She was in Sydney, and the only thing she had been able to see since she arrived was the hotel room and the inside of the waiting car each and every time she left for an interview. It had been so repetitive that she, herself could conduct the interview. The questions were all the same: pertaining to her taking time off, to how her health was now, to JC and finally settling on AJ.

The answers were always the same, too. "It was good to do. I got to focus on me and make myself better." "It's going good, I'm as good as I'll be with the Stenosis. They said I'm doing well and won't need the valve flush anytime soon, which I don't look forward to when it does happen." "He's a good guy. We just, drifted apart with the tour." "It's going as well as a new relationship would. He's been there for me and it's not surprising that the relationship-thing between us happened. I don't get to see him often, and that saddens me because I miss him."

She was pretty sure that if you opened every magazine that she had just done interviews for, they'd all be the same. Questions, answers, everything. Over the phone interviews were rushed, she didn't want to be on the phone longer than she had to, and though she didn't want to admit it, people were becoming skeptical of her sudden change in demeanor. She really couldn't blame them, though.

As soon as the news hit that she needed surgery, she became a different person, much like her brother did. She wasn't as social, wasn't as warm as she used to be. Simple conversations became a chore to her; a simple hello was forced as she tried to smile, yet failed most of the time.

Her last show was horrible. Not only did she feel off the entire time, she could not get her excitement level up and everyone knew it. The palpitations had begun again, medication doing nothing to keep them to a minimum, she feeling out of breath more during shows than she ever did.

All she wanted to do was sleep. She refused to talk to Aundrea, to Aubrey, in fear of falling apart and telling them exactly what was going on. Brian was still calling her nearly every hour, trying to get her to spill. Everyone knew something was wrong, but she was being stubborn, as she always was (something that had yet to change) and they couldn't get her to budge on it.

AJ, who in the midst of a four-day break with the Boys, flew down to visit her, though she knew a lot of his visiting was to see if she'd finally tell him something, anything. Most nights were spent just lying in silence, he holding her tightly as she fought back tears; others were spent with the two of them making love, he hoping that in the middle of the passion, when she was less inhibited, she'd say something. It never came.

He told her point blank the day he was leaving that he knew something was wrong, that he knew she was lying to him. Had she been unfaithful? Was she having second thoughts? Those questions rolled off his tongue as if they burned him, she having to take a step back in shock as she denied it all, reaching for his hand as he let her hold his, it limp in her grip. "I know something is wrong, D," he said softly, a hint of tears glassing over his eyes, "I just wish you'd let me in and tell me so that I could help you."

She shook her head, lips pressed together as she smiled. "I'm fine," she said softly, he sighing deeply in frustration and she stepped to her, lips pressed to her clammy forehead, hand holding the back of her head as his eyes dropped closed in surrender. "Alex, stop worrying ..."

"I can't help it," he said softly, pulling away and looking at her, still holding her head as he lowered to her eye level. "What did that doctor say to you, Audrina, huh? Is it your heart? Something with your stomach? Don't leave me in the dark, baby ..."

"I'm fine, Alex." Her voice cut short, signalling the end of that conversation. "You better go. They're boarding."

He sighed deeply, giving up again. "I love you," he said softly, she nodding as her eyes dropped closed as he pressed his lips to hers, warm and moist. "I love you. A lot."

Pulling away and still holding onto the hem of his shirt, she nodded. "I love you a lot, too."

"I'll call you when I land," he said softly, she nodding once more as he stepped away, eyes lingering on her for a moment as he tried to read her face, it pale and tired looking. "Love you."

"Be safe," she said softly, raising her hand slightly to wave him off, "I love you, too."

He disappeared within the mass of passengers, she turning and leaving. Her walls were crumbling; people could read her being troubled now. It wouldn't be long before hell broke loose.



He stared down at his phone as the familiar numbers looked back up at him, waiting to be sent to connect with the other line. After calling Johnny, getting the number of the clinic she had gone to, he found out there was indeed, something wrong, but that was all he could get out of them. He hadn't told Drea what he learned, knowing that it would freak her out and bombard Audrina's own phone, driving her to either turn it off or throw it out the window. Aubrey would leave threatening messages, Brian would basically threaten to disown her and AJ ... who knew what AJ would feel if he found out from him.

He had to do this. He had to call her, to tell her he knew there was something wrong. He needed her to tell him, tell him what the scenerio was so he could help her tell her family, her friends ... AJ. He knew, that after all these years of hurt and pain, this was what he owed her. She was owed a lot from his life, he probably forever in her debt until the day he died.

