"How does this look? Is it crooked?" Kit looked over at Loni and Carly, who was sitting on on the edge of her hospital bed. "Can you see it okay from there?"

"I can see it fine, mom," Loni assured her. "It looks great!"

After Manny left, Loni slept most of the afternoon but was woken up when her mom and dad returned from Lissa's testing.

Kit had brought a handful of Loni's paintings and drawings and hung them around her hospital room. In addition, she had packed a duffel bag and brought over some better blankets and pillows for Loni's room and the on-call room.

She'd been fretting over what to hang up where for nearly an hour now. Loni knew it was to distract herself, though. Both her mom and dad had been on edge since Lissa's test this afternoon. They were very impatiently waiting for the results. Luca had nearly burned a hole in the floor pacing, and it was a hard hospital floor! Andre had convinced him to take a walk with him a while ago.

"Oh, a purple daisy! That's pretty!" Carly noted as Kit hung the next picture on the wall.

"It's called an Aster Celeste. It's considered a wildflower, but some find it a nuisance because it can take over. Grows almost like a weed," Loni explained.

"How do you know so much about this stuff?" Carly looked impressed.

"She's always been obsessed with flowers." Kit smiled softly. "That's all she ever wanted for birthdays was art stuff or books on flowers."

"I painted that recently. I had a dream about that flower," Loni recalled. "A whole field of them among other wildflowers. It was beautiful. I had to look up what they were when I woke up."

"And then you had to paint it," Carly smiled fondly.

"Exactly," Loni agreed.

"That is strange you dreamed that. There are no wildflower fields near us," Kit mused.

"I know," Loni said, "must've just been something I saw once, maybe when we drove somewhere and forgot about."

"Must've," Kit agreed. "Speaking of flowers, Manny picked out a nice arrangement."

"He's got a great eye." Loni looked wistfully at the beautiful bouquet.

"So, tell us about his visit?" Carly prodded with a little giggle. "He was beaming when he walked out of the room."

Loni blushed as a grin curled over her lips. She wanted to keep their little fantasy date a secret for now. It just felt more special that way.

"It was good; he's so cute and we had a lot of fun talking," Loni gushed.

"More 'deets than that!" Carly mock scolded her.

"Nope, that's all I'm giving up," Loni giggled.

"He is such a sweet boy," Kit told her, "don't tell your dad I told you this, but even he likes Manny."

"I knew it!" Loni exclaimed.

"He was really impressed that Manny was here right away this morning," Carly added.

"That's what he wants, what we both want for you, someone that cares and shows it."

"He does," Loni smiled. "...Are guitars expensive?"

"I think so," Kit said, "I've never bought one, but I assume. Why?"

"Manny said he had to sell his. He said he would get a new one someday, but then he got me that sketchbook and those flowers and I feel bad. I don't want to set him back."

"It's more expensive than a sketch book, hon. I don't think you set him back much," Carly assured her.

"Why'd he have to sell his guitar?" Kit asked.

"He didn't say."'

"Well, maybe I can talk to dad about giving him a little raise or something." Kit started rummaging through the bag she had brought. "Do you want Carly and I to help you get into your pajamas?"

"Yes! Please!" Loni said eagerly. "This hospital gown is so awful. Do you think I can shower soon?"

"We'll ask Dr. Morgan about that later," Kit said.

Loni assumed it would be an ordeal like whenever she had to pee; the nurses had to come in and ensure she didn't unhook any machines.

Kit used the remote to lift the bed as Carly went to shut Loni's hospital door. Loni sat up carefully with the help of Kit, and soon Carly rushed back over to help keep her steady as well. Lying as much as she did make standing even harder; she was always wobbly.

"Your ankles!" Carly cried out, seeing how swollen Loni's ankles were. They were double the size. Loni and her parents had flipped out over them earlier that morning.

"Woke up like that; Dr. Morgan said retaining water is normal, I guess," Loni explained.

Kit sighed, "Nothing about this is normal."

Kit helped Loni slide her hospital gown off and then Carly helped her into the shirt while Kit hoisted up the pants. She never thought at sixteen she'd need help getting dressed.

She was breathing hard as they finished and got her settled back into her bed.

"You okay?" Kit oversaw her as Loni breathed in and out slowly like Dr. Morgan told her; soon enough, she caught her breath again.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Loni promised. "But I'm exhausted now."

No sooner had she said it, then a yawn slipped out.

"Why don't we check on Luca and Andre and let her rest?" Carly suggested to Kit.

