The standard disclaimers apply to all chapters; I don't own the series or any of the characters. This was written only for fun and practice.

Chapter 2

Dr. Thomas Fredricks was tall and thin with a shock of red hair that tended to stand up on the crown of his head making him look more like a kid than a man nearing 40.

He stood in the door of the ER waiting area looking for Cathy, weariness making his shoulders droop.

Cathy caught his eye and nudged George to follow her to the waiting doctor.

Fredricks smiled and held his hand out toward her. "Cathy I'm really sorry, I had no idea who he was when he came in, I didn't make the connection until I saw you at the door."

"That's ok, Tommy, it didn't change the way you took care of him did it?"

"No, of course not, but I might have been able to cushion the shock for you a little. The truth is, you just caught me off guard." He raked his fingers through his wild hair and looked to her again his eyes full of apology. He took Cathy's arm, "Let's step outside so we can talk" he asked her looking around the room filled with a mixture of New Comers and humans, some in uniform some in plain cloths.

"Oh, Tommy these people are his family." She nodded toward George and introduced him to the doctor, "This is Captain George Francisco, Matt's partner for years, and his wife Susan, and everyone else here works with Matt and George. They are the closest thing to family he has, other than his daughter, and we're still trying to find her.

He nodded a greeting to George and Susan and then pulled Cathy out into the hallway "Look there is a little conference room just down the hall, why don't you come down there with me and then you can pass on whatever information you think everyone needs to hear."

"Alright..." she had the sinking feeling that his news would not be easy to hear so motioning for her friends she fell into step behind the doctor.

They entered the room and sat down at a small round table. Susan sat next to Cathy, her arm around her friend's trembling shoulders.

Fredricks, who sat directly across from Cathy, looked exhausted. He had been on duty without a break for the last seventeen hours. He propped his elbows on the table and leaned in hunching his shoulders tiredly, "I wish there was an easier way to say all this, but I'll just cut to the chase. He's in bad shape Cathy. He's broken up pretty bad, and we won't know the full extent of his injuries until Hastings gets him on the table."

"Doctor, my son said that he had some sort of seizure, do you think it was due to his head injury? Buck said that he was rather incoherent. You don't think that there will be…" George could barely bring himself to continue "…do you think his brain has been damaged?"

"Captain Francisco, there are several different factors in play. Yes the head injury is a big one, as well as his dehydration and malnutrition. Add to that an assortment of sedatives and God knows what else was pumped into his veins. I'm still waiting on the tox screen."

"Drugs?" Cathy was horrified.

"Fraid so, there were track marks on the inside of both arms. If we didn't know who he was he might have been mistaken for just another junky. The blood tests will tell us what they used on him."

Cathy sat trying to make some sense out of this information, "Why…I don't understand. Why tie him up and keep him drugged?"

Fredricks reached for her hand and squeezed trying to give some small bit of comfort "I don't know why, I'm just an ER doc. Cathy, there's something else…"

Cathy sat waiting for him to continue, Fredricks sighed and squeezed her hand again "There's evidence of sexual assault. His anus was irritated and swollen and there was also inflammation and swelling of his genitals."

"You're saying that he was drugged and raped?" Cathy's voice was tight.

Fredricks let go of her hand and raked his fingers through his hair again, "Yeah."

George swallowed and asked, "Did you get a rape kit?" he couldn't believe he was asking this question in regard to his friend.

"Yes and it's on its way to the lab downtown."

"Matthew!" George could only whisper, his spots paled noticeably and deep inside George was falling apart. His friend had needed him, but George had failed him.

Fredricks stood, "I'm sorry, I have to go, I've got another couple of hours left on my shift and as you've seen it's a busy night."

Cathy and the others stood also "Thank you Tommy, I appreciate all you've done."

"It's my job" he shrugged "I just wish I could have given you better news. Like I said before, he has a better than good chance, hold on to that okay?" With a small nod and a squeeze to her shoulder he turned and exited the room, leaving the friends alone to gather strength before facing everyone in the waiting room.

With a hitch in her voice, Cathy asked, "What do I tell everyone? You know Matt, you know how private he is about…certain things." She lost control and began to sob into her hands. "This is worse than a nightmare!" she sobbed into Susan's shoulder, "Why him? Why Matt?"

