Almost two weeks later, Dean sat on the couch looking through catalogs. Zaitsu wanted him in school, so he needed to figure out what school he'd want to go to. Public or private was the first thing he needed to figure out, then which school to choose. "I think I'd rather be drawing right now," the teen sighed, looking through the pages. He knew this was a higher priority though, so he didn't move from his spot on the couch and continued to look through the catalogs.

Lily reached over and picked up the catalog for her school, holding it out for him. "You might want to look at it. Rockford Academy is very nice. That's where I go. It's not all that strict. I mean, yeah, we have to wear uniforms and follow rules, but the classes are fun, and the teachers are really nice. We have a lot of activities after school, too."

Andrew looked over at Lily. "They've treated our family very well. And the scholarship is discounted for how many children you have..." He looked over at Dean. "I can pay for your scholarship easily, if you decide to go there."

Dean took the catalog and looked through it, scanning over the pages. "I guess going there would be better than going someplace else and not knowing anyone at all," he said, his eyes swiftly scanning through the catalog. "Seems fine by me. They even have an art program, which I wouldn't mind getting into."

"Oh! The art program is fantastic. I adore it. You actually learn to do more than doodle. We're always going to museums, and we get to go to art galleries and meet real artists and sculptors!" Lily said excitedly.

"Calm down Lily, let the boy think," Andrew said with a chuckle. Eirose rolled over on the floor, once again sleeping as a wolf.

Trembling, Zaitsu knocked on the door of Kayla's apartment. He was a visual wreck. Once again unshaven, his hair matted and in his eyes. He wore his contacts today. His clothes were wrinkled and put on in a messy manner. There were several large cardboard boxes on the floor by him; he'd brought her the rest of her things.

In his hand he clutched many papers, stapled together. He'd brought the divorce papers with him.

"Sounds good to me. I guess I'm going there, then," Dean said as he sat the catalog down, leaning back against the couch.

Kayla went to the door and opened it, feeling as though she'd been punched in the stomach as soon as she saw that it was Zaitsu standing out in the hallway. She inhaled deeply, lost for any words to say to him and finding it hard to even look at him. She bit her lip, looking away to avoid any eye contact between them. She saw the boxes and the papers, only to know how well misery loved her.

He had already bitten his lip, blood starting to run down his chin. He was looking downward, also wanting to avoid eye contact. Shaking, he held the papers out to her. He didn't say anything, he wanted was for her to sign the papers and take her things. He wanted to run away as fast as he could, but he knew this was more important.

Her stomach sank more as she took the papers, leaving the doorway and finding something to write with. After signing the papers, she handed them back to him and moved the boxes inside. She wanted to speak to him, to just say sorry and hope to get it all over with, but she found herself unable to speak. She couldn't even mouth any type of word, much less look at him in the eye.

He took the papers and began walking towards the stairs. After a few steps, he gave into his urge to run, running as fast as he could to the stairs and vanishing down them. As soon as he was out of the building, he kept running, all the way back home. The front door flew open and he bolted into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

He threw himself own onto his bed, pulling his pillow over his face, he sobbed into it, finally setting free the tears he'd been fighting back.

Andrew looked up at the sudden noise of the front door, watching as Zaitsu ran down the hallway. "Zaitsu...?" he asked quietly, knowing better than to actually go after him. He'd give him a little while to calm down before going to see if he was alright.

Kayla choked back a sob, closing the door and leaning against it. She slid to the floor and let her tears break free, burying her face in her knees.

Dean jumped at the sudden noise, looking towards the bedroom after the door had slammed shut. His ears twitched slightly and he sighed, looking away from the door. "I don't think we'll be seeing him for a bit..."

"I'll go check on him in a bit," Andrew sighed. He turned his attention momentarily to Lily, who was looking through one of the catalogs for another private school.

Dean nodded slightly then brought his attention to the wolf sleeping on the floor. He picked up one of the catalogs and rolled it up, tossing it like a spear at the dog's head, then quickly played innocent and looked over Lily's shoulder at the catalog she was looking at.

Kayla sat against the door, her cheeks stained with tears and her face buried behind her arms that were crossed over her knees. She kept sinking further and further into misery, and she knew it was her own stupid fault. She still loved him, so it hurt even more. Losing her arm didn't even hurt as much as this does. Even back when he had been killed didn't hurt like this... She wasn't sure if he would come back this time.

