CHAPTER 1:

Disclaimer: I Do Not own South of Nowhere or the characters.

3rd Party Perspective:

Ashley Davies' eyes gently fluttered open, and closed almost immediately due to the bright lights surrounding her. She slowly opened her eyes again, letting them adjust to the light.

She was in a hospital room with bright white and light green walls. There was a large window to her right, and an open door leading out to the rest of the hospital to her left. There was a tv hung in the upper corner of the room but it was not turned on. To the right of her bed was a small night stand with two drawers. On top was a telephone and the remote to the television. In the left corner of the room near the door was a small bathroom from what Ashley could tell from her location in her bed.

Ashley tried to sit up, but felt a sudden sharp pain shoot all through out her body. She looked to the left side of the bed, finding the nurses call button next to the buttons that moved the bed up and down. Ashley summoned all of her strength to raise her arm and gently pushed the bright red button that was sure to send someone in to help her.

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Right outside of Ashley's room, the nurse heard the ever constant sound that the machine made, informing her that somewhere in some not so distant room of the hospital some irritable patient needed some ice chips or a pillow to be fluffed. She glanced at the machine to see just where she was headed and suddenly she was speechless. It couldn't be...it was impossible.

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Dr. Spencer Carlin was tending to a patient with chronic headaches in a far off wing of the hospital. Dr. Carlin loved her job, she really did, but she just couldn't stand the silly people that came in telling her that they must have a brain tumor because they had headaches; Honestly, take a few advil and go to sleep. Yet, she had always dreamed of following in her mother's foot steps every since she was a child, and even more so since...well she didn't really like to talk about it. It was just a known fact...something, or rather someone was holding her in her place.

"Miss Shepard, I see nothing medically wrong with you, but if you are under a lot of stress it can cause chronic headaches. Try to lesson your work load if possible. For now i would suggest taking it easy. I can prescribe you a stronger pain reliever but i would rather not do that if it is not necessary. Please come back if you are still not feeling well and I will take another look." Dr. Carlin said uninterested as she scribbled down notes in the patients file.

As Dr. Carlin was escorting the patient out of the room her beeper went off informing her of the room that she was to report to next. She looked at the number and almost fainted as she fell back against the wall. It wasn't possible...there must be some mistake. This day is never supposed to come.

Suddenly, torn from her shock Dr. Spencer Carlin started at an all out sprint towards the opposite end of the hospital...the area of the hospital where coma patients were kept...more specifically, the area of the hospital where coma patients that were never supposed the wake up were kept. ''

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Ashley was waiting patiently for the nurse to show up. She hated hospitals and she hated how insanely slow nurses were. What if she was bleeding to death in here, or having a seizure or something...they would have never noticed. God how she hated hospitals...especially after the long hours she spent in the hospital after prom as she watched those around her crumble.

Suddenly someone appeared in the door way, and Ashley's eyes flashed quickly to the door to see what stupid nurse that was barely qualified had showed up just to tell her that she'd have to wait for a doctor to examine her. Why couldn't they just send the stupid doctor in the first place?

However, when Ashley looked towards the door she couldn't help but smile that adorable Ashley smile as she saw the love of her life, Spencer Marie Carlin, leaning in the door way, mouth agape, staring at Ashley with a look of complete shock and speechlessness on her face.

Ashley didn't quite know why Spencer was looking at her that way, but she had to break the silence.

"Playing doctor are we?" Ashley asked as she looked Spencer up and down to see her in a white doctor's coat with a stethoscope around her neck.

Spencer couldn't speak, but tears slowly started to build in her eyes and then eventually over flow down the sides of her face, but she was to stunned to wipe them away.

"Spence? Baby...what's wrong?" Ashley asked trying to sit up but wincing in pain and she fell back on the bed.

"Ashley," Spencer said in a light whispered sigh, letting all of her breath leave her body in that one word, as if it took all of her strength just to say her name.

Ashley tried to roll over onto her side to get a better look at Spencer, but again, fell back in pain. Spencer, as if suddenly snapped out of a trance rushed over to Ashley.

"Don't move," Spencer said gently placing her hand on Ashley's shoulder and pushing her back onto the bed.

"Spencer?" Ashley said, looking at her with the most adorable confused look on her face.

"Are you okay?" Dr. Carlin asked her soothingly.

"Spencer, I'm fine. What's going on?" Ashley asked.