She stood for another moment studying Loni. "We'll be back in soon, honey."

"Okay, mom," Loni said, already drifting off.

🌹🌹🌹

"Do you want Carly and I to take Lissa tonight? We're taking the twins to a movie to get their mind off stuff. Might be nice for Lissa too." Andre asked as he and Luca returned to the cardiology wing.

"Yeah...as long as her results are okay," Luca was counting hard on this thing being rare. It couldn't affect both of his girls. It just couldn't. That would be beyond cruel...this was already so brutal.

Life isn't always easy. Sometimes it can be brutal, but if you two hold on to each other, you'll get through it, all of it.

His dad had no idea how true they could be when he wrote those words. Luca wasn't sure how he was holding up, Kit either, but he was confident his dad was somehow helping them find the strength.

They found Lissa playing cards with Stone in the waiting room. Loni's friends had left earlier when Dr. Morgan limited visitors to family for the rest of the day.

Kit and Carly left Loni's room just as Dr. Morgan excited her office with paperwork.

"Are they"-

"Results are in," she cut him off.

"Am I okay? Do I have brahmana?" Lissa stood up anxiously.

"Brugada," Dr. Morgan corrected her with a warm smile.

She gestured for them to follow her into her office. A few doctors huddled around a table, going over scans and paperwork. One of them glanced over when they came in, his eyes landing on Kit. When he felt Luca's curious gaze, he quickly looked away. It didn't seem like he was checking her out, but it felt weird. Now wasn't the time to puff his chest out, though, so he ignored it.

"Everything came back negative for Lissa," Dr. Morgan said to Luca's immense relief.

"Oh, thank god, thank you," Kit said tearfully as she started to collapse. Luca quickly wrapped his arms around her, his eyes filling with the same grateful tears as hers.

"You're sure? " Luca asked.

"Her heart is in great shape. However, I still want to test her regularly."

"Why Loni and not me? It's not fair," Lissa asked the doctor.

"Unfortunately, conditions like this, don't play fair."

"Still, if anyone should be sick, it should be me. I'm the one always causing trouble."

Luca felt his heart shatter; before he could speak, Kit had already pulled away and kneeled in front of Lissa.

"No.." Kit told her slowly, "don't you ever think that. Do you hear me? I'd never wish for this for either of you in a million, trillion, billion years."

"But it should have been me. Not Loni. She doesn't deserve this. She doesn't do anything wrong. She's the perfect one! Why her!?"

"We don't know why her. We may never know. But you are just as perfect as Loni. Loni would never want you to wish this for yourself, and we don't either," Kit said firmly. "Are you a little more challenging, behavior-wise, than Loni, sure? But you know what else you are?"

"What?" Lissa sniffled back tears.

"You're spunky, brilliant, and hilarious. You're full of life at all times. You remind us every day to live for the moment. You've been our little miss personality since you were just a baby, and we wouldn't have it any other way."

Lissa was starting to cry, and so was Luca. His wife always had the right words at the right moment.

"We love you each for exactly who you are," Kit continued. "You, Lissa, make us laugh daily with your little antics. You're just like your dad, and you know how much I love your dad, right?"

"Yeah, it's pretty disgusting."

Everyone in the room chuckled at that. "Let's give them a moment." Dr. Morgan said she motioned for the other doctors, and they followed him out, closing the door behind him.

"See, shorty?" Luca managed to get a hold of his emotions and knelt next to Kit. "In the worst moment, you can make everyone laugh. They call you a mini-me, and you are a lot like me. What people don't know, though, is some of that humor is sometimes a defensive thing, huh?"

"Yeah," she confessed in a low voice.

"Yeah, I know. Another thing we have in common is that perfect sibling. Andre was younger than me, but he was just like my dad. Driven, motivated, and well-mannered. People used to say, why can't you behave better like your brother."

"That must've been super annoying."

"It was," Luca agreed. "And it caused us to bicker and stuff. My dad and I also had some issues I won't get into now, which caused tension too."

Lissa quietly listened, her tears subsiding as she took it all in.

"I realized later in life that we both had our good things and our faults. I'm so glad we're best friends now, and I don't want you and Loni ever to feel bitter toward each other. Not ever."

"He's right, baby." Kit chimed in. "Your sisters and you need each other. Now more than ever. You can't feel guilty that she has it and you don't, be grateful, because now you have more energy for her. She's going to need that."

"I will keep her spirits up, whatever she needs I'll be there," Lissa agreed.

"Come here." Luca pulled her and Kit into a group hug and the trio sat on Dr. Morgan's office floor, comforting each other.

