This was not how she pictured her night going, not in the slightest. Sarah was leaning against the brick side of the local hospital, lit cigarette dangling from her mouth, her sharp, dark blue eyes shooting daggers at anyone who happened to so much as look at her the wrong way, judging her silently as if she was in the wrong. She knew the rules, she knew where she could and couldn't smoke. If it wasn't for the fact that she was currently standing, right foot pressed against the hospital building, she wouldn't even be smoking something as simple as a cigarette.

Earlier, Sarah had been walking, hands thrust into the pockets of her jeans, towards her house. She needed a fix and badly, having run out after a few too many nights of getting over-eager and taking more to increase her high. With money pickpocketed from strangers - and 'friends' - she had purchased enough to last a week and was almost to her crappy apartment with her crappier roommates who were just as eager to smoke up as she was. She had had a few drinks before leaving, though not drunk, just slightly buzzed. If she was driving it was very possible she'd get pulled over, and then arrested for being under the legal drinking age by two years. Which is why she walked.

That night, she never did make it to her home.

Rounding a corner, she noticed a car speeding down the street coming towards her direction. The car was swerving, making Sarah question if the sidewalk was going to be safe. The car zoomed past her but was going far too fast to make the turn, instead going off road, turning over, and slamming into a tree, the sounds of grinding metal and breaking glass filling the air.

"Drunken idiots," Sarah said, shaking her head, no pity offered, no concern for their well-being. Still, she had a morbid curiosity. How often did one get to see a wreck like that up close, and her responsibility was to call the police ,right? Well, that wasn't going to happen, not with her carrying a bag or two of illegal substances. It was her curiosity that caused Sarah to approach the wreck, hesitating a bit as it caught on fire. Good sense told her to run, to get the hell out of there and let someone who actually cared handle this.

But then she looked into the backseat.

Sarah closed the distance between her and the car with a jog, bashing against the car window. There was a person back there, alive - hopefully, but trapped. The glass shattered, cutting Sarah's hand slightly, but it was nothing, manageable. She crawled into the burning wreckage, her body halfway inside, coughing. Unbuckling the seatbelt, she took the survivor into her hands and yanked, pulling him out. He looked in a bad way, blood, an ashy face, he was either unconscious or dead, and Sarah really hoped it was the former.

She carried the male in her arms, moving swiftly, nearly losing her balance as the car exploded just as she managed to return to the sidewalk. The explosion drew pedestrians, one of whom called 911. Sarah, avoiding questioning by the police, opted to ride in the back of the ambulance, despite their protests. "Shut up, I saved him, I'm riding with him, do your goddamn jobs, alright?" was her response to their complaints.

Arriving at the hospital, the paramedics rushed the survivor off to intensive care, leaving Sarah to wait in the waiting room. She didn't wait around long, choosing to wait outside, to smoke. She called one of her roommates to come pick up the drugs she was carrying, which he did, and Sarah declined a ride back.

Putting out her cigarette, Sarah sighed, and stepped off the wall. She reached into the pocket of he jacket and pulled out the other thing she managed to save, due to it being in the possession of the one she rescued. It was a teddy bear, and looking at it caused a slight pang of regret in Sarah. She needed to give it to him, he would probably want it, it would make him comfortable. That is, if he was anything like the Charlie she once knew.

That night, instead of going home, Sarah saved the life of someone she hadn't seen in years, not since getting kicked out by her parents. That night, Sarah had saved the life of her younger brother, Charlie. Rubbing her forehead with her fingers, Sarah let out a sigh and re-entered the hospital. She wanted to be there when he woke up. And she had to give him back his teddy bear.

In the Intensive Care room, Charlie lay on a bed, hooked to varying machines. With the blood, ash and dirt wiped from his face, he looked in a much better way then before, even with wires and the like taped to his pale form. Tubes up his nose helped him breathe without an oxygen mask, and made him look much better in himself. Breathing softly as he rested, his chest rose and fell in a regular pattern. Scarring ran across his chest and belly, down to his waist. He was dressed in a pair of loose pants over protective underpants to prevent any messes from occuring.

