The next few days, Ciara spent mainly in bed in her room. She was quite sore from the accident still and was told to just rest by everyone in the house. The bruises to her skin weren't too visible except for the one on her forehead. Kevin and the rest of the guys kept AJ busy with some song writing after Rachel told AJ not to smother Ciara and that sleep was the best thing for her.

The day before she was to go do some public appearances, she finally got out of bed to pack and get some exercise.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rachel asked when she walked in on Ciara packing.

"Packing. What's it look like?" Ciara said, obviously still tender from the accident as she winced in pain.

"You're not going anywhere. I talked with Cameron about your accident. You have a very understanding publisher, publicist, and agent." Rachel explained.

"Rachel, I can do the book tour. I want to do the tour." She explained.

"Out of the question. Besides… AJ is taking you to Florida." Rachel replied.

"He's what!" Ciara didn't know whether to be pissed about no book tour or pissed about people running her life.

"Yeah, we think it will… uh-oh, you two didn't discuss it yet?" Rachel felt bad.

"No. Seems people have been scheduling my life around me lately." Ciara snapped.

"I'm sorry. Please don't be mad. I suggested he take you back to where you grew up. I thought it would help you." Rachel explained.

"I'm going back to bed." Ciara said as she pushed her suitcase off her bed. She suddenly felt ill. She wasn't sure she wanted to go back to Florida to where she grew up.

"Ciara?" Rachel asked. She noticed that Ciara had turned pale.

"Please just leave me alone." Ciara replied as she crawled back under the covers. As soon as Rachel closed the door behind her, Ciara began to cry. AJ came up twenty minutes later.

"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked as he held her.

"I can't go back there, AJ, please don't ask me to go." She cried.

"Where do you think I'm asking you to go?" he asked.

"Back to the places I knew as a child."

"Hey now, there's nothing to be afraid of." AJ lifted her chin. "This could help you more than you know. Besides, don't you want to spend some time alone with me, without the entourage?" AJ smiled at her.

"How long?" she asked. She had stopped crying and was calming down.

"A few days. You'll get to see my family again if you want. I can show off my house. We could go for walks on the beach. I could take you to Disneyworld, just you and me. Remember how we use to dream of going there, just you and me, without our parents?" AJ rattled on as he smiled.

"And how Jarod overheard us one day and every time we got on his nerves, he'd tell us we'd never make it to Disney World because we would never collect enough pennies to go so we began asking everyone for their extra pennies and such because you had planned on taking me there for my sixteenth birthday." Ciara commented.

"I've still got all the pennies. They're in a separate account accruing interest." AJ mumbled. Ciara turned to look at him.

"No way!" she replied.

"Yes, way… we had managed to collect seventy-two dollars and eleven cents. And it's been in a savings account ever since. And I have a separate jar for pennies that I continue to put in there. It's simply the penny fund. We could go and get it and I could take you to Disney World like we planned so long ago. Please, Ciara… Let me take you home." AJ so wanted to take her back to Orlando.

"Okay… you win. Let's go." Ciara agreed.

"Really?" AJ was taken aback a little. He was prepared to plead some more to go.

"Yeah, as long as nurse Rachel says it's okay." Ciara giggled.

"It's already been approved. When should we leave?" AJ asked.

"Tomorrow? I should spend some time with everyone today." Ciara did want to spend some time with the guys.

"Okay then, how about I go get us some plane tickets and I'll ask Rachel to come help you shower?" AJ suggested.

"That would be great, AJ. Thanks." She said.

"I can't wait for us to go home. Thanks for agreeing to go." AJ said and kissed her deeply.

---

"How is she really, Rachel?" Jarod asked. Rachel had called him once she had finished with Nick.

"She's just fine. Hit her head on the steering wheel." Rachel explained and told him the whole story.

"Have her call when she's feeling better and thanks for calling me." Jarod replied once she was finished.

"You bet and assure the boys that she's just fine." Rachel reiterated before hanking up. By this time, Kevin, Brian, Howie, and Nick had gathered in the kitchen with Rachel.

"Seriously Rachel. She's okay?" Nick asked.

"Nicky, she's… guys… she's going to be just fine. She'll be sore tomorrow and she's got a headache, but the doctor said she's going to be fine. You can all peak in on here. She's probably asleep by now." Rachel said as she made herself a cup of tea. Kevin was concerned about her.

