"It is downright disrespectful how he keep dogging this woman! I mean seriously' You should have heard this fool at the Debates. He was so concerned with making Ms. Al-Amat look bad by slinging nonsense mud and dragging up things that are no one's business that all he did was end up making himself look bad to those who had common sense. And then this?" Paige's hand slapped on the radio dial to stop the woman's voice. She couldn't stand to hear another word of the nonsense these people were saying. She hadn't a clue who she would be voting for but everything she kept hearing from Kruger and his so called campaign was making a clear choice: she would not be voting for him.

"Whoa. Whoa, now Paige. No beating up on my car." The dark haired woman in the driver's seat chuckled. It amazed the older woman how much Paige had changed recently. She was fouler than a sailor out at sea for a year, if not worse.

"It just aggravates me! I mean what f-cking right does anyone have to question her want to home school her child" She has whatever rights she wants to do that, regardless of how she sees the school system. She has the right to privacy! I think it was sweet that even though she brought it up, as vague as it was, that she asked her daughter if she could further give detail of the whys. And all he did was snot nose on her right to privacy. Who in their right mind would want a man like that as governor?"

The doctor's long hair swept the back of her seat as she shook her head, "And what will you do if he is elected" As someone who is born to Rhydin, what would you do' You aren't going to go burn down his house are you?"

Paige looked at the dark haired woman thoughtfully.

"PAIGE!"

"What"! I didn't say I was going to!"

"But you were thinking it," the doctor scolded with a quiet laugh. "You sure have gone dark side."

"Like I would do it." Paige settled in her own seat. Her fingers tracing up and down the swell of her stomach as she frowned. The twins were having a field day with her insides.

The frown had Alisha laughing harder. Ah the joys of pregnancy. "So tell me about this house you are having built for you. Any handsome men you will be able to ogle during the building" You know hard working, sweaty men," she said while she fanned herself.

Paige's eyes rolled but she was thankful for the change in subject. "You have such a one track mind."

"And you, my dear, need to get back in the saddle so to speak. You can't just tell every male in existence to f-ck off because of what happened."

"And why not?" Paige snarled a respond and turned to look out the window.

"Well for one, I know being pregnant is making you very horny, isn't it?"

Paige couldn't swallow down the laughter fast enough. It left her in a burst and she shook her curls out. "Alisha!" The dark haired woman gave Paige a knowing grin that had Paige laughing even more.

"Of course if you are going to swing the other way I am sure-"

"You can stop right there!" Paige interrupted before the doctor could finish that thought, "I have no interest in swinging the other way so you are just out of luck, Doc."

Alisha shrugged as they stopped at a red light, smirking over to the young woman in the car with her. "Going to have to stop scaring them away sooner or later, Paige. Anyways, about this house?"

"It is going to be three rooms. Two downstairs with a joint bathroom and a loft upstairs with a half bathroom. It is going to be nice when it's done." The nice wood smell by the water side. A private little sanctuary away from the world. Not like the world would miss her.

"A loft' Why a lo-"

The doctor's words were suddenly drowned out by a loud screeching sound. Looking out the window she just barely saw the front of a Ram truck as it met her side of the little Mazda. There was no time to scream as the truck crashed into them, sending the small car skidding off to the opposite side of the street. Her head met the window and lashed back; the last thing she heard was the crunch of metal and shattering glass before the world went dark.

Alisha's head turned as she stirred some several minutes later. The last thing she had heard was the collision before blacking out. Her ears were ringing and her head ached but otherwise she was no worse for wear. Tilting her head she looked over to find Paige wasn't in such a good position. Head craned to the side at a very uncomfortable angle, a gash across her forehead from broken glass. Instantly Alisha reached over to check the young woman's vitals. "Paige. Paige! Come on, girly. Wake up."

"Crap." Fumbling with her purse she pulled out her cell and dialed the hospital she worked for. "Jane. This is Dr. Monceaux." While Alisha dished out the street names and a demand for a rush on a bus and calling the fire department, she examined Paige. Besides the crack to the girl's forehead her legs were pinned tight under the dash. Her heart rate was up but it was hard for the doctor to check if the babies were in distress or not. There was so much blood and the airbag didn't deploy. It was lucky that Paige had worn her seat belt.

Jane was either on the ball or someone had called it in while she was unconscious because she was already hearing the sirens. "Don't worry, Paige. You will be okay," the doctor offered the girl who still had yet to wake up.

There was suddenly a lot going on outside of the car. Alisha barely saw the face of a man through the three inches-worth of space that used to be the passenger side window. By the uniform she could tell it was a fire fighter. It was hard to tell what was going on but things were getting done on that side. So for her part Alisha took care of Paige until the EMS could get to her.

It took the firefighters and EMS almost fifteen minutes to get Paige out. Between cutting and the jaws-of-life, there was a lot more glass and metal crunching. The doctor was thankful when they finally managed to ease Paige out and onto a stretcher.

Following the stretcher she swatted off one of the people who were trying to check her over, demanding that she take it easy in case of a spinal injury. "I'm fine. It is her I am worried about."

"You should get checked out."

The doctor ignored the man and climbed into the ambulance as Paige was tucked inside. The fact Paige had not woken up even after a bag was pinned into her veins had the doctor worried. She called out directions to the hospital where she planned to continue her care of the unconscious girl.

One thing that could annoy Alisha was the fact that she was denied being able to be Paige's doctor during this time. Since she was also in the accident as well the hospital's higher ups strictly told her that she would be unable to do anything other than oversee things until she got herself checked out. There was no time for that in Alisha's eyes.

