AN: After the accident, things between Michael and Miley will never be the same...

Chapter Two: Aftermath of an Accident

Miley was lucky enough to be able to flag down a passing police car. The officer called for an ambulance, and soon enough, Michael and Miley were saved from the wreckage of their car accident, but of course, their ordeal was far from over. When they took Michael away, Miley, of course wanted to ride in the ambulance with her boyfriend. He never moved an inch, and that fact alone worried Miley that he was dead. That was about an hour earlier, now Miley sat in the hospital waiting room, with small bandages over her cuts, worrying about Michael. She kept wondering why Michael tried to shield her from the oncoming vehicle that hit them. Miley knew that Michael really cared about her, maybe even loved her, and that could have been the reason in why he tried to shield her from what happened. Maybe.

Miley placed her face in her hands, and began to cry. She knew that both of their families were on the way, and what she was going to say to them was still flying through her mind. She didn't have time to think about that, however, as soon as she looked up, she saw her father, Robby Ray Stewart, and Michael's older brother and his legal guardian, Charles Harris, run into the ICU waiting room.

"Miley." Robby Ray said, out of breath. "Miley, thank god you are all right. What happened?"

"This...this van came out of nowhere, and slammed right into us..." Miley sobbed. "Michael got the worst of it, trying to shield me from what was going to happen..."

"How is he, Miley?" Charles asked, concerned for his little brother.

"I don't know." Miley wailed. "They patched me up, and told me to wait out here. I haven't heard from any one since."

"Robby, if he's in ICU, that means that he is in very bad shape." Charles said, his worry growing by every passing minute. Robby tried to calm his friend down by talking to him, which wasn't working.

"Dad, what happened?" Jackson asked as he and Michael's stepsister Melody entered the ICU waiting room.

"They were hit by a drunk driver." Charles said, which got a gasp in horror from Melody.

"Is he all right?" Jackson asked.

"We don't know. They haven't told us anything yet." Charles said. Robby sat next to his daughter, and began trying to comfort her.

"Excuse me. Are you the family of Michael Harris?" A female doctor said, coming into the room.

"Yes, how is he?" Charles said speaking up.

"Well, we are working our hardest on him, and from what we know, he suffered massive damage to his spinal cord. He's still resting, and we have been monitoring him closely." The doctor said.

"Will there be any long term damage?" Charles asked.

"He may be paralyzed from the waist down, plus he is in a temporary coma." The doctor said. Everyone in the waiting room gasped in shock.

"Oh, my God." Charles said. "How long will he be in that coma, and when can we see him?"

"It could be any amount of time before he wakes up. You can see him right now, but only for a short time and just the immediate family can only see him." The doctor said. Charles nodded at the young woman, and motioned for Melody to follow him.

"I fill you in when we get back." Charles said. And with that, they were off to see their fallen family member.

Michael was laying in his hospital bed, breathing through a tube in his mouth, and his head and face bandaged. His breathing was slow, steady, and very raspy, because he was in a coma and couldn't breathe on his own. Charles looked in and sat near his little brother. It troubled him to see someone he thought could survive a nuclear war in such a sad and damaged state.

"Hey, squirt." Charles said softly. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I want you to know that I think that it was a brave thing that you did. I know that you tried to shield Miley from the accident, and you paid the price for that. But you should know that Miley is all right, s few scratches, but she is all right. We need you here with us. All of us do."

Melody looked at her close friend and "step brother" from the door way. She was not used to seeing him in the condition that he was in now. She walked over to him, brushed some of his blonde hair out of his face, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She had some tears streaming down her face.

Melody left the room without saying a word. Charles sat with Michael a few minutes more, and followed her, concerned about her a little.

Miley sat in the waiting room, knowing that at least in her mind, this was her fault, and Charles and Melody knew this. Michael was only with her that night because she insisted that, and even seduced him to a point, that he went out on this date with him. She kept insisting for this date, and she knew that Michael wouldn't say no. She knew that if Michael didn't survive this, not only would she lose a boy that she loved, she would be partially responsible for his death, and no matter what anyone said, she knew that the truth was that she did this to both Michael and herself.

AN: Keep reading and please stay tuned for more!