Derek was finding it extremely difficult to focus on his studying. It seemed like everyone in the library was whispering at once which meant that there must be some particularly juicy gossip going around. He wasn't normally the type to partake in gossip, but he couldn't help trying to eavesdrop just a little...if for no other reason than the colourful girl who worked in the nearby coffee shop who happened to run a blog about all the campus gossip would want to know.

Before he could quite make out any of the whispered words coming from the table next to his, Savannah came rushing up, looking like she was ready to burst with exciting news. After a quick kiss, she exclaimed, "OMG, did you hear!?"

"Hear what?" he asked. "I've been holed up here all morning trying to study."

"Okay, so I don't have all the details because I heard it second-hand," she prefaced, "But apparently one of the gymnasts was practicing vault and she fell and totally broke her neck!"

"Wh-what?" he stammered, feeling like all his blood had turned to ice. (He tried not to analyze why even the idea of Emily getting hurt made his heart stop beating.)

"Yeah! There were a bunch of ambulances and everything!" She sounded almost gleeful at the prospect. He hoped it was just because she wanted to be a doctor after finishing high school...

"Who?" he managed to choke out around the lump of fear in his throat.

"Hmm?"

"Do you know who was hurt?" he pressed.

She shrugged and opened her mouth as if to continue speaking, but she didn't get the chance.

He immediately began packing up his books, jamming them into his backpack. "I've gotta go."

Savannah frowned, displeased. "Where are you going?" The only response she received was a quick dismissive wave as he nearly sprinted from the library.

He ran all the way across campus to the girls' dormitory, earning confused and concerned stares from the people he passed – while it was normal for people to run across campus, it was a little suspicious to see someone full-out sprinting in jeans.

When he arrived at Emily and JJ's room, he pounded furiously on the door. "JJ?" he shouted. "JJ! Let me in!"

A door across the hall opened, a brunette head poking out looking less than thrilled by the raucous he was creating. "Do you mind?"

"Sorry," he said, chagrined. "But it's an emergency... Do you know if they're home?"

She shook her head. "JJ went to the hospital to be with Emily."

For a moment, Derek wracked his brain for the girl's name. "Beth, right? Do you know what happened?"

Beth shrugged. "All I know is that Emily's in the hospital. It's bad..." She shook her head sadly. "I hope she's not out of the running for the Olympic team..."

Derek chewed his lip in thought. "I know we don't know each other, but...do you know anyone with a car?"

"My boyfriend," she offered. "He's a junior lawyer for the Training Centre."

"Beth, I really need to get to the hospital, is there any way I could hitch a ride with your boyfriend?" he begged.

Beth ducked back inside her room, grabbed her purse and a sweater, then reemerged. "Let's go."


As the sedation started to wear off, Emily groaned – groggy and in pain. She opened first one eye, then the other and, limited in movement as she was, scanned the room to find the only person waiting there was Derek...

"Oh, God, I'm dead," she bemoaned. "I'm dead and I've gone to hell..."

"Ha ha," Derek said humorlessly, but the shake of his head was fond. "At least you didn't break your sense of humour." He sobered up, then. "How do you feel?"

"The jury's still out on that one," she replied. "I'll let you know when the morphine wears off." In the silence that followed, he attempted to reach for her hand, but she pulled it just out of his reach at the last moment. "No offence, but why are you here?" she asked.

He tried not to let the sting of her words show on his face. "I rushed over here as soon as I heard. And I know that you probably don't want to see me – I totally get that – but I just wanted to check on you, make sure you were alright." He offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry mine was the first face you saw...but JJ had to be at soccer practice and I didn't want you to be alone when you woke up."

She worried her bottom lip with her teeth for a moment. "I've been a total bitch to you and you still wanted to be here?"

"That's what friends are for," he replied easily. "I mean, obviously you don't have a lot of experience in the matter, but friends don't let friends come down off morphine alone," he teased.

Deciding to ignore his teasing, she reached up to tentatively feel the brace wrapped around her neck. "Do you know what happened?" she asked, "The whole morning is a blur right now..."

"Morphine will do that," he joked. "That and a concussion – and trust me, I've had plenty of those." She didn't look all that impressed with his sense of humour. "All I know is what the rumour mill is grinding out," he admitted.

"Ugh," she groaned. "I absolutely cannot handle whatever twisted story the campus-wide game of Telephone has come up with this time."

"At least the 'you are a vampire' rumour seems to be dying down," he offered in consolation.

"What?" she said and it was almost a laugh.

"Since the commercial," he explained. "You didn't burst into flames in the sun..." He paused, thought on the matter. "I'm not convinced, though. I saw the literal bottles of sunscreen make-up had to apply."

"You're such a jerk," she said, but this time she was actually laughing. "Don't make me get up and kick your ass." The realization seemed to wash over her then that that may not ever happen again, her fingers coming back up to touch the cervical collar.

Frantically, he searched for something to distract her from her melancholy. "Besides..." he said, "If anyone on campus is a vampire, it's that lawyer guy your neighbour is dating."