At approximately 4:30 a.m., Kirsten and Sandy arrived at Harborview. They went directly to the Emergency Room and asked about Seth at the admitting desk. Flipping through some files, the clerk handed Sandy a clipboard and asked him to fill out some paperwork.

"But what about our son?" Sandy asked. "Can we see him?"

"Please, just have a seat in the waiting area. Dr. Kane will be with you in a few minutes."

With reluctance, Kirsten followed Sandy to a row of plastic chairs and sat down. "Why won't she let us see him?" she wondered out loud. She had a sudden, nauseating thought. "Do you think...something's happened? That's why she can't tell us. Because he...he..."

Sandy squeezed her hand before picking up the pen attached to the clipboard. "No, I think it's just procedure, honey. Nothing's happened," he said soothingly.

Kirsten fell silent, clutching her purse in her lap. She tried to keep her mind blank but it was impossible. A chant of 'please let him be all right' filled her head, echoing over and over again. This marked the third time she'd been in the ER for Seth. The first time, he'd been eight and fallen off his bicycle. He'd come home with a cast on his arm. And when he was eleven, he'd caught a terrible stomach flu and couldn't stop throwing up. He'd vomit every ten or fifteen minutes and it had gone on for almost three hours. Worried about the continued strain on his poor body, they'd taken him to the ER. A shot of medication in the arm had eased his wrung out stomach.

She didn't think a cast or a needle was going to help her son this time. And she was scared to death.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cohen?"

They both stood up as a man who looked much too young to be a doctor came towards them, his hand extended. "I'm Dr. Marcus Kane."

After shaking hands, Kirsten blurted out, "Where's Seth?"

Hazel eyes turned to her kindly. "He's having a CT scan right now. I see you've started the paperwork. Once we have him admitted, we'll get him a room and I'll take you up myself." His gaze wandered beyond her shoulder towards the doors. "Excuse me for just a second."

She watched through the glass as the doctor ran outside to talk to someone. Seth was alive. That was the main thing she tried to concentrate on. Whatever happened now, they would deal with it.

After less than a minute, Dr. Kane approached them again with a tall man in uniform at his side. "Good timing. This is Coast Guard Lieutenant Harrison. He was part of the team that brought your son in."

The man nodded at them. "Yeah, it's been a rough shift. First your boy and now, I just brought in a guy that tried to drown himself. Anyway, Dr. Kane here asked that I tell you what happened to Seth. A larger boat rammed your son's boat around nine o'clock last night. Two men had been fishing and were returning to the harbour. They said they just didn't see your son in time. They were okay but their engine was damaged so they radioed us for help. They're good guys. Took care of Seth until we arrived at the scene."

"Was there any drinking involved?" Sandy asked.

"No. The SPD were called in too but there was no alcohol involved. Nothing reckless. It's been ruled an accident. I have a copy of their report as well as ours, if you'd like to see it."

Sandy hesitated but finally said, "No, that's okay. I know it's on file. I'm glad we had the opportunity to talk with you." He shook Lt. Harrison's hand. "Thanks."

Waiting until the Lieutenant was on his way, Kirsten asked, "How badly is he hurt? You only mentioned a head injury and concussion."

"He has some other lacerations and bruises but those are minor," Dr. Kane replied. "It's always the head injuries that worry us. There doesn't appear to be any damage to the spinal cord but we'll have to wait for results of more testing and for Seth to regain consciousness before we're sure."

"Oh God," Kirsten couldn't help moaning.

"Let's not jump to any conclusions yet," the doctor tried to reassure her. "It's much too early. Now, you'll have to excuse me for a while." He turned his gaze to Sandy. "Once you're finished with the papers, just let the clerk know. Then I can take you up."

As Sandy sat down again with the clipboard, Kirsten remained on her feet and started pacing. It didn't take long before he called out to her for assistance with some of Seth's medical history. Glad to have something productive to do, she sat down again and they pored over the questions together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Other than the gentle whirring of various machines and the continual blip on the monitor that assured them Seth's heart was beating, the private room was silent. Kirsten sat by his bedside, stroking his hand. Sandy stood to the side and simply watched him. He sometimes paced edgily back and forth, but he always came back to Kirsten's side again.

They'd been waiting several hours now for someone to speak to them about Seth's condition. Dr. Kane told them a neurologist would go over the results of the CT scan with them.

Somewhat surprisingly, Seth looked perfectly fine. He had a bandage over one eyebrow and a couple more on his arms, but that was all that was visible. There was some swelling on his forehead but for the most part, he just seemed to be sleeping peacefully. On closer inspection, his hair was longer. And he looked thinner, as if he hadn't been eating properly these past few weeks.

Sandy felt a sharp stab of guilt. They had reported Seth's running away to the police, of course, but Kirsten had also wanted to hire a private detective to find him. They'd fought about it, but Sandy's point of view had eventually won out. In Seth's letter to them, he'd said that he just needed some time to be alone, far away from all the pressures closing in on him. He'd promised to call on a regular basis and that he'd be home eventually. At least before the start of school.