George had never felt so useless, what could he say? All he could do was to wrap both women in his arms and hold on tight.

It seemed eerily quiet in the waiting room now that Buck was gone to the airport to pick up Emily and most everyone had gone home. Only those closest to the family were still there. Albert sat quietly talking with Vessna explaining the ritual symbols of his prayer cloth. Hobbs stood leaning against the wall watching George pace while Grazer sat slumped in the corner with his eyes closed.

Cathy and Susan sat huddled close to one another, Cathy drawing strength from her friend. She hadn't felt so afraid in a very long time. "This can't be happening" she said not realizing that she had spoken aloud until she felt Susan's hand on her arm. She looked up into her friend's face letting her emotions play across her own. "I keep thinking that soon I will wake up and this whole thing will be just some terrible dream, but try as I might, I can't make myself wake up."

"Cathy, he's going to come through this. You know he's like that cat food commercial."

Cathy had to laugh at that, "Are you referring to the fact that he seems to have nine lives?" Her voice became more serious as she spoke, "Oh, Susan. I don't think I can survive losing him." she broke down and Susan wrapped her arms tightly around her. She didn't know what to say, there was nothing she could say, so she just sat there and held her friend trying to give what comfort she could. With a glance toward George she couldn't help wondering how she would be handling the situation if it had been she sitting with Cathy's arms around her, contemplating the lose of her mate. Furiously she banished such musings. Suddenly Beatrice Zepeta was kneeling in front of the women as they clung together. "Look, I've known Matt a lot of years. He's come through some pretty tough situations." She paused for a minute "and helped me through some as well. He fought to get this far, he's going to make it. Believe me, I know him." Cathy smiled amidst her tears reaching out to place her knuckles against the side of the other woman's face. "Thank you. Somewhere inside I know all that, it's just been so frightening."

George was still pacing "It's been over two hours since we've heard anything from surgery! That can't be a good sign!" He glanced at the wall clock in the waiting room. 2:30 a.m. what could be taking so long? Matt had been in surgery almost nine hours.

He glanced over his shoulder to see Vessna slumped against Albert sleeping peacefully. She had been there with them since Buck had picked her up from her school. He was now at the airport waiting for Emily.

They were all lost in their own thoughts and trying to combat their fears when Dr. Hastings burst through the door still dressed in surgical scrubs. "I am looking for the Sikes family."

They all stood at the same time.

"I'm sorry, I'm looking for the family of Matthew Sikes" he said with a lift of his eyebrows.

"That would be us," Cathy told him, "Matt is my husband and these," she said nodding to George, Susan and the others "are our very good friends."

Hastings merely shrugged and motioned for them to sit. He pulled one of the chairs around and sat directly in front of Cathy his knees almost touching hers. He leaned his elbows on his knees hanging his hands loose between his legs, "Well your husband is one stubborn SOB. Things got a little sticky once or twice, but he just refused to give up." He shook his head, "anyone else in the same condition wouldn't have made it off the table."

"How bad were his injuries, will he survive this?" Cathy asked trying to hold back the fear. The knowledge that Matt had almost died was almost too overwhelming.

"Well we were able to repair the internal damage, which was quite extensive." And he began to list the various injuries "The ruptured liver was not nearly as bad as I had feared and we were able to save his damaged kidney, though I really had my doubts about that for a while. The internal bleeding was the worst but we finally got all the leaks patched. We were almost done when everything started going south. I really didn't give him a snowball's chance in Hell…but he came back on his own, before I could get the paddles juiced up. We were about to move him to recovery when he bottomed out again, but he just wasn't ready to die. He has something," his voice softened and he smiled "or someone, to stay here for." He gripped Cathy's arm above the elbow, "He's not out of the woods yet, but damn, he's fighting with everything he has."

"Okay, people keep the faith and by all means don't give up on him." he said taking in the whole group "If you know anything about praying, it might not hurt to say a few. It sounds hokey I know, but I've seen it work."

Albert was still held the prayer cloth his arms "Oh yes doctor so have I."

"I would like to see him" Cathy said pleading with her eyes.

"Well, he's in recovery right now, but he should be stable enough to move to the ICU in a few hours. I'll send my nurse down to get you when we move him; you can see him then, but only for a few minutes."

She nodded that she understood, "Thank you doctor, thank you for everything."

