Shattered

by

Numb3rsfan

Chapter Two: Straight Through My Heart

Four hours; it had been four hours and seven minutes since Keith had stormed out of the house. Now Chris, Tracy and Danny were sitting side-by-side on the living room couch; each having a sad look to their faces.

After two hours they had all begun to search for their brother so they could apologize but they couldn't find him. They checked everywhere; the school, the park, Muldoon's Point, heck they even checked the garage but each time they came up empty handed.

"He's been gone for hours." Chris said. "Maybe he ran away."

That was Tracy. Chris looked at his sister, really not believing that suggestion. Come on, who heard of Keith Partridge running away?

"He's too old to run away." Danny sadly replied. He too didn't believe that Keith would run away; storm out of the house sure; they had all seen that but run away? No. Keith had more sense than that.

Hearing the front door open all three kids rose up and turned towards the door at the same time that one might think it had been a rehearsed move. They hoped against hope that it was Keith; returning to straighten things out, but it was to no avail. Their hopes and dreams fell when they saw that it was their sister Laurie.

"Did you find him?" Danny asked in a hopeful tone of voice, but when he saw his sister's face he knew that she hadn't had any luck either.

"No. I went to all of his hangouts but no one's seen him." Laurie said. She headed over to the couch and sat on the edge of it while the other three children took up their original seats on the comfortable couch.

Hearing more footsteps the children looked up just as Laurie asked, "Did you have any luck mom?"

They all excepted Shirley to say that she had found him but when she just shook her head they knew that she hadn't had any luck either. All of them were now very worried about Keith. He had been gone way too long. Either he had run away as Tracy had suggested or...or...no...none of them would think that way. They wouldn't and couldn't imagine that Keith had done something as silly and stupid as to commit...no...no he wouldn't do that...would he?

A phone call roused all of the Partridge's from their self absorbed musings. Shirley walked across the carpeted floor and picked up the telephone, placing the receiver to her ear.

"Hello?" She asked in to the receiver, "Yes this is Mrs. Partridge...WHAT?"

Hearing the shocked and frightened tone in their mother's voice, Danny, Laurie, Chris and Tracy all jumped up off the couch and turned towards their mother. Something had obviously happened to Keith, and that something was obviously bad.

"Well is he...?" Shirley asked, pausing again to listen to what the doctor on the phone was saying. After a few seconds she nodded her head and assured the doctor that she was on her way before bidding the doctor goodbye. She then hung up the phone and burst in to tears; her heart aching and her arms just wanting to hold her eldest son.

"What happened mom? Was it about Keith?" Laurie asked, carefully approaching her mother's shaking form. Shirley hadn't moved but was instead half way keeled over, wracked with sobs; sobs for Keith.

Hand going to her mouth, Shirley lifted tear stained eyes to look at Laurie and the others.

"That was Dr. Elliot from Normandy Memorial. Keith...uh...Keith was brought in two hours ago he...he was hit by a car." Shirley said in a shaky voice.

Hearing the news every child in that room gasped; a collective intake of air that showed that they were all shocked and worried for Keith.

"Is he going to be okay mom?" Danny asked. He would hate and never forgive himself if Keith died thinking that he hated him. That...that just couldn't happen.

"The...the doctors don't think he's going to pull through, Danny." Shirley replied. The words tasted like dirt in her mouth. How could she utter them? But they were the cold, hard truth. Keith was badly injured and the doctors didn't give him more than a ten percent chance of pulling through let alone make a full and complete recovery.

Seconds after Shirley said those words the living room fell quiet; so quiet that one could of heard a pin hit the floor; then it irrupted in to voices; everyone was speaking, ushering the others out towards the car. Shirley followed along on autopilot, her mind still trying to process everything. Her baby, her Keith was laying in a hospital bed fighting for his life because of some joke that the kids pulled. She knew that they hadn't meant to hurt him but the damage had already been done, now there was nothing left to do but try to pick up the pieces, but how could they even begin to do that when Keith was lying at death's door?

The Partridge Family's multi colored bus was there, parked by the curb but the children headed for the car; it would carry them all of course but it would be a tight squeeze.

