"I remembered the time my mom broke Jarod's ribs by throwing him up against the pole in the kitchen. We lied to the doctors, we lied to my dad, we lied to ourselves." Ciara told him.

"We didn't know any better back then. We didn't want anything bad to happen to your mom. We were children." AJ found himself defending their actions from when they were kids.

"The mom back then before the accident and the one after are so completely different, AJ. So different." Ciara looked back out at the garden. She tried to remember more but she was afraid. She shivered.

"What is it?" AJ noticed her shivering.

"Nothing. I'm just afraid of what I have yet to remember. Each major flashback gets more and more intense. God! I fainted with this one AJ." Ciara was getting angry. She was frustrated and upset over fainting after the flashback. AJ knelt down in front of her. He didn't know what to do to comfort her so he took one hand in his and with the other, wiped away her tears as he sang Angel Eyes to her.

"I always knew there was a reason that I always loved that song." She managed to smile by the time he was through.

"I can't pretend to know what you're going through, but I'm here. Use me." AJ offered himself to her.

"Thank you AJ. That means a great deal to me."

"How about you come inside now and hang out with everyone?" AJ changed the subject.

"I'm not very good company." Ciara replied.

"Nonsense! You're great company. C'mon…" AJ pulled her up on her feet and led her back to the house.

The guys and Rachel went about their business. Nick was sound asleep on the couch; Howie and Rachel were making dinner; and Kevin and Brian were playing checkers.

When Ciara and AJ got tot the living room, Ciara went over to check on Nick. He woke up right away.

"Sorry, Nicky… just checking on you." She apologized.

"That's all right. Why don't you cuddle with me for a while? I could use a soft pillow." He teased.

"I… I don't want to hurt you." She admitted.

"Lay on my right side and you won't. C'mon, we'll both rest a little better. You look like you could use a friendly pillow right now anyway…" Nick replied. AJ was proud of Nick. Nick didn't ask what was wrong, he just sort of sensed it but the look on her face.

When Ciara agreed, AJ gave Nick the ok sign and closed the French doors behind him and went to join everyone else in the kitchen.

"Think they'd be hungry? We caught a lot of fish." Howie asked.

"Of course, they're growing boys and I know that they all love fish. C'mon, let's go down and see if Rachel needs any help in the kitchen." Ciara looked at AJ.

"We're going to get cleaned up. See you in a bit." Kevin said and continued on to his room.

"He and Brian had a fight." Howie whispered.

"Howie, leave it be." Kevin said as he entered his room. Howie went to his own room without saying another word.

"B-Rok and Kev never fight… unless… uh oh…" AJ couldn't help but chuckle.

"They're fighting over Rachel." Ciara finished his sentence.

"Let's get down there so I can talk to B-Rok and you can talk to Rachel." AJ suggested and let her lead the way.

"Hey! Nicky… you got some sun today. You're looking much better!" Ciara said as he met them at the bottom of the stairs.

"Thanks… I'm feeling better, too. Did you have a good day?" Nick asked. Ciara nodded.

"Need help upstairs?" AJ asked as they embraced for a second.

"Um, I think I can managed… thanks for asking though." Nick smiled as he began up the steps.

Brian was outside hosing off the fish and the cooler when Ciara and AJ walked into the kitchen.

"Hey!" Rachel said. AJ mumbled a hello and headed out to the deck immediately.

"Rach, what happened between Brian and Kevin today?" Ciara asked.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"Howie said that Kevin and Brian had a fight? He didn't say about what though?" Ciara asked.

"A fight? No! If they did, it wasn't around me. What would they fight about?" Rachel was perplexed. She had begun washing some potatoes to have with the fish and had looked for some vegetables to have as well.

"Excuse me? Rachel? Hello… Brian and Kevin never fight… EVER… AJ and I think they were fighting over you." Ciara explained.

"That's ridiculous! Brian and I are just friends!" Rachel declared.

"Have you clarified that with him?" Ciara asked.

---

"Hey B? Whatcha doin' out here?" AJ asked.

"Cleaning off the fish. Whaddya think??? Too much?" Brian asked as he showed off the fish. There must have been two dozen fish of various sizes in front of Brian.

"Holy cow! That's a lot of fish!" AJ declared. "So… what's going on between you and Kevin?" AJ got right to the point.

"Nothing that concerns you." Brian went back to cleaning the fish.

"Bullshit, Bri. You two were fighting over Rachel, weren't you?" AJ wanted to know.

"That's ridiculous!" Brian lied.

