet and smart and funny and I want to
get to know you better so I can find more things I love about you." He took a
deep breath. "Do you believe me now?"

Christina couldn't speak. Her throat had completely closed and she could only
lie there, blinking up at him. Finally, she squeezed his hand and nodded
slightly. He swallowed shakily and kissed her. This time, the kiss was pure,
sweet, untainted by hesitation or doubt. As Jericho pulled away from her,
they both began to hear the song playing quietly over the hospital speakers.

Every endless night has a dawning day
Every darkest sky has a shining ray
And it shines on you baby can't you see
You're the only one who can shine for me

Christina felt like crying again. She had never dreamed someone so kind and
nice as Chris would ever be interested in her before. Everyone else who had
loved her had been mean and angry hurtful. But now there was Chris...and he
seemed to be for real....and maybe fairy tales did come true...

When your soul is tired and your heart is weak
Do you think of love as a one way street
Well it runs both ways, open up your eyes
Can't you see me here, how can you deny

Jericho touched Christina's pale face gently. He could still see the stress
from the pain, but with it, there was a happiness he had never seen on her
before. He had tried so hard to show her his feelings, to prove to her he
wasn't what she said he was, but it had never worked. But the night, the
clarity that comes from rejection, had helped to show him what was wrong. She
didn't believe herself capable of being loved, she just couldn't fathom
anyone with that kind of interest in her. Chris was determined to change that.

It's a private emotion that fills you tonight
And a silence fall between us
As the shadows steal the light
And wherever you may find it
Wherever it may lead
Let your private emotion come to me
Come to me

They sat together in silence, holding each other's hand. It had been a dark,
desolate, destroying day for all of them. But as the midnight hour passed and
a new day started, so a fresh page was turned over for Chris and Christina.
As Christina gave in to the pain and the medication and slowly drifted to
sleep, she knew for the first time that when she woke up, it would not be
more of the same, but a new feeling, one of being safe, cared for, and most
of all, loved.

***

Jericho shuffled out of the hospital room about an hour later, smiling
tiredly. Mari, Hunter, Adam, and Kas sat in the waiting room. "Is Christina
ok? I heard she woke up..." Mari said.

Jericho's smile got bigger and he nodded. Noticing his grin, Hunter and Adam
both started to laugh. "Did you two make up?" Adam asked. Chris nodded,
grinning still wider. "Way to go!!!!" Adam and Hunter yelled.

A doctor walked over to them, looking fairly cheerful. "I'm glad to see you
people celebrating...I think your friend is out of danger, now that she's
regained consciences.

There was a brief pause, then Mari blurted out "When can she come home?"

The doctor thought for a moment, then said "Tomorrow, but she'll have to come
back for regular check-ups to make sure there's no undetected brain damage.
In the meantime, visiting hours are over, so you all should probably go home
and get some rest."

Satisfied with the answer, the group piled into the only working car they
still had and went home.

*** The Next Day ***

"Chris...Chris really.....I can get in the car....I'm on crutches, not
paralyzed...." Christina was protesting loudly as Jericho carried her through
the parking lot of the hospital. Finally, he set her down in the passenger
seat. Christina looked around her. "Uhm, guys...when did we get a mommy van?"

Adam and Hunter both started whining, until Kas cut through their voices to
say "This is the car we're renting until ours gets fixed. We need something
that can fit all of us..." she glared at the blondes, "and these guys aren't
exactly happy about it."

Eventually, everyone had complained enough and they got in the mini-van.
Hunter was driving, and behind him were Jericho and Kas, with Mari and Adam
in the back. They drove in relative peace for awhile, until Hunter went to
turn up the radio and Jericho, at the same moment, decided to lean up and
change the station. Slightly annoyed, Hunter changed it back, just to have
Jericho flip it again. This went on for about five minutes, until Christina
hit the "off switch". "Will you two STOP???" she asked loudly?

From the back, Adam groaned. "Oh, I can tell SHE'S gonna be fun to live with
while she’s on those pain pills..."

Christina crossed her arms. "Well if SOMEONE could watch the freaking road
when they were driving, I wouldn’t be taking these pills."

This started a small argument between Jericho and Adam, which Mari stopped
this time. "Why do you have to be so ANNOYING?" she yelled out.

Jericho smiled sweetly at her. "Aww...cuz you’re like a little sister to
me..."

