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XSARAH : Ain't he just, thinking bout it, my boss' boss is also the biggest jerk you'd ever possibly meet lol. Anyways thanks for the support and review. CHEERS MI DEARS!

KATIE : Hey don't worry about it, I'm not a good reviewer either lol. Arr bless ya, aren't ya so sweet lol. Anyways thanks for the support and review. CHEERS MI DEARS!

Chapter 13

As my eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness, the few pictures I always kept close came into view. There were 3 all together. The first of me, my husband and the kids, the second being me, my two brothers and parents, and the third, maybe one of most precious pictures I owned. It was the last picture taken of all the ducks together, about 6 months before Julie's death.

FLASHBACK

The ducks arrived a few days earlier, and were shocked at the change in Charlie. He totally ignored them, acting as though they weren't even around. The ducks weren't too shocked by this, considering his behavior just before they left, however both me and Adam were at the end of our tether with him. On a few occasions, Adam's anger reached it's limit and I truly thought he was going to punch him or something. Though to be honest I have no idea how he managed not too, considering Charlie's behavior.

"Look, you guys, I know he's being a royal prick at the minute, but I honestly don't think he's doing it to be hurtful. Well not purposefully". I tried understanding Charlie's point of view, but struggled.

"Then why all this bravado then"? Ken asked.

"I don't know. I suppose he's pushing us away because he's scared of losing one of us, and by pushing us away, he thinks he won't feel the pain if anything happens to any of us". I told them.

"But how do we get him to realize that"? Goldberg asked.

"I don't know. All I know is that me and Adam have tried everything we can think of, and we still haven't broken the ice with him". I looked around the room, at my closest friends, hoping that they might be able to come up with better plans. "Look, I'm gonna take Jonah round to my mom's, see if she can take him for a few hours". I stood up, grabbing my jacket.

A few minutes later, I was strapping Jonah into the car seat, I had long ago put in my car, since I was the only one who ever took him anywhere on a regular basis. As I climbed into the drivers seat, I could see Charlie peering through the drapes obviously more interested in his son than he was letting on. Choosing to carry on, I turned the key in the ignition and slowly backed out of the driveway.

There was hardly any traffic on the roads, and the journey began as a pleasant drive. The summer breeze was drifting steadily through the slight opening in my window. I was and always have been a careful driver, bar the time I was called up at work about Julie. I wasn't speeding, though I wasn't going too slow either. As the road widened, and we hit the long open stretch, I became aware of another car driving incredibly close to my rear bumper. I continued watching the road, glancing in my rear view mirror every so often. I pulled further into the edge of the road, hoping the car would take the opportunity and over take.

I suppose I was that busy concentrating on the car behind, and keeping into the very edge, that I didn't really notice the other car coming toward us on the opposite side of the road, and the car behind obviously can't have. Suddenly, I heard the roar of an engine, as the car behind turned sharply onto the other side of the road, and began over taking. It was then I suppose, that I saw the other car. There was no way, the over taking car, would be back in the correct lane in time. Suddenly the car began veering back into the correct lane. Instinct kicked in, and I swerved away from them.

Within seconds, I was slamming the breaks on, trying to avoid hitting the tree right in front of us. The wheels of the car didn't catch straight away on the soft earth, and before I could do anymore about the situation, we hit the tree head on. I felt my body being flung forward with incredibly force.

The next thing I remember, is waking up, hearing Jonah's screaming, and the loud pitched ringing of my cell phone. My head was banging, and my vision was slightly blurred, though I could make out the larger objects. I began trying to reach for my phone, logic telling me, I needed to call for help. As soon as I began moving, pain ran through my whole body.

"It's ok, don't move. We're hear to help". A soothing voice spoke.

I managed to point toward my phone, wanting them to answer it, or something. Before I found out whether they'd answered it or not, I blacked out again. The next time I came too again, there was something covering my nose and mouth. Though that was far from my worries. Jonah's screaming persisted, yet it somehow sounded further away.

"JONAH". I began screaming, forcing my body to start moving. "JONAH". I continued screaming, panic taking over my body.

"It's ok, he's fine, just try and relax". I was told, as I was held in the position I was originally.

