::::Chapter 2::::

Hyde found himself in a large, bright white room. He gazed in wonder at the dreamlike quality of the white, puffy clouds hovering mid-air all around him. He noted the large marble stairway the led up towards the sky and seemed to disappear within the clouds. For a moment, he struggled to figure out exactly where he was. "Heaven?" he asked himself as he studied his mystic surroundings. He shrugged. "Alright," he said, sticking his thumbs into the belt loops of his jeans. "I made it."

"Not quite, mate," said a familiar voice with an English accent. Hyde could just barely make out the tall, dark figure from behind the clouds, and soon found himself standing before a recognizable, yet mysterious man. He wore black bell bottoms and a small jacket, with not so much as a shirt beneath it. Part of his eccentric outfit, the man's pants were embroidered along the length of the leg with a large, bright, fire-breathing dragon. The man himself was skinny; his long, dark, and curly hair draped around his face. A Gibson Les Paul slung over his shoulder.

"Jimmy Page?" Hyde asked skeptically. "Wait a minute; you didn't happen to be driving a big rig did you?"

Jimmy frowned. "No, mate. I am here because you are here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hyde asked, thoroughly confused at the irony of the situation.

"Steven Hyde, do you know why you're here?" Jimmy finally asked.

Hyde thought for a moment. "Let's see. Car…sleep…red light…thrown through windshield. No," he shrugged, "don't have a clue."

"Hyde, as we speak, you're lying in a hospital bed, in a coma, fighting for your life."

"So I'm not dead yet?"

"No. Not yet," replied Jimmy. "You are not dead, neither alive. You are in a tranquil state of mind," Jimmy said as he took out a cigarette and proceeded to light it. "You are in the phase between life and death, blah, blah, blah…" he added apathetically.

"Okay, if I'm not dead, why am I here?" Hyde asked. "I mean, if I was in this horrible car wreck, why am I hanging around this joint?" This has got to be some sort of insane dream, he thought to himself.

Jimmy exhaled a lung full of smoke as he shook his head. "You see, mate, you need to come to an understanding about your life."

 "Uhh…why?" Hyde asked, frowning.

Jimmy shrugged. "It's just always mandatory with these near-death experiences."

 "So will I die or not?" Hyde asked. "I mean, it'd be nice to know whether or not I'm expected to show up to work this week."

"Mate, we'll deal with that later. Right now I have a job to do, and you have a life to reflect on," Jimmy replied impatiently. "Now let's go, Grizzly Adams is on in half an hour."

"Okay," Hyde replied. "So, what are you? Some guardian-angel type?"

"Enough with the questions," Jimmy replied, waving his hand dismissively in the air. "A man such as myself cannot be defined with words."

"Alright, but can I just ask what's up with that stairway?" he asked as me motioned towards the white, marble steps that led up into the clouds above.

"It leads to heaven. This is just a holding room," Jimmy replied as he took another drag from his cigarette. "More or less."

"Stairway to heaven?" Hyde asked with a smug grin. "Far out, man."

::::Point Place Memorial Hospital, 1:46 p.m.::::

The small group of teenagers sat waiting nervously in the waiting room of the ER while Red spoke with one of the nurses at the desk. "I need to check up on the condition of a Steven Hyde. That's H-Y-D-E."

"You know, I can't believe this is happening," Donna said in a daze. "We've known Hyde, like, forever."

Jackie, who hadn't said much of anything since the group had arrived at the hospital, sat sobbing in the chair beside Donna. Eric flipped nervously through a magazine while Fez sat silently beside him. Kelso leaned forward in his seat, his hands clasped together as he rocked back and forth impatiently. The entire group stood up as Kitty appeared in the waiting room, obviously fatigued from working all evening.

"Mom, did you see him? How's he doing?" Eric quickly asked as Red came to join them.

"Honey, I'm afraid Steven sustained some bad head trauma. He has a lot of broken bones, and appears to have some pressure on his brain. He was thrown through the windshield; it's a miracle he's even made it this far. The doctor's are doing everything that they can."

Jackie broke down hysterically into sobs as Donna acted quickly to comfort her. Everyone held a grim expression, obviously worried about their friend's condition.

"Man, poor Hyde," Kelso said sadly.

"Will he get better?" Donna asked. "I mean, he will be okay, right?"

"Anything's possible," Kitty replied will a false sense of assurance. "Why don't you kids have a seat? I'll get us some coffee."

Eric nodded. "We'll wait here for Hyde to get better; no matter how long it takes," he said as the rest of the group nodded.

Red, able to see through his wife's little white lie, quickly pulled Kitty aside out of earshot of the others. "It doesn't look good, does it Kitty?"

She shook her head as a single tear slipped down her cheek. "No Red, it doesn't. Steven is in a coma; he looks just awful. The doctor's really don't think he has much of a chance." She paused. "He's like a son to us."

Red nodded as he glanced over to Eric, who was sitting quietly next to Donna and Jackie. His heart wrenched. She was right; it felt like they were losing a son. And as far as he was concerned, they were.

To Be Continued…