A/N - this is the last chapter that i'm going to post for right now. I'm going on a church retreat and i'm leaving Saturday and I have other things going on Friday. I'll be back Monday, but I'm not sure what time, so hopefully I'll post the next chapt. on either Tuesday or Wednesday.


CHAPTER EIGHT
(chapter title - I Can't Live Without You)

Two weeks later, Eileen was at the library, doing an online project for Professor Ducky when she received an instant message.

AsYouWish12345: hey Eileen. It's Adam. Can you meet me at Barnes and Noble on campus in fifteen minutes?
ILoveHorses4Ever: sure. Just let me finish up here.
AsYouWish12345: thanks.

--AsYouWish12345 has logged off--

Eileen quickly finished with what she was doing and headed out of the library on campus and walked the four blocks to the popular booksellers. She was almost to the other side of the street when a car came zooming around the corner. Eileen tried to run across the street, but it was too late. The driver hit her and she fell backwards. The driver stopped the car and called 911 and stayed with Eileen until the paramedics came and took her to the hospital.

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Meanwhile, Adam was getting anxious. He had called Eileen's cell phone and there was no answer. He called John and Jules - he got Jules' voicemail and John answered his phone.

"Hello?" John asked hoarsely.

"John? It's Adam. What's wrong?"

"Eileen-Eileen's in the hospital as a cause of an accident."

Adam felt tears run down his cheeks. "What hospital?"

"Sparrow Medical Center. That's where Jules and I are now. I just called dad - he and mom are on the next plane here." John had tears running down his cheeks.

"I'll be there soon, John. What room is she in?"

"Room 546 B."

"I'll be there as soon as I possibly can." with that, Adam hung up his phone and cried long and hard. People looked up from what they were doing, but Adam didn't care. He exited the booksellers, got in his car and drove all the way to the hospital in silence. The only sound was Roger's CD playing softly in the background.

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He reached the hospital twenty minutes later. Parking his car, he headed into the hospital and ran for the waiting room to find John talking with a skinny blond man with glasses and a woman with shoulder-length brown hair. The woman was holding a baby who looked like it was about a month old. He also saw the unmistakable Roger Davis sitting in a dark corner of the waiting room. Jules was sitting next to him, her head buried in his shirt. Adam decided to leave Roger and Jules alone and see who John was talking to.

"Hey man." John quietly greeted Adam as he came over. Adam held back his tears as he walked over.

"Adam - this is my dad, Mark, my step-mom, Destiny and my step-brother, Jason." John introduced his family to his roommate. Adam shook Mark and Destiny's hands and rubbed the back of Jason's soft hand. There was a little girl who looked to be about eight years of age playing with two stuffed bears in the middle of the waiting room floor.

"We've all been in to see Eileen, so you can see her if you want." John whispered in Adam's ear. Adam nodded and hugged his friend. John smiled and hugged Adam back. Mark and Destiny had gone to sit with Roger and Jules.

"She's in room 546 B." John told his friend. Adam nodded and headed down the corridor. When he reached the outside of Eileen's room, he sighed and fiddled in his coat pocket for the square box. He patted the pocket it was in and entered the room. There was Eileen lying in a hospital bed. Adam quietly tip-toed over to the bed and sat down on the edge of the bed. He looked at her just lying there - asleep. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"I should tell you I should tell you I have always loved you…" Adam sung softly. Eileen opened her eyes and looked up at him. He felt tears run down his cheeks as he kissed her hand.

"Adam…" Eileen whispered. He squeezed her hand a little bit.

"I'm here, sweetie." He whispered, kissing her hand again. "How are you?"

"I ache all over and I'm really cold." She spoke just above a whisper. Adam took off his jacket and placed it carefully around her shoulders. She smiled slightly as Adam carefully laid down next to her. She rested her head on his shoulder as he carefully took her in his arms. Suddenly remembering the box in his jacket pocket, he retrieved it and presented the box to Eileen. She carefully opened it and gasped.

