Rachel groaned. She was having a hard time making sense of what happened. Her head hurt. There was a sticky substance running down the side of her face. She was covered in powder. Her arms were on fire. Someone was crying near her and she fought with her brain.

"Mom?" McKenzie cried. She lifted her arm and ran a hand over her face, brushing away the powdery substance she was now covered with. She felt a pain in her chest along the line where her seatbelt rest. "Mom?" She called again and looked over. She could see her mother moving and breathed a sighed of relief. "Mom..." she cried and reached out to her mom.

Rachel cried out in pain when she felt the touch on her arm. She clenched her eyes shut and pressed the back of her head into the head rest. The voice calling out sounded as if it was under water or she was under water. "Kenzi..." she whispered as the fog in her brain started clearing. "Kenzi..."

"Mom." McKenzie cried.

Rachel's eyes popped open and she sat up. The movement caused her to groan and she heard her daughter cry out. Turning her heard she saw McKenzie staring at her from the passenger seat. There was very little light in the area. It was hard to see. Her eyes burned from the powder. "McKenzie..." she whispered. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," McKenzie cried, sniffling. "You're bleeding!" She gasped, seeing the blood on her mother's face when the light hit it.

Rachel raised a hand and touched the side of her face. Her fingers came away red. She groaned. "You're okay though? Anything hurt?"

"My chest hurts a little," McKenzie said.

"When need to get out of the car," Rachel gingerly moved to unbuckle the seat belt, then reached for the door. It wouldn't budge. "My door's stuck. Can you get out?"

"No. You hit the parked car on this side. We're right up against it. I can't open my door."

"Okay. It's okay." Rachel breathed, clenching her eyes shut. "We need to call 9-1-1. Do you have your phone?"

"I lost it in the crash. I think... I think it's on the floor."

"It's okay." She jumped when she heard a knock on the window. She looked and saw a woman standing there. "I can't open the door. We're stuck." She yelled loudly.

"Are you hurt?" The lady yelled. "I called 9-1-1."

"We're okay." Rachel said. The lady disappeared from her window and heard the commotion behind her. A few seconds later, the back door was open.

"Can you guys crawl to the back seat?" The lady leaned into the car. "The guy in the other car is uninjured. He's already out of his car."

"Kenz..." Rachel looked at her daughter. "What are you doing?" She asked seeing McKenzie leaning forward, her head by her knees. "Are you okay?"

"I'm trying..." McKenzie groaned and leaned further. Her fingers just touched the corner of her phone. Curling her fingers around it she sat up triumphant. She moaned as the movement caught up with her.

"Easy..." Rachel warned. "You could have a head injury. Do you think you can climb into the back and out the door?"

"I'm not leaving you," McKenzie was quick to respond.

"I'm going to be right behind you. I promise."

"Okay..." McKenzie lifted her feet onto the seat and pushed up. She turned her body and climbed into the back. The lady helped her out of the mangled car with a comforting hand.

"Easy." The lady said. "There you go. Let me help you to the curb to sit."

"No," McKenzie shook her head. "Please help my mom."

"Alright," the lady relented. She turned back to the car and climbed into the backseat. "Ma'am, do you think you can climb into the backseat?"

"That's the first time anyone has ever asked me to climb into the backseat."

The lady let out a surprised laugh. "Obviously you've been dating the wrong people."

"Not anymore," Rachel said as she slowly started to move. It was easier for McKenzie to climb out. She was smaller and didn't have the hindrance of the steering wheel in the way. "Got the right one now."

"That's great," The lady smiled. "Try pushing the seat back. That should give you more room." She could hear the sirens in the distance. When she called 9-1-1 she hadn't been able to tell them if there had been any injuries. It had been the loudest pop she had ever heard from inside her house. It had sent her checking her cameras first. When she saw the accident outside her house, she quickly ran out. Her phone to her ear before she had even made it to the street. The cars had been smashed together. Her car had been parked along the side of the road had been collected as well. It had always been a fear of hers, but after five years of living on the street and no accidents she had heard about, the fear had slowly waned. Her husband was cleaning the garage out this weekend whether he liked it or not. She was no longer going to be parking on the road.

Rachel leaned down between the door and the seat and pressed the button to move her seat back. It didn't give her much room, but it was enough to be able to maneuver out of the front seat and into the back seat.

"Oh Sweetie," the lady gasped seeing the woman's arms in the street light. "Your arms..."

Rachel looked down and finally saw why her arms felt like they were on fire. Red burns littered the inside of both arms from her palms to her elbow. She frowned, unable to figure out where they had come from.

