Brian was in the waiting room of the hospital, a hand pressed to a gash in his head. Kate was in surgery and Brian was waiting for the other to get here. He looked around in a daze, his head throbbing and his heart pounding. All he could think was how his other half was lying on a cold metal table right now, facing life or death.
He looked to the end of the hall, and stood up when he saw Nick appear with his arm around Casey, who was crying into her hands. After that came Kevin and AJ followed by Sara and Howie. When Sara saw Brian she broke away from Howie and ran to him. She threw herself in his arms and he hugged her, not knowing what to do. She was shaking and crying when Howie walked up to her and gently pulled her away.
Kevin came up to Brian and placed both his hands on his shoulders before hugging him. "I'm sorry, Brian," he whispered, before pulling away.
Then Nick and Casey walked up to him and each took turns hugging him. "How is she?" Casey said through choked sobs.
"She's in surgery....they haven't told me anything else...." Brian admitted, and Casey buried her head in Nick's shoulder again.
Kevin took a seat next to Sara and Howie, and Casey sat down so Nick was sitting next to Brian. Nick put his arm around Brian, who was struggling not to lose it again. "Are you okay?" He asked him.
Brian shook his head. "What if.....what if she doesn't make it, Frack....what then?"
"You can't think like that, Bri....Kate's going to be just fine," Nick said. Casey leaned around him to see Brian.
"Can I see her? Is there a viewing room or something?" She asked him.
"No...it's a closed operating room. I already asked. They won't even tell me what's wrong with her."
"Man, how did you even find her?" Howie asked him, and Sara turned to Brian.
Casey and Brian exchanged looks that everyone noticed. "What was that?" Sara asked them, obviously confused. Casey wiped tears from her eyes and stood up. She ran down the hall and turned a corner. Nick stood up and looked to Brian.
"What the hell was that all about?" He asked.
Brian swung his head down to his chest, and from his pocket he pulled a folded sheet of paper. He handed it to Sara, who gave him a confused look as she opened it. Nick ran down the hall to find Casey, and AJ moved to the seat next to Brian.
"What is that?" AJ asked.
Everything was quiet for a minute as they all stared at Sara. Then finally, she dropped the paper to the ground and walked away. Then Howie picked up the paper and handed it to AJ. "How could you have gone without telling anyone? Don't you understand what he could have done to you?" Howie asked, because he had read the paper over Sara's shoulder. Then he too walked away to try and find her.
AJ had read it quickly and handed it to Kevin. "I don't know what to say, Rok....besides that was the stupidest thing you could have done. What if he had been there? You could be dead right now...." AJ stood up. "I need to get some air," he said, and then he walked away. Kevin dropped the letter and followed him.
Brian was left alone again, and he took the letter and placed it in his pocket again. He stood up and walked over to the wall and placed his head on it. With a sob, and sunk down to his knees and cried. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, and without turning around he knew who it was.
Sara bent down to him, and placed his arms around him. He turned so he was facing her. "Brian why did you do that? My best friend may be dying right now....and you could have died, too. What would I have done if I had lost both of you in one day? Do you think I could have lived? I'm sorry I walked away from you Brian, but you have to understand that in all the time I've known you, this is the stupidest thing you could have done."
"Sara I -"
"You don't have to explain, Brian, I know why you did it. But tell me one thing....where did you get that letter from?"
Brian looked in her eyes, and he could see the tears falling down her face had stopped. From behind them, a voice said, "Me."
Sara stood up and came face to face with Casey. Brian stayed kneeling, and buried his face in his hands. A weird expression came on Sara's face. "You?"
Casey nodded. "I'm so sorry, Sar....I couldn't show you the letter before....I promised her. She told me before she told you, but she made me promise on our friendship that I wouldn't say anything."
"The letter....she wrote it when you were in England."
"Yes."
"It was when she was pregnant. Before she told him....before he beat her to a miscarriage."
