"Them's the Breaks: Part 1" by NuitCoeur-NuitCoeur@aol.com; http://members.xoom.com/DegaStreet and Melissa-w_lorraine@mailcity.com SCENE 1: (Jane and Daria are in Jane's room, watching Sick Sad World. As the program ends, Jane mutes it and faces her friend.) JANE: It's Friday. What do we do? DARIA: Return to our respectable places in the universe and pretend that nothing happened? JANE: Huh? DARIA: Oh, uh, nevermind. Um, I dunno. JANE: You wanna sleep over? DARIA: Sure. JANE: Trent and Jesse are going to be here. They want us to pull an all nighter with them. DARIA: Um, wait, I don't think I can. JANE: Sure, kid. DARIA: Why don't you stay over at my place? JANE: And face Princess Grace for hours on end? I don't think so. DARIA: She stays in her room like a good trained monkey. Besides, we can perform brain warping experiments on her while she sleeps, and then we can go to bed in my creepy room. With the lights turned off. It gets really dark at night. JANE: Hmm. (excited) Okay! SCENE 2: (Brittany and Kevin are heard in the laundry closet of Brittany's house, "studying." From the outside of the door, nothing is seen, but a party is heard as well as Brittany and Kevin's voices.) BRITTANY: Kevie, are you drunk?! KEVIN: No, babe! I swear! BRITTANY: What? You never swear! Get out of my house, you, you, jerk! (A slap is heard, followed by Kevin's small scream. He then leaves the closet, rubbing his cheek. He walks through the crowd of people, obviously drunk out of his mind. He passes the football team, surrounding a keg. None of them notice him, of course. Kevin gets in his red jeep and turns the ignition key. A hand grabs his wrist and pulls it off the wheel. Kevin looks up to see Mack.) MACK: Kevin, you're drunk. Give me your keys. KEVIN: I'm okay, Mack Daddy. MACK: No you're not. Give me your keys. I don't want to pull you out of the car with my bare hands. KEVIN: Yo, don't worry about it, Mack Daddy. I only had a little bit. MACK: You drank more than anyone else! And quit calling me that! (At this sudden outburst, Kevin turns on the engine and pulls out of the driveway, fast. Mack steps back to keep from getting hit. Kevin rips down the street, swerving and the like.) SCENE 3: (Jane and Daria are walking to Daria's house.) JANE: You know, if we do something *really* twisted to Princess Grace, we could get on _Sick Sad World_. DARIA: And then I can realize my life long dream of being on the Idiot Box, on parade for all the morons I disdain. JANE: Daria, please try to contain your enthusiasm. (Kevin's car turns onto the street behind the girls. They hear, but take no special note of it. Swerving as before, it speeds toward the two.) DARIA: Well, you know me. I-- (Hearing the car so close, or maybe just following a flash of intuition, Daria turns - to see Kevin's car swerve onto the side-walk, heading straight at Daria and Jane.) DARIA: Jane, look *out*! (Daria attempts to push her friend away from the path on the oncoming car. She is not entirely unsuccessful; when Kevin's car hits the girls, Jane is suffciently moved so that only the side of the bumper hits her, sending her flying. Daria is not as lucky. As the car hits Daria, she is caught under the front left tire. Luckily, Kevin's alchohol-numbed senses did kick in, and he is able to swerve away; Daria is not hit by the rear tires. Through the window, Kevin's freaked-out expression is easily discerned. He does not stop, however; he continues driving on, although swaying less as his hit-and-run experience was somewhat sobering.) (The door to the house nearest to where the accident occured opens and Ms. Defoe walks out to investigate the noise. She sees the two girls, obviously in need of medical help.) MS. DEFOE: Oh *no*! (She goes back into her house and emerges seconds later with a portable phone in hand. She walks over to her two students as she dials 911.) MS. DEFOE: Hello? (pause) A medical emergency. There are two girls who have been hit by a car... SCENE 4: (The Morgendorffer living room. Jake is on the couch, reading the paper. Quinn laying on the loveseat and talking on the phone. Helen is no-where to be seen.) QUINN: (into the phone) No, Nathan. Really! (pause) I guess it makes her feel better. (pause) Yeah, she *is* pathetic. (pause) Uh-huh. Yeah. (she