The rain continued unabated as Zach knelt on the street next to Kendall's inert body. The automobile had come to a stop, but not until after it had struck her as she had darted across the street toward the parking lot and her car. Zach's focus was solely on Kendall, reaching a gentle hand and tapping her cheek saying, "Kendall… sweetheart… Kendall… stay with me, Kendall" without any direct response. While she was conscious, she was in significant pain and her whimpers tore at his heart as tears slipped from her eyes and mingled with the rain.

While Zach continued to try and get Kendall to focus on him, he was assessing her condition to the best of his ability. Although he had never been formally trained in any kind of medicine, he had worked in many places that required a rudimentary knowledge to survive. He knew that he could not move her until the emergency personnel arrived, but tried to do a quick assessment of her injuries while continuing to speak in calming tones. Zach removed his tie and used it to gently staunch a bleeding wound at her left temple. He noted the awkward angle of her right leg and feared that it was broken, as well as the way her left shoulder was out of sync with the rest of her body – but hopefully it was only dislocated. He was concerned that her breathing was labored and laid a gentle hand along her ribcage until she winced in pain, confirming his concern that a broken rib may have punctured her lung.

Finally, an insistent tapping on his shoulder dragged his attention from Kendall to a young man standing behind him, "I'm sorry, mister. She came out of nowhere. I didn't have time to stop… it was wet… and I tried to stop… is she going to be okay? Geez, I'm sorry, mister…"

Without directly answering him, Zach pulled a cell phone from his pocket with his free hand and handed it to him, "Here… call 911 and get an ambulance. We can't risk moving her out of the street. Then get me an umbrella or something to cover her." After a moment while the driver stared at him, Zach said firmly, "Now!"

As the driver called the emergency number, Zach returned his attention to Kendall. Frustrated that he couldn't get her to respond to anything but her pain, he painstakingly pulled his suit jacket off and covered her body with it as he gently continued to hold his tie against the bleeding wound.

Zach wasn't even aware of the words that he had been saying to Kendall until she said his name softly, "Zach… it hurts…"

At her words he realized that he had been begging her to speak to him, and concentrated through his own tears to answer, "I know it hurts, sweetheart… help will be here soon. I'm right here with you." He carefully squeezed her hand with his to emphasize his presence as her eyelids closed and she seemed to relax imperceptibly. Realizing that she had lost consciousness, he couldn't ever recall feeling as helpless as he did kneeling on the wet pavement waiting for the ambulance. He heaved a sigh of relief at the sound of sirens before saying softly, "They're here, Kendall" even while he knew she couldn't hear him.

Once the emergency personnel had taken over Kendall's care, he stepped back and noticed a crowd of people carrying umbrellas who had gathered around the accident scene. He felt a surge of anger at all of the gawkers and yelled, "There's no show here… get out of the way and give them some room to work!"

A police officer stood next to Zach and waited for him to calm down a moment before asking, "Did you see the accident, sir?"

"What? No… I heard it… but… my… my wife… she's my wife…." Zach answered disjointedly, while never taking his eyes from Kendall and the paramedics taking care of her. She was in so much pain, drawing in one agonized and tortured breath at a time, each one sounding more difficult to make than the last.

The police officer answered, "I'd like to speak with you later… but why don't you follow the ambulance to the hospital right now."

"No… I'm going with her… I can't leave her…" Zach answered as he watched the paramedics assess Kendall's condition.

"Unconscious… pupils unequal…" were some of the terms he overheard one of the paramedics say before they affixed a rigid cervical collar around her neck and then placed her on a backboard and a stretcher.

Zach moved to follow as the emergency team placed her in the ambulance but was stopped by a firm hand on his arm, "I'm sorry, sir… there's no room in the ambulance for you. They need to take care of your wife right now… I'll walk you to your car and then you can meet her at the hospital. What's your wife's name, sir?"

"Um… her name… um… it's Kendall… Kendall Slater," Zach answered in distraction. The officer patiently propelled him toward the parking lot and Zach looked away from the ambulance after they closed the rear doors. He blinked a moment at the officer before commenting, "My car… I need to find my… car."

The officer smiled briefly, "Yes… do you remember where you parked? Or would you like a ride to the hospital?"

Zach looked around for a moment before answering, "No… thank you, officer. My car… it's right here… I'll be fine. I just need… to get to the hospital."

"That's right… you drive carefully… your wife will be at the Emergency entrance," the officer said quietly. "Someone will meet you there later for your statement."

Zach had by that time regained some semblance of control and unlocked his car. The police officer was relieved to see that Zach was alert and gave him a brief pat on the shoulder before turning back to the scene of the accident where his partner had been questioning the driver.

Zach had regained his equilibrium to a degree and drove carefully to the hospital. The last thing he wanted to do was have an accident of his own when he should be with Kendall. The sight of her broken body lying in the street would haunt him for a very long time – and he could not get the picture of it out of his mind even as he negotiated the streets in the rain. When he finally saw the large outline of Pine Valley Hospital, he quickly pulled into a parking space and sprinted toward the Emergency entrance.