"I woke up in my boots this morning, fell asleep in my boots last night, had a feeling that I'd run out of warnings. Girl, I couldn't have been more right

And, I knew I wouldn't have to take the time putting 'em back on when I'm sober. Yeah, I knew you'd be pissed off over me and I'd just be hungover. Girl, I knew I'd open my eyes I n a house fit for a dog. Knew I'd need 'em come the daylight so I didn't even take 'em off naw...

I woke up in my boots this morning..."

Michael belts out in the booth, his hands wringing together while he shifts his weight from foot to foot. He wrote this song a few days after Liz left for Plano and finally got around to finishing it when his brain was able to think about something other than that heart broken look she gave him.

Morgan helped him out with the words, let him bounce his ideas off of him but Michael did most of the heavy lifting.

"Man, that's a great song." He says, taking a sip of the coffee in his hand. Michael shuts the door to the booth behind him and picks up a bottle of water. "How're things goin' with her?"

"Back to normal, I guess." He shrugs. "She's still kind of upset but I mean, I get it." He sighs as he sits on the leather couch. "It's just nice to have her home with me."

"I bet." He smiles, sitting next to him. "Y'all're my favorite."

"She's pretty great. Especially for comin' back after what I did. I have no idea how the hell she forgave me."

"Me neither." Morgan nods before he turns and his face gets dark and serious. "If you ever hurt that girl again, I will kick your ass to the goddamn moon, got it?"

Michael nods and swallows hard. His best friend just threatened him but he definitely deserved it. "Got it."

He pulls back and kicks his foot over his knee, one hand around his empty coffee cup and the other on the back of the couch. "Remember what I said about bustin' your ass to keep her? Now, you gotta work ten times as hard. You broke her trust and her heart, you gotta get that trust back. She won't forgive that easy if you fuck up agin."

"Morgan, there isn't gonna be an again."

"Better not be."

+++

"Hey." Liz whispers, her hand rubbing across Michael's bare shoulders. "You up?"

He hums back, taking a deep breath in. "Huh?"

"You awake?" He nods, half asleep. "Michael..." Her hand goes to his chest then down to his hip. He hums again, his eyebrows raising as he stirs. "Wake up." Liz pulls on his shoulder and turns him on his back, sliding onto his lap.

He finally opens his eyes and smiles sleepily at her, tucking his arms behind his head. "Mornin'." He smirks, rubbing his eyes. "Whatcha up to, baby?" She just starts pressing soft kisses to his neck and down his chest. "Liz..."

"Shh." She presses her fingertips to his lips as she sinks herself down on his length.

He moans sharply, gripping her hips tightly. "Shit." Liz's cell starts going off but she just ignores it, her long dark hair cascading down her inked back while she rocks her hips.

Her cell starts ringing again and she whines as he stops. Liz picks it up, running her hand through her hair as she answers it, leaning forward against Michael, chest to chest.

"Yeah."

"Liz, it's Rhett."

"Rhett? What's up?"

"It's Mamaw, she's in the hospital."

Liz freezes, her face dropping as she sits back, "What?" Michael sits up, reading her face. "Holy shit."

"Just- Just get here as soon as you can. I gotta go."

She hangs up then looks at Michael with tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I gotta get to Plano like right now." She says shakily as she climbs off of him.

"Want me to come with?" Michael knows that she's still kind of standoffish with him but it's family. He wants to be there for her to help resolidify their relationship.

"Yes please." She nods, pulling her clothes back on. "C'mon, we gotta hurry." She says, throwing his clothes at him. "C'mon!"

Michael nods, standing while Liz packs a bag with random shirts and bottoms. The tosses the bag at him so she can grab her purse and keys then she races down the steps to her car, Michael right behind her.

+++

The Land Cruiser is barely parked when Liz leaps out of her SUV. She bolts up the driveway of her childhood home and swings the door open. "Lyn? Rhett?"

"Kitchen." Lyn's voice responds weakly. Michael's there with her as they head to the heart of the house.

"Where's- How's Mamaw? What happened?"

"Her and Papaw were at the store and she collapsed." Rhett answers for his wife when he hears her sniffle. He rubs her back as she looks away from them.

"Oh my god." Liz whispers, sitting across from her twin at the table, Michael right there next to her. "What- what happened?"

"She had a stroke." Lyn whispers. "Good thing Papaw was with her. Daddy said she tried to go by herself."

"Are they with her?" Lyn nods. "When can we see 'em?"

"Few days." Lyn takes a deep breath in. "We've been stayin' here."

"We're stayin' too." Michael says, giving Liz's shoulder a squeeze. She leans into his touch and looks down.

The foursome sit in a painful silence for a bit, not knowing what the hell to do now. Michael is worried as hell for his girlfriend and his girlfriend's family but he's glad he's with her.

Who knows what would happen to her if she was alone?

+++

Michael has his elbows on his knees while he bounces his leg. He was told to sit outside of the hospital room on the bench since he's not family and he's okay with it. Liz's family needs to be together so he's fine with giving them privacy. He looks up when the door opens.

Liz stands in front of him with tears in her eyes. "What?" He asks, standing.

She says nothing as she collapses against him, her face buried against his shoulder while his arms are tight around her. Liz pulls back and silently heads down the hallway. "Babe?"

Rhett comes out next to tell him the news. His heart drops. Mamaw didn't make it. Along with a stroke, she unknowingly had a pulmonary embolism. She just thought it was age and years of smoking that caused her to struggle to breathe. The stroke hurt her lungs and put an extraordinary amount of stress on her brain that it just shut down.

Michael glances down the hallway, Liz is no longer in sight. He pats Rhett's shoulder then goes to find his girlfriend.

+++

Michael sighs heavily as he drops Liz's keys on the kitchen counter. He spent the entire afternoon into the early evening looking for Liz but hasn't been able to find her. Rhett is taking care of Lyn so it's just him, alone, in the house.

It feels eerie.

He kicks his flip flops off and heads to the room he and Liz are staying in. He freezes when he sees his girlfriend leaning against the foot of the bed with a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of whiskey on the floor next to her.

He says nothing as he sits next to her, his hand resting on her thigh. He catches a glimpse of her tear stained cheeks while she takes a deep drag of her cigarette. His sight shifts to the full ashtray next to her half empty pack. He picks up the bottle of whiskey and takes a swallow.

"Motherless once again." She mutters bitterly.

"Babe..."

"There was nothin' I could do to help, again."

"Baby..."

"This sucks, Michael." Her voice cracks as she stubs out her cigarette. "Fuckin' sucks!" She throws her pack of cigarettes at the wall and huffs.

"Hey." He wraps his arm around her shoulders and pulls her close. She fights against him, smacking against his chest and arms as she starts to cry. "Hey, hey, hey!"

"Don't touch me." She snaps, shoving him back. "Don't fuckin' touch me!" She gets to her feet.

The last time she experienced this pain was when Dylan died.

She still thinks it's her fault.

"Elizabeth-" She clenches her jaw as she stumbles to the door, her hand tight around the bottle of Jack. "Where are you goin'?"

"None of your goddamn business."