He patted her arm and stood to leave, and George rose with him, he took the surgeon's hand, "Thank you doctor. He means so much to us. Matthew is family, and if you honestly think prayer will help then we shall do so."

"Let me tell you something friend, I really do believe it can help. There is an almighty God and he's out there listening, whether we believe it or not. I wasn't always so sure but the first time I held a living beating heart in the palm of my hand…well I knew there had to be a God. I just knew." He squeezed George's hand and winked, before turning to leave.

Grazer had thankfully departed for home with the news that Matt had survived the surgery and that it would probably be morning before any other news would be forthcoming.

Buck and Emily had arrived around 4:00 a.m., and about an hour before daybreak, Buck's cell phone rang. His call to the Red Cross was being returned, they were still looking for Kirby. It would probably be another day or two before they would know anything.

A small human female came into the waiting room, "Hello, Mr. Sikes family?"

George stood to his feet, and said, "That would be us." He said indicating the small group in the waiting room.

"Hi, my name is Rachel Marx, I'm Dr. Hastings' nurse. He told me to come and get you when we had Mr. Sikes moved into the ICU. There is also another waiting room for families of ICU patients if you want to grab your things, I'll show you where it is."

"Thank you so much, nurse Marx," Susan replied.

"Oh, Rachel will do just fine. Dr. Hastings said that all of you could see him, but no more than one or two at a time. If you'll follow me I'll take you to the waiting room."

Cathy went into the little glassed in cubicle first. She thought she had prepared herself this time, but found that she had not. A respirator was helping him to breathe, IV's were in both arms, and bandages were plastered everywhere, his torso nearly swathed in them. They had cleaned his hair and shaved his beard making him look more like her Matt, that helped.

She timidly reached out to touch him but was afraid. There was a nurse, an older human female almost motherly in her actions, checking his vital signs and reading the various monitors to which he was attached.

She noticed Cathy's hesitation. "Come on dear, you can touch him, in fact it will help him to know that you're here." She reached across the bed and took Cathy's hand placing it on Matt's bandaged chest, palm down and right above the heart. "Tell me, what do you feel?"

Cathy stood there with her hand over his heart. She could feel the muscle as it steadily pumped blood through his veins. "I feel his heart beating." She looked up with a tiny smile and tears glistening in her eyes.

The nurse smiled patting her hand, "That's right dear, and that heart beating under your hand is life. Just remember that. Now you listen to Lily, you have to hold on to your hope, Dearie, don't give up on him. He's made it this far, but he's going to need your help to go on from here."

Seeing her confusion, the nurse said, "Just talk to him dear, just talk to him. Let him know that you're here and what you feel."

Cathy kept her hand over his heart, feeling comfort in the weak but steady beat. She began to stroke his hair with her other hand, running her long fingers through the now clean silky curls. She stood there and spoke to him as if he could hear her. She told him of her feelings, how afraid she had been, how worried they had all been for him, but how she knew he was strong and would come back from this. She told him over and over how much she loved him, and needed him.

The visit was much too short, and it seemed that much too soon it was time to go. She kissed him on the temple, and promised to return soon.

Buck and Emily came in next. Buck stood protectively behind Emily with his arms around her as they gazed at the still form on the hospital bed. All around them were the beeps, swishes and whirs of the monitors and pumps and other machines, the likes of which they had never seen before. Emily was frightened, she had never seen needles, tubes and machines attached to someone she knew, in such a way.

Matt's face, though very pale and thin, was completely relaxed, the lines of pain and exhaustion having softened and smoothed out. There was a butterfly bandage holding the gash over his eye together. It was rather strange, Matt was hardly ever quiet, and even in his sleep he was hardly ever completely still. They just stood staring not really knowing what to do.

"Oh Buck, he looks so horrible." Emily said as she leaned back against her brother, "What did they do to him?" Buck could only tighten his arms around her, not just to comfort Emily, but himself as well.

The nurse, who had been so kind to Cathy, came bustling in. She smiled and for some reason they did not feel so nervous. "Well, I must say this man is truly blessed, to have so many friends who care so deeply for him."

Emily stared at the nurse and whispered, "Cathy said that we should talk to him. Can he hear us?"

"Oh yes, my dear, I believe he can hear you, in fact although he is unconscious right now, I believe that he knows you're here."

"You really think so?"

"Oh, I know so Dearie." She stood there for a moment looking at them, and then she called to them, "Come here you two, get on either side of the bed." As she watched them do as she had bidden, she continued, "Alright now take his hands in yours, don't worry about the needles, you can take his hand without hurting him."

Emily took the hand that lay next to her. It wasn't cold and stiff like she had feared, but warm. She studied his hand staring at his fingers and all the little wires attaching them to the different monitors. She gasped as those same fingers reflexively and ever so slightly curled around hers. She looked to the nurse with shining eyes, "You were right! He knows I'm here!"

"That's right dear, he knows."

Buck took Matt's other hand "Matt, I'm so sorry, I know that I've been a real ass to you in the past. I'm thankful that things are different now but…I just need you to know how much you mean to me. How much I value your opinion. How much I need you to talk to. I'd miss you terribly if you were to leave us.

The nurse gently patted Emily on the shoulder and nudged her away from the bed. "Come away Dears, its time for you to go, we've just enough time for his other two visitors and then he really needs to rest."

Buck came around from the other side trying to get some control over his emotions. When he reached Emily, the nurse gently touched his cheek and said, "Don't worry Dear, he's always understood. He was young once too you know." And she smiled in a way that made Buck wonder if maybe she could read his mind.

The ICU restricted visitors to thirteen years and above so Vessna as much as she wanted to see her Uncle Matt was on her way home with Buck and Emily much to George and Susan's relief. Vessna was much too young. George felt a need to guard her future memories. He didn't want this burned into her mind. All that aside, the child was exhausted as were they all.

With no small trepidation the couple entered the ICU cubicle. George felt helpless. This human lying on the bed was his friend, not just his friend but his best friend, his partner, and his brother. He took Matt's hand, and began to remember all the times in the past when this man had cheated death. Surely, his luck would hold this time as well.

Susan standing on the other side began to sing quietly as she had sometimes done for her children when they were ill, or had had a nightmare, trying to soothe and comfort them. She touched his cheek with her fingertips, and then moved to his forehead.

She felt the silkiness of his hair as she combed her fingers through to move some wayward strands from his forehead. She knew that humans stroked one another to comfort or to show affection. She had seen human mothers stroke their children in stressful situations, and had often wondered about it. Hair was dead tissue, wasn't it? But as she allowed her fingers to glide through the silken curls, she felt a connection. It was almost as if she might be strengthening or reinforcing the bond, she had with him. Never had her maternal instincts kicked in so swiftly toward someone outside of her blood family unit.

It was true that Matt was a mature human mail but looking at him now, pale bruised and thin as he was, he looked so small and vulnerable. For a moment, she got a glimpse of the little boy he must once have been, and her heart constricted as she realized that she too loved this human, more than she had known. She wanted to protect him, and comfort him as she would one of her own children.

She had known that these two men in her life had a strong bond, but up until now, she had not realized what Matt had grown to mean to her. How much she had depended on his insight into human behavior or how many times she had used him as a sounding board. Not only had he been her advisor, but he had been her friend as well. George had been right, Matt was family. If they should lose him…well, it wasn't something she wanted to think about, he would survive this. She would not let herself think of the alternative.

George didn't try to hide his tears. He let them run freely as he began to talk. "Matthew, I don't know if you can hear me, but I wanted for you to know that we are here with you. You are not alone, and you are safe now. We want you to know that we…" he swallowed more tears, "we love you, Matt." He looked up to see Susan watching him, and he plunged ahead, "I don't want to loose you. You've fought so hard up to this point, I'm just asking you to keep fighting just a little while longer, don't leave us yet, not like this. I'm so sorry that I was not there to help you when you needed me, but you must know that I would do anything to protect you. Please come back, my life will never be…my life..." he swallowed convulsively "Don't leave me Matthew, please don't leave me."

There had been no indication on Matt's face that he had heard George or even knew that they were there, but George felt Matt's fingers move just a little as if to tighten around his. "George laughed through his tears, "That's right Matthew, keep fighting, you just keep fighting."

Lily came in about that time and told them that it was time to leave. When Susan looked away from Matt, and into her eyes she saw so much hope. Her heart lightened.

George asked her "You will let us know if there is any change, or if anything… should go wrong?" he finished.

