Sirens. That's the last thing Dana remembered hearing – the sirens getting louder indicating that the ambulance was getting closer. The world was hazy, but it was still there. It was upside down and distorted, but it was still there.

There were red lights from the ambulance flashing on and off, and Dana found herself focusing in on those lights. Dana's world in those moments, when she could see the red lights, occurred in slow motion. She was trapped in her flipped car and it felt like that was going to be the last memory Dana would have. That thought scared Dana. She didn't want the last thing she saw to be those lights. Dana wanted her last memory – her last thought, her last sight, her last everything – to be Katie.

Dana woke up in a hospital bed. It was cold and dark and lonely in the room. She was startled at first, not knowing where she was, but it didn't take her long to realize where she had woken up. Dana found a button beside her bed and gathered all her energy to reach for it in pain. After struggling, Dana attacked the button and called a nurse to her room. A tall, dark man in his early thirties gently opened the door and popped his head in and turned the light on. He smiled, seeing Dana was awake and made his way into her room. "Hi there. My name is Nathaniel. You can call me Nate if you want. What can I do for you?" Nate smiled at Dana.

"Actually, you can tell me what happened after the accident. I can't remember." Dana was noticeably embarrassed about the entire situation.

"Of course." Nate shot her another smile. "The ambulance picked you up and brought you to the trauma center here. They didn't know how badly your internal injuries were. Turns out, not bad. Your injuries are mostly external. You tore several of the muscles in your right leg, so you'll have to go to physical therapy and wear a brace whenever you're not sleeping or resting your leg somewhere. You also have a minor fracture in the growth plate in your left upper arm as well as a major fracture in your radius in your left forearm. You'll have to wear a cast from your elbow to your wrist and a sling for at least six weeks. Besides those three injuries the rest are just cuts and bruises – nothing major."

"Where's my family?" Dana asked.

"They've been here since they heard. I'll bring them in for you." Nate turned to leave. Dana thanked him as she watched him exit the room. A few moments later, Karen and Eddie rushed into the room and to either side of Dana's bed.

Karen and Eddie stood there in silence, both staring at Dana. They didn't embrace Dana like movies would convince you, or even yell at her for driving that late at night the way a normal family would. Karen and Eddie didn't react immediately in any way at all. After staring in silence, a small smile tugged on the corner of Karen's lips and the only words that managed to escape were, "Thank God you're okay."

Eddie pulled a chair beside Dana's bed and lowered himself down into the old, faded seat to be next to his cousin. "Everyone is outside." Eddie spoke up. "They all came as soon as they heard." Karen offered to bring Dana's friends back to her room, and Dana gladly accepted. Karen left the room, closing the door behind her. Eddie didn't look at Dana when he spoke, "She was a mess." Dana stared at her cousin, waiting for him to continue. "She got the call early this morning. It was like in the movies. You know, when someone gets a call and drops the phone because they're so in shock?" Eddie turned his head to look at Dana. His eyes seemed more golden than usual, most likely from tears. "I had to drive here because she was such a wreck. Auntie Karen is the strongest person I know..." Eddie paused. He was noticeably choked up. He looked Dana in her eyes and continued, "But she cried every time she started to think about what happened to you."

"Eddie, I-" Dana was interrupted before she could apologize. Her door was open and her friends were flooding in. Ashley was, without any surprise, leading the charge.

As soon as Ashley was close enough, she pulled Dana into a tight squeeze, refusing to let go until Dana complained her arm hurt. Mason was behind Ashley, armed with a plethora of dad jokes and dramatic reenactments to cheer Dana up. Eddie was now standing and holding Grace in his arms. Zach and Marissa were standing at the foot of Dana's bed, neither one of them speaking. Zach's eyes seemed to wander away from Dana, and she wondered what had been going through his head. Ashley, the only one brave enough to speak up, asked Dana, "What the hell were you thinking?"

Dana looked away from her friends. She couldn't put into words what it meant to have so many people care about her, but at that moment in time all Dana wanted was to be alone. She could feel everyone's eyes burning through her. Dana looked back at Ashley, attempting to ignore the stares of all the others. "I-" Dana struggled to get her thoughts out. She was embarrassed by how juvenile she seemed, "I was looking for Katie."

