Bubba cut infront of the car in the next lane; the driver blasted his horn but Bubba paid no attention. He tried to reach D'Von on his cell phone one more time as he exited the highway. There was no answer, so he left a message and headed for the medical center. No one had been able tell him what was wrong with Spike, only that he was rushed to the emergency room about an hour ago and was in critical condition. He found a parking spot near the front enterance of the hospital and went inside. The nurse at the front desk nonchalently directed him to the third floor ICU, without even looking up from emery board. Bubba rang for the elevator and took a deep breath. He and Spike hadn't spoken in months; not since he had started seeing Molly. Bubba wasn't even sure Spike would want to see him. The truth was, Bubba was glad when he heard they had broken up, but couldn't believe how it had happened. Spike had a kind of disease. He threw himself heart first into things, especially romance, with and unmeasurable sense of passion and commitment. Normally that would be an admirable quality, however, it usually left his little brother drained and disappointed. In spite of that, Spike always managed to pick himself up and keep going, that was one thing Bubba had always admired about his brother. The doors opened on the third floor and Bubba was directed to the waiting room. D'von finally returned Bubba's ohone call and was on his way to the hospital. Bubba hung up when he saw the doctor coming towards him.

"Mr.Dudley?" Bubba stood and took his hand. The man looked like he'd been awake for about a week.

"How is my brother," Bubba asked? The doctor motioned for Bubba to follow him and they headed down the hallway. They stopped infront of a room with a large window near the door. The was a curtain drawn infront of it, but Bubba suspected Spike was in there. "How is he? What happened?"

"Your brother is in critical condition. The overdose placed siginificant strain on his heart and lungs, it's too soon to tell the extent of the damage."

"Overdose?"

"We're not sure exactly what happened, but it appears that Spike overdosed on pain medication he was perscribed for a neck injury. When he was found he was in cardiac arrest. We have him on oxygen to relieve some of the pressure on his heart, he's drifting in and out of conciousness. We have him on suicide watch." Bubba could hardly believe what he was hearing. He stared at the doctor blankly and scratched his head.

"You must've made a mistake Doc,"Bubba said, almost laughing," there's no way my brother would never have done something like that."

"We're pretty posotive. The bottle was only two days old and it was empty when he was found."

"Who found him?"

"His roommate." Bubba looked at the floor in disbelief.

"You're sure this is what happened..."The doctor nodded solemnly.

"I'm afraid so."

"Can I see him?" The doctor nodded.

"He is in here. He very weak and probably won't be able to speak." Bubba nodded and reached for the knob on door in front of him.