The night passed agonisingly slow and as the night sky gave way to the morning sunrise, Sara's condition was no different. Michael never left her side, apart from quick trips to the bathroom and for a drink. He held her hand tightly, speaking to her as she lay unconscious, tales of their previous life together and things to look forward to in the future. It failed to dawn on him that she had a fiancé, probably worried that she did not come back to the hotel. It was not Lloyd's fault that he and Sara ended up together and Michael did not blame him, just resented him slightly for making the love of his life smile for the time that they were not together. It was the right thing to do, to let him know where Sarah was. Michael got up and went to look for Dr Costa; she was coming to the end of her long night shift.
"Doctor," Michael called out as he spotted her in the ward corridor, filling in prescription forms. "Can I have a word about something?"
Emma Costa stood up. "Of course, what's wrong?"
"Long story cut short," Michael began. "Sara and I were married over 4 years ago, but we had to separate and we were recently reunited. She has a fiancé though, who is probably worried that she did not make it back to her hotel last night. He is visiting London with her. It's only right that you contact him and let him know what has happened."
"Of course Mr Scofield, thank you for letting me know. Do you have his details?"
"No," Michael said. "But I presume the number will be in Sarah's phone?"
"I will contact him right away," Emma began. "Forgive me for assuming, but would you want me to make sure her partner is unaware that you are here with her?"
Michael looked at the floor, embarrassed. "I know how this looks, but please, if you wouldn't mind."
"Mr Scofield, it doesn't look any way to me. I'm here to save lives, not judge people. And besides, I watched the news 4 years ago, I know you who you two are." She smiled at Michael, as if to say 'your secret is safe with me'. "I will let you know when I have spoken to Ms Tancredi's partner, I presume you will need to return at a later time when he is here."
"Thank you Doctor," he said gratefully, returning to Sara's bedside to spend as much time with her until Lloyd arrived.
Turns out the time was short lived, as as soon as Dr Costa made the phone call to him, Lloyd was on his way.
"Mr Scofield," Emma said gently to him, entering Sara's room on the ward. "Ms Tancredi's fiancé is on his way, I wanted to let you know."
"Thank you doctor, I'll just take a moment to say goodbye." Michael stood up and placed a soft, lingering kiss on Sara's forehead, eyes welling up as he did so. He then proceeded to stroking her hair away from her face.
"See you soon my darling," he whispered. "I love you."
Emma watched him from the outside of the ward area, admiring his tenderness and love for Sara.
"Please, could you let me know if there is any change in her condition?" He grabbed the nearest pen to him and scrawled down his number before she had a chance to reply. "I know I am probably not listed as next of kin, but legally she is still my wife, and I love her."
"Of course," Emma said gently. "And, with your permission, may I explain, in brief, the situation to the consultant on day shift duty the dynamics of the situation? I am due to go off shift in the next half an hour or so. To ensure that you are kept in the loop and so that there are no mix ups?"
"No problem with me," Michael replied. He extended his hand to the understanding doctor. "Thank you for everything you have done for her, please look after her."
He made his way down to the cafeteria, in desperate need of a strong coffee and something to eat. He picked up a croissant and ate it almost automatically, not really registering it. He pulled out his iPhone from his pocket and dialled Lincoln, not caring what time it was in Florida. the foreign dial tone as he rang seemed to last forever, until his older brother finally picked up.
"So, how did it go?" Lincoln asked, his voice deep from sleep.
"She's in a coma," Michael replied. "I'm at the hospital now, her fiancé is coming to be with her and I can't be by her side!"
"Woah, slow down Mike, what do you mean, a coma? What happened?"
"We met," Michael began. "We talked for hours, everything was out in the open, we were planning our future together, she wants to be with me. She was going to call off the wedding and we were going to start again. She left mine last night to go back to the hotel where she is staying with the fiancé and she got hit by a car."
There was a few seconds silence.
"Jesus," Lincoln said, exhaling the breath he was holding. "Ah shit, I'm so sorry Mike. How serious is she? Will she pull through?"
"They are still assessing her. They put her in a medically induced coma as there is swelling on her brain, they need to do more tests. And I can't even be with her! He's there sitting with her when it should be me!"
"You can't let him find out, not like this," Lincoln said. "It wouldn't be fair on Sara."
Michael bowed his head in his free hand that wasn't holding his phone. "I know, I know. I just need to be with her, I can't lose her, not again."
"Stay strong bro, you need to. Do you want me to fly out? I can get a flight out from Orlando tonight if you need me."
"There's no point," Michael replied, not wanting to burden his brother with his problems. "There's nothing you'll be able to do." And he rang off, cursing to himself. He sat with his head in his hands for a few moments.
"Do you mind if I join you?" It was Dr Costa, seemingly off her shift now, dressed in a light jumper and jeans instead of her formal attire worn on shift.
"Go ahead," Michael replied, moving his cup of coffee closer to him. "Is she ok?"
"Her condition is still the same as before. We are sending her for CAT and MRI scans later on, as well as further x-rays to see the extent of the broken ribs. I have spoken to Dr Acres and explained the situation, he will make contact with you once we have results."
"I can't thank you enough doctor," Michael began. "I just wish I was there with her, she'd want that. I can't make myself known to her fiancé, he knows enough about me to guess why I would be there and it is not my place to put Sara is that position." He laughed briefly. "God, this sounds like a badly written drama series."
"Please believe my word when I say I really have seen all types of relationship and family dynamics, and I am not once to judge," Emma began. "I obviously don't know the ins and outs of what happened 4 years ago, but if you were given a second chance, take it."
"It all seems so long ago now, we were portrayed as the worst of the worst on television, but all we tried to do was to save an innocent man. When the truth came out, the people who wanted my brother dead came after me and would have hurt Sara to get to me so I left her in Panama and came to London to start a life without her, to keep her safe. I thought about her every single day since then, and when I heard she was in London, I just had to make peace with her, even if her feelings weren't the same. But they were, we had planned our lives together, and now this. She turned her whole life upside down for me, more than once, and look where it's got her. Sorry, I don't even know why I'm telling you all this."
"It's good to talk," the doctor replied. "I am on night shift duty all week in the ITU, how about I let you know when her partner leaves so you can spend a little time with her? Terribly immoral of me, I know!" She smiled.
"I would appreciate that greatly, that you."
For now, there was the smallest of silver linings. If he even got to spend 5 minutes a day with her then that would have to be good enough for now.