The wolf let out a hurt shriek, jumping up and to the side, tumbling over. He whined loudly and crawled underneath one of the couches in hopes to avoid being picked on again. Andrew sighed and shook his head a bit.

"Dean, please don't. He's old," the blonde said.

"Sorry Eirose," Dean called, leaning back against the couch and folding his hands behind his head. He blinked, staring up at the ceiling. "What is today?"

"I dunno, the twelfth, I think," Andrew replied.

"It's Saturday, so it's the twelfth," Lily said with a nod. "Why aren't you at work, anyways?"

"Mm?" Andrew looked up at Lily. "I traded shifts with someone. I have to pull a triple shift tomorrow, though. SO I might not be home until Tuesday early morning."

"Please don't let Shozii cook again," Lily whined.

Dean gave a slight chuckle. "With everything that's gone on, I guess I lost track of time. I totally forgot about my own birthday. Sad, really," he lifted his head a little and cracked his fingers, then rested his head on the back of the couch and looked over at Lily. "We can call Ryan and have him cook."

"Mm. That reminds me. I'll need your birth certificate in order to register you for school," Andrew told him.

"Eh, I don't need anyone to cook. We can just order pizza," Lily muttered. She wanted pizza, damnit.

"Papers, huh? Talk to Alex's mom," Dean replied, stretching his arms above his head. "Pizza sounds good right about now, actually."

"How about you talk to her? I don't even know the woman," he said with a sigh. He stood up and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, tossing it to Dean. "Go ahead and order one then," he said, making his way towards the hallway. "I'm going to check on Zaitsu."

"I'd rather avoid the apartment if I could," Dean said quietly, catching the wallet and looking over at Lily. "What do you want?"

"Hmm. Veggie lovers," she said thoughtfully.

Andrew walked down the hall and knocked gently on the door of the master bedroom. After a few minutes without a response, he opened the door a crack and peeked inside. The overwhelming smell of blood reached his nose and he threw the door open the rest of the way, rushing inside. "DEAN! CALL AN AMBULANCE!"

There was a knock on Kayla's door several days later, and when she opened it Dean and Alex were standing in the hall.

"You ruined his life, you bitch," were the first words out of Dean's mouth as soon as the door had opened. He forcefully threw a bloody shirt at her then walked passed her and into the apartment.

"Dean, try to stay calm," Alex said, walking into the apartment and closing the door behind him.

"Why should I?" Dean snapped.

"Because if you don't, I'll put a shifter seal on you."

Dean growled and paced the living room, shooting glares at Kayla every time she came into eyesight.

"What's going on?" Kayla asked worriedly, looking from the bloody shirt in her hands to Alex.

"Zaitsu tried to kill himself," Alex replied.

"Congratulations, you've successfully ruined his life," Dean said.

"Oh my God," Kayla trembled and fell to her knees, wide eyed and frightened.

"Let's go," Dean said, walking past her and going out the door.

"I hate to say it, but I agree with Dean," Alex sighed, leaving the apartment and following after the teen.

Sara bit her lip and gently brushed the hair out of Zaitsu's face as he rolled over onto his side in his bed. He'd been moved back home earlier that morning. An IV stand had been placed next to his bed, and Andrew had brought what he'd need from the hospital to the house. The blonde had given up.

Somehow he'd managed to get Zaitsu back home. He figured if he didn't survive this, at least he'd die in the comfort of his own bed.

Zaitsu let out a weak groan, his eyes closing tighter in his sleep. His left arm was wrapped up in bandages and stitched up. He'd had surgery to repair the damage he'd done to the underside of his arm. Mamimi lay in bed with him by his legs, refusing to leave his side.

"Shh... Zaitsu, it's only a dream," Sara said softly. She'd been by his side since the night before, when someone had finally managed to call her about what had happened.

Out in the living room, an extremely tired and stressed out blonde was catching an uneasy nap on one of the couches. Eirose lay in a corner, a wolf, as usual. He hadn't spoken a single word since learning of Zaitsu's suicide attempt.

"Want me to drive you home?" Alex asked, his hands in his pockets as he walked.

"I'll walk," Dean replied.

"You sure? It's pretty cold out."

"I'll walk," the teen repeated.