"Mom! What happened?" McKenzie gasped leaning into the open door.

"I...I don't know." Rachel said as she stared at her arms.

"The paramedics will be here soon." The lady assured both mother and daughter. "Come on, let's get you girls away from this mess." She led them over to the curb in front of her house and helped them sit down. "Do you need a blanket? This is my house."

Rachel shook her head. "No thank you."

"Is there anyone I can call?"

"JC! Mom! We gotta call JC!" McKenzie exclaimed, clutching her phone in her hand. "Please?"

"Let me," Rachel held out her hand for her daughter's phone. Her phone was still in her purse somewhere in the car. She took McKenzie's phone and found JC's number in the contacts.

JC reached for his phone on the coffee table when it started to ring. Lifting it up, he smiled seeing McKenzie's name.

"No way they made it home." Heather said looking at the clock on the wall. "Rachel might drive bat shit crazy but no way she could make an hour drive in 15 minutes."

"I'll tell her you said that." JC grinned as he tapped accept and lifted the phone to his ear. "Hey Kenz. What's up? Did you forget something?"

Rachel's eyes closed at his voice and she wanted him there. "It's Rachel. We were in an accident."

"What? An accident?" JC nearly shouted. He quickly stood up and left the room where he took the stairs two at a time to his room. "Are you okay? Kenzi? Where are you?"  He pushed off the sweatpants he had changed in to after Rachel and McKenzie had left. His parents had gone to bed, but everyone else was gathered in the living room watching the latest Marvel movie. He pulled a pair of jeans that had been tossed over the chair he had worn earlier before changing in to slacks for dinner.

"I'm not sure where I am..." The sirens grew louder and she could see the lights illuminating the sky. "Still on your road."

JC pulled the phone away from his ear. He could hear the sirens from his place. They were feint. She couldn't have been far from him. "Are you hurt? What about McKenzie?"

"McKenzie's okay." Rachel rested her head in her hand. McKenzie had laid her head on her shoulder. "I'm okay."

"No you're not," McKenzie said, lifting her head up. "You're not fine. You're bleeding. Your arms..."

JC moved faster hearing McKenzie's muffled words. He grabbed his keys and wallet from the top of his dresser and went back down the stairs. "Do you have any idea where you are?" He slid his feet into his shoes at the door.

"JC? What's going on?" Tyler asked as they all gathered at JC's front door.

"Rachel and McKenzie were in a car accident." JC explained what he knew.

"I'll drive." Tyler said as he put his shoes on. "Don't argue." He saw the look on JC's face.

Both men climbed into the car and Tyler quickly turned around in the neighbor's drive to follow the way Rachel had taken.

"I don't know where..." Rachel said then cut off as a firetruck arrived. Followed by police cars and ambulances. The lady who had helped them from the car walked off to wave them down and bring them over. When she came back she asked where she was and relayed the information to JC.

"Okay. Good." JC nodded even though Rachel couldn't see. "You're not that far. I'll be there in a couple of minutes, okay?"

"Okay." Rachel said softly. "Hurry."

*~*

JC jumped from the car before he was even sure Tyler had stopped. The emergency trucks had all come from the opposite direction, so they had been able to go right up to the accident. His steps slowed as he saw the cars. Rachel's passenger side was pressed up against another car. A third car was crunched into the front of Rachel's car. Most of the damage had been sustained on the driver's side on both vehicles. The airbags in Rachel's car had been deployed.

"Wow," Tyler said as he came up behind JC, surveying the damage.

"Yeah," JC said and he made his way around the wrecked cars. Emergency personnel were not moving with a sense of urgency and that caused him to relax a little bit. Had there been serious injuries, everyone would be moving quicker. Even though Rachel had told him on the phone she and McKenzie were both okay, he needed to see them.

He saw McKenzie first talking with a police officer.  He changed direction making his way toward her. "Kenzi!" He called and saw her head snap up, looking in his direction.

"JC!" McKenzie quickly made her to him. When she reached him she threw her arms around his waist.

"Hey, it's okay." JC ducked his head, whispering into her hair. He hugged her. His eyes closed in relief. She was okay. He felt her body start to shake. "Shhh, don't cry. It's okay Kenzi."

"The headlights were right in front of us," McKenzie whispered. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She tightened her arms around him, pressing her cheek harder against his chest. "Mom tried to miss the car..."

"I know." JC comforted the teenager. "Come on, it's okay." When she picked her head off his chest, his heart broke at the sight of her tears. "Did you get checked out?"

McKenzie nodded. She rubbed at her tears with the back of her hands. She hissed when she rubbed against the burn on her cheek.

