"Zoe baby...your awake?" Mrs Hanson walked quitly into Zoes room, timidly approaching her daughters bed.

"Yeah mom, Im awake..." Zoe replied, rolling over to face her. The room was dark with the curtains drawn, even in the middle of the day.

"How are you feeling? Is that medicine for the pain working...?" Zoe held the sigh that threatened to escape her lips, and instead nodded.

"Its fine...Hey...weres Zac? He diddn't wake me up this morning..." She sat up and pulled the curtain open slightly, letting the light fall over her paled features.
It had been a few days since Zoe had been let out of the hospital. She would go in for treatment the following day, but with her last hours of freedom for a while hanging over her like a time glass, she could think of nothing better than to hide from pitty for a while in her room.

"He went out this morning....pretty early actualy..." Picking up items of clothing as she went, Mrs Hanson scooted around the room, tiding in a vain attempt to make it look in some sort of order, then, after kissing zoe delicately on the forhead, she retretted, closing the door softly behind her.

The room again was empty.

In a way this was how Zoe was beginning to like it. She wanted time to understand, but at the same time she needed to be held and told, like she was a small vaunrable child, that it would be okay. And at this time, when she was torn between being strong, and breaking down, Zac was know were to be seen. When she came home from the hospital, he had made it his life mission to be with her every second, from the moment she woke, to the last seconds of her day.

But suddenly he was gone.

Zoe new he was hurting, she could see it when he looked at her, there was a silent desperation, but he new he was her piller of strength, and he would, for her, hide any pain he was feeling, for as long as he could.

But it was so strange that suddenly he had left.

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People rushed around the buisy mall, past him, only stopping for a moment to place his strangly familiour face. He diddn't notise them though, he had grown out of cearing when people steared, it was one of things you lived with when you were once a child star. They only saw his golden locks, remembering his angelic face that had now become one of handsom dignity, they seemed to avoide his expression, not cearing about his pain, only that they had seen a star for a moment in their lives.

But amoung the commosion and wispering, Zac sat silently on the bench, stearing into space. *****************************************************************************

Hours passed, it was dark when finely he realised he was alone in the mall appart from some lone cleaners and late shoppers.
But he diddnt move, his mind had left his body, and some how he couldnt quite re-connect.

"Excuse me sir...were closing...are you alright..?" Looking up Zac found him self looking at a beautifull brunett, she looked at him for a moment, then when he did nothing, she put down her the broom in her hand, and sat nezt to him.

"Your not alright are you sir..." He couldnt beleive his eyes, she was stunning, dark hair, blue eyes...she was Zoe.

"Sir...?" With out thinking he reached out to touch her face, he couldn't beleive she was real untill he felt her soft olive skin.

"Who are you...?" Zac wispered, still engrossed in her beauty.

"Meredith..." The girl seemed strangly calm, she diddn't know this man touching her so softly that he was like a loving father, or the sweetest lover. But she diddnt stop him for some reason she couldn't quite figger out...

"Meredith..."He repeted, letting her name engrave its self in his head with the image of her face he would surly never be able to forget.

"Sir...I..." She finely pushed his hand from her face, shocked by his touch.

"I think you need to go home..." He snaped out of his transe, one that he had been in all day. Now with this girl in front of him, he couldnt find the strength inside of him self to let her go. She looked so much like Zoe, older maybe, but she was the same soft sweet person Zoe was, and he could think of know better gift from god than to be granted yet another angel.

"Im sorry... but...please may I stay a while longer... ?I dont think I can go home right now..." He pleaded with her, if she made him go, he would have to face the reality again, but if she let him stay, for a while at lest he would be speared. She held his fait in her hands.

"Well..." Again she looked at him, confused at why she felt drawn in by a sad forse.

"I get off work in ten munites... you can stay till then...okay?" He wanted to hug her, but she had handled enough of his strange behaviour for one day, so instead he thanked her and watched as she walked towards one of the shops, and begane closing its doors and bringing in its signs.
He never took his eyes off her, and occationaly he saw her look shyly over at him, blushing when she saw his eyes still on her.

The ten minutes went quickly with the new distraction, and soon the two were walking towards their homes.

"I dont know your name..." Meredith said after a moment, pushing a dark lock of hair from her eyes as they walked.

"Zac..." He told her, stopping on a corner, were one street lead in Zacs direction, and another in Merediths. He diddnt know what to say to her, in a way he was so happy to find someone like her, and in another, he felt guilt, wondering if the only reason he was drawn to her was because she looked so much like Zoe.

"Zac...Are you going to be okay? You seem so...I dont know..." She looked at her feet, angry at her self for liking a stranger, and trusting him enough that she was cearing about him.

"I dont know if Im okay...I havn't felt okay for a while..." He looked at her, she was so kind looking, and although he diddn't know any thing more than her name, he wanted to tell her every thing...

"Well...why dont you come to my place for a while...you said you diddn't want to go home so..." She diddnt controle what she was saying, all she new was this man in front of her was lost for some reason, and, equaly strange, she wanted to find out why.

