A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry this is a bit late. Unfortunately, it was announced Kate's pregnant with Matt's child :( Let's just say, I didn't take it that well. Enjoy this chapter anyway!

"I know I missed them, but the traffic is insane… I couldn't leave earlier, my meeting ran late!" I shout in the car, thanking whoever created the hands-free phone system. My phone would be sweaty, if not broken by now. Meghan's voice comes through the car speakers, telling me she understands. I've already missed the first two acts of the huge show the guys are playing at Wembley tonight.

My meeting with a retail chain ran incredibly late, so I didn't leave the office until around six-thirty. Of course, to make things worse, I got stuck in a ridiculous line of traffic. It becomes increasingly harder and harder to hear Meghan's voice over the noise of screaming and chattering voices, so I end the call, promising her I'll be there soon.

Sighing, I move the car forward, barely moving anywhere. I look down at the clock, realizing it's nearly seven. The sky has turned a bluish gray, and the next time I look up at it it's already darker.

I grip the steering wheel tighter as the cars ahead begin moving faster. "Finally." I breathe as my car accelerates. It's about seven-thirty now. I'll probably be able to make it to the stadium around eight, which gives me plenty of time. Muse should come on around nine if things go as planned.

As I continue driving, I begin to find the silence of the car quite irritating. I turn on the radio to find some pop crap playing, so I change it to Origin of Symmetry.

Singing along to New Born, I look out the window to see a car swerving in the lane next to me. From what I can decipher through the darkness outside, it is a large SUV. The driver moves closer and closer to my lane, still veering in different directions.

I contemplate whether or not I should call the police or get out of the car's way. I slow down so the car is in front of me. Repeating the license plate over and over, I report the driver to the police.

A sigh of relief leaves my lips as I hang up. Hopefully, everything is going to be alright. Suddenly, the car moves between my lane and his. There's nothing I can do but drive at this point. I look at the clock again. A quarter to eight. The car isn't moving at a reasonable speed, which is probably a good thing. Who knows what would happen if they were speeding?

The driver moves back into its lane. I look into my rearview mirror to see a line of cars behind me. An open road is a head of me, but so is the driver.

I begin to speed up as the driver strays near the other lane next to his. Looking to my left, I see a forest behind the rails of the highway. I'm going to take the risk of passing the car, though it's incredibly dangerous and slightly idiotic.

I gradually approach the back of the car, the front of mine almost adjacent to it. I look from the woods to the car, my hands beginning to shake with nervousness and fear. Noticing my car is quiet once again, I turn up the stereo's volume as the end of Space Dementia begins. I restart the song, being one of my favorites, take a deep breath, and push on the gas pedal.

I'm now next to the car. Looking into the window, I examine the driver. It's a man holding a beer bottle in one hand, the other barely holding onto the steering wheel. He looks over at me who is a bit below him, since my car is a bit smaller.

His face is strikingly familiar. My eyes can't help but to stare at him, trying to figure out where I've seen him before or who he looks like. His green eyes are covered with a glassy film, it seems he hasn't shaven in a couple days, and a mess of dark brown hair covers his head. I shake my head, unable to remember who he is.

He takes a long sip from the beer bottle. Alcohol makes people do stupid things. My old slogan meant more than ever. Then I remember what kind of driver I'm next to.

I look to my right to see the car shifting toward mine. It's like he's forgotten about me. Panicking and breathing hard, I speed up the car. Glancing next to me again, the car's even closer. The driver looks at me as his vehicle becomes only inches away. I then remember who he is.

Then something hard collides with the side of my car.

Matt's POV

"Do you know if Maddy's here yet?" I ask a man with a clipboard backstage. We're about to go on in about five minutes. She hasn't texted or called me as she usually does, wishing me luck before a show or just to let me know she's out there amongst the sea of people.

The man looks behind him nervously. "No, we don't know if she's here or not." He says. "Sorry." I nod in disappointment as I head toward Dom a few feet away.

"Have you seen Maddy yet? She hasn't stopped backstage or called or anything." Dom turns around, fooling around with his drumsticks.

"She's not here yet? I'm sure she's alright though, mate." He says. "She's probably just stuck in traffic or something. You know how London traffic is. Or maybe she's busy talking with Meghan."

"I hope so." I say, trying to shrug it off. He's right. I'm sure she's fine. A voice calls out, letting us know we have two minutes until we have to go on. "Now let's have a fucking proper show." I shout to Dom with forced enthusiasm.

