"Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling, so tell me, baby, where did I go wrong?"

[privateinvestigations]

Who: Clint Chevalier and Angela Ashwood
What: Support networks
Where: ICU, Mount Sinai
When: Sunday night

Clint pushed out of the public men's room and he felt his way along the wall to sit heavily on one of the benches near the water cooler. Even the littlest things were taking energy he didn't have. His brain felt like much, or worse, liquid that was going to drip out of his ears and shut him down completely. He could have very much done without cracking his head on the sidewalk when Euan was trying to get him into the car, but when it rained, it fucking poured.

He leaned over, putting his head in his hands to stave off some of the brightness of the corridor of the ICU waiting room. It wasn't directly in the unit. It was just outside with the bathrooms, because the staff didn't need people lingering around unnecessarily. Lingering was often all loved ones could do when their world was bottoming out from under them with someone they loved deeply in grave danger. Clint wasn't coping. It was all so overwhelming. For the first time in his life, he didn't have an answer, couldn't go looking for any, and had no avenue of revenge.

He just had to get out of that room. Sitting looking at Lincoln like that triggered a panic in him that he had never felt in his life. Every passing moment, he was waiting for that machine to flatline or for someone to tell him Lincoln was dead. He wasn't prepared.

[ FACEBOOK ]

[pirouetteinrhythm]

I don't think I'll ever get sick of amusing subtitles.

[ FACEBOOK ]

[privateinvestigations]

"I hoped that you would understand that this is not what I had planned..."

[emilywhereverimayfindher]

Who? Angela Ashwood and Emily Cole
What? Fixing what's broken
When? Monday afternoon
Where? Mt. Sinai Hospital, ICU waiting room

Emily had left Clint with Lincoln for the time being. She knew this was hard, but she also knew that Clint needed to face this at his own pace and in his own way. And for Emily, there was also the realization that Clitty was her brother's boyfriend... his partner. Em had always been Linc's next of kin, and everyone had to take a backseat to what she wanted or needed when it came to Linc if he wasn't able to make decisions for himself. Not that it had been a common occurrence for them, but it was just the way things were. But now, Emily knew that she had to let Clitty into his proper place as Linc's partner, hard though that might be.

Which was how she came to be sitting in the quiet of the waiting room alone when Angela walked into the waiting room. She knew the other woman had been by to chat with Clint the day before, and she and Emily had chatted, but it had been via text. Ange was staying pretty busy with the case itself, but she was never one to be far from her loved ones when they needed her, and this was no exception. When Ange walked in, Emily sprung to her feet immediately and crossed over to her, unable to hold back the urge to wrap her up in a warm embrace. "Hey," she said softly, trying not to choke on the pain that she felt had been constantly constricting her breathing since the moment she'd sensed something was wrong with her twin.

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans..."

[justyouraveragejoe]

Who? Heather and Joe Jennings
What? Parental chats
When?Monday night
Where? Joe and Heather's bedroom

After all the Christmas festivities had died down a bit, Joe had to admit he was exhausted. He often joked to his wife that he was an old man, but she would always stay young and gorgeous. Still, he didn't usually feel old, unless he'd spent days on end surrounded by kids in their 20s, most of whom had infinitely more energy than he ever would again. And in those cases, he often ended up downright exhausted.

He was grateful that all the hubbub had died down, and he was able to just crawl into bed tonight, next to Heather, whom he'd just wrapped up in his arms. To this day, many years and many kids later, he still loved the way Heather felt in his arms, and could remember plain as day the first night he'd ever held her. They'd been through so much together, but while that served to tear some couples apart, for Joe and Heather, it had only strengthened them as a couple. "Darling," Joe said, dropping a kiss to the top of his wife's head. "I'm too damn old for this."

[ TEXT MESSAGE ] To Dad @ newhorizon

[bitchpls]

Hey, Dad - how are you feeling today?

[ FACEBOOK ]

[bitchpls]

That awkward moment when you check your phone after making love to your fiancé and you read that you've broken up #LOLtabloids