I updated as soon as I could type this up and my computer would let me upload it. Our internet is horrible up here. Sorry to all of you who believed that I made you wait too long. I'll try not to do that to you again. Maybe not, it depends on whether you cooperate and review. Without further adieu.


"Chad Dylan Cooper?"

He looked at her expectantly.

"Can I get a photo with you?"

I think Chad would have punched the woman if I hadn't grabbed his arm. He made to stand up, but I forced him into his chair. He gritted his teeth venomously, and I almost felt sorry for the woman. Almost, she was an idiot.

"Sure," he spoke sarcastically, "I'm waiting to hear about my sister's operation, so this is a perfect opportunity for a photo op."

I'm not sure the nurse caught his sarcastic tone. She was lucky that she wasn't given the opportunity to respond, because if she did, I have a feeling that she would sporting a bloody nose. Luckily, another nurse approached us, her tone friendly.

"Mr. Cooper?" at Chad's nod, she continued speaking, this time to our unwanted guest, "Francesca, don't you have a patient to attend to?" Her tone wasn't questioning, but commanding. Thank god, our friend took the hint and hurried back through the double doors.

"Now that she's gone," our savior, or more accurately, Francesca's savior returned her attention to us, "Your sister is out of the OR, she did fine. She'll be a little groggy for a couple of hours, but you can go see her now."

Chad and I let out a breath when the nurse's words sunk in. I hadn't realized that I was even holding my breath. The two of us stood up at once. I made to follow Chad through the double doors, but the nurse held out her arm to stop me.

"Family only."

"But," I tried to protest, even though I knew it would be useless.

"Family only."

Chad turned towards me, his blue eyes searching mine. He pleaded with me silently. He wanted me to be with him; he didn't want to leave me, but he needed to see his sister. His eyes asked me to do the right thing; he didn't want to make the decision, and I wouldn't make him.

"Go ahead. Go see your sister. Call me later and let me know how she's doing." I gently released his hand. I had forgotten that I was still holding it.

Slowly, he pulled me into a hug. As he did, he spoke into my ear, "Thanks, Sonny. I'll call you tonight."

He released me and turned to follow the nurse to Chrissy's room.

I returned home to sit and wait. Again, I was waiting, and I hated it. I knew that she was fine, that everything had gone as planned. Still, I didn't know how she was feeling. I wanted to hear her giggling voice as she teased her older brother.

So I lay on my bed for two hours, anxiously waiting for his call. I had never wanted to hear his voice this much. I ended up listening to his song in my head. I had only heard it once, but it was still clear as day in my mind. I was like a fan girl who could recount every word. Finally I got sick of thinking about him and his sister, I couldn't take it anymore. I cranked up my favorite cd and flipped through a fashion magazine I borrowed from Tawni. She thought I needed some wardrobe advice.

I found myself mirroring Chad in the waiting room. I was checking my phone every few minutes. I had just about given up and decided to call him myself, although he wasn't supposed to have his phone on. As I began to dial, the phone began to moo. I had never been more grateful to hear that sound. Without looking at the caller id, I swiftly answered.

"Chad?"

"Sonny? This is Grady."

Not the voice I wanted to hear.

"What's up, Grady?"

"Girl, why do you sound so disappointed? Is something going on between you and Chad, because I can take care of it for you."

"No!" I responded with a little too much rejection.

"Fine, don't tell me what's going on." He was upset with me; I could hear it in his voice.

"Grady, it's nothing. What did you call me about?"

"Nico and I were wondering if you wanted to go to the arcade."

"Sorry, Grady, I've got plans for tonight."

"With Chad?" Boy was he persistent.

"No, I'm having a girl night." I felt bad for lying to him, but I couldn't tell him the truth.

"Oh, well, have fun," and he hung up.

And so I returned to my impatient waiting. I decided that I couldn't bug Chad just yet. It hadn't been long enough yet.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the phone rang again. This time I made sure to check to see who was calling. My face broke into a smile automatically. It was funny how things worked.

"Sonny," his voice came over the phone.

"Chad, I'm so glad you called." I could almost hear him smirk on the other side of the line. I didn't care what he thought.

"I told you I would, and Chad Dylan Cooper always keeps his promises." I didn't point out that the statement was less than true.

"Tell me about Chrissy," I demanded him.

"She's as active and loud as she's allowed. She was disappointed when she realized that you weren't there. She thought you had betrayed her."

I smiled at the thought.

"I told her that they wouldn't let you come back because you weren't family. Do you want to know what her response was?"

Of course I wanted to know what she said. Had we been having a face to face conversation, I would have given him a pointed look, however, that was impossible. I had to settle for a simple response.

"Do tell."

"She said, 'Sonny is family. At least she will be when Chaddy marries her, doesn't that count for anything?'"

I giggled over the line. Okay, that was an understatement. I was overcome with laughter. I was laughing so hard I had to lean back against my bedspread. I could hear his chuckles over the phone. I finally gained my composure enough to form a response.

"Typical, Chrissy."

"Yeah," he continued to tell me everything that had happened in the hospital room. He kept me entertained for nearly three hours. Before I knew it, it was almost midnight. I couldn't help but get caught up in his recount. It almost felt as though I was family. I liked what we had; this was the kind of friendship I had always wanted with him. Actually, it was better than I imagined it could be. As my digital clock flashed midnight, I realized that I really needed to get to bed.

"Chad, I'm sorry, but I've really got to go to bed."

"Aww, Hollywood's good girl can't stay up past her bedtime," his jest was ruined by his yawn at the end of his sentence.

"Sounds like Hollywood's bad boy can't either."

"Touché," he replied, "Listen, I'll pick you up in the morning and we can go see Chrissy. They'll let you back now; they don't allow anyone else back when a patient gets out of surgery."

"That'd be great, Chad."

We made plans for the next day and then said our goodbyes.


Done. I've got exciting plans for the next chapter. I'm really excited. Remember if you want quick updates you need to review. I was encouraged by the last chapter's reviews, but I think you can do better. I know you can do better. Prove me right. Thanks to all of you who have favorited this story (by the way, favorited, not a word) and who have put it on story alert. That makes my day. And so do reviews, even if they are just simply "update" "liked it" or "hated it" Give me something to work with. If you have ideas, tell me and I'll see what I can do about incorporating them as long as they work with the plot and the direction the story is taking. Let's see if we can make it to 50 reviews that's only 13 more. Whoever writes in the 50th will get a shout out.