🌹🌹🌹

The hospital went silent after nine. Carly and Andre did take a reluctant Lissa with them for the night. She only left because Loni insisted she needed to ensure Lucky was okay. They'd found Loni's phone in her car that morning, and she sent it home with Lissa so her sister could take pictures of Lucky and the roses for her.

Luca and Kit sat with Loni, who'd fallen asleep a few minutes earlier. They were both reluctant to leave her room for the on-call room and were putting it off.

Luca's phone sounded, and he frowned as he looked at the screen.

"What is it, babe?" Kit asked nervously.

"It's the alarm for the restaurant," Luca murmured.

"What?" Kit frowned, "someone broke in?"

"I'm sure it's nothing, but I'm going to go check it out to be safe."

"Luca!" She stood up and then winced when Loni mumbled, luckily she didn't wake. "You can't go alone," she said in a quieter voice.

"Kit Kat, if anything, it's some teenagers."

"Please just call my dad to go with you," she begged.

"Okay," he promised her holding up his phone, "I'll call him on the way."

"Thank you," she breathed. "With Loni...I'm just on edge."

"I know baby, me too," he kissed her forehead. "I'll be back soon. I love you."

"Love you too."

🌹🌹🌹

The drive to the restaurant only took five minutes. Stone was still closing up the Willow Grill, the bar he worked at down the road from Leo's, but said he'd meet him soon.

Luca pulled in and saw an old beat-up red car, and next to it, he instantly recognized a blue dodge as Manny's.

"Manny?" With a frown, Luca got out of the car. He peered into the windows of the red car and noticed a lot of stuff in it.

As he headed inside, Manny stood at the bar, and his eyes widened in horror when he saw Luca.

"Manny? What are you doing here at this time? What's going on?" Luca could sense the fear coming off the kid and tried to keep his tone light.

"It's my fault! Mr. Donato, please don't blame my son." A woman came from the bathroom; her dark black hair was wet and her brown eyes was sorrowful as she drew closer. "I have a job interview tomorrow and needed to freshen up. I convinced him to let me use the bathroom here. I promise we didn't take a thing, we never would."

Luca was taken aback as his eyes shifted from Manny to the woman. He had no clue Manny had it this bad.

"Manny," Luca said calmly. "Can you go in the kitchen? All that food from Loni's party is just sitting there in the walk-in. Go heat up a bunch of it."

"We couldn't eat your food!" She shook her head.

"It'll just go to waste otherwise, please," Luca pressed but gently, and she nodded at Manny to go ahead.

"I am sorry, Mr. Donato."

"Please call me Luca, and you don't need to apologize. Ms. Ramirez."

"Call me, Ava, please," she offered. "And I do want to apologize because it breached your trust, which means a lot to my son. He cares very much for your daughter and looks up to you. This job has been such a blessing for us."

"I accept your apology, but coming in to use the bathroom is fine, really, " Luca assured her.

"If I can get this job, I can turn things around for Manny and me."

"You're homeless?" Luca asked softly.

"Recently," she confirmed, a weary look in her eyes. "I was fired a year ago and struggled to find work. We moved here when I was offered a job at the shoe factory right outside of town. I thought it was a new start for us here. I found a small house to rent, and the town is safe and beautiful compared to the city."

She paused for a moment, the pain in her eyes evident. 

"But someone decided the shoe factory was spending too much money on labor, and they ended up laying off most of the new hires myself included. We tried hard to keep up with the rent. I'm ashamed to admit I had to take most of Manny's earnings to get us by. He wanted to help, but it still kills me. Finally it became too much, and we got too far behind. We have been staying in our cars, or at the shelter, for a week or so now. Manny hates the shelter he's afraid if the school kids see him there.."

"Right," Luca nodded with a sad sigh, kids were cruel they'd tease him for it and make high school miserable for the kid.  "Is it too late to back-pay the rent? I can help. My brother has attorney connections, and we have plenty of savings.."

"I couldn't possibly take your money, Luca," she said in a slightly clipped tone.

"Look, I understand, but you know why we have this place and the money in the bank?"

She tilted her head slightly, "why?"

"My dad gave it to us, and his words were, not to spoil us but to make sure we had the time we needed to build memories, and didn't have to work all the time. This place was to continue his legacy and it did so well, we never needed most of the money he left. If he was here now this is exactly what he'd want, to help someone with it."

"I do appreciate the gesture, but I just can't. Your child is in the hospital. There is no telling how much the medical bills could amount to. You can't have this place open while you worry about her and that will drain the bills. You will need that money."

