"I still can't believe that my baby got up in front of those people and did that," Laura said in astonishment. Then she turned around to face Adam in the backseat. "I just wished I could have been there to see it. I have not heard that song in ages."

"He was wonderful! Everyone could not stop talking about it," Jason said from the driver's seat.

"So what are you going to do with your winnings?" Laura asked her youngest son.

"I gave it to Alyssa to help out with the expenses with her trip," Adam replied. He looked down and saw a white streak across his black jeans. Realizing that he must have leaned up against the counter, he quickly brushed the flour residue off of his jeans and straightened up his blue and dark green plaid shirt. He knew that he should wear his dress pants and a tie like his brother, but Adam preferred his jeans.

"That was nice of you, hon," Mrs. Kramer said with a grin. It was nice to see her sons as helping individuals. "She will be just fine, especially with everyone pulling for her."

Adam felt the same way, but that did not do much comfort for the loneliness that had settled in. He would not see Alyssa for a few weeks, but those weeks were going to seem like eternity.

The church service did not do much to help his sense of loneliness. Jason spotted Kara and joined her in the second pew like he sometimes did. Adam could not help but feel a sense of jealously looking at not only Kara and Jason, but all of the other young couples who sat in the church as well. He felt himself daydreaming about what could have been. Alyssa walking to the front of the church to receive communion instead of having to be wheeled to the altar. Alyssa standing as the choir sang "On Eagles Wings", her favorite hymn, instead of being confined to her wheelchair. Alyssa sitting in the pew next to him, instead of having to sit in the specially made handicap section that was built just for her in the 85 year old church. A tear started to form in his eyes as he thought back to the day that she was standing proudly next to the Cherokee that would be their prison. She was so excited about having a car and being able to drive. Adam wanted more than anything to see her walk, stand and drive like a normal person did. Most of all, he wanted to erase that night. It was true that those events had changed his life forever and if given the chance, he would take Alyssa's place in a heartbeat. But all he could do was pray. Pray that the surgery would help and give her the ability to someday walk. That thought alone made him feel a little less lonely.

"Are you okay sweetie?" a voice pierced his thoughts and woke him out of his daze. "Adam?"

"Sorry mom," Adam sighed and took a deep breath. "I am fine." He glanced at his mother, who smiled back at him and then retrained her attention to the priest.

The service continued on, but Adam was having trouble paying attention. Even after church, people would come up to him and his mother and inquire about Alyssa, but Adam could not focus on their words. Everything was a blur around him. Excusing himself to the van after church, Adam went and opened the back door and laid back in the back part of the van. Everyone else gathered in the parish hall for donuts and coffee, but Adam just wanted the world to stop moving around him so he could catch up.

"Hey, Tigger! Your mom said you was down here!" a voice boomed and caused him to almost jumps out of his skin. Adam looked up to see the familiar sight of a heavyset boy with a dress shirt, kacki pants and a donut in hand. He leaned back and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why must you always do that! Good Lord Chuck, one of these days you are going to give me a heart attack!" Adam muttered, covering his eyes with his hands.

"Well, when you get to be an old man, I promise I won't do it then," Chuck replied and plopped down in the van.

"That is if I live to be an old man," Adam mumbled back.

"Boy, someone is being an Oscar this morning!" Chuck said in a mocking tone. "Oscar, the Grouch! Mr. Grumpy!" Chuck then leaned over and lifted up Adam's hands to see his face. Adam shot him a lethal look. "I take that back, you are definitely Grumpy Kramer this morning."

"Thank you for the encouraging words," Adam grumbled. "Don't you have a donut table to raid?"

"Adam, I know that you only said that because you are having Alyssa withdrawal. Being your best friend, I feel that it is my duty to help you out, pick you up and dust you off, be your bridge over troubled water..." Chuck started to ramble before being interrupted.

"Dupe me into helping you with your video," Adam said without moving.

"Well, now that you offered. I was hoping to get that started. I need to get this one footage, but I really don't want to go alone," Chuck said, finishing off his donut and leaning back against the side of the van.

"What is that?" Adam said, peering at him with one eye.

"Oh! So I finally peaked your curiosity!" Chuck mocked his best friend. Adam just stared at him, waiting for an answer. "I need to go back to... you know... that place. If I am going to tape real life in our eyes, I have to go back to where everything changed."

Adam looked at his friend and bit his lip.

"I understand if you don't want to go, I just thought that you might like to go with me and give your thoughts on film about it," Chuck said with a serious tone. "Maybe film me too."

Going back to the sight of the accident was not exactly what Adam wanted to do, but it was better than what he planned to do--- sacking out on the couch. Maybe spending time with Chuck would get his mind off of things.

"Okay, I'm in," Adam said, sitting up.