"You really are mad at her, huh?"

"She's changed too much," Dean sighed. "She isn't who I remember her being."

"Maybe one day things will be better."

"Doubt it," Dean said, shaking his head. "That has as much chance at happening as I do remembering my past."

"It could happen one day," Alex said, shrugging slightly.

"Maybe. Oh, I need my birth certificate. Zaitsu wants me to go to school, and Andrew said he needed it."

"Alright, I'll get it from mom and bring it over after work. I'll see ya later," Alex said, giving a slight nod to Dean before they parted ways, going to his car that he had parked in the parking lot while Dean headed home.

Some time later, Dean walked through the front door and closed it behind him. He went to his room and tossed his coat onto his bed and kicked his shoes off, and then went down the hall and into Zaitsu's room. "How's he doing?" he asked, standing by the bedside. He hoped Zaitsu would be okay.

A retched sob escaped Kayla as she lay curled up on the floor of her apartment, her hands gripping at her hair and her eyes tightly closed. Zaitsu attempted suicide, and it was all her fault. She felt horrible and knew she couldn't go back now. What would happen if she did? She didn't want to think about it. Tears flowed from her eyes and stained her cheeks, her whole body trembling from the pure fear and misery she was cased in, the misery she had thrown herself into. Her head hurt and her eyes stung, but she couldn't stop crying.

Sara looked up at Dean and sighed a little. "He's woken up twice... He won't eat or drink anything, he wont' even speak to me... He just stares off into space until he falls back to sleep... I wonder if there was some damage they didn't catch...?"

"Mm. There wasn't any brain damage, we checked," came a tired voice. Andrew was leaning in the doorway, half asleep. "It's called depression, Sara." He groaned a bit and rubbed his forehead. "I hate to ask, but I set my sleeve on fire earlier when I tried to make coffee. I'd like to avoid doing that again... Could someone please make me a strong pot of coffee?"

Sara nodded. "I'll make it," she said quietly, getting up and slipping out of the room past Andrew.

The blonde made his way into the room and collapsed into the chair Sara had been sitting in. He watched Zaitsu for a few minutes, then leaned his head back, closing his eyes. "I can't believe he did that... I never thought he could bring himself to do something like that..." he said quietly.

"I'm surprised Kayla hasn't attempted it, to be honest," Dean said quietly, sitting down on the floor next to the chair Andrew was seated in. "If this is what love does to people, I don't think I want to get into it." He sat back on his hands, staring up at the bed. "I hope he'll be alright."

"Love is a wonderful, beautiful thing. Just, sometimes it goes wrong. This is one of those times," Andrew said with a sigh. "Why would Kayla try to kill herself? I don't think she really cared enough to do something like that..."

"Different reasons," Dean replied, shaking his head a little. "She did care for him, I know she did. And I know she still does. I don't know what's going through her head that's keeping her from apologizing and trying to make things right again."

Andrew looked at Zaitsu for a moment before closing his eyes again. "I don't want him to see her again... I don't want this to keep happening."

"Neither do I," Dean said, giving an agreeing nod. "I don't really want to see her, either. Not if she's gonna act like this."

Sara came back into the room and held a mug of steaming coffee out to Andrew. "Here you are, Dr. Cozu," she said softly.

"Please, just call me Andrew," he sighed, sitting up and taking the coffee. "You can have your seat back," he said, getting up and making his way towards the door. "I'm going to lay down again. If I fall asleep, wake me in an hour to give him his medication." He left the room and went out the living room.

He sat down on the couch and took a deep drink from his mug. Setting it down on the coffee table, he picked up the remote and turned the TV on, flipping through channels until he found a twenty-four hour news station.

Sara sat back down in the chair, watching Zaitsu. "So... Where's Zack again?" she asked quietly.

"He's with Shozii," Dean answered. "He doesn't know what's happened, and my guess is that we'll keep it like that for the time being. Zack's too young to be told his dad tried to kill himself."

"Oh. I see. I agree, he shouldn't know what happened. But, something's been nagging in at the corner of my mind... Zaitsu isn't really Zack's father, is he? I saw his age when I picked up his license... He doesn't strike me as the kind of man who'd be a father at sixteen..." Sara bit her lip, regretting having even brought it up. "I know I shouldn't pry, but it just doesn't add up..."

