The One

One week later..

"You don't understand. Right now in her life, Sarah has a ninety-five percent chance of committing suicide."

"That can't be true." I refused to believe this man. He'd only had one conversation with her, my best friend, how dare he judge her so harshly.

"Look at her life," the social worker replied. "Her fiancé beats her up. Not just boyfriend, fiancé." He emphasized with a shake of his head before continuing:

"She lost her baby. She has nothing to live for anymore." He folded his hands in front of him. "Just don't let her be in a room by herself for a few weeks. I've seen it happen hundreds of times before, trust me."

I crunched the tiny paper card between my fingers, hot angry tears stinging my eyes as I watched him rise from his chair and leave the room. At the moment, hating this man I'd talked to for three and a half minutes, I wanted no more than to see him leave.

"Bullshit."

I replayed this morning's conversation in my mind over and over, as if hearing it so many times would erase it dry. Unfortunately, I feared it would be one of the things engrained into the back of my soul for the rest of my days. Which would become shortened myself, I tell you, if my life kept up the pace it's going at right now.

You're just tired, I reminded myself.

Stop talking stupid. You need to be strong for Sarah, you owe her that. Closing my weary eyes, I felt the cool plastic covering of the tablecloth underneath my palms as I ran them over the table's surface. This past week had been hell for me, as it had been for Ike. Every spare millisecond of our free time had been dedicated to Sarah's bedside, talking to her, giving her updates in our lives, just checking up on her. In the few hours of the day we couldn't make it there, her parents filled in.

I felt genuinely sorry for her parents, I'd never seen two people look so helpless before. Yet, at the same time, they turned to us to give her support. Although I'd always gotten along with them, I was surprised when her mother approached me in the hospital hallway, trying to cover up her puffy eyes with a comment about allergies.

"You'll stay with her, won't you Maggie?" I had finally understood how important I was to Sarah, not from her own words but from her mother's eyes as they pleaded with me. Not thinking twice, I nodded my head furtively. Little did I know the responsibility I'd be taking on. At least it felt wonderful to worry about someone else than myself for awhile..

"Long time no see, kiddo." I glanced up at the greeting as she continued, "Funny how life steals your time away."

"Yeah," I admitted to Marj with a half-smile. "If I wasn't living it, I wouldn't believe it."

"Usually works that way. What can get you today?"

"How about a glass of water?" I threw her a half-smile. "I'll wait until my friend gets here before getting anything else."

"Coming right up." She left me alone.

Fortunately, I didn't stay that way for long: I caught sight of Sarah walking past the building to the entrance of the diner. As she passed the window I was seated next to, I inspected her closely. On a positive side, her cuts had healed and her bruises lightened. Not completely gone, but there was no way I'd believe this incident would pass quickly, as it shouldn't. The doctors had realized her from their care, after the social worker's evaluation of her state of mind.

"Hi sweetie," I said softly to her as she took the seat across the table from mine.

"Hi yourself," she replied coolly, taking off the pair of sunglasses that had hidden her eyes. Staring uncomfortably at the table between us, I saw in the corner of my eyes her slow movements in taking off her coat.

"So, how-" I started to ask.

"Don't' ask me how I'm feeling, if that's what you were going to say," she said crossly.

"Believe me," I replied with a tight smile. "I know how annoying that question can get."

"Yeah.." she spoke absently, her gaze shifting out the window. As I continued to stare down at the table, I realized how incredibly stupid it was that I felt this uncomfortable around her.

"Sarah, this is stupid." At the firmness in my voice, she looked at me for the first time since sitting down.

"You're my best friend.. and I have to be honest with you." Once again, tears welled up in my eyes as I continued my confession.

"I go -you've seen me- into classrooms to talk about rape and everything," I paused, swallowing the dry lump that had formed in the back of my throat. "But I just-- sat there and didn't even know it was happening to someone around me. And my best friend, of all people."

"I'm s-sorry," I leaned my elbows on the table and looked her directly in the eyes. "I'm.. so sorry that I was so selfish."

"Maggie," she said softly. Reaching over, she took my hands in hers and squeezed them playfully.

"You're one of the most important people in my life." she started.

"I'm the one who should be sorry.. I never told you. Ike knew a little bit, but not how bad it was." She released one of my hands to place it over her stomach.

"Sarah.." It tore me up inside to see her pain, I realized as my heart tugged against my chest. Glancing up, her eyes met mine.

"No more secrets." I wrapped my empty hand over the top of the one of hers I held. "Zac and I broke up. I.. came from seeing you in the hospital and found him with Mia."

"Mags, I'm so sorry."

"No, don't be." I smiled faintly. "My heart wasn't in it. It wasn't where it should've been, with .. Taylor. And with you."

