I'm Right Here by Rose Haze

Disclaimer: I do not own The Suite Life of Zack and Cody

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update!(again!) I've been really busy. I'm in a musical (Once On This Island) right now and that is taking up most of my time. Also there's homework, and my birthday was last weekend. But since I am a loser with no plans on a Friday night, I finally have a chance to update! There is another author's note and my review responses at the end of the chapter.

Chapter Ten

Maddie

"Are you my therapist? Take a walk!" –Adam Sandlar, Big Daddy (I couldn't resist)

Maddie Fitzpatrick absentmindedly twirled her golden blonde hair around her pinky finger. She was sitting in the passenger seat of her brother, Alex's car as he drove her to St. Lucia Memorial Hospital. All that she could think about was Cody Martin. She was very attached to both of the Martin twins. Zack was definitely the more endearing of the two. He was always hitting on her and trying to flirt with her. He was also usually the mastermind between the crazy pranks that the boys played. But he wasn't the "smart one". No, that was Cody. Cody was the smart, sweet, sensitive boy who she often babysat for. Only now he was in the hospital—trapped somewhere between life and death.

Alex pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car.

"I'll pick you up in about forty-five minutes," he told her.

"Okay," Maddie replied as she opened the door and hopped out, "Thanks."

She watched him drive away than turned to go into the ominous hospital. She thought about Cody as she walked to the elevator that would take her up to the help desk on the eighth floor. That was where she met Carey earlier that morning when she dropped off her things.

"Hi," she said to the receptionist when she got there, "I'm here to see Cody Martin."

The receptionist typed something into the computer at the desk and than looked up, "I'm sorry," she said, "but he's in a critical condition. You can't go in there unless you are with a member of his immediate family."

"Oh, I know the family very well," Maddie explained, "can you just give me the room number so I can—'

But the receptionist was already shaking her head, "I am very sorry, but I can't do that. It goes against the hospital's privacy policy."

"But, I—'

She was cut off again.

"Maddie!"

Maddie turned around and saw Carey walking toward her.

"Hey," she said with a strained smile, "How are you? I was just on my way to get some more coffee and I heard your voice."

Maddie hurried over to her, forgetting all about the receptionist.

"How is he?" she asked as her eyes welled up with tears.

"Not too good right now," Carey admitted, "but he's going to be fine."

Maddie noticed that Carey sounded as though she didn't believe what she was saying.

"What about Zack?" she asked, "Is he doing okay?"

Carey shook her head, "It is almost impossible to get him to leave Cody's room. And every time I try to talk to him he ends up yelling at me."

Maddie furrowed her brow, "That doesn't sound like Zack."

"I know," Carey said, "I know I shouldn't let him get away with it, but he's taking this so hard. Maybe seeing you will help put him in a better mood."

She smiled softly and followed her down the hall to Cody's room.

"I should tell you, Cody doesn't exactly look like himself. He doesn't look good at all. He has a lot of cuts and bruises. He has stitches going down his cheek. And he's on a ventilator... it's kind of scary at first."

Maddie's heartbeat began to speed up as she and Carey approached Cody's room. She wasn't sure if she wanted to see Cody. She had never seen anybody seriously hurt in the hospital before.

But as Carey steered her into the hospital room, she realized that she had no choice. They walked into the room.

The image that Maddie saw caught her by surprise. Cody was laying in the bed, completely still. He looked dead. Zack was sitting in a chair next to the bed. He was stroking Cody's mangled cheek with his thumb.

"Zack, look who's here," Carey said, gesturing to Maddie.

Zack looked up, scowling at his mother. He thought about what happened that morning—he was too embarrassed about it to even look at Maddie.

"Hey, Zack," Maddie offered weakly.

Zack grunted in reply, and did his best to advert his eyes.

Carey sighed, than turned back to Maddie, "Here," she said, guiding her closer to Cody's bed, "You can talk to him if you want. The nurses and doctors told us that Cody might be able to hear us."

She drew in a long, shaky breath. Cody looked even worse close up than he did from a distance. Her stomach clenched. She didn't want to talk to him for fear that she would start crying in front of Zack and Carey. And besides, she had no idea of what she was supposed to say to him.

"Uh, hi Cody," she choked out. She had to stop there.

Zack stood up and walked out of the room.

"I'll be right back," Carey said with a sigh as she watched the door close, "I am going to go talk to him"

"Wait. Let me do it," Maddie said, eager to get out of the room. She cared about Cody a lot and she wanted to be there for him, but it hurt so much to see him like that. And she wanted to be there for Zack too.

Carey looked at her and nodded, "That's a good idea. If I go out there we'll just have another fight. But maybe he'll be able to talk to you without freaking out."

Maddie nodded than walked out the door without casting a second glance at Cody.

She found Zack sitting in the bench across the hall. He was leaning back and his eyes were closed.

"Hey," she said, sitting down next to him, "Are you okay?"
"No." He replied shortly. His eyes remained tightly closed.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Come on, Zack?" she said softly. She turned to face him, "Talking about your feelings will make you feel better. Trust me. You really shouldn't keep your emotions locked inside."

Zack opened his eyes and frowned at her, "Are you a psychiatrist all of the sudden? Cause if your not you should just keep your words of wisdom to yourself."

Her eyes widened in surprise, "Zack, I just want to help."

"So go back to the hotel and look through my room again!"

He stomped away, leaving Maddie alone and feeling utterly bewildered.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note: I just wanted to say that I think it's so cool that there's over a hundred stories in this section. I remember when there was only one! I love that now we can actually choose from a bunch of different fics. But at the same time, I kind of liked how for awhile it was only a few of us here reading and posting stories. Oh well, the series is getting more popular, so naturally there are going to be more people coming here. Sorry that I'm weird. I tend to note my observations /

Thank you, everyone who reviewed!

Solitaire's Mornie: Thank you! I definitely took my time posting this one. I'm glad you liked last chapter!

I-Luv-Ashley-Tisdale: Oh my God, Thank you! Nobody's ever said that I was the best writer that they've ever known (with or without the ""'s around known, lol) I'm glad that you're looking forward to the Kurt/Samantha/Carey/Zack relationship (or anti-relationship in some cases) because I have a lot of that coming up. Thanks so much for the review!

Optimisticgirl94: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.

Snowfrog5152- Thanks for the review. This story has about twenty more chapters left. I hope you like them!

Kal's Gal- It might take me awhile, but of course : )

MaohPrincess- I'm glad you liked the chapter. And I'm so happy that you noticed the quotes I put up in the beginning! They are just a creative beginning, but I make sure to find quotes that sort of tie into their specific chapter, you know? Thanks so much for the review!

Pikke Wood- Thanks for the review!

Mikkelson&Tolosa4ever- I hope you're feeling better. Thanks for the review!

xXKonversexXxKidXx- Wow, thanks! There's some really good stories in this section, so I hope you find some that you like! I hope you enjoy the rest of my chapters!

Swimmergirl1121- Thank you!

Crimsontears824- I'm glad you like it! Thanks for the review!

Nachonaco- Thank you! "Cody's gonna be okay, right?" ... I don't know about that :laughs evilly: but I'm not giving anything away, so we'll see : ) Thanks for the review!