When Julia and Karen got to the hospital they were informed Derek had been taken into the trauma room, and were led to the private waiting room. They were soon joined by Josh and Ana, who immediately rushed over to Karen to envelop her friend in a comforting hug.

"Karen you're shaking. I want you to go and see a doctor. You're in shock."

"No, I'm fine I'm fine" she said. "Not until they tell me what's happening with Derek."

They waited a good hour, with no one telling them anything. The press were swarming, and it was chaos outside as the staff were trying to fend off the gathering paps and journalists. None of this had registered with Karen, however. All she could think about was Derek. Why hadn't she made him see the doctor a few days earlier, when she'd found him in agony on the bathroom floor. He'd convinced her it was just an effect of the chemo, but it was clearly more than that. She should have known. She should have done something more.

"I know what will make us all feel better" Ana said after a while. "Some wonderful hospital coffee. I won't ask what anyone wants. It'll taste the same whatever" she quipped, giving Karen a wink as she got up to leave the room.

"Thanks Ana" Karen said quietly.

"Come on then Vargas, I'll you a hand" said Josh, getting up off his seat.

"Ummm excuse you Josh! Only my friends get to call me that. And last time I checked ..."

"Oh my god you two, just get the hell out of here!" Karen laughed, welcoming a break in the tension, however small.

"I'm going I'm going!" Josh replied, hands in mock surrender. "Let's go VARGAS!" he said, practically pushing her out the room.

"Well, if I ever do a musical version of 'War of the Roses', we already have our 2 principals" Julia quipped, eliciting a smile from Karen.

"He'd been still getting headaches" Karen said quietly, after a while.

"What's that sweetie?" Julia replied.

"Derek. He'd still been getting these terrible headaches. And I convinced myself. I wanted to believe it was just a side effect of the drugs."

"Hey come on now. Positive thoughts. We don't know anything yet. Let's not second guess anything."

"I just need him to be okay" Karen cried. "I thought may we were through the worst."

"Come on" Julia said comfortingly, grasping Karen's hand tightly. "I know this is hard, but you need to stay positive ... okay?"

"Okay."

"God I hate this coffee ... well this place in general!" said Ana, as she took her coffee from the machine and sat down on a vacant chair nearby, Josh plonking himself down on the chair next to her. "Brings back so many memories of the night Karen got shot. We thought we were going to lose her. I remember her lying in Derek's arms, blood everywhere, and her looking at me and telling me everything was going to be okay! Typical Karen! There she was dying, and still she was thinking about other people's feelings before her own" Ana smiled.

"Yeah well, she's a special girl."

"She is. You know, that was the night I realised how much Derek truly loved Karen. The fear in his eyes as he held her so tight ... I'll never forget it!"

"I'm well aware how much Karen and Derek love each other, but thanks for the reminder Ana, really!" Josh suddenly replied defensively, sarcastically. "What do you think ... that the reason I'm here now is to wait for Derek to die so I can pray on a grieving vulnerable Karen to snag her for myself. Do you really think I'm that much of a heartless pig, jesus?!"

"NO! For christ's sake Josh, that's not what I meant at all. I was just making small talk. I didn't mean anything by it. I'm sorry if that's what you thought."

"No, no, I'm sorry" said Josh, apologetically. "I shouldn't have reacted like that. It's just, well ... truth is I do care about Karen, more than any girl I've ever known. I'd be lying if I said otherwise. But right now, all I care about is that Karen is okay. And for Karen to be okay then Derek needs to be okay. That's the truth."

"Maybe Karen wasn't exaggerating then."

"About what?"

"About you being a sweetheart underneath that arrogant playboy exterior!"

"Nah, she was definitely exaggerating!" Josh grinned.

"You know" Josh said after a while. "A few months ago, Derek came to talk to me. And, well he asked me to to look after Karen if, well, you know! And I told him of course he would. And do you know what he said?"

"What?"

"'He told me 'that's not entirely what I meant'!"

"He said that?" Ana said, a surprised tone to her voice.

"Yeah, but then Karen arrived, and well ... I guess it's been preying on my mind ever since. ... I've often wondered whether or not it would be enough to be loved by someone, even though deep down you know they'll never be truly in love with you."