"Don't want to disturb her… it's just… well, you two have become like family to all of us in this short time that we've come to know you and…" Nick began.

"We were worried." Brian finished Nick's sentence.

"I promise you that she's going to be fine and I think it's sweet that you consider us family." Rachel replied.

"It's late, why don't we all get some sleep?" Kevin suggested. It was nearly midnight. The rest of the guys went up to bed. He stayed behind to talk with Rachel.

"You okay?" he asked. "I want the truth." He replied.

"Shaky… between what happened last night with work and on the way home and then C… I'm… shaky." She admitted. Kevin walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a big kevybear hug. "Thanks… I need this." She said as they stayed that way for a few minutes. They stayed in the kitchen and talked for a little while before finally going up to bed. Rachel had asked Kevin if he wouldn't mind sleeping in her room with her and he didn't object.

---

"Ciara…" AJ gently shook Ciara awake a little after four am.

"Sleepin'" she mumbled.

"C'mon… open your eyes for me." Rachel replied from the other side of the bed. Ciara wearily sat up and opened her eyes for Rachel.

"Thanks, C… just following doctor's orders." Rachel explained.

"I know… how's the bruising look?" Ciara asked, knowing that she had a bruise.

"What bruise?" AJ asked. He didn't really notice it although he did after she questioned them about it.

"It's not too bad." Rachel replied.

"AJ, that was sweet." Ciara looked at him.

"How do you feel? No nausea or dizziness?" Rachel asked.

"Nope, just sore, like I knew I would be." Ciara replied.

"Okay, what about your headache? Still there? More intense, less intense?" Rachel continued to question Ciara.

"Less, on a scale of one to ten, maybe a three." Ciara yawned.

"That's good. Go on back to sleep… I'll be back in a few hours.

"Only with my Ajbear." Ciara joked.

"Hey, I'm down with that." He answered her with a chuckle. He hadn't been called that in years.

"Okay, get some sleep… both of you." Rachel laughed as AJ and Ciara snuggled.

"It's just a precaution. Especially with her injury history."

AJ, Howie, and Rachel watched as the paramedics took care of Ciara. A police officer was taking pictures down the road.

"Rachel, call and check on the rest of the guys." Ciara called out as she was loaded into the ambulance.

"I'm riding with, all right?" AJ asked Mac.

"Sure. I'm Mac. You must be AJ." Mac said as they shook hands. After the police took Ciara's statement, they were on their way to the hospital.

---

"Now Ciara… if it wasn't for the fact that your roomie is a nurse, I'd be keeping you overnight. Other than your headache, how do you feel?" the ER doctor asked.

"Sore, stiff." She admitted. The doctor ran a few more tests before releasing her in Rachel's care.

---

"AJ, I can walk." Ciara said as AJ carried her into the house.

"Amuse me, all right?" AJ replied.

"You'd better stop by the den. The guys are all still up." Howie said from the doorway.

"You okay?" Nick asked when AJ and Ciara entered the den.

"Just a headache, but I'm fine." She replied.

"Nick, I'm going to get her settled and then I'm going to check on you." Rachel explained as she came up behind them. Nick was feeling better, but he was still limping a bit.

"Okay." Nick replied.

---

Once Rachel left Ciara and AJ alone, AJ broke down and cried.

"Alex…" Ciara said softly.

"I could've lost you tonight." AJ replied.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily, Alex. Not when we just found me again. It was stupid of me to take Rick's car. It was a habit for me to take it up the hill to visit his grave and the pond. I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen." Ciara said as she reached up to brush away the tears falling from his face.

"Just don't ever do something like this again." AJ said as he tucked her in.

"You're not going to cuddle with me?" she asked.

"I'm not going anywhere, but tonight, one of us has to be alert where you are concerned. Rachel and the doctor said that you need to be monitored." AJ explained.

"Rachel will be in here a dozen more times tonight. What I need is to be in your arms." Ciara argued.

"You know, I could never refuse you." AJ stated as he undressed down to his boxers and got into bed next to her.

---

"Ciara!" AJ yelled when they came upon the car a few minutes later.

"Don't move her AJ!" Rachel yelled after him. He had bolted from the slowly moving vehicle and ran to Ciara's side. He managed to open the driver's side door.