hangs up; to herself) I can't *believe* Daria's still telling people she's my sister! (frustrated) Ooohhh! Sometimes I wish she'd just *die*! JAKE: (looking up from his paper; blankly) Who's dead? QUINN: (sighs) No-one, Dad. (under her breath) Unfortunatly. (Helen walks in from the kitchen, beeper in hand, and frown on her face. She takes the phone from Quinn without a word - which prompts a put-upon noise of annoyance from Quinn - and dials while looking at her pager.) HELEN: Hel-loo. I was just paged and-- (pause) Helen Morgendorffer. (pause) Yes, that's my daughter. (pause; Helen pales noticably) What?! (pause) Oh my *God*, is she okay? (pause) I'll be there right away. (hangs up) QUINN: Mom? HELEN: Jake, come on. That was the hospital. JAKE: (setting aside his paper and rising) The hospital? HELEN: It's Daria. There's been an accident...(swallows the lump rising in her throat) Daria's been hurt, badly. SCENE 5: (Trent and Jesse are sleeping in Trent's room. Trent is sprawled on the bed and Jesse is laying on the floor belly up. The phone rings a couple times, and Jesse opens his eyes.) JESSE: Man! Phone's ringing! TRENT: (groans; groggily) Hello? (pause; face pales) What?! SCENE 6: (Helen and Jake walk into Daria and Jane's room, Quinn following behind boredly. Both see Daria hooked up to some machines and gasp, then exchange worried glances while walking to her bedside and sitting. Quinn sees her sister and walks back out of the room in disgust.) QUINN: Her face is all scraped up and those machines are so ugly! I don't want to look at her like *that*. It's gross! (Helen looks at her eldest daughter and bites back tears. Jake, however, is already bauling. Trent and Jesse appear through the door and see Jane, just as scraped and connected to as many machines as Daria. Both gulp hard and walk towards the group.) TRENT: (to Helen) Uh, do they know anything? HELEN: (shaking her head) I'll go get the doctor. Jake, come with me. And for god's sake stop crying! JAKE: But-- HELEN: Jake! JAKE: (takes a deep breath) Okay. I'm fine. (Helen and Jake leave. Trent looks from Jane to Daria and then to the floor.) TRENT: Oh great. (By this time, Quinn has poked her head back in the room, and is trying her best not to look at Daria. She spots Jesse and her face brightens considerably. She walks in the room and up to him.) QUINN: Hi! My name's Quinn. What's yours? JESSE: I have a girlfriend. QUINN: Damn! I should have known. Everything goes wrong in my life. TRENT: Oh shut up already. Your sister is laying unconcious in front of you and you can't think of anything but yourself. Just shut the hell up for once. QUINN: Agh! (leaves) SCENE 7: (The ladies' room at the hospital. Quinn storms in, looking put-out. She walks over to the mirror and checks her make-up. She opens her purse and starts re-powdering her face, but her hand trembling. She moves to powder her forehead, but stops when her hand hovers over her right eyebrow--the same place that was covered by a slightly-bloody banadage on Daria's forehead. Her bored/annoyed expression fades, replaced by a look similar to Daria's emotionless facade.) QUINN: (quietly) Oh God... (Quinn's hand is shaking quite a bit now, as if she'd consumed several gallons of strong coffee. She manages to stuff her compact back into her purse. She walks over to the "nursing station," the part of the ladies' room equiped with chairs for nursing and a table for changing a baby. Quinn sits down heavily in a plush chair. She sits there several long moments, staring at nothing. Then, slowly, she draws her legs up to her chest, puts her arms around them, and drops her head atop them. She then begins to cry softly.) QUINN: (muffled) She's my *sister*. She can't die... SCENE 8: (Trent and Jesse are sitting in the visitors' chairs in Daria and Jane's hospital room. Jesse is staring at Jane with an expression of absolute misery. Trent is leaning forward, his head in his hands. The only sounds are the hum of the machines and the soft woosh of the respirators. Helen, Jake, and Dr. Phillips enter. Helen looks haggard, as if she hasn't slept for days. Jake still looks near tears.) DR. PHILLIPS: (looking quizzically at Trent and Jesse) And you are? (Trent and Jesse stand up.) TRENT: I'm Trent Lane, Janey's