To all of you passionate Zach haters... you're going to like this chapter.

Trigger warning for death, mention of self delete, mention of child abuse/neglect, mention of pedophilia, and mention of drug abuse. Stay safe, my loves <3

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"Dad! Lizzie's throwing up again!" Jimmy yelled down the stairway.

Lizzie let out a loud groan from the bathroom. "I'm fine!" she hollered.

Daniel sighed, standing up from his desk. "I'm coming," he called. He rushed up the steps, Jimmy stepping aside to let him pass. He heard Lizzie coughing and vomitting again, his heart breaking at the way she sobbed after she was done.

Lizzie looked up when Daniel knocked on the door, brushing sweat-soaked hair out of her face. "Hi," she said shakily.

"Oh, honey." Daniel knelt next to her and put his hand against her forehead. "Jesus, Liz. Have you been hanging out in the oven?" She didn't laugh at his joke and he sighed. "I think I just might have to take you to the hospital."

Lizzie shook her head. "No, I'm fine," she objected. "I have-" She'd reached for the bottle of cold syrup, but it was empty. "Oh."

"That's what you get for chugging the whole thing even though Dad said not to," Jimmy huffed from the doorway, earning a glare from Daniel.

"Now isn't the time, kiddo," Daniel said, then turned back to his daughter. "Sweetie, drinking that stuff like it's tea won't help." He stood up and offered his hands out to help Lizzie up. "Jimmy, go grab her some slippers and a coat."

Jimmy nodded and scurried off to his sister's bedroom.

Lizzie sighed. "I'm fine, Father," she said, ignoring Daniel's offer to help. Instead, she used the toilet to help her stand  "I don't need to go to the-" She squealed when she fell to the side, her vision spinning too much to walk straight. Luckily, Daniel caught her.

He smiled gently at her. "I think a trip to the hospital might be a good idea."

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"You drank the whole bottle in an hour?!" Daniel shouted, not taking his eyes off the road.

Lizzie winced at the volume of his voice. "I didn't mean to," she murmured.

Daniel sighed. "I'm sorry for yelling," he apologized. "I shouldn't raise my voice. I just... Liz, you've probably poisoned yourself."

"I'm sorry."

The car stopped as the light turned red, and Daniel turned to the girl sulking next to him. "You don't need to apologize to me," he said. "You should be apologizing to your body." He let out another sigh and reached out to rub Lizzie's knee, the girl's eyes beginning to water. "But, just relax, okay? I doubt it'll cause too much damage, so take a deep breath. You're not in any trouble. I'm just worried about you, alright? You're okay."

Lizzie nodded and rubbed at her eyes. "'Kay," she said, then she sniffled loudly.

Daniel kissed her cheek just before the light turned green. "You're alright, baby."

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"Dad, can I go get a soda from the vending machine?" Jimmy whispered as Daniel waited for the receptionist to return.

Daniel sighed and shoved his hand into his pocket to fish out a buck or two. "Fine," he grumbled, clearly exhausted. They had been there for about half an hour now, and Lizzie was looking like she was going to pass out. "Get a bottle of water for your sister."

"Okay." Jimmy took the money his father handed him and, almost waddling, went down the hall to the vending machines.

Lizzie let out a tired whine. "How much longer is this going to take?" she complained, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor. "'M gonna throw up..."

"Kiddo, I know you don't feel good, but please don't sit on the floor," Daniel said. "It's dirty, and I don't want you feeling worse than you already do." His head turned at the sound of talking down the hall, and he saw Joel walking with a nurse, both wearing scrubs. "Joel?"

The brunette looked up and waved. "Hi," he said with a smile, but it dropped when Daniel didn't smile back. He almost forgot that he and Lizzie fought. Speaking of Lizzie... "Why is Liz on the floor?"

Daniel leaned against the counter. "She drank a bottle of cold syrup," he answered plainly. "We've been waiting here for an eternity and a half for this receptionist to get back, but nobody's shown up."

"I can take you to a room and get you all checked in," the nurse Joel was with offered. "You two look wiped."

Daniel let out a sigh of relief. "Really? That would be great, thanks."

The nurse shook her head. "It's no problem, sir," she said. "Joel, take these two to room two-seventy-three down that hallway there" - she pointed around the corner - "and have this young lady's vitals checked."

Joel nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Lizzie's blood pressure ended up being low enough to need an IV and to spend the night at the hospital.

Joel stood awkwardly in the doorway, watching after Lizzie while Daniel went to find where Jimmy was. "Hey, Liz," he said, his voice shaking a bit. "How, uh... how are you?"

"I poisoned myself, Joel," Lizzie deadpanned. "What the hell do you mean, how am I?"

Joel winced at the harshness of her answer. "Damn, I was just trying to make small talk," he mumbled. He glanced up at the TV, where a reporter was talking about some recent robbery. "The news is so depressing. All they ever put on there is kidnappings and robberies." He looked at Lizzie, who seemed a bit out of it still, then reached for the remote to change the channel. Though, just before he hit the button, he paused to listen to what the news reporter was saying.

"The highly respected Smajor family has suffered several blows tonight, including a death, two arrests, and a court case."

That seemed to catch Lizzie's attention, too.

