Kelly sat in a chair by Brandon's hospital bed for several minutes, holding his left hand and gently stroking it with her fingertips. It had been several years since she had seen him, but he looked the same. Kelly reached up to Brandon's face and stroked his cheek. Kelly's eyes gazed at Brandon's lips. The breathing tube had been removed. His lips appeared drier than usual, but were still plump and enticing. Kelly traced the outside of Brandon's lips with her fingertips and brought her hand down to rub his arm.

As Kelly held Brandon's hand again and gave it a squeeze, she instantaneously felt a small squeeze in her hand.

"Brandon?" Kelly asked, looking up at him.

There was no response. Kelly holds Brandon's hand in both of her hands, gently stroking his hand. Kelly looks down at her hand as Brandon wraps his hand around Kelly's fingers, giving them another squeeze. As much as she wants to be alone with Brandon right now, she pushes the call button by Brandon's bed.

The nurse comes in to answer the call. "I think he's waking up. He squeezed my hand." The nurse starts taking vital signs as the Walsh family and Susan come rushing into the room. "Kelly, what happened?" Brenda asked.

"I don't know, he squeezed my hand a couple times. That's it." Kelly got up so that the Walsh's and Susan could get closer to Brandon. The doctor was called and an MRI was scheduled, but there were no other responses from Brandon for the rest of the day. By nightfall, Brenda had left with Abby, followed shortly thereafter by Mr. and Mrs. Walsh. Kelly decided to stay behind with Susan, hoping to spend a few more private minutes with Brandon. The two women sat in Brandon's hospital room for quite a while, before Kelly finally broke the silence.

"So how have things been going Susan?"

"They've been pretty good. We've been keeping busy." Susan looked at Kelly. She hadn't been sure what to think of Kelly when she had first met her. She knew that Kelly and Brandon had a strong bond. But Susan had become more relaxed and felt more comfortable around Kelly after a few months. When Susan had been together with Brandon several years ago in California, Kelly was in a bad relationship and had a drug problem. Brandon had been the one to save Kelly, but she never questioned his loyalty to her.

"We were all looking forward to you and Brandon coming out to LA. It's been a while," Kelly responded.

"Yeah, it has been," Susan said, yawning.

"I'm sorry, you're tired. I'm keeping you up."

"No, it's fine. I just haven't gotten a good night's sleep in the past week."

Kelly looked at Susan. "Why don't you go home tonight? I'll stay here with Brandon. You need to get some sleep."

Susan hesitated for several seconds. "No, that's okay, I should stay," as she yawned again.

"Susan, please. You really need to get some rest. He'll be fine. I'll call you with any news."

Susan finally gave in. "Ok. But you'll call me if anything happens?"

"Absolutely."

Susan grabbed her purse and thanked Kelly. As she was walking out the door, Susan turned to see Kelly move to the chair closer to Brandon and reach up for her hand. Susan let out a sigh, but decided to walk out the door, tears flowing down her face.

Kelly sat talking to Brandon for the majority of the night, filling him in on all the news from back home. She drifted off to sleep early in the morning, her hand still lying next to Brandon's.

The next morning, Brandon slowly opened his eyes. He had no idea what had occurred in the past week or where he was. Brandon looked over to the woman sitting in the chair next to his hospital bed. He was surprised to see her there, as it had been a few years. Maybe he was dreaming. Brandon Walsh had always loved Kelly Taylor. She had been the most popular and beautiful girl in high school. But Brandon had always held off on Kelly, as she was his sister's best friend. Finally in college he had gotten a chance with her, and through the years they had developed an amazing relationship. He always had wanted to spend his life with Kelly, but the timing was always wrong for them. He had finally let her go more than 10 years ago, leaving L.A. and starting a new life. But Kelly had always been in the back of his mind. So what was she doing there now?

Brandon looked around his hospital room. He wasn't sure why he was there. Then Brandon looked down. Brandon finally saw the IV in his arm, the g-tube in his stomach, and the cast on his leg. He felt a pain in his chest and reached down under the hospital gown. Brandon felt the staples holding his chest together. He started to panic and looked over at Kelly. What had happened to him?

Brandon reached for Kelly's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Kelly?" Brandon whispered.

Kelly slowly opened her eyes and looked down at her hand. She saw Brandon's hand firmly holding hers and looked up at him. "Brandon, thank god. You're awake!" She sat on the edge of Brandon's bed. "How are you feeling?"

Kelly excitement turned to worry when she saw the panic in his eyes. "Brandon, it's okay. You're going to be okay. We're all here for you."

Brandon looked into Kelly's eyes. "What happened? Where am I Kelly?" Brandon asked in a demanding manner.

Kelly stroked Brandon's hair. "Shhh. Relax. I'm here. I'm going to get the doctor to check on you, okay? Then we'll explain everything."

Tears began to flow in Brandon's eyes. He didn't know what he was doing in the hospital room, but he felt a little more relaxed knowing that Kelly was there and wasn't going to leave her. Kelly wiped away the tears in Brandon's eyes. "I love you, Kelly." "I love you too, Brandon," Kelly whispered to him, as she got up and went to get the doctor.

Ok, Brandon's awake. Now we'll have to see how the drama unfolds as Susan and Kelly fight for the love of their lives. I've got an idea for B/D that I'm going to incorporate into the story. Thanks for the suggestions.