"That would be great..."He told her softly...

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"Here..." Meredith handed him a cup filled to the rim with coffie. Greatfull he smiled.

"Thanks..." She sat beside him on the couch, but at a distance. Her instinks still told her to be cearfull.

"I know what you must be thinking..." He said suddenly, placing his cup on a coster on the table in front of him.

"Your thinking, who is this mad man, and why the hell did I let him into my house!" He chuckeled, but diddn't look at her.

"No, thats not what Im thinking at all..." She said smiling.

"Im thinking, who is this man, and why is he so distant...what pain is he hidding..." Finely he looked at her again. She looked like she ment what she was saying, she wanted to hear him. But it seemed so pitterfull, he should be at home with Zoe, there for her every second, if she needed him for any thing she shouldn't have to wonder were he was, but instead he was sitting with this woman who he hardly new.

"Im not realy hidding any thing..." He lyed.

"Then why did you sit in the mall, all day, with out moving once?" He couldnt answer that question, he diddn't know him self, all day he had been thinking over and over how unfair it was that he was healthy, while Zoe was so sick... But this woman wouldn't understand that...

"I dont know..." He admitted. She pationtly sat while he thought, sure that if she gave him time, his misterys would be unvailed.

"The thing is...my sister..."He said after a long pause.

"Your sister...?"Zac nodded, looking at the blank Television screan placed in front of the couch.

"Yeah...She, um, she and I, we're...close... realy close... Im 12 years older than her, but for some reason theres this weird bond, no one else in our family has it,or understands it, just us, its like we're in in our own world some thing..." She diddnt say any thing, just lisened quitly as he told his story.

"When we were younger, I was in a band that toured alot and..."

"Hanson..." Meredith said suddenly, her voice diddn't sound serprised, it was some thing that had just calmly darwned on her.

"Yeah... well, we toured heeps, and when we did, and I was away from her, it was like a part of me was missing...and then I would came home, Zoe, my sister, would be there, and I was complet again. That was just the way we were, and still are now. But she was just a little baby then, and I was in my teens before she could even walk! It was a strange thing, so I figger her and me were connected from the day she was born..." He looked at her face, and to his relefe she diddn't look shocked or confused, she seemed to understand it or some thing.

"Anyway... a copple of weeks ago Zoe collapsed and we had to take her to the hospital. She was in a coma for two days... and it turns out she has Lukemia..." Meredith lowered her head, now she almost understood his anguish.

"I just cant understand it...and its driving me insain, she's so young, only 15, and all I can do is watch as she gets sicker and sicker... she used to be realy happy, but her strength has faided or some thing... I dont expect you to understand, Im sorry to have to put this on you...but I dont know...I needed to I guess, I needed some one to understand, I dont want to tell anyone in my family, they wouldn't get it, and besides, they have to deal with it them selfs, I dont think they could help me...I...I just want to die..."Meredith moved closer towards him when he said that, placing her hands over his she tryed to find the right thing to say.

"Dont ever say that Zac! Lisen, I know it sounds useless coming from some body who has never been in your shoes, but, it will get better, I promise you that, it will..." he almost beleived her, but still, he felt so pointless, he couldn't save Zoe, or help her, god, he couldn't even be strong enough to be there for her!

"Please beleive me Zac, you cant die, if any thing your sister needs you to live..." He diddn't cry like he wanted to, he had cried so many time in the last copple of weeks, alone mostly, but now her words had given him a new sort of corrage.

"I do beleive you..." He wispered "But I still...Its still so hard..." Again Meredith nodded.

"I know...but under stand Zac, you arnt alone, Ill be here for you if you need me..."

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Zac and Meredith had talked for hours, he trusted her beyond his own beleife, she was the closest thing he had to Zoe, and she was exactly what he needed, now he did beleive that Zoe would be alright, and he also beleived that he wasn't alone.

The street turned and soon he was standing outside the brightly lit house he had called home for as long as he could remember.
Silently he opened the frount door and crept in, avoiding the commosion coming from the dinning room were his family was eating dinner.

"Zac is that you..." Zoe wispered as her door opened and closed behind someone.

"Yeah Zo, its me...how yah going?"

"Fine, how about you? I havent seen you all day! Were did you run off to?" She asked as he sat on the edge of her bed and flicked on her bed side light.

"I went for a walk..." He had desided on the way home not to tell her about Meredith, he diddn't want her to know he had needed to be away from her for a while, so he was content in his lye.

"Pretty long walk! Were did yah go, japan?" Zoe joked, releved to see that for the first time in weeks Zac was actualy smiling.

"No, just around Tulsa, and I stopped into see some friends..." It wasn't a totel lye, he had walked all the way to the mall, and the fact that he had made a NEW friend sorta fitted in.

She just grinned happily, ignouring her suspisions that were all to obviouse. Zac never walked any were, he was the most lazy human being Zoe new, and also, there was a car just sitting out side for anyone to use. But Zoe diddn't cear, he was happy, that was enough.