XV.

"She appears to be all right," Dr. Monroe said after examining Latoya.

"Everything may be all right except her tongue." The officer replied sarcastically. His badge revealed that his last name was Canton.

"I'm sorry?" The doctor replied confused.

"She refuses to tell me what happened out there in that parking lot." Officer Canton explained.

"I see." The doctor replied. "Well, she's all yours." He said as he left the room.

"I ain't tellin' you anything." Latoya replied uncooperatively.

"Fine," Canton replied. "But there are ways of finding out what happened."

"So? If there are, then go use them." Latoya snapped.

"Latoya," Officer Canton said warningly. "The information you tell me determines what's going to happen to you."

Latoya folded her arms. She looked away.

"I know you were the driver of the car. Why was that woman in your back seat?"

"What woman?" Latoya said pretending to be unaware of the incident.

"Don't play dumb with me." Officer Canton said as he threateningly leaned in towards Latoya.

"Look, I'm not talking to you without a lawyer."

"Do you even have a lawyer?" Officer Canton asked.

"Ain't ya'll supposed to give me one anyway?" Latoya asked defensively.

Officer Canton took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. He had dealt with difficult ones before. Latoya was proving to be one of them. "I'm taking you down to the station." He said. "But first, I'm going to check out those surveillance tapes, and talk to witnesses." "Officer Stanley," Canton radioed on his walkie-talkie.

"Yeah," Stanley, Canton's partner answered.

"I have a suspect in custody. I need you to keep on eye on her while I questioned some more people."

"10-4." Stanley replied.

Officer Canton turned to Latoya, "Turn around, hands behind your back."

"Sh*t," Latoya mumbled.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney~"

"Damn Syd," Latoya thought angrily as Officer Canton rattled of her rights. "If I'm goin' down, I'm goin' to take her with me. Stupid b*tch, it's all her fault."

~*~



Dr. Abel picked up Gwen's chart and nodded. "Well, she's stable now. Let's just make sure she's kept calm." He instructed one of the nurses. The nurse nodded in agreement. "Mr. Winthrop." Dr. Abel said as he walked into the waiting room.

"How is she?" Ethan asked.

"She's stable. I've given her something to help her sleep."

"Can I see her?" Ethan asked pleadingly.

"I think that's a bad idea," Dr. Abel replied. "I want to keep her as calm as possible."

"But she's my wife," Ethan protested.

"Yes, but it seems that you can't handle the simple task of making your face stay as comfortable and as calm at all times." Dr. Abel replied. "You should go home. I'll have someone call you in the morning."

"But~" Ethan objected.

"Go, Ethan, or else I'll have security escort you out." Dr. Abel said sternly.

Ethan cursed under his breath and glared at Dr. Abel. Defeated, Ethan turned and walked to the elevator. "I wonder what happened to everybody else." Ethan thought to himself as the elevator doors closed.

~*~



"Excuse me Doc," Officer Canton said to Dr. Monroe. "Would you happen to know of anyone else who was involved in the accident?"

"Whitney Russell." Dr. Monroe answered. "But she's still unconscious."

"Do you know of anyone else who may have seen what happened?" Officer Canton questioned.

"Well, I do know that Dr. Livingston arrived on the scene after the accident happened." Dr. Monroe replied.

"Where can I find this Dr. Livingston?" Officer Canton asked.

"Let me have someone call him." Dr. Monroe answered. "He's probably making his rounds."

~*~



Dr. Livingston entered Theresa's room along with a colleague of his, Dr. Gruber, a neurologist. Behind him followed a team of specialists.

"Her brain appears to be functioning according to the tests," Dr. Gruber replied. "But we won't know to what extent."

Dr. Livingston nodded. "This poor woman. I've seen bad cases, but this has to be one of the worst. I've ever seen." Dr. Livingston said sadly.

"Well, I can't say the same. I've seen even worse cases in my time." Dr. Gruber replied. "Has any family been contacted?"

"There was a young man who followed us while we brought her in. I didn't see a wedding band, so I assume that he's her boyfriend. He told me that he would contact her family."

"I see." Dr. Gruber said. "Well, there's nothing else we can do here. I think we've done everything medically possible to keep this woman alive. We'll just have to wait it out to see if any of it works. What is her name, by the way?"

"A nurse said that man called her Theresa. I should probably find him and inform him of what's being done." Dr. Livingston replied. Dr. Gruber and the other specialists left quietly. "I wonder where he went." Dr. Livingston said as he exited the room. He went down the hallway in search for Fox.

~*~



She is on the verge of death. Darkness is enveloping her. She desperately tries to control her mind, her thoughts, her actions, but all control has been lost. She cannot move nor speak. Her eyes refuse to open. Unbearable pain courses through her body as she cries for help. No one can hear her. She desperately tries to move, but her body does not respond. Instead she remains limp. She feels like she's slipping away to another place, but she frantically tries to resist. She hears a faraway voice speaking to her, "Theresa, baby, if you can hear me give me a sign."

"Fox!" She cries, still restrained by unknown forces. "I hear you Fox!" She sobs. "Fox!" She calls urgently. It is only her heart that speaks. It is her heart that calls out to him, but he cannot hear her. He waits and watches for physical signs of acknowledgement. He fails to listen with his heart.

She feels as if her mind and body are being separated. Memories, thoughts and emotions, run wild. It is all blended and undistinguishable to her. She feels as if her soul is slowly slipping away. She desperately clutches to life, but she is falling. She continuously cries for help. "Why can't they hear me?" She wonders in agony. There's something there guiding her though. There's something that refuses to let her fall. She holds onto it with hope that it will take her out of the darkness.

~*~



"Where do we go?" Chad asked.

"Uh- Let me go talk with Theresa's doctor first." Fox said.

"I was just looking for you." Dr. Livingston said as he approached Fox. "You know, I never got your name."

"Fox Crane." Fox said extending his hand.

"Fox, I just wanted to tell you that we're doing everything possible to keep Theresa alive." Dr. Livingston said placing his hand on Fox's shoulder.

Fox nodded and swallowed hard. He felt the tears form in his eyes.

"Paging Dr. Livingston," the hospital intercom echoed through the hallway.

"Excuse me for a minute." Dr. Livingston said.

Fox wiped his eyes. "This is really tough, Chad." He admitted.

"I know, I can tell." Chad said. "You've got to be strong though. Be strong for Theresa."

"It's so hard." Fox said, his voice quivering with emotion. "I can't lose her, Chad. Just the thought of her never waking up~" Fox broke down and tried desperately to regain control of his emotions.

"Fox," Chad said. "Why don't we sit down for awhile?"

~*~



"Someone's paging me?" Dr. Livingston said as he approached the nurses' station.

"Dr. Monroe is on line three." The ICU secretary replied.

"Dr. Monroe?" Dr. Livingston answered.

"Dr. Livingston, would you happen to know of any witnesses to the accident that occurred in the parking lot? I have an officer here who's doing some questioning."

"I do know of someone, however; I'm not sure if he's prepared to talk to anyone right now."

"Could you please ask him and call me back?" Dr. Monroe asked.

"Uh- sure, just give me a few minutes." Dr. Livingston walked back quickly to Fox and Chad. He spotted them sitting in the waiting room.

"Fox, there's a policeman who'd like to speak with you. He wants to get your account of what happened."

"Would he happen to know who the driver of the car was?" Fox asked urgently.

"Maybe. Would you like to speak with him then?"

"Yes," Fox said. "Where is he?"