A doctor strode across the wall, and spotting the woman, made haste towards her. "Ahh, there you are. Your brother is okay, aside from a few broken bones and some scarring. He's been asking for you, I think. He kept asking for "Rah-Rah", or so it sounded. His notes stated he's severly autistic, and that he has a severe speech impediment." He turned to her, guiding her towards the I.C.U, where Charlie's bed was being wheeled out to be placed in another room. His eyes were open now, and he looked terrified and alone. Seeing his sister, he began to cry for her, his slurred, thick speech incoherent to most people.

"Rah! Rah! Wan Rah!" He tried to get to her, not liking being on the bed and away from his sister if she was near.

"Sit with and talk to him, it'll be good to keep him calm. But it smells like he needs cleaning. Do you need a nurse for it?"

When the doctor approached her, Sarah feared the worst, letting out a sigh of relief as he made it clear that Charlie was alright, that he was alive, in recovery. That was so typical of a doctor, making relatives fear the worst, before springing the good - or the relatively good - news. It was enough to give someone a heart attack. Sarah rolled her eyes at the doctor, he wasn't telling her anything she didn't already know; she was his sister, it served only as a reconfirmation of information, and it was more for the doctor's benefit. When Sarah was forced out of the house, the reason why she was reluctant at first wasn't out of affection for her parents, but out of a belief that they wouldn't know how to properly look after Charlie. They had done a bang-up job with her, after all.

And now here they were, Sarah re-entering his life under the most unusual and unexpected of circumstances. A funny thing, the way the world works sometimes.

Sarah didn't speak to the doctor, but followed after him, one hand in her jeans pocket, the other holding the teddy bear by the back of its neck. How weird she mus've looked to other visitors, but she couldn't possibly care less. Too many people cared about strangers based purely on something stupid like clothing or appearance. So what if she smoked, so what if she drank, and so what if she followed a doctor while holding a stuffed bear. Sarah did her best not to look away as Charlie's bed was wheeled into another room, She just didn't want to see him looking in pain, but to the doctor's credit, they had cleaned him up from the crash.

Hearing him call out for her brought on another pang of guilt to Sarah. She approached the bed, doing her best to smile - she hadn't done a lot of that over the years - and she lightly brushed his hair. "Hey, Charlie, it's alright, it's alright, I'm here. Rah-Rah's here, and look what she has." Sarah held the stuffed bear in both of her hands and made it do a little dance by moving her hands back and forth before setting it on his bed. She turned to the doctor and nodded her head. "Yeah, go ahead and call a nurse, but I'll stick around. Trust me, it'll be easier that way."

She turned back to Charlie, keeping her head well enough back so as not to let the lingering cigarette breath waft over him. "You're going to be fine, Charlie. Everything's fine now."

She hated seeing him like this, but part of her was glad, glad to at least be reunited, though the circumstances were far from ideal.

Charlie held his teddy bear close as he lay there, looking up at her, with his big, innocent eyes. His hand stole for hers, holding it in his smaller ones. His form was shivering lightly as he felt cold without the blanket on him. As the nurse changed and cleaned him up, he kept looking at Sarah, not sure why she wasn't doing it. Hiccuping, he blushed and giggled lightly. Once he was clean, the nurse spoke to Sarah, explaning how to move the wires without pulling then out, incase he got upset and needed comfort, or she wanted to hold him to her.

Charlie held the teddy in his arms, giving a small yawn. "Rah-Rah, Lullaby?" He stuttered, wanting to hear her voice.

Sarah offered Charlie an apologetic look with her eyes, apologizing as best she could wordlessly, apologizing for not being the one to change him. She lacked in the confidence department on that, and besides, the nurses had to do something to prove that they were actually competent. Noticing he was shivering, Sarah attempted to aid the matter by gently patting the top of his smaller hand, which was currently placed in the palm of her much larger one. It wasn't a blanket, but it's the first thing she could think of under the circumstances. Even as the nurse explained about the wires, her gaze wasn't focused on the medical staff, but she nodded in understanding regardless.

