Forty-two hours to go. The formerly empty waiting room is now at full capacity, the Penguins staff having descended upon the hospital, busily pulling together a press conference. Taylor has ducked into Sid's room, leaving me with Trina, Troy and a room full of quasi-strangers who are all very dismissive of me. As far as they're concerned, you're just the girlfriend. I remind myself of this, and it makes the situation slightly more tolerable. The woman handling press is in charge of the room, making quick decisions and deferring to no one.

"The medical staff along with Mario, Dan and Ray will all take part in the press conference, and of course, we would never put either of you through that," she says authoritatively to Troy and Trina. "If you'd like to do a pre-taped statement, we can accommodate that, if you'd rather just do something in writing, we can do that too."

"I don't want to do anything on camera," Trina looks to her husband for back up, and he nods in agreement.

"Completely understandable," this woman is all business. "We'll just have Dan or Ray read a statement from the family. We can write a draft..."

"Maybe Kate wants to write something?" Trina suggests and suddenly all eyes are on me. This is it. This is my chance to assert myself as part of this family, and let them know that I'm to be included in all Sid-related decisions. I haven't been around the team very much, but if Troy and Trina include me, that carries a lot of weight with these people.

"I can do that," I say confidently. The PR woman has been thrown for a loop, barely hiding her surprise.

"We have a writer who..." she starts, but this time it's Mario who steps in.

"I'm sure Kate can handle it," he gives me a supportive smile, and I warm to him. We haven't spent any real time together, but I know this is a man Sid has a great deal of respect and admiration for, and that endorsement is good enough for me.

"Okay then," she hesitantly moves on, prepping the coaches, helping them to anticipate what types of questions reporters will throw at them. I take this opportunity to sneak away, and slip into a quiet corner, pulling out Sid's iPad. It would be easier to write on paper, but being near his things makes me feel close to him. The screen brightens and I'm surprised to see a picture of me washing dishes. I don't even remember when this was taken, or why, but I'm obviously laughing at something, and looking quite domestic at the same time. This is how he sees you. Just plain old Kate. My heart aches and I feel like I could burst into tears, but instead I take a deep breath and try to focus on the task at hand.

Thirty-nine hours to go, and I find myself back in Sid's room, his hand feeling warm to the touch for the first time since he's been confined to this bed. "You're coming back to us," I smile at him. The press conference will be starting soon, and Trina has already claimed Sid during that time. She's terrified of any electronic device, convinced every screen is going to be playing the accident on a loop, and to be fair, she's not that far off. I move to the end of the bed and rub his toes, which are cool, but not cold like they were yesterday. "Look at you," I say proudly. "Warm all over today."

"That's a positive sign," a nurse startles me and I let out a small yelp. "Sorry, I guess you didn't hear me come in," she apologizes instantly.

"I'm a little on edge," I tell her and she nods understandingly. "Did you need to get in here?" I ask her, moving out of her way before she needs to ask.

"I'll just be a second," she says. "It's none of my business, but I think his mother is anxious to get in here."

"Can she come in if we're both quiet?" I ask hopefully.

"Sorry, doctor's orders," she frowns. If Trina is eager to get in here it can only mean the press conference must be starting. Troy will watch, of course, but I know how nervous she is about what she might see. I hurry out of the room, and she is waiting impatiently just outside the door, her face radiating relief when she sees me emerge. "He's all yours Trina," I smile warmly and head directly into the private waiting room.

"How is he?" Troy asks automatically.

"His hands feel a little warmer," I say optimistically. Troy seems satisfied by this, and turns his attention back to the screen. Dr. Domtar sits beside the head coach, and the two empty seats on his left are soon filled by Mario and the GM. "It's starting," Troy taps Taylor, who is busy distracting herself with a well-read magazine.

Ray is first to speak, "Thank you all for joining us this afternoon. We're, of course, here to discuss the health of Sidney Crosby, and we'll start things off by hearing from the doctor who performed emergency surgery after the..." he struggles to find the appropriate word, "horrific injury I'm sure we've all seen more times than we'd care to count." Dan quickly huffs in agreement, and it's clear we're not the only ones who wish they could un-see it.

As the doctor explains the extent of Sid's injury, a warning flashes across the screen that the following clip is graphic and not appropriate for young viewers. Troy, Taylor and I all look away, listening to the conversation, but none of us willing to risk watching. The doctor is explaining the severity of Sid's injury, and he's being much more blunt with the media than he was with us. "The external cartoid artery can bleed for perhaps, thirty to forty seconds before the individual is in danger of expiring," he says seriously.

"Expiring," Taylor tests the word, and she sounds almost irritated.

"Well, thank god he didn't expire," I look at her, and to my surprise she bursts out laughing. She giggles and laughs, letting go of the emotion she's been holding in all day. The chuckles soon turn to tears though, and I wonder if she feels bad for finding any humor in the situation.

"You okay kiddo?" Troy puts his arm around her.

