I felt my head pounding before I even opened my eyes. Whether it was from the alcohol, the three hours of sleep, or the alarm that was still going off, I couldn't be sure.

Squinting, I felt for my phone to get rid of at least one of the disturbances. And then, even though I really did not want to, I pushed myself up and opened my eyes.

The eyes were a mistake. Immediately, I squinted against the sun that flooded into the living room. But even though it felt like the hangover of the century, I knew I couldn't have had that much to drink last night, given that 'last night' was only three hours ago. If I had been totally wasted, I would still be drunk.

I got up and stumbled to the bathroom, only to find that I looked about as bad as I felt. Yesterday, I would have nearly died of embarrassment for Alex to see me like this. But now, well, he had seen me at an all-time low. He could think what he liked.

I splashed cold water on my face and smoothed down my hair that stuck up all over the place, making myself feel a bit better and reducing some of the pounding that still plagued my head. At least I felt a little more human.

I smelled coffee when I left the bathroom, and I followed my nose to find the kitchen. Alex already sat at the table, dressed and with a steaming mug in front of him. He jumped up when I entered.

"Coffee?" he asked.

I nodded. "But I do want to get going," I told him. "I have to go home, change, pick up my dad, get him home, and then somehow make it back to the bar in time to open for brunch."

"Which is why I figured you would want one of these." Alex pulled a package of travel cups out of a cupboard. "We can be out of here in two minutes."

I stared at the now filled coffee cup he handed me. "Thanks," I said.

"Let's go."

It only took a few minutes for Alex to arrive at the bar and pull up in front of my car, still parked from the previous night. I hesitated a moment before getting out. "Thank you, Alex, for everything," I told him. It didn't feel like enough, but I had no other words to express my gratitude. "Really."

"Give my best to your dad," was all Alex replied. "And I'll see you later."

"Yeah. Bye."

I got out of the car, giving it one last look as he drove off. I shook my head and took a swig of coffee. I didn't even know when I would have time to process everything. Certainly not today.

I hurried back to my apartment, threw on a fresh set of clothes, redid my hair, and then hurried back out. By 9:30, I was on my way back to the hospital, my nerves returning at the thought of going back in.

"Dr. Danvers." The doctor stood at the front entrance as I came in. He looked up and shook my hand. "Is my dad ready to go?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yep, we've discharged him and he's signed everything he needed to sign."

"And no problems? Everything looks good?"

"I'm not worried," Dr. Danvers said. "But is there anyone who would be able to stay with him until tonight? I want someone keeping an eye on him. There hasn't been any sign of serious head injury, but it's best to be careful in these situations."

I nodded. "I'm sure I can find someone." My dad had a very chatty, retired neighbor who looked for any excuse to socialize. My dad might not appreciate it, but the neighbor certainly would.

A nurse came out, wheeling my dad in a wheelchair. I hurried over to him and grasped his arm to help him up.

"Oh, Ana, I'm fine," my dad said. "I can walk by myself."

"Dad, the last thing I need is for you to fall again," I said sharply. "So stop complaining about people helping you. You're not going to get rid of that anytime soon." I gave a final nod to Dr. Danvers.

"Call me if anything changes," he called after us.

I got my dad to my car and loaded him in.

"You look worse than I do, Ana," my dad commented as I drove off towards his house. "Anyone would think you were the sick one."

"Thanks, Dad," I bit back. I really wasn't in the mood. "Because that's so helpful."
"I'm just worried about you, is all."

"Maybe you should be more worried about yourself."

Okay, maybe I was being a little harsh. But at this point, I didn't know what else to do to get through to him.

"Ana, I'll be more careful," my dad said quietly. "I promise."

"Good." I pulled into his driveway. "I'm going to hold you to that."

I helped my dad into my childhood home and got him on the couch. I glanced at my watch. It was a quarter past ten. Everyone would be at the bar right now, wondering where I was.

"I'm going to go over and talk to Mrs. Charam," I said. "The doctor said someone needs to stay with you, and I have to go and make sure the bar opens."

"Ana, honey, no," my dad said, giving me a pleading look. "I'm fine on my own. Trust me, other than soreness from the rib, I don't feel bad at all. My head is fine."

I gave him a sour look. "You said you would be more careful from now on," I said. "And that means following the very simple orders that the doctor gave you. Now, are you going to fight me on this?" My arms were crossed and my mouth set in a frown. I didn't intend on losing this battle.

