Chapter 24- 
Sydney stepped out of the bathroom to find Chris in the kitchen pouring himself a cup of coffee. 
“Are you sharing? Or is that whole pot just for you?” 
“You know me, Mr. Selfish! Maybe if you ask nicely, I’ll let you have a cup.” 
“May I please have a cup of coffee, Daddy?” Syd asked sarcastically, trying not to laugh. 
“You, my dear little smart ass, are not funny. And after that little comment, I’m not sharing my coffee with you!” 
“Oh, you’re such a baby,” Syd chuckled, “I’m sorry, Chris, I’ll try and be nice…if you please give me a cup of coffee.” 
He stared at her for a moment, enjoying the friendly banter they were engaging in. They had come a long way from the first day they met, back when Syd was just a scared, angry kid. In such a short time, she had managed a full transformation into becoming a grounded, well-adjusted young woman. Even with Karen’s current situation, he knew that it was her influence on Sydney that helped her settle down. He winked at her and grabbed another mug to pour her a cup. 
“Aw, thanks Chris, you’re the best,” She smiled, taking the mug from up and blowing him a kiss. 
“Yeah, I know. So, what are you doing up and showered so early?” 
“Early? It’s nine thirty, Chris!” 
“Yeah, but don’t you kids sleep ‘til like noon?” 
“I have my first session with Gail today.” 
“Oh, that’s right, I totally forgot. Do you need me to drive you?” 
“Thanks anyway, but Gail’s picking me up. We’re going to the park. Gail knows how much I hate hospitals, so she thought the park would be a good place.” 
“Well, then how about some breakfast before you go?” 
“I’m just going to grab an apple, my stomach is still a little messed up,” Syd said before changing the subject, “She’s still out cold, huh?” 
“Going on two days,” Chris answered, gazing over at Karen, “Her father called last night and we actually had a fairly civil conversation. It’s funny how people’s attitudes change when they’re worried about the same person.” 
“I really hope he is serious about wanting to be in her life. I don’t think she could deal with it if he screws this up.” 
“Baldwin is far from being on my list of favorite people, but I think he’s finally starting to come around. It’s just too bad that it took Karen almost dying for him to smarten up.” 
 

“Did you try Karen again?” Lucy asked, coming out of the kitchen. 
“No, I thought I’d wait until later. Chris said he didn’t know when she’d be waking up,” Scott replied with obvious concern in his voice. 
“I’m sure she’s okay, Scott, but…” 
“But we need to worry about Christina, right Lucy? Seeing as how that’s so much more important then Karen!” 
“That is not what I was going to say! I care about Karen…” 
“But she’s not your daughter, so it’s not your problem. Go on, Lucy, say it!” Scott yelled. 
“You’re not being fair.” 
“No, not fair is the fact that my little girl almost died because of a drug addiction that her own father didn’t catch on to! Not fair is you trying to make me choose between my own daughters!” 
“I don’t want you to have to choose! I’m sorry about yesterday, I was wrong. I want you to be there for Karen.” 
“The damage has already been done, Lucy,” Scott said, shaking his head as he walked out the door. 

“I’ll just have a glass of orange juice,” Kevin decided, handing the menu to Liz. 
“Is this seat taken?” A voice asked. 
“Lucy, hi, no, go right ahead.” 
“Thanks. You look kinda down, anything you want to talk about?” She asked, hoping for the distraction. 
“I could ask you the same question,” He observed. 
“You first.” 
“There’s not really much to talk about. Eve and I are just slowly realizing that we’re not quite as compatible as we thought we were.” 
“Oh Doc, I’m sorry to hear that, I had no idea,” She sympathized, touching his hand. 
“Well, we’ve decided that the best thing for the both of us would be a divorce,” He told her, “So, now it’s your turn. What’s your sad story?” 
“Scott and I had a major blow out…” 
“About Christina?” 
“Actually, more about Karen. He thinks that I’m trying to make him forget about Karen and only worry about Christina.” 
“Well are you?” He asked, knowing her all too well. 
“I guess it kinda came out that way.” 
“Lucy, he needs to be there for Karen, he’s her father.” 
“I know that, Kevin, I know I was wrong. I tried to apologize, but he wanted no part of it.” 
“Can you blame him? He’s finally got Karen in his life and she nearly died.” 
“What, you hate me now, too?” 
“I don’t hate you, Lucy, I just don’t quite understand you.” 
“Doc, he accused me of not caring about Karen because she’s not my daughter,” Lucy said with pain in her voice. 
“Now that part I don’t believe. I know you care about Karen, daughter or not. You are not that cruel.” 
“But I certainly sounded it, that’s the worst part. I just didn’t realize at the time how horrible I sounded. He has every right to be angry with me.” 
“You two will work it out, you just have to give it some time.” 
“I don’t know, Doc. I think this might be the end of our marriage,” Lucy cried. 
Kevin reached up to touch her cheek, gently wiping away a tear with his fingertips, when Scott appeared in the doorway. He stood back, watching the scene in front of him, realizing how natural they looked together. It hit him that his marriage to Lucy was coming to a crashing halt and she seemed to be finding her way back to the man she belonged with. He turned around and left, unseen. 