brother. (pointing at his friend) This is Jesse. (Dr. Phillips nods. Helen and Jake claim the seats so recently vacated by the two musicians.) HELEN: Just how bad *is* it, Doctor? DR. PHILLIPS: (looking at his notes) It's...not good. Both girls have been hurt badly. (looks at Trent) Jane was probably hit by the edge of the car. Her right leg is fractured in two places. She has a mild concussion, but we don't believe it will seriously affect her. The rest is all minor surface abraisions. (Trent nods numbly, attempting to process the information.) DR. PHILLIPS: (looks at Helen and Jake breifly, then back at his notes) Daria was likely hit full-on. Both of her legs have fractures, in several places. She's rather bruised up. The real problem, I'm afraid, may be Daria's concussion. It's very serious. (Quinn steps silently into the room, unnoticed. She leans against the door frame, carefully *not* looking at her sister, and listens to the doctor.) HELEN: (quietly) What does that mean? DR. PHILLIPS: It means that...she's in a coma right now, and it means that we're not sure when or even *if* she'll wake up. (Helen looks horrified. Jake starts bawling again. Trent, who had been staring at his sister, glaces worriedly at Daria. At the door, Quinn loses all color and slips out of the room again.) DR. PHILLIPS: (trying to give them some hope) It's possible that she'll wake up soon after the sleep agent is removed from her IV drip; (with a glance at the boys) we're almost positive that Jane will. HELEN: Possible...but not likely? DR. PHILLIPS: Honestly, Mrs. Morgendorffer, we can't be certain. There was no fracturing of the skull, a good sign. But the brain is an organ we know very little about, and we cannot be sure exactly how it will react to trauma. (Helen stands a bit unsteadily and walks over to her daughter. Taking in the machines, IV, and Daria's battered countenance, she silently begins to weep.) SCENE 9: (The next day. Mack walks into Lawndale High and through the crowded hallway towards his first period class. Inside is Jodie, Kevin, Brittany, and various other students, waiting for Mr. O'Neill to arrive. Jodie sees him come in and rushes to his side.) JODIE: Michael! Guess what happened! MACK: What? JODIE: Daria and Jane are in the hospital! I heard it at student council yesterday when they didn't come to school. Ms. Defoe told the school board and their having all the teachers read a letter to the classes about the incident. MACK: Why are they in the hospital? JODIE: They got hit by a car. A drunk driver. Some neighbors witnessed it. They said it was a red jeep driven by a high school student. (Realization hits him.) MACK: A red jeep? Like Kevin's red jeep? JODIE: Yes. But he was at Brittany's party with us. I heard her in the laundry closet at the time of the accident with him. MACK: Oh god. Kevin drove home, completely drunk, early. I tried to stop him. Oh shit. JODIE: You mean...? (he nods) Oh no. (At this point, Mr. O'Neill walks in the classroom with some papers in his hand that he hasn't read yet. The school board letter sitting on the top of the stack.) MR. O'NEILL: All right everyone. Sit down while I read this announcement and then we can get onto the lesson. Hmm. Are Daria and Jane sick? JODIE: You could say that. (looks down at her desk, frowning) MR. O'NEILL: Oh, that's too bad. Well, let's see. (picks up the letter) Dear students, we regret to inform you that two female students were hit by a drunk driver a few nights ago. The driver was a high school student, returning from a party of some sort and was not aware of his actions. If anyone has any information on this subject, please notify a member of the Lawndale High faculty as soon as possible. Oh, how sad. MACK: Mr. O'Neill? (raising his hand) MR. O'NEILL: Yes? MACK: I know what happened. SCENE 10: (Back at the hospital...Quinn is now sitting in the room with Trent and Jesse. Helen and Jake have gone to work, trying to keep busy as to not worry themselves to death. Quinn is sitting beside Daria, but staring at a wall and holding her knees like before. For some strange reason, Jesse glances at Quinn. A tear rolls down her face.) JESSE: Are you okay? (Unable to speak, she nods, not wanting to talk. He stands and walks over to her, then