Before anyone could reply to Dana's confession, a familiar voice spoke up from the doorway. "You were looking for me?" Zach and Marissa stepped to the sides of the hospital bed, clearing a path between Dana and Katie.

"I had to make sure you were okay." Dana answered. Katie took a step forward, not breaking eye contact with Dana. Both of the girls failed to realize Ashley had suggested the others leave the room and was now leading them out the door. Katie walked to Dana's side and smiled at the injured girl. Dana laced her fingers with Katie's. Katie bit her lip in an attempt to hold back tears as she felt the injured girl's fingers align with her own. Katie took a seat on the right side of Dana, opposite to where Eddie had previously been.

"How'd you ever get so stupid?" Katie smiled.

"Lack of studying?" Dana quipped. Katie and Dana went back and forth, making each other smile and distracting one another from the rest of the world. Despite everything else, just looking at Katie made Dana smile. After a moment, Dana noticed that Katie was no longer smiling. She could see something was brewing inside of her. Dana broke the silence so that Katie wouldn't have to. "Eddie told me. About you telling your mom," Dana muttered.

"Dana," Katie couldn't look her in the eye anymore. "I told her, and my mom gave me no choice. I'm leaving."

"What?" Dana could barely speak. She could feel her throat drying up.

"I'm staying with my aunt for awhile. My mom is making me transfer schools."

"We can fix this," Dana pleaded. "We can explain to your mom, and you can say you don't really feel that way about me and you can tell her that you were lying. We can break up, and forget any of this ever happened. You can't leave." Dana's voice was shaking. "I can fix this."

Katie shook her head. "No."

"Katie, please. I can-"

"Dana you don't get it," Katie's voice rose, but immediately settled back down as she looked at Dana once again. Katie cracked a small smile, "I don't want to forget." Katie changed the subject in an attempt to distract herself. "Do you remember our first real date?" Dana nodded and smiled slightly. "Do you remember what you told me about the penguins? That when they mate, they mate for life? And if one ever dies or gets lost, the other would rather spend the rest of its life searching for its mate than move on?" Dana nodded again, clenching her jaw and holding back any emotion she had whatsoever. Katie looked away from Dana, feeling the tears starting to come. She looked back at Dana with tears in her eyes and a shaking in her voice. "You're my penguin, Dana. And I promise I'll find you again."

"Please don't do this," Dana forced the words to escape her.

Katie shook her head and forced a fake smile, "I have to." She shrugged. Dana's eyes were starting to water, but she hadn't let the tears fall yet. "I love you, Dana Thomas."

Dana was nearly choking on her words. "I love you too, Katie Torres."

Katie leaned down and kissed Dana one last time. She didn't care if people could see; she just wanted to be with Dana. As soon as Katie's lips collided with Dana's, Katie could feel a tear roll down Dana's cheek. Katie pulled away in pain and gently kissed Dana's forehead. Katie knew that if she stared at Dana any longer, she'd breakdown and wouldn't be able to pull herself back together. "Goodbye Dana." Katie muttered. She turned and began to walk away, holding onto Dana for as long as she could. Katie left the room, avoiding her friends' eyes and headed straight for the exit.

Dana was now alone and broken. She had felt the pain in Katie's words, and it broke her heart. Dana had been heartbroken before, but not like this. It was never even close to this. Dana was in love. And the first time she got to say it to Katie seemed like it would also be the last. Dana held onto that last kiss. She tried to memorize how it felt to kiss Katie because she knew that was more likely than not the last memory and feeling she would have of her – at least for now – and Dana wanted more than anything to remember that feeling.

"Goodbye Katie."

Katie stormed out of the hospital room with her head hanging to the ground, avoiding everyone's eyes. She walked right past her mother who was there to drive Katie back to her aunt's. Pam reached out a hand for comfort, but Katie ignored it. Katie didn't want anything to do with Pam anymore.

"Excuse me," Karen spotted Pam behind Katie and stopped Pam in her tracks, "I'm Karen Thomas. Are you Pam, Katie's mother?" Pam nodded in response, and tilted her head slightly, hoping that whatever Karen had to say would be worth her precious time. "How dare you?" Karen scolded Pam.

"Excuse me?" Pam folded her arms across her chest.