My dad looked like he was about to argue but then closed his mouth. "No," he said. "And I guess Mrs. Charam will keep me from getting bored, with having nothing to do all day."

"Right answer." Shaking my head, I left the house and ran to the one next door. I waited a few seconds after ringing the doorbell, and then Mrs. Charam came into sight.

Mrs. Charam had lived in this house for my entire life. Her husband had died when I was ten, but she refused to downsize. While she was barely five feet tall and frequently brought over pies and homemade jams, I knew better than to write her off as your typical grandma. She had served as a nurse in Vietnam and was one of the most badass women I knew.

She just talked. A lot.

"Ana, dear," Mrs. Charam said as she saw me. "Oh, I haven't seen you in ages. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Mrs. Charam," I said, bouncing back and forth on my feet. "But I'm actually kind of in a hurry, and I was hoping to ask a favor of you."

"Of course."

As quickly and succinctly as possible, I gave her the rundown of what happened and what I needed. And she didn't hesitate.

"Oh, of course, I'll stay," she said immediately. "Let me just grab my purse."

I waited as patiently as I could for her to grab her things and then led her back to my dad's house.

"Alright, dad, I need to get going," I said once Mrs. Charam settled in on the couch. "Now, you're not allowed to do anything. You need to rest," I ordered. "Mrs. Charam, please make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

She winked at me. "You can count on me, dear."

He was in good hands, even if he would spend the day with constant chattering. And then, already more exhausted than I was when I woke up, I got back in my car and headed to work.

It was quarter to 11 when I arrived. Not a good start to the day. Everyone needed time to prep, and 15 minutes wasn't going to cut it for anyone. We would start already behind.

But as I walked around the building to the back dock, it was empty. I assumed everyone would be waiting for me to get there and open up, but no one was around.

I pulled out my keys, but then stopped. I gripped the door handle and pulled it wide open, racking my brain as I stepped inside. I definitely locked the door the night before. But now the lights were all on and I could hear activity coming from the kitchen.

Turning around after I punched in, I nearly smacked into Alex. "Shit, sorry," I told him.

"Don't worry about it."

"How exactly did you all get in here?" I asked him, heading to the office.

"Oh, yeah, I called Connor," he told me. "I knew he had a spare key, and I figured it would be smart to have someone else here who could open things up."

Right. Connor. I knew that, it had just completely slipped my mind. "Wait, how do you know Connor has a spare key?" I asked.

Alex shrugged. "You're not my only friend here, you know."

"Right. Well, thanks, I should have thought of doing that."

"You have a lot on your plate. You shouldn't worry about that."

"Speaking of." I turned around and crossed my arms. "What did you tell them? I'm assuming they have questions, given that I don't think there's ever been a day where both me and my dad have been late."

"Not much," Alex assured me. "I figured it was up to you to explain all of this, in the way you think is best."

I nodded. "Can you get everyone in the back to come out to the front?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure."

I headed out to the floor and found that everything was basically ready to go. We had less than ten minutes before opening, and a crowd was already gathering outside.

"Alright, y'all," I said once everyone was out on the floor. "I know you're all wondering about what's going on. My dad had an accident last night and ended up in the hospital." Immediately, murmurs of concern went up from everyone. "It's nothing serious," I hurried on, "and he's home now, but he won't be here for a few days and that's why I was late. I really appreciate all of you coming and making sure what needed to be done got done." I nodded toward the window. "But we have guests, and the best thing we can all do right now is make sure everything runs smoothly today. So let's get to work."

"Are you okay?" Ryan called out as I turned around to head to the bar.

"I will be once we get through this opening rush," I said.

A few people chuckled and everyone returned to what they were supposed to be doing, but Ryan eyed me as I joined him behind the bar. "You sure?" he asked me quietly. "You look tired."

"That's because I was up until six and woke up again at nine," I said drily. I yawned by then shook my head. "It's been an emotional whirlwind," I told him. "In more ways than one." I certainly wasn't going to go into the details about that. "But I'm good. I'm just going to sleep like a rock tonight."

"Oh, and one more thing."

"Yeah?"

Ryan grinned and leaned in closer. "Why is it that Alex was the one who called Connor to bring the extra key? Something I should know about the two of you?"

I picked up a bottle of champagne and shoved it at him. "Just make the damn mimosas," I told him.