"I need to ask you a few...um...I need to ask you a few questions." Dr. Carlin said, unprepared and a bit confused. Part of her wanted to rush over to Ashley and just kiss her, but she new that she couldn't. She needed to be a doctor right now, but she was never prepared for this.

"Okay...?" Ashley said signaling the questions to begin.

"What's your name?" Spencer asked as she picked up Ashley's chart.

"Spencer...you know my name." Ashley said sighing and getting more confused my the second.

"Just answer the question." Spencer said sighing.

"Ashley Elizabeth Davies." Ashley answered with a tone of sarcasm and annoyance. She didn't see what the point of this was, nor did she understand where she was, why she was there, or why spencer was dressed as a doctor asking her questions.

"Birthday?" Spencer asked, her voice shacking.

"Spencer...you know my-" Ashley began but was cut off by Spencer abruptly.

"Please, Ashley, just answer the questions." Spencer said a bit annoyed. This wasn't Ashley's fault. Spencer knew she must be confused, but she needed to get down to the bottom of this.

"September 19th, 1986" Ashley said, getting fed-up with these questions.

"Do you know why you're here?" Spencer asked, looking up from the chart to meet Ashley's eyes and she fought back the tears, remembering the day that Ashley came in here.

"No." Ashley said, even more confused. She sounded so...broken, so scared, like a child during a thunder storm, and all that Spencer wanted to do was to wrap her arms around her and tell her that everything was going to be okay. But she couldn't.

"Ashley," Spencer began as she looked back down at the chart to avoid crying; It was killing her to see Ashley so defeated. Ashley had always been her rock, she'd never really seen her so....scared.

"Ashley...what is the last thing that you do remember?" Spencer asked her.

"Um...It's kind of fuzzy," Ashley stated, "I was leaving Aiden's house. He tried to tell me that I should break up with you. He said that he and I were meant to be together, and that you were just a fling, that I didn't love you. I got upset and yelled at him before leaving. It was raining. I got in my car and sped away. I knew I should have slowed down because of the rain, but I didn't...I was too upset. I just wanted to come see you. I took a turn...too fast and I couldn't see. I saw a bright light and that's the last thing that I remember." Ashley said, her voice cracking at the end as she held back her tears.

"Ashley," Spencer said, trying her hardest to hold back her tears.

"Spencer, just tell me what happened. I need to know. I'm not answering another question until you tell me what is going on." Ashley demanded.

"Ashley, you...you were in a head on collision with a truck. You weren't wearing your seatbelt, and you were thrown fifty feet from the car," Spencer stated, beginning to cry. "The other driver, walked away with minor cuts and bruises, but you slipped into a coma and were rushed to this hospital. You've been here ever since."

Ashley let the tears flow freely at that point, not caring that she was breaking down in front of the girl she loved. Spencer was also crying at this point, as she slowly walked over the the bed and sat down on the edge and she gently rubbed Ashley's back. Whenever Ashley had been upset before, Spencer would lay with her and rub her back. It always calmed Ashley down.

"What year is it?" Ashley asked as she drew in a shaky breath.

"Ashley," Spencer sighed, looking at Ashley with a look of sorrow and sympathy.

"Spencer, don't sugar coat, just tell me. What year is it?" Ashley said sternly.

"Ash..it's...it's...well it's 2009." Spencer said as she held Ashley a bit tighter in her arms.

"What?!?" Ashley asked hysterically. "You're trying to tell me that I've been in a fucking coma for six years?"

"Ash, I know this is scary and confusing, but don't get upset, It's all going to be okay." Spencer said soothingly.

"No! Spencer, it's not going to be okay. I've lost six years of my life." Ashley said completely falling apart.

"Ash-" Spencer tried to speak but Ashley responded quickly.

"Spencer, can you just...give me some time. I just need to deal with this. I need to be alone for a little while." Ashley pleaded.

"Of course, I understand." Spencer said, heading toward the door.

"Spencer?" Ashley questioned.

"Yes?" Spencer asked, spinning around.

"Will you come back soon?" Ashley asked like a child, waiting for her mother.

"Of course." Spencer smiled, again turning towards the door.

"Spencer?" Ashley called again.

"Yes Ashley?"

"I love you." Ashley said smiling towards the love of her life.

Spencer was torn, her face fell for a moment but she quickly recovered. She would talk to Ashley about this later, she had enough to swallow right now.

"I love you too, Ashley." Spencer whispered as she left the room.

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[A/N Please review and let me know what you think! :) ]