"Have you ever been in love?" Karen asked, towering over Pam.

"Yes. Of course I have." Pam's eyes saddened slightly, remembering her husband.

"Then how dare you deprive your child of that feeling?" Karen paused, but not long enough for Pam to respond. "I understand that you may think your daughter is too young to know what she wants, but let me try to help you understand what is actually happening. Your daughter has found someone who looks at her like she's magic. It takes some people a lifetime to find that, and it took your daughter only seventeen years."

Pam kept her cool, but she could feel her blood begin to boil. "You have no right to tell me what my daughter feels, Ms. Thomas." Pam turned to walk away.

Karen raised her voice so Pam could clearly hear her. She didn't care who else might be listening. It was something that everyone should hear. "I'm a mother, and I am very protective of my daughter, as well as my nephew Eddie. I hate seeing them fall for people because I know that, especially at their age, relationships and feelings and what they think is love does not last. But then I look at your daughter, and I see the way that she looks at mine. That look – the one that Katie gets every single time Dana walks into the room – is so rare and pure, and beautiful. I have only seen that look one other time, and I thought the same thing then as I do now. I think 'how unbelievably lucky those two must be to love one another so purely and undoubtedly.' Your daughter is in love, Ms. Torres. It just so happens that that person she has fallen in love with is a girl. For you to not accept that, I just cannot fathom. For you to tear your child away from the one thing that never fails to make her happy is so cruel and malicious."

Pam snapped around like a dog getting its tail yanked. She stormed back over to Karen and forced her own words at her. "You have no right to tell me how to parent my child. Your beliefs and values are different from ours and it is astonishing that as a grown woman you refuse to accept an opinion that might not be your own."

"Your daughter is gay, Pamela. Whether she has feelings for all girls, or only Dana is her own business. But Katie falls somewhere on the spectrum and you need to realize that it may not be where you want her to fall. Taking Katie away from Dana isn't going to make her straight. The only thing that's going to do is make her resent you."

"My daughter needs time to figure out who she is. Without the..." Pam paused and glanced towards Dana's room before looking back to Karen, "Influence of others." Karen didn't mutter another word. Pam and Karen just stared at one another for a moment before Pam turned and strutted away.

Karen sighed in frustration and took a seat in the hallway. Eddie sat beside his aunt. He was silent at first, but his curiosity got the best of him. "Auntie Karen?" Karen looked at Eddie, awaiting his question. "You said that you've only seen the look Katie has one other time. When was that?"

Karen cracked a smile. "With your parents."

☼ ☼ ☼

Dana was sleeping in her hospital bed when Jesse walked into the hospital and attempted to see her. Ashley spotted Jesse and quickly stood up as soon as she saw him, blocking him from entering Dana's room. She whispered, trying not to wake Dana. "What are you doing here?" She scolded. Ashley startled Jesse when she popped up.

Jesse cleared his throat to answer, "I came to see Dana." Jesse, for once in his life, seemed calm and sincere.

Ashley, however, didn't care. She crossed her arms over her chest and sternly looked up to Jesse, utilizing all five foot two inches of her to emphasize her anger toward him. "Why? You're not allowed in." She snapped.

Jesse's voice somewhat squeaked in reply, "Says who?" He coughed and repeated himself in a deeper, calmer voice.

"Says me. I'm not letting you near her." Ashley's eyebrow rose as she released one of her hands to shoo him away.

"Ashley, it's not what you think." He pleaded. Ashley tilted her head slightly; signally she didn't care what he had to say. Dana was awoken by the whispers she heard from the entrance to her room. She noticed Ashley standing in the doorway and could faintly hear her refusing to let someone in.

Dana tried to speak, but could only mutter a slight "Ash," attempting to call her. Ashley quickly whipped her head around to answer Dana. "Who's there?" Dana tried to ask.

Ashley understood what Dana was asking and looked back and forth between her and Jesse. Jesse smiled an arrogant smile at Ashley before letting her respond to Dana. "Um...Jesse." Ashley gave him a sarcastic smile back. Dana sat up to the best of her ability and asked Ashley to let him in. "But-" Ashley attempted to dispute.

"Ashley, please." Dana somewhat begged.

