Even Angels Fall

“What are you still doing here?” Joseph looked over towards the doorway of the hospital room with curiosity when he heard someone wrap lightly. “I thought you had left with everyone else.”

Leaning against the doorframe, Zip crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged as he looked at Joseph sitting in a chair beside Lianna’s bed. “I knew I wasn’t going to be able to sleep just now,” he told his friend honestly. “So I thought I might as well hang around. That way, maybe you could take a nap for a while – knowing someone was here to watch her for you.”

Looking at Zip with appreciation, Joseph shook his head slightly and gave him a small smile. “That’s really cool of you,” he said softly, glancing back over at Lianna. “I don’t think I could sleep, though. Not yet, anyway.”

“Then I can keep you company,” Zip offered, walking across the room and sitting in another empty chair. “You know, so you don’t drive yourself crazy. What the hell his this shit, anyway?” he asked with a crinkled brow, pointing at the television.

Smirking, Joseph shrugged. “Actually, it looks like an infomercial for anti-aging products,” he realized. “I wasn’t watching it, though.”

“Sure you weren’t,” Zip teased gently. “Come on, admit it. All musicians are egotistical and narcissistic.”

“Sorry to tell you, man, but that’s just you,” Joseph joked back. “Anyway, thanks for sticking around. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I do appreciate the company. I’m driving myself nuts just sitting here and worrying. You know what I could really use? A cigarette.”

“You quit before you even met Lianna,” Zip reminded Joseph.

“Yes,” Joseph rose from his chair and looked at Zip. “And I haven’t had one in over two years, but I could really use one right now. So come on, before I have to beat your ass to get one from you.”

“As if you could,” Zip chuckled, rising and following Joseph out of the room. The fact that Joseph was joking with him made him feel a lot better than he had a little earlier. In truth, Zip really had no desire to think about the things going on in his own life just then, considering that the things going on with Joseph were so much more serious.

-----

“That was my parents,” Joseph explained a few minutes later. He and Zip were outside smoking when he had wandered away to answer his cell phone. “They’re at JFK, so they should be here in about half an hour.”

“What about Lianna’s family?” Zip asked Joseph, stubbing out his cigarette and trying to ignore the teenager that was staring at them through the waiting room window, obviously aware of who they were. “Are they on their way?”

Nodding, Joseph followed suit by putting out his own cigarette. “Her parents and her sister should be here soon, too. They were taking a different flight than my parents, but the times were almost the same.” Staring down at the concrete, Joseph suddenly looked sullen. “It’s so weird. Talking about plane flights and hotel reservations… it’s like I can breathe for a minute, and then it all hits me again.”

Unsure what to say, Zip patted Joseph’s arm. “You know what you should do?” he asked, and felt his stomach grip when he was his usually tough friend’s glassy eyes. “You should go see Aiden again. I’ll stay in the room with Lianna, in case anyone arrives in the meantime. Besides, your mom loves me.”

Smirking, Joseph shook his head. “Only because you flirted your ass of with her, like you do with any other female on the planet.”

“Hey,” Zip smiled as they headed back inside the hospital, glad he could help Joseph feel a little better. “I couldn’t help myself, Joey. There is nothing hotter than a woman who cooks for me.”

“Thanks, Zip,” Joseph suddenly put his hand on his band mate’s shoulder. “I’m just so…” he paused, unsure what he wanted to say.

“Go,” Zip insisted before Joseph could add anything. “Go hang out with your son.”

Swallowing hard, Joseph nodded. “Okay,” he whispered. “I won’t be long.”

As Joseph headed towards the maternity ward, Zip went back to Lianna’s room. She was still sleeping soundly, the TV on mute and the only sound in the room the faint hum and occasional beep of the machines attached to her. Taking a seat where Joseph had been sitting earlier, he looked at her. Even in a drug-induced slumber, Lianna still looked tired and weak. Zip bit his lip, hoping with all his heart that things turned out for the best.

“Where’s Joseph?” a voice came from behind Zip, taking him by surprise. Turning around in his chair, he felt his stomach lurch. Sin was standing in the doorway, her expression unreadable.

“He’s with Aiden,” Zip told Sin, rising quickly from the chair to approach her. “I’m just here in case any of their family members arrive.”

Looking over at Lianna laying in the bed, Sin felt tears stinging at her eyes. She just looked so frail. “That was nice of you,” she told Zip, dragging her eyes away from the bed and looking back up into his face.

Without responding, Zip simply buried his hands into his coat pockets. He wasn’t about to start talking about anything with Sin besides Lianna and Joseph, and he knew Sin well enough that she felt the same way. No matter what bad blood was between them at the moment, there were far more important things to worry about.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Sin said as she passed Zip, walking into the room and taking a seat. “We went home, and I tried, but I just couldn’t sleep. I told Eddie to try to nap for a while, but I just had to come back here.”

