A/N: I'm really sorry for the evil cliffhanger. I hope this more than makes up for it.

The Trouble with Love Is

I hate hospitals. I buried my head in my hands as I sat on one of those uncomfortable chairs that they have in waiting rooms. Stupid florescent lighting. We have been waiting here for about three hours and still no word about her condition. Everyone is getting antsy. Jerry has been pacing back and forth between one side of the waiting room to the other for the last hour. Sofi has switched from being completely silent to bouts of hysterical sobbing where Angel has done his best to comfort her. Bobby has downed probably about seven cups of coffee and has been harassing every single nurse who has past the waiting room for an update on Maddie's condition. I don't think they're too keen to give out information to non-family members, even though they can't get a hold of her father and she doesn't have any other relatives around for miles. I was just sitting here wallowing in self-guilt.

It should be me in that bed. Not her. It was all I could think about. It was all my fault she was here. If I had enough sense not to answer that damn door, we wouldn't be in this mess. She wouldn't be in that hospital bed. It's all my fault. Bobby came to sit down next to me, breaking me out of my torturous thoughts. I think he was about to say something but stopped when a woman in her mid-twenties walked into the waiting room. She must have been a nurse, judging by the fact that she was wearing scrubs. Her frazzled auburn hair was hastily pulled back with a rubber band. She had round face with full lips and wide, expressive brown eyes the had an almost doe-like quality. We all stood up as she walked over to us.

"Hello, Mr. Mercer, Mr. Mercer, Mr. Mercer, Mr. Mercer, and Miss Rodriques...Wait. Let me do that all over again...Hello, I'm Nurse Stone, but just call me, Charlotte. I'll be the nurse in charge of Madeleine Fitch's care while she's her-" she said, looking at her clipboard.

"I don't mean to be rude, but are you going to tell us what is going on?" I asked, cutting her off mid-sentence.

"Well, Mr. Mercer."

"Jack."

"Well, Jack. I'm really sorry, but I can't tell you anything until we get in contact with Miss Fitch's father and he gives us the okay. Until that happens, I ask you to please, be patient. You'll know what's happening, soon." she told me.

"That's bullshit!" Bobby piped up.

"Shut up, Bobby." I spat.

"No, Jack. You know it's bullshit. Maddie's father doesn't give a damn about her. We are her only family. We have a right to know what's going on!" he said angrily.

"I agree with you, but there's nothing we can do except, be patient." I explained.

"How can you be so calm, when your girlfriend is laying in a bed somewhere and you don't know whether she's alive or dead?" he asked me.

"Because, I'm being logical and I realized, I'm not going get anywhere by getting angry and pestering the nurses to give me information that they can't give me. It's against the law and they could lose their jobs. Don't ever insinuate that I don't care about what's happening to Maddie, again." I retorted.

"Fine." he said. He went to go down on one of chairs. Charlotte went over to him.

"Would you like something to drink, Mr. Mercer?" she asked him nicely.

"I know where the damn vending machine is, Thank you." he spat at her. I was about to come to her defense, but she held up her hand to stop me.

"Do you ever stop being an asshole, Bobby Mercer?" she asked him. This shocked the hell out of me. First, We just met her and Second, she read Bobby so well. I guess she shocked Bobby, too.

"I remember you." he said.

"Gee, took you long enough." she snapped.

"How you doin', Charlie?" he asked, his anger completely gone. Bobby and his mood swings frustrate so much. Sometimes, I just want to bang my head against a wall.

"I've been better, and it's Charlotte." she said smiling.

"Would you rather me call you, Lotte?" he asked.

"No! God, No!" she sighed. "Charlie, it is."

He laughed. "I see you're still obsessed." he pointed out.

"Yup." she said proudly. "Well, I better get back to work. It was nice seeing you again, asshole."

"You too, Charlie." he said, smiling a genuine smile.

She walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "I'll try to get them to let me tell you some information about your girlfriend, okay. I can't promise anything, but I'll try." she told me.

"Thank you." I said.

She walked back to the nurse's station, but on her way back she kept looking over shoulder at Bobby. After she left, we were all staring at Bobby.

"What?" he asked.

"Who was that?" Angel asked.

"You don't remember, Charlie Stone?" he asked. Angel and Jerry both looked like they were confused, but then they just started to laugh hysterically. I'm lost...

"What's so funny?" I asked the two of them.

They caught their breath from all the laughing. "Charlie Stone is the only girl to get the better of Bobby." Jerry started to explain.

