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Chapter One

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When he opened his eyes, he noticed two things, the white ceiling, and the fact his body was hurting at more then one place. That could only mean one thing; he was in the hospital, again.

He tried to move his head, trying to get a better look around him then just the ceiling, but was rewarded with a flaming pain shooting through his head. He groaned, closing his eyes to wait until the pain subdued.

Rachel awoke suddenly, from hearing a soft moan and glanced to her young friend in the bed. A relieved smile lit up her exhausted features, seeing him awake and immediately sat beside him on the bed, stroking his hair away from his battered face.

"Hey you, welcome back. You're in the hospital again. You must have missed the food."

She got rewarded with a small smile and a dry chuckle, turning into a cough. She helped him sit up a little, so that the coughing could lessen. She frowned, worry on her face. The doctor had told her he had inhaled a lot of smoke, but the coughing just sounded not too healthy. She gave him an oxygen mask, to help him breath, and after a few minutes he was able to catch his breath. He smiled faintly to her, his eyes growing wide all of a sudden, when he had remembered why he was brought here in the first place.

"Derek...is he? Did they found him?"

The psychiatrist in her hesitated, knowing it wasn't good for his health to get him worked up about something. He could get worse if she told him the truth. But noting the desperate look on her friends face, and the big, wide eyes, she had no choice. Sighing, patting him on his shoulder, she sat beside him once again.

"No, they're still looking. But the doctors don't give him much hope, the fire and the smoke..."

Her voice trailed of, remembering the exact words they had told her.

The smoke would have suffocated him, or else he would be burned by the heat, or blown to pieces by the explosion. They gave him five percent that he may have survived. In other words, he was killed during the tragedy on the Island.

Nick nodded, knowing what she had wanted to tell him, but couldn't. Derek was gone. He looked at the large ring on his left hand, the ring Derek used to wear. He had always admired the ring, liking the way it shined in the light. But now it felt heavy, and unreal, a curse that was going to bind him to a job he never had wanted to have. If he had known, he would never have accepted the ring; he would never take it from Derek. But he did, and now his faith was sealed, he was the new precept, with no house and no possessions, and a team in deep grieving. And it was his job to pick up the pieces and start all over. He sighed, knowing his life would never be the same.

"When can I get out of here? And where's Alex? Is she okay?"

Rachel smiled at that, she had known these questions were going to be asked, knowing Nick. He always wanted to get out of hospitals as soon as he woke up.

"Alex is as well as can be expected, with Kat at my home. She's still in shock. And you, Nick," With that she looked at him stern, not showing any compassion. "You have to stay here at least a week. Your hands are covered with second degree burnings, you're suffering from a severe concussion, your longs are damaged by inhaling too much smoke, you're..."

He held up his hands, rolling his eyes. "Alright, alright, I get the picture. I know I shouldn't have gone back in the house. But I just wanted to see if Derek...."

She kissed him on the forehead, ruffling up his hair. "You need to rest. Alex and I, maybe Kat will come visit you tomorrow. And the head of the London House will be coming tomorrow as well."

Her voice had a hint of disapproval, she had argued with Mr. Giles about that. He was in no shape to deal with the London House right now, but Giles had insisted. He said that as mister Boyle was the new precept, he had to deal with it, in shape or not. Rachel knew that wouldn't leave Nick alone, and it concerned her. He needed time to grief about the loss of his friend. He needed time to recover from his injuries, but as it seemed, time wasn't something they were willing to give. She watched Nick fall asleep and excited the room, glancing to her watch. It had been 24 hours since the house had been blown up. All hope she had about finding Derek alive was gone, it had been too long.