Dean looked up at her a moment, then back at the bed. "Talk to Andrew, I'm sure he can supply the answers."

"You don't know either, do you?" she asked softly, hanging her head a bit. "Why don't we both find out together? Zaitsu will be alright for a little while..."

"Andrew's tired, though," he pointed out. "I wouldn't want to bug him while he's half asleep."

"He won't be tired for long. I brought that coffee from home," she said, getting up. "I'm going to go find out about all of this. Either you can find out with me or be left in the dark about the man who lets you live with him." She left the room and headed towards the living room.

"I don't care for prying all that much," Dean said, remaining seated on the floor. "Not with other people's lives, anyway."

"I think it's important to know things about the people you live with," she said, looking back from the middle of the hallway.

"I don't know much about myself, so it doesn't bother me that I don't know much about other people," he replied, leaning back on his hands.

Sara rolled her eyes and went back into the bedroom, grabbing Dean by the arm and pulling him out into the hallway, shutting the door behind them. "I don't think Zaitsu wants anyone to be around when he wakes up anyways. We'll check on him in a little while, when Andrew gives him his medicine."

Though he didn't enjoy being drug out of the room, he didn't struggle. Dean simply sighed and followed.

Sara went and sat down on the couch that Andrew didn't occupy. She watched the tired blonde for a moment, laying on the couch with his arm over his eyes in an attempt to block out the light of the room.

"Andrew...?" Sara asked softly, just in case he'd fallen asleep.

"Mm?" came Andrew's response.

"Zaitsu...isn't Zack's father, is he?" she asked, careful of how she worded it.

"No, he isn't."

"Feel better now?" Dean asked, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

Time to torture Alex!

"What system is this for?" a boy asked, seeming oblivious to the fact that the answer to is question was on the video game box.

Alex's eye twitched and he groaned, slamming his head into the desk. "It says on the box. Come back when you have an intelligent question."

The boy scoffed and walked away, leaving Alex to repeatedly slam his head in the desk.

"If I have to deal with any more stupid people, I'm going to scream," he groaned, hitting his head on the desk again. The joys of working at a video game store... Poor Alex has been dealing with stupid questions all day long and was ready to scream.

"Well then, who's Zack's parents...?" Sara asked, ignoring Dean.

"His mother is dead and his father had a psychotic break and is incapable of caring for Zack. Zaitsu obtained custody of Zack a few months ago," Andrew replied, still holding his arm over his eyes.

"So... When I met him, he'd just gotten Zack? Does Zack even know Zaitsu isn't his father?" Sara couldn't help asking questions, she was concerned for the two she'd known as father and son.

"Yes, he'd just gotten Zack. And no, Zack doesn't know. I don't see how any of this matters to you. No matter what, you should see them as father and son and ignore that they aren't," the blonde said, letting his arm drop and sitting up. "I think I'm going to give him his medicine a little early," he sighed.

He got to his feet and went into the kitchen, opening up the fridge and pulling out a small glass bottle of medication he'd been storing in the fridge. He went back into Zaitsu's bedroom, reaching into the medical bag he'd slipped under the bed and pulling out a sterile syringe, he filled it with the cold liquid in the bottle. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he used an alcohol wipe on the port of the IV, before injecting the medication into it. Sighing, he put a cap on the empty syringe and put it into his bag inside a plastic box already occupied by a few other empty syringes.

Zaitsu's eyes slowly opened, barely focused. "Dad...?" he asked weakly.

Andrew turned around to better look at Zaitsu, reaching over and brushing the hair out of his face. "I'm here..." he said softly.

"Dad...It hurts..." he whimpered, tears forming in his eyes.

"I know it does, I know," he whispered. He laid down next to him, gently wrapping his arms around him. He laid there, holding the man he'd called his son for the last nine years as he cried.

"Andr--" Sara had stepped into the room to see how Zaitsu was, but stopped when she saw that Zaitsu was awake. She bit her lip and retreated, closing the door and leaning her back against it. 'At least he's responsive...' she thought to herself, before going back out to the living room.

Lily, still dressed in her school uniform, the twins following her while dressed in their school uniforms as well, stepped into a game store.

"I can't believe you two broke another X-box," Lily groaned, heading towards the used game consoles.

"It wasn't our fault. It overheated," the twins said in unison, following their older sister.