"I think it depends, on a lot of things. Josh ... Karen and Derek, what they have is something special. But you know, life deals you so many different hands. Shit happens, and sometimes you have to move on. If, god forbid, Derek doesn't make it through this, then Karen will be devastated, and it will feel like her whole life has been ripped apart. But, she will get through it eventually, because that's the girl she is, and eventually she'll find love again, I'm sure of it. And who says she can never be IN love again!"

"The main reason I took this role in 'Miss Saigon' was to get away from this, you know, for a little while. To try and move on. But you know, now, I just don't know. I don't know what to do!"

"Josh, stop second guessing everything. Right now, just be what you are to Karen. A good friend. A great friend ... and everything after that, well, tomorrow will take care of that. But please don't put your life on hold waiting for something that might never happen. It's not fair on you, or Karen. And remember, you don't owe Derek anything. I know his love for Karen prompted him to ask you what he did, but he shouldn't have put that on you, okay? You need to live for today Josh!"

"I know, I know ... thanks Ana. I guess you're not quite the obnoxious know it all I had you down for!"

"Oh charming!" Ana laughed. "Come on, let's get back to the waiting room. See if there's any news on Derek."

"Okay ... and thanks Ana."

"No worries JENNINGS!" Ana winked.

Josh and Ana hadn't been back long, before a doctor and nurse entered the waiting room.

"Miss Cartwright?" the Doctor smiled reassuringly. "I understand you're Mr Wills's fiancée? My name is Doctor Barker, and I've been looking after Mr Wills."

"Yes, yes, how is he doctor?!" Karen pleaded, jumping off her seat. "Is he awake?"

"We've stabilised him, but for the moment we're keeping him sedated. Mr Wills's seizure had to be treated medically by the paramedics to stop it, and we need to know the reason for it. We've given him a CT scan and it does show a mass on the brain, that could suggest a tumour ...

"Oh god no" gasped Karen, as Ana took hold of her.

"Miss Cartwright. It could suggest a tumour. But that's not the only thing it might be. It might simply be a build up of scar tissue, for instance, which isn't uncommon after the type surgery Mr Wills has had. That can just as easily be a cause of seizures, as the tissue can affect the electrical activity in the brain. We won't know for certain until we undertake more tests."

"Will you be doing those now?" Julia asked.

"We'd like to keep Mr Wills sedated and under observation here in the ER for another hour, and once I'm satisfied he's stable enough we will arrange for him to be transferred to the neurology ward, where he undergo a full MRI scan and other tests."

"But if it's a tumour, then his cancer ..." Karen started, before Doctor Barker interrupted her.

"We don't know anything for sure yet Miss Cartwright" the doctor said reassuringly. "Please try and stay positive."

"Can I see him?" Karen asked, voice trembling.

"You'll be able to see him once we've moved him to the neurology ward. We'll be moving him as soon as we can, okay?"

"Okay, thank you Doctor."

"It felt like déjà vu walking into the room to see Derek, only this time the stakes were even higher. Karen was fighting to hold back the tears as she sat down next to Derek, taking his hand in hers. There were wires everywhere, and even though she knew what to expect, it was shocking to see all the same.

Derek stirred at Karen's touch, and slowly began to open his eyes.

"Hey sweetheart" Karen said gently, carefully stroking his temple with her thumb. "No sudden movements okay?"

"Karen?" Derek said weakly, "I'm so sorry."

"Hey mister, you haven't got anything to be sorry for."

"I'm sorry for putting you through this" he managed.

"All that's important is that you stay strong. Just like before."

"Karen?" he asked, looking deep into his fiancée's eyes.

"Yes sweetheart?"

"It's come back hasn't it? The cancer."

"They don't know that!"

"But it IS a tumour?"

Karen's tears started flowing, as she nodded almost imperceptibly. "Yes".

Derek nodded weakly, and smiled at Karen. "It's okay darling" he said soothingly, as he reached up to stroke Karen's cheek. "These things are meant to test us right? I told you I'll fight this more than I've fought for anything. This little one isn't growing up without a dad, and I'll be damned if I don't get to walk you down the aisle."

"I love you so much, and I'm so proud of you." Karen managed, leaning in to kiss Derek gently on the lips. "When you said I'd made you a better person ... well it's you who's made me a better person Derek. I'm the person I am now because of you and the love you've given me. I hope you know that."

"Yes, I do. I finally do" he smiled. "I love you forever Karen Cartwright."