*James*

Gwen is so excited! As am I. Because this is progress. Holding the dog's leash by myself is huge progress. I don't even know how it happened. It was time to take Maggie out for a walk this morning and I just...I don't know... grabbed her leash! Of course, I couldn't do it the second time and now need Gwen to put the leash in my hand but once it's in my hand, my fingers wrap around it, and I can walk Maggie by myself!

Julia will be so happy to hear this news. I walk through the Avalon door with Maggie. Because Trisha registered her as a med dog, I can bring her everywhere I go.

"Right this way." The nurse leads me down the hall to Julia's room.

All excitement fades away when I see Julia. She's in Nate's arms, completely unresponsive. She's in shock, just like the times she would have memories of her husband's affair and had to write them down in her journal. She would go into shock. But why? Just yesterday she was alert and talking and ok, even under the circumstances. And that was while being in restraints. Today she's not and she still shut down.

"Ha-has she been like this all day??" I fumble with my words, being so distraught over the sight of Julia.

"Yeah. She's been like this since they sedated her again." Nate lays Julia down and gets off her bed. drop Maggie's leash knowing she will stay in the room and take Nate's place. I scoop unresponsive Julia up into my lap, lean back against the wall and brush her hair behind her ears while holding her.

 Julia looks up at me.

She looks up at me and begins to cry in my arms. Then she throws her arms around my neck and buries her face. I hold her and let her cry. 

"Hey, babe." I whisper softly in her ear. "I missed you."

"Still not eating, huh?" The second Jeremy's voice hits Julia's ears, she tenses up and I lose her. She loosens her grip around my neck and closes her eyes. When she eventually opens them, she stares off at nothing. Just hearing Jeremy's voice put her back into shock. I'm so pissed right now.

"She drank two cartons of orange juice." Paul declares and walks out of the room. He's pissed as well. I clench my jaw tight and let me tell you, Jeremy should be glad he didn't step foot into the room because I have the sudden urge to punch him right in the face. Over and over again.

Just like my father would.

I try not to think of that and obviously, refrain from hurting the doctor.

"Well, I guess it's the waiting game now. She will come out of it sooner or later. I'll have a nurse come in soon to have Julia try to use the bathroom." Jeremy hightails it out of the room knowing he's not wanted. 

Nate can tell I'm furious and changes the topic for me.

"Look at you, though, Gallo." Nate nods at my hand that two seconds ago was holding Maggie's leash." You walked Maggie in by yourself."

I stop thinking about Jeremy and smile down at my dog. "Yeah. This morning!" I say with pride. "My sister put the leash in my hand and... I- I just grabbed it. I'll need help picking it up before I leave though." I remind Nate. I don't know why I did that. I never feel the need to remind Nate what I can and can't do. Maybe because I've had to constantly remind my sisters.

"Of course." Nate pauses. "How is it going with your sisters taking care of you? You must be glad to be home." 

I let out a slight sigh and try to think of the words I want to say, which sometimes happens.

"Everything good?"

"It's.... a lot." I pause again, fumbling with my thoughts.

"Take your time, Gallo. I'm not going anywhere." Nate leans forward and pets Maggie.

"My mom's not well. It's hard to be at her house every single day to watch that. And..." I look down at Julia and frown. "I love being home. But my sisters don't really know what I can and can't do yet. And there's a LOT of sisters to remind constantly..."

"Well...When Julia comes home, she's going to need a lot of help, I think. She's gonna need her best friend. She responded to you before dickhead Donovan came in. Your room is waiting for you whenever you want to come back. IF you want to come back. No pressure. But we know you, Gallo. You don't really have to remind any of us of any limitations you may have."

