Chapter 1

The red and blue lights flashed in quick succession, the siren screaming urgency as the ambulance tore through the streets of the town, to Beacon Hills Hospital.

Ethan sat at the back of the vehicle, strongly grasping Danny's hand, whispering, "Stay with me, Danny. Please, just a little while. We're almost there. Just, stay with me!"

His grip was sliding with every turn the van took because of the blood that caked Danny's palm. In fact, Danny himself was under a layer of his own blood. His head had been bashed in, one eye was swollen shut under a gory wound, and the other one was glassy… before it closed altogether. His body bore marks of a brutal assault. His left leg stuck out at an odd angle, it had been badly and deliberately broken. His pants were torn and blood streaked.

Ethan choked, tears streaming down his eyes and he willed Danny to hold on. His own shirt was drenched in blood from holding up Danny's head till the ambulance arrived. When Ethan had seen Danny sprawled on the dirty alley way, he had lost control. He only wanted to get to the bastards who did this and tear them into little pieces and feed them to piranhas; but he didn't. Instead, he cradled Danny in his arms, called the ambulance and cried. Ethan himself was surprised at his willingness to delay revenge but he knew that Danny was the most important thing in his life and he took this as an indication that he was indeed, completely in love with the boy. But he couldn't find any joy in this because Danny was dying, right there, in his arms.

The doors of the ambulance opened, the medics pulled out the stretcher and wheeled Danny into the hospital. Ethan followed, hardly seeing where he was going, his focus on the broken bleeding body in front of him. He heard the medics scream, "Emergency! Blunt force trauma to head, lacerations …" but the voice trailed off in his ears, not quiet registering. He barely registered the overwhelming number of doctors and nurses who came to their assistance, the gasps of horror when the professionals took in the extent of damage. After a few minutes, when they seemed to have crossed the lobby and taken a turn into a big corridor, Ethan felt arms firmly holding him, telling him to stay back. He looked wildly at the faces in front of him, not prepared to stand down until a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Ethan? Ethan, it's okay. Stop, stay here, okay?" Ethan turned to see Melissa. She looked at the boy meaningfully. "Ethan, I need you to stay here, okay? We need to operate on Danny. Alright? You have to stay here," she said, as if talking to a five year old. Ethan nodded and stood there slightly breathless, like bear that has been chained to a spot. If Melissa felt even half the terror which was visible on Ethan's face, she didn't show it. She calmly put her hands on Ethan's shoulders.

"If you want, I could stay here with you."

Ethan shook his head, "No, I'd rather you were with Danny."

Melissa managed a reassuring smile and a nod. "Okay, I've already informed Scott, he's bringing a change of clothes. You hang in there, alright?" With that she disappeared into the operating theatre.

6 hrs later

Scott sat quietly on an uncomfortable hospital chair. Isaac occupied the chair beside him, impatiently tapping his foot. Aiden stood leaning on the wall across from them, his head bowed in deep thought. Lydia and Stiles sat on the set of seats beside Aiden. Ethan paced the floor, non stop. They had managed to force Ethan into changing into a clean set of clothes but other than that they had little comfort to offer him. Mostly because they themselves were in need of comfort. Everybody loved Danny, who would do this to him? How could anyone be so cruel?

The door opened and in a fraction of a second, all the wolves were at the door, facing the tired looking surgeon who just had enough time to put one foot through. The surgeon looked around the anxious faces and then turned to let Melissa in. She looked at Scott and pursed her lips.

Scott opened his mouth in despair, "NO! Come on, mom."

The lead surgeon cleared this throat. "Look boys, I'm really sorry to say this. We did everything we could. But your friend, umm, Mr. Mahealani, has slipped into a deep coma." There was a collective gasp. Ethan shoved Scott out of the way to face the doctor.

"You mean, I got him in too late?"

The surgeon shook his head as Melissa cut in, "No Ethan. Danny is still alive because you brought him in when you did. But he received a very deep wound to his head, which has… resulted in significant brain damage."

Melissa sadly looked at the fallen faces in front of her. The surgeon continued, "We know it's very hard for you to hear. There is however, still hope. If your friend wakes up in the next 72 hours, then he could make proper recovery, though he might have some trouble with mobility."

Scott gave Ethan's shoulder a firm squeeze as Aiden held his arm, steadying him, making sure he didn't lose control. Melissa looked at the doctor and nodded, signaling she would handle the next part of the conversation. The surgeon left, but Scott felt that cold spot of dread in his stomach. Melissa never does anything like this unless it's very bad news. Danny is in coma, what could be worse than that?

"What is it, mom?", he asked.

Melissa looked at the floor, before looking at Ethan.

"How did you find Danny?"

"We… we were suppose to meet up. He wanted to take me to this club he likes. When I got there, I picked up his scent, leading me to an alley 2 blocks down. That's where I found him."

Melissa nodded, then cleared his throat, "When you found him, what did the scene look like?"

Now the whole group knew there was something else going on here. They looked at each other, confused. Scott had his eyes trained on his mother.

"Why? Is it important?" Aiden asked when he saw his brother struggling to stay in control.

Melissa replied sharply, "I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't." it was clear that she was on edge. Ethan nodded to Aiden, who wrapped his arms around his brother, reassuringly.

"He was lying on the ground, spread-eagled. There was lots of blood everywhere…"

"Were his clothes torn?" Melissa cut in. she could the reluctant realization dawning in Scott's eyes, followed by the rest of the group.

Ethan stared at her, eyes wide in horror and then nodded, "Was he….?" He couldn't bring himself to say it. He felt Isaac hold on to Scott's arm, steadying himself, Lydia let out a gasp. Aiden, Scott and Stiles were stunned to silence; their grip on Ethan was so tight that it must have hurt. Ethan still stared at Melissa, hoping that she'd tell him he was wrong. But Melissa did no such thing. She hung her head, then she stepped closer to Ethan and put a warm hand on his face, trying to comfort him.

"I'm sorry. But… Danny was not just assaulted, they… umm… well, Danny was sexually assaulted. He had extreme internal injuries… and brain damage. If he wakes up, then he'll have a lot to deal with."

Ethan blinked. "If?", he said in a small voice.

Melissa sighed, "Danny might never wake up."

AN: WHAT DO YOU THINK? YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE?