Lauren was pacing the floor outside the Emergency Room. She had found Scott in bed, burning with fever and with blood on his bandages. Daniel said that he may need to have more surgery and that he had probably contracted an infection from the immunosuppressant they were giving him. George Guber was sitting next to his wife Janice wringing his hands. Lauren knew that this was serious, because even Harry looked sick over the latest setback.

"Lauren, please come sit down," he bid her. "Wearing a hole in the floor won't make things any better."

"I don't understand how this could have happened. He was fine, just fine."

"Maybe he did too much too fast. Perhaps he should have stayed in the hospital."

"You were supposed to help him and make sure he rested. You are recovering too, and I understand that, but he is a lot weaker than you, first the shooting, then the transplant, and he has those drugs in him, you were supposed to help him."

"Lauren, George. You all remember Dr. Randolph and Nurse Montgomery, don't you?" Daniel Davis asked his sister and Scott brother.

"Yes, hello," she said coldly.

"Scott has torn a few of the stitches in his back. There was only minimal bleeding, so that does not really concern me, it is the infection that he's contracted that does. That said, however, there does not seen to be any sign of rejection, which is good news. He did suffer a blunt force trauma to the right side, causing the subsequent bleeding."

"What could have caused such a trauma?"

"A lot of things. Whatever it was, we all owe it a big thank you. Due to the immunosuppressant we were giving him, as I said, he has become quite ill. We caught it early, but he will need intense care for the next few days. That is where Miss Montgomery comes in, she will be the primary nurse charged with his care."

"May I see him?"

"Only for a moment, but this is the last time. We'll need to put him in an isolation room while his system is fighting the infection. Come with me, please."

Lauren followed her brother and Dr. Randolph to Scott's room. He looked worse than she'd ever see him. His eyes were open but only slightly, and he didn't seem to recognize her.

"Hi, Scott. It's Lauren. I can't stay long, but I just wanted to make sure you were all right. I won't be here for a while, because the doctors say you need your rest, but there will be some nurses here to take care of you, and as soon as you are strong enough, I'll come back. You better hurry to because we all need you. Winslow will fall apart without you, and well, I need you to get well too. Squeeze my hand if you understand me."

"I understand," he said very softly, very weakly.

"I don't want you to worry about anything. Just concentrate on getting well. Everything will be just fine. I have to go now, but I'll call everyday to see how you are."

"Lauren?"

"I'm here, Scott."

"Don't blame him. It's my fault."

"No, no. You're sick. It's no one's fault."

"Yes, Lauren. I need to tell you something, just in case..."

"Don't talk like that, Scott..." her voice cracked as she said it, and he knew she was going to cry. He was so weak, he didn't think he was going to die, but then again, he never would have thought he'd have one of Harry Senate's kidneys.

"Ssssh. Don't cry. If I don't... I want you to know, I love you, Lauren."

"I know. I love you, Scott," she said before Daniel took her by the shoulders and led her out of the room.

Steven had arrived by that time, as did Marilyn and Kevin.

"How are you?" Marilyn asked, hugging her.

"How's he?" Kevin wanted to know.

"It's bad Kevin; he thinks he's going to die."

Harry put his arms around her and Steven's eyes clouded over. Even Marilyn looked upset, but of course she had Kevin there.

Lauren pulled away from Harry's embrace and looked at Steven to take control.

"All right," Harry finally said, "He's not dead yet, so we might as well stop acting like he is and do what Scott would do in a situation like this."

"That's a good idea, let's all go home and try and wind down, everything will look better in the morning," Steven said. He gave Lauren a hug, and then gets ready to leave. She and Harry left shortly after he did, as did George and Janice.

As they left, Kevin set his arm around Marilyn's shoulders. "Really makes you think, doesn't it about what really matters," he said.

"What are you getting at, Kevin?"

"We really haven't been seeing each other that long, and I know that you've expressed concerns about my being white and your being black, but something that happened tonight made me realize that none of the things that we think are so devastating really matter in the first place. This may not be the right time to say this, or on the other hand it could be the perfect time, but anyway, I just wanted you to know Marilyn, I think I'm falling in love with you."

She said nothing, there was nothing to say. So she turned in his arms and pulled him close to her, and savored the silence.

**********************************************************************
Harry was sick over what he had done. He needed to tell Lauren the truth, and he would as soon as she came out of the shower. He waited in her room so that he would have to tell her as soon as she came out.

"What's wrong, Harry?" she asked when she did.

"Lauren, what happened with Scott, it's my fault."

"No, how could it be?"

"I punched him. We got in a fight and I hit him. He threw the first punch, but I got him in the gut."

"How could you..."

"We were arguing..."

"You knew he was weaker than you, he was shot, and then the surgery, you knew that something like this could kill him...you knew, damn it, you knew! Damn you!! How could you do this? You're supposed to have cared about me."

"Well, that didn't keep you for falling for Guber."

"He's twice the man you'll ever be."

Anger flared inside Harry and he crossed the room, and grabbed Lauren by the back of the head. He raised her lips to his and burned them with a fiery kiss.

"Can he kiss you like that? Cause, if he can't, he's no true man."

Lauren had not answer for that, so she pulled her hand back and slapped him across the face.
**********************************************************************
Scott felt like he was on fire. His body ached and his throat was constricted. It was a struggle just to open his eyes.

"Lauren?" he called. She didn't answer. "Lauren?" She wasn't there. Something was wrong; she'd never leave him alone; she promised she wouldn't. Didn't she?

