Tami paced along the police line. The yellow tape flapped in the breeze; the irritating noise grating on her already frayed nerves. The SWAT team had stormed the building ten minutes ago. What was happening in there? The damn police radios seemed to squawk incessantly but Tami had no idea what, if any information, the squawks conveyed.

A little earlier, her phone had rung, and her heart had skipped a beat when she saw it was from Julie, but then her phone had chosen that moment to die. She could have cried, and almost threw the device across the parking lot. Before she had a chance to borrow someone else's phone, the SWAT team had made their move. She was afraid to call now. The last thing she wanted to do was add to the confusion with a ringing cell phone.

A flurry of movement around the rescue squads drew her attention. Paramedics unloaded two gurneys and rushed them inside the building.

Tami began to pray.

"…and then y'all came in," Matt finished, the fingers of his right hand nervously plucking at the padlock on a locker. He glanced at Julie. She stood wide-eyed, her gaze locked on her father. Matt swallowed hard and avoided looking at Coach. Julie's appeared so scared and alone. He wished there was something he could do to help her.

"Okay, son. You can go on now. If we need anything more, we'll contact you."

Matt nodded. "Yes, sir." He began to approach Julie, but hesitated when an officer stepped between her and himself.

"Step back, please." The officer gently attempted to steer Julie away from Coach, but Julie tried to shrug off the hands pulling her away.

"But he's my dad." Julie crossed her arms. "He needs me."

"Yes, I know. The paramedics will take real good care of him, okay?"

Julie looked at the officer and nodded, her lip trembling. It was more than Matt could take. "Uh, uh, Julie, why don't we go try to find your mom? If it's okay for us to go?" The last part was directed towards the officer.

Nodding his consent, the officer ushered them out through the back door towards the parking lot, on the way, they passed Riggins being checked out by a paramedic and Foster getting the same treatment. Smash was still giving his statement, his voice rising as he got the part where he had tackled Foster. If Coach's condition hadn't been so grim, Matt would have smiled at the flamboyant way Smash had of describing the hit he had put on Foster.

Matt squinted as he stepped out into the bright sunshine. It was hard to believe that it was still only mid-morning. It seemed like hours had passed since the whole ordeal had begun.

He stopped in disbelief when he saw the zoo that was the Dillon High School parking lot. Police cars, rescue squads, fire trucks and farther back, news vans covered the asphalt. People milled around behind the vehicles and when the crowd caught sight of Matt and Julie, a cheer went up.

"Julie!"

Matt scanned the crowd and spied Mrs. Taylor ducking under the police tape before sprinting towards them. "There's your mom!"

Julie rushed towards her mother, the pair flinging their arms around each other in a teary embrace. "Mom…oh Mom. Dad…dad's…"

"Shhh…it's okay, baby, it's okay." Mrs. Taylor stroked Julie's hair back, and wiped the tears off her cheeks. "It's all over."

"No, Mom, it's not okay," Julie sobbed.

Matt saw Mrs. Taylor's hands pause, her eyes widening in fear as they searched her daughter's face. "What, honey?"

He looked down, not wanting Mrs. Taylor to see the horror on his face as the image of Coach flashed through his mind. He knew the sight would be branded in his brain forever. Matt felt bile rise up, and swallowed convulsively then shoved his shaking hands into his pocket.

"Mom, that kid stabbed Dad. The knife's still in him!"

Tami felt her knees begin to buckle, but somehow managed to keep herself upright. The knife was still in Eric? Julie's arms tightened around her and Tami collected her thoughts. "Where? Where's he stabbed, hon?"

Julie stepped back and pointed over her left shoulder. "In the upper back." She swiped at her eyes. "He was talking a little bit." Her voice rose with hope as she told her mother that tiny piece of information.

Tami pulled Julie in for another hug. "I'm sure that's a good sign." She had no idea if it was or not, but Julie needed to hear that. She needed Tami to tell her something positive after the ordeal.

What Tami needed was to see Eric, but she didn't want to leave Julie. Matt Saracen was still standing awkwardly behind Julie and her heart went out to him. Nobody was there to offer comfort to the poor boy. "Are you okay, Matt?"

