Disclaimer: I own NOTHING! Well, actually, I do! I own AnneMarie! YAY ME!!!!!! LOL =)

Summary: This may be out of order in whatever way, but hey, its my story, I get to decide how it goes. ;-) Sorry if it takes a while for me to get it posted, but I've been writing it in whatever time I get between classes and stuff and I'm laptop less so its all scribbled down on paper and I've actually gotta find time to type it all up. But hopefully I'll find enough time somewhere. =) Happy Reading!

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Awakening

Next Day - 7:30am

"Oh, Owww . . . . ." a soft voice whined. Kimberly's eyes snapped open at the sound, and searched the room for the voice's owner, but all she saw was Tommy laying in the bed. " . . . . . Owwwww . . . . ." the voice whined again.

" . . . .T . . . . . Tommy?" Kimberly questioned.

"K . . . . . Kimberly . . . . ." Tommy murmured as she stood up from her chair, and moved closer to the bed. "W . . . . . . What are . . . . . You doing here? . . . . ."

"Your sister called me . . . She said you were in the hospital, and that she needed me . . . . . Are you in any pain?" Tommy just looked at her, not believing she was actually there. "Tommy, tell me what hurts."

"I'm fine . . ." he said wincing in pain as he slightly moved his head.

"No you aren't. I'm calling a doctor."

" . . . . . Kim . . . . ."

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." she said bending down to gently kiss Tommy's forehead, then reaching for the phone. "The doctor will be in here in a few minutes."

"Wh . . . . . What happened?"

"You crashed your race car Tommy . . . . ." Kimberly watched as a very pained expression crossed his face.

" . . . . . Is . . . . .Is it ok?" he choked out.

"No . . . Your uncle said it was totaled . . . . .You're lucky to be alive Tommy . . ." Tommy closed his eyes as a tear slipped down his cheek. "Tommy, I'm so sorry . . . . ."

"Was . . . . . Was anybody hurt?"

" . . . . .Only you . . . . ." Kimberly said trying to keep her voice steady as she fought to hold back her tears. Another tear slipped down Tommy's cheek as he opened his eyes to see Kimberly's pained face.

"Good Morning!" the doctor said in a cheerful voice as he entered Tommy's hospital room "Mr. Oliver! Its nice to see you awake! How are you feeling?"

"He's in a lot of pain, but he's as stubborn as a mule, so he'll never admit it." Kimberly told him.

"Is that so? Well Mr. Oliver, I believe you've met our match! This crazy girl has been next to you since she got here yesterday, and refuses to leave!"

"He'd do the same for me." Kimberly told him. "Can you give him something for the pain?"

"Yes, but I've got a few questions first . . . can you tell me where you hurt?"

" . . . . . Other than my heart . . . . ." Tommy said giving Kimberly a look.

"Tommy, be serious!" she scolded him.

"Your heart hurts?" The doctor questioned.

"We had a fight last time we saw each other . . . . ." Kimberly clarified.

"Oh . . . . . Tommy, why don't you tell me what hurts . . ."

" . . . . . Ev . . . . . Everything . . . . . My arms . . .my legs . . .head, back . . . . .neck . . . . . Everything . . . . ."

"Are you dizzy at all?"

"No . . . Just have a headache . . . . ."

"Well I can tell you a lot of why you hurt . . . . . Tommy, you crashed your stock car yesterday morning. And from the pictures I saw, and judging by your injuries, I'd say the outlook doesn't look very good for the car . . . . . But on the other hand, you should be just fine . . . . . You shattered both of your kneecaps, so we had to do reconstructive surgery on those, and you broke your femur. Other than that, you've just got some minor cuts and bruises. But you should make a complete recovery, in time."

"How much time?" Kimberly asked.

"Well, the whiplash should only last a few weeks. And the broken leg, 6 weeks . . . But as far as your knees, you're a very lucky man! But unfortunately, its going to be quite some time before you'll be back to normal. But as long as you go to physical therapy, and work real hard, without overdoing it, you should make a complete recovery. Maybe even by Christmas! But I don't think you'll be racing again any time soon . . . ." Tommy closed his eyes as the doctor's words sunk in deep.

" . . . . . I wanna be alone . . . . ." Tommy finally said after a long moment of silence.

"Ok, let me give you something for the pain, then we'll get out of your way." the doctor said, pulling a syringe from his pocket and emptying its contents into Tommy's IV line.

"Kimberly, you too . . ." Tommy said softly.

"Me too, what?"

"I need to be alone."

"And you want me to go . . ."

" . . . . . Come on, he'll be fine." the doctor said as he finished writing some notes on Tommy's chart.

"Fine . . ." Kimberly said with a sigh. "I'm going to go call your mom."

"He'll be ok . . ." the doctor said as he followed Kimberly out of the room. "I think he just needs to clear his head"

" . . . . . No offense, but you don't know him like I do. Tommy shuts himself off from the world when he's upset."

"Well maybe you should give him a few minutes, before you go back in."

"Kimberly . . ." a voice said from behind the doctor.

"AnneMarie! Hi Sweetie! Hi Christine!" Kimberly said forcing a smile.

"Hi Sweetie. How's Tommy?" Christine asked.

"He woke up a few minutes ago . . ."

"I'm going to go see him." AnneMarie said hurrying away as Kimberly looked down at her feet.

"Kimberly, tell me." Christine told her.

"He told me to leave . . . . ." she said softly.

"Sweetie . . . . ."

"Mrs. Oliver . . ."

"Yes?" she said turning to the doctor.

"Mrs. Oliver, our son is awake as you know, but he's not recovered, nor will he be for quite a while. Tommy has at least 6 weeks in the cast for his broken femur. Then after that comes off, he will need to spend several months in physical therapy, working to get the strength back in his legs before he will be able to walk again. And you need to be sure he doesn't work too hard, because overdoing it can cause more harm than good . . . I understand your son is a fighter, but it is imperative that he pays strict attention to his recovery or he will hinder himself, severely . . . I don't expect a speedy recovery at all, as the injuries to Tommy's legs are pretty extensive. Unfortunately, your son won't be racing stock cars again for quite some time."

"He knows, doesn't he?" Christine asked as she saw Kimberly drop her head.

"Yes he does."

"Ok. We'll deal with it." Christine said forcing a smile. "Thank you Doctor Meyers, we appreciate all you've done."

"Don't mention it. I'll be back to check on your son a little later."







To Be Continued . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .