Here's the next chapter. I'm sorry I didn't get it up yesterday, but I had a lot of stuff to do. Enjoy!

Joanne froze for a moment before turning around to face Mark, trying to see if he was lying. She was good at telling if someone wasn't telling the truth because of her being a lawyer, and, unfortunately, Mark wasn't lying as far as she could tell. He actually looked more stressed out than usual, and it couldn't just be about paying the rent.

"You're serious?" she asked softly. "This isn't some joke that Maureen's playing on me to try and get me back?"

He shook his head. "I don't think she would ever trick you into believing that she was dying, and even if she did, I would never agree to help her. Besides, she sort of ambushes you when she's trying to get you back. You aren't expecting her at that moment, and she bombards you with questions, and you end up taking her back in the end."

"Did that happen to you, too?" Joanne asked.

He nodded. "Every time we 'broke up,'" he said, using air quotes. "And every time I couldn't say no, mainly because of that face she gives you."

Joanne nodded, smiling slightly as she remembered Maureen's infamous puppy dog pout face. And then she remembered why she was standing with Mark so late at night in the main entrance of Saint Vincent's hospital. "But she's not going to be doing that any time soon," she whispered.

Mark's face fell. "Yeah," he whispered back. "Do… do you want to see her?"

"Would she want to see me?" she asked.

"I… I don't… think… she'll see you," he said slowly, looking away. "She's, uh, she isn't conscious."

That's when Joanne started to cry. Mark looked at her with wide eyes, not knowing what to do. He stood there for a few minutes before awkwardly patting her on the shoulder. "It's going to be okay," he said uncertainly.

"No it's not," she sobbed. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't been so stupid, then she would be okay right now. But I had to go and ignore her."

"Uh, I… um, I don't know what to say," he finally said, giving up on trying to comfort her.

"You idiot, move out of the way," Angel said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, looking as normal as possible because Collins had requested it of him for their visit to the hospital. "Oh, come here, honey, it's really going to be okay."

He opened his arms and Joanne leaned into him. Collins stood behind him with Mimi and Roger following close behind. Mimi's make-up was running down her face, mingling with her tears, Roger looked grim, but seemed to be holding up well as he held Mimi close to him. Collins looked like he was one step away from breaking down and the only thing that seemed to hold him together was the fact that Angel was right there with him.

"Here, it's going to be okay," Angel whispered as Joanne started to calm down and pulled away from him. "Dry your tears and Mark can take us up to see Maureen. She's going to get better, and you know that. Our Maureen's a fighter, and the doctors didn't take that into account."

Mark opened his mouth to contradict Angel, but Collins glared at him, stomping on his foot to get him to shut up. He glared at Collins in return and limped away from him, wincing every time he put any weight on his foot.

Joanne nodded, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "Okay," she said. "Yeah, I want to see Maureen. Maybe… maybe she'll wake up for me."

"Come on, let's go," Angel said, rubbing her back comfortingly. "Mark, get up here and lead the way because you're the only one who has any idea where her room is. Hurry up, let's go, stop limping."

He scowled at Angel and Collins and hurried his pace, leading them into the hospital, up elevators, through halls, and down stairs. Finally, they arrived in a quiet hallway with doctors and nurses murmuring sympathetically to men and women who had tears streaming down their faces. Mark stopped in front of a room with a closed door and stood back, nodding at Angel.

"This is it," he said quietly. "She's the only one in there. The doctor said no more than two people in the room at the same time, so… well, obviously Joanne's going to want to go in, but I don't know who should go with her."

"Collins can go," Roger said, surprising everyone. "After all, he's Maureen's best friend, besides Joanne."

"Come on," Collins said, stepping forward, and putting an arm around Joanne's shoulders. "We can do this together."

He reached out for the doorknob and slowly turned it walking in and looking back at Joanne, who was standing hesitantly in the doorway. Collins held out his hand and she shook her head, walking into the room and gasping when she saw Maureen.

The brunette had bruises and small cuts covering her face and her once-shining hair was matted with blood. Her breaths were shallow, forced in and out of her by a mask that had been placed over her mouth and nose. White bandages stained with red were wrapped around her left arm and both of her legs, and nurses were rushing around the large room, gathering supplies to help staunch the bleeding. Maureen's stomach was exposed to reveal more bandages, and Joanne shuttered to think of what injuries lay beneath them.

"Are you family?" one of the nurses asked obnoxiously. "Because if you aren't, you have to get out."

"I'm her fiancée," Joanne said, lying easily. It had been true two months ago, and she and Maureen hadn't talked about "officially" breaking up, so it wasn't a total lie. "And this is my brother." That wasn't a lie, either. He was like a brother to her.

"Oh, okay," the nurse said sympathetically. "How about all of those people standing outside the door? They can't come in all at the same time, two people at a time. Are they family?"

Joanne hesitated and Collins stepped in. "They're as close to a family as she has," he said. "She doesn't have anyone else."

"Well, tell them two at a time," the nurse said, turning back Maureen and injecting something in a tube that was connected to a needle that was inserted in her arm. Joanne pulled up to the side of the bed and sat down, taking Maureen's uninjured hand in her own.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, pressing her lips to Maureen's fingers. "This is all my fault. Just… don't die on me. I promise I'll be the best girlfriend anyone could ask for. I won't question you ever again and I won't ever raise my voice at you again. I'll love you forever and… just don't leave me."

Tears began to stream down her face once again and she choked up, unable to say anything more, just sitting there, willing Maureen to wake up and yell "Boo!" Or to start laughing and tell her that it's an April Fool's joke even though it isn't April 1st.

But Maureen just laid there, looking pitifully vulnerable on the white sheets of the hospital bed. She had never looked so helpless. Maureen had always been so strong and independent, refusing to give in, always fighting for what she believed in, even if the odds were against her.

Joanne just hoped she would fight through this one, because the odds most definitely were against her.

Well, there you go. I probably won't be able to update until Friday at the earliest because I have a lot of stuff going on in the next few days. If I do get an update, I'll be really surprised. Thank you to everyone who read the first chapter, and special thanks to:

I-Stalk-Espinosa-xo

The Last Truffula Tree

xEastEndersFan4Lifex

TheSexyLatinaDancer Mimi

Phases of Obsession

Please, please, PLEASE review. I appreciate all comments, thoughts, and suggestions and take everything seriously. If you give me a suggestion, I WILL take it into consideration. Thank you all once again, and until the next chapter!

ReallyObsessiveWriter