A/N - Thanks for the warm welcome and for all the comments, faves, and follows. I really appreciate it. I enjoy reading what you have to say. Just so you know, the first big twist is in Chapter 5. * LiasonLuv – You didn't miss anything. People would call her cell to tell her what happened, so if the cell was in the car, then it's gone. Also, the roads are really bad. You get more in this chapter. * kikimoo – Jason said why Keesha was distraught more in this chapter. Yes Liz is single no kids (how I usually start out).

Chapter 2 - Changes

Patrick stepped into the room. "We want to try the blood warming."

Monica nodded. "Do what you think you need to." She just wanted to make sure that her son would be okay. The longer his temperature was down, the more damage would be done to his organs.

They stepped back and Emily noticed Elizabeth.

"Hi. I'm Emily, Jason's sister," she said, holding out her hand.

"I'm Elizabeth. I'm a nurse at Mercy. Your brother accidentally called a hotline and I helped him the best that I could," she explained.

Before Liz could blink, she was in Emily's arms.

"Thank you for helping him," Emily said before pulling back.

Liz nodded.

Leyla poked her head into the room. "They just closed down most of the roads except for emergency vehicles. I'll have them prepare a room with some beds in it and you can bunk there for the night."

"Thank you Leyla," Monica said.

"Have you eaten?" Emily asked Elizabeth.

"No."

Emily pulled her towards the door. "Neither have I. We'll need our strength," she said, as they walked down the hallway. "So how long have you been a nurse?"

"One year," Liz said.

"I'm in my first year of residency. It's been brutal but I love medicine."

Liz smiled. "It must be in your blood."

"Actually, I'm adopted, but my parents do inspire me."

"I found out tonight that your mom was briefly married to my dad."

Emily's mouth dropped open. "Wow."

"I know. It's a small world right? So tell me about Jason."

Emily smiled. "Well, he's very driven. He loves being a doctor. It definitely was his calling. He likes to work out and ride his motorcycle. Traveling has always been a passion for him, although he doesn't get to do it a lot anymore."

"Sounds like he's pretty busy."

Emily nodded. "He is mainly because he just finished his residency. He's a great guy."

Liz smiled.

"He told me that he was going to get Keesha's car. She is his girlfriend. They've been together about a year, but I think they have been having some problems lately," Emily said, sadly.

"Oh," Liz said, wondering if Keesha was stable due to the phone call. "Where is she?"

"I don't know. I tried to call her but her phone goes straight to voicemail," Emily said. "So, what about you? I don't think I've run into you before."

"I moved here about a year ago. I work most of the time and when I'm not, I like to paint. So, I don't get out much," Liz said.

"A painter? That sounds awesome."

"I usually use oils but I like all mediums," Liz explained.

"I wish I was artistic," Emily said. "I love to sing karaoke though." She laughed. "Jason thinks I'm crazy and in need of some serious voice lessons."

"Does he sing?" Liz asked, curiously.

Emily laughed hard. "Oh my God no. I did manage to get him drunk at Jake's one night and he sang a little. It was quite entertaining and I've never let him live it down." She pulled out her phone. "Want to see?"

Liz grinned. "Of course."

Emily turned on the video and soon both of them were laughing as Jason and Patrick sang together.

"That was priceless," Liz said, grinning.

"Trust me, he's tried everything to get that video back, even blackmail, but I'm always one step ahead of him," Emily said, proudly.

"I like you Emily Quartermaine," Liz said.

"The feeling's mutual. You have to come out with us to Jake's one night. We always have a blast."

Liz smiled. "Okay."

They finished up and went back to the room. They had already started the blood rewarming and it was working nicely.

They decided to be there in shifts. Emily took the first one since she had already slept a little. Monica took the next one and then Elizabeth sat with him.

He had less blankets around him but he still looked like a mummy. She looked at the monitors. His numbers looked good and some of the color was coming back into his skin. She studied him for a moment. His hair was a little long which she liked. She pushed it back and Jason's eyes flickered open.

"Oh, I'm sorry to wake you," she said.

"It's okay," he said, softly.

"Do you want me to get a nurse?" she asked.

"No. You stayed."

She smiled. "I had to make sure that you were okay and Mother Nature had a mind of her own, so they shut down the roads. You're stuck with me."

He slightly smiled. "Nice."

"You're doing a lot better," she said, as she unconsciously slid her fingernails over his scalp.

Jason let out a contented sigh and Elizabeth smiled when she realized he liked it.

