Off the Carousel

In the Now

A/N: A few notes about a couple Good Witch Characters:

Abigail: Cassie's long lost cousin, she has a similiar sense as Cassie and Grace, however, she is a little more self centered than Cassie... (she's not exactly a bad person, just uses her sense in a different way, and sometimes it can be hard to figure out exactly what her intentions are...) She also owns a flower shop in town.

Martha Tinsdale: The Mayor of Middleton, she considers Cassie a close friend. She is a significant and ambitious force in town, and likes to know everything that goes on.

Enjoy!

Meredith woke to poking. "Mom... Mommy..." Zola said, her little finger poke-poking the top of her shoulder.

She sighed, and winced at the pain of her other shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open. She offered her daughter a sleepy smile, "Hey..." she said, "What's up lovebug?"

"Me and Bail are hungry, and there's no more grapes n crackers in your purse."

"Oh..." Meredith wiped sleep from her eyes and blinked. She looked at her watch. it was eight pm. How long had she been out? She didn't remember. She had to pee though, so she walked stiffly to the bathroom.

"Mom?" Zola asked again.

"I know honey" Meredith said from behind the bathroom door. "I'll get you some food, I just have to clean up a little okay?" She flushed the toilet and sood in front of the sink. In the mirror her reflection stared back at her. Pale, with dark circles under her eyes. A nasty stitched up mess at the top of her head that looked like it had been splashed with grape juice. Her shirt collar and sleeves were stained with blood. God... she was a wreck. She turned the taps on and with her good hand she wiped her face with warm water. She was still very tired and sore.

But her kids were hungry and they came first. She came out of the bathroom, startled when Zola was right there, holding up a bundle of clothes. "The lady left these." she said.

Sudden relief filled her. Clean clothes. She sat down on the bed and very carefully undid the velcro straps of her sling, cradling her arm carefully as she did so. In her haste to leave the hospital, she'd forgotten to fill her prescription. She'd just have to bear until morning.

She carefully unbuttoned her shirt and pulled it off, along with her bra. She very carefully put the on the light cotton T-shirt and sweatpants Cassie left her. She left the sling on the bed to air out from all the sweat she'd left on it.

"C'mon guys, let's go find the kitchen." She took Bailey's hand, and led them downstairs.

xxx

No sooner had Cassie settled in the living room, then Abigail bustled in. "Oh, Cassie, is Grace okay? I heard from Derek she was in an accident!"

"She's going to be fine... she'll be in the hospital for a few days and sore for a few weeks, but she's okay."

"Oh thank heavens!" Abby sat down on the couch beside her. "Oh that must've been horrible... just waiting and wondering..."

Cassie reflected on it for a moment, "It was... but I knew Grace would be okay, and she was," she said smiling.

"Well, that's good... let me know if there's anything I can do alright? Maybe I can bring her some flowers."

"I'm sure she'd like that." Cassie replied.

Just then the door opened and Martha bustled in. "Dear Lord Cassie, is Grace all right? I heard-"

Cassie nodded. "Martha, thank you for coming, you shouldn't have- Grace is going to be fine."

"Oh, Brandon sounded so upset when I spoke to him. How could anyone miss that stop sign? Do you know if there'll be charges? What kind of person is that careless?"