"Because you two played it for two days straight," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "You know this is taking away from my gaming money too, right?"

"No it isn't," Kim said, looking up at Lily. "Andrew said he'd keep it separate. It takes from our money, not yours."

"Yeah," Kale said, nodding.

"Well then," Lily said, grinning a bit. "Looks like I'm about to make this store rich!"

Dean stayed where he was, staring out the window, his expression rather blank. No one could really take a guess at what he was thinking about, but he has done a lot of blank staring since Dannie's death. Maybe his mind kept trailing back to that day.

Alex looked up at the ding of the shop bell, giving a slight groan at seeing more teenagers. When he caught sight of the girl that had entered first, his gaze followed her and he moved away from the counter. "Need help with anything?" he asked the three of them.

Lily looked up at the man who'd addressed her. "Yeah, those little gametards broke another X-box. We need a new one. And I'm looking for some high-quality first person shooters for PS2," she replied.

"We're not gametards!" the twins protested.

"Yes you are. You've broken four X-boxes in the last year," Lily said, rolling her eyes.

"X-boxes suck," Alex said, shaking his head a bit. "Shooter games huh? There's some around here somewhere," he said, scanning over the many games stacked on the shelves.

"Yeah, X-boxes suck," Lily laughed. "But the gametards love them, so, that's what they get. Hey, do you carry PS3 consoles?"

Kim and Kale, not too fond of being referred to as 'gametards' decided to go look through the used N64 games.

"We pretty much have everything here," Alex said with a nod, watching the two 'gametards' wander off before looking back at the girl. "You know Dean, don't you?"

"The redhead?" she asked. "Yeah, my older brother is going to pay for his tuition to Rockford Academy."

"The short redhead, yep. And yeah, I gotta get his birth certificate from my mom," Alex replied. "Say, do you think you could do me a favor?"

Lily blinked up at him. "Depends on what it is. I'm not going to hurt him, he's been feeling bad enough lately."

"I was wondering if you could keep an eye on him because of that," Alex said. "Listen, he has the instincts of a guardian. He takes a small portion of his soul and mixes it with a protection charm, then sends it off to look over someone he cares about so it would act as protection to them. That's how I knew you know him, I can see things like that," he explained, hoping she understood.

"So he's a lot like my brother Andrew, then," she said with a nod. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him. Andrew's staying at their house to look after Zaitsu, so I know my brother's watching him too."

"Thank you," he said, nodding. "I'd keep an eye on him, but it's hard to do so since he's not living with me now. I just don't want to see him go mad and lose it. Though that might happen if those dreams keep bothering him." The last part was trailed off and quiet, and more to himself, but still said aloud instead of him keeping his thoughts in his head.

"Eirose sad something about Dean talking in his sleep a lot lately," she said with a sigh. "Nightmares have driven more than one member of my family insane before."

"Hey Lily!" came Kale's voice as he ran up to her, holding up a used N64 console. "Can we get it? One of my friends at school has one, they're really fun!"

"Kale, that's an old game console, you know that, right?" Lily asked, arching a brow.

"I know, but I like them," he said, looking up at his sister with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Alright, you can get it," Lily sighed, rolling her eyes a little. "Pick out some games."

"He talks in his sleep a lot. He never seems to remember whatever it is he dreams about, though," Alex said, crossing his arms loosely over his chest. "He remembers some faces, but that's about it," he said, before bringing his attention to the boy. "N64s are fun. Heck, some of the older games are a lot better than the newer ones that have come out."

"Reminds me of Izzy..." Lily said quietly, hanging her head. The twins hung their heads and went to go pick out some games for their N64.

"Hey Dean," Sara began, returning to the living room. "He's awake, and responding to Andrew..."

"Do you have the money to pay for the systems and the games?" Alex asked, changing the subject.

"Huh?" Dean asked, pulling his mind back to reality and looking over at Sara. "Oh. That's good."

"Mm? Oh, yeah," Lily said absentmindedly, reaching into her pocket and puling out Andrew's credit card. "My brother's a neurosurgeon. So if you'll accept his credit card, we have the money."

Kim and Kale walked over to Lily, their arms full of games for the N64 and their new X-Box.

"You guys get what you want?" she asked, looking over at them. They nodded together and watched their sister with interest. "Will you two stop staring? God, you're freaking me out," Lily said, shuddering.