"Alex?" Ciara asked as she rubbed her forehead. She also heard her cell phone ringing, but couldn't reach it. It had fallen to the side of the passenger's seat.

"Hey beautiful. What happened?" AJ asked her as he immediately looked to see if anything was visibly broken or if there was any blood.

"I forgot about the brakes in this jalopy. Decided to have a rail free roller coaster ride." She replied.

"Ciara… why do you do this to me?" Rachel asked as she got into the car from the other side. As she grabbed the cell phone and turned it off she asked Ciara, "Where are you hurt?"

"Um… I hit my head on the steering wheel and this seat belt has probably bruised my chest, but other than that, I think I'm okay." Ciara commented as Rachel took her pulse and checked her pupils. AJ held onto Ciara's left hand.

"Okay. Sit tight. Try not to move. I don't want to move you until help gets here. Mac and Jeff should be on their way. I called 911 as soon as we saw the rear end of the car." Rachel smiled.

"Okay, goober."

"That's Queen Goober to you!" Rachel replied.

"What can I do?" AJ asked.

"Get the blanket out of the trunk of my car and bring it back to me." Rachel said. After AJ went to Rachel's car, she turned to Ciara, "How's your head feel? You didn't lose consciousness did you?"

"No I didn't. It just hurts like I hit it on something. Honest." Ciara replied.

"This is serious. Don't lie to me. How about your tummy area?" Rachel continued to question.

"I think I'm just shaken a little, but nothing else hurts, Rach… honest." Ciara clasped Rachel's hand. They both knew that Ciara was susceptible to some pretty serious internal injuries and they were both worried.

"Okay, just relax." Rachel calmed down and replied. AJ returned with the blanket. Howie went down to the end of the road to look for the ambulance. Rachel helped AJ put the blanket on Ciara.

"Where's that ambulance?" AJ was getting worried.

"Hey know… they'll be here. It takes a little longer because we're farther out." Rachel explained to AJ.

"AJ… I'll be fine. How about you sing to me?" Ciara suggested as she grabbed his hand. He began to sing Time After Time. As he began the chorus, they all heard the sirens.

"Ciara! I thought you got rid of this wreck!" Ciara and Rachel heard their friend, Mac the paramedic, say.

"AJ, why don't we back off and let Mac and Jeff take over?" Rachel suggested as Howie came up to the car. AJ kissed Ciara's hand and got out of the way.

"Hi Mac. What are you doing? Working a double?" she asked. He usually worked the midnight to eight am shift.

"Yeah… what happened?" Mac asked as he took her vitals and Jeff checked for broken bones.

"Brakes finally gave out. I misjudged the turn and hit my head. The seat belt also dug into me. I think I may have bruised my chest from it. Rachel and the guys showed up a few minutes later." Ciara explained.

"Lose consciousness?" he asked as he fit her with a neck brace. AJ saw this and looked at Rachel for an explanation.

"She said she'd be back in an hour. She just drove off." Howie replied.

Rachel went out to see which car she took. "Damn! AJ!!!" Rachel yelled as Kevin joined her and Howie out on the patio.

"What's wrong?" Kevin and Howie asked at the same time.

"She took Rick's car. It doesn't have very good brakes on it. She must've got to thinking about him. Kev… here's her cell phone number. Call that and keep calling it until she picks up." Rachel instructed.

"Someone call me?" AJ asked as he came into the kitchen.

"AJ, Howie… you're with me." Rachel tossed Howie her car keys.

"What's going on? Where are we going?" AJ asked.

"Ciara took Rick's car and it basically has no brakes. We need to go after her." Rachel explained, "I know when she takes that car that she's usually going up to the hill and pond where she and Rick would always go. The road she takes is pretty rough and there's a sharp turn onto a hidden road that is pretty nasty. We've got go!"

"Then let's go." AJ said.

"Kev, keep trying her celly. We'll call yours when we find her." Howie said as he, Rachel and AJ left the house.

---

Ciara wanted to visit Rick's gravesite. She wanted to clear her mind and think. She wanted to let him go so she could search her soul about her feelings for AJ and if they were real or not. So much had happened since going into the city with Rachel. She just wanted to get a perspective on everything that had transpired.