Sarah gave a soft sigh at Charlies request. Of course she had to do it, it was just that she hadn't done it in years, since being out on her own involuntarily. She asked the nursing staff to leave for a moment, this wasn't for their ears to hear. Sarah cleared her throat, still holding onto Charlie's hand. "Now it's time to say goodnight. Good night...sleep tight..." She adopted a soft sing-songy voice, slightly rougher than the past - the cigarettes and other substances did her singing voice no favors, but she kept her voice low and as comforting as she could, lightly patting Charlie's hand in the process. "Dream sweet dreams for me....dream sweet dreams for you...Good night..."

Sarah finished the lullaby with a faint smile. It was quite the nostalgic feeling.

In the days that followed, Sarah practically lived at the hospital, arriving when visiting hours started and only leaving when the nurses came in and demanded her to leave night after night. The only times she left Charlie's side was to get a drink, get a snack, or sneak away for a smoke break. She was never gone long, she didn't want him to start thinking she had abandoned him. He needed her now, and she, well, it was the least she could do given the circumstances and their history. But now came the question of the hour.

Where would Charlie stay?

He couldn't stay at Sarah's place, not with her room mates and her frequent use of illegal substances, the place constantly had a smoke cloud over it and smelled like an ashtray. No place for someone like Charlie. It seemed the best place would be Charlie's home. Sarah's old home. It was familiar to him, and familiar was good. Sarah hadn't heard yet the identity of the driver of the car, but she naturally made an assumption, and the assumption was that she figured there wouldn't be anyone to oppose her returning to the old home she was run out of.

Sarah was pushing Charlie via wheelchair out of the hospital doors and out into the sunlit sky. Cradled under her arms were folders containing information regarding the medical treatment, doctor's reports, and instructions on how to care for him.

"Okay, Charlie, you ready to go home?" Sarah asked, stopping as she waited for a handicap accessible hospital van to pull around to the front. "Rah-Rah's gonna be looking after you for a while, alright? We're gonna go home and it'll be like it was."

She gave Charlie a little nod from behind the chair, not like he could see, and as she waited for the van and the staff - why are these people always so late-, the only thing she thought was how badly she wanted a cigarette.

Charlie nodded at her, looking around the area. His small hand rested on Sarah's bigger one, Smiling up, he returned his attention to the teddy in his lap. He'd never really been one to talk much at all, preferring to keep quiet around anybody. If he knew a person enough, he'd curl up in thier lap for cuddles and affection, and would spend a good hour or two sat, leaning into them, even sleeping against the person. His ultimate sign of trust was to let the person hold his teddy bear. If he did, it meant he did actually like them.

Gazing up, he saw his friend from school and her father a few yards away. Tugging on his sister's sleeve, he pointed to the girl and he father, actually starting to sign the girl's name. The male glanced up, seeing the boy in the chair, double taking and hurrying over with his daughter, worried. "Oh, Charlie.. What happened to him.. Miss.. Erm?" The tall, handsome man looked over to Sarah, as Charlie played with his friend's hand.

Sarah was lost in thought, in wanting a cigarette desperately, brought back to reality by Charlie's tugging on her sleeve. She looked towards him, a hint of worry in her eyes. but, she rationalized, perhaps their ride home had arrived. She followed the direction of his finger, eyes narrowed in disappointment and in annoyance as a stranger and his daughter, or who Sarah assumed to be his daughter, approaching them. The girl clung to the man's side as if she was afraid, but the way she looked towards Charlie and the way Charlie moved his hands, Sarah assumed the two had known each other at some point. Still, Sarah didn't know them, and she didn't like the man being nosy.