I wave to the cheering crowd as I walk onstage. As we begin Uprising, I do what I usually do at gigs Maddy goes to, I search the audience for her. I look down between the stage and the pit, where she usually stands, singing and beaming at me from below. She's nowhere to be found. Maybe she decided to be in the pit this time, she does enjoy that, but she could be anywhere in the mass of fans.

Before Map of the Problematique, I grab the microphone closer to my face. I point at a random spot amongst the audience. "This one's for my girlfriend." The crowd cheers even louder. I imagine her smiling with approval as we begin the song. I back up a few feet to look at Dom behind me. He gives me a quick wink before turning his sweaty face toward Chris.

Take a Bow ends the show, followed by loud screaming. I give a last wave to the crowd before following Chris and Dom backstage. "Great show, guys." Dom pants, putting an arm around my shoulder. We head back to the dressing room, each of us chugging down bottles of water.

"Matt!" Tom runs into the room with a traumatized expression.

"Tom, what are you doing back here? What's wrong?" I ask him. He places a hand on my back. I feel it shaking against my spine as Dom and Chris move closer with frightened faces.

"It's Maddy. She was in an accident on the way here and…" My heart races and millions of options run through my head. What if she's dead? What if she's paralyzed? What if she has brain damage? What if she needs her arms amputated or something and can never design or make clothes again?

"What?" I hear myself whisper. Tom looks down at the floor. He takes a long breath, scratches his head, then looks up at me.

"She's in a coma." Dom gasps and buries his face in his hands, cursing. Chris's mouth drops and pulls me into a hug. It's then I realize I'm trembling and my face is wet. A coma. I realize how ironic is, since one of our early songs is named Coma. Maddy's in what could be an endless sleep. She may never wake up.

I'll never be able to see the look on her face when I propose to her. Her smiling face, glowing with happiness, will never look back at mine on our wedding day. I'll never be able to hold her hand as she gives birth to one of our children. We'll never grow old together and reminisce about times we've had.

But she could still wake up.

"Do you know what hospital she's at?" I question, my voice cracking as I break out of Chris's hold and storm out of the room. The others follow me into a hallway.

Tom nods. "I'll have our car bring us there." I suddenly halt in the middle of the corridor.

"Does Meghan know? Do her parents know?"

"I don't know mate. We'll find Meghan and Emmett though." As Tom says this, a female figure comes running at me. Though she's taller than me, she rests her head on my shoulder as her arms wrap around my neck.

I look down at Meghan. She returns my glance. I must have begun to cry since she says, "You heard?" Nodding, I comfortingly rub her back.

"Let's get in the car, mate." Dom says, wrapping his arms around the two of us.

In the car, all I can think about is Maddy's mangled body lying inside her car. Whoever hit her is going to be dead, if they aren't already, for hurting her. Meghan, Emmett, and the guys comfort me in the car, telling me things are going to be fine and not to worry.

I can't help but worry. Who knows what's going to happen to Maddy? However, I try to think positively and convince myself Maddy's going to be alright.

I nearly sprint into the hospital, running up to the desk and begging for the number to Maddy's room. The secretary looks from me to her computer.

"8-42." She says in a soothing voice. "Let me just check with the doctor first, just to make sure it's okay to come see her."

"Okay. Thank you."

"I'm very sorry. A coma right?"

"Yeah."

"Are you a friend?"

"Boyfriend, actually." Saying this feels odd to me. I feel like Maddy's more than a girlfriend to me. Girlfriend seems too casual of a word to call what I feel for her, despite knowing her for only about a year. The secretary gives me a sympathetic look and advises me to sit in the waiting room. I turn to find Dom, Chris, Tom, Meghan and Emmett already in the waiting area. I take a seat between Dom and Meghan. Sighing, I place my elbows on my knees and prop my forehead in my hands. A hand makes gentle circles on my back.

Turning my head slightly, Meghan comes into my view looking forlornly at me. "It's okay, Matt. Maddy wouldn't leave you. She loves you too much. Things are going to be okay."

"What are you talking about? What do you mean she won't leave me?"

