She still was not clear on all of the details of that night. She could not remember if she saw anything that Cedric did to frame Jamal. It was so frustrating. Especially when Jamal was on the run and not easily able to be reached. If there were a way to buy an untraceable cell phone, she would get one for him. It was the twenty-first century after all, the age of communication.

Alison stared down at her ragged nails. She really could use a good manicure, maybe a set of tips. Suddenly, she heard what sounded like a young child crying outside of her room.

She got out of bed and opened the door out into the hallway. She saw a small boy crouched on the floor. A man who looked to be around her age had come out of the next room at the same time as she did, so they both immediately went to help the younger boy.

Alison reached the little boy first. "Honey, what's wrong?" The boy stared at her a bit, but continued crying.

The younger man approached. "Pedro, why are you crying?"

"I want to go home!" the little boy wailed.

"Honey, you can't go home right now. If you do, you might not get better," Alison said. It was the best explanation she could think of.

The young man followed her lead. "You don't want to leave until you're big and strong, right?"

"I don't like it here," he said as he continued to cry.

"With all these great people here to take care of you? I don't know, it's actually kind of nice to be fussed over," Alison said.

The man talked softly to the boy. "I know things here can be scary, but it's not so bad. It's all to help you feel better."

"Maybe my stomach will stop hurting."

"Maybe? I'm sure it will!" Alison said as brightly as she could.

Suddenly a woman came running frantically towards them. "Pedro, there you are!" she cried. She came up to him. "You should not leave the room like that. You scared me."

"I'm sorry, mami."

"Don't worry. Pedro here was just a little scared, that's all. We solved that, though," the young man said.

"You know my son?" the woman asked.

"Oh, we've gotten to know each other. We're practically neighbors," the young man said.

"Well, thank you both for looking after him. Come on, Pedro."

The woman took the little boy by the hand, but he turned around and smiled at them before he disappeared around the corner.

"Poor kid," Alison said. "I don't like seeing children cry."

"Especially when we were lying to him. Nobody likes to be in the hospital," the young man said.

"True." The young man was looking at her curiously, and it was making her nervous. "What?" she said, exasperated. "Is there something wrong?"

"You don't remember me, do you?"

Alison looked at the young man. He was tall, with long blonde hair. He had soft brown eyes. Something about his face seemed familiar, so she ventured a guess.

"Adam?"

The young man shook his head. "Try again."

"T.J, right? The golf course caddy."

"Nope. One more try."

She looked at the young man, who was dressed in a white tank top and a pair of flannel pants. He was obviously a patient, but she had no clue who he was.

"Mark?" she said sheepishly.

"Oh, you don't win the prize. I'm sorry," he said mischievously.

"Well, then, who are you?" Alison said in annoyance.

"You don't remember your beloved Chemistry lab partner, Sly Eckert?"

Alison immediately remembered. "Well now I do. Who could forget? You almost blew up the whole school!"

"Oh, don't underestimate your part in that little fiasco. You were the one was supposed to be measuring the chemicals."

"Chemistry was never one of my better subjects," Alison explained.

"You got that right," Sly quickly said under his breath.

"What?" Alison asked, clearly annoyed.

"Nothing," Sly covered smoothly. "So we've been neighbors and no one's informed me?"

"That's really none of your business. Why do you care?"

"Oh, I get to know everybody on the block. I've been here so long, it seems natural."

Alison was intrigued, against her better judgment. "Why are you here?"

"The same reason you are: to fight the past."

*-*-*-*-*-*

It was a few hours later. A nurse had come along and shooed both teens back into their rooms. Alison sat on her bed, staring at the food that was just delivered to her. She didn't feel much like eating. She stared out the window. She wondered where her parents were, and why they didn't come running home when they heard that she was hurt. Did they even know she was in the hospital?

"Knock, knock," a voice said.

"Come in," Alison sighed. She really wasn't in the mood for company, but if it was a way to stop obsessing over her problems, it was ok.

Sly came in carrying an apple. "I figured we could eat lunch together."

"You consider an apple lunch?"