"Do you guys really have to tell him this?" Bobby complained.

"Yes." Jerry and Angel said together quickly.

"Okay, as I was saying. Bobby and Charlie were in the same year in high school and in most of the same classes. Charlie was a bit of a drama geek, she was in all of the school plays. She would walk around the school humming show tunes. Man, could she sing." Jerry said wistfully.

"I know you're wondering how the hell Bobby got mixed up with a girl like her. I mean, they were completely different. I guess he wanted a challenge. Anyways, Bobby charmed his way into her heart and were dating within a matter of weeks. One day Charlie was walking by Bobby talking with us and a few other guys." Angel continued.

"Do you always talk about someone like there here?" Bobby said, but Angel and Jerry ignored him.

"She came over kissed him on the cheek, but she said she was on her way to a rehearsal or something and she left quickly after. When we thought she was out of earshot, one of the guys with us asked Bobby what he saw in her and Bobby replie-" Jerry explained.

"I wouldn't even bother with her if she didn't have a nice rack." Bobby mumbled.

Angel and Jerry laughed. "I betcha those fateful last words are forever burned into your mind, Bobby." Angel said.

"Yeah." Bobby said.

"Like Jerry said, we thought she was out of earshot, but she had heard every word. We were all laughing about Bobby's remark, when she came and tapped Bobby on the shoulder. He turned around and BAM! She had punched him hard in the face, breaking his nose. Then she proceeded to scream every insult she could think of at him. Then she slapped him across the face for good measure. When she walked away every girl in the hallway clapped and cheered for her. We were all doubling over in laughter." Angel told us animatedly.

"The funniest part was when Mom came to pick him up from the nurses office. She had us explain what happened. After we were done, She slapped him across the face, too. On the ride to the hospital, Bobby got the worse lecture about how to treat a woman. Then she said he had to write a letter of apology to Charlie as punishment. Charlie wouldn't accept his letter, so he spent a better part of the year sucking up to her. Charlie put Bobby through so much shit, making him listen to show tunes and opera to get back in her good graces." Jerry finished.

"She played The Phantom of the Opera, endlessly. I don't think I'll ever get the songs out of my head." Bobby said. "Masquerade. Paper faces on parade." he sang softly under his breath.

We all started to laugh. I was glad for the distraction. We soon fell silent and I was left with my thoughts again.

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I looked up at the clock, another hour had past and still no word. Jerry needed to go home, but he said he would be back later. Angel and Sofi had gone off to get something to drink about fifteen minutes ago. They must have gotten sidetracked. It was only Bobby and me in the waiting room when a man in a white lab coat began to walk in our direction. He walked into the waiting room and walked over to me. He had short white that was parted to the side. He a comforting face with brightest green eyes that I had ever seen. I instantly liked him.

"Mr. Mercer?" he said.

I stood up. "Yes." I said.

"May I have a word with you in private? We only have to step out into the hallway." he asked.

"Okay." I said. I followed him out into the hallway. We stopped when we were a good distance away from the waiting room. He turned to face me.

"I'm Doctor Townsend. I'll be Miss Fitch's doctor during her stay here." he said holding out a hand for me to shake. I took it.

"Stay?" I asked.

"Yes. Nurse Stone explained your situation to me. We don't usually allow this, but since Miss Fitch's father is...indisposed and there are no other family members in the area, We are going to treat you as if you are her family." he explained.

I smiled. This was the best news I had heard all day. "Is she alright?" I asked him.

"Yes, she is going to be alright. I'm not going to sugar coat it for you. She's lost a lot of blood, which has put her in coma. That doesn't mean she won't wake up tomorrow or even tonight, but it's possible she might not wake up until a month from now. The bullet didn't cause any damage to major organs, but it did shatter her left shoulder blade, plus fracturing her collarbone. We removed the bullet and recontructed her shoulder blade. She should heal just fine. You can breath now." he said.

I hadn't realized that I was holding my breath ever since he said he wasn't going to sugar coat it for me. I was expecting the worst. "Sorry." I said.

He smiled. "It's okay. After she wakes up, She'll most likely have to stay in the hospital for another couple of weeks for more treatment and physical therapy, but we'll discuss that later. You must want to see her." he said.

"Hell, yes!" I said quickly without thinking. Dr. Townsend laughed.

"I'll send Nurse Stone to show you to her room." he said. He turned to walk towards the nurse's station.

"Dr. Townsend?" I said. He turned around and faced me. "Yes, Mr. Mercer?" he asked.