pats her on the back. She sniffs, then looks up.) QUINN: I'll be okay. JESSE: You sure? QUINN: Um hm. (glances at Daria) (Quinn starts crying again and Jesse hugs her. She leans on his shoulder,and continues to cry. Trent looks up from his hands and sees them. He then shifts his gaze to Jane, and burries his head in his hands again, shaking it, no.) SCENE 11: (Kevin's house, interior. He is lying on the couch, staring into nothingness. He is still in his pajamas - fuzzy felt things with a football print - and obviously did not attend school. The dooorbell rings, but he does not move. After a few seconds, it rings again. Kevin forces himself to get up and answers the door. Two policemen, Mack, and Ms. Defoe are outside.) POLICEMAN #1: Are you Kevin Thompson? KEVIN: Uh...yes? POLICEMAN #2: Is the red jeep outside yours? KEVIN: (confused) Uh, yeah. POLICEMAN #2: (pointing at the jeep; to Ms. Defoe) Could this have been the vehicle? (Ms. Defoe nods. The policemen exchange glances.) POLICEMAN #1: Kevin Thompson, you are under arrest for criminal negligance and possibly vehicular manslaughter. (proceeds to Mirandize Kevin) You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you. (Kevin looks at Mack, still confused about what's going on. Mack, feeling guilty himself about not stopping Kevin the night before, looks away. Getting desperate, he looks at Ms. Defoe, who only looks at him with disgust. Kevin hangs his head as the first policemen continues to read him his rights.) SCENE 12: (Jane and Daria's hospital room. Trent is pacing nervously alongside Jane's bed. Jesse is asleep in one of the visitors' chairs next to Jane's bed - no small feat, considering that the things are patently uncomfortable. Quinn is sitting in the other guest chair, which has been pulled up next to Daria's bed. Quinn is carefully not looking at Daria. She has stopped crying, but her eyes are red and somewhat swollen. Dr. Phillips and a nurse enter. Trent stops pacing and looks at them questioningly. Quinn looks at him dully, too weary to even flirt. Jesse is still alseep.) TRENT: Any news? DR. PHILLIPS: We're going to alter Jane's IV drip; the sleep agent will be removed. QUINN: What....what about Daria? DR. PHILLIPS: (gently) We don't want to remove the sleep aid until we're sure there's no more internal bleeding. (Quinn glances very quickly at Daria, then stares at the floor.) TRENT: So Janey'll wake up after you change this IV thing? DR. PHILLIPS: She should. (Trent frowns at "should," but says nothing. Trent shakes Jesse awake and the two boys watch apprehensively as the nurse changes the IV drip. Several long minutes pass as everyone in the room, even Quinn, watches Jane expectantly. Then, Jane groans and opens her eyes.) JANE: (quiet and weak) Did anyone catch the number of that bus? (Trent gives a startled exclaimation of joy, and kneels down by the head of Jane's bed. Jesse smiles with relief and stands behind Trent. Dr. Phillip and the nurse exchange satisfied glances. Quinn looks at Jane, then for the first time really *looks* at Daria, at the bruises and scrapes on her arms, which lie helplessly atop her blanket, at the recently-changed bandage covering stitches on her forehead. Quinn blinks back tears and looks at Jane, because she can't look at her unconcious sister any longer.) TRENT: How do you feel, Janey? JANE: Awful. NURSE: Don't keep her up *too* long; if she can get back to sleep, she needs to do so. JESSE: You're gonna be okay, Jane. JANE: What...what *happened*? I was walking with Daria...omigod, *Daria*! Where-- DR. PHILLIPS: Calm down, Jane. Daria is in the bed next to yours. (Jane, who had not yet noticed her roommate, looks over at her friend.) JANE: *Daria*! Is she okay? QUINN: (softly) No. (Jane blinks at Princess Grace's soft exclaimation and looks at the Doctor for an explaination.) DR. PHILLIPS: Daria is not doing quite as well as you are. We're keeping her sedated until we can be assured that there will be no more internal bleeding. JANE: So she won't wake up for *days*? (Trent winces, remembering that Daria might *not* wake up. He takes his sister's hand in his. She looks at him, confused.) TRENT: Janey...they say she's got a real bad concussion. She might not wake up for a while...or ever. (At that, both Jane and Quinn whimper quietly.) JANE: Trent...she tried to push me out of the way. I remember. She told me to look out, and...