The rest of the car couldn’t; help but laugh at the expression of disgust on
Mari's face.

When they got home, the group scattered to do their separate things, except
for Chris and Christina, who were busy driving each other crazy. Jericho
insisted on doing everything for Christina, and although she was tired and
about to saw her leg off rather than deal with how badly it ached, she
objected on principle. "You know, I do have to learn to walk around on these
crutches..."

Jericho handed her a glass. "Hush and drink your juice."

Christina obliged, taking a sip, but stopped when she saw Jericho hovering
over her. She slowly moved the glass away from her mouth, but then, with one
quick motion, flung its contents onto Chris's shirt. Chris glared at her in
horror. "Why you little...."

Christina ginned at him. "Yeah, I'm little, what are you gonna do about it?"

"Just this..." Jericho very carefully got on the bed next to her, leaned
down, and kissed her. Christina brought her hands up to wrap in his hair and
they kept themselves busy with that for several minutes.

When they finally parted for it, Christina smiled shyly. "Wow...why didn’t we
do this before?"

Jericho rolled his eyes. "Oh gee, I don’t know, maybe cuz of you being the
poster child for low self-esteem?"

Christina looked down ruefully. "Yeah, yeah...I know..." She bit her lower
lip. "I'm sorry."

Jericho kissed the top of her head lightly. "It's ok, I understand." He put
two of his fingers under her chin and tilted her head up to look at him. "Now
I mean it, you need to get some rest. The doctors told you to take it easy."

Christina sighed. "Ok ok, sheesh, I'm resting." She lay back against the
pillows and Jericho tossed a blanket over her. "I love you," she whispered.

Chris paused for a moment, smiling. "Love you too."

*** Later that night ***

Jericho sat in the empty living room. Kasy and Adam were in their room, as
were Hunter and Mari. Christina was under orders to sleep, which left him by
himself. He was half-curled up on the sofa, a pad of paper on his lap. "Here
with me, is where I want you….no, no, no, that’s not right…" He was trying
to work through the poem he was attempting to write, but it was not going
well. "Always near me….where I can…uhm…hold you close?"

It was then Kas and Adam came stumbling down the stair. "Heyyyy Jericho…"
Adam said, slurring his words.

Chris was starting to wonder if it were a requirement that at least two of
them be drunk at all times. "What’re you two doing down here?"

Kas grinned unsteadily. ‘I could ask you the same…." She grabbed Jericho's
paper away from him. "Oh…Adam, listen to this… ‘Here with me, is where I
need you, need you close to me…’ Aww, isn’t that sweet?"

Jericho was trying to get his paper back, but Kas handed it to Adam, who held
it over his head. "Oh no, Chris, this is too good to give back, in fact, I
think we should put this up somewhere…"

"No…." Jericho whined. "Give it BACK!!!"

Adam looked at Kasy. "Should we ask him?"

"Ask me what?" Jericho said, confused.

Kas nodded and Adam turned back to Chris. "We’ll give you your poem back if
you agree to drive us somewhere."

Chris sighed. "Where to?"

Kas giggled and hiccuped at the same time. "Vegas…"

Jericho shook his head. "Vegas? What the hell do you need to go to Vegas
for?"

Kas looked up towards the second floor. "Oh Chrissy…"

Jericho dropped his face into his hands. "Ok, ok, you win."

**

They drove in silence for awhile, until Jericho finally asked "Pardon the
question, but why are we going to Vegas?"

Kasy giggled again. "We’re getting married!!!"

The cars driving behind them were suddenly confused as Jericho swerved to the
side of the road and skidded to a stop. "You’re WHAT?????" The other cars
honked angrily and he stuck his head out the window. "Will all you filthy,
brutal, bottom-feeding trash bag cars please shut…the hell...up?" He pulled
back inside the window. "As I was saying…"

Adam grinned. "Well, we really want to get married, but we need a witness,
and since we have blackmail on you, we figured why not use you?"

Jericho shook his head. "No way am I going along with this…"

Kasy dug in her pocket and pulled out the poem. "I bet Christina has room on
her bulletin board for this…"

There was a dull thud as Jericho banged his head on the steering wheel. "The
things I do for you people…"

--------------------
Are Kasy and Adam really gonna tie the knot?  Are Christina and Chris going to finally be happy?  How did Mari get so sane all of sudden?  Stay tuned to find out....