Hi guys! I'm sorry about the delay. I had that story ready a few months but i couldn't update.

Well, after that chapter, will have just more one. And maybe I will post a new story as a tag (with only two chapters).

Shelby, I'm sorry. I know I am a really annoying girl. Thank you for send me that chapter. ;)

Neal survived the two days leading up to the surgery. Christie was able to persuade Sara to go home until the surgery took place. Seeing that Christie was actually able to deny her the ability to visit Neal, she reluctantly went home. Elizabeth kept Sara company, and Peter stayed with Neal. El tried to distract her, but she wasn't able to prevent Sara's mind from wandering to Neal. Sara always kept her phone on her person in case Peter called with news.

Finally the day of the surgery arrived. Sara and El joined Diana, Peter and June in the waiting room. Jones joined them later. Time passed with no news of how Neal was doing. Christie had warned Peter and Sara that the surgery would be very risky, which is the reason why it was previously out of the question. But now with a single smaller tumor in his stomach, Christie thought that Neal might just have a chance, so she didn't want to let it pass.

Five hours later, Christie finally appeared in the waiting room. She was looking tired and grave. Fear began to grow in Sara's heart as Christie didn't look happy.

"So, how did it go?" Peter asked. Sara was thankful that Peter spoke, for she didn't believe she could find the strength within her own voice.

"Everything went well." Christie said and Sara breathed in a sigh of relief. "We were able to remove the entire tumor without major complications."

"Thank God!" El exclaimed; she was wrapped up in Peter's arms.

Diana asked, "Then why are making that face?"

"He flat lined twice on the operating table, but we managed to bring him back quickly."

Sara gave Christie a worried look in response. She then cautiously asked, "Do you think there will be complications because of that?"

"I don't think so, but it is always a possibility. We'll have to wait for him to wake up. I believe that his lungs and kidneys will recover over time, but the brain is also an organ. I'm worried about the damage that may have been caused by the medicine."

"What kinds of damage?" Peter asked fearfully.

"Like I said, I still don't know. We'll know more after he wakes up." Diana saw that Christie still was apprehensive as if she hadn't said all that was on her mind.

"And when will he wake up?" El asked, taking ahold of Sara's hand.

"Well, it won't be immediate. I think he'll only wake up when his body begins to heal. It may take a week or two. "

"That is IF he wakes up… am I right?" Diana studied Christie's expression. She knew her girlfriend well enough to know that there was something bothering her.

"Yes, if he wakes up. There's always a chance that the patient won't wake up. But this is something that we don't need to think about right now." Christie added quickly when she saw Sara's expression. "You can go see him."

Sara was really excited after the surgery. The hope she felt brought her out of the depressive state she'd been living in. She'd turn on the TV to let Neal listen or read aloud newspaper articles about art. The first week after the surgery went much slower than Sara would have liked, but she never left Neal's side.

Once two weeks had passed since the surgery, Sara began to feel apprehensive. Christie said that each person required a different amount of time to improve. She said that it could take a few more days than she'd initially thought.

Neal was still in a coma one month after the surgery. Christie was reluctant to have the conversation that most everyone dreads. She had become close to Neal, not only because he was her girlfriend's colleague, but because he was a great guy despite his faults. Christie decided to talk to Peter so he'd be prepared to support Sara and the decision that needed to be made.

Sara didn't want to think about the question. She didn't know which path was the right one to take, and she was afraid about having to go on living with her decision.

While contemplating the options, she was rudely interrupted by a very unexpected guest. She never imagined that Mozzie would enter Neal's room yelling at her.

"What are you going to do?" He yelled, scaring the hell out of her.

"What are you talking about Mozzie?" The only time he had visited Neal was two days before the surgery, so she didn't know why he came unannounced and angry at her like this.

"Are you going to let them kill him? After all that he's been through, you'll just let them pull the plug?"

"Mozzie..." Sara couldn't believe he was yelling at her about this. "You have no right to come here once or twice in almost two months to say..."

"I don't have the right? I risked my liberty to buy that medicine for him. I didn't give up, but you will." He screamed, causing Christie and Peter entered the room.

"What is happening in here?" Peter asked incredulously.

"She'll kill him, Suit!" Mozzie shouted pointing to Sara. "She..." Mozzie could no longer speak.

"Calm down, Mozzie." Peter ordered. "I know that."

"So, join me. She can't do that!" He begged Peter.

"Actually I think she's right." Peter said carefully.

"What?" Mozzie was incredulous. "You agree? But… no… I won't let that happen!"

"You can't do anything Mozzie. It's Sara's decision." Christie spoke for the first time.

"You're happy with that, aren't you?" Mozzie accused Christie. "What are you getting out of this?"

"Nothing, I get nothing Mozzie, but you know that Neal wouldn't want that."

"How can you say something like that? You discussed things with him." Mozzie replied. "Neal said he wanted to live!"

"Exactly, that is why he didn't want to do chemotherapy. He didn't want to prolong his life if it meant he couldn't do the things he used to do. He wanted to live, not survive." Christie retorted.

Christie said this very calmly, which angered Mozzie. He was furious and wanted to take it out on someone. It had only been a little over a month since the surgery. She thought that they should at least wait another month before making such a drastic descision.

"Mozzie, I'm not saying that Neal has no chance of waking up perfectly fine, but those chances reduce as time passes. The longer he takes to wake up, the more likely it is that there will be serious repercussions, mental or physical."

"I don't care; at least he'll be alive." Mozzie said to Christie. He almost jumped when he heard Sara's low, but knife-sharp reply.

