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Whoa, is that the time?! he thought as he noticed the time on his watch: 5:30 pm. I haven't had anything to eat all day, maybe I should do something about that. After shutting off the TV he went out to a local chain restaurant and ordered a steak.

As he ate he thought about what he needed to do to about his new situation. I need some furniture, a microwave, food, and a few other things. he thought. When he finished eating he went off to the furniture store, feeling proud of himself for getting his act together.

A couple of hours later he was back. He put away the groceries and collapsed on the sleeping bag he'd used for a bed. Well, that's the grocery shopping taken care of, and the furniture should arrive Monday. Might as well stay home at least until it arrives. I'll get fired for sure if I show up at anything less than 100%. Whatever that's supposed to be. Damn fool is being totally unreasonable about this.

---

George woke in the morning, still dressed, draped awkwardly over his sleeping bag. Huh, must have been more tired than I thought.

A shower and change of clothes later and he was sat in front of the TV, trying to figure out what he'd do with his day. I've got no friends, no family anymore. Can't go back to work until Tuesday, if then. What to do? he thought, staring at the screen. A few minutes later he made up his mind and turned off the television.

His first stop was to get breakfast. From there he headed over to a pool hall he'd seen on his way to work. He hadn't played in years, and he wasn't very good, but he enjoyed the game. The main problem he had was that the place was busy and people kept trying to join him. After the third interruption he went to the bar to get something to calm him down.

The beer did help, and he was fairly polite to the next two people that asked to join him. But they kept coming so when he finished his beer he went back for another. He knew it was a bad idea, but he didn't want to start a fight because he couldn't control his temper, either.

After his fifth trip to the bar things started to get fuzzy. He lost track after that, but the beer was helping less and less with his temper. Then there was yelling, breaking glass, and...

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The first thing George was aware of was the pain. His head hurt worse than anything he'd ever felt. The worst hangover of his college years was nothing by comparison. He groaned and opened his eyes to bright fluorescent lights. Pain stabbed into his brain through his eyes and he hurriedly shut them.

"Finally awake, huh?" someone said nearby. The sound pounded into his brain just as the light had and he groaned again. "Feeling the effects a little?"

"Be nice Erica, he's in a lot of pain." another voice said.

"Serves him right, if you ask me." the first voice grumbled.

George carefully cracked his eyes open a little, wincing at the pain the bright lights caused. He didn't dare open them all the way yet.

"I think he's having a little trouble with the lights." a third voice said.

"Would you turn them off, Mike?" the second voice asked. A moment later the light turned off and he sighed in relief. Cautiously, he opened his eyes little by little until they were all the way open. There was still light coming in from outside the room, but it was bearable. "Is that better Dad?"

"Wha...Sarah?!" he said in surprise. Looking around he saw that her friends and fiance were with her. And he wasn't in his apartment. Smells like disinfectant, must be the hospital. How'd I get here? he thought.

"Hi Dad. How are you feeling?" Sarah said.

"How'd I get here?" he asked, wincing at the noise of his own voice.

"You started a fight in a pool hall." Erica said.

"Actually," Sarah said, shooting a look at Erica, "you didn't start it, according to the police."

George groaned. At least I didn't start it. Considering how my temper has been that's a plus. he thought. "I take it I lost?" he said, gesturing towards the hospital room around him.

"Oh yeah, big time! Apparently there were a lot of people there who were annoyed with you. You're lucky you passed out quick or you might have been seriously hurt." Mike said.

"Why are you here?" George asked, looking questioningly at Sarah. She was the last person he'd expect to come visit him.

"They called Mom and she called me. She was afraid she might lose her temper if she came down here, so she asked me to come. Why were you drinking so much, anyway? You never used to drink much before." Sarah said.

"It helps." is all he said, not wanting to admit how badly out of control his temper had become.

"Helps with what?" she asked innocently. Then she got a strange look on her face and seemed to stare into space for a moment.

"What was that, Sarah?" Erica asked.

"Oh, Vash was just picking something up from Dad. His ability may be waking up a little." Sarah replied.

"You don't mean..." Erica said, clearly unhappy with this news.

Sarah nodded, "Yeah, but he's not aware of it yet. Vash isn't even sure what it is, exactly."

"What are you talking about?" George asked in confusion.

"Don't worry about it right now. I still want to know how the drinking helps." Sarah said.

"It just does, alright? Am I being charged with anything?" George asked, holding one hand to his head as it was still throbbing fiercely.

Mike answered that with a shake of the head, "No, there were plenty of witnesses that said you didn't start it. In fact, it sounds like you didn't really put up a fight at all."

George frowned, that didn't sound like him. Must have been really drunk. he thought. "When can I get out of here?"

"I'll check." Jill said. Mike and Tiffany went with her.

"What's going on with you, Dad?" Sarah asked. He shrugged, but kept his mouth shut. "Come on Dad, you can do better than that!"

"What do you want me to say?!" he growled. "You turn me into a teenage girl for a couple of days, and then your mother kicks me out! My son is gone, replaced by a strange girl with magical powers and now I may lose my job. My life's fucked up, what do you expect?"

Sarah backed slowly away as he ranted, with Erica holding her protectively. "Will you stop that!" she growled right back with her arms wrapped around a shivering Sarah.

Sarah took a deep breath to calm herself, "No, he's got a point. I mean, he did kind of bring it all on himself, but his life has been turned upside down pretty thoroughly. It would be pretty strange if he wasn't upset about it."

"Why are you so forgiving?! I'm a bastard, you should hate me!" George exclaimed angrily.

Erica sighed in frustration, "Haven't we been through this already? That's the way she is, no thanks to you!"

Sarah tilted her head to the side as she looked at him, "What happened to you? You seem different."

"I'm the same I've always been." he grumbled as he looked away from his daughter's inquisitive eyes. What does she see?

Sarah opened her mouth to say something more when her friends walked in. "Looks like you can leave in a couple of hours George." Mike said.

"Good! Now you've checked on me, you can leave." George said.

Again Sarah began to speak, but stopped suddenly with an odd look to her girlfriend. Her expression changed a few times as if they were talking, but neither of them opened their mouths. Finally, Sarah sighed and nodded before turning back to him. "Okay Dad, if that's what you want. Where are you living now?" she asked.

He told her and they left, much to his relief. His head was still pounding like a jackhammer, but when the doctor finally came around to check on him he said he felt fine. After signing some papers and getting dressed he called a cab to take him back to his apartment.

Once safely inside he collapsed on his make-shift bed. What is going on with me? he wondered. Once again, thoughts he didn't want to consider threatened to force their way into his consciousness and he ruthlessly pushed them down. Grimacing at the renewed pounding of his aching head he laid down to think, only to fall asleep a moment later.

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To Be Continued…

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