As she went to make the sharp turn onto the hidden road, the brakes finally gave and stopped catching. That's when she lost control of the car and hit a tree with the back driver's side of the car. It caused her to hit her head on the steering wheel as the safety belt pulled her back. She felt it dig into her chest.

"He loves this… being outdoors and doing yard work." Howie said when he realized he was no longer alone on the patio.

"He use to pay Jarod to let him mow our yard until daddy caught on and then daddy would pay him." Ciara replied.

"Did Jarod get in trouble?" Howie asked.

"No. He saved all the money AJ would give him and gave it back to him. It helped AJ pay for a beautiful dress for his mom." Ciara smiled at that memory. Howie saw the tears form in her eyes.

"Are you all right? New memories just coming back?" Howie became concerned.

"It's so good to have these memories. I've gotten back a part of me that I knew was missing since I was fourteen and AJ brought it back." Ciara said as Howie put his notebook away. AJ had finished with the lawn and joined them on the patio deck.

"I bet you could use a shower." Ciara said as she handed AJ a cold glass of iced tea.

"Care to join me?" AJ winked at her.

"All that sun fry your brain Alex? You sure you don't have heat stroke?" Ciara teased back. She had really wanted to say yes, but didn't want Howie to know that she was already imagining AJ in the shower. AJ knew though and chuckled, "Ah, playing hard to get. That's all right… we'll play later." He whispered in her ear before leaving the kitchen.

"Man… he's fallen hard." Howie said as he watched AJ leave the room.

"Howie!" Ciara replied.

"Well, it's true. We all see it. He's got this added spark to his shtick now." Howie looked at Ciara. "He's falling in love with you. Question is… how do you feel about him?" Howie looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Howie, I will not discuss this with you." She replied, "I need to go do something. I'll be back in an hour." She said before going into the house, grabbing her purse from the closet and leaving Howie on the patio wondering what he had just done to make her run off.

"Where's Ciara?" Rachel asked as Howie entered the kitchen a few minutes later.

"Uh oh… looks like you two were found out." Ciara stated when she saw AJ and Howie. It looked like they had been running. Their clothes were disheveled and Howie's hair was a mess.

"Yeah we were." AJ stated.

"Don't worry. The police managed to let us make a clean getaway." Howie added.

"Noooo!" They all heard Rachel scream.

"Guys… stay here." Ciara replied and ran up to Rachel's room. She cracked open the door to find Kevin comforting Rachel. She went back to the kitchen.

"Rachel okay?" Brian immediately asked. Ciara could tell he was deeply worried about her.

"She will be. So… who wants to help me make a cake?" Ciara asked as she put her apron back on. AJ couldn't help thinking how sexy it would be for Ciara to just have the apron on and nothing else. "McLean… get your mind out of the gutter!" she laughed as she patted the right side of his face with a flower-covered hand.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." AJ blushed.

"You, my friend, need to go play with the guys for a while. Let me finish getting this baking urge out of me, all right?" Ciara said as she leaned in for a kiss.

"I think I'm going to go do some yard work. Mac and your neighbors won't mind, will they?" he said. He figured if he'd put the house between them, it would help him fight the urge to grab her in his arms and do more than just kiss her.

"Go ahead… I'll be in here for a little while longer. I think Howie had said something about getting some writing done out on the patio." She wiped away the flour from his face and kissed him again. AJ quickly left the room after Ciara had noticed the effect she had on him.

As she finished baking and cleaning up, Brian and Nick played video games. Kevin entered the kitchen around three that afternoon.

"Hi Kevin… where's Rachel?" Ciara asked.

"She's taking another shower. Said she needed some along time." He replied as he sat down at the counter.

"Hungry?" Ciara questioned. She knew how Rachel was and knew not to dwell on it.

"Yeah, I am actually. The smells alone were giving me hunger pains." Kevin admitted.

"Well, it just so happens that there's some left over chicken in the fridge. Let's get you and Rachel some good food before I let you two have any cookies." Ciara suggested. Kevin nodded as she began making a tray of food for them. She also made some tea for Rachel. "Now go on back up there, get her to eat and then convince her to come and join civilization." Ciara said and handed Kevin the tray of food. After Kevin thanked her, she cleaned up the kitchen and joined Howie out back on the deck. Howie was still writing away and AJ was now trimming the lawn.