A big thank you to Kylie, Mariana, Cynthia, Mickey, Emz, Carlie, JenJenxx, Christine, Steph, Fighting-This-War, Lauren and Jen for leaving quick reviews! I promised a quick update. I'm not totally happy with the hospital part, but my beta is on holiday (how rude!) so you're stuck with only my judgement!

The Showdown

Kirsten watched as the bartender poured her another martini. Her whole body ached with exhaustion: exhausted because she had a slept in a drunken slumber last night; exhausted because she was tired of fighting; exhausted because she felt so drained all the time. Exhausted because she couldn't see a way out of the mess she had found herself in.

Her only comfort right now was the dumb feeling that alcohol gave her. It dulled the pain and stopped her from thinking too much. She wanted to remember the happier times – the smiles and the laughter, the teasing, the kisses, the times they had said 'I love you'; but whenever she closed her eyes, all she saw were the angry faces and the harsh words, the arguments, the secrets and the lies. So she drank to take them away.

How had everything got so bad? Why had she let things come this far?

Her eyes dropped to her wedding rings. It used to be that whenever she looked at them, Sandy was with her – no matter where she was, she always had a piece of him with her. They were connected. Now, there was a wall between them and she felt like she couldn't reach him.

But she wanted to. That was what she realised, as she sat alone at the bar. She didn't want to be alone any more. Carter had filled the gap for a while, but he was gone now and she couldn't use him to make her feel better. Sandy had been there for the past twenty years, and just like after Rebecca had gone, Kirsten felt like those twenty years weren't enough. All the promises they had made each other only a few months ago still meant something to her, and she hoped they still meant something to Sandy.

Kirsten ran her finger over her wedding rings. He had chosen her. And now she chose him.

She reached up and unclasped the necklace from around her neck, laying it gently on the bar. She had to let Carter go. She paused, her lips curling regretfully, before walking away.

She had to go home.

Sandy was driving in the dark, his eyes scanning every car park and every side street, hoping to see a glimpse of Kirsten's car. Her words were repeating in his head, over and over: "You left me!"

His insides churned as he still heard the pain in her voice as she spoke them. For the past twenty years it had always been the two of them – the two of them against the world, that's what they had always said. But recently they had been living on their own; they had been fighting their battles alone. They had tried to pretend, but it wasn't working any more.

It had started with Seth and Ryan leaving for the summer. She had closed herself off from her and he had done nothing but wait for it to pass. Then Caleb's affair had been discovered and he had kept it from, bound by client confidentiality. And then Rebecca had come along and he had dealt with it so badly. He couldn't change what had happened, and he wasn't sure that if he could do it again, he would do it any differently – because he needed closure with Rebecca. But when Rebecca had gone, he had done nothing but wait again – wait for Kirsten to forgive him, wait for their marriage to find itself again. He kicked himself for not doing more, for not fighting harder to show her how much he loved her.

He only hoped he wasn't too late. It was late and dark and she was out there somewhere, questioning his feelings. He needed to find her, he needed to reassure her.

He also knew she had been drinking. She had always enjoyed her drink, but this was different. It wasn't just that she had moved from chardonnay to vodka, it was her reasons for doing it. Reasons he knew he was a part of.

His cell phone rang and he saw Kirsten's name flash. He snatched up his phone and answered it quickly.

"Hey, where are you?" Sandy asked immediately, worry etched in his voice.

There was a pause before Kirsten answered, her voice muffled by tears. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, honey, it was my fault. You were trying to tell me something and I…I wasn't listening," Sandy tried to reassure her. "Just tell me where you are and I'll come pick you up."

"I'm coming home," Kirsten told him, and Sandy grimaced. He wished she wasn't driving when he knew she'd been drinking.

"I thought I was losing you," Kirsten's voice cracked as she spoke.

Sandy felt his heart break at the sound of her voice. She sounded so desolate.

"No, that's never gonna happen," he promised her.

"I love you," Kirsten said, tears spilling from her eyes. It felt like she hadn't told him for such a long time.

"I love you too," Sandy replied. "Now pull over, and I'll come get you."

Kirsten was about argue, tell him that she was ok and would meet him at home, but the phone slipped from her clammy hands and fell onto the floor. She reached down to find it, missing the lights turn to red. A horn screamed at her and Kirsten looked up, slamming on the breaks just in time to miss colliding with another car. She leant back in her seat, her hands trembling and her body rigid, sighing with relief at how close she had come.

Another horn sounded. She turned her head to see a truck powering towards her. She gasped. She could do nothing – there was no time to move. The truck hit her car and everything went black.