Sara sighed and sat near Dean, watching him for a moment. "Did it upset you when he tried to kill himself...? Or is he one of those people that's just there but doesn't really mean anything to you?" she asked softly.

Iicha lay in her bed, snuggled in her blankets and reading a nice thick book. Since she wasn't working these days, she really didn't have anything better to do than read.

"Alex, get your ass back to the counter!" another worker yelled at him from the back of the store, motioning to the line of people that were waiting to purchase their games or systems.

"Shut it, will ya! You better be happy I'm even working counter shift, it was suppose to be your turn today!" Alex shouted back. "If you'll excuse me, I have retards to deal with," he said to Lily, groaning and walking back to the counter, muttering something about it suppose to be his day off and beginning to help the customers.

"Of course it upset me. I care about him," Dean replied, staring out the window again. "It hurts to see him like this. I just want all of this to blow over and for everyone to be happy again."

Ryan lay on the couch, fiddling with a small piece of paper.

"Call her, call her, call her," Jeremy repeated, peeking over the side of the armrest.

"Quit," Ryan said.

"Calllll herrrrr," Jeremy said again.

Without really thinking about it, Ryan grabbed the nearest object within arm's reach - in this case, the leg of one of Chiichii's old bodies - and chucked it at the boy's forehead. The object came in contact with his head and he fell backwards onto the floor, his eyes swirling around from the hit.

"I'll have you know, Sir. That he was working to sell me several expensive items. But seeing him treated like that makes me want to take my business elsewhere. I'd be more careful in the future, Sir. People don't like to spend time in places where there are assfucks yelling at employees for doing their jobs!" Lily growled at the man who'd scolded Alex.

"We agree, you jackass!" the twins echoed once their sister was done.

Andrew came out of the bedroom, going through the living room and into the kitchen to retrieve a new bag of fluid to hook up to Zaitsu's IV.

"Well, why don't you tell him it upset you?" Sara asked quietly so Andrew wouldn't hear.

"Mind your business, kid," the man snapped.

"Ya know, I think that bum at the corner was looking for another round with you," Alex said as he placed a stack of games in a bag. "And I'm not talking about fighting or alcohol."

"I should have your ass fired."

"Good luck with that," Alex said with a laugh as the shop bell rang. "I'm the only one that works around here, there's no way you're gonna get me fired."

"The only one that works, huh?" asked the man that had come in as he walked to the counter. "Come on, Alex, you know I do my share of work around here."

"Says Brad, the man that was wasted last weekend and left Tamra with his shift," Alex replied.

"Hey, we were having a party! Give a guy a break!" Brad said. "Anyway. Lard-face giving you trouble again?"

"Duh."

"Well, feel free to go. I'll wrap this up here," Brad said, walking behind the counter and taking Alex's place in helping the customers.

"Where were you when all the stupid people were piling in?" Alex asked, leaning back on the free side of the counter top.

"Field dressing a cat and looking for women," Brad replied.

"A.k.a, lying in bed 'till the last minute," Alex sighed, shaking his head and looking to Lily. "So your brother's a neurosurgeon, huh? Maybe he can examine Kayla's head and find out what the hell is wrong with her."

Dean stared out the window, thinking. "I guess I'm scared to," he finally said after a few moments. "I don't know what his reaction would be, I don't know if he would even listen."

Ryan reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone, flipping it on and dialing the number that was Sara's that was written on the paper he held.

Lily whipped out a small digital camera and took a picture of the idiot who'd been mean to Alex. "This s going to bite you in the ass if you ever need lifesaving surgery, you fuckwad," Lily told the jerk. "I'm not a kid, for your information."

When it came their turn to have their things checked out, Lily refused to allow the man behind the counter to take their things. "This sale is for the nicest employee here only," she said. The twins nodded in agreement.

Andrew returned to the bedroom and hooked up the fresh bag of fluids. "I want you to eat today," Andrew said quietly.

"I don't want to..." Zaitsu replied quietly. He was laying on his left side now.

"Well, it's not like he can react violently. He's too weak for that. And honestly, I think he needs all the love he can get right now. Even if he doesn't seem to respond to it, I know he'll hear what you're saying, and I know it'll mean something to him," Sara said quietly. She jumped when her phone began ringing in her pocket. "Excuse me a minute," she said, nodding at Dean.

