Disclaimer: All the characters in this fanfic belong to Disney and any other company that owns the series 'In A Heartbeat'. This is my 4th fic. Please read and review!!!J
Scenes from the previous episode…
"It's nice to see you again, Connell," said a young man behind him.
For Tyler, time must have seemed to stop. The voice was all so familiar to him. He knew very well who it was, and he knew that it was a bad sign. As he stood there for what seemed like a minute, thoughts ran into his mind. '…I have a friend, who likes your friend…Pick you up at 7?…"if you ever try to stop us"…' Tyler slowly turned around and got a look of his persecutor's face. 'Connell……you're gone, Connell……you're gone,……gone……' He felt a sudden blow on the head, and everything just turned black, like he was engulfed by the night…
To be continued…
No One Else but You: "You've Got Mail!"
The moon was shining brightly threw her window. Val has been up for hours, crying her eyes out because the person who used to make her happy hurt her. It was 11:30 at night, and she still has to go to work tomorrow. "I really don't think that I could sleep." She was alone in her room for Brooke was at a sleepover with Amanda. She decided to go on the Internet. She took her laptop to her bed. Suddenly, a wave of fatigue has overcome her, and she drifted into a long sleep.
Val woke up at the burst out noise from her alarm clock. The time was 7:30, and she had to be at work by 9. Somehow, she didn't feel like going to work. Sure, she loves her job, but she didn't feel like facing Tyler there. But she has responsibilities to take care of, and if it means seeing Tyler, then she had no choice. Val went in the shower, and after that got ready for work. When she went in the kitchen, she saw a note from her parents. It said that they would be home a little late that night, and that her breakfast is on the table. She proceeded on eating her breakfast, but her mind was a thousand miles away.
As Val went into the station, she heard footsteps heading towards her. She immediately thought it was Tyler.
"Tyler, I don't want to talk to you right now!," she said, her back turned to him.
"Will you talk to me?" exclaimed Hank.
"Oh, Hank. I'm sorry. I thought you were Tyler," she told him, a little bit embarrassed.
"Speaking of Tyler, how was your date?," asked Hank out of curiosity.
"There was no date," answered Val bitterly. "Tyler stood me up after I waited hours for him," she continued. "He didn't even bother to call."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I suppose you don't know his whereabouts?," he inquired.
"No, and I don't care either. Maybe he was just too chicken to show up after what he did to me!!!," she retorted with anger in her tone.
"Well, today is supposed to be his day off, but where could he possibly be! I know that his parents are away and he's left at his house. I tried calling him for like a million times last night, and still no one answered," he remarked.
Val's comments suddenly sank into his head. 'Did she just say that there was no date?'
"Val, did you just say that there was no date?," he asked her, hoping for to find any logic in the situation.
"Yes, I did," she replied.
"Wait a minute, the last time I was chatting with him online last night, he told me that he had to go and pick you up!," he said, rather perplexed by the circumstances.
"Hank, I don't know what you're talking about. As far as I'm concerned, Tyler didn't show up!," she exclaimed and left Hank as she headed for their room.
It was still 8:45, and Val had nothing to do. She saw Jamie asleep on the couch. 'Why did he come here so early anyway? Oh, well, I got to find something to do to kill time.' Val saw that the computer on the office was available, so she decided to use it and check her mail. As she logged in, her inbox stated "YOU'VE GOT MAIL!". She checked it out, and to her surprise, it was from Tyler. 'What does he want?' She opened it, and at the corner of the screen, noticed that it was sent the night before around 6:30. Intrigued and yet confused, she opened it to reveal a short letter…:
Val,
I hope you enjoyed our dinner tonight. And I hope you like the gift that I gave you. I had it made especially for you. If you must know, I probably did have fun too. I actually wrote this before I went to pick you up. Val, you're the most perfect girl in the world. I'm glad that I finally got the courage to ask you out, after two years of having a crush on you. I know this is only our first date, but, I love you Val. You might think I'm crazy, and I'm sorry if I'm scaring you or anything, but there's no one else but you for me. I know how I feel, and that's the truth. I decided to write this because I didn't want to tell you 'I love you' while we were on our date, let alone our first one. The only thing I dread about writing this is that I couldn't tell you that 'I love you' for the first time in person. I hope this doesn't change our relationship. I'll always be here for you.
~Tyler
Val was speechless. She didn't even know what just hit her. She knew herself that she loved Tyler with all her heart. In any case, how could this be possible? 'Why did he write this as if we really did went out last night?' Immediately, Val remembered what Hank said, and a worried look came across her face. 'Oh Tyler, where are you?' Without wasting a single second, she typed her screen name, and logged on to the IM room. When she was able to log in, she instantly found Tyler's screen name, although he left an away message. She read his note, and noticed that he had been idle for more than 12 hours.
"Oh my God! Tyler, where are you?," she cried.
Suddenly, the alarm went off, and Val, along with Jamie, went up to meet with Hank to proceed on the place of the emergency call.
"What do we have, Hank?," asked Jamie.