"I never have much of an appetite." Sly sat in one of the chairs by the bed. "So how are you enjoying your time in the Ritz?"

"I've actually been to the Ritz," Alison said honestly, "and it's nothing like this."

Sly took a look around. "But you've got this deluxe luxury suite here. It can't be too hard."

"You have no idea," Alison muttered.

"Maybe I do." Sly looked away.

"There you go being all cryptic again. What did you mean before? You know nothing about why I'm here, so why did you say we are we fighting the past?"

"These walls are pretty thin. I've heard you screaming."

Alison looked down. "Well, I really wasn't in control at that particular moment."

"We all lose control sometimes. It just matters that we pull it back together." Sly put the apple down on the table, and moved to the window. "You sounded like you were trying pretty hard to forget something. I'm trying to do the same."

"I'm actually trying to remember. It's just not all there yet."

Sly looked wistfully at her. "It will come back, trust me."

Alison looked at Sly curiously. He was obviously pretty nice, and actually kind of cute. How did she miss him back then? "So why are you here?"

Sly's face hardened. "I'm here trying to slay the dragon."

Alison was confused. "You must have loved English class. What's with all the metaphors? Tell me what you mean."

"I'm here seeking treatment for depression." His eyes clouded over.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Nothing for you to feel sorry about. It's a chemical imbalance, that's all."

Alison looked at Sly. "Why do I have a feeling it's more than that?"

Sly grimaced. "A chemical imbalance that caused me to drive my car into a tree."

Alison gasped at his statement, and his candor. "Wow. That's rough."

"You know, the pain wasn't even bad. At least being in pain meant I was alive. It was better than feeling half dead all the time. But I felt disappointed. I didn't want to live then. I had my hopes up. I was going home to see my parents." Sly continued to stare out the window.

Alison thought for a moment. She remembered Sly better now. She recalled he had lost both of his parents. "So you're trying to forget that time? It seems pretty memorable."

"Ok, so maybe forget isn't the right word. I'm trying to get past that time."

"Well that sounds better," Alison said.

"Why does everyone do that?" Sly asked angrily. "So I'm negative sometimes. It doesn't mean I'm going to try it again."

"Sorry," Alison said. "Maybe people are worried about you."

Sly looked at Alison. "So who's worried about you?"

Alison tried to put on a brave face. "Well Nana's just been worried sick, and Dr. Collins is always coming to check on me…"

"I notice no mention of Mom or Dad."

"Yeah, well, they're really busy with some business deals over in Europe right now, but they'd be here if they could."

Sly looked at Alison. "You know, for a second there, you almost had me believing you."

"Who says I'm lying?" Alison said indignantly.

"You are. Your expression, your body language…"

"So they're not around a lot. It doesn't mean that they don't care!" Alison said sharply, hoping she was right.

"Hey, don't get so defensive. I just happen to be an expert in the field of parental neglect, that's all." Sly said, holding up his hands.

Alison was about to fire back another smart remark, but decided to keep silent. What was the use of arguing with someone she barely knew?

"I can see where your impulse comes from, though," Sly continued. "I used to defend them to everybody. 'They were good parents, but they didn't show it. You don't understand', on and on and on. Eventually, I couldn't convince myself anymore, so I just gave up."

"So you're saying I'm in denial?"

"Hey, I'm no psychiatrist. If I were, maybe I wouldn't be in this mess."

"How long have you been in here?" Alison asked, genuinely curious.

"Who knows? Time tends to run together in here." Sly walked and sat by the bed again. "I know I had the car accident first, recovered from those injuries, then my family decided to keep me here to seek treatment."

"That must be costing them a fortune," Alison said unconsciously.

Sly laughed bitterly. "Don't you know I'm a millionaire? At one time, my father owned 36 percent of ELQ."

Alison had a cross look on her face. "The Quartermaines. Everyone expected Emily and I to be friends just because of our families. It didn't work. She's too… goofy for me."

"Hey, don't make fun of Em. She's my friend, even if I haven't seen her in years."

"Sorry." Alison looked out the window. "You know, it's funny that I ran into you here. You and I certainly ran in different crowds in high school."