Although Sandy's initial reaction had been fury, he'd eventually calmed down and reasoned that this was perhaps just the thing his son needed. To be independent for a little while. It was certainly something he could understand, especially at Seth's age. And so he'd argued with his wife on his son's behalf and she'd grudgingly agreed to not to look for Seth.

In the month or so that he'd been gone, he'd only called twice. That didn't exactly live up to calling on a regular basis in Sandy's book but each time, Seth had sounded confident and happy. He hadn't had the heart to order him to come home. Not that Seth would have listened anyway. But now this accident had happened. All he ever wanted was his son to be happy but now he wished he had hired someone to drag Seth home, even if it had been kicking and screaming. At least he wouldn't be lying in this hospital bed right now.

There was a sharp rap on the door. An attractive woman with a no-nonsense air about her came in. "Mr. and Mrs. Cohen? I'm Dr. Arden. I've been looking over your son's test results." She came to stand before them with chart and notes in hand. "I hope you'll forgive my blunt nature. I just don't believe in sugar coating things."

"That's fine," Sandy acknowledged, trying to brace himself. "Just tell it like it is."

"All right. Seth has suffered from a blunt trauma to the head. There is some bleeding inside the brain but not an excessive amount and it has stopped. There is also swelling in the frontal lobe that concerns me but we've given him some medication to help reduce the intracranial pressure. The swelling should ease with time. We performed a spinal tap and it was clear. There's no infection and there doesn't appear to be any damage to the spinal cord. That's good. However, the bad news is that he hasn't regained consciousness yet. He doesn't seem to respond to outside stimuli. Pain, light, touch. We'll watch over him very closely for the next several hours but from his lack of response so far, I'm afraid it's most likely he's slipped into a coma."

Sandy's head swam from the overload of information. Kirsten was still seated and he kept his hand on her shoulder. As if reading his mind, Dr. Arden continued, "I know it's a lot to take in all at once. In my experience, a coma is sometimes the body's natural way of shutting down for a while to allow it to heal."

"Does he need surgery?" Kirsten asked in a small voice.

"No. As long as his condition doesn't worsen, I see no need for it."

Another question popped into Sandy's mind and he practically had to force his lips to form the words. "Do you think there's any brain damage?"

"It's impossible to tell at this point and I wouldn't even try to hazard a guess. The brain is a delicate but surprisingly strong organ. Sometimes, what seems to be only a minor injury results in brain damage and loss of function. I've seen other case that are more severe, certainly more so than Seth's case, and everything turns out to be just fine. We'll have to wait and see."

"Is that all we can do?" Kirsten asked. "Wait?"

"In a nutshell, yes. We'll make sure he's as comfortable as possible. Plenty of fluids. A physical therapist will work on his muscles to minimize atrophy. He'll only emerge from the coma when he's ready." She paused for emphasis, taking in each parent with a steady gaze. "But there is something you can do. I can see you love Seth very much. That's important. I encourage you to spend as much time as you can with him. Touch him. Talk to him. Let him know you're there. It will help."

Dr. Arden answered a few more questions and then left them alone in the room once more. Kirsten slowly got up from the chair, her eyes sliding just under Sandy's questioning gaze. "I'll be right back. I...need some water," she murmured.

Nodding, he took her place on the chair, taking hold of Seth's hand. He tried to speak but found he couldn't. No sound would emerge past the thickening lump that had grown in his throat. The pressure and ache of it caused tears to form in his eyes. Though he blinked furiously to try to force them back down, he was afraid he was going to lose it.

Getting to his feet quickly, the chair squeaked as it rocked back slightly. He strode into the hallway to look for Kirsten and spotted her at the far end of the corridor. She stood by the water cooler, one hand braced on the wall, the other loosely holding a crumpled paper cup. Tendrils of long hair had escaped her hastily done up ponytail, lending to her haggard appearance. She looked pale, exhausted, and was wracked with sobs that nearly had her doubled over. Her weeping was silent and it nearly tore his heart out.

"Kirsten..."

The cup dropped to the floor as she blindly launched herself into his arms, her crying more audible now, though muffled by his shirt. He held her, rubbed her back, and mumbled incoherent soothing sounds.

Finally calming down, she pulled back to look up at him. "I didn't want him to see me...hear me, fall apart like that."

"I know. Me too."

"Tell me he's going to be okay."

"He's alive. We have that much to be grateful for. We just have to believe he'll be okay." The guilt crept back to haunt him. "Do you blame me?" he had to ask.

She looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"If we had hired someone to find him this never..."

Placing a hand over his mouth, she cut him off. "No," she stated firmly. "You're not to blame." With the same hand, she gently wiped tears from his cheek that he hadn't known had fallen. "Don't do that to yourself. It was an accident. That's all. Okay?"

He took a breath and nodded. "Okay."

They held each other for another moment. Ready and composed once more, they walked back down the hall to watch over their son.

A/N: As you can see, I am going ahead with the story. Thanks to everyone for the feedback. You guys are great! Keep reading and reviewing. I hope to keep you entertained.