Sandy knew as soon as he turned the corner and saw the wreckage. He felt his stomach flip inside of him, terror sweeping over every inch of his body.

He pulled up, racing out of his car and towards the police rope. A fire truck was stood close by, dealing with the smashed car. Sandy could see the paramedics in the distance and he ducked under the tape, making his way towards them until he felt a hand on his chest, holding him back.

"I'm sorry, sir, you can't be here," a police officer stopped him.

"I think that's my wife," Sandy said, breathlessly, gesturing towards the ambulance.

"You think?" the police officer questioned.

"Yeah. I don't know, she's driving a rental car," Sandy said. Why couldn't he remember the damn number plate?

"We were on the phone, and then it went dead…please, let me go to her."

Sandy saw a mass of familiar blonde hair being put into the back of the ambulance and he begged again. "Please. Please."

"It's ok, let him pass," another police office came over. Sandy recognised him immediately from his days in the PD office, but his mind was too busy to remember his name. "Go ahead, Sandy."

"Thanks," Sandy nodded gratefully towards the officer and ran over to the ambulance. It started to pull away as he approached and he yelled for it to stop. It didn't. Sandy slowed to a halt, watching as they took his wife away from him.

He was too late.

Sandy arrived at the hospital a few minutes after the ambulance. His whole body trembled, scared of what might have happened to Kirsten. It was busy and he fought through the crowds to the reception desk.

"Excuse me? Excuse me!" he called to get the attention of a nurse behind the desk. "My wife just got brought in here – Kirsten Cohen. Where is she?"

"Kirsten who?" the nurse question.

"Cohen. C-O-H-E-N."

"She was just brought in?" the nurse asked.

"Yes," Sandy answered impatiently. He was desperate to see her. "Can you tell me where she is? Is she ok?"

"If you'd like to take a seat, Mr Cohen, I'll find out what's going on for you," the nurse offered.

Sandy couldn't sit still for long enough, so he paced up and down the hallway wishing that someone would tell him what was going on. She had been drinking and driving. He kicked himself for letting her leave the house earlier, wishing he had stopped her before it got to this point. Everything was such a mess.

"Mr Cohen?"

The nurse he had spoken to earlier was calling to him. He rushed over.

"Kirsten? Did you find her? Is she ok?" Sandy fired the questions at her.

"Yes, I've located your wife. I can take you to her. She's resting now," the nurse said, leading Sandy down the hallway. They reached a room and she gestured for Sandy to go in. "The doctor will be in to talk to you shortly."

Sandy thanked her, his eyes locked on Kirsten's frame lying in the hospital bed. She looked so small. When had she become so frail?

He approached the bed cautiously. She looked sad even as she slept, but he was glad she was peaceful. Her left hand was bandaged and a bruise had already started to form on her forehead. He brushed away a loose strand of hair from her face, careful not to touch her bruise, but she stirred anyway.

"Hey," Sandy said gently.

Kirsten's eyes flickered open. As soon as she saw Sandy, they filled with tears.

"I'm so sorry," she cried softly.

Sandy hushed her, his hand running lightly over her tangled hair. "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry for not understanding sooner."

"I was so scared," Kirsten whispered.

"Me too, baby," Sandy said. He brushed her tears away with his fingertips. "I love you, you know that?"

Kirsten nodded, smiling groggily. "I love you too."

The door opened and Sandy turned to see the doctor coming into the room.

"Mr and Mrs Cohen? I'm Dr Andrews. Mrs Cohen, how are you feeling?" the doctor asked, accepting Sandy's handshake as he came towards the bed.

"Um, sore…tired," Kirsten answered, frowning.

"Well, you should try and rest. You sprained some fingers, but we've bandaged those up and they should heal within a few weeks. We're worried about your concussion so we'd like you to stay in the hospital for 24 hours under observation," Dr Andrews.

Kirsten looked up, her eyes pleading with him. "Can't I go home? Please? I just want to go home," she begged him.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Dr Andrews started.

"Please?" Kirsten interrupted.

The doctor started to waver and Sandy jumped in. "I'd be at home to keep an eye on her. I won't leave her alone."

Dr Andrews sighed. "Bed rest. Plenty of sleep and fluids," he instructed, pulling out his pad to write her a prescription. "These will help with the pain. Take it easy for the next few days."

"Thank you," Kirsten sighed gratefully.

The doctor nodded and left them alone again. Sandy turned to Kirsten. "I should go and call the boys, they'll be wondering where we are."

Kirsten nodded, stifling a yawn.

"You should get some sleep," Sandy said. He watched her as she closed her eyes again, falling back into a slumber.

"Hear that?" Sandy whispered to her as she slept. "I'm not leaving you alone again."