Matt nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I…uh…Julie and me were in the closet most of the time."

"Can you do me a favor, Matt? Can you stay with Julie? Can you do that for me?"

"Sure, I can do that, Mrs. Taylor." Matt paused and looked down. "Could I, um, use Julie's cell phone to call my grandma? She might have heard something and …"

"Of course!" Tami should have suggested that herself. She was the guidance counselor and this boy had just been through a horrible ordeal. "I'm sorry, I should have offered already."

"Oh, no…no, that's okay," Matt stammered.

Julie was already pulling the phone out. "Here, Matt."

Tami gave Julie one last hug. "Sweetheart, I have to go in there and see your dad."

"I don't know if they'll let you in, Mom." Julie looked towards the door with doubt on her face.

Smash Williams was just exiting. His head was down and his hands were crammed into his pockets. Tami was torn. Here was another kid in need of comforting.

"Brian!"

Smash's head came up and Tami turned to see Mrs. Williams rushing towards Smash. Relief flooded through her. Mrs. Williams was just the person Smash needed at that moment.

Tami stepped aside as Smash ran past them and up to his mother. "Momma."

"Oh, Lord, boy, I have been praying and praying. What happened in there, Brian?"

Smash's head burrowed against his mother's shoulder and Tami could see him shaking. She felt her eyes well with fresh tears.

"Coach is hurt bad, Momma."

Mrs. Williams raised her eyes and met Tami's gaze. She must have realized the conflict Tami was feeling because she waved Julie and Matt over towards her. "Come here, kids. Y'all must be hungry and thirsty." She nodded to Tami. "I'll take care of them. You go on."

Tami attempted to give her a grateful smile, but the tears fell instead as she turned towards the school. The officer at the door tried to refuse her admittance, but she dared him to stop her and someone behind him told him it was okay. Tami flew past the man without a second glance. She tore down the hallway, following the noise into the locker room.

Tim Riggins sat on a bench while a paramedic shone a light in his eyes. He had a nasty cut on his cheek and she could see that one eye was swollen. Tami stopped, guilt flooding her. She should have made him stay in the office. What in the world made him rush down here during all that chaos? Behind Tim, another boy lay on the floor, a cervical collar around his neck. Several police officers hovered over the young man, their hands on their guns.

The room was a hubbub of activity. Police milled around, some men were taking photographs, but most of the activity centered around someone lying on the floor. Bloody towels were carelessly tossed aside and medical supply wrappers lay strewn everywhere.

Her heart pounding, Tami approached, catching a glimpse of Eric. An oxygen mask covered his nose and mouth, his eyes were closed and an ugly purple bruise stretched across his left cheek to his temple. A cut still oozed blood. More blood stained his throat. He looked terrible. She raised her hands and covered her mouth. A whimper escaped. Oh God!

A dark-haired paramedic turned around. "Are you his wife?"

Tami nodded, unable to tear her eyes away from the Eric's still form.

"I need to ask you a few questions, okay? Does your husband have any allergies to medications?"

Shaking her head, she made her way around the debris and knelt by his head. Eric lay strapped onto a long board, half-turned on his right side, and she felt a wave of dizziness sweep over her when she saw the reason behind his odd positioning. She closed her eyes for second. It wouldn't do Eric any good if she fainted on top of him. She opened her eyes, took a slow deep breath, and focused on her husband's pale face. Rolled up towels were tucked under the right side of his head, keeping his neck level. An I.V. protruded from his left arm.

"How about any pre-existing medical conditions? Heart problems? Anything?"

"No, he's always been in perfect health." Tentatively, she reached down and stroked his hair off his forehead. Eric's eyelids fluttered open. Encouraged, she spoke to him. "Hey, sugar."

Eric's gaze was glassy and unfocused. "Babe." His brow furrowed. "Julie?"

Tami smiled, "Julie's fine. She's with Matt Saracen." Someone touched her arm.

"Ma'am? We have to move him onto the gurney now."

Tami nodded and then kissed Eric's forehead. "I love you and I'll see you in just a little while."