"You don't need to know what happened to him, mind your own business. Is that your thing, you go up to people leaving a hospital and ask them what happened? That's really creepy, man. Leave us alone, we're fine." Sarah spoke, her words and her tone matching her annoyance with the stranger.

The man's daughter, unable to hear what Sarah was saying and not as skilled in lip reading as one with years of experience behind them, instead began signing towards Sarah, unaware that Sarah wasn't looking in her direction, too focused on shouting down her father. The girl, Emily, stopped signing when she noticed the older girl not paying attention, instead she looked towards Charlie, her eyes frought with worry.

"My daughter is Charlie's friend, Ma'am." He spoke in an even, calm tone, despite his anger at Sarah's attitude. "I heard there had been an accident, and I brought Emily to see him after her appointment." He responded calmly, kneeling down to Charlie's level, seeing the small child shaking at the anger in his older sibling's voice. "Are you okay, Charlie?" He spoke gently, holding the boy's hand in a fatherly and kind manner. "Tell you what, do you and.. is she your sister?" He waited as Charlie nodded, signing the name of his sibling, smiling at him. "Want us to take you home after Emily has seen the nurse? Hmm?" He stood, returning his attention to Sarah. "May I? It'd be better then waiting for a ride. I don't mind making you both lunch either, it means you'll be able to settle him in better.."

Charlie nodded, looking up at his big sister. "Rah-Rah, my friend an' her daddy. They nice." Charlie stammered out, his speech as poor as ever. He turned back to Emily, holding his teddy bear to her.

News traveled fast, it seemed, though with an accident as severe as the one CHarlie had been through, it wasn't terribly surprising that it had been all over the papers, maybe even the nightly news. Sarah had honestly expected there to be some kind of press involved, but was glad there wasn't. Charlie had already had enough excitement, he didn't need the vultures of the media misrepresenting him and his condition. Still, she wasn't quite sold on the man and his daughter, though the fact that he knew Charlie's name was at least a potential hint that he was telling the truth. Sarah was wary, on guard, but listening more closely than she was prior.

Emily, upon seeing the offered bear from Charlie, accepted it, holding it in both of her hands and placing it in a small hug against her chest. Sarah, who had watched the display after Charlie's words, sighed. She hadn't fully trusted the two, but Charlie only let people he liked hold his bear. So it was for his sake that she responded to the man.

"Alright, fine. A ride home, and you're paying for the lunch.But I'm only agreeing to this because Charlie seems to know you, seems to think your daughter is trustworthy. And don't start asking weird personal questions, alright? You're doing us a favor, let's leave it at that."

Emily, oblivious to the negative tone directed at her father, simply smiled towards Charlie and held the bear back to him.

"Alright, I'll let you take him and Emily inside then, and I'll book her in and cancel the transport for Charlie then. And be kinder to people, I think your tone upsets Charlie, even if he dosen't show it to you. I'm sorry."

Charlie smiled at his sister, eyes warm and happy. Tugging on her sleeve, he reached up, wanting her to hold him for a little while. He clung to the teddy in his arms like it was his source of life, and it pretty much was, being all he had left of hos mom and dad. Looking up, he started to cry after a few moments, the impact of hospital and his injuries seeming to set in on his childlike mind. "Rah-Rah!" He wailed, tired, upset and, by the smell, in need of a change of diaper.

Who was this guy? Just because he came waltzing along, offering transport and lunch, he thought he could tell Sarah how to behave, how to talk to people? He wasn't her father, and not even he was able to keep Sarah from speaking her mind, try as hard as he might."You worry about yourself, man, I know what upsets Charlie, alright? He's my brother, he's not your kid." Sarh replied, shooting the man a nasty look before putting on her sister expression as Charlie began tugging on her sleeve.

Meanwhile, Emily just stood, unsure of what was happening, but noticing how upset Charlie was getting, it was subtle, the way he clung to his bear, but it was present in his actions. She, too, tugged on Sarah, more of poking her, but her poking came with her signing, gesturing towards Charlie, which Sarah shook her head at, not picking up on the girl's gestures, her intent, at least not until Charlie began to cry.

