As Ashley walked into the fairly large room that failed to lack natural light, she wondered for a second what she would be doing at that moment if Dave was in a more threatening situation. But that unnecessary thought of hers did not last long enough to find a response, because as soon as she saw him, the ultimate feeling of relief rushed through her.

Dave's eyes were closed in a way that made him look serious yet peaceful. As she watched the calm rise and fall of his chest, her feet still walking toward his bed, Ashley wondered why he was awake just barely hours after his accident.

"Hey you," she whispered to him as she took a seat on the little space left on his bed. Reaching out, she traced the side of his face, a small smile settling on her lips.

"Hey," Dave's response was almost inaudible. Slowly, Dave opened his eyes and the twinkles they wore made Ashley break out a bigger smile.

"Aren't you meant to be sleeping?"

"I heard you were around and made sure to stay awake," Dave replied.

Ashley was loving how they whispered their words. It was as though they were telling each other secrets. Secrets that the hospital walls shouldn't hear.

"You should rest," she said.

"I will, now that you are here." Ashley pulled back a bit and reached for his free hand. As she played with his fingers as though they were a long-lost toy. "Ashley?" he called.

"Yes, Dave Scott?"

After her response, she recalled the time he pointed out that the way she said his full name did things to him.

"I am glad you are here."

Bringing his hand to her lips, she whispered, "I am glad you are okay. I am glad that you did not leave me."

"I couldn't..." Dave's eyes drew back as though he was trying to fight sleep. After opening his eyes wider, he managed to adjust his position without pressuring his slung arm. "During the crash, I did not think about the fact that I was close to death. The fact that death wanted to take me away from something good that I found after years of misery made me so angry that I refused to give in."

"Shh... You should be resting. You are talking too much."

He ignored her statement. "When I was strolled into this place, I kept thinking about you, Ashley. And now that you are finally here, I am so glad. Now, I can sleep without worry."

Mindful of his slung arm, with her entire soul yearning for the man some more, Ashley leaned closer and gave him a short kiss. Then she began to ruffle his hair, and she said, "You should really rest."

Dave nodded to her words and laid back, his eyes shutting.

"I have to confess though..." His eyes snapped open again and stared right into hers. "I was a bit scared."

"Anyone would be."

"I was scared because of my father."

"Your father?"

"Yes," his head tilted to the left, "my father."

Ashley was confused. "But your father is no more. Right?" That was the deduction she made when he spoke about his father at the beach house.

Dave sighed tiredly. "He is actually alive."

Ashley found herself a bit shocked that she pulled back to properly process his words. "Dave," she chuckled at what she was about to ask, "are you hallucinating?"

"You are real, right?" Ashley nodded. "Then, I am not hallucinating."

"So, your father is alive."

"Yes," Dave groaned, his hand clutching the side of his stomach.

"What? What is wrong?"

"I need to leave this place, hospitals make me sick." He made to get up but Ashley pinned him down gently.

"Don't be silly now Dave, you have hardly rested. How do you expect to feel better if you run away from the hospital like a thief?" Dave opened his mouth to reply, but he decided against it and laid down, his eyes watching Ashley with weariness in their orbs. "Well," Ashley continued when she was sure he did not look like he was going to run away, "since you won't listen to me and rest, how about you tell me about your father."

Dave sighed again. The topic seemed to be like a heavy stone in his soul.

"What do I say?"

"You don't have to give a response if this is too much for you."

"No, it is fine." From the corner of his eyes, he observed her. His lips kept parting and closing, showing how reluctant he was to talk. But he eventually said something. "Are you sure I can't leave?" Ashley glared at him. "Okay." He surrendered into the bed.

"You really don't have to say anything, Dave."

"Well, when I was thirteen, my parents were in a car crash. My mother died, but my father did not." There was a brief silence pregnant with approaching sorrow. "Neither did I."

"You were in the car..." Ashely's brows knitted with distress as she pictured the devastation that would have happened that day.

"I was meant to die in that accident."

"Don't say that."

"It is actually true. We were on our way home from a charity event when my parents started fighting. And that, of course, was my father's fault. He was busy flirting shamelessly in front of her at the event.

When my mom couldn't take his irritating excuses anymore, she told me to come to the front so that she could sit at the back to blow off some steam. We had already swapped and I was about to settle in the front seat when..." Dave drew another deep breath.

Ashley reached for his hand and held it tight.

"It happened so fast, Ashley. There was this huge trailer, it derailed and headed straight for our car. My mother had almost entered the car, and my dad was sitting comfortably but I had taken a second to study some ants I saw on the ground. The next thing I knew, there were screams, cries and sounds of screeching tires. The trailer rammed into the car with so much force, my mother... she... didn't make it. The trailer had a lot of impact on the back seat."

The tears in his eyes made Ashley's heart break. "Dave... " She did not want him to continue. She did not want him to relive such a heavy memory.

"My father also got hit, but he survived somehow and I was tossed in another direction, it took me minutes to recover. When I did, I got up to a totally ruined car and a scream which I am sure came from me. My heart broke, damn, my heart broke when I realised that there was no way to save them. I just fell onto the ground and cried.

It was later on that they found out my father was surprisingly still alive. At first, I was glad, but when I saw my mother's body being carted away, I hated my father instantly. Since then, I have hated him. I swore to never forgive him."

"I... I am..." She did not want to say sorry. That word did not do that moment justice. So, she kept quiet and silently watched him as he gathered his thoughts while her hand caressed his own lovingly.

Dave wiped away the tears that were rolling down freely. With his jaws locked, he looked up at the ceiling. "Today, during the accident, I remembered my father and how callous I have been when it comes to him. I keep ignoring him and denying his existence." Dave faced Ashley. "I am a hypocrite, you know? The other day I was telling you to forgive your mother when I have not found it in me to forgive my father after so long."

"You have been angry for a long time."

"Yes. But, not anymore. The little time I have spent with you has taught me a lot and I have realised that instead of hating my father when he is still alive, I should just accept what happened and try to look beyond the fact that he is the reason my mother is dead. I know my mother would want me to forgive him because she loved him regardless."

"That is good, Dave." Patting his hand, Ashley wondered if she had been so engrossed in Dave's playfulness that she failed to notice the side of Dave that held tons of sadness and bad memories.

"I was scared during the crash because I thought I was going to leave this world without meeting my dad once more to tell him I miss him and that I love him."

Ashley planted a kiss on his forehead. "I am sure your father will be glad to see you again."

"Yeah." He was beginning to sound sleepy, and that gladdened the woman who wished that he would rest. "Ashley, will you like to accompany me to see my father?"

"Gladly." Her thumb rubbed through his temple. "Now go to sleep."

Dave exhaled. "Yes ma'am."

"If you say one more word, I will have to get you sedated." Ashley was amused at how bossy she sounded. "I wonder why you weren't sedated initially," she pondered loudly.

"The nurses probably got carried away when they saw my fine face."

Gasping at first at his cockiness and at the fact that he was still not trying to sleep, Ashley made to glare at him. But when she noticed that the heaviness in his eyes had disappeared, her expression softened.

"Just go to sleep," she whispered. She began stroking his hair, and when she saw the little smirk of satisfaction on his lips, she smiled and became more relaxed.