Mark's POV.

"Hey there, bitches."

I lifted my head to see Collins' standing in the doorway, with two little cardboard cups in either hand. "Here's a tea for you," he said as he placed one cup on the table next to me, "and a coffee for you," as he placed the other cup in Roger's hand.

"Thanks, Tom," I said, sipping the hot liquid and letting it warm my insides. Roger smiled weakly at Collins' and did the same with his hot drink. I mean, not that I was watching him. No way.

Collins' pulled up another metal chair and sat down next to me. I rubbed my eyes underneath my glasses and yawned.The three of us sat together in an awkward silence, the only sounds heard were of Roger and I sipping our beverages, the clock ticking and Josh's heart monitor beating steadily. I pressed him arm to my face again. My poor Joshy. If only I hadn't sent Roger away. I so badly wanted to see him again, yet now that he was here, I was at a loss of what the fuck to say to him. I felt like I wasn't worthy of talking to him. I glanced over to Roger, who held Josh's hand with one hand and sipped his coffee with the other, and our eyes suddenly met. We held our gaze for as long as humanely possible, almost as if trying to read each other's thoughts. I thought I saw a bit of anger, a bit of hurt, a bit of……was that fear? Roger Davis was actually afraid of me? I opened my mouth to say something - I don't know what - when the door of the hospital room creaked open. We all turned our heads to the door to see Dr. Hitch standing in the doorway.

"Hello gentlemen. I'm sorry to ruin your little moment, but I'm afraid Joshua needs to be left alone now. We just need to run some tests on him to make sure everything's working properly and then he needs to sleep."

I gulped. I wasn't ready to leave my baby boy alone yet. "Please, doctor. Can we have just a little while longer? Please?"

Dr. Hitch sighed. "Alright then. I'll give you guys about half an hour. But after that, you'll really have to leave."

Roger spoke up next. "Don't worry, we will. Thanks Doc." Just then, we heard some loud noises that seemed to be travelling throughout the second floor. Collins grumbled:

"Who is making that obnoxious racket?" Just then, the door to our room swung open and in flew a sexy brunette in a red tank top, tight blue jeans, and her hair clinging wildly to her face.

"Hey boys, how're you doing? Oohhh, poor Joshy!" she squealed as she gave Collins, Roger and me big hugs and bent over to look at Josh, gently rubbing his hand.

"Honeybear, could you please keep your voice down? This is a hospital, for heavens' sake!" said the gorgeous black woman who entered our room next, dressed in a sleek black suit, white business shirt and a deep green and grey tie.

"Ohh right. Sorry Jo-Jo."

"Hey Maureen, hey Joanne," I said when I could finally get a word in edgewise. Both ladies greeted me back, and then turned to the hospital bed to gently squeeze Josh's hands. Collins' smiled half-heartedly at both of them while Roger mumbled out a couple of 'hellos' to them. I sat staring into space for about five minutes when I heard a small voice go, "Umm, hi….there."

I turned around to face the voice. "Oh, hey Leana. Sorry I didn't see you there," I said as I put my arms around her and hugged her tightly. Wow, this was the first time I'd seen her dressed down, in her faded blue jeans, black sweatshirt and grey running shoes, her nut-brown hair hanging limply around her head and her pretty makeup-less face stained with tears.

She hugged me back and buried her face into the crook of my neck. "Oh, Uncle Mark. I'm so sorry about this. This is my entire fault! If I hadn't brought Josh to the party, none of this would have happened. I'm so sorry!"

"Hey hey hey there, sweetie. Don't cry. None of this is your fault. We're not angry with you at all. Please stop crying." I held her in my arms and stroked her messy hair until her sobs faded away. Finally, after a long awkward silence, Joanne was the first to speak.

"So, what's been done to him now?" she asked as she gently smoothed Josh's hair.

Roger answered her while blankly staring out the window. "He's had surgery to fix his fractured leg and broken skull. They've put him on extra morphine, so now we have to wait for him to regain consciousness." He trembled a little.