"Too," he whispered before his eyes drifted closed.

Unmindful of the tears streaming down her face, Tami stood back and watched as the rescue personnel lifted the orange backboard onto the gurney. She covered her mouth and bit back a sob when Eric's eyes flew open at the sudden movement and he uttered a strangled moan. Within seconds, the paramedics had everything ready and whisked the gurney out the backdoor with Tami close behind.

The ambulance had been brought close to the door, and Tami stood by as the crew lifted the gurney in the back of the vehicle. She didn't know whether to be relieved or worried that Eric remained utterly silent through the ordeal.

Tami hurried out to the parking lot, casting glances left and right in search of her daughter. She spotted a cluster of reporters and photographers gathered around what looked like a group of kids. Flowing blonde hair caught her eye and she hurried in that direction. No, they wouldn't do that, she thought. How could they question these kids who had just been through such a harrowing ordeal? Dashing any lingering tears off her cheeks, she shouldered her way through the throng. "Excuse me."

Her emotions high, Tami worked up a tirade laced with a string of profanity that would have shamed a sailor, but when she broke through the line of reporters, she found Mrs. Williams had beat her to it. Minus the profanity.

"Y'all get back and just let these kids be. Have you no shame?" Mrs. Williams eyed the photographers. "As if these children haven't been through enough, y'all come out here and stick cameras in their faces." She shook her head in disgust and Tami saw more than one photographer duck his head in embarrassment.

"Thank you, Mrs. Williams." Tami found herself enveloped in a warm hug. Tears sprang to her eyes again. She wanted to stay strong for Julie's sake, but she allowed herself the comfort of that hug. For just a moment, she could let down her guard and just be the worried wife.

"How is Coach, hon?"

Tami shook her head, a lump stuck in her throat. She pulled back and wiped at her eyes with her fingers. "I…I don't really know. Nobody told me anything, but I only had a minute with him."

Smash Williams stood behind his mother, his eyes wide. Several reporters milled in the background and it finally dawned on Tami that they were shouting questions at the kids and Smash in particular.

"Smash! What did it feel like to tackle the kid?"

"Were you scared?"

"What's it feel like to be a hero, Smash?"

"How bad is Coach Taylor hurt? Is it true the knife was still embedded him?"

Tami felt as if someone had stabbed her. They were talking about her husband's injury as if it were some kind of exciting, freaky event!

Smash's expression probably matched her own, and the star player finally turned to the reporters. "Look, y'all. I don't know what it felt like to tackle Foster. It happened too fast. And yeah, I was scared. Wouldn't you be? I ain't no hero. I got lucky 'cause the kid had his back to me. Riggins is as much a hero as I am. He and Coach tried to get the weapons away. That's when Coach was injured." His voice dropped. "And Coach is hurt bad, and I think we should all be prayin' for him instead of standing around here talking like we're at a church social."

Smash's mother nodded and took her son's hand. Tami held the other one. Julie clung to Tami's hand, and Matt completed the circle. They bowed their heads as Smash began.

"Dear Lord, we ask that you see fit to heal Coach. He is a good man and his family needs him. We need him. Please bless us all and give us the strength to help Coach and his family get through this trying time. In your name, we ask this. Amen."

"Amen."

Tami looked at Smash. He stood awkwardly, his eyes wet. Tami swept him up in an embrace. "Thank you so much."

"There's no need to thank me, Mrs. Taylor. I just wish it hadn't happened at all."

Tami nodded. "Me too."

Mrs. Williams pulled a tissue out of her purse and handed it to Tami. Whispering her thanks, Tami turned towards Julie. "We have to go to the hospital, sweetheart."

Julie nodded and threw a scared look towards Matt Saracen. "Can Matt come?"

Tami nodded. "Sure." Maybe it would help if Julie had someone her own age there to sit with. Plus, Matt looked a little lost too. She hated to abandon him.

She turned back to Mrs. Williams. "Thank you so much. I hope Smash is okay too. He's a good kid."

Mrs. Williams threw a proud look towards her son. "He is a good kid."