"Don't beat yourself up." She scolded me, smiling widely. "We both made mistakes."

"Hasn't been the first time," I agreed.

"Hey!, you're one to talk." Sarah replied in a misleading tone.

"I only meant the both of- Oh, I see where you're going with that." It felt wonderful to joke with her again. "At least I haven't made as many mistakes as you."

"You've made more," This was ridiculously wonderful, I realized as all our nervous feelings from earlier were dissolved by our laughter. After a few minutes of giggles, Sarah spoke up:

"You aren't the only one who hasn't been true to your feelings." Glancing at her watch, she added, "Which reminds me. I'm meeting Isaac in a few minutes."

"You love him, don't you." I smiled at the spark of happiness in her eyes.

"Yeah.. I realized that in the hospital. They give you waaayy too much time to think by yourself over there."

"I know the feeling." I laughed. "Well.. by all means, don't let me keep you then."

"On one condition." She gathered her coat in her arms.

"Ok, but only because you're my best friend." I promised.

"And your mine, which is why you need to get this mess with Taylor figured out. It's been dragging on for way too long. I'm surprised you haven't had a nervous breakdown yet."

"Give me a little more time before that happens." I grinned. "I'm sure I could do it."

"I love you Maggie." She stood up, rolling her eyes.

"Love you too.. Now get outta here."

"This was a wonderful idea, Isaac." Sarah said glumly.

Everything's completely perfect.. why can't I be happy? Obvious reasons, she reminded herself, running her hand absently over her now flattened stomach. It reflected perfectly how she felt about the situation: like a deflated balloon, despite her conversation with me earlier. Weeks ago, life had been growing inside of her, and it was the most wonderful feeling. But now.. just emptiness. And it only took ten minutes of emergency C-section surgery for the feeling to be removed. Having not wanted to see the baby, she'd requested to be heavily sedated, but now she couldn't help but wonder if that was a mistake.

The social worker was right: her baby had been the only thing getting her through the rough times with Mark. It had given her purpose, importance, and a swelling sensation of personal pride she had never experienced before. Now, there wasn't anything she had to look forward to in life. Little did she realize how completely skewed her lines of thought were.

"Thanks, I'm glad you came with me." He replied cheerfully.

"It'd be awfully lonely with just me and these five thousand ants." He pointed to the blanket he'd laid on the ground not five minutes earlier. It was now covered with tons of the little insects, scrambling around eagerly in search of food.

"Oh.. Would you mind if we moved somewhere else?" She squinted at Isaac in the bright sunlight before glancing around the park for other possible locations. She found hundreds of possibilities: although it was an incredibly beautiful day, it was nearly deserted. It suited her needs; Sarah had not had the strength for dealing with people the last few days. She couldn't remember how many times she'd snapped at me before now, let alone poor Ike.

"Not a problem, I'm flexible." He replied with the same amount of cheerfulness, picking up the blanket and shaking the ants off of it. Feeling there was nothing she could help with, Sarah stood where she was, watching him with cautious eyes. She couldn't believe the number of times he'd been there for her recently. Evening staying at her parents' house with her, sleeping on the living room couch, just so she hadn't felt alone, or got upset again, or hold her if she started to cry again..

It's very sweet, but why's he doing it all? She wondered, watching his frame bent over to fold the blanket.

"Ok.. where to?" She asked.

"Wherever you'd like."

"Hmph.." She thought for a moment, then flashed a resemblance of a smile. "Let's go to the sandbox."

"Picnic at the beach?" He laughed.

"Something like that." She picked up the picnic basket he'd packed for them and headed over to the children's playground.

"Sounds good. Here, let me take it." He reached for the basket.

"It's fine!" She snapped, tugging it away from him. "I'm not helpless, at least let me carry the damn thing."

"I-I'm sorry." He stuttered nervously, releasing his hand from the basket's handle. They continued walking in silence.

"Isaac, I'm sorry." She said quietly a few minutes later. "I didn't mean it."

"That's all right." he replied, his voice bouncing back up to a cheerful level.

"I don't get you." She said as they reached the sandbox. She set their lunch down in the grass as he spread out the blanket and motioned for her to sit down.

"What don't you get?" He smiled at her choice of words.

"Why are you doing all this for me?" She asked bluntly, sitting down next to him. She kicked off her sandals and buried her toes in the sand, something she always loved to do, feel the warm grains pushed through her toes. But today, the area was in the shadows of nearby trees, so it felt like cold clay against her skin.

Uck, she thought absently.

"Because I care.." He said, slightly confused. "It's such a nice day, I thought you could use a little sunshine."

"Why have you been so nice to me?"

"You're my friend." He sounded even more confused. "Right?"