"Adam - it's beautiful!" She whispered. Obviously she had somehow damaged her vocal chords. He smiled slightly and helped her put the ring on her left ring finger.

"It's a promise ring - I have one, too." he showed her his. "This is our promise that we'll always be together. I love you, Eileen Collins."

"I love you, too, Adam Evans." Her voice was growing weaker. He stroked her cheek with his thumb and sang softly to her.

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After Adam and everyone left, Eileen had fallen asleep with the help of a sleeping pill. She was to go into surgery the next day - apparently, she had broken her left arm and had three broken ribs. She had asked Roger to be there at the surgery, just in case something went wrong. He had been thrilled to pieces when she had asked him to do so.

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"Eileen - baby girl." A voice called to her in the darkness. Eileen looked around, but she didn't see anyone.

"Hello?" she called weakly.

"Sweetie - it's daddy." a man's voice called out. Eileen felt tears in her eyes - she hadn't spoken to her dad since she was thirteen years old and she hadn't called him 'daddy' since she was five years old.

"Daddy?" she inquired. Suddenly, there was a white light and three shadowy figures appeared when the light faded - they were her dad and aunts Angel and Mimi.

"Sweetie - you're gonna be okay." Collins soothed Eileen. Angel and Mimi came up on either side of Collins and smiled at Eileen.

"Eileen, honey. Be strong." Angel told her, smiling slightly.

"You'll have your uncle Roger there with you, just in case anything goes wrong." Mimi said, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I was lucky to survive the accident, so I hope I make it through the surgery…" Eileen's voice drifted off and she fell asleep, the three figures watching her.

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Eileen's surgery was scheduled for nine AM the next day. Roger arrived at seven so that he could sit with Eileen before she went into surgery. Roger told her what was going on in New York - he was working on his new album, Maureen was preparing to go on tour with the company of Chicago! in about a week and Joanne had taken two cases to court and won. He also told her about Crystal - they had been on two dates since Mark had hooked them up. They had gone to see a movie and had been to the art festival. Eileen smiled as she swallowed her pain medication for her ribs. She had completely lost her voice, so she had to write everything down.

An hour later, a nurse came into the room with a cot on wheels. Together, the nurse and Roger got Eileen onto the cot. Eileen held Roger's hand as the nurse wheeled her to the operating room. For the next three hours, Eileen would be in surgery, so Roger used all that three hours to write a new song. He hummed the words as he wrote them down. Eventually, it looked like this –

Without you, the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows.
Without you, the seeds root, the flowers bloom,
The children play. The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly, without you.
The earth turns, the sun burns, but I die, without you.
Without you, the breeze warms, the girl smiles, the cloud moves.
Without you, the tides change, the boys run, the oceans crash.
The crowds roar, the days soar, the babies cry, without you.
The moon glows, the river flows, but I die, without you.

The world revives,

Colors renew,

But I know blue, only blue, lonely blue, within me blue

Without you. Without you the hand gropes, the ear hears, the pulse beats.

Without you, the eyes gaze, the legs walks, the lungs breath.

The mind churns!
The mind churns!

The heart yearns!
The heart yearns!

The tears dry, without you.
Life goes on, but I'm gone.

'Cause I die, without you.

Without you.
Without you.
Without you

He was thinking of a title for the song, when the hospital doors opened. Roger looked up to see Mark and Destiny enter the hospital and run towards him.

"How's she doing?" Destiny asked, sitting next to Roger on one side while Mark sat next to her.

"She's still in surgery." Roger answered, drawing his attention back to his notebook. Destiny nodded and looked at Mark. He put an arm around her shoulders and drew her close.

"Where are the rugrats?" Roger asked, not taking his eyes off of his notebook.

"Jules and John are watching them." they answered in unison. Roger nodded and brushed a strand of hair away from his face.