She gritted her teeth through the stares, the talks, the ambulance ride, the personal questions, and when they performed the rape kit. But when she saw Hanson still hanging around in the hospital, Emma nearly attacked them herself.
   "Go."
   The monosyllable was low, but so cold and hard the meaning could not be mistaken.
   When Taylor stood up to protest, Emma glared at him, "You think there won't be cops here soon?"
   Her eyes narrowed and settled on each one of them before continuing, "What are you going to tell you parents? Or what if Entertainment Tonight gets a big whiff of you being around at a stripper's party where a girl got raped?"
   She gave a harsh bark of laughter, "And what makes you think they won't believe one of you did it?"
   She knew she was being a bitch, but damnit, too much had happened tonight. Knowing her friend was raped then left out in the open to be even more humiliated burned her so badly inside that she couldn't even imagine what Grace was going through. Especially since she wasn't really moving or talking yet still.
   Swallowing that hard lump in her throat, Emma forced her thoughts to elsewhere. Keeping the image of Grace lying numb and frozen on some skinny hospital bed from her mind.
   "Her parents are going to be here soon." She looked pointedly at Taylor and Zac. "I don't think you two want to be around when they do. I'll be enough of a target, but you'll only make it worse."
   They understood her reasons. They were perfectly logical and held a lot of truth. They still didn't want to leave.
   Taylor was the first to step forward, "Not until I see her, Em."
   She had to admit it, though she didn't show it, he surprised her. "No."
   This time it was Zac. "We’re not leaving until we do."
   Emma smiled derisively. "If you don't leave, I'll tell them one of you did it."
   They knew she would, and she knew they knew she would. That was her only Ace at the moment.
   "Fine. But can't one of us just see her, from the doorway or whatever, just to be sure?"
   Emma thought on Zac's request then nodded abruptly. "Come on, Isaac."
   As soon as they were out of hearing range, Isaac tugged on the sleeve of her dress. "What the hell is this all about?"
   Shrugging him off, Emma continued walking. "When you go back to inform your brother's on how Grace is doing you're going to tell them that she is fine, considering what she's been through. And that she'll be going home with her parents soon."
   Isaac stopped walking, "What?"
   Stopping as well, she turned to glare at him. "She's bad Isaac, and I don't want your brother's or anyone else to know. I chose you to see her because I know you'll be the only sane one enough to know when to lie."
   "There's never a good enough reason to lie." He informed scathingly.
   Emma stepped toward him, and then took the sleeve of his jacket and tugged him towards a doorway. "Yeah, well, you're gonna change your mind right quick about that." She muttered, mostly to herself, but loud enough for him to hear.
   Opening the door, and stepping inside with him behind her, Emma tried to keep from doubling over. For every time she saw her friend like this, it was like a punch to the gut, always knocking the breath from her.
   She heard Isaac's quick in-drawn breath, which is when their hands found each other and gripped tightly.
   "The doctor's say she'll be fine, that it's just shock." She whispered hoarsely, feeling the bite of tears too close for comfort. "But that she has to find her own way out of the world she's banished herself to."
   They watched dishearteningly while Grace lay there, her eyes unseeing stared at the ceiling while her body lay limp and covered.
   "How long has she been like this?"
   "Either during or after it."
   He knew what 'it' was and cringed beside her. "Do they know when it'll stop?"
   She shook her head, "No. No one does. Not even, Gracie."
   Emma turned on him then, "I need to be sure, Isaac. That you're not going to tell your brother's about this. You can't."
   Isaac shook his head, "I promise, I won't. There's no way."
   Nodding, she slipped away from him, releasing his hand that she finally noticed she had been holding so tightly. "You better go now. Her parents and everyone else will be here soon, and you don't want to be around when they do."
   Nodding back, slowly Isaac started to extradite himself from the room. On his way, he passed Grace's parents. Knew it was them by their facial expressions. By all those mixed emotions he felt inside him, but knew was a thousand times intensified in them.
   Closing his eyes, he tried hard not to think about what it would be like if his own daughter had suffered the same fate.
   Shuddering, he pressed on and got his brother's to move quickly and quietly out of the hospital. Hopefully going undetected.
   Now all he had to do was make it through their rain of questions and he'd be okay. Hopefully.