AN: This will be a heartbreaking chapter, so be sure to have tissues handy. Please read and review


Mark was the first one to push his way through the doors to the hospital, almost breezing right by the receptionist's desk without a single word. However, a passing orderly intercepted him before he could go much further.

"Get out of the way!" Mark cried, trying to push his way past the orderly. "I have to see her."

"Sir, you need to calm down!" the receptionist insisted, leaning over her desk. "If you're here to see someone, you're required to check in here."

"I don't have time for this…" Mark started to argue, but his voice died in his throat almost instantly. In desperation, he turned beseechingly to the people standing behind him. Mrs. Kurtz's face was extremely pale in worry, and the children, Rodolfo, Zack and Lucia, were also visibly frightened over what they were about to see. As for Penny, she looked very close to tears, and it was probably only the feel of James' arm around her waist, and the fact that she was cradling a sleeping Sammy, that kept her from dissolving into uncontrollable sobs. It was James who spoke up for Mark's benefit.

"Please, Ma'am," he began. "Could you please just tell us what rooms Mrs. Cohen and Sergeant Kurtz are in? We were told that they were taken here." The receptionist's face instantly shifted in sympathy.

"Oh, I see," she nodded, glancing back at Mark. "You're the family of the abducted woman who the police recovered a few hours ago." For a few moments, the receptionist typed away on her computer, looking for the information the Bohemians wanted.

"Here we are," the receptionist finally announced. "I'm afraid Sergeant Kurtz hasn't been released from the emergency room yet. But Mrs. Cohen….is down in ICU. Her records say she's stable enough to receive visitors, but immediate family only."

"Do you…," Mrs. Kurtz stepped forward hesitantly, worry for her husband visible on her face. "Do you know how Kevin is? Can you get someone to come up and tell me?"

"I'll do what I can," the receptionist promised before her attention was momentarily caught by James beginning to go with the Cohen family to visit Emily. "Um, sir, I said immediate family only." The receptionist flashed him an apologetic smile before glancing downward to his hand, which was entwined with Penny's. It was clear that she'd correctly concluded he was simply Penny's boyfriend and not a brother.

"He's almost…" Penny started to argue but James held up a hand, smiling tenderly down at her.

"It's okay, Pen," he assured. "You go on with your father and the rest of your family. Sammy and I'll wait out here."

"But, James," Penny replied, looking back at him in disbelief. "You have every right to come, too."

"I know, but…someone should really stay and keep Mrs. Kurtz company while she waits to hear about Sergeant Kurtz. After everything that's happened, it wouldn't be right to just leave her alone out here." Penny's shoulders slumped, knowing that he had a point. With a dry chuckle, James placed a finger under her chin to bring her head back up, allowing him to look her in the eye. "I promise I'll be right out here if you need me for anything. Now, go see your mother, Penny."

"Thank you, James," Penny whispered, leaning up to kiss him briefly. After passing the sleeping Sammy back over to him, she headed off after Mark, Lucia, Zack and Rodolfo.


"Mom!" Lucia cried out the instant she entered the room in ICU. In a flash, the young girl had ran over to Emily's bedside, doing her best to hug her mother in joyful relief. Almost immediately afterwards, Zack and Rodolfo had moved to the other side of the bed, sharing the cushioned chair that had been positioned next to the hospital bed. However, Mark and Penny had to hesitate at the curtain, taking in what they were seeing.

Emily was sitting up in bed with her eyes open, and at first glance, she looked perfectly fine, but the longer Mark and Penny looked at her, the more they could see how bad she was. Her olive completion was almost completely washed out, and her face was devoid of any emotion. Worst of all were her eyes. They were simply lifeless and dead. Even when her head inclined towards Lucia as her youngest daughter spoke, there was no recognition in them. It was almost as if Emily couldn't even see anyone in the room with her.

"Mr. Cohen? Mark?" A gentle voice interrupted Mark's thoughts as a sympathetic hand touched his shoulder. Turning, Mark saw it was Dr. Jordan, a long-time acquaintance of the Bohemian family.

"Oh, Dr. Jordan," Mark breathed, looking at the floor for a moment. "Penny, could you…um…" Very briefly, Mark glanced over at Rodolfo, Zack and Lucia.

"It's okay, Dad," Penny nodded. "We'll stay with Mom while you and Dr. Jordan talk."

"Thank you, Penny," Mark nodded in gratitude before stepping into the hall with Dr. Jordan.

"Mark, the children don't have to be…" Dr. Jordan started to speak, but Mark interrupted him.

"Would you want to hear the gory details if it was your mother in that hospital bed?" Mark pointed out testily.

"No," Dr. Jordan admitted, sighing heavily. "I suppose I wouldn't."

"All right, Dr. Jordan," Mark turned to fact the doctor once he was sure they were out of earshot of Penny and the Boho Kids. "Just…give it to me straight. How…how is she?"

"Physically, Emily is doing rather well, considering what she's been through," Dr. Jordan explained. "But…her blood sugar is dangerously high, which you can probably expect since she hasn't had access to her insulin for over three days. We're trying to bring it down to a normal level."

"Was…" Mark nearly choked on his words, forcing himself to ask his next question. "I mean, the video Kingpin sent showed Emily being… Please, Dr. Jordan. Is there…any possibility that she….?"

"We ran all of our usual tests for situations such as this," Dr. Jordan replied. "All of them came back negative, Mark. All of them. But…well, this is partially related to that topic. You see, when Emily was being…" Dr. Jordan trailed off, visibly steeling himself for what he was about to say. "Simply put, Mark, her…reproductive organs were badly damaged, and there's no hope of saving them. Thus, it would be impossible for her to ever conceive again." Mark, not trusting himself to speak just yet, nodded numbly before he remembered exactly how Dr. Jordan's explanation began.