"It's okay, Charlie, it's okay, we'll be leaving soon, alright? We'll go home, but first we're going to to spend a little time wiht your friend. Won't that be fun? I know it's tough, Charlie, but you can do this. Rah-Rah is here, she's always here, okay?" Sarah lightly tousled Charlie's hair, giving him a warm, sisterly smile. It was here she noticed that he was in need of a changing. This was something she'd have to get used to, it seemed. "Let's get you cleaned up, Charlie, alright?" A cigarette break couldn't come soon enough.

Sarah turned the wheelchair around and headed back inside, towards the nearest bathroom. Emily followed behind, concerned for her friend.

Charlie nodded and smiled at her, wiping his eyes as he held the teddy bear in his arms. He signed quietly to Emily, able to express himself in a relatively mature manner, even knowing his sister's name, showing her how to sign her own name and Emily's too. Sarah.. Emily my best friend! She nice an' pretty too! He signed happily, hugging the teddy bear to his thin body, snuggling it on occasion and outing it on his thin, frail chest. Once changed and in fresh clothing, he pulled himself into is sister's form, closing his eyes, the small child drifted into a slumber, exhaustion finally hitting him. His chest rose and fell, in a soft, relaxed pattern, consistent with a sleeping body.

Stephen waited outside with Emily, signing to her. "Is that really his sister? I've never met her.. Yet, he seems to be so happy and content around her, and rests quite well. He seemed to be happy and content with her there, though."

Changing Charlie was one of those skills that Sarah had to pick up on quickly, and some of it was mental remembrance from when she was younger. She felt like a mother, and in some ways she was, though that moniker was not one she'd put on herself. It was good that he had had a friend; Sarah had figured the girl was deaf, and Sarah was hardly a master at sign language. Well, that's what the girl's father was for, or Charlie if it came to that, though Sarah doubted she'd be having many conversations with her. A brief moment of relief set in as Charlie dozed off. Sarah gently patted her brother's back, holding him as he slept; it was the least she could do.

Outside, Emily nodded to her father at his question. She signed in response, her eyes locked onto her father's face. "Yes, I think her name is Sarah, he signed it earlier. She doesn't seem nice, but Charlie likes her, so how bad can she be, really?"

"True, true. He's happy, and if he wasn't, he'd be hugging you every five seconds for comfort or atttention.. They've been a while.. Can you check on them? I can't enter the ladies, you can. If she needs help, hand her stuff, or sign to him, he'll be calm then if he's upset." The older man patted her head, smiling. "I'm going to get them water to drink if they need it."

Charlie continued to sleep, looking at peace. He was smiling slightly, his small form curled into her. He looked adorable, his angelic face restful, a small smile across his face. The scar on his cheek didn't seem to hurt him at all, his thumb brushing his lips.

Emily nodded towards her father, and it was true. They had been gone long, longer than it should normally take to perform a changing. Maybe the sister was struggling with it, she looked like the kind of person who was unused to more domestic tasks. Or tasks of any kind, really. Emily made her way towards the restroom, slowly stepping around or waiting for other people who were in front of her. Fortunately, the destination wasn't far, and soon Emily was pushing open the door to the restroom.

Inside, she saw Sarah slowly pacing around near the mirrors, Charlie sleeping while pressed against her chest. Sarah's lips were moving, but Emily didn't focus on that. Instead she looked towards the brother and sister, moreso the brother, and nodded to no one in particular, a nod of confirmation. Emily's eyes met Sarah's for a moment, and Sarah craned her head towards the door. Sarah didn't want to be disturbed, she didn't want to wake Charlie, to the point where she was debating placing him into the chair and letting him sleep there. It was probably more comfortable for him like this.

Emily, looking sad, left the bathroom and returned to where she was waiting for her dad. "Charlie is sleeping on his sister." SHe signed to him when he made his return.