PAIRING: Lilah/Lindsey
SPOILERS: None
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them… yadda, yadda
NOTES: To Beth- I love you honey :) Thanks for the beta :) This one is also my first pre-show.

Seeing the ambulance take her mother away to the psychiatric hospital had to be the most traumatic experience of Lilah's twenty-five years of life thus far. OK- second, most possibly in comparison to the forthcoming conversation. Emily, was not only fifteen and a typical teenager, she was a typical Morgan also which made her stubborn to say the least. For the first time in years Lilah felt guilty. She could've made more of an effort to stay in contact but Berkeley had always been her dream. So seven years ago she ran and seized the moment. She was always seizing the moment nowadays. Granted, she hadn't spoken to her family, or seen them in years so today was understandably a bit of a shock. Lindsey had always said those were the two things he liked best about her. That she seized… moments, that she coped under pressure when so many would crumble.

Lindsey put a supportive arm around her shoulders and squeezed, kissing her cheek. This was rare. They were together, for over a year now. Lilah couldn't quite place the definition of 'together.' They cared about each other enough that was true, but there had been no definition so far, no words that began with 'L' had been uttered during anything. But he was here now. He'd driven eight hours into Nevada, out into the middle of freaking nowhere and he was still with her despite her crazy family.

"I saw Emily go up into the tree house." He said in her ear. "You want me to go up and get her down?"

"No." she tensed under his touch, why was he doing this? Why was he being so… nice?

"It's high up."

"And when I was a kid I used to climb up there all the time. I still remember how." She shrugged him off and began to ascend the tree, hauling herself into the makeshift wooden platform and tin roof she'd constructed herself aged eight.

Emily was huddled up in the corner, rocking back and forth. For a moment Lilah almost saw herself in her sister, aged nine and huddled up here to avoid her parent's vicious rows. It hadn't worked. She'd never really escaped.

"Hey." Lilah gave a weak smile. "Mind if I sit down?"

"It’s your tree house." Emily said, her voice muffled by her knees.

"So I guess we should talk." Lilah said, grimacing at the dirt encrusted floor as she put her hand onto it.

"I guess we should."

"So…"

"So-" Emily mocked her sister's tone.

"Don't attack me."

"Why not? I haven't seen you since I was seven; I've had to look after mum all this time, all alone. And now you swan back in and think you can just *fix* things? Mum always said you were never good enough anyway."

Lilah chose to ignore her sister's outburst. On some level she'd always known she'd never been good enough. Applying for Yale and ending up at Berkeley was hardly something you bragged to your friends about.

"You can come and stay with us." Lilah said, thinking back to the rat trap studio she was sharing with Lindsey currently. They were sleeping on a futon, mostly sans clothing for obvious reasons of course and they had no money and she hadn't asked him for his opinion. But on some level it made sense. There were no surges of protective, motherly or at least family style love though. Maybe she wasn't good enough for that either.

Emily laughed. "Mum told me about your apartment. She heard you have an actual rat."

"We do." Lilah admitted.

"It's OK. I called Aunt Elizabeth in Montana."

"Why? You don't even know her!"

"It's better than staying with you. If you weren't good enough for mum what makes you think you're good enough for me?" Emily got up and angrily climbed down from the tree house, racing away across the lawn. Seconds later, Lindsey appeared in the tree house. He looked at Lilah for a moment, not quite knowing what to say.

"Lilah?"

"She's… going to Montana."

"Pity. Figured it'd be fun, or at least good practice to try out the parental love thing with you."

She turned top stare at him, her eyes murderous. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Good. I hope I didn't hear what I think I heard. I don't know what makes you think you're good enough for me."

"Lilah-" he tried to soothe, his throat suddenly tight with fear.

"Its called hierarchy, Linds. Look it up. I know they don't have paper, or pens or even reading material in Okie but you're playing with the big guns now," she sniped, beginning to pace.

"Don't-"

"It's over."

"Why are you saying this?" he asked, confused.

"Because I can." She stared at him, her insides shredding.

"I'll wait in the car. Give you time to think." He told her, leaving her alone.

Lilah curled up in a ball on the floor of the tree house and started sobbing, realising she's never be good enough. He was too good for her, he was a hero. There was no getting around that. There was no getting around they were different people from different backgrounds. And she'd just have to face that- alone.