"You look tired. Why don't you stay here and I will go and tell your mom and see if Jason and Kara want to come. Just meet me over at my car in five," Chuck said as he got up and hurried up the path to the church.

Adam wearily got up and made his way over to the station wagon that belonged to Chuck's parents. Chuck had lost his car when he traded it in for a stolen car not too long ago. Adam and Jason agreed to give him the reward money that they earned from catching some of the leaders of the car ring. However, instead of buying himself a car, he helped his father buy a greatly needed farm truck. In return, his mother gave him the old family station wagon. Still not feeling totally with it, Adam got in the big backseat and stretched out. Drifting into his own world, Adam enjoyed the peace until the sound of two car doors opening woke him up.

"Hey kid! Are you feeling all right? Mom said that you went to sit in the van," Jason said, looking back at his younger brother. "I thought I would join you since Kara is going to a family dinner."

"I am just tired," Adam said as he sat up. But he remained quiet as he listened to Jason and Chuck talk about who was seeing who and what was happening in Emerald Beach. Instead of taking part in the conversation, Adam just resolved to himself. He saw the familiar roads that led to the accident sight and Alyssa's house.

Soon the three boys were standing at the top of the ravine that changed everything. Chuck opened the back of the car up and quickly got his video camera. Adam could hear the wind whistling through the pine trees; the same ones that he tried to avoid that night. He looked down the ravine. He really could not remember much about that night after the Cherokee left the roadway, but the path that they made was still noticeable.

Chuck went to tape the path of the car, commenting as he filmed. Jason just stood there for a moment, lost in his own thoughts. Then he walked over by Adam.

"Are you sure you are up to this? You don't seem to be yourself today," Jason commented in a low voice to his brother.

"I am fine. Just have a lot on my mind, that is all," Adam said as he walked forward. "I can't believe that you can still see the path!"

Jason nodded in agreement. Both boys followed Chuck down the path that led to the final resting-place of the Cherokee. Glass was still embedded in the ground in places along with a small piece of plastic here and there. Once at the bottom, the boys looked silently to the top. It was funny that the one event that had changed their lives the most, was the one that they hardly talked about openly.

"Okay, are you ready Adam? I just wanted to ask you a few questions with the site of the wreck in the background," Chuck asked as he pulled Adam over to a large rock. "Here sit here. I think I see a good shot."

Jason could tell that Adam was uncomfortable, but he knew that Adam wanted to help Chuck with his project. But Jason could not help but want to watch and hear what his brother had to say. It was the one thing that they had never talked about even between each other. The brothers always talked about what happened after the accident, but not the actual accident itself.

"Adam, what do you remember the most about that night when we had the accident?" Chuck asked.

"Honestly, I don't remember much. I just remember there being something wrong with the car, so I took over as the driver to see if I could tell what was wrong. Then everything just happened like we were in a movie. The steering went out and over the side we went," Adam said with a calm voice. "It was dark and it was like we literally dove into darkness."

"Do you remember how you felt that night?" Chuck asked again, still training his camera on the younger Kramer.

Adam paused in silence and turned to glance at the spot where that night they had to cut away metal to get him out of the car. He sighed deeply as he bit his lip again, his hand showing signs of trembling.

"When I first knew that we were in trouble, I remember feeling helpless. Like I had to do something, but nothing seemed to work. I remember hearing you scream in the back that we were going to die and I too felt the same because I knew that it was a long way down. I feared the pain that I knew that I was going to feel and what I was going to see once it was all over," Adam said seriously. Then he stifled a grin. "I can't believe that I thought all of that in just those few seconds. I also thought of my family. I almost pictured them. Dad sitting at his desk, Mom folding laundry and Jason sitting at his computer answering his e-mail. All of that while I was waiting for the end to come. Hard to believe, isn't it?"

He looked over at Chuck, who remained silent and gave him a look of understanding.

"Then I prayed." Adam said, looking up the hill. Silence was the only reply as the cool pacific wind glanced off of their faces and whipped through their hair. It was so peaceful there. Jason looked at his brother, who seemed to be reliving the night. Jason always wondered about what it was like in the car. Picturing it being a frightening time, he dreamed that Adam could recall so much about the events leading up to the accident let alone his thoughts. It made him feel good that his brother thought of his family, especially him. Deep in his thoughts, Jason never even noticed that Chuck had turned the camera to face him.

"What are your thoughts on hearing this?" Chuck asked calmly, not stopping the filming.

"That it is amazing how life plays itself out. One minute everything is perfect and then life deals you a card and you are left wondering how life will ever go on. But it does. Even in the darkest hour, life goes on," Jason replied thoughtfully. Adam smiled back at him with an understanding look in his eyes. "It is in those times that you realize what is really important--- the people that you love."