Sly looked at Alison. "Yeah, you had your Young Debutantes…"

"And I seem to remember you hung with the burnouts."

"Maybe we weren't into the whole high school scene. It doesn't mean we were good for nothing."

Alison laughed. "That seems like a million years ago." She wiped a few tears out of her eyes.

"Hey, Allie, it's ok. You don't have to hide it in front of me," Sly said softly.

"Why do you care? It's not your problem."

"If my experiences have taught me anything, it's how to recognize another of the walking wounded."

Alison started to cry harder. "I don't need anyone's help! I am fine! Just fine!"

Sly got up and gingerly sat on her bed. "You're a terrible liar."

"Don't tell me how to feel!"

"I'm doing nothing of the sort. It's just nothing stays buried forever."

Alison looked into his big brown eyes. There was something within them- something she saw there that showed her that she could trust him. "How I am I supposed to feel? How am I supposed to deal with these horrible memories? I was beaten!" she screamed. "I can't get his face out of my mind. Every time I close my eyes, he's right there. I'm not safe. I'll never be safe again," she said, shaking.

Sly didn't want to be forward, but it felt right, so he gently embraced her as she shook.

Alison buried her head in his shoulder. It felt good to admit that to someone. Then she thought about what she was doing. What would it look like if Jamal walked in? She pulled away. "God, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"Hey, it's no problem, really." Sly's face was serious. "Did they catch the guy that did this to you?"

Alison looked away. "He's dead. And my… friend, he's been falsely accused of his murder."

Sly sighed. "It sounds complicated."

"It wouldn't be complicated if I could just remember that night better. If only I could think, come up with some proof. And maybe I could do that if I wasn't stuck in here."

"So check yourself out."

Alison looked at Sly. "What?"

"You're allowed to check yourself out. You just have to sign a bunch of forms saying you're acting against medical advice."

Alison closed her eyes. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that before? I'm so dumb."

"Hey, you're a lot of things, but dumb is not one of them. People underestimate you, Alison. Use that to your advantage."

Alison looked at Sly. "How do you know so much about me?"

Sly looked away. "I've been admiring you from afar for a long time. You just never noticed."

"You had a crush on me?" Alison said.

"Who says it's in the past tense?" He reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek. "God, I hate to see you cry."

Alison impulsively leaned forward and kissed Sly gently on the lips. She pulled away when she felt tears running down his cheeks.

"Hey, why are you crying?"

"I don't know anymore. My feelings have betrayed me too many times. I don't know what that was."

Alison looked at him tenderly. "For what might have been." She didn't want to lead him on because she knew she belonged with Jamal, but it she thought that it felt right to kiss him like that, just once.

"I understand. Well, I think Dr. Baldwin is expecting me." Sly got up, and walked to the door, wiping the tears off his face.

"Hey, Sly?" Alison said.

Sly stopped near the door. "Yeah?"

"Thanks. For everything. You keep up the good fight."

"You too, Allie." He opened the door and quickly walked out.

Alison leaned back on the bed. How did she miss him before? Maybe in another time, another life…

She got a spark of inspiration. She picked up the phone and quickly dialed a number.

"Mr. Windsor?" she asked as the other line picked up.

"Yes, Ms. Barrington," the butler said.

"Can you do me a really big favor? I need you to go over to Wyndham's for me. The toy department…"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Sly woke up the next morning. He had had a particularly tough session with Dr. Baldwin after seeing Alison. So he retreated into slumber earlier than he normally would have. It was a habit he was trying to break, but he was unsuccessful that night.

He focused his vision, and he saw an oddly shaped package on his bedside table. It had a note attached that simply said "Sly."

He pulled the note off the package. He began to read.

I got Doctor Collins to release me this morning after I threatened to check myself out. I think everything will be all right now. I will continue working with him to persue a way to reconcile the future with the past.

I'll never forget what you said. Thank you for being there for me. Maybe I can return the favor someday. All the best, Alison.

Sly took the package into his hands. He tore off the wrapping paper. It was a small stuffed dragon.

For the first time in a long time, Sly smiled.

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