I stare at Nate for a moment. Did he just invite me back to live at his place? I look down at Julia and kiss the top of her head. I close my eyes and tears form. I love my home. I love being home. But everything is different now. Being at my mom's is too much. Being home is too much. And to be honest... I miss my village of people. Yeah, me and Nate fight like cats and dogs but that's just because of Julia. We'd probably never have any issues otherwise. And... I DO consider him a friend. Or a brother. Maybe a brother. I don't have any brothers so maybe that is what our relationship is like- fighting with each other but when it comes down to it, I would kick anyone's ass for Nate.  He grabs a few tissues and puts them in my hand, waiting for me to get a good grip before letting go. And I didn't have to tell him to. He pats my shoulder, understanding, and sits back down while I wipe my eyes.

"You can still go home whenever you like too. I know you love your home. We have plenty of people to stay with you to help give your sisters all a break. Whatever you want, ok?"

"You..." I stutter a little and look up at Hollan. "You paid off my mortgage."

"Ahh shit," He laughs. "Who told you?"

"My sisters ratted you out."

"I thought doing it while you were comatose would be a safe bet, but I should have known those Gallo girls would spill it eventually." 

"Thank you, Nate." 

And I'm going to take Nate up on his offer. I want to be back with the people that know how to care for me. 

But I'm not looking forward to telling my sisters.

******

*Trisha*

Nate and I have been avoiding each other. But he's my best friend and my best friend is struggling. He's struggling with all this shit that's going on with Julia. He's going need me to be there for him when he's ready to vent. 

And to be completely honest right now...I want to know if Julia is ok. So, I decide to break the silence and text Nate. He knows I won't step foot into the Avalon. I just can't. I know my limits and hospitals send me over the edge. Mental hospitals would REALLY send me over the edge.

[How is she?]

I sit on the couch with Casey while she flips through the channels, trying to keep her mind off everything going on.

[We think she's in shock]

"Nate said Julia went into shock?" My eyes widen and I glance over at Casey, showing her the message.

"Oh no. Something must have happened there. Something to trigger her." Casey looks at the text.

"What's going on?" Jonah hears us from the kitchen and closes the fridge, giving up on eating now to be in the loop with Julia news.

[Shock? What's going on??]

We wait for Nate's response.

[A whole bunch of shit. She was sedated, again, because she had a nightmare. The rape. When she woke, she almost ratted Donovan out so he gave her a shot before anyone could stop him.]

"Oh my God..." Casey covers her mouth and looks up at Jonah.

[WHAT?! He can't do that, can he?]

[He can do whatever the hell he wants. He pretty much threatened me while holding Julia's medical file. Long story but she woke up and hasn't been very responsive. A little to James but then Jeremy came into the room, and she shut down.]

[I'm sorry, sweetie.]

Nate ends the conversation there and I put my phone down.

"That doctor is out of control." I mutter.

"No, he's in complete control." Jonah shakes his head and begins to pace the living room.

Me and Julia may not be besties or anything, but this is insane. She has enough on her plate and Jeremy Donovan is making everything so much more difficult for her.

I drop my head into my hands and actually feel Casey rub my back. She's never done that before, but we have become closer while hanging out during tour. Shopping and stuff. I've never really had a woman friend. In my line of work, you just don't have time for friends.

"I wonder how James is doing with all this." I lift my head and throw my hair up in a ponytail.

"I'm going to text Nate right now. Maybe I can pry more out of him." He stops pacing and picks up his phone. I nod, Jonah is more than just Nate's nurse. He's his friend now. Close friend. "Oh boy..." He responds to Nate's text before talking.

"James came to visit Julia and was NOT happy when he saw Jeremy. That guy is going to snap one of these days. He's done it to Nate." Jonah says and sits down on the couch next to Casey.

"Twice." I scoff thinking about the two times James has decked Nate. Both very much deserved.

"He's got a lot of anger inside." Jonah continues.

"Well. You know his history, right? With his dad and shit?"

"Yeah, Nate told me. That's what scares me though. When you grow up with all that violence and abuse, you wonder how much rubs off on a person."

Both Casey and I look at each other and then at Jonah.

"James would never hurt someone. Not like that. Nate deserved what he got back then."

I just don't see James doing something like that. Unless he's reached his breaking point with Jeremy.... If that's the case, Jeremy should be worried right now.

Very worried.

*****