He hit send, letting it connect as he hit speakerphone, listening to it ring and ring, he beginning to think she would never answer when it clicked, silent for a moment before a groggy voice greeted him. " ... JC?"

Mentally hitting himself, he realize that it was nearing five in the morning, rather than nearing eleven at night like it had been where he was. "I'm sorry I woke you," he said softly, "I can call later on tomorrow ..."

"I'm up now," she said softly, he hearing her shift around. "What's wrong?"

His heart skipped a beat, he licking his lips. "Nothing is wrong with me, I just ... I needed to talk to you."

"Oh," she said softly. "I never thought you'd want to talk to me again after that day."

"To be honest, I didn't," he replied, a slight chuckle coming from her end, "but there is something that's on my mind and I need to get it through to you."

She was silent for a moment, he beginning to think she had nodded off. Though, as soon as the thought finished, she spoke. "What about?"

He took a deep breath, preparing himself for what could be a bad thing when she found out how he knew. "Your heart."

" ... What about it?"

"What did they say at the doctor's, Audrina?"

She scoffed. "They put you up to this, didn't they? Who was it? Brian? Bree? Drea? It can't be AJ because he's pissed off at me, and talking to you would probably make him even more pissed off at me ..."

"No one put me up to this," he lied, "I just ... " He trailed off, trying to think of an excuse to cover up Aundrea's concern, "I saw a picture of you in a tabloid going into a hospital that had a cardiac unit. I called Johnny just to see if you were okay and he said that you had gone to the doctor's the other day and that was the day they said in the magazine that you had gone to the hospital -"

"I'm fine, JC. The ... clinic was in the hospital."

"I know you're lying to me."

"I am not," she murmured, shifting yet again. "I'm not lying to you."

"I know the doctor sent you to the cardiologist," he said quickly, it spilling out like word vomit, "I know he found something wrong. I called and he told me!"

She was silent. He knew that he had gotten to her, probably on her wrong side, but he had gotten to her. "You called my doctor? How could you -"

"And then I called your cardiologist! He said you were going to be seeing him when you got home! Why are you keeping something from everyone, Audrina? What is going on? Are you dying?"

"No, I'm not fucking dying," she spat. "How dare you go behind my back and try and find out the root of all my problems! How fucking dare you! This is none of your business, none of your concern! I can't fucking believe you ..."

"I can't believe you!" He was seething now. "You're hiding something terribly wrong from everyone and if something happens and they don't know, they're going to hate you! They'll probably never talk to you! Aundrea is already scared shitless that you're dying and you won't tell anyone; Aubrey doesn't know what or how to make heads or tails of it; Brian is worried so bad that he's gotten himself sick and AJ! AJ is so paranoid that you're going to end up like Brian that he's been mentally preparing himself! It's been nearly a month since you went to the doctor's, Audrina. You can't keep doing this to yourself, to them! They have a right to know! They love you!"

"You don't know anything," she snapped, he met with a dial tone.

He sighed deeply, hanging the phone up and taking it off speaker, hanging his head low and pressing his fingers to the temples, feeling a headache coming on. That went exactly how he envisioned it going.

Getting up and sitting down on the cool floor, she pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes, sending light bursts behind her lids with how hard she had been pressing. She had yet to call the doctor's, had yet tell anyone ... she was pushing off the inevitable and if she pushed it away any further, she was afraid of the consequences. What if she died? What if she pushed it off for so long that the hole just became her death sentence, if it wasn't already? If she died, no one would be able to forgive her for not telling them. Brian would blame himself, he knowing all the signs and feeling as if he ignored them; Aubrey and Aundrea would probably hate even the name that they were once connected with and AJ ... AJ would become a wreck. He had lost his grandmother and the world had ended for him. Losing her, the woman he loved for so long was sure to send him back down the road he had successfully turned away from.

And JC. He'd retreat with his tail between his legs, defeated. He had fought her disease alongside her for so long that it became a part of him. His depression would kick his ass, she afraid to even think of what would happen to him.

That was when she made her decision.



In the midst of straightening out his disaster of a living room after tearing it apart to rearrange and keep his mind off of things, having bought a new entertainment center and plasma television, he had an eerie feeling. Standing in the middle of his couch and lounge chairs that had yet to be pushed back to where he wanted them, he looked around, unsure of what to make of the feeling. Was it he, himself? Was someone breaking in? Someone getting into his car?

The hairs on the back of his neck stood, goosebumps prickling his arms as he cried out in sudden shock as the doorbell rang. Putting a hand to his chest to calm his frantic heart, he stepped through his mess, walking slowly towards the door. Pressing up against the door and peering out the peephole, his eyes widened at the face standing behind the door. "Rina?!"