(sniffs) JESSE: Jane, it's okay. There's nothing you coulda done. (Dr. Phillips watches this exchange worriedly. He nods at the nurse, who runs off. Jane looks downcast.) TRENT: You had us really worried, Jane. JESSE: Yeah. (The nurse comes back in, holding a bottle and syringe. She walks over to Jane's IV drip.) JANE: Do they know who hit us? TRENT: (shaking his head) I don't think so. (The nurse injects medicine into Jane's IV.) NURSE: (to Jane) It's not good for you to be so upset. This (nods at the now-empty needle) should help calm you down. (It does; Jane soon looks drowsy and falls back asleep. Jesse resumes his place in the chair. Trent remains kneeled beside Jane's bed, her hand still in his.) SCENE 13: (Later that afternoon, Mack and Jodie walk into Daria and Jane's hospital room for a quick visit. They both skipped their extra curricular activities that day to do so. Upon walking in, they see Trent, now sleeping in a chair, Jesse simply sitting beside Jane, who is awake once again, and Quinn, biting back tears still.) JODIE: (Whispering to Mack) Maybe we should come back later. MACK: (Not paying attention to her; looking at Daria, who is closest to the door) Oh my god... (points to Daria) JODIE: Oh my. JANE: Jodie? Mack? JODIE: Jane, you're awake. That's great! MACK: How's Daria doing? She looks really bad. (Jane looks down at her hands and sniffs. Jesse looks at Quinn, then Jane, then his lap. Quinn finally speaks up.) QUINN: She's fine. She's not going to die. She can't. JODIE: Maybe we should come back later. MACK: Die? She's dying?! JANE: There's a possibility. (sniffs) JESSE: She's in a coma. MACK: And it's all my fault. JANE: What are you talking about? You had nothing to do with this. It was a freak accident. MACK: No one told you yet? Kevin got drunk at a party and drove home by himself. I should have stopped him. I had the chance! JODIE: Michael, stop it! No one could have known. You did what you could, and we all know how damn stubborn Kevin is. But at least he's in jail. (coldly) Where he belongs. JANE: Kevin?! Kevin ran us over?! As soon as I get out of this damned bed, I'm cutting off his head and mounting it on a stick in my living room! JESSE: Jane, calm down. You don't want the nurse to give you another sedative, do you? JANE: Okay. I just want Thompson's head disconnected from his neck, and quick. JODIE: He's going to court tomorrow. And guess who volunteered to be the prosecutor: Mrs. Morgendorffer. JANE: So justice will prevail. (Jesse, Jodie, Mack, and Jane smile. Something they all need. Quinn, however, wasn't listening at all. She's still battling that little problem internally.) SCENE 14: (Jake's office. He is sitting at his desk, seemingly looking through some notes. However, he hasn't turned a page for over half an hour. Finally, he sighs and closes the folder. As he moves to set the folder aside, he sees the photo of his family he keeps on his desk. He reaches out a trembling hand and picks up the picture almost reverantly. He looks at it for a long moment.) JAKE: (whispering) My baby girl... (He carefully sets the picture frame down. However, he continues to stare at the photo, and expression of perfect sorrow etched on his features.) SCENE 15: (Helen's office. Her secretary is, as usual, typing away on her computer. Helen is pacing as she talks on the phone.) HELEN: (into the phone) I don't give a damn! I want him tried as an adult! He was old enough to guzzle beer, old enough to drive, old enough to possibily commit (getting angrier) vehicular manslaughter! I want his hide. I want him put away. (pause) So? *I* am the mother of the *victim*! If Ms. Thompson wanted her boy out of trouble, then maybe she should have kept him from attending that party! (pause) Then maybe you better re-think your position. (pause) No. (pause) Goodbye. (Utterly weary, Helen drops into her chair. She rests her chin in her hand.) SECRETARY: Mrs. Morgendorffer? Are you...all right? (For a moment, Helen looks as if she's about to give an acid retort. However, as she opens her mouth, a look of sorrow replaces the anger contorting her features.) HELEN: (defeated) No. My