"Bullshit again, B-Rok. You're a lousy liar. C'mon… it's me, AJ, you're talking to. We've only known Rachel a week. Why are you two fighting over her? Most of her time when she isn't with the group, she's with Kevin. Bri… let her go." AJ said. He knew that Brian was just going to end up heartbroken if he continued to pursue Rachel.

"Easy for you to say… you've got Ciara." Brian remarked as he shook his head.

"I may have her, but that's by her choosing. You and Kevin need to…" AJ was interrupted by Ciara yelling from the patio door.

"AJ! Nick just fell down the stairs!" Ciara was white as a ghost as she opened the patio door. AJ and Brian bolted past her towards the staircase.

"Nick! What happened?" Rachel was at his side instantly.

"I'm not sure? I went to step onto the top step and missed, I guess." Nick explained as Howie and a dripping wet Kevin came running down the stairs and Brian and AJ ran in from the patio.

"Nick, this is twice in less than two weeks. Cut it out." AJ teased as he helped Nick up. Rachel was in nurse mode. Ciara noticed Brian follow Kevin upstairs.

"What can I do?" Ciara asked aloud.

"Go watch those two." AJ nodded towards the upstairs as Howie helped him carry Nick to the couch. Ciara went upstairs. She saw Brian's door close first and then Kevin's. Kevin opened his door a few minutes later.

"Ciara, can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked. Ciara nodded and followed him back into his room. He was fully dressed.

"What do you want to talk about?" Ciara asked, but she had a good feeling about who and what would be the topic.

"Rachel and David. Has she dated since David? Was he truly the one for her?" Kevin asked.

"She has dated off and on since David, but nothing serious. Kevin, I know you and Brian were fighting over her today. That's not right."

"I know, but I won't back down from pursuing a relationship with her. I'm so drawn to her. I can't explain it. I got jealous of Brian hanging all over her today." He admitted as he looked out his window at the backyard.

"Did you tell Brian this?" Ciara asked.

"I tried. It was the first time we've ever fought over a woman before." He replied. There was a knock on the door. Ciara opened it to see Brian on the other side.

"Hi… I came to talk to Kevin." Brian replied. His hair was still dripping wet from his shower.

"I'll leave you two to talk." Ciara left the room.

---

"Well, you've got a few bruised ribs, Nick. Since you're still shaky, one of us will walk with you to help you with your balance until Ciara and I can find Rick's old crutches." Rachel was saying as Ciara entered the living room.

"Who's Rick?" Nick asked.

"He was my husband. He's passed on. How are you doing?" Ciara asked from the doorway.

"Clutz strikes again!" Nick said.

"Nicky, one of us should have helped you. This isn't all your fault." AJ said as he helped Rachel put an ace bandage around Nick.

"Don't try to make me feel better." Nick told AJ. Ciara stumbled backwards as she had a flashback. It was so strong, she fainted. "C!" Nick began to shout as AJ ran to her.

"Nick, lie down. I've…" Rachel began.

"Go…" Nick told Rachel. He knew she was going to check on Ciara.

"Ciara had fallen into Howie's arms. He was on his way down the stairs when he saw her stumble. He broke her fall.

"What happened?" Howie asked.

"We're not sure… " Rachel said as she snapped some smelling salts in front of Ciara's nose, waking Ciara right up. She jumped.

"It's all right. Howie's got you and AJ's right here." Rachel said as Ciara focused on her.

"C'mon, let's get you up." AJ offered Ciara his hand.

"What did you remember?" Rachel asked. She figured Ciara had an intense memory flashback that was too much for her to handle.

"Um, something terrible. I need a few minutes. Howie… thanks for catching me." Ciara tried to smile for them as she let AJ help her up. "I'll be back in a little while." Ciara told them all. AJ went to go after her but Rachel stopped him. This was one time that Ciara needed a few minutes to herself. Howie went to the kitchen to begin dinner. Rachel and AJ went back to Nick.

Ciara had gone to the garden. She had remembered when she was eight years old and she and AJ were watching a Disney movie. Jarod was doing homework while keeping an eye on them while their mother was passed out drunk in her bedroom, or so they thought. Jarod had decided to empty all the alcohol bottles in the house when their mom woke up and discovered all the booze was gone. She beat Jarod and threw him up against a pole. The cover story was that he got in a fight with a boy from school.

After an hour had passed, AJ went looking for her. Rachel told him exactly where to look.

"Ciara? What is it? What did you remember earlier? Please… talk to me. I only want to help." AJ spoke softly to her. He was standing a few feet away from where she was sitting. Ciara wiped the tears from her face and looked at AJ. Her eyes were very puffy.