"Well on TV shows, when people die, they usually see a dead relative or something and they decide whether they want to live or die." A smile comes upon my face, my first within the last hour. Meghan gives me a small grin as I cheer up a bit. Then a man with a clipboard walks in. I immediately sit up and clench the arms of the cushioned chairs, waiting for him to call out Maddy's name. Disappointed, I slouch into the chair as the doctor calls for the parents of someone named Joshua.

Chris gives me an understanding look from next to Dom as the doctor walks away with a distraught middle-aged couple. I stare at a small clock across from me. Minutes begin to feel like hours. I need to see Maddy. I need to make sure she's alright.

A female doctor comes into the room this time. "Maddy Pensuri?" The group of us eagerly rise from the chairs. "If you don't mind, we can only have three visitors in the room right now." We decide Meghan, Dom, and I will go in first. We follow her into an elevator. As we rise floors, I realize I'm biting my nails, a habit I got rid of years ago.

"It's gonna be alright, don't worry." Dom reassures me as we exit the elevator. I can hardly breathe as I read the room numbers, slowly approaching room 42.

"Here we are." The doctor mutters as we reach the room. She opens the door and motions for us to follow. In a white elevated bed is Maddy. Her face, unnaturally pale, is covered in long red gashes, one of her arms are in a sling, there are bandages around her chest, and another cast on her leg.

"No." I whisper rushing to her side. A man with light hair and glasses enters the room, carrying a clipboard like the earlier doctor.

"Well as you know, she's in a coma. We're not sure if she has any brain damage yet, but she's fractured three of her ribs, her left arm and leg are completely shattered, and she's lost a great amount of blood."

"Do you know what happened?" Dom murmurs, staring at Maddy's unconscious body.

"Well we found her car completely totaled at the side of the highway. It's a shame, really. It was a very nice car too." He chuckles, trying to bring a bit of humor into the situation. Seeing this failed, he continues. "It's interesting because the police received a call from her reporting an intoxicated driver. He actually ended up hitting her." The driver. The drunken little fucker did this to her. "The driver was killed in the accident. Maddy here's very lucky."

Maddy here's very lucky. She barely made it out alive. "What are her chances of surviving?" The doctor looks down at his clipboard, though from the look on his face, he already knows the answer.

"About fifty-fifty." I let out a shaky breath as Meghan wraps her arms around me. "Now, we were able to contact Maddy's family. They should be arriving here sometime tomorrow."

"May I stay here with her?" I ask quietly, staring at her sleeping figure. The doctor nods. Meghan and Dom decide to leave the room so Chris and Tom can come in. While waiting for the two, the doctor introduces himself as Doctor Stevens and gives me some words of encouragement.

Tom and Chris enter the room a few minutes later, their reactions similar to those of Meghan and Dom's. About an hour after, Daphne Phoenix and Adam Phillips, who I've met briefly at Maddy's party and fashion week, walk through the teal door.

"Oh my god." Adam gasps. "My poor darling, Madeline!" He runs over to the chair the hospital had brought me earlier. I've been sitting here since Chris and Tom left. Something tells me I'll be spending a lot of time in it.

Adam lightly touches Maddy's disheveled hair. Daphne slowly comes up behind him. "I can't believe it." She swallows hard as she watches the beeping monitor on the other side of Maddy's bed. "If… Anything happens, Maddy said I would take over the company."

Gazing down at Maddy, I say, "Okay. Thank you. I know she trusts and thinks very highly of you." Adam and Daphne remain in the room, not saying much. They depart after about fifteen minutes, leaving me alone again with Maddy.

A bit after midnight, I turn on the television and flip through the channels. For a while, I try to focus on the news. I shut it off, distracted by the sound of the monitor and the uncomfortable unfamiliarity of the hospital room.

A young nurse walks in around one. In her arms are a pile of books. She places them down on a small table next to me. "Hi," She begins. "I'm a fan of Muse and I love Maddy's clothes. She's great. And, um, I'm really sorry about what happened. I hope she'll be alright." I thank her. "I brought some of these." She motions to the books on the counter. "Sometimes people who are in a coma can hear some things going on around them, so I brought some books for you to read to her if you'd like."

I smile at her generosity. "Cheers. It means a lot." She nods and gives me a little wave before scurrying out of the room. I look through the stack of books to find a bunch of girly romance novels. A cover catches my eye. The Notebook. Isn't that supposed to be that book that everyone cries at the end of? I remember Maddy mentioning the author. Even though it's depressing, which isn't helpful to my current mood, I open the book, look at Maddy, and begin reading.