She grabbed her jacket and stepped out onto the front porch, flipping open her phone. "Hello?"

"Yes, just one moment please," Brad said, turning to Alex. He grabbed him by the collar of the shirt and shook him a little. "How in the world are you still single!?" he demanded. "You're laid back, not controlling in the least, and have the whatever attitude!"

"Why are you touching me?" Alex asked, glaring at Brad.

"Girls tend to fall for guys like you!" Brad said, shaking Alex again. "You need to friend yourself a girl, mate."

Alex sighed and grabbed a hold of Brad's wrists, squeezing them tightly. "And you need to keep your hands off of me," he said, pulling his hands away from his shirt and lightly pushing him out of the way so he could get to the counter to get Lily's things.

"Once you're done with them you can go," Brad said, leaning against the other side of the counter. "I'll fill in for the rest of the day."

"Good, because I'm getting tired of dealing with retards."

Dean thought for a moment, then walked down the hall to Zaitsu's room. He tapped on the door a little with his knuckle, peeking in. "Mind if I come in?"

"Hey, Sara, it's Ryan," Ryan said once she had answered. "I was wondering if maybe you'd want to go out for some coffee or something sometime?"

Once they'd bought their things, Lily tucked her brother's credit card back into her pocket and made her way towards the door, the twins behind her. Once outside, they sighed, watching the rain come down as they stood under the overhang in front of the store.

"Great, now what?" Kale asked, looking up at his big sister.

"Well, we have our backpacks with us, and all our new games. We can't risk getting it all wet, or else I'd just say we should walk home. I have an umbrella, but it's only big enough for one of us," Lily said with a sigh, leaning against the outside wall and tapping her foot against the sidewalk as she thought.

"Maybe we could call Andrew's friend? The driver?" Kim asked, looking hopeful.

"Can't, he's out of town doing something for the limo company," Lily replied with a sigh.

Andrew looked to Zaitsu for a response. "It's up to him," he said quietly.

Zaitsu rolled over onto his back, slowly pulling himself up higher on his pillow so he sat up a little. "Yeah, you can come in," he said quietly, head hung a bit.

Andrew gave a weak smile, glad that Zaitsu was responding to Dean. "I'll leave you two alone," he said softly, picking up the wrappers from several things and carrying them out of the room to dispose of.

"Uh, sure," she breathed, the cold air getting to her a bit faster than she thought it would. "In fact, how about tonight? I don't mean to rush it, but I've been kind of busy, and I'm sure I will be for a while."

"You sure you want to fill in?" Alex asked, grabbing his coat from the back and pulling it on.

"You need the day off," Brad replied.

"Yeah," Alex said, pulling his keys from his pocket. He gave a wave to Brad and left the store, groaning at the rain. "You guys need a ride?" he asked, having spotted the three against the wall.

Dean walked in, sitting down in the chair next to the bed. "I was scared, you know. I didn't think we'd bring you back home after that."

"That's fine," Ryan replied. "What time would be good for you?"

Kim and Kale looked at Lily, then at Alex, nodding their heads together. Lily sighed and nodded as well, not really wanting to admit that they hadn't been prepared for rain.

He looked up at Dean, a slightly surprised expression on his face. "I didn't think you really cared..." he said quietly.

Sara looked at the watch on her wrist, then pulled her jacket tighter around herself. "How about twenty minutes? If that's not too soon. That little coffee shop nestled between the two book stores on 18th Street?"

"Alright, wait here. I'll bring the car over," Alex said, jogging out to the parking lot and to his car. A few moments later, the dark green 2005 Toyota Corolla XRS pulled up to the curb, the doors unlocking to allow the three to get in.

"Why wouldn't I? You feed me and put a roof over my head, it'd be idiotic not to care," Dean said. He gripped his knees a little, then sighed. "I have the instincts of a guardian, you know," he said quietly. "I mix a portion of my soul with a protection charm and let it watch over the people I care about. That piece of soul is still part of me, so it hurts when things happen to you guys. When Dannie died, I felt it... I lost apart of me that day, and I can't get it back."

"That'll be fine," Ryan replied. "I'll see you there, then."