Taking a seat again in the chair he had just vacated, Zip glanced over at Sin. “I didn’t even make it that far,” he admitted.

Sin and Zip spent the next several minutes in silence, not looking at each other, not looking at Lianna, not looking at anything in particular at all, really. “Hello?” a nervous voice behind them finally woke them from their daze, and they both jumped out of their seats and turned around. “Oh, Zip, Sin… Where’s Joseph?”

Joseph’s mother’s face was tearstained but kind, and she was leaning into her husband’s steady embrace. “Mrs. Hart,” Sin took a step towards the woman and met her with small a hug. “Joseph’s with the baby right now.”

“Oh,” Joseph’s mother said, but her eyes were now locked on Lianna’s form in the bed. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears, and she looked over towards Zip. “This had got to be so hard for Joseph,” she said softly. “Thank you both so much for being here for him.”

“Oh, great,” Tavian’s voice came from behind Mr. and Mrs. Hart. “Now I look like the bad friend, because I took the time to get coffee on my way back to the hospital,” he joked, trying to make everyone feel just a little more comfortable, and then leaned over to kiss Joseph’s mother’s cheek.

“I’m sorry,” a nurse suddenly approached from the hallway. “But there are far too many people in this room right now. I’m going to need all but two people to go into the waiting room.”

“You two stay,” Zip immediately told Joseph’s parents. “We’ll get your son and send him in here.”

“Thank you,” Joseph’s father nodded, still holding his wife close to him. “Thank you all. We appreciate all you’re doing.”

“You brought four coffees,” Sin noted as the three of them walked through the silent white corridors of the hospital. She smiled and took one cup as Tavian held it out to her.

“I kind of assumed you guys would be here,” Tavian admitted, offering a cup to Zip, who nodded in appreciation. “Besides, the crap they sell in the vending machines here is enough to make anyone feel like they need to be in the hospital. Ba-dum-bum.”

Zip smirked at Tavian and took a sip of the coffee. There had been a time in his life, when he was younger, that he had actually been very jealous of the goofy guy by his side. Not only was Tavian as close to Joseph as Zip would ever be, but Sin seemed to trust him in a way she had never trusted Zip. Now, though, Zip was just glad that Joseph had so many friends around to help him through such a difficult ordeal.

“Hey,” Sin walked up behind Joseph at the maternity ward glass and put a friendly hand on his shoulder. “You know, you are the father. They’d probably let you hold him.”

Turning to Sin, Joseph smiled at her joke, but his eyes were filled with tears. “I was holding him,” he explained. “But he opened his eyes, and they look just like Lianna’s… I started crying, and it freaked him out.”

“He’ll get over it,” Tavian assured Joseph, handing him the final coffee he had brought with him. “I don’t think you’ve scarred him for life. You’ve got years ahead of you to do the kind of long-lasting damage that my father did to me.”

Zip laughed at this. “Oh, your parents are in Lianna’s room,” he told Joseph. “We told them we’d get you.”

“Thanks,” Joseph nodded, looking into the faces of his friends. “I should head over there. And… God, thanks, all of you for coming back here. I know I’m a basket case right now, but having you guys here…” His eyes glassed over once more, and his voice caught in his throat.

Sniffling a little, Sin rose on her toes and kissed Joseph’s cheek lightly. “That’s what friends are for,” she reminded him.

“But I warn you,” Tavian gave Joseph an exaggerated look of seriousness. “If Sin starts singing Dionne Warwick, I’m out of here. Sorry.” He then jumped when Sin reached over and swatted him on the arm.

“You’re all out of your fucking minds,” Joseph let out a warm chuckle that touched everyone. “But I’m glad I’ve got you all in my life. I’ll see you in a little bit, okay?”

After Joseph walked down the hall, Zip, Sin and Tavian all looked over to where Aiden was asleep on the other side of the window. “He really is a cross between the two of them,” Zip said softly. “Isn’t he?”

The other two didn’t say anything; they just nodded. Then the three stood in silence side by side, watching the sleeping angel and praying silently that he would get the opportunity to know the wonderful woman that had given birth to him just hours earlier.

-----

When a knock came at Sarah’s door a few hours after she got home, she jumped out of her wits. She had been sitting on the couch, staring at the television (which was not turned on) and thinking about a million things at once.

