*Trisha*

[ Well look who the cat dragged in]

I smirk as Paul walks in. He sits down on one of the chairs and gives Nate a slight wave.

"How you feeling?" He mumbles like he always does.

"Save it." I roll my eyes. "He knows."

Paul's eyes widen. He never talks about his personal life so hearing that I spilled the beans to Nate was a shock to him.

"Sorry," I sit next to him and take his hand. "He knows I can't lie for shit."

[How's Julia] 

Paul shifts in his seat awkwardly. Something he doesn't usually do.

"She's fine now." He huffs and folds his hands behind his head, leaning back against the wall. "James is with her and she's busy helping Maloney with detox."

Nate nods.

"Trevor is going to keep Jeremy away for a few days. I can't believe it was him, boss."

Nate begins another coughing fit, and all his alarms on the machine go off.

"You ok?" Jonah bangs on all the buttons, shutting each alarm off individually.

[ I fucking coughed. That's all I did. It gonna do that every time I fart now too because I've done that like a hundred times already.]

"Eww Nate." I make a face. "You're so gross."

"That cough really doesn't sound good. I'm going to see if we can up your nebulizer treatments." Jonah is concerned which now makes me more concerned.

"What the hell are nebulizer treatments?" Paul raises a brow.

"Breathing treatments to help open up his airways so he can breathe better. My mom had to have them often whenever she got pneumonia." I frown.

[ You guys don't have to stay here you know. You'll see enough of me when I'm back on my feet. Go do something together. Just no fucking in my bed ... or my shower... or in my living room. No fucking in my apartment.]

Nate laughs at himself while scribbling on the white board and then holds up what he wants to say, gaining eyerolls from both me and Paul. Little did he know we had our way right in his kitchen. 

Jonah comes in with a blue machine the size of a toaster, with new tubing and a few vials of medicine.

"We're gonna keep at this round the clock, ok? I'll stay and make sure you get your treatments every 3-4 hours. Just for a little while." Jonah explains.

"Well, while you are doing that, I need to tell you how my meeting went with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum before I leave." I move my chair a little closer and Paul begins scrolling on his phone to keep busy.

Jonah hooks Nate up with the nebulizer and I wait till he is ready before I tell him about my meeting earlier. I tell him everything. How Richard talked down to me. And when I'm done, I stand up, ready to leave.

"Anyways, I didn't sign anything and nothing is changing right now, ok? I don't want you to worry about him.... I want you to get rid of him." I sigh right as the door swings open.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Nate uses his voice, but no one reprimands him. He sits up and glares as Jeremy Donovan walks into his hospital suite. Paul stands up now in full bodyguard mode and Jonah shuts down the nebulizer to do another time.

"I need to explain myself." Jeremy announces.

"You need to leave." Nate sneers and this time Jonah taps on the white board and shakes his head. 

"He can't use his voice, and you can't explain away anything. You stalked the girl!" I begin to get emotional which isn't like me. But Jeremy did the same thing Dave did. And he raped Julia, just like Dave raped me. I can't even look at Jeremy right now. He disgusts me.

"Listen..." Jeremy tries again but raises his hands in defense. "I'm not here to cause trouble."

"You know. I find it ironic you went out of your way to help me get a restraining order against my ex, yet you do the same exact fucking thing to Moretti." I squint my eyes at the man.

"Considering your abusive ex is my cousin, yes, I went out of my way to help you. Even though he's family."

What the hell did he just say? Wait. Jeremy and Dave are related??

"Dave Brennan is your cousin?" I croak out, now feeling sick to my stomach.

"You two were at Sullivan's Tap together." Paul states.

"Yes, I frequently have to talk David off the ledge. I've been trying to help my cousin for years now. But you needed protection, Trisha. He was confiding in me as his therapist, so I knew what you were going through. I didn't like how the court system waved you off the way that judge did. You needed someone to advocate for you."

"I don't need SHIT from you!" I cry.

"Trish, let go down and get a coffee." Jonah walks me out of the room and closes the door.

"They're related?!" I burst, gaining attention from the security guards as well as nurses at the front desk.

"C'mon, let's get a cup of coffee." He says softly and guides me to the elevator. "Remember what Nate always says." The tall black man stands waiting for the elevator doors to open. "Eyes and ears everywhere."