"Come on kids we're taking the bus." Shirley said. The children slowed down and changed their trajectory from the car that was parked in the driveway to the bus that was parked on the street. One by one they climbed in to the bus; Danny, Laurie, Chris, Tracy and finally Shirley.

Shutting the door to the bus, Shirley fired up the engine, put the bus in to gear and pulled away from the house as quickly as she dared to.

Two hours later found Chris, Tracy and Laurie out in the waiting room of the hospital, while Shirley and Danny were in the ICU watching Keith breathe. He was hooked up to so many machines...so many machines. There were several that were helping him to breathe; in fact they had actually taken over Keith's breathing for him, and there was a tube down his throat. His eyes were taped shut and his head was completely wrapped up. Bruises, cuts and scrapes mottled the once beautiful face that looked so small and sunken now.

After arriving at the hospital Shirley had learned from the doctor that Keith was in a coma and had been ever since his arrival to the hospital. He had suffered a severe concussion which was causing his brain to swell. Other injuries had included several broken ribs, a broken leg and a pierced lung, but what shocked Shirley most of all was the fact that Keith had had to have his spleen removed. She knew what all that would entail; if he survived his immune system would be compromised, making him even more susceptible to diseases.

When they all had learned that Keith was out of surgery, they had all wanted to see him. Two at a time they had been allowed in; Shirley and Laurie, then Danny and Mr. Kincaid who had also been called, and finally Chris and Tracy. Both Chris and Tracy had managed to stay by Keith's side a grand total of two minutes before they had all but run from the room; tears streaming down their faces. Now it was Shirley and Danny who were at Keith's side.

Shirley wished she could gently touch Keith's head; smooth his beautiful brown hair down but the doctor's had warned her to be careful what she touched, so she was trying to keep that warning in mind.

"This is all my fault."

That was Danny; the same sorrowful tone in his voice. Tearing her eyes away from Keith, Shirley looked down at Danny who was gripping the rails of Keith's bed but who was not looking at Keith; eyes resting on the blankets that covered Keith.

"This isn't your fault Danny, this isn't anyone's fault." Shirley replied, placing a hand on Danny's shoulder.

It was obvious that Danny didn't believe his mother. "No mom, I'm serious. If I hadn't come up with that stupid idea then Keith wouldn't have run off and he wouldn't be here now. It's my fault that he's in here mom, it's my fault he's like this."

At first Danny had been strong while he was speaking, but when he got to the last part his voice broke and his lip started to tremble as tears welled up in his eyes.

Shirley knelt down so that Danny was taller than her before she reached out and took Danny's hands in hers. She fully understood why Danny was blaming himself and maybe he was actually right about it but now was not the time to place blame, now was not the time to blame oneself, now was the time to pull together; Keith would need them all to be strong.

"Danny, I know it's hard not to blame yourself but this isn't your fault. Yes you hurt Keith but you didn't cause all of this to happen." Shirley said, having a feeling that what she was saying really wasn't computing with her son.

"Thanks mom, but I know the truth. If Keith dies it'll be because of me...it'll be because I killed him." Danny said.

Fear was evident in his voice; fear that Keith was going to die. That knowledge was also present in Shirley's mind as well but she wasn't going to think about it; couldn't think about it. Positive thoughts; that was the way to go.

"Danny don't think that way. Keith is going to pull through, you have to believe that." Shirley said in a desperate tone of voice, searching Danny's downcast eyes for a hint that he was even believing anything she was saying.

"Sure mom...sure." Danny replied. There it was; that tone in his voice again. Shirley sighed before she drew in her son for a hug.

"Danny, Keith is going to need us all to be strong for him. We all have to believe that he is going to be alright. The doctor told me that we all should talk to him, there is a possibility that he can still hear us." Shirley said.

She felt Danny pull away and look at her. "He can hear us?"

"Yes Danny, Dr. Elliot said there was no reason why he shouldn't be able to. Talk to him Danny, he needs to hear you." Shirley said. She watched Danny wipe the tears from his eyes, swallow and then nod his head. If there was any possibility that Keith could hear him then Danny couldn't just keep silent...right?