A/n: Here is chapter 6. It's kind of emotional so please let me know what you think! It's a tad bit long but what can I say, I couldn't find a good stopping point! My muse was on a roll!

Special Thanks: JoeDude, Aldea0402, reid, whitefire24. Your replies are greatly appreciated. You guys are what keep me writing so I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

Chapter Six

Patience. Webster's Dictionary defines this word as the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like. But Tami was doing exactly the opposite no matter how she fought off the urge to be the opposite of the things listed above.

There were so many things she could think of that she hated at the moment. She hated the cold dead walls of the intensive care waiting room. She hated the strict visiting hours they put up. She could only see Eric 6 hours out of the day and that wasn't near long enough, despite the fact that he was still unconscious. Most of all, she hated the fact that her husband was lying in a semi private bed, his future uncertain.

Questions flooded her mind like floodgates on a lake dam, the main and most important one being why? She had always heard people say, "it could happen to anyone" but she never really gave it a second thought. There was always the thought of something happening to Eric but she seemed to have a knack for pushing it to the back of her mind. She already had enough worries and stress so it was best that she didn't even brush up on what if's and could have's. This was like a movie you'd go see on a Saturday afternoon, not something that would happen in real life, not in Dillon, Texas and not to her husband who led a Christian life and helped whoever he came across.

Wiping a tear away, she stared at a family sitting across from her, they too were counting down the seconds as to when they'd open up the ICU doors for visiting hours, revealing many patients that were in serious condition that needed the love and support of their family and friends. So far no one from school had came in but she was sure later on they'd all start to stop by, offering their help on whatever needed to be done. She had also called his parents, and their plane was landing later that evening from Dallas.

The phone call with his mother was the worst. What do you say to a mother whose son was just shot? "Hey Mrs. Taylor, Eric was shot today by a student... how are you doing?" Thankfully she didn't say that but it was hard to find the appropriate words in that situation. His mother took it pretty hard and even though she tried to hide it, Tami could hear it in her voice. The shaky words, the long breaks of awkward silence and the abrupt decision to fly down to see her son. His dad didn't say much; he handled his worry a bit different.

The doctor's words echoed in her mind.

"He's not out of the woods yet."

She hated that term, now more than ever. She just wished that he'd wake up and be fine, that this was a nightmare that would be gone when the annoying sound from the alarm clock went off, waking her from such a horrible slumber. It wasn't the case though; this was all a harsh reality. Eric was in bad shape and the only thing she could think to do was pray like she had never prayed before. It was the only comfort she could find in the dark cave she seemed to be walking through at the moment.

Julie on the other hand was still in a bit of a shock. She still wasn't sure if this had happened. It all played out in front of her so fast that she still hadn't grasped her bearings yet. All she could think about was how much she had been fighting with her father lately. She felt terrible about how rude she was when all he'd try to do was protect her, even up to the last moments before he got shot. He had stepped in front of her, guarding her from Reyes and the gun that he had in his grasp.

She leaned her head against the wall behind her chair as she closed her eyes. Quickly she opened them; all she could see when they were shut were her father's blood, pooling in front of her at her mom's office. She wanted to get up and walk off but her legs wouldn't move. She also wanted Matt but no one from school had come up yet; they were all probably waiting to hear from them first and neither her nor her mother had made an attempt to call anyone, not at the moment anyway.

She opened the face of her phone, watching her display move in front of her. That was another fight her and her dad had, the fact that the display she had bought for the phone was $2.99 for a stupid flower that fluttered across the screen. They fought about some of the dumbest things and that made her conscience feel even worse.

"You want to call someone?" Tami noticed her daughter fidgeting with her phone. "People from school probably want to know what's going on. You know if you tell one person the whole town will know within 15 minutes."

Julie nodded but kept her eyes down. "I thought about calling Matt."

"Go ahead. I'll call a few people here in a little bit, I still don't think I can handle their kindness at the moment."

