Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

A/N: I'd like to thank all of my reviewers for the wonderful response to the first chapter. A special thanks to Lady Elora for not being afraid to bust my chops, especially when it comes to my dialogue, which I know is one of my weak points. Also, for all of you who think that you know where I am going with this, you ain't seen nothing yet! ;) There is a long road ahead for this story, so you better keep the reviews coming, because, as those of you who have read my stories know, I can sometimes lose interest for long periods of time. It is a major fault that I really hope doesn't come into play with this story.

Crash and Freeze

Chapter Two

A cloud of smoke billowed from the lab, followed by a string of muffled curses. He was sure he had had it that time! He quickly tried to contain the smoke before it could reach the smoke alarm and wake anyone up.

Reed stretched his neck to peek out at Susan, who had fallen asleep on the couch, where she had determinedly set up camp in order to apologize to Johnny when he came back. Fortunately, his laboratory mishap had not waken her. He frowned as he looked at the clock. 12:32. Johnny should have been home by now. It wasn't like him not to keep his word, even if he was upset at Sue for jumping to conclusions.

The shrill ring of the phone cut into his thoughts. He quickly grabbed it off the hook and answered it before it could ring again.

"Hello?" As the voice on the other end spoke, his face went completely white. "We'll be right there."

OoooOoooOoooO

Everyone in the waiting room of Mt. Sinai was giving them a wide berth. Whether out of respect for their privacy or fear of approaching them, Sue didn't know. Most likely the latter, she was sure, as she looked at the two men next to her. They were used to having family members' lives in jeopardy, not that it made it easier when they were. But in this case, they couldn't do anything!

Reed was trying to remain calm, probably because he knew that calm was the last thing that she and Ben could be in a situation like this. But his calm demeanor had a fierceness to it that made it clear that he was about five seconds from snapping if anyone dared to invade the sanctuary of their silence.

Ben was even worse. He was not even trying to keep the fury off of his face. Inactivity was not something he liked. The only reason he wasn't pacing was because Reed had put an end to it when he commented that he probably would wear a hole in the floor. He had given the elastic man a very dirty look but the pacing had stopped.

The waiting was driving her crazy! Johnny had been her responsibility for as long as she could remember, even before their parents died, an idea that she knew he chafed under. Now, she was in danger of losing her little brother, it hurt even more to know that it was the same way they had lost their mother.

"Mrs. Richards," a voice said, startling her out of her worries. She stood to face the woman who had addressed her, anxious to hear what she had to say, while at the same time dreading it.

"I'm Dr. McKall, I'm your brother's neurosurgeon," she began. "Your brother's injuries were extensive, but most were not life-threatening and we were able to handle those in a way that will not having any lasting damages. The most worrying thing was massive internal bleeding and a ruptured spleen, both of which we managed to get under control."

"There's a but coming, isn't there?" Susan asked when the doctor paused.

Dr. McKall sighed before giving the bad news. "There is a good bit of swelling in your brother's brain. We have tried to wait it out, hoping that it would go down, but it hasn't yet. With your permission, we would like to do surgery on his brain to reduce the swelling. It is a risky procedure, and there is a slight chance that the swelling will go down on its own, but if it doesn't, it is extremely likely that your brother will suffer some brain damage, how much we can't say."

Susan almost cried at the thought of her baby brother going through life with brain damage, but she didn't know what to do. "Can we have a moment, please?" she asked with a much more steady voice than she thought she could.

"Of course," the doctor replied, stepping away to give the three some privacy.

She looked at Reed and Ben with tears in her eyes. "What do I do?" she asked, terrified of the decision that had been put on her shoulders.

"Susan, this decision isn't an easy one," Reed began gently before being cut off.

"Damn it, Reed, don't try to sugarcoat it for me, give me the truth," Susan snapped, knowing that he knew the same truth he did but needing to hear to from his mouth all the same.

Reed sighed wearily. "His chances aren't good either way, but they are better with the surgery."

Ben kept quiet, knowing the other two knew more about this kind of thing than he did and trying desperately to come to terms with the fact that the quick wit he loved to argue with could be diminished no matter what they did.

Tbc...

Sorry for the length. I will try harder to write longer chapters, I promise!