"Awww hey, it's gonna be okay Rog. He'll be fine. You'll see," said Maureen as she wrapped an arm around Roger in comfort, but he didn't respond to her. She then skipped over to me and hugged me tightly. I hugged her back, trying to blink away my tears which managed to fall out anyway.

"He'll make it through, Pookie. He's a real fighter. Don't worry so much, okay?" she whispered to me. Wow, it's so nice to know that the Drama Queen had such a soft side. I gave her a small smile after I pulled away.

"There! That's the spirit!" said Maureen, returning the smile tenfold. Joanne offered me an encouraging smile of her own, which I happily returned. Just then, Dr. Hitch walked into the room again, doing a double take at the people in the room who had suddenly grown in number.

"Oh, whoa! Umm, sorry to ruin your moment again, but you guys really need to leave now. I'm so sorry. But you can see him first thing tomorrow morning," said he.

Collins' smiled at him. "Thanks Doc. We'll be leaving now."

"Yeah. Thank you so much Dr. Hitch. It really means a lot to us," I added. Roger thanked him too.

"No problem, you guys. See you all tomorrow then." And with that, he left the room. One by one, we all stood up to leave. I walked up to Josh and whispered:

"Goodnight Yeshula. I'll see you tomorrow. I love you." Then I kissed his forehead softly and headed for the door. Roger was next, gently kissing his cheek, whispering "I love you, little buddy" and then stood up from his seat. Collins' gently ruffled his hair and said, "Seeya soon, little Joshman." Maureen, Joanne and Leana all gave Josh little kisses and whispered their goodbyes to him. After we were all done, Collins' held the door open for us and we all walked out into the corridor one by one. All of us just stood there quietly, not knowing what to say to each other. Finally, Roger spoke.

"I need a cigarette," he grumbled before turning around and heading towards the hospital balcony. I watched him walk away, a single tear running down my face. Joanne smiled sympathetically and said, "We'll be staying at the Pine Oak Motel, which is just two streets away from here. We'll spend the weekend there just in case you guys need anything, okay? Don't forget to call first thing tomorrow so we can come over."

"I will. Thanks Jo," I mumbled as she scooped me into a warm, motherly hug. She then handed me a paper with the necessary number written on me. Maureen and Leana both said their goodbyes to me, hugging me warmly. I smiled at them.

"Thank you guys so much for coming here," I blubbered.

Maureen smiled. "Anything for you, Pookie," she said sweetly.

Joanne crinkled her forehead. "Maureen, do you have to use that word and make Mark squirm?"

Leana giggled while I blushed. "Well Mama, what can you do? That's Mom for you." She and Joanne shared a special smile while Maureen put her arms on her hips and pouted. Obviously, this was a common joke between them.

"Well, we'd better be off then," piped Joanne. She, Leana and Maureen all hugged me, then hugged Collins,' said their goodbyes to us and went down the elevator. Finally, it was just Collins and me. I turned around and sat down on one of the plastic chairs in the hallway, my hands shoved deep into my pockets. Collins sat down next to me.

"So" he began tentatively. "Wanna talk about it?"

I proceeded to open my mouth when I realised that I had nothing to talk about. "I…..I love him, Collins," I managed to finally spit out. "I love him and now I've hurt him. What am I gonna say to him now?"

"Tell him what you just told me," he said matter-of-factly. "Tell him that you love him, and how much he means to you, and that you didn't mean what you said. Believe me, that kinda stuff can do a hell of a lot of good."

I blinked at him, confused. "That's it? That's what I should tell him? But that's so common. I tell him that, like, all the time. Before this whole mess, that is," I added quickly.

Collins half-smiled at me. "Sometimes, that's all a person needs to hear. And right now, that's what Roger needs to hear more than anything else."

I sighed deeply and rested my head against the wall. Collins was right. I had to tell Roger that I loved him and wanted him to come back home. But hey, easier said than done, right?

Aahhhhh, the plot thickens……-giggle-