I nod. I know better than to burst like that. I don't know what I was thinking. I wasn't thinking.

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this information.

******

*James*

After my grief therapy session, I pass by Nate's little sister's room.

"Do you mind if I go in and talk to her for a moment?" I turn to Dr. Tremont, hoping I haven't overstepped any boundaries.

"You can try. She's not very easy to talk to right now, though." He raises his eyebrows at me.

"I just want to ask her if I can pray for her." I admit. I'm not one to shy away from letting people know about my faith and have no issues announcing it to Trevor, who gives me a nod and permissions to go into Cara's room.

Cara is hard to look at right now. I've never witnessed anyone in restraints before Julia other than in sexual situations. This is anything but. The girl looks so small, like how I imagine Julia would probably look. But I also know she is dangerous. Just like Julia. She has a blanket on, but I can see the restraint on her wrist and a lump forms in my throat.

Cara stares at the wall with anger and tears. She's detoxing and you can see the marks on her arm to know she has been using for some time now. Her hair is no longer in her cute little ponytail and her bangs are matted to her forehead.

"Cara." I say softly to get her attention. She turns and looks to see who it is. When she sees me, she looks mortified.

"Go away!" She yells and I can tell she is embarrassed. I heard she had a little crush on me so can imagine she doesn't want me to see her at her worst.

"I just want to talk." I approach the young woman who is now looking away and crying. I sit on the chair next to her bed and fumble but manage to hold her hand.

"I don't want anyone seeing me like this." She whimpers.

"I don't want anyone seeing me like this either. But here I am. A disabled fuck." I joke and get Cara to look at me with a slight smile. She really is a mini-Nate Hollan. Everything about her from her eyes to her smile, her British accent to her witty sarcasm.

"I wanted to ask you if it was ok to pray for you." I watch Cara's face change to a confused look.

"Me? Why would you want to waste a prayer on me." She huffs.

"You deserve to get better and feel peace. Nothing is being wasted. You're worth it, Cara."

"Yeah, tell that to my brother. Maybe if he visited me once in a while I wouldn't be in such rough shape."

She doesn't know.

"Um." I pause, unsure if I should be the one to tell her. "Nate can't come visit you right now."

"What's his excuse now? Traveling around the world again?"

"Cara. He was admitted into the hospital the other day. I-I thought you knew."

"What?!" Her eyes widen and water up quickly.

"He's ok. He has pneumonia. Had to go by rescue though because he was too weak to get to the hospital. You know how he is.

"Stubborn." We both say at the same time and both chuckle.

"I can give you updates whenever we hear from someone though." I squeeze Cara's hand a little and she nods.

"You can pray for me. I don't think I have had anyone pray for me before." She admits.

"I have a feeling your brother wasn't used to it either when I first prayed over him."

"You prayed for Nate? And he let you??" She sounds rather surprised by this.

"He was in a pretty bad situation...well... I guess so are you right now."

She nods again and a tear falls down her cheek. She closes her eyes and listens to me. I hold her hand the entire time and pray out loud so she can hear me. Sometimes I pray in my head, but she needs to hear this. Because she IS worth it.

I pray to God to heal her from her addiction. I also pray over her mental state and for complete peace for her. She deserves to feel some peace in that little body of hers. I also pray for her mother. That she makes better choices, repents, and makes amends with her children. I pray God will show her how to be the mother her daughter so desperately needs as her son. I don't know where I'd be without my mom. We are very close. Even now...Even when she's not all there. The girls still put her on the phone so I can talk to her. I need help holding the phone of course, but hearing my mom's voice always helps me get through tough times. So, I pray for that kind of relationship between Nate, Cara and their mom.

By the end, Cara is a whimpering mess which makes me know my prayer is working within her already.

"You really believe I can heal from all this?" A flicker of hope sparks in her eyes when I nod.

"I really do."

"Can I ask you to do one more thing for me?"

"Of course."

"Can you wipe my eyes and nose?" She smirks. Her tears have made her a mess. Unfortunately, my coordination can't grasp a tissue even on a good day, so I have to call out for Trevor's help.

"Sorry...my hands don't work very well." I frown and watch Trevor easily pluck a few tissues out and wipe Cara's tears for her.