little girl is lying in a hospital right now, *dying*. So, no, I'm not all right. SECRETARY: (concerned) Can I get you something, ma'am? Some coffee? HELEN: I could use a cappucino. And get me some aspirin, would you? SECRETARY: Right away. (The secretary hurries out to get coffee and painkiller. As soon as she leaves the room, Helen utters a dispairing, utterly defeated-sounding sob. Then, noislessly, she begins to weep.) SCENE 16: (Daria and Jane's hospital room. Jesse has a chair pulled on next to the far side of Jane's bed. He is dozing. Jane is awake again, and sketching in a spiral of drawing paper. Trent is sitting in a chair pulled between Jane and Daria's beds. He is alternatingly looking at his sister with an expression akin to relief and looking worriedly at Daria's pale, unconcious form. Mack is sitting by Daria's bed, reading the medical notes about her condition and treatment that are left on a clipboard in a compartment at the foot of the bed. Quinn is sitting in a chair in the corner, reading a pamplet about head injuries. Jodie has seemingly left. Brittany walks in.) BRITTANY: Jane! You're awake! That's great! (Jane, Mack, Trent, and Quinn look at Brittany in surprise. Jesse stirs and looks around blankly.) BRITTANY: Why isn't Daria awake? JANE: (bitterly) Because your *boyfriend* ran her over, and gave her a concussion that's put her in a coma! BRITTANY: (a bit surprised at the venom) What's that mean? JANE: (angrily) Do you need smaller words? It means she might never wake up! (Quinn winces at Jane's last statement. Brittany looks hurt.) TRENT: Janey, calm down. She-- JANE: --threw the party where Kevin got drunk. (looks at Mack) Didn't she? (Mack glances at Brittany, then nods.) JANE: If you hadn't had beer at that party-- JESSE: Jane! TRENT: Getting mad won't help you recover. Or help *Daria* recover. (Jane looks at her brother, then nods and slumps down. Brittany, unsure of what exactly she did, looks upset.) BRITTANY: (rambling) I didn't buy any beer - the football players brought it. They always do, no matter *how* many times I tell them I don't want it at my parties and that it's stinky and stains and makes them all *jerks*! JANE: (tiredly) Brittany, I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm just worried about Daria. MACK: We *all* are. QUINN: (quietly) Did you know Kevin was drunk? BRITTANY: Umm...yes? We were in the laundry closet and I smelled beer on his breath and threw him out. QUINN: You threw him out. And you knew he drove there. Why didn't you make him take a cab? (stands up and puts the pamplet she was reading in her chair) BRITTANY: (blankly) Huh? QUINN: (showing some anger) You knew Kevin was drunk, you knew he drove there and would drive back, so you, like, told him to go drive drunk! (Brittany again looks hurt, as well as confused. The others watch Quinn, surprised at the sudden outburst.) MACK: Quinn, that's not really-- QUINN: (turning on Mack) And *you* could've stopped him and you *didn't*! MACK: (hangs his head) You're right. JANE: It wasn't Mack's fault. Or Brittany's, really. It was Kevin. *He* ran us over. (Trent looks at Jane, as if to say "I've been telling you that all along, and *now* you decide to get it?") JANE: (looks at Trent, shrugs) It takes me a while. (Quinn stands still a moment, considering her own [imagined] guilt in wishing her sister dead. Abruptly, she runs out of the room.) SCENE 17: (The Morgendorffers, minus Daria, are sitting down at the dinner table. None of them are eating, and all of them have swollen red eyes from crying. Quinn looks up from her plate and to her mother.) QUINN: Why did we leave the hospital? HELEN: Because it wouldn't have helped to stay there, sweety. No matter how much I want to believe it would have. JAKE: I'm going to bed. (sniffs) Night honey. Night Quinn. (Quinn stands up and hugs her father, much to both her parents surprise.) QUINN: Night Daddy. HELEN: Quinn? QUINN: Yes? (Helen holds out her arms, wanting a hug also. Quinn walks to the other end of the table and hugs her mother as well.) HELEN: I just needed a hug from my daughter. QUINN: I know, Mom. SCENE 18: (Jane is asleep in the hospital room. Jesse and Trent are still there, sitting in hospital chairs. Jesse is asleep, not so soundly, but