Julie stepped out of the waiting room to dial her boyfriend's number. She couldn't stand hearing other people gabbing on their phone so she was going to be considerate and take it somewhere private. She was so shaky that she almost couldn't even dial out the seven digits.

It rang twice and Matt quickly answered. "Hello?"

"Hey Matt, its Julie."

"Hey, how are you doing?" Matt wasn't sure what to say, her dad was just shot for crying out loud, and of course she wasn't doing well.

"He's in ICU right now so we can't see him much. The doctors say he's in bad shape. I can't talk long cause we can go in and see him here in a little bit but please tell everyone for me okay? Feel free to come up too if you'd like, we just can't crowd his room."

"Okay, I'll let the team know. Thanks for calling me."

Julie wiped away a tear and tried to hide that she was crying. "I'm sorry I can't talk long. I'll see you later." She quickly closed the face on her phone and went back to her mother's side. She didn't want to be away from her for a long period of time.

Eric could barely see things around him. It was as if opening his eyes was a hard accomplishment. His eyelids were so heavy that he could barely hold them open for a few seconds, if at all. The moments he did have them open things were so blurry that he had no idea where he was and why he felt the pain he was feeling.

His nurse took note to his movement and stood by his bed. So many times patients in his state of mind got confused and began ripping out IV's and central lines that were vital for their recovery.

He turned his head side to side. He had never felt the confusion he was feeling. Where was Tami? He always woke up next to Tami in bed. Who was this blob-like figure standing over him? Why was his body warning him not to move because every time he did pain would shoot through all of his limbs? He finally took notice to the IV's sticking in his body and pulled on one of the cords but the nurse was quick to react, restraining him.

"Coach, you are in the hospital. I need you to calm down."

That caused him to open his eyes all of the way. The hospital? What was he doing in the hospital? He moved his lips to try to speak but nothing came out, just a small muffled sound. His throat was so dry that it felt as if someone had lit a match down it.

"You are in the intensive care unit."

He fought hard to get the question out that he wanted but nothing. He could not remember what happened to him no matter how hard he tried. He strained to sit up but felt the nurse push him back down. Why was she being so frustrating? He wanted to find Tami and Julie and go home, that's all he wanted.

"Your wife and daughter will be here in about 5 minutes, that's when visiting hours are."

Eric closed his eyes. The hospital. A place he despised and now he was stuck in one with no recollection as to what put him here. Maybe Tami could read his mind and answer him since this nurse obviously couldn't or just wasn't making an effort to. Thankfully Tami and Julie walked behind his curtain and that caused the nurse to step out and give them what little privacy they could have.

"Hey Eric, you are awake finally." Tami sat down in the chair beside his bed, running her fingers through his messy hair. "How are you feeling?" She had to admit it was quite a relief to see his eyes open. He had been out most of the day and she thought he might never wake up.

He winced and tried to talk again and just like Tami did, she could tell exactly what he wanted. She poured some water in to a styro-foam cup and handed it to him. She wasn't sure if it was okay but it was obvious that he was thirsty so she went ahead and tried to comfort him the best she could.

He let out a sigh; water had never tasted so good to him. "What…happened?" It took all of his energy to get that small sentence out, almost as if he just got done running a marathon.

Tami looked over at Julie, her brow creased and that butterfly feeling you feel when you are nervous was present. She grabbed her husband's hand and licked her lips, bracing herself to give him the news of what happened.

"You were shot in the stomach."

Eric closed his eyes yet again; taking in the words his wife had just spoken like a ton of bricks landing on him. That explained the pain he was in, but not a lot of the other questions lingering over him. What did he do to get shot? Who did it? Why couldn't he remember something so tragic? Were they okay? That was the next question he had to ask.

"You…okay?" He let out another deep breath. Every word he spoke caused a dull ache in his abdomen but he didn't care, it was important to get these questions answered.