"Your mom and Emily are sleeping," she said.

"Shifts?"

She nodded. "Yes. They didn't want you to be alone."

"Sleepy."

"You should rest."

"Don't leave," he said, softly.

"I won't," she said, continuing to lightly scratch his scalp. When she thought he was completely out she stopped and returned to her chair. She was already feeling attached to him and she knew it was stupid. He had a girlfriend and was not available. There was just something about him that called to her. Shaking off such thoughts, she sighed and walked over to the window and looked outside. A blanket of snow covered everything as far as her eye could see. It was beautiful. She stood there for a while and then returned to her seat until Emily relieved her.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

Jason opened his eyes and the first thing he noticed is that most of the blankets were gone and his arms were free. "Emily?"

She smiled. "Hey there bro. How do you feel?"

"Better."

"Patrick just left. He said you are doing great."

Jason smiled. "Water."

Emily nodded and put some in a cup. "It's room temperature." She added a straw and then pushed a button so he was sitting up more.

Jason took a few sips. "Thanks."

"Can you feel your toes?"

Jason concentrated for a minute. "Yes. They hurt though."

"It could take months before we know the full extent of the damage. I watched Patrick and there is some dead tissue but I've seen a lot worse," Emily said. "He did an injection to increase circulation, so we're hoping that will help."

The worst case scenario would be that he lost a few toes but Patrick was hoping that wouldn't be necessary.

"They are wrapped and you'll have to stay off them for a few days."

Jason groaned.

"Jason, you could have died. Doctors make the worst patients. Your body needs time to heal. You won't have the stamina anyway. Dad already put you down for two weeks of sick leave."

"Two weeks," Jason said, loudly.

"Yes and if you fight us on it, we'll chain you to a bed," Emily said, firmly.

Jason closed his eyes. "Emily….."

"You're staying at the mansion too, that way Alice can help take care of you."

Jason muttered under his breath.

Elizabeth walked in. "Hey. I was about to take off, but I wanted to say goodbye first."

Jason was actually bummed that she was leaving. "Thank you for everything."

Liz smiled. "I'm glad that you are going to be okay."

Emily smiled. "Let's exchange numbers."

Jason fought a smile. Way to go Emily.

They put each other's number in their phone contacts.

"Jason is going to stay with the family while he recovers. Maybe you could come over for dinner one night," Emily said.

"I would love to," Liz said.

At that moment, Keesha rushed into the room. "Jason, I came as soon as I heard."

"I'm okay," he said.

She grabbed his hand. "This is all my fault. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault. I hit some black ice."

"You shouldn't have been out in this weather."

Emily motioned for Elizabeth to follow her.

"Sit down," Jason said.

She sat and wiped her tears away.

"You left your phone in the car."

She rolled her eyes. "That's where it was. I looked everywhere."

"When I was trying to call 911, it dialed the last number you called instead. Do you remember what that was?" Jason asked.

She thought for a moment. "No."

"It went to a suicide hotline. Keesha, were you thinking of ending your life?"

Her mouth dropped open and she stood up so fast the chair toppled over. "Oh my God."

Emily looked inside. "Is everything okay?" she asked, looking at the chair.

"It's fine," Jason said, never taking his eyes off his girlfriend. "We just need a minute."

Emily nodded and returned to Elizabeth. "Something major is going on in there."

Elizabeth looked down.

"You know don't you?"

She nodded. "I can't tell you, but it is serious."

Emily wondered what the hell was going on. Elizabeth was a nurse and never met Jason before. What would she know about Keesha and Jason?

Inside the room, Jason watched Keesha's demeanor change rapidly.

"You don't understand how much pressure I've been under with my grandmother dying and the false pregnancy. It hasn't been easy for me." She was depressed and felt so out of control. Her grandmother was a driving force in her life and it felt so empty without her.

"Why didn't you talk to me?" Jason asked.

"I felt like a failure and my grandmother was a huge part of my life and I just lost it. I didn't want to burden you."

"Keesha, I love you. You would never be a burden to me," he said.

"Jason, we just don't want the same things right now. Things have just been strained between us for a while."

He sighed. "You want a baby still?"

She nodded.

"Keesha, I just can't. I don't want to be the kind of dad that just sees their kids here and there and right now, it would have to be that way. Why can't you wait a few years until things settle down?" Jason asked.

Keesha didn't say anything but he could tell she was struggling to maintain her composure. "Maybe we should take a break."

"What?" Jason asked, incredulously. "What does a break mean exactly?"

