Chapter Four

Chrissy sat in the darkened ICU and tried very hard not to cry. Alphonse's impulsive nature had landed him in hospital before, but they'd never come this close to losing him.

A young couple taking a shortcut home had found him and called for help. His FBI badge had been in his jacket pocket and she'd received the call ten minutes later.

Chrissy couldn't figure where it had all gone so wrong, it was a simple case, it should have been over quickly. Now the boys were at odds, and Alphonse had been so desperate to prove something that he'd met his…………………… Chrissy choked, tears poured down her face. She reached out to stroke his undamaged cheek.

"Come back Alphonse, please." She whispered quietly. Then jumped at the movement behind her.

Charlie put his hands up in a defensive gesture. "Hey, it's okay, only me." He moved up to the bed, "How is he?"

"No change." Chrissy's voice trembled, "Did you make the calls?"

"Yeah, Rhonda and Adam should be here any minute, and Maria's booking herself on a flight. She'll be here in the morning. Ice is still on the phone to Lucy."

But will Alphonse still be here in the morning? Chrissy felt sick. Most of his injuries in themselves were not life threatening, his left leg was broken in three places, he had bruises and cuts all over, he'd even sprained his right wrist when he'd landed on it, but all that paled into insignificance next to the head injury.

His head had obviously struck the car hard, there was a deep gash above his right eye, the right hand side of his face was bruised and swollen, with a multitude of cuts and grazes. The doctor had worked hard to stitch the wounds with a multitude of tiny stitches so that the scars wouldn't be too bad, but he was probably going to need surgery. If he comes out of the coma. Chrissy picked up his right hand, gently smoothing the bare skin above the bandage, "come on 'Phonse, please try, for us…………..we need you."

They'd taken root in the waiting room, set up in their little individual camps. Charlie and Corky, with Maria, Rhonda and Adam with Ice and Laura; O'Connor and Chrissy trying to hold everything together.

The recriminations had already started as guilt and fear grew stronger with each passing hour. Rhonda and Alphonse had been going through a rough patch. Rhonda had been angry that, when she'd allowed Adam to stay with his father, Adam had gone out partying until the small hours and his father had just laughed, she'd been less than impressed and said as much. Whisking her child away from Alphonse's contaminating influence.

Charlie paced up and down. Corky and Maria were huddled together, both women had been crying. Ice and Laura sat close together, she put a comforting hand on the back of his. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Nuthin' to be sorry about. It wasn't your fault." Ice tried hard to overcome his own guilt. "Wasn't anybody's fault……………if 'Phonse had…"

"If Alphonse had …..what?" Maria got to her feet, a dangerous tension in her tone.

Ice quickly tried to back track, that wasn't what he had meant at all, but to Alphonse's devastated sister it was one more nail in the coffin.

"Ice didn't mean anything, Maria. Alphonse was reckless." Rhonda tried to offer her own explanation but the enraged young woman didn't hear it.

"Alphonse would have done anything for you, and Charlie. You were more important to him than his family. And God knows he had precious little of that." Maria's voice was cold and bitter, the tone edging towards hysteria. "And you!" she swung round on Rhonda. "You thought so little of him that you dumped him at the first opportunity you had. You kept his son from him for years. And now you think you know everything."

Charlie stepped in and tried to put his arms round Maria, as she dissolved into tears. Rhonda stood stunned as Maria's accusation hung in the air. Then her anger rose.

"I brought up Adam all by myself and I never asked for help, then suddenly Alphonse comes back after twelve years and thinks that it's all going to be hearts and roses again!"

The doors blew inward and a whirlwind entered. Lucy O'Bannon was a very angry woman. Charlie recognised the signs and tried to stop her. A powerful fist connected hard with his jaw. Winded, Charlie staggered backwards.

"WHADDYA DO THAT FOR!" He rubbed his jaw.

"I WARNED YOU!!" Lucy snarled, and was going to lunge again when a powerful arm locked round her waist and pulled her back against a heavily built body.

"Luce, will ye calm doon. Ye'll no do yon man any good by punchin' oot y'brother." Ali tightened his grip. And suddenly realised there was a stunned silence.

About thirty seconds too late, Charlie and Ali realised that Rhonda knew nothing about Dylan. The teenager had entered with Ali. Rhonda was staring wide eyed. While her son was a definite product of both their genes, there was no doubting exactly who Dylan was. Unruly brown hair, wide blue eyes, full sensual mouth, Dylan was her father in feminine form.

"And who the hell are you?" Rhonda's tone implied no good towards Alphonse. There was more than a little 'street urchin' in Dylan's make up and she took exception to the implied insult to her father. She lunged at Rhonda.

Ali handed Lucy off to her brother and grabbed Dylan before she could get to the older woman. Charlie grabbed Lucy, just as her eyes rolled up in her head and she fainted dead away in his arms.

Confusion reigned as several people dived to support the wilting Lucy and in the general melee, Ali firmly steered Dylan into Alphonse's room. Chrissy looked up from her bedside vigil, and instinctively gave place to Dylan. Ali heaved a sigh of relief and turned his mind back to the events in the waiting room.

Left alone with her unconscious father, Dylan moved up close to the bed. He was so white and still, there were nasty bruises on his face and his leg was in plaster, propped up on a mound of pillows. Scorning the chair, Dylan kicked off her boots and slipped up onto the bed next to him. Very carefully she spooned her body up close to his, sliding one hand around his neck, she pressed her cheek against the top of his head.

"Daddy, I'm here. And I'm staying." She cuddled close.

Ali returned to the waiting room, pushed concerned people aside and scooped Lucy up in his arms, laying her on the couch. He loosened off her clothing.

Charlie was beside himself. Lucy wasn't the fainting kind. "Whatsa matter with her?" He hovered anxiously next to the big hefty Scot. Ali glared at him, "Ah understand that it's a family complaint." He glowered significantly.

"Uh! Y'mean fainting at the drop of a hat every time she gets……yiyiyiyiyiyi!" Charlie stared round-eyed at Ali, the Scot held his gaze.

"Exactly. An' ah'm sure she'd no like it if ye spread it aroond, so keep it tae ye'self."

Adam ignored what was going on around him. From the moment he clocked Dylan he'd been fascinated in spite of himself. When he'd been out in LA with Alphonse, he'd treated his exasperated father to a dose of sibling jealousy, the situation was not helped by the fact that Dylan had done the same, she'd stamped off to summer camp without a backward glance. They'd utterly refused to meet.

Now Adam had seen her, he was curious. So when the big man who'd pushed her into Alphonse's room returned, Adam slipped past into the quiet of ICU.

Dylan was sitting on the bed, cuddled up close to Alphonse, holding her father as though he was the most precious thing on earth. Adam suddenly felt awkward and foolish as though he was intruding, but Dylan held out her hand to him and he moved closer.

His half sister eased their father's arm carefully over her knees so that Adam could reach his father's hand. Swiftly taking the chair that Dylan had scorned, Adam pulled it closer to the bed. Two sets of trembling fingers clasped securely round their father's hand.