"WHERE IS HE? JONAH"! I continued screaming. "JONAH". I squirmed, trying to move.

"Can one of you guys come and try to calm her down". I heard the same voice shout.

"Connie, it's ok, shh, calm down. You're gonna be ok. Jonah's fine, just stay as still as you can". I recognized the voice as Adam's.

"Adam"? I whimpered.

"Yeah, it's me". He soothed.

"Jonah". I murmured, feeling all my energy disappear.

"He's fine. I promise". His voice started sounding weird. "He's right over there, there's not a scratch on him". His voice was deepening, and sounded slow, as though he was trying to say it in slow motion, then everything went black again.

When I came round again, I could hear the rhythmical beeping noise, but nothing else. My head was banging, my whole body ached, there was a stinging pain in my hand. I started clenching my fist, feeling the stinging get worse every time I tightened my fist. I guessed I was in a hospital, but everything else was pretty much blank. Slowly I began to hear raised voices outside, though I couldn't make out the words. I knew it was the ducks, and slowly sat up. I couldn't see much, but just enough to know where the door was. I looked down, and saw a drip stuck in my hand. I ripped it out, feeling the pain as I did so. Slowly, I pushed myself to the end of the bed, knowing the cot sides were up. I stood up, holding the bed tightly, until I had regained a little balance. I stumbled toward the door, having to hold onto things to steady myself. As I got closer to the door, the words were becoming clearer.

"So what are saying Charlie"? Fulton asked him.

"I know I haven't exactly been with it these passed few weeks, and I know I haven't paid much attention to Jonah, but there was no need to go as far as this". His voice was anger stricken. "She could have killed herself and my son".

I slowly and quietly made my way out of the room standing just in the doorway, as I tried to focus on the ducks. The harder I tried to focus, the dizzier I became, until my whole world was spinning.

"YOU ARROGANT SON OF A BITCH". I heard Adam shout, as he bounded forward, and punched Charlie. "She has single handedly taken care of Jonah these passed few weeks, I can't believe you'd"…

"Connie". Portman said, his words become blurred again. "CONNIE". He shouted, as I gripped the wall, closing my eyes tightly, hoping the dizziness would pass.

The next thing I remembered, was waking up in the bed, the pain in my hand returned, along with the headache and sore everything. When I opened my eyes, I was glad to see, that my vision was slowly recovering, though there were still blurriness in the corners. Without moving too much, I searched around for the buzzer thing, wanting to call for a nurse. When I found it, I pressed it, immediately hearing the buzzer sound. Less than a minute later, a nurse sprang through the door. She said nothing, just checked the little TV screen thing at the side of my bed, then jotted the results down on a chart.

"How are you feeling Ms. Moreau"? She asked finally.

"Painful". I replied groggily.

"I'll have a word with the doctor and see if I can up your pain relief". She told me, looking at the drip bag. "You have a few visitors outside, would you like to see any of them". She told me.

"Yeah". I answered.

She left a second later, nodding her head gently. She closed the door quietly behind herself, though a few seconds later, it was being flung open again.

"Hey. How you feeling"? A voice asked softly. I recognized it immediately as Guy.

"Like I've just been checked into the boards by a full hockey team". I laughed gently, but immediately pain shot through my head.

"Glad to see you haven't been affected by the hit to the head". Luis chuckled.

"Jonah! How's he"? I asked, suddenly realizing that one of my last memories was of him screaming.

"Fine. There's not a scratch on him". Fulton informed me.

Slowly my vision returned to almost normal. Though every so often, my vision did go slightly more blurred but it only lasted a few seconds. Not all the ducks had come in to see me. It was just Guy, Luis, Fulton and Portman, as apparently the nurse wouldn't allow anymore. I did ask where Charlie, Jonah and Adam were, but the only reply was that Adam and Charlie were having a much needed chat, watched carefully by the remaining ducks.

END FLASHBACK

I suppose this was one of the few turning points for Charlie, helping him to realize exactly what his son meant to him. Though we are able to have a little laugh and joke about it now, at the time it couldn't have been more serious.

So what do you think? PLEASE R&R!