XIV.

"Save her! Please, you've got to save her!" Fox pleaded.

"We'll do the best we can." The doctor assured Fox. Fox watched helplessly as Theresa was carefully loaded onto a stretcher. He ran alongside begging Theresa to pull through. "You can do it, honey. God, I love you so much. You have to live. Don't leave me now, not like this." Fox pleaded.

"Sir, you'll have to wait out here. This is a restricted area." The doctor informed Fox as they reached two closed doors. Fox reluctantly stood behind and tearfully watched as the love of his life was carted away.

~*~



"Where am I?" Latoya asked as she was being carefully taken out of the car.

"You've just gotten into an accident." A paramedic informed her.

Latoya seemed confused. "An accident?"

"There's someone in the back seat!" Another paramedic shouted. Whitney still remained unconscious from the drug. She appeared to have only sustained bruises. "This woman's unconscious! Let's get her inside"

"Oh sh*t," Latoya said as she regained her memory. "I hit someone."

"They've been badly injured, ma'm. What's your name?" The paramedic asked.

"Latoya."

"Well, she doesn't appear to have any head trauma." A paramedic noted.

"Were there any witnesses to the accident?" A police officer asked as he appeared on the scene.

"There was a man, but he went inside. I believe he knows the woman who was hit." One paramedic answered.

"Ma'm can you tell me what happened?" The police officer asked Latoya. Latoya sat silent.

"If you don't tell me, I'll just check out the security tapes. It's bound to be on there." The officer pointed out.

Latoya refused to say anything. "Fine." The officer shrugged. He wrote, "Suspect uncooperative when questioned," into his book.

~*~



"I wonder where Whitney went." Chad thought to himself. "It doesn't take this long to get drinks." Chad pulled out his cell and dialed Whitney's number.

~*~



"You hear that?" The paramedic asked.

"It's a phone." A nurse replied. She reached into Whitney's pocket and pulled out the ringing cell along with a small wallet containing her ID. "Whitney Russell" The nurse said aloud. She answered the phone. "Uh-hello?"

"Whitney?" Chad asked.

"No, this isn't Whitney." The nurse replied.

"I must've called the wrong number then." Chad replied.

"No, you've got the right number." The nurse said hastily.

"Then where's Whitney?" Chad asked confused.

"There's been an accident~" The nurse's voice trailed off.

Chad's heart dropped. "Please tell me it's not Whitney."

"I'm afraid~" The nurse failed to finish her sentence.

"Where is she?" Chad asked urgently.

"Emergency room." The nurse replied hastily.

Chad didn't even bother to take the stairs. He ran as fast as he could and arrived breathlessly in the ER. Chad introduced himself and a nurse directed him to the waiting room where he sat impatiently. A few hours passed before the doctor came back out. In that time period, Chad had managed to count the tiles of the floor and the number of lines on the striped wallpaper of the room.

"Mr. Harris." The nurse as the station motioned to him. "This is Dr. Monroe. He examined Whitney Russell."

"Dr. Monroe." Chad said shaking his hand. "How is she?"

"She's unconscious, but she appears to have only a few bumps and bruises. I ran some tests and detected a sedative in her system."

"A sedative?" Chad said surprised. "How did she get into this accident in the first place?" Chad asked.

"From what I hear, Whitney was in the back seat of a car that ran over a young woman."

"Who was driving?" Chad demanded.

"The identity was never revealed to us. Police officers may come by to talk to Whitney when she wakes up. They'll be able to give you more details. Anyhow, we're going to keep Whitney here for observation. She should be fine."

"Thanks Doctor," Chad said relieved. "May I see her?"

"Sure, but visiting hours will be over soon."

~*~

Fox paced around nervously in the waiting room. He prayed silently, hoping that his love would pull through. Fox sat down in a chair and bent his head. He unleashed his emotion and sobbed uncontrollably. Fox had never felt so alone in his life. "Theresa, please pull through. It can't end like this." Fox slouched in his chair and closed his eyes. Images of Theresa flashed through his mind. Fox relived his memories of the touch of her hair and the softness of her lips. He listened as he heard her voice in his head. He hoped that he would get the chance to hear her laugh again, to hear her say "I love you." Fox stared at the closed doors that prevented him from being at his love's side. Hours, minutes, and seconds passed as Fox waited for the doctor to return. Just as his eyelids were closing from exhaustion, the doctor came through the doors.

Fox jumped up immediately and ran towards him. "How is she?" He asked searching the doctor's eyes for an answer.