"Of course, Dear, but listen to me, what you need to do is believe in him, and let him know that you believe in him. Your friend is strong and you know how stubborn he can be, I don't see him giving up." George's eyes widened, this was what he had told Buck, almost word for word.

Almost two days later in the late afternoon, Matt groggily came around. He still seemed confused and was very agitated. He didn't know where he was and the different machines and their many sounds only added to his confusion. The intubation tube down his throat along with the other tubes and needles were frightening. His eyes darted around the room as if he might be seeking escape routs. His heart rate and blood pressure were climbing in his agitation. The nurse tried to calm him down but she was unknown, and he couldn't trust anyone. Suddenly his eyes fell on a very familiar and welcome face.

George just happened to be in the tiny ICU room and was about to leave when he heard the groans coming from the bed and without thinking, he nudged the nurse to the side in his need to get to his friend. He was caught off guard by the look of raw terror in Matt's eyes. George's only thought was to comfort him. When Matt's eyes rested on George, almost as if someone had flipped a switch there was only relief reflected in those eyes.

George took his hand and held on to him. Matt held his eyes, never moving his own away from George's face. So this is what Buck was talking about when he said that Matt was holding onto him with his eyes. Even if George had wanted to, there would have been no way he could have looked away.

"Matthew, my friend, you are safe now. Please calm yourself. You need to rest. I swear to you, that no one will hurt you. You are safe. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Matt nodded slightly.

George smiled and gently cupped the side of Matt's face with his hand letting his thumb lightly caress his cheek. Matt closed his eyes and nuzzled into the hand as if seeking comfort.

George had no idea how long he had been standing there when he realized that Matt had allowed himself to fall into a peaceful sleep. He gently pulled his shaking hand away, and quietly moved to the door. He stood looking back for a moment. The nurse smiled and said, "Don't worry I know where to find you."

The next day Matt seemed to be getting stronger, and was moved out of ICU into a room. In the early afternoon, he began to hemorrhage, and was quickly taken back up to surgery, where for the next several hours Dr. Hastings fought a fierce battle with leaking blood vessels and failing vital signs.

George joined Cathy and his family back in Matt's room where they followed doctor's orders and prayed, a half hour later Albert was there with them and then not too long after that Beatrice was there with her rosary beads. George feeling too restless and hemmed in to pray left them all and wandered aimlessly through the halls of the hospital. It was almost twenty minutes later before he stumbled upon the hospital chapel. Tentatively he pushed the door open and stepped inside. The room was dim and quiet, just the right atmosphere for reflection or meditation. He sat on one of the soft velvet covered benches in the back of the room, and let the quiet peace settle over him.

He heard a rustle of movement toward the front of the chapel and looked up to see Lily, the motherly nurse from the ICU standing from a kneeling position at the altar in front. She spotted him and smiled. "Well George, I don't believe I've seen you in here before."

He looked rather sheepish for a moment and said, "I needed a quiet place to think. We've all been praying but…I needed some space." Again that sheepish look, "I won't lie to you, I'm a little worried. I don't know how much more he can take."

Lily had a smile that would put anyone at ease. She sat next to him on the bench and patted his knee. "You know, George, you can pray in here too."

"I know but I don't know if Celine will hear me in here," he said eyeing the human religious Icons and symbols in the front of the chapel.

Again Lily smiled, "Who knows George, but the Father will hear wherever you may be."

George eyed her nervously, "I'm not human Lily, I've been praying to Celine."

Lily's smile broadened "I know George, but I know that my God will hear you, after all he created you."

George shook his head, "No Lily, as I've said, I'm not of this world."

"Why should that matter? He created all the worlds, everything in the known universe plus those things known only to him."

"You really believe that don't you?" George asked.

Lily became serious, "Yes I do, and it doesn't matter whether or not you might believe. My belief or yours for that matter doesn't prove or disprove the truth of the existence of the Eternal One. Unlike your Celine or Andarko, He never evolved into a higher being. He just always was, is, and shall forever be."

George didn't know what he was feeling, confusion was probably number one on the list, but there were so many other feelings rushing through him as well.

"Look George, as all powerful and all knowing as our Heavenly Father is, still He is not removed from our hurts and fears. He loves us, His creation, His children as it were, with a love we will never understand." She was quiet for a moment as if listening to the silence in the little room. George almost jumped when she continued, "I promise you, if you open your heart and seek Him out, He will hear you, and don't say some prayer by ritual or rote, but just talk to him from your heart." She slowly got to her feet patted him on the shoulder and left him alone in the little chapel.