“You’re home,” Lucy said as Scott came through the door, “There’s a note here from Gail saying that you asked her to take the girls. What’s going on?” 
“We have to talk, Lucy,” Scott said, scratching his head nervously. 
“I’m really sorry about the whole Karen situation. I can’t keep you from your daughter.” 
“That’s not even it. I mean, that only helped me to see the big picture.” 
“What are you trying to say, Scott?” Lucy asked, shifting from one foot to the other. 
“I saw you with Collins today…” 
“We were just talking, I swear! He was telling me about how he and Eve are getting a divorce, that’s all.” 
“I’m not trying to play the jealous husband here. What I’m trying to get at is that it was a wake up call.” 
“I’m not quite getting it, Scott.” 
“I love you, Lucy, I really do, but that’s not always enough. I don’t doubt that you love me, but you’re not in love with me. Seeing you with Kevin only helped me see that it’s time we end this joke we call a marriage,” Scott confessed, unable to look at her. 
“You’re not serious…we can work things out, we…” 
“No, we can’t. Being married means spending a lifetime with the one you love. It’s not about staying together for the security!” 
“How can you say that?” Lucy cried. 
“I already had the papers drawn up…” 
“But Scott, how can we prove that we’re the best parents for Christina if we can’t even keep a marriage together?” 
“Is that the only reason you want to stay married to me? To keep Christina?” 
“No, I…” 
“Don’t bother, I’ve made up my mind. We’re over Lucy. It’s time you go back to the man you really love. Go back to Kevin,” Scott told her, dropping the papers on the table and walking out the door. 

“What’s for dinner? I’m starving,” Karen asked, sitting up. 
“Just a little something I whipped up,” Chris told her, bringing her the tray. 
Karen grabbed the fork and started shoveling the food into her mouth. 
“Honey, slow down, you’re going to make yourself sick,” Chris warned. 
“I don’t need you to tell me how to eat! So you think because I couldn’t handle my job that I need someone to baby-sit me? I’m not a child, Chris.” 
“He was just trying…” Syd attempted. 
“What, you think I’m helpless too?” She shot at Sydney. 
“Don’t yell at her, Karen, she’s just trying to help.” 
“Why don’t you two go help someone who can actually be helped! I want to be alone,” She turned away from them. 
“I’m not leaving you.” 
“Please Chris, I just want to be alone.” 
Chris looked to Sydney, who shrugged her shoulders. He lowered his head with a defeated sigh. 
“Alright, Syd and I will go get ice cream or something. We won’t be long,” He told her, heading for the door. 
He knew that it wasn’t really her pushing him away. The withdrawal from the Dexedrine was taking over and he had to be patient, as hard as it was. 
He waited a second for a response, but she remained facing the opposite direction. Sydney followed him out silently, her eyes fixed on the ground. When the door shut behind them, Karen finally turned around. She wanted to cry, to let it all out, but something inside her was holding back. She felt numb, and unable to completely feel the remorse for how she treated the two people who were only trying to save her life. 
Cody’s Song by Kenny Loggins, off his album Return To Pooh Corner 

“What are we doing at the mall?” Sydney asked, stepping out of the car. 
“I need you to help me pick something out for Karen.” 
“Chris, I don’t think buying her presents will help. Karen just needs some time to get through the first stages of the withdrawal.” 
“I know, and this is much more then just a present,” Chris said, leading the way to the store he was looking for, “Ah, here’s the place.” 
“The jewelry store? I’m almost afraid to ask…” 
“I need you to help me pick out an engagement ring.” 
“Wow…you’re serious, aren’t you?” Syd asked, noting the look on his face. 
“Incredibly serious. I’ve noticed that more then anything else, Karen wants to be loved for who she really is and now who she pretends to be. All she wants is stability, which is something she’s never had. I want to give that to her. She let her guard down and let me see the real Karen Wexler and instantly, I fell in love. She may be pushing me away, but the more she pushes, the more I realize that we can make this last forever. I’m going to be patient with her and make sure we get through this.” 
“You are one of a kind, Chris. You and Karen will definitely make this last, but first, we need a ring!” Sydney exclaimed, stepping into the store, “So, do you happen to have any hot, younger brothers that are as incredible as you?” 
“There’s Jack, but he’s already taken,” Chris laughed, “Of course, he’s no where near as perfect as I am.” 
“Oh, of course not,” Syd laughed. 
“Though, you could give Livvie some good competition…granted Jack and I aren’t exactly close, but I could introduce you. Hey, what do you think about this one?” He asked, pointing. 
“Eh, too flashy. Karen’s into simple, she doesn’t like to over-do it.” 
“True…that’s one big difference between us. Me, I want to be rich and famous and let everyone know it, but Karen, she could care less. That’s a good thing, though, because when it does happen, she’ll be there to keep me in check,” Chris smiled, imagining the future. 
“Ooo, this is the one!” Sydney exclaimed, leaning in closer to look through the glass, “It’s perfect.” 
“This is definitely Karen. She’s going to love it!” Chris said, waving for someone to retrieve the ring for him to purchase. 