The door quickly opened as he stood face to face with her lost one, eyes watering. "Audrina, what's going on?!" He grabbed her hand, pulling her into the house as she stood, arms crossed beneath her chest as she began to weep, his arms immediately finding their way around her body to hold her against him. "What's going on," he asked softly, pulling her into the living room and sitting them both down on the couch, he pulling away and tucking a hair behind her ear. "Aren't you supposed to be in Australia right now?"

She nodded, tears still falling as she looked down at her hands, they clasped in her lap. "I made Johnny cancel the rest of the promotional tour. There are some things a little more important ..."

"Rine," he said softly, hands beginning to shake at the completely devastated one before him, "tell me what's going on?"

"You were right," she said, still unable to look at him, "I went to the doctor's and they sent me to the cardiologist right after. I have Ventricular Septal Defect -"

"Brian has that ..."

"Yeah," she nodded, laughing slightly, "the one thing I never thought I'd get, I do."

"There's treatments though, right? I mean, you can get better and -"

"Of course," she said softly, shaking her head. "But I've been putting it off because I suddenly became shallow and didn't want the scar my brother has. I didn't want to be ugly ... I," she stopped, tears falling down her face, "I know it's bad to say, but I don't want to have the scar. Brian wears it with pride, but I'd ... I'd never be the same. How do you go on being a woman with a scar that goes clear down from the top of your chest?"

"The same way you always have," he said, swallowing the lump in his throat. She needed surgery. "Regardless of the scar, you'll still be beautiful," he said softly, she bringing her gaze up to him for the first time, "and I'm sure AJ would agree with me. God, Audrina, a little scar isn't going to change who you are or how we see you. It's going to signify that you are a fighter. That you went in to save yourself. That you care enough about yourself to get it fixed because you aren't ready to die yet."

"But what if I do?! What if something happens like it did with Brian? What if they go in for that three hour procedure and it ends up being six? Ten? What if they cut something that they weren't supposed to and I die? I can't die like that, I can't -"

"Would you rather die from something else?"

"Old age would be nice," she murmured, he reaching forward and taking her hand in his, "that's the only way I'd want to ..."

"Then get this surgery," he prompted, "fix your heart so you can live to be old. Fix your heart so the world can still have you around. I don't think you realize what would happen to everyone if something happened to you," he frowned, "what would happen to me if something went wrong ..."

"I'm sorry I came here out of nowhere ... I just didn't have anywhere else to go or anyone else to go to ... Brian and AJ are still overseas and Aundrea and Aubrey are in Florida ..."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," he murmured, pulling her in for a hug as she sighed deeply against his shoulder, "I'm glad you came."

"Me too," she said softly, sighing dramatically. "I called them all. Told them that I needed to talk to them when they came home -"

"When does he get home?"

"In a four days," she said, pulling away and swiping at her tearstained eyes. "I have to tell them all alone. I can't just tell them in one group. Especially Brian. I can't just come out with it and be like, 'hey! I need surgery! Yay!'. It won't work for him."

"If you want me to be there when you tell them, I will ..."

"Thanks, but no," she said, shaking her head and taking a shaky breath in, "I need to do this alone. Somehow, the thought of having you there with me is definitely calming, but it wouldn't be when I told AJ."

He smirked slightly, nodding in agreement. "All right, so ... what's next?"

"I go the cardiologist tomorrow to find out my options. If I need the surgery or the tube."

"Tube?"

"They want to flush my valve. But, I have a feeling it'll be the surgery with the tube. Then, I go to the specialist who will probably do my surgery. And then, I wait until my brother comes home. And then, I prepare myself for the war that will happen because I didn't tell them sooner."

"They'll understand."

"Brian may, but AJ won't," she said, shaking her head. "He knew something was wrong and he knew I've been lying to him. He's gonna be so hurt when he finally knows that i think I'm gonna need protective gear when his body explodes from anger."

"He's never ... hit you, has he?!"

She laughed, shaking her head, "no! He's just ... very emotional when he gets angry. He's gonna yell a lot. Probably slam the door to some room and refuse to even speak to me for a while. But I have to face it. I made the choice of not telling them until now."

"Okay, so ... what do you do now?"

"Now," she said, standing and surveying his living room, "we clean up this mess before I go all Danny Tanner on your ass."

"I was getting there until you came."

"Well, have no fear, the Tan-Man is here," she grinned as he rolled his eyes, he getting up and grabbing her hand. "What?"

"I'm glad you came," he said softly, her face softening at his remark. "I'm glad you came to me."

"Me too."