"Sssh," he heard a soft female voice say, "Lauren's not here, she's all right."

Scott's eyes focused on Cathleen. She looked like an angel, her soft hair falling in front of her eyes.

"Lauren, where is she?"

"At home, hush now, and rest." Cathleen moved away and filled a basin with cool water and placed it to his forehead. He savored that coolness.

When the heat subsided, he was once again able to sleep, but not at all peacefully. He dreamt of Lauren, a gun at her temple. He heard its fire and saw her blood spill out of her. He tried to reach her, but he couldn't. She died without ever knowing his true feelings. No, but he told her. Then she left him, here, alone. But he wasn't alone, Cathleen was here. She was helping him, she cared for him. Lauren said she loved him, but she lied, damn her she lied.

He felt Cathleen's hand on his again, and she was whispering to him, calming him. He felt secure, he felt needed, he wasn't sure what he felt. All he knew was that he was tired and he drifted back to sleep.
Days passed, almost a whole week since Scott had went back to the hospital. She missed him, she missed talking to him. She needed to see him and make sure he was all right, for herself. That decision made, she got in her car and drove to the hospital.

The nurse at the desk in the ICU was less than cooperative, so Lauren demanded that her brother be called. Finally, Daniel was able to get her in the room, but only for a minute.

"Keith said that the isolation would be lifted tomorrow, so I don't see why you can't see him for a little bit."

"Thank you so much Daniel, I need to do this."

Lauren walked into the room and was greeted with an icy reception by Cathleen Montgomery. Scott looked much better, but he was asleep.

"What are you doing in here, this is an isolation room."

"My brother is Dr. Davis, he let me in. Excuse me."

Lauren sat on the bed beside Scott and took his hand in hers.

"Hi, Scott, it's Lauren. Can you hear me?"

He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Hi, sweetie, how do you feel?"

"All right."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," he said pulling his hand away.

"What's with the one word answers?"

"Lauren, would you do something for me?"

"Of course I would."

"Please leave."

"Leave, why?"

"Because you lied to me."

Lauren parked her car in her usual space. She was late again, but today, Steven would not be the one she had to answer to, it would be Scott. This was his first day back since the shooting, and all ready she would be giving him extra stress. Well, there was nothing she could do.

Lauren barely made it down the hallway before she was intercepted by Scott.

"A good late morning to you, Miss Davis," he said in a very direct, strict tone.

"Good morning, Mr. Guber."

"Do you plan to offer an excuse for your tardiness, or am I to assume you don't have one."

"I overslept Scott, I'm sorry."

"Failed to set the alarm?"

"Failed to fall asleep. If you will excuse me, I have a class to teach."

Lauren continued down the hallway. He was so cold to her. She wished that she could tell him the secret she kept, but so far only Steven knew, and only Steven needed to know. If Scott knew he would act out of some sense of duty, and she wouldn't want that.

"Good morning class, I'm sorry I'm late. "

"That's all right, Miss Davis," Sharon said, "We understand."

"Understand what, Sharon?"

"About you and Mr. Guber."

"What about me and Mr. Guber?"

"You two are dating now. We all know it. When he was sick, you were out a lot too."

"Yes, I did take care of Mr. Guber while he ill, because he became that way in a situation that I put him in. Now, let open our texts to page 81, and Joseph, will you read aloud please: Mary and the Glorious Revolution."

Lauren listened to her student read, and then she stopped and lectured. However, her heart wasn't in it. By the end of the period, she was feeling so ill that she sent a student to the office with a note for Steven.

James Wilson was not the nosy type, so he handed the note to Louisa.

"Mr. Harper is in a meeting now, James," she told him, "I'll send Mr. Guber directly."

Shortly, Scott Guber followed James to Lauren's classroom. She was pale and was holding onto the desk for balance. He waited outside until the bell rang signaling the end of the first period, then he entered the room, doing his best to ignore the giggles and snickers of the students.

"What is it, Miss Davis?"

"Why are you here Scott, I sent for Steven."

"Steven is in a meeting, what is it are you unwell."

Lauren fought the dizziness and squared her shoulders, "I'm fine Scott, thank you."

His tone softens slightly, "You don't look fine Lauren. Come to the lounge and relax. You're free this period."

She allowed him to see her to the lounge, and when she got there she received the surprise of her life. Nurse Cathleen Montgomery was seated on the sofa sipping coffee with Marilyn.

"Scott!" she exclaimed when she saw him, "I went to the office and the girl said you weren't in."

"Not in my office, no. How are you, Cathy?"

"Wonderful. I just dropped by on my way to work..., I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she said glancing at Lauren.

"No, you aren't Miss Montgomery, Scott was just leaving."

Feeling somewhat put out, Scott released Lauren's elbow and extended a hand to Cathleen. She took it and allowed herself to be led down the hall to Scott's office.

"I had a wonderful time Saturday night, Scott, and I was hoping we'd go out again. Tonight."

"Tonight sounds...sounds...wonderful. I'll pick you up at around 8:00"

Cathleen leaned in and placed a kiss on Scott's cheek before leaving, and he blushed a deep boyish shade of red. Cathleen was beautiful and cultured and just downright sweet. She truly cared about him, she would never betray him. Not like Lauren.

That still hurt. It crushed him to even think about it. But he had to. He had to live through it and move on. Where? He didn't know, but one thing he did know was that his plans involved Cathleen Montgomery.

I hope you enjoyed this. It's not as good as the others, but I was writing it between classes. Which will be better, I promise.