*Trisha*

Once Nate is wheeled out the room for his x-ray, my eyes turn to the man next to Julia. He's a good-looking kid. Ok... he's more than just a good-looking kid. He's downright hot. Too hot to be here and not a model in Europe somewhere. Tall and fit like Nate with dark hair and eyes. Clean shaven with glasses. He's dressed in a tie but wears sneakers instead of more formal wear. He looks young.

"Who the hell are you, hottie?" I ask the man reading Julia's chart.

"You realize you are the female version of Nate, right? You'll flirt with a houseplant if it's pretty." Jonah rolls his eyes.

"So you agree he's pretty." I throw back, and Jonah shakes his head and lays back down in his recliner. Paul already fell back asleep in the chair. Julia's a crying mess. But for good reason this time. We've all been through a lot.

The kid turns around to introduce himself.

"Oh, hey. I'm Dr. Donovan. Jeremy. I'm a psychiatrist from The Avalon. Julia's my patient."

"Well sign me right the fuck up if they all look like you." I raise an eyebrow. "Trisha Banks. Nate's personal assistant. I was in the car with..." I choke up. Oh my God, I can't even bring myself to say his name suddenly. My flirty demeanor drops, and I look away from everyone.

"Mr. Gallo. James. It's ok. You've all been through the ringer today." Jeremy nods understanding why we all seem to be emotional messes.

"Have you heard anything from his doctors??"

"I'm sorry. He's not my patient so I don't have any information. But I'm sure someone will come down to update you all on any news." He puts down Julia's file and takes her hand. I can't ever recall a time a doctor has held my hand while talking to me, so I find this behavior a little...odd. Then again, I have a fucking concussion so I should probably see birds flying in circles over my head right about now.

"Do you want me to see if I can have the doctor on call lower your Ativan dose for you? You're on a lot. On top of the Morphine drip."

I hear his words but look at Julia who is still so distraught even on all the medications. I don't think this kid should really be lowering any doses of anything just yet. She really is a mess. It's like he can read my mind though. The doctor studies Julia for a moment and then sighs.

"Maybe not yet. Hey. I'll go try and track down a doctor to see if anyone can give me information on your friend, ok?" Dr. Donovan lets go of Julia's hand when he sees her nod and leaves the room.

Because Julia's leg is in the sling and she's so beaten up from the impact, she can't turn and lay on her side or curl up like she wants to when she shuts down. So while she cries, she puts the pillow over her face to cover her. She sobs into the pillow, and part of me wants to hug the poor thing, but another part of me wants to slap her upside the head.

The whole reason we are in the predicament is because of her and Nate. If they only answered their phones, me and James wouldn't have been worried sick about them. James wouldn't have driven while being so sleep deprived. He wouldn't have run the red light. None of this would have happened and I'm mad. I'm furious.

Because if that man downstairs dies, I don't know if I can forgive Julia.

*****

*James*

It's weird how, one moment, I feel like I'm at the beach with my son, and then the next moment, I hear things around me. Things like people talking and monitors beeping. When I'm with Carter, I feel no pain. Not at all. But once I get back in the black, my entire body hurts.

I'm in the black right now and it hurts so bad. But I don't want to leave yet. I can hear things around me. I can hear my mom's voice. She's in destress. Katie is trying to calm her down, but whatever is happening, it's not working for mom. Not at all. She's crying so much that I think she's no longer holding my hand.

I don't hear Katie's voice anymore. She took Ma away to calm her down, didn't she? I can hear other people talking. Explaining things. Seizures. Surgeries. Swelling in the brain. As the person says stuff, I can clearly hear Gwen's cry. Her cries are a little higher in pitch than the rest of my sisters. When she cries, it goes right through me, and I would always tease her about it. But hearing her cry now... just knowing she's even here somewhere, brings me comfort.

I can't make out who else is in the room but know someone else is holding my hand now. Their hand is shaking in mine while they cry. I can't tell if it's Ashley or Jennie. I know it's not Kendall because she always wears rings on her fingers, and I don't feel any rings.

The pain is starting to get worse. I can feel my tears start to fall, though I can't open my eyes. I'm having trouble breathing, and my head is throbbing. It's too much to handle. I can't take this pain. It's too much!!!

I hear chaos and cries, and the next thing I know, I'm back watching Carter on the beach. It's so warm, and I feel no pain again. My son looks up from his sandcastle to me and smiles at me. I'm glad to be back.

*****
"I'm probably the last one on Earth you want to hear from right now, huh?" Nate's voice fills my existence now.

"Buddy, I'm so sorry. For everything. You don't deserve any of this. Not one fucking bit of it. You're one of the good ones. This shit should happen to the bad guys, not you. I know I've been an asshole to you from day one. And if you pull through, I'll probably still be an asshole to you. But you NEED to pull through, mate. Julia can't handle losing you. She's a mess. She needs you more than ever right now. Damnit James, you can't leave her!"

Julia. I was so caught up seeing Carter, I forgot about Julia.

"She loves you. You need to fight, ok? I know you have it in you. I know it's fucking hard, but you need to pull through and wake up and be healthy again. Don't give up, ok?" Nate cries. "Please, don't give up."

I'm trying, Nate. I'm trying to wake up. I'm trying to get back to her. I don't know which way to go.

All the tunnels look the same. So, until I know which one to go through, I stay where I am and watch Carter playing in the sand. It's the only time I'm happy and not in pain.