"Yes."
"Before she told me."
"Please don't be mad at me, Sara...I wanted to tell you so many times, but I couldn't bring myself to go behind her back like that. Sara I love you so much, and I love her so much...please don't hate me."
Sara wiped at her eyes. "How can I hate you, Casey? I don't think it's possible." Casey forced a small smile, and the two best friends hugged eachother.
Then Howie and Nick ran down the hall and stopped beside Casey and Sara. "Where were you? I was getting worried," Nick said, kissing Casey on the cheek. Howie just stood there, not knowing what to say.
AJ and Kevin appeared at the end of the hall, deeply engrossed in a conversation. They reached the waiting room area and took a seat next to eachother. Nick led Casey over to a seat across the room from them, and he kissed her forehead as she cried into his chest. Howie finally kissed Sara lightly on the cheek, and she smiled at him. He got the meaning of her smile and took a seat next to AJ.
Sara bent down to Brian again. "Do you forgive me, Sara?" He asked her.
"There is nothing for me to forgive. I love you, Brian, and I can't be mad at you for this." He hugged her and she helped him up. They turned to see the doctor with a grim look on his face.
Brian pulled away from Sara. "What...what is it? Is she okay?"
"Are you her husband, sir?" The doctor askd him.
"No..I'm...I'm..."
Sara stepped up. "He's her finace. And I'm her best friend."
"In that case, I have some....rather bad news."
Brian closed his eyes in silent prayer. "What is it?"
"Sir can I talk to you in my office?"
"No, say what you have to say here," Nick said, coming up behind him with Casey in his arms.
"Is that okay with you?" The doctor asked Brian. Brian nodded. "As you know, Kate suffered from numerous stab wounds."
"No I didn't know....because you doctors told me jack shit!" Brian screamed. Sara grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"As I was saying, it didn't look good from the beginning. We got her in surgery to remove blood clots stopping blood flow to her brain. Around ten minutes ago she started to crash, and her blood pressure started dropping. To be honest with you, sir, we prepared ourselves for the worst."
"She's....dead?" Casey asked cautiously.
"No, ma'am. She's still in a condition somewhere between stable and unstable."
"So what the hell does that mean? What's wrong with her?" Nick asked.
The doctor cleared his throat and continued. "Ms. Donovan slipped into a coma five minutes ago. There's about a 50 / 50 chance she'll pull out of it....and even if she does there's a strong possibility she'll be left with some impaiments due to lack of blood to the brain. Of course there's also a possiblity she'll awake and be just fine."
Brian stepped back as if he had been punched in the stomach. Casey started shaking her head over and over and Nick looked at the doctor like he was the Devil himself. Sara just stood there, not knowing what to do or say until AJ came up behind her and led her to a seat next to Howie. Kevin walked over to Brian and tried to comfort him, but Brian pulled away.
"Where is she? I want to see her," Brian said to the doctor.
"I don't think that would be wise, Sir..."
"And I frankly I don't give a shit what you think. Where is she?"
The doctor sighed. "She's in room 7456."
Brian ran down the hall, turned a corner, and stopped in front of room 7456. Kevin was on his heels, and he grabbed Brian's shoulder before he barged in. Brian turned to face his cousin.
"Brian...do you remember what they taught us in church?"
"What part?"
"People in comas are deciding wether they want to stay or go. They can hear you, Brian. Make her stay."
Brian thought for a minute, and then nodded. "I remember that. I thought it was weird, you know....people hanging on between life or death. But do you really think she can hear me?"
Kevin nodded. "I think she's waiting for you right now."
Brian smiled, and hugged him. "Thanks, Kev....for always being there. You saved my skin more times that I can count."
"Yeah I know....you owe me big time, little buddy."
Brian cringed, even though they were grownups Kevin insisted on calling him by his childhood nickname. So Brian turned back to the door as Kevin walked away.
Brian took a deep breath and opened it.