"We are fine. You stood in front of us so we wouldn't get hit." She tried not to cry in front of him but she couldn't stop the tears from flooding down her cheeks. "I'm sorry this happened Eric."

"Who?"

"Reyes did it. He was upset about being kicked off of the team and cornered us in my office. As I said, you pushed us behind my desk and took the gunshot at point blank range."

The nurse interrupted their conversation as she entered behind the curtain with a long syringe. "I'm sorry to interrupt but it's time for another dose of his morphine. I hate to give this during visiting hours because it makes him drowsy but he definitely needs this."

Tami nodded, glancing at her daughter who stayed quiet through all of this. The poor girl looked like she wanted to throw up at any second. Fifteen years old and having to deal with this. She was 41 and having a hard time, she could only imagine the mental turmoil that Julie was going through. His parents would be here later tonight but too late to see him so they'd have to wait until the morning. She wasn't sure if Eric wanted them to see him like this but there was no keeping them away.

She averted her attention back to the nurse who was inserting it through a port on his IV about a foot above his hand. It was almost instant relief for Eric and she was glad. Before the dose of the strong painkiller it was evident that he was hurting, just by the way he was wincing and holding his body.

The nurse left minutes later, leaving them alone yet again. She gripped Eric's hand, grasping it tightly to see if he had a response. Surprisingly he squeezed back. His eyelids began to grow heavy again and Tami and Julie were becoming a huge blur to him. He hadn't even spoke to Julie and felt bad so he quickly turned his head to face her.

"Hey baby." His words were so quiet that they were almost a whisper.

"Hey daddy." She grabbed his other hand. They felt so cold yet he had sweat on his brow. "You feel okay?"

He gave her a small nod. "Just…sleepy." He wanted to fight his sleep and stay up with his girls but the morphine proved to be stronger than his willpower and his body drifted off into a deep sleep. He had weird dreams before but the medicine they had him on gave him nightmares and thoughts he never knew he could think up.

Tami and Julie stayed in as long as they could until visiting hours were over, watching their husband and father sleep, praying every chance they could and hoping he'd get well soon and be able to walk away from this hospital as if nothing had happened to him. A few people from school showed up as well but only could stay a few minutes so they wouldn't crowd the room. Jason, Matt and Lila were among a few of the students as well as the principal and a few of Eric's coaching staff. Tami was glad they came but also relieved when they left. She felt so overwhelmed; it wasn't that she wanted to be rude. It was good to know there were people who cared but she wanted as much time with him as she could even though he was sleeping.

(Eric's dream)

His dream was almost psychedelic. He could see faces of people from his past as well as those present in his future. Faces of his football players shooting out from the vibrant colors, each of them flashing in and out, back and forth around him.

The dream was as if someone was switching a channel on the TV because he then found himself in a dark tunnel, all alone and closed in away from all civilization. He quickly gasped for air, panicking to get out of the entrapment he was in. He ran as fast as he could, making it through but then found himself in a dark forest where everything was blurry and dreary to him.

Tami was there, standing off in the distance. She stood out; she was the only thing in his vision that was in fact not blurry. He tried walking to her but something held him back, something that would not allow him to get near his wife. He yelled out her name as loud as he could, it echoing through the woods around them.

"TAMI!" She didn't respond, she just kept walking down the trail that led her away from him. Why wasn't she answering him? He called for her again but Julie then appeared. She too was not blurry but walking with her mother away from him. He pulled hard on whatever was restraining him but it gave no leverage.

Within a split second the two most important women in his life disappeared, leaving him alone in the blurry forest. He tried not to panic as sweat poured into his eyes. He had to get to them; he had to find them. Why were things so strange and why was he so confused?

(ICU Room)

Quickly his eyes jolted open and he was back in his hospital room, awake and flustered. He was sweating and the pull he had been feeling was the tie down that the nurse had put on him to keep him from pulling his central line out when he woke up and didn't know where he was. Thankfully his vision was clear enough to see the clock on the wall. It was after midnight. His pain wasn't as bad as it was earlier but it was definitely present. He had sweat so much that the sheets under him were wet.