Trent is awake, and staring at Daria, worriedly. He coughs roughly, waking Jane, who also wasn't sleeping all that well.) JANE: Trent? You're still awake? TRENT: Go back to sleep, Janey. You need your rest. JANE: What happened to your nap schedule? You haven't slept in a long time. TRENT: I'm not tired. JANE: I know something's bothering you. You never sleep when something's bothering you. Talk to me, young man. TRENT: It's Daria. JANE: Oh? TRENT: She saved your life. And now... I can't even thank her for it. JANE: Trent, don't say things like that. She's gonna wake up. Don't even think she'd die on us! TRENT: Janey, I don't want to think it. But I am. We all are. I just never realized how much we all depended on her being there for us. JANE: You're not the first. TRENT: I really wish I could thank her for saving you. I feel extremely helpless. JANE: Everybody does. Why couldn't Kevin hit me instead of her? She was the one with the future. She was going to make it in the world. TRENT: I thought I was the deadbeat, not you. JANE: You are. (smiles, then frowns) Trent, I'm scared. TRENT: Me too, Jane. Me too. (Jane glances at Daria in the dimly lit room and sniffs. A few tears roll down her cheeks and she wipes them quickly. Trent stands and sits at her bedside, embracing her.) TRENT: It's okay, Janey. Just go ahead and cry. I understand. JANE: I love you, Trent. TRENT: I love you too, Janey. SCENE 19: (A cell at the Lawndale Police Station. Kevin, dressed in blue sweat pants and a white tee-shirt, is sitting on a bench. He looks miserable. After a few moments, a policeman and Mrs. Thompson enter. Like so many people at this time, her eyes are swollen from crying. Her expression shows her to be in total-freak-out maternal mode.) MRS. THOMPSON: Kevin! Baby! KEVIN: Mommy! (Mrs. Thompson rushes to Kevin's cell. The policeman, in no particular hurry, eventually joins her and unlocks the cell to let her in. She sits down next to him on the bench.) SURLY POLICEMAN: I'll be back to let you out later. Don't take too long. (Mrs. Thompson nods. The policeman leaves.) MRS. THOMPSON: Ooohhh, my poor baby! Are they treating you all right? Are they feeding you? They aren't feeding you, are they? You look thinner. KEVIN: Mom, I'm okay. They feed me stuff; it just tastes real bad. I miss your meatloaf. MRS. THOMPSON: I'll bring you some next time I visit. KEVIN: Thanks, Mommy. MRS. THOMPSON: (digs in her bag a pulls out a candy bar) Here, baby. I brought this for you. (Mrs. Thompson hands Kevin the candy bar, which he takes gratefully. There is a long pause as Kevin stares at the candy.) KEVIN: Mom...how are they? Jane and Daria, I mean. They're okay,right? MRS. THOMPSON: Oh, baby, I'm not really sure. They called and said that the Lane girl was awake and recovering, and said they'd call when the Morgendorffer girl woke up, or died. KEVIN: (blinks) She's hurt *real* bad? She might *die*? They were uncool and confused me lots, but I didn't want to hurt Daria or Jane. MRS. THOMPSON: I know, baby, I know. Would it make you feel better if I went to the hosiptal and saw just how well the girls are doing? (Kevin nods.) MRS. THOMPSON: Consider it done, baby. I'll do it before I come visit you tomorrow. KEVIN: Thanks Mommy. (pause; reaches over and hugs her) I love you, Mommy. MRS. THOMPSON: (returns the hug) I love you, too, baby. I love you,too. (The policeman enters again and comes up to the cell.) SURLY POLICEMAN: Come on, ma'am. It's time to go. (unlocks the door) (Mrs. Thompson gives her son one last hug and leaves the cell. The policeman locks it again, throwing a disdainful look at Kevin.) MRS. THOMPSON: I'll be back tomorrow, Kevin. KEVIN: (smiles at her) I know, Mom. (She takes one last look at her son and leaves. The policeman follows her out. Kevin resumes his former activity of looking miserable.) SCENE 20: (Daria and Jane's hospital room. It seems that half of Lawndale is crowded around Daria's bed: Helen, next to Daria's bed, is leaning against Jake on one side and on her other side, Aunt Amy holds Helen's hand; Jane is seated in a wheelchair with Trent and Jesse right behind her; Quinn is standing at the right head of Daria's bed, near her parents, and Stacy is there, offering her first best friend what moral support