George laughed to himself and thought, "Okay, why not? Isn't He Matt's God too? What could it hurt." and then on impulse he said aloud, "Lily's God, if you're really out there and willing to listen to someone like me, please save my friend." Tears began to roll down his cheeks and he struggled to control the muscles in his face. "Bring him back to us, and please heal his spirit. Um…thank you…ah…no, I mean, Amen I think."

In the thick of the battle for Matt's life, his systems began to fail. He was still bleeding, and while Dr. Hastings tried to bring it all under control, Matt flatlined. Hastings reached for the defibrillator, while at the same time George was in the chapel calling out to Lily's God. Suddenly Matt was back, Hastings was able to get the bleeding under control, and Matt's blood pressure was coming back up to safe levels. Then all of his other systems began falling into line. Hastings only shook his head. Knowing better than to look a gift horse in the mouth, he checked to make sure there was no other internal bleeding. He then began to close the incision, mentally saying his own prayer of thanksgiving.

Now they only had to watch him. Hastings' big worry was blood clots. He stayed in the recovery area, not wanting to leave until he was satisfied that Matt was out of immediate danger. He then followed him as he was taken down to the ICU. Standing there at the man's bedside, he felt a connection to this patient. It wasn't the first time the surgeon had felt this. There had been a few others that had really made an impression on the doctor, but there was something about this one that had really gotten hold of him, this was becoming personal.

Surgeons didn't usually like to get personally involved with their patients, but Hastings was different. He was never able to distance himself. Maybe that was what made him so good at what he did.

It had been seven hours since Matt had been taken up to surgery, when Dr. Hastings knocked on the door to Matt's hospital room where he knew the man's family would be waiting.

Cathy jumped from her seat as he swiftly entered without waiting for an invitation, "Dr. Hastings! What's happened? It's been so long and…"

Hastings held his hand up to silence the many questions, "First of all, just like last time I talked to you, He's alive. We were more than four hours into the surgery, when everything started to shut down. But again like I told you the last time, he just wasn't ready to die." Hastings rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't know, I guess that there's a higher power at work here. I was standing there with the paddles in my hands again, when his heart started on its own." Hastings was exhausted and he looked it. "If you guys are praying, don't stop." He laughed tiredly, "Something's working."

George felt something almost like a cold wind blow down his back. 'Could it be that maybe…?' he swallowed but held his tongue.

"When can I see him," Cathy wanted to know.

Hastings sighed, "I thought it best for him to spend the night in ICU. I'm sorry, I'm restricting visitors to two." He said motioning to Cathy and George. "If he does well, I'll see about having him moved back to his room in the morning, the rest of you can see him then." He nodded to the group and said, "Good evening and do yourselves all a favor. Go home and get some sleep." And with that, he exited in a rush, much as he had entered the room.

Cathy sent George home adamantly refusing to go herself, saying that she wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.

Lily who was once again Matt's nurse in the ICU, took pity on her and allowed her to stay in the chair next to Matt's bed, in fact it had been her Idea. She had seen that Matt's vital signs seemed to remain stable when Cathy was near. George and Cathy seemed to be his anchors in this world.

Cathy was thankful, it would be a hard night, but she knew that she would sleep better here in this hard strait backed chair than she would at home or anywhere else for that matter. She watched Lily as she checked the IV's and different monitors in the room.

Before leaving, Lily gently placed her hand on Matt's brow. Then unexpectedly she placed a kiss on his forehead. There was so much love and peace in her eyes.

Cathy swallowed around the lump in her throat and whispered, "I'm so thankful you're his nurse again, it almost seems like providence."

"Oh, it is sweetie. I've taken care of this little lamb before." Lily's hand caressed Matt's face.

"Yes of course, I remember the first time he was in the ICU." Cathy nodded

Lily was thoughtful for a moment and nodded also, "Yes, then too." She collected Matt's chart and made sure everything was as it should be, then bustled out of the room.