Checking the peephole, Sarah swung the door open for her brother and felt an enormous wave of guilt move over her once again at the sight of him. Eddie had dark bags under his eyes, but he was looking at his sister with concern. ‘He’s going through this horrible thing with one of his closest friends,’ Sarah thought sadly to herself. ‘And, at the same time, his sister has been lying to him for weeks. This sucks.’

“Hey,” Eddie gave Sarah a tired smile. “How are you doing?”

Moving aside to let Eddie through, Sarah closed the door behind him. “Not great,” she admitted. “So, any news yet?”

Shaking his head, Eddie took a seat on the couch. “No,” he told Sarah as she sat down cross-legged beside him. “Sin went back to the hospital right away this morning, but not much has changed. I mean, Lianna and Joseph’s families are all there now, which is good. And Lianna’s fever has gone down some, but her blood is still showing a lot of signs of infection.”

“That sucks,” Sarah pulled her knees up under her chin and looked at her brother. “Are the doctors saying anything yet?”

Shrugging, Eddie stared off into space for a moment. “Not as far as Sin knows,” he said. “I’m actually headed over to the hospital now, and came here to see if you wanted to join me. Tavian and Zip are already there, and Madison’s on her way.”

Sarah froze at the thought of Zip and Sin at the hospital together. Of course, they probably weren’t discussing anything but Joseph and Lianna. Still, it was going to be very uncomfortable. ‘Get over yourself and stop being such a selfish brat,’ Sarah silently berated herself. ‘Who cares if you’re uncomfortable around Zip or Sin? You’re talking about someone’s LIFE here.’

“Just give me a minute to change, please,” Sarah told Eddie, rising from the couch. “I definitely want to go with you.”

-----

“Hey, baby,” Sin sighed with relief when she saw Eddie enter the hospital. Just having him near her always made her feel a little better. When she saw Sarah, though, she paused – but just for a second. Sin was not going to do anything that might take away from the attention and support Joseph and Lianna needed at that moment. “Hi, Sarah.”

Forcing herself to look up into Sin’s eyes, Sarah whispered a hello before watching her brother take his girlfriend in his arms and hold her close as Sin whispered something to him. Glancing around the waiting room, Sarah saw that there were a lot more people there now. Ava was in a corner now with her boyfriend; a couple who Sarah guessed were Joseph’s parents were sitting together, talking; and a girl who appeared just a few years younger than herself was in a corner, quietly crying as Madison hugged her and Tavian stood by. Tears filled Sarah’s eyes as she realized that must be Lianna’s sister.

It took Sarah a moment to notice that Zip wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Glancing over to the sliding glass doors opposite the doors she and Eddie had entered through, she saw him outside smoking a cigarette. Unsure what to do, Sarah looked away from him and towards the carpet. She jumped when she suddenly heard Sin’s voice right beside her.

“I don’t know what’s going on between you two,” Sin whispered in a hard voice that made Sarah feel even guiltier. “But the truth is, right now, I don’t want to know. Zip has proven his friendship to Joseph today, and he could use a friend as much as anyone else right now. So why don’t you go outside while Eddie and I go get everyone some sodas. He can tell you the latest with Lianna.”

Nodding, Sarah continued just staring at the carpet without saying anything. She wanted to thank Sin; she wanted to tell her that she was sorry for lying. But, right then was not the time. So instead, she waited until Eddie and Sin walked down the hall towards the vending machines, and then ventured outside.

“Hey,” Sarah said to Zip, noticing that his back tensed at the sound of her voice. “Um… how are you doing?”

Turning around, Zip looked at Sarah and took a deep drag of his cigarette before answering. “About as well as can be expected,” he shrugged and then exhaled a plume of smoke. “It sucks to see so many people you care about hurting so fucking badly. But Joseph came out a few minutes ago and said that the doctor told him Lianna’s vital signs were getting stronger. Her body is starting to fight the infection.”

Tears of joy quickly filled Sarah’s eyes. “Oh, God, that’ such great news,” she replied to Zip. “I mean, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Zip’s voice was low and devoid of emotion as he threw his cigarette to the concrete and stood on it with his heavy black boot. “But everything’s still up in the air. They said they should know more, based on how Lianna’s body reacts, in a couple hours.” As he finished, he buried his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and looked away from Sarah.

Biting her lip, Sarah wasn’t sure what to say. “Listen, Zip, about this morning… what I said-”

“Not now,” Zip cut Sarah off, still not looking at her. “Now’s not the time to talk about any of this shit.”

“I know that,” Sarah said, her voice growing a little desperate. “But I just wanted to apologize. I was just upset-”

“Not now,” Zip repeated, his voice harder this time as he finally looked into Sarah’s eyes. “Lianna could still die. Joseph is fucking this close to losing it,” Zip pulled one hand from his pocket and motioned with his thumb and forefinger. “All their friends and family are more scared than they’ve ever been. For once, Sarah, try to put someone besides yourself first.”