"Thank you for taking care of her." I said sincerely.

He smiled gently. "I was just doing my job, Mr. Mercer. You just promise me that you'll make sure Miss Fitch doesn't end up in here again." he said.

"I promise, Dr. Townsend, and thank you again." I said.

"That's good to hear. Now let me go get Nurse Stone , and you can see your young lady." he told. He turned around again and headed towards the nurses station. I went back into the waiting room. I saw that Angel and Sofi had returned. I sat down on a chair that was one chair away from Bobby. They all stared at me, expectantly.

"What?" I asked.

"Don't give us that, Jack. You know what. What did he say about Maddie?" Bobby said.

"I didn't know you cared, Bobby." I teased.

"Of course I care! Now, tell us what he said." he said.

"What who said?" I asked.

"Why you little-"

"Look! Bobby it's your girlfriend." I said, cutting him off. Charlie was making her way over to us. She stopped in front of me.

"Well, What does playing your fairy godmother get me?" She asked putting her hands on her hips.

"How about a 'Thank you' ?" I said. She plopped down between me and Bobby.

She sighed. "I guess that'll do..." she said jokingly. She turned to Bobby. "Do have anything for me?" she asked.

"No."

"Good, 'cause I don't want anything from you." she said jokingly. She turned back to me. "You can only see her one at a time. Do you want to go first, Jack?"

"No. I want to go last. Let Sofi go first." I told her.

"Okay."

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My time to see Maddie had arrived. I followed Charlie down the cooridor, until we came to a halt at the last door at the end of the hall way.

"Here it is. I'll be back later to check in." Charlie said. She walked away and I was left standing in front of the door. I pulled it open hesitantly. I stepped inside, shutting the door softly behind me. The room was small, but it was a single room. It had window with a nice view. It was dark outside. When had it become dark? The only light in the room came from a box above the bed. The bed.

Maddie seemed to be swallowed up by it. She had always been small, but it made her look tiny. All I could do was stand there and stare at her. She had various wires connected to her delicate body, while little machines surrounded her, making annoying beeping sounds. It was heartbreaking to see her like this. She was so still, if it wasn't for the slight rise and fall of her chest, I would have thought she was dead. I went and sat in the chair beside her bed. I didn't touch her, I just simply looked. Maddie would never let me really look at her. She'd always say or do something to distract me from looking at her. I don't think she feels that she worth looking at. She doesn't know how wrong she is. I gently enfolded her small lifeless hand in mine.

"That was a stupid thing to do, Maddie." I whispered to her. I knew she really couldn't hear me, but I talked anyway. "Jumping in front of me like that. You could've died." My voice started to crack. I felt the tears threatening to pour down my cheeks. "I could have lost you. I don't know what I would do if I lost you." A tear began to roll it's way down my cheek. "I love you." More tears began to pour out. "I never want you to be hurt again." I was sobbing now. "I don't think I could bear it if you were hurt again."

I don't know what possessed me to do it.

I climbed into the bed next her. I gathered her gently in my arms, careful not to touch her shoulder. Her head lolled onto my shoulder when we were settled. I just held her as I cried. All my emotions I felt today that I repressed were pouring out through my tears. It seemed just her presence was enough to sooth me, because my tears began to slow. When my crying stopped, my eyes began to droop. A wave of tiredness swept over me and before I knew it I was asleep.

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Interlude: Charlie

I went back to the girl's room to check on Jack. I opened the door. It appeared that Jack had climbed into the bed next to his girlfriend and accidentally fell asleep. I went over to one of cabinets built into the wall and pulled out a blanket. I placed it over him. Stepping back, I looked at the pair in the bed. At first glance, they appeared to be a very unlikely couple. The girl was a delicate little thing. She had an innocent almost ethereal quality about her. Jack was all hard edges. He had this bad boy facade. But if you looked a little closer, you would notice the protective way in which he held her or you would see the gentle way she softened him. When you look, instead of just see, you realize that they were made for each other.

I have had way to much coffee. My inner hopeless romantic is working overtime.

Your lucky, kid. I took the night shift, so no one will disturb you.

I'm glad to see Bobby didn't taint your mind. I wonder if he's single. Yeah, Bobby's definitely single. I don't think any woman could stand him for a long period of time. He wasn't so bad when it was just us. Yeah, definitely WAY too much coffee.

Well goodnight, kid.

I closed the door softly behind me.

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A/N 2: Do you guys like Charlie? Is there way to many OC's in this story?