Cathy hadn't realized that she had nodded off until she heard the rustling of papers at the foot of Matt's bed, and looked up to find Dr. Hastings, going over his chart. He heard her shift in her chair and smiled reassuringly, "His vital signs look good, and he's stable. I see no reason why he can't be moved back to his room in the morning. I'd like to see him wake up first though. I'll cut back on the sedative, and he should awaken sometime in the morning."

"Thank you doctor. What time is it anyway?" she asked unable to see a clock from where she sat.

He closed the chart and tiredly looked up. "2:30 in the a. m." he stated rather matter of factly.

Cathy took a harder look at the doctor, "You know, you keep telling us to go home and get some sleep, but I don't seem to recall a time I haven't seen you around here somewhere since you talked to us yesterday afternoon. Don't you have a home to go to?"

He laughed in surrender, "You got me there. Yes I do, and a wife who is much more understanding than I'll ever deserve. I'm going to make it up to her though, or try. We plan to take about two months and just travel around, maybe go to the mountains and do some fishing. Now that's my idea, she may completely change the itinerary, but that's okay too." He was smiling. "My wife was a country girl when I married her, and she never quite got away from the simpler pleasures. She is just as happy to sit on a riverbank as some doctors wives are to sit on the deck of a cruise ship. I have to admit I am blessed."

"So am I," Cathy said with just a hint of fear in her voice.

Hastings held her eyes with his and smiled again, "You just hang in there, things look good so far, and I'm sure he'll get past the emotional trauma. He's going to come back to you. It's been a long time since I felt this close to a patient. I just have this feeling. It's hard to explain, but somehow I know in my gut, that he's going to come through this."

"I really hope you're right."

"Me too." He sighed, "Well little lady, I have other patients to look in on, try to get a little more sleep, your spots are starting to fade."

Cathy laughed this time, a little embarrassed, "Oh, my I must look a fright."

The surgeon had turned to go, but stopped in his tracks. He turned to Cathy and said, "I don't think you realize how beautiful you really are. You remind me of my wife. You both have this inner glow. I think it's the love shining in your eyes. Your husband is as blessed as I am." He smiled his trademark smile and winked, "Now get some sleep, doctor's orders."

Matt had remained stable through the rest of the night. There had been no complications, and no hidden surprises.

Susan snuck in around 6:30 and asked, "How is he doing?" then she noticed the near exhaustion of the other woman and added, "and how are you?"

"He's really doing well. Dr. Hastings said that as soon as he awakens he can be moved back to is room, and I will be just fine as soon as I see those eyes open."

Cathy was the first to hear the moan, then Susan caught the sound.

Dark lashes began to flutter as Matt's eyes tried to open. The room was quiet except for the sound of the various monitors.

A soft raspy voice dry as sandpaper spoke from the bed "Hi, beautiful" Relief was palpable in the little room as Cathy looked at him with a wobbly smile, "Hi yourself." She tenderly lay her fingers on his hair, gently brushing her thumb back and forth across his temple.

He spotted Susan, "Hey, Susan, are you crying? Is anything wrong?" He looked around at the room and asked, "Hey, what's up?" his voice was still very dry and weak.

Susan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, she bent over to give him a kiss on the cheek, "Hi, Matt. No, nothing is wrong, in fact everything is wonderful."

He only smiled, his eyes drooping heavily, he was clearly fighting to stay awake, finally losing the battle and drifting off.

Lily was smiling at the door. "There now, that's what we've been waiting for. I'll let Dr. Hastings know."

They met George in the hall as Matt was moved back to his room. Susan was all smiles and Cathy was glowing with relief.

George knew that this could only mean good news, but how good?

Cathy broke away and ran to him, "He spoke to me! This morning he spoke to me! He's back George, he's back. I couldn't believe it, but he spoke to both of us before he fell asleep. Dr. Hastings said that he would do that for the next few days…"

George stopped her, "Hey, wait your talking like a race horse, he'll do what for the next few days?"

Susan answered for her, "Dr. Hastings said that Matt would wake up for a few minutes and then drift off to sleep again. He said that the combination of all the stress his body has taken and the different medications he's been given, will make him groggy for a couple of days, so we are not to be alarmed if he should fall asleep in mid-sentence."

George leaned against the wall. Could it be true? Was his friend back? He felt relief flood through him, lessening the fear that had held him in it's grip.

He thanked Celine for this blessing but thought it good form to thank the God that Lily and Matt prayed to as well. It only seemed fitting.

TBC