"You said…she was doing well physically," he reminded.

"Yes, I did," Dr. Jordan confirmed. "But I don't think I need to explain Emily's non-physical damage, since you've already seen what she's like. It's as if she's nothing but an empty shell right now. Shortly before your arrival, I was trying to see if I could elicit a response from her by mentioning you and the children, but she doesn't show any signs of recognizing the names. She will respond if you feed her, but apart from that, there's absolutely nothing."

"Yeah, I did notice," Mark spoke in a strained voice. "Even just now, with Lucia, Emily just looked right through her."

"Mark," Dr. Jordan once again placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "I am truly sorry, but…I have to be honest with you. Emily's current state is practically identical to another patient we had, back in 1984. And….that other patient…she never recovered. In fact, she had completely given up on life, and it was only the life of her unborn child that kept her hanging on as long as she did."

"Penny's birth mother," Mark whispered, realizing instantly who Dr. Jordan was talking about.

"Exactly," Dr. Jordan answered. "The man difference is, to Kingpin, Penny's birth mother was just another woman. Unlike Emily, he didn't harbor a grudge over her. Taking that into account, Emily probably suffered a great deal more than Penny's birth mother did. So…it's safe to assume her psychological wounds are far more serious than Penny's birth mother's had been."

"Dr. Jordan," Mark once again had to force himself to speak, feeling his voice start to break. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Mark," Dr. Jordan took a deep breath before continuing. "I think it would be a good idea if…you didn't get your hopes up for even a minor recovery. It is very possible that….Emily will not get any better than she is now." Throat too tight to speak, Mark simply nodded once again before turning back to rejoin his family at Emily's bedside. Stepping past the curtain, he suddenly noticed Rodolfo was looking back at him, a sorrowful expression on his face. The moment Mark met his 'nephew's' eyes, the brown-eyed boy stood up and took a deep breath, preparing himself to speak.

"Hey, Zack, Lucia," he began. "Come on. It's…getting close to breakfast time. We…probably should head down to the cafeteria and get something to eat."

"But we just…." Lucia started to argue, tearing her eyes away from Emily.

"Lucia," Penny stepped in, realizing what Rodolfo was trying to do. "It's okay. Mom will be just fine, and she'll still be here when we get back. Besides, Mom would want you to eat something." For a moment, Lucia and Zack hesitated, but then allowed Rodolfo and Penny to usher them out of the ICU, leaving Mark standing there alone. However, the filmmaker heard Zack's whisper as they left.

"Rodolfo," Zack hissed. "Seriously, how can you even think of your stomach….?"

"Did you even see the look on Uncle Mark's face?" Rodolfo fired back. "He deserves a moment alone with Aunt Emily." Briefly, Mark felt a strong sense of gratitude for Roger and Mimi's son, but that feeling was quickly overshadowed when he turned back to Emily and crossed the room to her side to sit in the cushioned chair Zack and Rodolfo had just abandoned. With a shaky breath, he reached out and took Emily's hand to hold it gently.

"Emily," Mark whispered, staring at her blank face, silently praying for some sign from her. "I…I really hope that, somehow, you're able to hear what I'm saying, even though you can't show it. Because I know that you're still in there somewhere. You need to know that I'm so, so sorry I couldn't stop Kingpin from taking you, even after I promised you I'd never let anything happen to you. And…when I saw what Kingpin was allowing his followers to do to you, I…." Mark's words died in his throat and his face fell into his free hand, barely suppressing a fresh sob at the memory. Tightening his hold on Emily's limp hand, he continued in a strained voice. "Emily. Cricket. If you can hear me, and I truly hope you can, then believe me when I say I'm not giving up on you. So please, don't you give up on me. I know we can get through this, Emily. Please, you need to come back. I…I don't know what I'd do if you don't. I love you, Emily. I love you so much, so please. Please come back to me. To me and the children. We all need you, Emily, so please!" Unable to continue on, Mark broke down sobbing, holding Emily's hand against his cheek.


In the waiting room, James continued to sit with Mrs. Kurtz, a comforting arm wrapped around her shoulders. For a while, he attempted to divide his attention between being there for Mrs. Kurtz and keeping an eye on Sammy, who was lying on the floor nearby, busy with his coloring book.

"What's taking them so long?" Mrs. Kurtz whispered after a long period of silence had passed.

"Mrs. Kurtz, please," James spoke consolingly. "Remember, sometimes no news is good news. It means that they're still treating him. And while I don't have half of Penny's medical knowledge, I can't see why they would take this long in treating Sergeant Kurtz if he didn't have a good chance. I'm sure everything will be fine." No sooner were these words out of James' mouth that the door leading to the hospital emergency rooms opened and a doctor stepped out.

"Mrs. Kurtz?" he called out, looking around the waiting room. Suddenly gasping in nervousness, Mrs. Kurtz got to her feet and slowly went over to meet with the doctor. James hesitated before following her, taking a quick moment to start scooping Sammy up. As he got to his feet, however, he momentarily froze, watching the doctor speaking with Mrs. Kurtz. While he could not hear what the doctor was telling her, he could still see Mrs. Kurtz's body stiffen with shock, and her face crumple with grief seconds later.

In that very moment, James felt the bottom of his stomach drop in horror, realizing instantly what the news on Sergeant Kurtz had been. Moving as quickly as he could, he hurried over to Mrs. Kurtz's side, just as the woman fell to her knees, her body racked by heartbreaking sobs. His heart going out to the grieving woman, James knelt by her side and pulled her into a tight hug, while tears of his own started to escape from his eyes.