Here's the next chapter! Thanks for being so patient and as always, please review! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!
Jessica burst into the hospital and didn't stop walking until she found a doctor.
"What room is Angela Walker in?"
"Are you family?"
"I'm her sister."
"She's in room 352."
"Thank you."
Jessica started walking again, and didn't stop until she got to room 352. There, she saw Alex and Walker outside. Looking farther back, she saw Sydney, Gage, and Trivette standing in a clump with their heads together. Everyone outside the room looked at her when she approached. But Alex's face stood out among all the others. She was livid.
"What the hell do you think you're doing here?"
"I thought Angela could use a friend…"
"A friend? How can you possibly consider yourself her friend when you left her tonight? Do you have any idea what you've done?"
"I know. I know what happened. And I'm sorry."
At this point, Walker put a restraining hand on Alex's arm and cut in.
"What exactly happened tonight?"
Jessica took a deep breath and said, "We were dancing and having a good time, and then this guy came up and asked if I wanted to dance with him. I said yes, and we started dancing. Then we went to go get something to drink, and when I came back, Angela was gone." Jessica looked up at Walker to see his reaction.
Walker, Alex, and the other Rangers looked at Jessica. All of them looked like they were ready to kill her then and there. Obviously, if she hadn't gone off with this guy, Angela would be okay.
"Can I see her?" Jessica asked, breaking the silence that surrounded her. "I need to see her."
"How can you possibly think that I'm going to let you anywhere near her after what you've done?" Alex yelled.
"Alex, honey, keep your voice down…" Walker murmured.
"You can turn around and walk out the way you came, and don't ever think about coming back here again!" Alex yelled, completely ignoring Walker's warning.
"Excuse me?" Jessica said in disbelief. She'd expected the anger, and accepted it, but there was no way she was going to let her friend down. Again.
"I said, leave. Now."
"I think I'll stay, actually. I have a friend who needs me right now."
"She doesn't need you. She's here because of you."
"I know she is. And all the same, I'm going to see her."
Jessica started to push past Alex and Walker, walking toward the door to Angela's room. Gage, Sydney, and Trivette looked from Jessica to Walker, waiting to see what he was going to do. When they saw that he seemed to be at a loss for words, the three of them moved together to block the door to the room. Jessica stopped.
"Move, please." She said simply.
"Listen, I don't know exactly what happened, but I really think you should leave." Trivette said. "Just let this family be."
"You'll be wasting your time anyway." Gage said. "She won't talk to anyone right now. The best thing you can do is to leave. Don't go in and remind her of what happened last night."
"Just let me talk to her. Please. If she gets upset, I'll leave. Please just let me talk to her." Jessica reasoned.
Walker came over and said something to his partners. They slowly moved out of the way. Alex just stared at her husband, her face a mixture of anger and disbelief.
Jessica took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
What she saw brought tears to her eyes. Angela was curled up on the bed, facing away from the door, her arms wrapped around her knees.
"Ang?" Jessica said tentatively. There was no acknowledgment of her presence by her friend. Jessica walked slowly to the bed, not noticing that four Texas Rangers and a District Attorney had walked into the room, and were hovering in the doorway.
"Angela?" Jessica said again, when she was right next to the bed. Jessica gently sat down on the bed. Alex took a step toward the bed, but Walker held her arm. Jessica leaned back against the pillows and wrapped her arms around her friend. Everyone in the room watched in disbelief as Angela rolled over, buried her face in Jessica's collarbone, and started to cry.