"What happened?" JC tilted her head up so he could look at the marks on her face. He could see what looked like burn marks on her chin, cheek, and forehead.

"The paramedic said it was burns from the airbag. You should see mom."

"Where is she?" JC raised his head to look around.

"In the ambulance." Without thinking McKenzie took JC's hand and pulled him to the ambulance.

JC's eyes widened when he saw Rachel. She was sitting on the end of the stretcher in the back of the ambulance. A paramedic sat next to her tending to wicked looking burns on one forearm. Her other forearm looked just as bad. At McKenzie's "Mom", Rachel looked up and he saw the rest of the injuries. There were burns on her neck and like McKenzie, her chin, cheek, and forehead. There was also a gash right below her hairline.

"JC..." Rachel whispered, wincing as more solution was pouring onto her forearm.

"My God..." Without asking or waiting to be invited, JC climbed into the ambulance on Rachel's free side. He wanted to take her hand but the sight of the red burns stopped him. He wasn't sure where to touch and settled for a hand on her back. "Are you okay?"

Rachel nodded. "Yeah," she said softly. She sent him a small smile before it turned in to a grimace. "I have to go to the hospital. They need to check the burns to make sure they aren't chemical."

"They came from the airbag too?" JC asked, seeing both Rachel and the paramedic nod.

"Can you take McKenzie to your place while I go to the hospital?" Rachel asked JC.

"What?" McKenzie moved forward looking up into the ambulance. "No. I'm coming with you."

"Kenzi..." Rachel said softly.

"No!" McKenzie shouted loudly. "I'm going to the hospital with you. You can't send me away."

"I'm not sending..."

"No. I have to go with you.  I need to be there. What if something happens and I'm not there. They say you're fine but what if you're not? What if something happens and...I... I..." McKenzie's eyes filled with tears. "I kept calling your name and you didn't answer... you didn't answer and I..."

JC jumped from the back of the ambulance and gathered McKenzie in his arms as she started crying. He held her as he tried shush her tears. The adrenaline from the crash was wearing off.  The last place McKenzie needed to be was the hospital. There was no telling how long Rachel was going to be. He wasn't sure how to make her stay at his house. He wasn't sure if he could make himself stay at his house and not be at the hospital with Rachel. "It's okay Kenz," he whispered, stroking her hair. "You're okay."

"I was so scared."

"I know Sweetie." JC continued stroking her hair, as she held him tight. "Your mom is going to be fine, okay? Let me take you home. We were watching the latest Thor movie. We can start it over or pick something else."

"But Mom will be alone..." McKenzie lifted her head from his chest and looked into the ambulance at her mother. "We can't leave her alone."

McKenzie said exactly what JC had been thinking. He didn't want Rachel to be alone. He wanted to go with her but McKenzie needed to go home. To his place. Where she could rest. Where she could recover. Where he could keep an eye on her. But he needed to go to the hospital with Rachel. He was torn. He couldn't be in two places at once.

"Uncle Lance can meet me at the hospital." Rachel spoke up. She lifted a hand and wiped at her eyes. Her eyes were still irritated from the powder released when the air bag deployed. "He lives right around the corner. If I call him now, he'll arrive at the hospital at the same time I will. Then I won't be alone." She watched as her daughter looked at her then at JC, then back at her. She could see the gears turning in her head. "McKenzie, I know you want to go to the hospital with me. But it would be better if you go back to JC's. You can borrow some clothes and lay down. Rest. That's the best thing you can do right now is rest. You won't be able to do that at the hospital."

"Okay." McKenzie said softly, agreeing. "Uncle Lance will keep us updated right?"

"Of course he will." Rachel nodded.

"When you can leave, you'll come to JC's? You won't go home or go to Uncle Lance's?"

"Of course I'll come to JC's. That's where my family will be."

*~*

‘On our way.'

The beep of his phone woke JC. He was momentary confused to find himself in his living room on the couch. His TV screen was a muted color as Netflix asked if he was still watching. He wasn't. He hadn't been for several hours. It was the only light in the room. Everything else had been turned off. Next to him McKenzie slept on.

When he got back to his house with McKenzie in tow, they were immediately descended upon. The questions came fast and quick. It made him feel like he was walking the carpet before some music award show. McKenzie had clung to him; her nails digging in to the skin right above the crease of his elbow. When he finally got his family to back off and give them a little room, he had asked Heather if she had something for McKenzie to change in to.