Nearly three hours later Alisha came out of the ER, wiping down her hands with a sterile wipe. Things in there had been nothing short of insane and by the frown she wore, it was not good. The Doctor didn't want to see the girl die in the same hospital as her mother had not even a year before and there were already enough losses at this point.

Seeing pacers in the Waiting Room Alisha moved to the desk and tapped a finger on the hardwood surface. "Jane" Who are those two waiting for?"

Jane looked up from her mountain of charts and paper work, barely able to see the doctor who was looking at the two women through the glass panels. "The one pacing a path in the floor is Caroline Granger. The one with the child I don't know. Dr. Monceaux you re-"

"I'm fine, Jane. Tired, but fine."

Jane frowned but nodded in understanding. "Shall I hold your calls?"

"Forward them to my cell. Tell Joseph I will take a look over once I finish talking to Paige's family." That way she could not be denied longer to deal with her patient. Taking a deep breath she prepared herself for what she needed to do and started her way to the waiting room.

"How is the other driver?"

"Dead. Find me the close of kin and I-"

"There is no close of kin. I've already taken the liberty of looking up the records." Jane interrupted the Doctor. News like that was never fun to deliver.

The doctor sighed, somewhere between mixed disappointment and relief. "You know what to do then." Jane nodded as the doctor pushed away and headed on into the waiting room.

"Evening folks," or whatever time it was by now, "I am Doctor Alisha Monceaux..."

Ollie's arrival coincided with that of the doctor. Caroline, however, was slightly confused by the way her cousin was greeted by his wife. Piper turned paler than usual at the affectionate touch gifted to her, stiffening visibly, and was all too obviously reluctant to hand over the baby girl in her arms. Add that to the way that Ollie turned as though separating mother and child, and Caroline realised she had another headache forming. Why were so many Granger relationships so bloody difficult to traverse without inviting trouble"

But, first things first ....Her eyes turned to the doctor, noting the slightly dishevelled look of the woman, the haunting expression of vague helplessness. It wasn't a good look on any healthcare professional, whether they'd been in a car accident or not.

As Ollie announced his arrival, Caroline offered Doctor Monceaux a worried smile. "Hello," she answered the greeting rather more politely than her cousin, trying to ignore the way Piper was watching Ollie almost suspiciously out of the corner of her eye. "I'm Caroline Granger; this is Oliver Granger, Paige's brother, and his wife, Piper. I was told that Paige was in an accident of some kind?"

For the first time in weeks, Piper's worries about her own child fled in the face of the heartbreaking news offered to them by the doctor. "Oh, no," she felt herself breathe, shocked and hurt on Paige's behalf for the devastating discovery that awaited the girl when - if - she woke up.

Beside her, Caroline abruptly sat down, one hand cupped under the prominance of her own pregnancy. It was terrible news for a mother and a mother to be to hear, and neither of them could possibly imagine how shocking it would be for Paige when she woke. "She is going to wake up, though?" she heard herself ask, lifting her eyes to Doctor Monceaux in concern.

In Ollie's arms, Lyneth watched the reaction of her mother and Caroline with curious concern in her shining teal eyes, tiny hands releasing their grip on his coat to point imperiously at the two women. Her small face turned an insistent look onto Ollie, the set of her little jaw firm. the message was clear, despite her silence. Make them better.

Laying a hand on Caroline's shoulder, Piper swallowed against the shock as her eyes turned to the doctor once again. "Is ....will it be appropriate for us to visit with her?" she asked quietly, her free hand gesturing minutely to the baby in Ollie's arms, the rounded prominance of pregnancy evident at Caroline's waistline. The last thing any of them could possibly want would be to cause more distress to the fragile young Granger. If - no, when - when she woke up.

Faced with the prospect of having Lyneth out of her sight with whoever it was posing as her husband, Piper hesitated for a visible moment, clawing her way back to some semblence of normality with a forced smile. It would be fine, she told herself. Caroline would be with them, and Caroline was good at spotting when things were wrong.

"No, I think that makes perfect sense," she agreed with Doctor Monceaux, nodding perhaps a little too vigorously. "I'm not family, exactly, and I know you don't like to overwhelm people with visitors, so ..."

Caroline frowned curiously, looking up at the babbling Piper. Her thoughtful eyes turned from a young mother who seemed so very wary of her husband to the husband himself, scanning Ollie suspiciously. She'd never known either of them to behave as though the other weren't the center of their world, wondering just when the baby had come between them.

Rising to her feet, the CEO of GrangerGuild nodded with Piper, one hand on the other woman's to keep her from repeating herself too much. "If you're sure seeing us won't distress her too much, doctor, I'd like to see my cousin now," Caroline said quietly. "And I'm sure Ollie wants to see his sister." She flashed a warning look at her cousin, silently suggesting that he make an appropriate contribution or she might have to whisk him away for one of those talks.

Piper bit her lip, squeezing Caroline's hand tightly for a moment, following the flicker of the woman's gaze with something akin to relief. Knowing that other people were picking up on something being wrong was reassuring - at least she could be confident that Lyneth would not be alone with Ollie here.

"I'll, um, I'll wait out here," she agreed, braving the cold shoulder Ollie had turned to her to reach out and stroke her daughter's cheek, reassured further when the baby girl smiled her sweet smile and gummed a sticky kiss to her palm. At least Lynnie wasn't changing. "Go on, go and see her."

Half a hour later...

She woke to people speaking nearby, blinding white pain and an even brighter light being flashed into her eye. There was bustling movement of one or more bodies was noted but she it was hard to focus on the blurs or the voices.

"Where......?"

She felt hands trying to push her back onto the bed, trying to get her to relax. How can you relax when you are in panic"

Suddenly she felt very, very drowsy and she slipped back into sleep.