she can; Jodie and Mack are to one side, both looking tense; Brittany stands near them, on the edge of one of her freak-outs; Ms. Defoe is at the fringe of the little crowd; Andrea, igorning the strange looks from other people in the room, is at the crowd at the foot of Daria's bed; next to Andrea, Ted stands looking worried and remorsful; next to Ted is Upchuck, who looks more sombre than most people had ever seen him; and Amanda Lane, recently returned from an artists' retreat and the only Lane parent in town, stands next to her daughter. Next to Daria's IV, Dr. Phillips and the nurse are speaking quietly. Dr. Phillips clears his throat, and everyone looks at him.) DR. PHILLIPS: We're going to remove the sleeping agent from Daria's IV drip. The absolute maximum amount of time for it to wear off would be forty-five minutes. (pauses) If she doesn't wake up within forty-five minutes, we can't be sure *when* she will. (This brings a worried mummer from the peanut gallery.) QUINN: She's gonna wake up. (Dr. Phillips and the nurse exchange glances. The nurse then changes Daria's IV bag.) (Cut to fifteen minutes later. Mack, Jodie, and Brittany are speaking quietly together; Amy is attempting to comfort her sister and brother-in-law; Quinn is leaning against Stacy for support as she stares at Daria; Andrea has not moved; Upchuck and Ted are speaking quietly, discussing how each one knows Daria; Amanda is getting back-story from Jesse; and Jane and Trent are watching Daria, their hands clasped together.) (Thirty minutes since removing the sleeping agent. Tension is palpable. Jodie and Brittany are seated in visitors' chairs; Upchuck hovers near Brittany; Ted has resumed watching Daria; Mack has taken the spot at the foot of the bed vacated by Upchuck and now next to Andrea, who *still* hasn't moved; Helen is half-heartedly sipping some coffee, Jake half-heartedly sipping some soda, and Amy alternatingly watching the two and Daria; Jane and Trent are in the same spot as before, and Jesse has joined them again; Amanda is reading the clipboard with her daughter's medical information; Quinn, looking akin to a rubber band stretched to the point of snapping, is staring at her sister, the beginning of panic showing on her face, and Stacy is helplessly attempting to be supportive.) (Fifty minutes after removing the sleeping agent. Everyone is once again hovering around the bed. Quinn is barely supressing panic.) Dr. PHILLIPS: I'm sorry. It's been fifty minutes. If and when she will wake up are questions we can't answer. (Helen starting crying against Amy's shoulder. Jake starts bawling. Mack has a wide-eyed, deer-caught-in-headlights thing going. Jodie pats Brittany's hand as she does that freak-out crying bit she does so well. Ted has also started bawling. Upchuck is sniffling. Andrea actually looks near tears. Jane is sobbing noisily, and Trent, crying without sound himself, has kneeled down and embraced her. Jesse watches the two Lanes sadly, as does Amanda. Stacy is watching Quinn, and Quinn is having trouble breathing.) QUINN: (almost inaudible) No. STACY: What, Quinn? QUINN: No. (Everyone looks at her.) HELEN: Quinn, honey, there's nothing we can do. (sniffs) QUINN: (loudly) No! Daria, you gotta wake up! (Quinn drops to her knees, putting her head level with Daria's. Quinn takes her sister's hand. Everyone looks at her with stunned surprise.) QUINN: Daria, I'm *sorry*. I didn't really want you to die! You're my *sister*! Please, Daria, wake up! Wake up! (begins sobbing) You gotta wake up. You're my *sister.* I'm sorry, Daria. I'm so sorry. Sorry.... (***TO BE CONTINUED***) Author's notes: Hope you enjoyed the first half of 'Them's the Breaks'! Just when you thought we couldn't jam any more angst into a fan fic... we have! Second half soon to come. End notes: Standard disclaimers apply. This story was a "tag-team" effort: Melissa wrote scenes 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, 17, 18 NuitCoeur wrote scenes 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20 All medical & legal stuff in here has been influenced by television and fiction. Please excuse all inaccuaracies; we're not doctors or lawyers. Just put it down to the unreality of television. At least we didn't just type "technobabble."