"Thanks for visiting me, James."

"I can come by tomorrow too and hang with you if you like." I imagine no one gives Cara any attention around here. They see her as a dangerous, sarcastic little spitfire. Which she is, but she's also just a girl. Younger than her age. Like Julia. Cara nods with a little more pep and a smile, giving her something to look forward to and I leave the room with Trevor.

Once we are down the hall so she cannot hear us, the doctor begins to speak candidly with me. Again, it always catches me off-guard because the way he looks and the cockiness of it doesn't match his genuine, caring voice.

"I don't know Cara very well. I haven't been here for long, but she always came off harsh and headstrong. You brought out her softer, more human side, Mr. Gallo. You have a knack for this stuff."

"She just needs someone to be on her side once in a while."

"Have you ever thought about being a counselor here? You'd have a lot to offer these people."

I smile as we walk down the hall. Jeremy Donovan said something similar to me not long ago. Hey, who knows. Maybe I COULD find a job doing something like this someday. Even with my disabilities.

******

*Trisha*

Apparently Donovan not only went to the hospital to talk to Nate, he also met up with Julia to clear the air as well. My question is, why is he just telling everyone this shit now? Why, because he fucking got caught with the SUV? He had months to come clean and didn't. I just don't trust the guy but apparently Julia does suddenly.

She talks fast but tells us everything over the phone from her Avalon apartment. We all listen intently and not one of us interrupt her. She tells us all about Donovan following her, being obsessed with her well before she ever started at the Avalon.

But the girl is fucked up. I'm sorry, but she is. She actually feels bad for that motherfucker. I can't wrap my brain around Julia. I will never understand her. One minute she scared out of her mind of the guy and the next minute she believes his bullshit and feels fucking sorry for him? She's a very naïve woman.

I can tell this is what Nate is thinking as well as we listen to her on speakerphone.

"Nate, it all makes sense now." Julia ends and takes a breath. I look over at Nate with wide eyes.

"He's nodding. This is a lot to take in." Jonah says into the phone and watches him scribble something on the white board. "He said - even more reason for you to be very cautious. Never let your guard down around him."

"I know. But I feel bad too. He can't help some of-"

"WHAT?!"Nate blurts out but then grabs we all yell at him so he scribbles on the board.

"He said- don't you dare make excuses for him. I know you, Julia. You always try to find the good in everyone. Don't forget the monster Donovan is" Jonah says into the phone.

"Nate, if he is a monster than so am I. I just hurt myself and destroy people's houses. He hurts other people and destroys their hotel rooms."

She's not wrong there

"Anyways. I thought it was good that he told me everything. I gotta go help James with dinner. Love you, bye."  Julia hangs up. Her reaction to all this news is... well... this is unbelievable.

"Well, that was.... a lot." Evan is the first to speak up.

"Guess rape runs in the family." I mutter and leave the room. I don't want to stress Nate out more by being emotional around him. That's the last thing he needs. Halfway down the hall, Evan catches up to me.

"You ok???"

"She's fucking feeling sorry for him." I walk into a small empty waiting room and huff when I look at the TV displaying the reporters and fans gathering outside this very hospital for Nate.

"If he knew his cousin was doing the same shit why would he do it too?" I plop down in the chair and drop my head into my hands in frustration. "If he was Dave's therapist, then he knew everything. He knew how it would mess someone up. Yet he goes off and does the exact fucking thing?"

"Your ex raped you?"

Shit. Right. This is a new guy, not Paul.

"Not the point." I retract. "He knew it fucked with my head. And it fucked with her head." I cry. "You're never the same after...." my words trail off but I keep my focus on the ground in front of me.

"I'm sorry." Evan sits down next to me and clasps his hands together. "I had no idea it was that bad. How are these men not in prison?"

"Drunk Dave and Sober Dave are two different people." I say softly. "I was in love and going to marry Sober Dave. I did the same God damned thing as Julia. I didn't pursue legal actions further. I thought I could help him get better."

I think about that for a moment. God I'm just like Julia, aren't I? I make excuses for Dave and feel bad for him just like she does with Jeremy. I blame his addiction like she blames Jeremy mental health diagnosis.

I make excuses for a man who raped me multiple times in our relationship.

******