"There was a call for an unconscious male down at Soft Thunder Lane," replied Hank.
"Isn't that near where you live, Val?," inquired Jamie.
Val was just staring into space, not even paying attention to anything that was going on around her. All of a sudden, the spell broke off as Jamie tapped her shoulder.
"Val! Are you OK? You seemed distant a while ago," he informed her.
"Yea, I'm fine. Did you want anything?," she asked him, trying to change the subject.
"I asked you if Soft Thunder Lane is near your residence," he replied.
"It's a few blocks off my street. Why? Is something wrong?," she asked him.
"Didn't you hear what Hank said? The call was for an unconscious male down that street," he told her as though she was stupid.
"Oh my…it must be Tyler. We have to hurry! Hank, that unconscious male could be Tyler. I just read an e-mail from him that he wrote before he went to supposedly pick me up. And I also logged on the IM room and it showed that he had been gone and idle for more that 12 hours," she informed him, almost out of breath.
"If you're right, then we got to hurry," exclaimed Hank as he speeded up the ambulance.
As the ambulance got to the area, they all got off and took all the stuff needed. Val was the first one to get off, and to her dismay, she saw what she feared to see the most. She spotted a red Mustang convertible resembling Tyler's car. Without wasting a single minute, Val ran to the victim.
"Move back everyone," she ordered to the people hovering over the victim on the ground.
As she got a view of the victim's face, she was in shock. For a minute there, she thought it would actually be Tyler. Instead, it was just some middle-aged man who seemed to have passed out. Hank and Jamie then came along, and were both relieved to find out that it wasn't Tyler. Doing what they were supposed to do, they helped the man regain consciousness and left to return to the station.
"Well, I sure am glad that wasn't Tyler," said Hank.
"Me too," seconded Val.
"I know, or else you could have lost the Regional Championship with that old fogey," replied Jamie, in an attempt to light up the mood.
The group burst out a short round of laughter.
"Tell me about it," exclaimed Hank as he laughed once more.
"Guys, he wasn't that old," added Val as she laughed again.
After that, they became quiet again. Trying to break the silence, Val decided to ask Hank a favor.
"Hank, would it be okay if we stop by Tyler's house? You know, to check if he's alright," requested Val.
"Sure. I'll inform Alex," he answered.
After getting Alex's approval, the group headed for Tyler's. Just then, the ambulance suddenly came to a stop. Jamie, who was sitting at the back, got thrown off from his chair.
"Ow! Hank, what was that for?," he demanded as he tried to regain balance.
"Tyler's car. It's parked over there," he responded as he pointed in the distance to a car in a secluded place near the woods.
Out of curiosity, the group headed for the vehicle. It was indeed Tyler's car. A red Mustang convertible with the plate number saying 'FTBL4LIFE'.
"What's he doing here?," asked Val, obviously a rhetorical question.
"How did he get here?" proclaimed Hank.
"The question is, why is he here?," added Jamie.
As they neared the car, they noticed that the front window was broken, obviously done deliberately, as there was no sign of any car crash. Worried and anxious about what happened to their friend, the three rushed to him. What they saw could only be described as ruthless and inhuman. In the backseat of the car laid a deadened version of Tyler Connell. His face was covered with blood, and it was obvious that the he had more injuries on him. In a heartbeat, Jamie quickly proceeded removed his body from the car, as Hank ran back to the ambulance and drove it closer to their location. Val just stood there, not even knowing where to begin or what to say. 'Tyler, is that really you? How did this happen? This must be a dream. It just HAD to be…?'
"Val, can I get a little help here," demanded Jamie.
Val quickly snapped out of her thoughts, and went to assist Jamie.
"Is there a pulse?" asked Hank as he approached them carrying the backboard.
"Barely," replied Jamie. "He's still hanging in there," he added.
"Well, at least we still have him," remarked Hank as he and Jamie went on to move Tyler's limp body on the backboard. Val once again could only watch and look on. Shock, disbelief and grief were present on her face.
As Hank and Jamie managed to set Tyler's body in the back of the ambulance, Hank ordered them to move. Jamie was already in the passenger seat, when Hank noticed Val. He could only guess what was going on through her mind.
"Val, we have to go," he told her. "We need to get him to the hospital as soon as possible," he insisted.
Val nodded and headed in the backseat of the ambulance. She gave Hank the signal and the ambulance quickly moved. Val looked at Tyler's body again, and this time, she finally broke down in tears. 'How could this be? You were all right yesterday. Who could have done this to you? You're the nicest person I know. Why did you have to go through all this?' As she took a hold of one of his hands, brand new tears fell from her eyes. He felt so cold,…so lifeless.
"Tyler," she whispered in between her sobs. "I love you, too. Please don't leave me," she finished as she grasped his hand, hoping that one day, he will be able to grasp her hand back.
To be continued…
Sorry guys, but I have to stop here L . I know it was kind of long, but I hope you liked it. I'll post the next one when I finish writing it. And for all of you who wrote reviews, THANK YOU!!!, especially Mad Cow's words of encouragement (hehe)