Thank you Lily for your review and thank you Kate, for proof reading/squeeing! =D

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Ellie's heart was still pounding as hard as it had been when she had received a phone call she wished she hadn't. She pelted down the terminal of Miami International, having just managed to book herself on a early evening flight to New York. The woman who had called her hotel room had been friendly, making sure she was Miss Flack. But the second she mentioned she was a nurse from the New York Downtown Hospital and Don's name, Ellie wanted to hang up. People from hospitals never called you on your spring break with good news.

"We couldn't get a hold of your parents, and you were listed as his next of kin after them. We found a copy of your hotel number in his wallet."

"They're out of the country. In France. My brothers live much further away than me."

There had been an explosion. Don had been hurt trying to evacuate a building. It was serious. Ellie ran those details over and over as she had raced from Key West to the airport. She soon found herself seated on a plane, her seat belt clipped and her eyes closed against tears that threatened to fall. Emotional and physical turbulence followed in the few hours the jet took to get Ellie home.

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Cabs were unusually scarce at JFK. Traffic on the streets was not. Ellie threw a few notes at the cab driver and strode quickly into the hospital lobby. She flew up several flights of stairs and down squeaky clean corridors to the ICU. It was late, the lights were low and the entire building was strangely silent and still. Ellie could feel sweat on the back of her neck and forehead as her chest became tight with her increasing unease. What would Don look like? She hadn't been given details of injuries and she hadn't really wanted them. But now her imagination was running wild and it was taking too long to get to her brother. She just wanted to make sure the terrible images flashing in her mind were unfounded and that as usual she was over thinking and being paranoid.

"If you can hear me, squeeze my hand."

"Squeeze my hand Don."

All that rushing and Ellie had come to an abrupt halt before she had reached her destination. There was a man sitting at her brother's side. Until he had spoken he was nothing but a shadowy outline. Mac Taylor had her brother's hand in his as he muttered quietly in his ear. After a few seconds of dazed staring Ellie swept into the room, grabbing onto the bottom bar of the bed to keep her balance. Mac started a little and look of deep sympathy filled his eyes at seeing Ellie's desperate expression. Before he could get to his feet and ask if she was alright, she spoke.

"Did he squeeze it? Your hand, did he?" Ellie's gaze hadn't moved from her brother's. He lay completely still, tubes in his mouth, nose and arm. His skin was deathly pale and his face was cut and grazed. Mac placed Flack's hand gently back on the bed and went to Ellie.

"Yes, he did."

Before she realised what was happening, Ellie slumped against Mac's chest and he wrapped her in his strong, sure arms. Tears were silently streaming down her face. How had Donnie managed to get himself into this state?

"Doing his job." A voice told her. His job. If he hadn't been doing it, a lot of people could have died. She suddenly thought that there could have been other casualties and pulled away from Mac.

"Was anyone else hurt?" Ellie asked. She noticed a bandage on Mac's neck.

"Minor injuries really, we managed to get most of the employees out. Don just happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. He took a lot of shrapnel."

Ellie glanced back over to her brother. The hospital gown was a crisp, white veneer to the devastation on his body. Mac pressed his handkerchief into Ellie's hand and she nodded gratefully before going to sit at her brother's side.