~~~Ch 7~~~

Liz wasn't sure how long she and Ryan sat there like that…holding onto each other for support.  Trevor had stayed for awhile, but she sent him home, telling him that she would call when she was ready to leave.  He had protested, but in the end, Liz won out.  They had yet to hear any news on Max's condition and the waiting was killing her. 

Suddenly, the phone in her hand started to ring.  She just sat there staring at it for a minute, not sure what to do, until Ryan shook her arm and said, "Liz…the phone's ringing…you gotta answer it."

She hit the talk button and brought the phone up to her ear.  "Max!  Max!  Where are you?  Did you forget about tonight?  I can't believe you would do this…" a young woman started ranting, not even waiting for a hello.  Liz pulled back from the phone, the girl's voice just a little too loud.

"Hello?" she tried, her voice wavering a bit.

The girl stopped her rant for a moment to ask, "Who is this?  Did I dial the wrong number?  I'm so sorry…I'm always doing things like this…"

"No, no you didn't dial the wrong number.  This is Max's phone…"

"Well who is this then?" the girl interrupted once more.

"Umm…my name is Liz and I don't know how to tell you this…but there was an accident."

"Oh my God!  Is he alright?  Where's Ryan?  Is he okay?  What hospital are they at?"

"Max is still in surgery.  Ryan is fine…he's right here.  We're at St. Helen's…"

"I'll be right there!  Don't move," the girl said, hanging up before Liz could reply.

Ryan tugged on her sleeve as she turned the phone off.  "Was dat Maria?" he asked.

"Uh…I'm not quite sure.  Who's Maria?" Liz asked, wondering if the mysterious girl might be Max's girlfriend or maybe his wife. 

"It sure sounded like Maria," he said seriously.  "She's daddy's friend 'cause she lives with Uncle Michael…and he's daddy's bestest friend."

"So Maria is your aunt?"

"Of course silly…"

"Evans?" a nurse said, popping her head into the waiting room.

"Over here," Liz said, standing up with Ryan still in her arms.

"Can you follow me for a moment?"

"Yeah sure."

"Is there anyone who can watch him for a minute?" she said, indicating Ryan.

"No…it's just me right now."

"Okay…well…just follow me," the nurse said, turning around and leading them down the long hallway and into a small room.  "Why don't you let him have a seat on that couch and come sit with me at the table?"

Liz did as she was instructed, making Ryan promise to behave himself and keep relatively quiet for a minute.

"So you are Mr. Evans' fiancée?  And he has no other relatives that you know of?" the nurse asked, looking off of her clipboard.

Liz glanced back at Ryan who was still listening to their conversation and he nodded a confirmation to the nurse's question.  "Yes, that's right."

"Then I guess you are the one who gets the whole update…  Max is in stable condition now.  They were able to stop the internal bleeding fairly easily.  He has several broken ribs, a broken arm, and some fractures in his left leg.  Not to mention some pretty nasty looking cuts and lacerations.  Overall, he really looks a lot worse than he is right now.  He got lucky…that's for sure," the nurse said, smiling a little.  "I just wanted to prepare you before I took you in to see him."

"Thanks I appreciate that…" Liz said, suddenly unsure if she should really be going to see someone she barely knew.  Just as suddenly, Ryan appeared at her side and took hold of her hand.  She realized that even if she barely knew Max, Ryan needed her…and she didn't plan on letting the little boy down.  "Can we go now?"

"Yes of course.  They moved him to a room upstairs.  Just follow me…I'd be happy to take you."

When they finally arrived at Max's room, the nurse stepped aside, allowing Liz to enter first.  Liz looked at her questioningly.

"Go ahead.  I'll give you some time with him alone."

Liz nodded mutely and entered the room.  She sucked in a breath when she saw Max lying on the hospital bed.  He was hooked up to machines and tubes and was covered in various types of bandages.  She hadn't thought he would really look like this.  Somehow she had still expected to see the vibrant young man she had met earlier that afternoon.  But this, this was not him…

"Daddy?" Ryan whispered, fear evident in his voice.  He squirmed to get down from Liz's arms.  "Daddy?" he said again, and then he looked to Liz, "Why isn't daddy answering me?  Is he sleeping?  Why does he look like a mummy?"

Liz could tell he was scared and about to burst into tears at any moment.  She should have known better than to bring him in before she had checked Max out herself.  She put her hand up to the little boy's cheek, turning his attention to only her.  "Ryan, your dad got hurt today, but the doctors are trying to make him better, that's why he's all bandaged up.  And you know how, when you get the flu, the best thing you can do is sleep, so that your body can concentrate on making itself better?  Well this is the same kind of thing.  His body is trying to make itself better, so that makes your daddy really sleepy.  Understand?"

Ryan nodded, although he still didn't look totally convinced.  Liz finally put him down and he immediately ran over to Max's bed and stood there staring at his father.  Liz followed, sitting down in the chair next to his bed.  Ryan eventually climbed back into Liz's lap and eventually dozed off.  Before she knew it, Liz had fallen asleep too, her head resting on the side of Max's bed.

TBC…