"Of course. Are you just feeling sorry for me again?"

"No!" He replied quickly, not wanting to upset her again about that subject. They'd already had at least a half-dozen arguments of her worried he was pitying her.

"Good. Because you shouldn't." He examined her face for a few seconds, her eyes half-closed, gazing off somewhere, and lips pursed in a frown. For the hundredth time, he wished he knew what she was thinking. The way the wind blew wisps of hair against her cheek was driving him crazy, so he reached out and brushed them behind her ear. She opened her eyes and glanced at him.

"I don't." He didn't know how many times he had to reassure her he didn't. "If I did, I'd have justifiable reasons to be though."

"What?" She glared at him quickly.

"Oh, come on. Admit it already. I haven't seen you the least bit upset about what happened.. to Emily."

"How dare you mention that name in front of me, Isaac Hanson, you-" She stopped in mid-sentence, pointing her index finger at him. Her words frozen, his heart tugged in his chest as tears welled up in her eyes. It was finally hitting her.

"Oh, God." She whispered, closing her eyes. Seeing her shoulders trembling, Ike pulled into a hug.

"My baby.. my baby's gone." She kept whispering. She buried her head in his chest and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.

"My beautiful baby." Her words were dissolved by the sobs that escaped from her lips.

"Shh.. it's ok." This was the moment he'd been waiting for ever since the day he'd drove her home from the hospital. What made him stay by her side constantly: when she finally broke down, he wanted to be the one who comforted her. He wanted to hold her, as he sat now, rocking back and forth slightly to calm her. When her sobs had subsided, he pulled her away slightly so she could look at his face. The sight of her tear-stained cheeks reinforced his decision.

"Sarah, I firmly believe things happen for a reason." He said, staring deeply into her eyes. "You're going to be a wonderful mother some day. But not with Mark. You lost Emily because she wasn't ready to come into your life yet."

"Is that really how you see it?" She asked doubtfully, sniffling a little. He nodded before continuing:

"But you can do it again. And I want to help you make it right the next time."

"Isaac.." Sarah was stunned, frozen on the spot with amazement.

"What.. what are you saying? Why-" She stopped when he started humming a familiar tune. After the first opening notes, her mouth spread into a smile and a fresh set of tears, the purest form of happiness from inside her since the longest time, blurred her vision. Besides putting his heart into it, Ike opened his feelings of frustration and anxiety. She recognized it as her favorite song, "The One:"

There you are, proud and free

Reaching out like you're needing me

A helping hand, to make it right

I am holding you all through the night

I'll be the one (I'll be the one)

Who will make all your sorrows undone

I'll be the light (I'll be the light)

When you feel like there's nowhere to run

I'll be the one

We can share our dreams coming true.. *

As her mouth slowly followed the words, memories of who she was flashed through her head. Just one short year ago, she was still in high school, looking forward to her senior year. 'Going out with a bang' had been our class motto since freshmen year. She'd just set up an interview with the local beauty college and Mark had promised to take her to the Homecoming ball..

I was so happy then, so innocent, it almost made her laugh bitterly. Never before until now had she longed dearly to go back to those simpler days, yet now she had a chance unfolding right before her eyes.

"I can't believe how nervous I am about this," Isaac muttered, interrupting her thoughts by running his shaking hands through his hair before taking hers. Although he held them tightly, she felt his fingertips trembling.

"I love you Sarah."

"I love you too, Isaac." She looked at him with more confusion flooding her eyes. Although she knew with her heart her feelings for him were true, she didn't understand where he was going with all this.

"I don't want to worry about you being unsafe anymore.. I want you to be with me. I-I.. I want you to have my children some day." He rambled uncontrollably.

"I want you to marry me."

"Isaac." Her hand immediately flew to her mouth in surprise. She looked deeply into his tormented brown eyes, seeing his anxiousness, but also a desire that burned for her, one that made him want to wrap himself around her world and make sure nothing ever hurt her ever again. In all these years, she'd have never imagined it was there.

If only I'd looked deeper sooner. A calm feeling traveled through her body, relaxing the muscles in her body that'd been tense all week. The quickened beat of her heart reassured her decision.

"Of course."

"Then, I believe this is yours." She gasped as he presented her engagement ring in front of her.

"My ring," she whispered inaudibly. "How did you find this?"

"Surprise." Sarah smiled at his response.

"Sarah- I can't tell you-" he started to say, but she interrupted him by placing her hand gently over his lips. Her eyes never left his.

"Shh.. Aren't you going to kiss me yet?" She asked, smiling widely.

"I've waited far too long to do this." He agreed, leaning forward, and gently placed his lips against hers.

(* Musical credits go to the Backstreet Boys)