"I think Neal was right when he said that you just care about yourself. Yeah, he told me that." Sara looked directly at Mozzie. "Do you think that if it was up to me I wouldn't have him wake up? If you think that, you are very wrong. I'm just thinking about him… He wouldn't want to spend the rest of his life without being able to paint, swim or even speak. It hurts me to know that I'll never see the light in his eyes when he smiles, and it hurts to know he is so close to me, but I still can't hear his voice. Every time I say things to him and get no response it tears me up inside." She said this with tears in her eyes and she grasped Neal's hand. "All I want now is for him to wake up and get me out of this horrible position of having to make such a choice." She tilted her head and rested it on Neal's bed.

Mozzie couldn't speak. He realized just how unfair he was being to Sara. She'd stood by Neal's side the whole time while he'd barely had the courage to come when his friend was unconscious. Maybe Neal and Sara were right and he really did only think of himself. Peter lightly grabbed his shoulder and spoke quietly, "Let's go outside." Mozzie accompanied him, leaving Christie alone with Sara.

"You know that if you don't want it, we don't need to do that."

"I know, I just wish I had a sign, something that will tell me what to do. I can't stand seeing him like this." Sara cried as she stroked Neal's hair with one hand and with the other she held his hand. He was still on a respirator. Christie said his lungs still couldn't manage the effort of breathing alone, but his kidneys had begun working better.

Sara never thought she would have to go through something like this. She was not close to her mother when she died, but she knew what her father had gone through. She was never prepared for this, and now, with Neal having a chance to survive, what she was going through was emotionally and even physically exhausting, but she didn't care. She just wanted him to wake up so that she wouldn't have to decide anything.

"Sara, I'll replace his respirator by a nasal cannula. It will be good to get him breathing more by himself, but I can't let him do it all alone." Christie said, approaching Sara.

"Are you sure it will be good for him?" Sara asked with fear.

"If something goes wrong, I promise I'll put him back on the respirator." Christie smiled.

Sara gave her a small nod. She felt so emotionally exhausted, but while Neal was there, she would be with him.

"Sara, why don't you go home? Take a shower, eat something and then you come back if you want." Christie proposed. "If something changes I'll call you, I promise. Besides, Elizabeth will be here any moment. She'll stay with Neal." Sara didn't like the idea and Christie knew it. "Come on, Sara. At least give yourself a chance to get away from this room for a while."

"Okay..." Sara gave up. "Any news, you call me."

"I promise." Christie replied. She watched Sara kiss Neal's forehead then exit. "You have a very special girlfriend, you can be sure of that." Christie said to Neal. She then went to call for help to remove the respirator.

WCWCWCWCWC

Elizabeth entered Neal's room, but she didn't find Sara there as she had expected. Her husband was sitting next to his partner. Peter's hand was resting on Neal's arm. He was almost yielding to fatigue when El touched his shoulder.

"How long have you been here?" El asked.

"A while." Peter admitted. He had been stuck at a stakeout all night and had returned directly to the Bureau to resolve some things. He'd wanted to spend some time at the hospital before going home. Mozzie's arrival and the fact that Sara had finally decided to leave that room made him want to stay, but he really was very tired.

"Go home, honey." El said hugging him from behind. "I'll stay." Peter gave a slight nod. He muttered a "Bye" for Neal and after kissing his wife he went home.

Elizabeth sat in the chair that had recently been occupied by her husband and took Neal's hand. "So, Neal? Now it's just you and me. I think this is good because we need to talk." El said, not caring that there was no response from her friend.

Neal's respirator had been removed, but a nasal cannula was put in place, probably not to force his lungs, she figured. El brushed the hair off Neal's forehead and continued as if she was sure he was listening.

"I hated you." Elizabeth confessed. "When my husband started chasing you, I started to hate you. I didn't know you, but I hated the man who made my husband spend whole nights away for a stakeout. The man who made me have the feeling that I was competing for my husband's attention. You made me feel that way for three years and I gave thanks to God for the day that Peter finally caught you."

"But all that changed the day I saw you for the first time, standing at my door. I never imagined how charming you were." She laughed recalling that day. "They say that love and hate are two very close feelings. Now I can tell you that I believe that. You can change the people's minds with a simple smile. I love you, Neal. Everyone loves you. You are a great friend and that's why it hurts us all so much to see you in this situation."

"But I'm saying this for Sara. When I heard that you had chosen her to be your power of attorney I gave thanks to God that it wasn't Peter, because I know that no matter what he chose in that situation, I would never have my husband back. I know he would never forgive himself if he had to take away the chance for you to live, or if he'd decided to wait for you wake up and you ended up being unable to do something that you love."

"But you left everything in Sara's hands. Miraculously, she actually went home today, but we almost had to drag her from here. She stays here because she loves you, and I know that you love her too. So I'm begging you Neal, please don't force her to have to make that decision. You're the one who has to make that decision. It's in your hands. If you wake up, please know that we will be by your side, but no one will be mad at you if you can't handle it anymore. You're stronger than anyone expected, and many others in your place would have given up. You've already suffered a lot Neal, and you don't need to do that anymore, and if that is your decision, please know that we support it too. But it has to be your choice, not Sara's choice. I'm afraid that she can't bear this burden." Elizabeth finished speaking with tears in her eyes.

She stood at Neal's side for a few minutes until it happened. She never thought that her one-sided conversation would have any effect. And she definitely never imagined that this would be Neal's "decision".

So, what did you think? liked, hated? Please let me know.