He tried to shift his weight but that was a big mistake. His body quickly warned him to stop moving and that's what he did. He was tired of lying in the same position but if it meant him being comfortable that's what he'd do at the moment. He stared up at the ceiling, listening to the sounds around him. ICU sure was a noisy place, even more so at night than during the day.

The lights around him were bright and he was surprised that he could get any rest, but the medicine he was on knocked him out for hours and hours and sometimes he wished they didn't. He had been having eerie dreams like the one he just had for awhile and he was scared to go to sleep.

He finally had some time to do some coherent thinking. He still couldn't remember a lot of what had happened to him but he knew exactly why. Reyes was always a kid with a short fuse and kicking him off of the team obviously lit a fire under him. He never thought that Reyes could take it as far as this but that's why they say to never underestimate people. They can do some pretty surprising things.

A feeling of fear instantly took over. What kind of shape was he in? Tami didn't say much about that, just what had happened. He definitely had no experience in the medical field so all of the terms everyone was using were like a different language to him. He knew being in ICU meant he wasn't in real good shape but at least the best staff was around him. Getting answers in a hospital was like pulling teeth though, no matter what was wrong with the person.

He glanced up at the ceiling again; it was the only clear view he had of anything at the moment. He really wished Tami could be here with him. She was good company even if they didn't talk. The thought of someone by his bedside was comforting but sadly he was alone wondering what his future might hold for him. He was relieved to know that nothing had happened to her or Julie. He wasn't sure how he could handle if they were laid up in a bed in serious condition like he was.

Then another realization hit. The football game was tomorrow. What would they do? There was no way he'd be out tomorrow. Would McGill coach it for him? Would they forfeit the game for the circumstances? There's no way they could do that, it would ruin their season for sure. He ran his hand over his forehead. He needed to stop worrying about every little thing and focus on his recovery but it was hard not to. When you are left alone in a hospital bed with nothing but white walls around you that's all your body would do was think…and think some more.

A different nurse entered his room with the same familiar syringe filled with morphine. She inserted it into his IV and within minutes he was out cold again, his mind brewing up more strange dreams for him to analyze later if he could remember them.

Tami was about to doze off on her couch when she took notice to a few of the family pictures she had sitting on the mantle across the room. She knew they were there, they had been there since they had moved in to the house back in the summertime before school started. This time she actually sat and looked at the pictures rather than glancing at them as she walked by.

There was a couple of her and Eric before they were married. A picture of them both dressed up at one of his college get togethers, one of them at the beach down at Corpus Christi, and then a picture of them together at their wedding reception. They both looked so young and happy together, like anything could happen and they'd stand strong and face it. That's what she knew they had to do in this situation as well. The Taylor family was strong and this was a test God had put down on the earth for them to deal with.

She then glanced at a family picture of all three of them together. Julie was only 9 but still basically looked the same. She hadn't changed much. They all three were smiling. She ran her fingers over the frame that was carved by hand, their last name cascaded across the top. They could do this. This would be another memory for them to recall later on, she knew it. Eric was strong and he'd pull through, they always had in tense times.

The telephone across the room rang, interrupting her thoughts. It was his parents letting her know that they were pulling into the driveway in case she was asleep. She opened the front door and turned on the porch light, revealing their gray Chevy Tahoe parked behind the Explorer.

His mom stepped out, instantly pulling her into a hug. "How was my baby today?"

Tami held her tears, hugging her as tight as she could. "He was awake. He talked to both Julie and I. It's a huge step in his recovery."

His father stood to the side. He wasn't much for showing emotions but Tami could tell that this was really bothering him. He didn't have to say anything for them to know that.

His mother pulled away, giving a comfort smile. "I guess that's all we can wish for. Eric will be just fine soon, nothing can keep my boy down."

TBC……this time it's not such a bad cliffhanger! I hope you enjoyed!