"Johnathon Smajor has been accused and found guilty for drug abuse, child abuse and neglect, and pedophilia. Misses Delia Smajor has been found guilty for child abuse, as well." The reporter adjusted his tie. "Twenty-one-year-old Lauren Smajor has died tonight. The girl committed suicide by jumping off of the Wool Water Bridge, dying on impact with the frigid water. And finally, nephew of Johnathon and Delia, Joey Graceffa is being taken to court for harassment and drug abuse."

"Holy shit," Joel breathed, leaning against the doorframe.

Lizzie let out a soft, sad noise. "I can't imagine how Scott is going to feel about all of this," she said quietly.

The reporter cleared his throat and continued. "This just in, another hit to the Smajor family, Scott Smajor has been found unconscious on the river bank nearby the Wool Water Bridge. He's shown signs of hypothermia, as well as frostbite on his hands, feet, face, and ears. Found with him, eighteen-year-old Zachariah Emily's frozen body. Rest in peace, Zachariah and Lauren."

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"Oh my god..." Jimmy stared at the television in the waiting room, frozen in shock. All that had happened, in just one night? A part of him felt relieved. With Zach gone, Scott would never have to worry about his relationship with Jimmy. But on the other hand, Scott just lost his family and his boyfriend. Poor Scott...

"There you are," Daniel huffed, and Jimmy turned to him. "I told you to bring your sister some water."

Jimmy looked down at the bottle in his hand. "Oh, right," he mumbled, and his father sighed. "Sorry, Dad, I was just watching the news."

That made Daniel laugh a bit. "The news? When did you turn forty?" he joked.

Jimmy gave him a half-assed glare before rolling his eyes. "I didn't know where you guys went in the first place," he mentioned, and Daniel motioned for him to follow. "Is she okay?"

"We're still waiting for bloodwork to be done," Daniel explained, "but Joel took her vitals and her blood pressure was extremely low."

"What happens if your blood pressure gets too low?" Jimmy asked out of curiousity.

Daniel shrugged. "You die." Jimmy gasped. "Lizzie's alright, Jim, don't worry."

Jimmy nodded. "Wait did you say Joel's here?"

Daniel didn't get a chance to answer before several shouting nurses came running down the hall pulling a gurney, with an all too familiar pale face. Scott's face.

"Jesus, he looks dead," Daniel muttered as they passed, and Jimmy whacked him. "What?"

"Don't say that!" Jimmy crossed his arms. "You'll jinx it."

Daniel gasped. "Oops!" He laughed when Jimmy glared at him for his sarcastic comment. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Sorry for spooking you." He wrapped an arm around his son's shoulders, and Jimmy leaned into him.

"So, is Lizzie going to be okay?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine," Daniel answered, rubbing circles into Jimmy's shoulder. "They'll probably make her throw up some more to get the rest of the medicine out of her system once the IV's all done."

Jimmy nodded, not saying anything else. He felt himself relax a bit knowing she'd be okay. He didn't know what he'd do without his big sister.

*   *   *

Joel left the room when Daniel came back with Jimmy, figuring he didn't need to be there anymore. Besides, he wasn't there to hang out with friends, he was there to get experience.

As soon as he stepped into the hallway, he was tasked with getting five bowls of hot water from the kitchen, along with warm blankets and towels. Fortunately, he was given a cart to put everything on.

"Three-twenty, three-twenty," Joel muttered as he searched for that room. He felt like it was his first time being at the hospital, despite being there several times before. It was just so different when he was actually working there. "Aha!" he whispered when he found the room he was looking for. He opened the door to find Doc standing over (and blocking) the patient sitting on the bed. "I have hot towels and water."

Doc smiled. "Good, good," he said, and he waved Joel over. It took the brunette a moment to realize that the patient was Scott. "Put Scott's hands and feet into the water to thaw them."

Joel nodded. "Right."

Scott wasn't necessarily unconscious as Joel obeyed Doc's orders, but he didn't seen to be very aware of his surroundings. He stared blankly at the TV on the opposite side of the room, which was playing a recording of the news from earlier.

Scott didn't say anything until a minute or two after Doc left to tend to another patient and left Joel by himself, dipping a cloth into hot water and using it to warm Scott's face.

"I wasn't ready," Scott said as Joel wrung excess water out of the rag. Joel looked up at him, and he still had that distant look in his eyes, but it was clear he knew at least what had happened.

"Ready for what?" Joel asked.

"To let go of him," Scott said. He closed his eyes, and Joel waited for him to continue. "I got attached to him again, and I promised myself I wouldn't-" He cut himself off, choking out a quiet sob. "I didn't... I was going to break up with him, but I- I didn't want it to happen like this."

Joel chewed on his lip as Scott pulled his hands out of the bowls of quickly cooling water to cover his face, crying into the pruney skin. "But you're free now, right?" he offered, but Scott didn't respond. "Look, I know it's tough, but maybe this is for the best? I mean, Zach was an asshole, and nobody deserves to be treated the way he treated you." Scott still didn't reply, and Joel sighed. "I'm sorry, Scott."

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Yay, Zach's dead!!! The amount of times I wished I could've told you all that he dies- aishsksn Of course, I had to keep it a secret, but now it's happened! /lh

Two chapters in one day... Crazy lol

I hope you enjoyed!! Have a wonderful rest of your day/evening, and Happy New Year's!!