"Yeah," she struggles to compose herself. "I'm just..."

"It's a lot to take," I tell her, and she nods in agreement. We return to watching the press conference, and Ray is talking about how the team will move forward without Sid in the lineup for the rest of the season. It's actually kind of infuriating. As if any of that matters now anyway.

"The show must go on," Troy grumbles, rolling his eyes in disgust. My feelings exactly. Mario doesn't seem terribly comfortable with the direction of the conversation, and interrupts Ray to speak his mind.

"The truth is, the team is going to go out there every night and play for Sid. He's the captain of our team, the leader, and the guys want to win for him. If sitting out or forfeiting the season meant that Sid could walk out of here today, no question they would, but unfortunately, there's nothing any of us can do for him at the moment. It's no secret that Sid has been a big part of my family's life over the past nine years, and our hearts are just breaking for him right now."

"How is Sid's family holding up?" a question is fired from a reporter without warning.

"They're at the hospital with him right now. They haven't left his side, and I don't think they will until he's awake," Mario starts.

"We have a statement from the Crosby's," Ray announces, shuffling the papers in front of him until he finds the note card supplied to him by the efficient PR lady. The text appears on-screen as Ray reads the prepared words that have obviously been distributed to every major news outlet. "We are sincerely grateful and overwhelmed by the outpouring of care and support we've been shown during this difficult time. Words cannot express how appreciative we are for the actions of the Penguins' training staff who responded immediately and without hesitation, ultimately giving Sidney a fighting chance. We'd like to thank the doctors and nurses who are providing Sidney with round-the-clock expert care, especially Dr. Samir Domtar who performed surgery to repair the severed artery. Although his condition is critical, we are optimistic that Sid will recover from this life-threatening injury and return to the sport he loves so much. At this time we'd like to ask fans and media alike to respect our family's need for privacy as we strive to support Sidney as best we can."

"And we'd like to echo the sentiment," Dan tells the reporters. "The Pens trainers are truly top-notch, and if you didn't see it, they were on the ice the second Sid was down, and it was their quick thinking that probably saved his life."

"Can the doctor elaborate on how crucial the trainers' response was?" a reporter questions the nervous surgeon.

"When Mr. Crosby arrived at the hospital, he had lost a tremendous amount of blood. If the training staff had waited even five to ten seconds to curb the blood loss, I can say with confidence that we would be having a much different conversation." This sends the room into a frenzy, and reporters start shouting questions with abandon, leaving the panel unable to answer anything.

"One at a time please," Dan shakes his head.

"How close did Sid come to dying?" someone shouts from the back.

"His condition remains critical," the doctor tells the room, not quite answering the question, but indicating that he isn't out of the woods yet. My stomach sinks, and I feel so deflated. When warm hands are enough to brighten your spirits, it doesn't take much to dash it away.

"Will he ever play again?" comes a shout from the front row.

"We'll have a better sense of the extent of his injury in the next few days," Ray says evenly.

"Sid getting back on the ice isn't what we're focused on right now," Mario reminds the reporters.

"Let's get Sid home to his family, and to Kate and then take it from there," Dan adds.

"Is Kate with him at the hospital?"

"Of course, she's been with him since he left the arena," Mario answers sharply.

"Will any of the family be giving interviews?"

"No," Ray is quick to shut that down. "Their focus is Sidney, and we ask that people respect this is an extremely difficult time for them." Understatement of the century.

Thirty-six hours to go. "Halfway there babe," I tell Sid as I run my finger across his wrist. "You're doing so great love." For a split second it almost feels like he was trying to squeeze my hand, and the sudden movement startles me. "Sid? Babe?" my heart races at the thought of him being able to react, to move, to respond. I hold his hand tight, hoping to feel it again. "I'm here honey, you're safe with me," I whisper sweetly into his ear, tears streaming down my face.

Another squeeze.

I drop his hand and race into the waiting room, sending Trina into an immediate panic. "What's wrong?" she's on her feet in an instant and practically tackles me as she dashes into his room.

"He squeezed my hand!" I tell Troy and Taylor. They're past me just as quickly as Trina, and the security guard can't hold us back as we make our way into Sid's room. Trina is in tears, fearing the worst until Troy speaks.

"Are you sure it wasn't just an involuntary twitch?"

"He did it twice," I tell them, giddy with excitement. "Sidney?" my hands push his beautiful curls away from his forehead as I lean in to whisper. "We're all here for you hun," I tell him softly. "Your parents, Taylor..." Trina takes his hand in hers and holds it tight. I look at her expectantly, and I can tell she's holding her breath, not wanting to miss what I've already experienced. Seconds turn into minutes and...nothing.

"I'm sorry, but we can't have this," the stern nurse from the first night is back, and frowning as she sees us all crowded around his bed. "The doctor was clear about only allowing one of you..." we wait for her to finish, but her attention has moved to Sidney. "Well, look who's awake."