"I need some time to figure out what I want to do with my life. I'm a mess right now. I was thinking about going away; there's a retreat I was researching and I think they can help me cope with my grief." She was barely holding it together.

"And you think we should break up?"

"I can't ask you to wait. I don't know how I'm going to feel or how long it will take to get back to being myself. I think it's best if we part," she said, as she cried. "I do love you Jason but something is missing between us and I'm not happy."

Jason closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry. I wish I could help you and make it all go away."

"You can't. I need to do this for myself. Please don't fight me," she begged.

Jason took a languid breath. It wasn't what he necessarily wanted, but he could tell she would do it anyway. "Okay. If this is what you need, then I won't fight you."

She let out the breath she was holding. "Thank you. I hope you feel better," she said before rushing out of the room.

Emily looked at Elizabeth and gave her a hug. Both women had heard the conversation. "Text me when you get home. I better get in there. I have a feeling Jason is going to need me."

Liz nodded. "I will."

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

Jason watched Emily walk towards him.

"You okay?" she asked.

"No."

Emily sighed and sat down and held his hand. "I'm sorry."

"So am I," Jason said, softly. His heart was a little broken even though things hadn't been right for a long time. Initially, he had thought Keesha was the one for him, but clearly she didn't feel the same way and didn't want to work on the relationship. The last year had been for nothing and he hated that she was in so much pain and he couldn't help her.

Emily sat there quietly stroking her brother's hand. She knew he'd be alright eventually, but right now, he looked like hell.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

Monica and Alan sat down in the living room.

"How is he?" Tracy asked.

"He's doing well. We don't know how the frostbite will turn out but all of his organs are functioning normally and he's getting stronger."

Lila breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

"Keesha left him," Monica said.

"What?" Edward yelled. "At a time like this?"

"Apparently, she's been having some emotional problems and she's going off to get treatment. She thought it was best to break it off before she left," Alan said, evenly.

"I wasn't expecting that," Tracy said. She wasn't a Keesha fan because she thought the woman was too clingy.

"Neither was I," Monica said, sadly. "Patrick is releasing him in the morning. He'll be in a wheel chair for a while because we don't want him on his feet unless it's necessary. I'm having a special bed brought in. A contractor will do some adjustments today in the bathroom. He can use Lila's chair lift to get upstairs and down."

"What do you need from us?" Tracy asked.

"We just have to be there for him. During the day, Alice will help out and I'll have a nurse come in. Just be yourselves. He won't expect any different. He's reeling from the breakup but otherwise, his spirits are good."

Edward was upset with Keesha. He didn't understand what was going on and felt like she just abandoned Jason when he needed her the most.

"Tomorrow night, we'll have a big dinner to welcome him back. I've invited Elizabeth Webber and Epiphany Johnson. They are the two nurses from Mercy hospital. Liz actually talked to Jason directly while Epiphany handled 911. I don't know what Jason would have done without them."

"Well, they are heroes in my book and always welcome in this house," Edwards said, firmly.

"They are." Monica said, smiling. "Elizabeth even stayed to help us watch over him the first night. She's a lovely girl and she and Emily seemed to have hit off so you'll probably be seeing more of her."

Lila sighed. She was worried about Jason. He loved Keesha and then to have to face possible amputation because of the accident, she worried that he would become depressed.

They were all scared. This was something that made you really appreciate family and how suddenly they could be taken away from you.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

The next day, Jason came home. He hated being in a wheel chair, but the pain that was caused when he stood up long enough to get into the chair made him understand the necessity for it. Being a patient was definitely something that he wasn't used to.

Alice pushed him into the living room. Lila smiled. "There you are."

Jason smiled back. "It's good to see you grandmother. Maybe we could race down the hallway."

Lila laughed. "I've had more practice, so twenty bucks says I'd win."

He grinned at her feistiness.

Edward squeezed his shoulder. "I'm glad that you're okay."

Jason reached over and squeezed his hand. "Thank you. I'm glad too."

The accident was something he wished that he remembered less of. Every time he closed his eyes he'd flash back to being in the water.

Tracy studied him without a word. He still looked a little pale and tired.

Jason noticed her concern. "I'm fine."

She nodded, not convinced but figured it was better to say nothing then to criticize.

Emily breezed into the room. "There you are."

Jason smiled and she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm staying here until you're better," she said.

"Thank you," he said, smiling. "Not that you'll ever be here."

"Oh stop it," she said, laughing.