"You can't live in your car with a kid, either," Luca countered.

"Whoa." Luca turned to see Stone had come in. He was gaping at Ava and then looked at Luca with confusion. "What's going on? Whose living in a car?"

"Hey, dad, this is Manny's mom, Ava," Luca introduced the two. "This is my wife Kit's dad, Stone."

Stone held his hand out and shook hers. "You and Manny need help?"

"We'll be okay. I have an interview tomorrow. It'll all turn around then." She looked like she was trying to convince herself.

"You'll do great, mom; I know you will." Manny had returned with two large platters of heated pasta.

For the first time since Loni collapsed, Luca felt a pang of hunger. He sent a text to Kit so she wouldn't worry but opted to take ten to figure this out and have some food. Manny started dishing them up while Luca grabbed some forks from behind the bar and filled them each a water.

Manny started digging right in, and Luca saw the kid was starving. He'd probably spent his food money on Loni's flowers and the donuts he brought in that morning.

"Listen, Ava. If you don't get that job, I can always use some help at the Grill," Stone offered. "Especially now. I can't be there much with Loni and all."

"That would be amazing. I have a lot of restaurant experience," she perked up at Stone's offer.

"If this is an overstep, you can smack me, but I got a big empty house with two empty bedrooms. You and Manny can stay with me if you want." Stone offered before digging into his food.

Luca was surprised at the gesture, but Stone had been alone for some time in that house. Kit often worried he got lonely.

"I couldn't... we couldn't impose," she said, but her tone was hesitant.

"Do you clean?" Stone asked her.

"Of course."

"Then it wouldn't be an imposition," Luca said. "He won't clean, and my wife has to go over there and do it for him."

"You make your daughter come clean your house?" She asked with a chuckle.

Stone shrugged, "she chooses to. I'd be fine with a little dust."

"Well, if it would help your family during this time.." she was slowly considering it, and Manny was lighting up at the idea. Poor kid, Luca couldn't imagine sleeping in a car at sixteen.

"I'd want to pay rent once I'm working," Ava said.

"I don't need it," Stone said. "Mortgage is paid for. Just take the time to save up. Get you and Manny someplace better."

"Mom, I think we should take this," Manny said. His entire bowl of pasta was gone, Luca scooped him a second.

"I just don't want to feel like a burden. I've always paid our way." Ava frowned, but her gaze softened at Manny's hopeful expression.

"I'd be the burden." Stone smirked, "I'm not a picnic to live with. I'm messy. I smoke weed and I keep odd hours. But if you don't mind all that, and can help with cleaning. Why not?"

"I have a son to consider. I have to set my pride aside and accept this," she sighed wearily. "Thank you, we will give this is a try but I insist on helping as much as I can."

"My daughter, my nephew and me, were in a tough place when Luca got to town. When his old man passed on he took care of all of us, and I think he'd like us to take care of other people, you know?"

Ava smiled. "Your son in law said something similar and I do like that sentiment."

"Well Manny you got a new roomie," Stone flashed him a grin and Manny returned it.

"Don't you dare offer my son any weed," Ava warned him.

Stone's smirk widened. "I'll only offer it to you then."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"

"Yeah, probably," Luca chuckled as he stood up. "But he knows better then that, don't worry."

"I only encourage tattoos," Stone agreed.

"No tattoos either," Ava said warningly looking at Manny.

"Ah this should be fun," Stone looked amused and Ava glared at him. Luca chuckled lightly as he stood up.

"I better get back to Loni. Can you all lock up?" Luca asked as he ducked behind the bar to fill a To-go box of pasta for Kit, she kept asking when everyone else had eaten but hadn't eaten a thing in days herself.

"Yeah, we got it," Stone promised.

"Thanks," Luca said as he ducked out.

As he headed towards his car, Manny's voice stopped him.

"Luca, wait."

"What's up, Manny?" Luca asked.

"I'm sorry again that we just came in like this."

"It's okay. I'm not mad about you and mom being here tonight. But, in the future, if you ever need help, let me know, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed. "I felt sort of embarrassed. I tried hard to help my mom, and it wasn't enough."

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Life can be shitty but you stood up and did what you could to help. I'm proud of you," Luca squeezed his shoulder. "Go on in and lock up. I doubt Stone has any food, so bring home whatever is left from that party."

"Thank you, Luca," Manny gulped, "for everything."

"No, thank you, kid. You make my little girl smile, and right now, that's everything."