It had taken a lot of coaxing from he and Heather both, but his sister was able to get McKenzie to let go of him and go into the bedroom and change. Then he answered the questions everyone had, the best that he could. Yes, McKenzie had been medically cleared to come home with him. Yes, Rachel was okay. No, no one had been seriously injured. No, Rachel was not alone. Yes she was coming back to his place when the hospital released her. When McKenzie had reappeared wearing a black t-shirt with The Rolling Stones logo and a pair of black sweatpants, his family knew she was overwhelmed and scared. They backed off and let JC take control.

That worked until JC became overwhelmed with not knowing how to take care of her. Should he give her Tylenol? Ibuprofen? Something else? Did he need to put a topical cream on the burns on her face? Did she need a heating pad for the sole muscles or an ice pack? Would she be better off lying in a bed or was the couch fine? The mini freak out in his head lasted until his mother pulled him aside and told him to calm down. The last thing McKenzie needed was to see him lose control. It was hard because he still wasn't certain McKenzie shouldn't be in the hospital being checked out by doctors. He still wasn't certain he shouldn't be at the hospital with Rachel.

But he had blown out a breath in the privacy of his bathroom. McKenzie needed him. Rachel needed him. She was counting on him to take care of her daughter. Somewhat settled he had grabbed the Ibuprofen and read the bottle and shook out the recommended dosage for McKenzie's age. While he had been gone, someone had found a pillow and a blanket. He silently cursed himself for not getting her settled on the couch before he went to find medicine. Turns out it didn't matter.

JC looked down at his side, a smile gracing his lips. McKenzie had turned around on the couch the moment he had sat down. Her pillow had been placed against his side and she had used it and his leg as a pillow. His hand still rested on her shoulder, a comforting measure for the both of them. He found he needed to reassure himself that she was there and that she was okay. They had settled in to watch Jumanji on Netflix. JC was certain McKenzie hadn't even made it through the opening scene. He hadn't lasted much longer.

His phone beeped again and he remembered why he had woken up in the first place. He lifted it from the arm of the couch and looked at the display reading the message from Lance. He breathed a sigh of relief. Rachel was coming home. It took him awhile to work his way off the couch without disturbing McKenzie. When he was standing, he pulled the blanket up over her shoulders. Unable to stop himself, he stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.

‘Open the door'

JC dropped the clothes he had pulled from his drawers onto his bed and rushed downstairs. He turned off the alarm. When he opened the door he saw the Bass siblings walking toward him. He forced himself to wait and not rush forward.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Lance said as they reached the door. "They gave her pain medication. If she needs more, simple over the counter will work."

"How are you feeling?" JC asked, his heart aching when she raised her head to look at him and he got a good look at her face.

"I'm okay." Rachel reached out and gingerly grasped his fingers with hers. "Kenzi?"

"Sleeping on the couch pretty much from the moment we got here. Heather let her borrow some clothes. Gave her so Ibuprofen."

"Thanks JC."

"All the doctor's notes are in here," Lance handed the print out of papers to JC as well as Rachel's purse. "The dressings can come off in 24 hours. If needed, there are names of some topical cream to put on. She'll be pretty sore for the next few days."

"Thanks Man."

"Of course," Lance waved him off and turned to his sister. "Let him take care of you."

"Yes Lance," Rachel tried to smile but it hurt too much.

"I'll check in with you tomorrow." He hugged her gingerly and kissed her temple.

As Lance waved goodbye, JC helped Rachel into his house and shut the door. "Come on," he said after the alarm was set again. "I have some clothes you can sleep in. Bed is all ready for you."

"Let me check on Kenzi."

"Rachel." JC relented and with a hand on her back, led her into his living room where McKenzie was still curled up underneath the blanket.

"I saw the headlights and I knew there was nothing I could do..." she whispered as she stared down at her sleeping daughter.

"It's okay," JC wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He held her as tight as he dared but not as tight as he wanted. "You're okay. Kenzi's okay. And my heart will eventually turn to normal rhythm."

"I'm sorry JC." Rachel turned her head to look at him. She could barely make out his features in the dark. "I should have been paying closer attention. All I could think about was how I hated leaving you. And Kenzi was asking if we were gonna move in with you or if you would move in with us... And I just didn't see the other car until it was too late. There was no where for me to go with the wall on one side and the parked car on the other..."

"Hey," JC said softly. He gingerly cupped her face, careful of the burns. He brushed his lips against hers. "Calm down. It was an accident. It's no one's fault."

"I don't think the police see if that way."

"If they don't, we'll deal with it. All that matters is you're okay. That Kenzi's okay. That's all that matters." He stood still when Rachel turned toward him. She took a small step forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her arms rested gently on his back. "All that matters is you two are okay," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her. He pressed a kiss into her hair. "All that matters..."