Ashley forced herself to step aside so Jesse could enter the room. Jesse mouthed the words 'thank you' somewhat sarcastically as he passed Ashley. He shut the door behind him, forcing Ashley to have to wait outside.

Jesse walked over to Dana's bedside and grabbed a chair as Dana spoke, "So by her reaction, I'm guessing no one knows, huh?" Jesse leaned on the side of her bed and gave her a confused look, acting like he didn't know what she was talking about.

"About you and Katie?" Jesse asked. "Well if people didn't already know, they definitely do now. I mean crashing your car just because she spends a night away from you? That's a little dramatic, don't you think?"

"Don't play dumb with me Jesse, I know what you did."

"I didn't do anything." Jesse muttered as he began fiddling with his thumbs, avoiding Dana's eyes. "Look, I heard you were in an accident and Marissa wanted to come see you. I'm just stopping in to make sure you don't say anything to encourage her or get her hopes up. You know, considering you're kind of in love with my ex-girlfriend."

"How do you know any of this?" Dana asked.

Jesse shrugged. "Well, I'm not an idiot. I may not be a genius, but I know who my little sis has eyes for. Plus Katie knew about Grace and me before the break up. She had asked me about it before. It was a frequent argument. I could always tell that it hurt her, knowing I wasn't faithful, but I could tell that she was forcing the relationship to work no matter what. At first, I didn't know the reason. Then I met you." Jesse chuckled to himself. "It's kind of funny actually. The most amazing girl I've ever met was my girlfriend, but neither one of us actually wanted to be in the relationship. We were together because it was expected. Hell, I would've married her if she never realized she was into girls."

"Did you know?" Dana asked curiously.

Jesse nodded. "Katie could have had anyone she wanted. And she chose me. For two years. We may have been awful as a couple, but I've known Katie as long as I can remember, and honestly she's my best friend. I see the way she looks at me, and then I see the way she looks at you. I have an uncle who's blind and I'm pretty sure he could see the tension between you two."

Dana smiled for a moment. "Jesse, you didn't actually answer my question."

Jesse shook his head and looked away. "There's nothing to answer, Dana."

"Jesse, why are you trying to hide it?" Dana asked pulling Jesse's attention to her eyes once again. "You found me and called the ambulance. You saved my life." She gave him a half smile, but he looked away quickly.

"No, I didn't do anything special." He shook his head and leaned back in the chair. "Besides, someone else would've found you eventually. You wouldn't have died there."

"I don't care how much you deny it, I know what happened."

Jesse's tone instantly changed as he stood up, "And what happened?" He asked angrily. Dana looked at him and Jesse felt bad. He cleared his throat and calmed himself down before asking another question, "Like what do you remember?" He sat back down next to her.

"Everything." Dana tried to sit up a little more. "I know that not only did you pull me out and call the ambulance, you waited with me until they came. Then once they did come and they wouldn't let you ride in the ambulance with me, you sped behind them on the way to the hospital. You waited here all night, making sure I was okay. You were the one who called my mom. Then before they showed up, you left." Jesse looked away from her again and slouched in the chair. "You know Jesse, you're not a bad guy. You just make bad decisions."

Jesse shrugged. "Isn't that what a bad guy is? Calling 911 doesn't make up for all the stupid things I did. All the people I've hurt..."

"No it doesn't make up for all of them, but a bad guy wouldn't have done what you did. A good guy with bad decisions can change who he is, a bad guy can't."

"Dana-" Jesse tried to speak up but Dana cut him off.

"I see good in you, Jesse." Jesse gave a small smile looking down before she continued. "I believe that there are people who are born bad. Men and women are inherently evil and do bad things feeling no guilt. I believe those people will never change. I believe that they'll only bring harm and hurt to this world." Dana paused and Jesse looked up at her. "I also believe that you are not one of those people."

"You're wrong." Jesse objected. "I've made too big of a mess to clean it up now."

"If that's true, then why'd you help me?" Dana asked him. "Besides, I don't think any truly bad guy would shed a tear for anyone. Especially the person they're supposed to hate." Dana somewhat smirked.

"What?" Jesse's voice screeched. "I didn't cry for you."

"Aw come on, I was there, there were tears." Dana joked.

"There were not!"