Lily dived into the font seat of the passenger's side, knowing that she'd have to give him directions to her house. The twins quickly piled into the back seat and buckled up.

"Thanks," Lily said to Alex, then glanced back at the twins to make sure they were buckled in. She pulled on her own seatbelt. "Do you know where Glendire Estates is?"

"People die," Zaitsu sighed, bowing his head a bit. "You should be more careful with who you attach your soul to. Don't bother with me, I'm not worth it."

"Yeah, see ya in a bit," Sara said. "Bye." She hung up her phone and stepped back into the house. Andrew was laying on the couch again, his arm over his eyes like before.

"Hey, Andrew? Do you think things will be okay here for a while if I go out?" she asked the blonde.

"Yeah, don't worry. I've got it. I'll most likely take his IV out in the morning. He's awake and talking, he'll be fine as long as we can get him to at least drink something. I don't think he's going to try to kill himself again, so I think it's safe for me to sleep," Andrew replied, yawning.

"I'll try to come back tonight," Sara said, grabbing her bag from the floor by the door.

"Don't worry about it. You can go home and sleep."

"Alright," Sara said with a sigh. "I'll be over tomorrow after class." She walked down the hall and peeked into Zaitsu's room. "Hey, guys? I'm gonna get going. I'll be back sometime tomorrow." She ruffled Dean's hair and left, going back out into the living room. "Night Dr. Cozu," she called as she left, pulling the front door closed behind her. She trotted to her car in the driveway and quickly got into it, trying to stay as dry as possible in the heavy rain.

Starting the car, she pulled out of the driveway and headed towards the coffee shop.

"Glendire Estates? I've seen it on the map, but I haven't actually driven through there," Alex replied, pulling away from the curb and heading out of the parking lot.

"A little late for that," Dean said with a slight chuckle. "I kinda do it subconsciously."

Ryan hung up and put his phone back into his pocket as he stood, going down the hall to Iicha's room. "Iicha?" he asked, peeking inside. "Mind if I borrow your car?"

"It's, err," Lily bit her lip, looking out of the window, watching things go by. "It's in the rich neighborhood on the East side of town," she said with a nervous laugh. It was obvious that they weren't poor, but she felt like a snob whenever she had to say 'rich neighborhood'.

"I'm sorry..." he said with a sigh. "It's just, I took her the rest of her things, and..." he trailed off. He wasn't about to mention the divorce papers, he knew that Dean would blame himself all over again. "And she wouldn't even talk to me, and I didn't know what to say... And it felt like I was dying and I couldn't breathe. And the pain just didn't go away..."

"Mm?" Iicha looked up from her book and at Ryan. "I don't care." She reached into the nightstand and pulled out the keys, tossing them to him. "Have fun."

Sara pulled into a parking lot about a block away and got out of her car, pulling out her bag with her. She grabbed her umbrella out of the car door and opened it before shutting the door and locking up her car. She began to walk towards the coffee shop, shivering in the cold.

"I'm sure I can find it," Alex said, stopping at a light and waiting for it to change. "Did you guys have fun? You got a lot of games," he said, looking at the twins in the rear view mirror.

"You won't attempt suicide again, will you?" Dean asked quietly.

"I'll see you in a bit," Ryan said, catching the keys. "Call if you need me to get anything." He walked out and pulled his shoes and coat on, going out to the car and climbing in. He started it and pulled out of the driveway, driving off down the street. He pulled into a parking lot about a block or so away and got out of the car, locking it and pocketing the keys before walking towards the coffee shop. Being a water element, the rain didn't bother him.

The twins looked down at their bags and nodded together. "We like playing video games," they said quietly in unison.

"No..." Zaitsu answered, looking down at the blankets on his lap.

Sara had already taken a seat in a booth by the window, a book in her hands as she sat there, waiting for Ryan. Sure, she'd arrived early, but that was okay.

"So much you've broken a handful of X-boxes," Alex said with a laugh, turning the corner once the light had changed.

"That's good," Dean said, staring at his knees. "I don't know what it is exactly that drives people to suicide, but I don't want to see any of my friends go through it."

Ryan jogged down the street, hopping in between the buildings once he made it to the coffee shop. He shook the water off of himself, making it fall from his hair and clothes until he was dry, and then walked into the the coffee shop. He spotted Sara and walked over to her, taking a seat opposite of her. "Hey."