Her mouth dropping open, Sarah didn’t know how to respond. “You’re one to talk about putting other people first,” she retorted, looking at Zip angrily.

“And yet,” Zip shook his head. “I’m the one saying ‘not now’ and you’re the one that just keeps talking about this.” Before Sarah could respond, Zip turned and headed back inside the hospital without another word.

Staring after him, Sarah’s eyes filled with tears, although she couldn’t decide if they were tears of hurt or tears of anger. Why did Zip just say all that stuff? Why was he being so hurtful, when all she wanted to do was say that she was sorry?

‘Because he’s right,’ Sarah suddenly thought to herself. ‘Look at me right now, standing out here pissed off and hurt for MYSELF, when all this is going on.’ Still, as much as she wanted to, Sarah couldn’t ignore her pain. She was worried about Lianna and Joseph, but she had hoped she could apologize to Zip and that they could give each other support. How had she managed to mess something that simple up?

-----

SORRY FOR THE DELAY IN UPDATING. I HAD FAMILY IN TOWN AND I’M MOVING IN THREE WEEKS, SO LIFE’S BEEN CRAZY! BUT I DO KNOW CHAPTER 13 WAS A PARTICULARLY MEAN CHAPTER TO HAVE A HIATUS AFTER, SO MY APOLOGIES…

ALSO SORRY IF THIS CHAPTER WASN’T UP TO PAR. AS I SAID, SO MUCH GOING ON… ANYWAY, A FEW COMMENTS TO REVIEWERS:

TEMPLETON21 – I’M GLAD YOU DON’T THINK I’M PREDICTIBLE EVEN THOUGH YOU KEEP JUMPING ONE STEP AHEAD OF ME! THIS TIME WITH THE PARENTS, LAST TIME WITH GUESSING ABOUT ‘WHO CALLED ZIP?’ WEIRD…

CARIAD – I DIDN’T SEE A REVIEW FROM YOU FOR THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER, BUT I DO APPRECIATE THIS ONE, EVEN IF YOU BASICALLY TOLD ME I’M DEPRESSING :)

ANON (ABOUT ARABIC) – I DIDN’T THINK YOU WERE BEING RUDE. I JUST THOUGHT YOU WERE SAYING THAT THE NAME HASSAN DIDN’T MEAN ‘GOOD LOOKING’. I TRY TO RESEARCH STUFF LIKE THAT THOROGHLY. OF COURSE, LANGUAGES ARE ONE OF THOSE TOUGHIES. NOW I APOLOGIZE IF I WAS BEING RUDE TO YOU.

PIKACHEESE – THANKS FOR THE ZIP COMMENTS. HE’S A MORE COMPLICATED CHARACTER THAN I’VE WRITTEN BEFORE, AND I HOPE HE’S COMING OUT OKAY.

ANON (ABOUT MEDICAL STUFF) – NO PROBLEM. I WOULDN’T HAVE CALLED YOU AWESOME IF I WERE ANNOYED, RIGHT?

ADAEE – THANKS FOR THE COMMENT ABOUT THE MOOD CHANGE AT THE END OF THE LAST CHAPTER. I WILL TRY TO WATCH OUT FOR THAT IN THE FUTURE. AS FOR YOUR TAKE ON SIN’S REACTION, I HAVE TO DISAGREE. I THINK SHE WOULD TAKE THE SITUATION WITH JOSEPH AND LIANNA INTO ACCOUNT AND NOT SAY ANYTHING AT THE MOMENT, EVEN IF SHE REALLY WANTED TO.

KIRSCHE – I THINK SIN WAS THE ONLY PERSON WHO WAS SUSPICIOUS ABOUT HOW SARAH’S BEEN ACTING, AND THAT’S HOW SHE PUT IT TOGETHER SO QUICKLY. AND YOUR THREATS? THEY SCARE ME.

ROSIE – I’M GOING TO GUESS YOU WERE ROOTING FOR ZIP AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER…

LADY RAIN – SEE, NOW YOU’RE THINKING LIKE ME!

ASH – SSHH… YOU’RE GUESSING PLOT POINTS!

THANKS ALSO TO MEMORY CHASE, SOUTHERN, EGGMAN, FOAMYFAN15010, JOEE, AFICI0NADA, FISHY, FLOWER, MEMORY CHASE, LKN, NABI, HOMAN, ARAINAINA, BRETT, ROSEMARY, MIZTIKAL_DRAGON, NIGHTANGLE, KENZI, PERFECT, LUCIFER AND ANGEL FOR REVIEWING.