"We managed to get her stable," the doctor sighed tiredly. "However, she's in a very critical condition. I hate to say this, but I'm not sure if she's going to make it. She sustained some very serious injuries, and she's lost so much blood~"

Fox paled. He sat down in shock. "She might not make it?" He asked in disbelief. "No, she has to make it. Theresa's a fighter. She can get through this." Fox said determinedly. "She has to."

"Let's hope she's strong enough, son." The doctor replied. "But I don't want to give you false hope."

"Can I see her?" Fox asked.

"It's late," The doctor replied.

"Please," Fox begged. "I need to see her."

The doctor sighed. "We moved her to ICU" The doctor replied. "I'll take you to her."

~*~



Fox opened the door slowly. He peered in and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. Fox was struck with dread as his eyes fell upon the many machines that were hooked up to Theresa's body. Fox listened to sounds that filled the silence. The continuous beep of the heart monitor assured him that Theresa was still holding on. Fox listened to the rhythmic sounds of the ventilator that kept her alive. He gazed sadly down at Theresa's body. She looked so broken, so helpless. Fox held back tears as he pulled up a chair beside her. "Theresa," He whispered. The only response Fox received was the beeping of the heart monitor. Fox looked up and pressed his lips together. "Theresa, baby, if you can hear me give me a sign." Fox's voice quivered. "Please," Fox stroked Theresa's face. "Something?" Fox asked desperately. "Anything?"

The doctor placed a comforting hand on Fox's shoulder. "Maybe you should go home." He said quietly.

"No~" Fox whispered hoarsely. "I'm not leaving her."

The doctor nodded. "Does she have any relatives that we can contact?"

Fox bent his head. "Yeah, but I think I should inform them about the situation myself."

"Very well." The doctor replied before quietly exiting the room. "If you need me, just have a nurse page me. I'm Doctor Livingston."

"Thanks." Fox replied quietly. He reached for Theresa's hand. "Theresa," he said quietly. "You've got to pull through. Do it for us, do it for your family." Fox's voice broke. "Your son," Fox choked on his tears. "Little Ethan will need his mommy. You can't just leave him." More tears brimmed in Fox's eyes. "You can't leave me. If I were to lose you~" Fox paused as he shakily exhaled. "I'd die Theresa. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'm sorry about the whole thing with Whitney. In fact, I'm surprised at the way you took the news. I was sure you were going to slap the hell out of me."

Fox gazed lovingly at Theresa's face. "Do you know how amazing you are? I think I loved you the moment I saw you, Theresa. You remember that night?" Fox chuckled. "You screamed so loud, I thought my ears would bleed, but from that point on, it was the start of a beautiful friendship." Fox smiled and stroked Theresa's cheek. "I've learned so much about you Theresa, but I want a chance to discover more about you. So please don't leave me." Fox pleaded. "If it comes down to it, you can't leave without saying~" Fox inhaled slowly. "You can't leave without saying goodbye." Fox whispered as his voice broke once again. Unable to utter another word Fox kissed Theresa's forehead. He reached for her hand and held it against his cheek. "I'll be back soon," He whispered as he slowly got up to leave the room.

Fox rubbed his eyes and sniffed. "How am I supposed to tell Pilar that her daughter is near death?" He thought to himself sorrowfully. "I don't even have the number," Fox thought. "Maybe Whitney has it," Fox went down the hallway to the elevator. When the doors opened, Fox was surprised to run into Chad.

"Fox, what happened?" Chad asked noting the distressed look on Fox's face.

Fox took a deep breath before answering, "Uh- Theresa was in an accident. Someone ran her over in the parking lot." Fox bent his head down as tears escaped his eyes once more.

"Oh my God," Chad said softly in disbelief. "Is she okay?"

"She's alive, but just barely." Fox said rubbing his neck. "The doctor isn't sure if she's going to make it."

"I'm so sorry man." Chad replied patting Fox on the back.

"Uh- do you know where Whitney is? I need Pilar's number."

"Whitney was in an accident too." Chad replied softly. She's still unconscious. Apparently she had a sedative in her system." His eyes widened as he came to a realization. "I think she was in that same accident as Theresa. Whitney was in the back seat of the car. I think she was drugged."

Fox became angry. "Who was the driver? Do you know?"

"No, but I'd like to." Chad seethed. "Whoever it is should be placed behind bars."

"C'mon." Fox said. "Let's go find out who it was. I want to make them pay for what they did."