Chapter 1

He sat with his head in his hands, wishing that somehow his life could be different. He had everything he'd ever thought he'd wanted, and yet tonight it felt as if he had nothing but empty dreams and a broken heart. A tear fell from his soft green eyes and rolled slowly down his cheek, burning his skin as it went. The pain of this loss was more than he could endure. He looked into his spotless kitchen and saw the bottle of scotch sitting on the counter. As he stood up and walked toward the bottle he knew that he would regret the decision in the morning, but he didn't know how to make it through the night without a little help from his trusty friend. He opened the bottle and took a long, slow drink, enjoying the burning sensation as the liquid slid down his throat into his empty stomach. How could he have let this happen? How could he have lost the only woman that had ever meant anything to him? Derek drank himself into a stupor and passed out on his couch, the couch where she had first rejected him.

The picture of her sauntering out of his bathroom wearing nothing but his white button down shirt, singing Happy Birthday, in that beautiful voice of hers had his heart racing even in his sleep. He could feel her breath on his skin and smell her sweet citrusy scent. His dream changed the outcome of that first late night meeting and he once again enjoyed her sweet embrace. The phone ringing roused him from his blissful dream and he cursed whoever was on the other end of the line. He answered without looking at the caller id "What do you want?" he spat out.

"I was just calling to see if you were okay. You were so upset last night."
"Karen? I didn't think I'd be hearing for you again." He said trying to sound annoyed.

"Well, I'm sorry I called. I was just worried about you, but I guess you're a better actor than I gave you credit for. Last night I almost thought you were genuinely upset. I'll see you in rehearsal." She said, hanging up the phone.

Derek looked at the time and realized that if he didn't leave right now he'd be late. He changed his clothes, took some aspirin, and hurried out the door. As he was running to hail a cab he tripped on the curb and stumbled, rather ungracefully into the street. He looked up in time to see the car that struck him. Then his world went black.

At the theater Tom, Julia, and Eileen along with the company and crew were all waiting on Derek's arrival to start rehearsal. They were sitting in groups, talking quietly. Karen's phone rang and she reached to answer it. Jessica and Bobby, who were sitting with her, continued talking quietly while half listening to what Karen was saying.

"Yes, this is Karen Cartwright." Karen said in a rather formal voice.

Jessica and Bobby stopped talking when they saw the worry on her face as she said, "Yes, I know Derek Wills." The color drained from her face entirely and Bobby and Jessica knew something was seriously wrong. They knew all about the break up and how hurt Karen had been when Derek seemed to blow her off this morning.

"Yes, I'll be there as soon as I can. Thank you for calling." Karen said with tears in her eyes, threatening to fall.
As she hung up the phone a single tear escaped down her cheek. "Derek…" She started to say to Bobby and Jessica, but Tom and Julia noticed her crying before she could finish the sentence.

"Karen, are you okay?" Julia asked.
"Yes. No. Derek…" She stopped again, another tear rolling down her cheek. "Derek was in an accident. He's at Mercy Medical Center in critical condition. I have to go."

As Karen ran out of the theater, Eileen walked over to Tom and Julia to see what was wrong. Julia had tears in her eyes and Tom looked shocked.
"What's going on?" Eileen asked with her voice full of concern.

Tom filled her in on what was going on with Derek and Eileen cancelled rehearsal for the day, promising to call everyone when she had more information on Derek's condition.

Within the hour Karen had made her way to Mercy Medical Center. She ran into the emergency room, looking around frantically for someone who could give her more information on Derek. She found a nurse standing at the front desk.

"Excuse me I'm looking for Derek Wills. Someone called me and told me he was in an accident. I need to see him." Karen said out of breath from running and worry.

"Let me check. Yeah, he's in surgery. I'll take you to the waiting area." She said while walking towards the elevators.

When they got to the surgical waiting area Karen sent Julia a text to fill her in on what she knew and began pacing the small waiting room. Within the next hour Tom, Julia, and Eileen had joined Karen in the small room and were watching as Karen paced.

"Karen, come sit down. He's going to be okay. He is Derek Wills after all. He's invincible, just ask him." Eileen said more to reassure herself than to comfort Karen. Finally the door opened and a man in surgical scrubs walked in. Karen was in front of him before anyone else had a chance to stand up.

"How is he? Is he okay? Can I see him?" She asked her words as jumbled as her emotions. Sure she had broken things off with Derek, but she still loved him. In fact she broke it off because she was so afraid of how much she loved him. She wanted to know that he felt the same way about her, but right now she just wanted to make sure that he was going to be okay. She couldn't' imagine living her life with their last conversation being their last conversation.

"Are you the family of Mr. Derek Wells?" the surgeon asked, removing his hat and holding it uneasily in his hands.

"Yes. I'm family. How is he? Please, is he okay?" Karen begged. By this point Julia, Tom and Eileen had joined Karen in standing around the doctor waiting to hear about their director and friend.

"I'm Dr. Bryant. He's out of surgery, but he's not out of the woods yet. There was a lot of internal bleeding. The next twenty-four to forty-eight hours are the most critical. He's in a medically induced coma for now."
"Can I see him?" Karen asked with tears running down her cheeks.

"Yes, you can go back one at a time. I'll take you to him." Dr. Bryant said gently leading Karen to Derek's room.