~~~Ch 9~~~

His whole body ached, especially his head, which felt like someone had hammered nails into it.  His eyelids would barely open and when he did open them, the world spun...  What had happened?  Where was he?  Suddenly, it all came back to him…the accident…he remembered that van slamming into the Jeep and then…he must be in the hospital…  Where was Ryan?  He panicked and his eyes scanned the room wildly.  Unfortunately with his vision being a little blurry still, he couldn't see very far.  What he did see was a small petite brunette, resting her head on the side of the hospital bed.  The lamp behind her was casting a soft golden glow on her and for a moment, Max wondered if he had died in the accident and the girl was an angel who had come to take him away.

As if she could tell that he was staring at her, the girl's eyes fluttered then opened.  She stared into his eyes and smiled.  She seemed familiar but he couldn't quite place her…  She turned suddenly and said, "Michael, Maria, wake up!  He's awake!  He's awake!"

The pair was jolted out of sleep and upon hearing Liz, rushed over to his bedside, with Michael clutching the still sleeping Ryan to his chest.  Liz stepped back, feeling suddenly out of place and in the way.

"Omigod!  Max!  You scared us half to death!" Maria said, as she squeezed him in an abrupt hug.  "We're so glad you're okay!"

"Maria!  Back off…he just woke up and he probably feels like crap.  You don't need to suffocate him on top of it," Michael said, pulling her back with his free hand.  "Sorry 'bout that man…you know how she is."

Max smiled a half-smile, "Yeah I know…but really it's so good to see you guys.  For a minute there I wasn't sure I was still in the land of the living…I thought I saw an angel…" he said softly.

"Yep you were hallucinating…you are definitely alive.  You're a mess, but alive," Maria said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Thanks Maria…."

"Well you are," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"At least Ryan seems to have come through this whole incident unscathed…" Max said, nodding his head towards the little boy who was still fast asleep in Michael's arms.

"He's had a hard day…" Liz said, finally speaking up.  She stepped out of the shadows and smiled down at him before a worried look crossed her face.  "He was so worried about you…and I didn't know what to tell him…" she said, beginning to sound distressed again.

"Hey chica…" Maria said, pulling the other girl into a hug, "you did great hun.  You know, Max is awake now and Michael and I are here to watch Ryan...why don't you go get some sleep okay?  Really this time."

"But Ryan…what if he wakes up and I'm not here…"

"He'll be fine.  I'll tell him you had to go get some sleep.  He'll understand."

"If you're sure…"

"Positive."

"Okay…but I'm gonna come back later.  I don't want him thinking I abandoned him."

"Alright.  I'm sure we'll be here.  Max isn't going anywhere too soon."

"You know I am still here…" Max said abruptly, "in case you forgot.  And I can hear you.  It's my bones that appear to be injured, not my ears…"

"Sorry.  Forgot," Maria sighed in mock apology.

Max turned his attention to the other girl, who was currently wiping at her eyes and sniffling.  "It's Liz right?" he said, purposely ignoring Maria.  "You were at the soccer game…you found Ryan.  But how did you end up here?"

"I…uh…" she stammered, not knowing where to start.  "The accident…I was at the same intersection…I saw it happen…"

"She's the one that called the ambulance," Maria said, piping in.  Michael shushed her and motioned for Liz to continue.

"And well, I didn't want Ryan to get stuck with some social services people or something if he didn't have to…so I kinda told the medics that I was your fiancée.  I'm really sorry.  It was the only thing that I could come up with on the spot like that…  Ryan just really didn't want me to leave him…and I didn't know what else to do."

Max just stared at her for a second, absolutely floored that an almost complete stranger would do something like that.  She must have been here for hours by now…and she had looked after Ryan until Maria and Michael had showed up.  Maybe she really was an angel…  And somehow, he didn't seem to mind that she had told the hospital that she was his fiancée…  It almost seemed…right.  Max shook his head.  What was he thinking?  He just met this girl.  He barely knew her.  But still, he couldn't quite shake that feeling.  He decided he had better break the silence before she thought he had suffered a concussion.  "Thank you for what you did.  I might not be here now if it hadn't been for you.  And I'm glad Ryan was with someone who cared about him."

"It was nothing…" she replied softly.  His gaze was so intense, she felt as if he were staring straight into her soul.  It was almost unnerving.  She broke eye contact and stared at her feet instead, instant feeling self-conscious and confused.  "I should really be going.  When Ryan wakes up…"

"I'll tell him myself.  Go…get some rest.  You deserve it," Max said, wondering what had caused her to look away so suddenly.

"Okay.  I will.  And you two better let him get some rest too," she said, looking pointedly at Maria.

"What are you looking at me for?" Maria said indignantly.

"No reason," Liz said, shrugging her shoulders and walking towards the door.  She opened the door and looked back over her shoulder saying, "Bye guys."

"Bye," they all said simultaneously.

As the door closed behind her, Liz reached into her small bag that she had carried with her and pulled out her cell phone.  She quickly dialed the main line at home, hoping that Trevor would answer and not her mother.  "Hello?  Oh Trevor, thank goodness it's you.  Yeah it looks like he's going to be fine.  Can you come get me now?  Okay, see you soon," she said, flipping the phone closed and walked towards the elevator.  She pushed the button for the ground floor, leaned against the wall of the elevator and sighed to herself, "What a day…"

TBC…