Hearing a knock at the door, Karen groaned and rolled over to face the opposite direction. Hoping they’d go away, she ignored them. No such luck. The door opened and Scott entered. She turned around to see who was there. 
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you, but the door was unlocked at I wanted to check on you,” Scott said, looking around, “Where’s that Ramsey? Isn’t he supposed to be here with you?” 
“I asked him to leave…I want to be alone.” 
“So he just took off? What was that moron thinking?” 
“I told him to go, Scott! I told him and Sydney to leave because I was starting to lose control. I’m saying things I don’t mean and I wanted them to go before I completely ruined our relationship. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if I scared them both away.” 
“Ramsey’s like a leach, he won’t go away that easily.” 
“Can you not do this right now! I know how you feel about Chris, you don’t have to constantly remind me!” Karen shot at him. 
“Fine, let’s change the subject. Have you eaten? Do you need anything?” 
“I’ve eaten just about everything in my refrigerator…and what I need is to go back in time and make it so none of this ever happened!” 
“If only is was that easy,” Scott said, thinking of his situation with Lucy. 
“If you could have seen the look on Sydney’s face…I’m supposed to be helping her and be there for her, but instead, I’m falling apart!” Karen told him, feeling her eyes mist over. 
“Karen, it’s not your job to take in kids with problems and…” 
“Sydney is more then just a kid with problems! I see so much of myself in her…I need to make sure she gets her life together and goes to art school and knows that it’s okay to make mistakes.” 
Scott sat there quietly on the edge of Karen’s bed, watching her speak so passionately about this girl. 
“She has so much potential and she needs someone to be there to let her know just how special she is,” Karen continued, fighting back the tears, “She needs to know that she’s never going to be alone again.” 
“I am so sorry, Karen. I know that’s not going to fix everything, but still, I’m sorry. I should have been there for you and let you know that I love you, instead of just assuming that you knew. You should never have had to feel like you were alone and that no one cared,” He apologized, taking her chin in his hand to meet her eyes with his, “Don’t ever feel like you’re a second thought to me, Karen, because I’m never going to put anything else ahead of you ever again. You are my daughter and you will always be a priority in my life, no matter how old you are.” 
Hearing the seriousness in his voice, Karen couldn’t question his intentions. He had to be coming around. She threw her arms around her father and snuggled into his comforting embrace. He held her close, not wanting the moment to end as he finally started to connect with his daughter. He looked down at her, ready to speak, but stopped when he saw that she had fallen asleep. 
“I love you, kiddo, I always have,” He said, kissing the top of her head before leaning back on the bed, continuing to hold her. 

“Well Rachel, the tests are back and now, Ms. Coe can’t deny the fact that I’m Christina’s mother,” Julie smirked, letting the phone receiver rest on her shoulder as she held the results of the DNA test in her hands. 
“Now, let’s just hope the Baldwin’s don’t convince Chris to testify for them. Now that he’s weaseling his way into becoming Mr. Karen Wexler, they could get him to lie about you. All they have to do is wave money in front of him and he’ll do anything.” 
“Scott and Lucy hate Chris, they wouldn’t ask him to help them.” 
“They’re desperate, Julie, they know they have no chance of winning custody. We have to be ready for anything.” 
“Speaking of, any more word on what Frank’s going to do? He’s the one I’m worried about.” 
“Still trying to figure him out. One moment it looks like he’s going to try for custody and the next, he’s on Scott and Lucy’s side. Don’t worry about any of them, they’re not Christina’s biological mother, they don’t stand a chance.” 
“I really hope you’re right, Rachel. A child should be with their mother and no matter how hard they try, the court will be on my side and my daughter will be where she belongs. With me.”