They bust in through the hospital doors, Brandon on a stretcher with Beth on one side of him and Brian on the other side. Doctors and nurses rushed around him and Brian's quick steps slowed, but Beth refused to be pried away. Halting only when a firm hand grabbed her arm, she let out a panicking mewl, her eyes desperately following the moving stretcher. The further he got, the more she struggled for freedom. Someone was barking out orders. More people in white ran towards him. Patients looked on with worry. Anxiety blanketed the air."What is happening to that young man, Beatrice?" An old man on a wheelchair croaked out, looking up at his caretaker.A cry left Beth's mouth. She had to get to Brandon. She needed to get to Brandon. In the ambulance, he had mumbled one word over and over again. Her name. Recalling how he'd sounded weaker and weaker each time, her franticness renewed with a vigor. She trembled badly. So much blood. There was so much blood. She watched his bed disappear be

Seeing his body littered with bruises and looking so pale and delicate, with different machines and tubes connected to him, all beeping and puffing, her tears couldn't be stopped then. A leg was suspended up in the air with a bandage wrapped around his ankle, almost all the visible parts of him bore scrapes and wounds, some more colourful than others, and his face carried ugly purple and pink bruises, all which stood out again his pale pallor. Just before the nurse could leave, Beth turned and asked,"What's the extent of the damage?""He has two broken ribs, one fractured rib, thankfully none punctured a lung, a fractured ankle and mild bruising on his temple. The rest are just scrapes, cuts and light bruises, nothing to worry about.""And his heart?" "Has been stabilized and is responding well," the nurse answered with a nod."How about the puncture in his side? What was it from? Do you know?""A large glass shard had embedded itself in his side, missing any major organ by mere ce

Hours turned to yet another day...Days melted into a week...Still, Brandon remained in a coma. Dealing with her nightmares became harder with passing each day. Everyday, bright and early, she would turn up at the hospital, only to be forced to return home at the end of the day, forlorn and downcast. On some days, when the hospital took pity on her, they let her stay, but even on those days, the familiar ache in her chest worsened. Pure sorrow. She sat on the chair beside his bed, staring at Brandon's face. For days, she had mulled over it... For days she had questioned it. For days she had wept over it. For days, it had tormented her. She knew she had to do it, she knew it, but how? How? Pulling herself up, she let her gaze drop to the floor and headed out the room. Her body cried with exhaustion. Her head ached. Her shoulders had a permanent slouch with the weight of the choice she had no choice but to make, and all of the pain, all of the weariness, all of the torment, she let

New York traffic was no joke. In Beth's opinion, conquering it deserved a medal. As they cruised through it, proving right the term 'slow and steady wins the race,' the tension reduced and reduced until it finally died. A few minutes later, Beth chuckled. Byron sent her a glance."Your left and right hooks are pretty mean."He smirked then. "One of the essentials to being on the football team."She just laughed and shook her head and he sported a smile of his own. As they pushed through the traffic, Byron kept glancing at her."Are you okay?" He finally asked.The atmosphere was easy and light. She pulled in a deep breath, peeked at him and let it out. "I'm okay.""I understand why you're leaving."Her easy smile fell. "What?""I understand why--""You didn't say why I want to leave."He shook his head."Why?""I know you don't want to leave.""I'm only doing this because--""The pattern. I know, sweetheart." He reached out and took her hand. "I know."She stared at him a while longe

After a full course meal at a small restaurant just down the road where the staff had been just too overjoyed to attend to the Steven Michaels, they had then gotten some ice cream and began back to the hospital. "Ten out of ten meal?" Beth nodded almost instantly, a wide smile on her face. "Ten out of ten meal."As soon as they stepped through the hospital doors, Steven spotted Rosco walking down the hall looking curious, and lifted a hand to attract his attention. Rosco caught sight of them and began towards them. Returning Mia's wave and ruffling Mordecai's hair, he took one look at Beth and tilted his head to the side."Hm. Steven goes missing, turns up with you almost an hour later and you have a huge smile on your face." He playfully narrowed his eyes. "What did you do?""I had burgers," Beth reported, raising her head with satisfaction.His brows shot up. "Burgers? You're this happy because of burgers?"She nodded enthusiastically, wide smile never falling. With a small, f