Standard disclaimers applied. See Prologue for further details.

Author's Note: Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. Hopefully, everyone is enjoying the holdiays!

In previous chapters, I had used quotes from A Walk to Remember. They were italicized and not centered. In this one, I have a part which titled 'Flashback' which did not happen in the movie. I made that whole conversation up, so hopefully it still make sense.


Chapter 5: To Be On the State Line

Neela slept fitfully that night. She kept waiting for the front door to open to announce the return of her roommate. She watched the numbers of her digital clock glowed a bright red as the minutes went by. It was three in the morning, before she got some shut eye but even then Ray had not return to the apartment.

She was interrupted at around five by a noise outside the apartment. Somebody was pounding incessantly on the door. Afraid of troubling the neighbours, Neela quickly threw on a robe and opened the door. She stopped momentarily at the entrance at the sight of Bret, half supporting and half dragging a drunken Ray into the apartment.

"Sorry, doc," Bret apologized while trying to a get a rather-vocal Ray into the apartment.

"It's alright. I'll take care of things here. Thanks for bringing him home, Bret."

"He won't be thanking me for that killer headache he's gonna be getting. Anyways, later doc."

"Bye Bret," as the band member let himself out.

Neela turned to her roommate which was sprawled with his legs dangling at the edge of the couch. He was asleep with a peaceful countenance on his face if one chose to ignore the drool at the corner of his mouth. Neela did not have the heart to wake him and bring him to his bed. Instead, she grabbed a couple of blankets and pulled them over him. She set off to the kitchen and returned with a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin which she placed on the counter. She had to work that day but didn't know what time Ray was going to wake up, so without much thought, she quickly scrawled out a note, "Ray, I'm sorry for everything. I wish I could take it all back. - Neela."

Instead of going back to sleep, she got ready for work, thinking that she will get an earlier start to her seven o' clock shift. She should have waited though, to avoid her unplanned manner of arrival at the ER.

-o-o-

Ray woke up to the sound of an infernal buzzing. He slowly raised his head from the soft cushions underneath. He winced at the bright sunlight and the compounding headache that was radiation between his temples. The noise continued, until he reoriented himself to the thought that it was actually the phone ringing. He wondered briefly why Neela wasn't answering it as he staggered his way across the living room to the cordless on the wall.

"Barnett," he answered while massaging his scalp.

"Ray?"

He winced at the sound pierced through the pounding in his head. "Lower the decibels, Abby."

There was a moment of silence until Abby's voice could be heard, "Ray, you have to come in."

"My shift doesn't start until three, Abby. I have a killer hangover and I ain't doin' overtime."

"Ray, it's Neela."

He felt a momentary pang in his chest, as all breath left him. "What happened?"

"Ray, just come."

"Give it to me straight, Lockhart."

There was a sigh from the receiving end. "There was an accident, multiple car pile-up. Neela was trapped beneath one of the cars. Carter is working on her right now, but they probably going to send her up to the OR. I'm calling because she had you down as the next of kin," Abby concluded softly.

That was all the incentives that he needed as he hang up the phone. His eyes settled momentarily on the counter. A single glass of water and a bottle of aspirin had been laid out. Popping in a few pills, he scanned the contents of the note that Neela had left.

'I'm sorry too, roomie.'

His headache reminded of the events which had transpired. He had no right to yell at her the way that he did. She was already upset about Gallant, but she had no idea about Jamie. Now, more than ever, he wished to say those words of apology aloud to her and for him to see that forgiving smile of hers.

Ray arrived at the ER in record time, breaking a few speeding limits along the way before parking illegally in the emergency bay. He tossed Frank his keys before following Abby who had been on the lookout for him. "Where is she?"

Abby briefed him that Neela had already been transferred to the OR. "Corday is the surgeon. Neela is good hands."

"How bad is she?"

"She was unconscious when they brought her in. She took a hard hit to her head, most likely concussion. I didn't get a chance to see the CT scan results. Pneumothorax, she cracked three of her ribs. We're afraid that one of them may have punctured her right lung. She crashed twice. Carter had a hard time stabling her because there was so much internal bleeding. Her femur has been crushed but not broken."

"I want to see her."

"I know. I told them to wait for as long as they can till you come. You know the way."

With a nod of thanks, Ray grabbed the nearest elevator until he was interrupted by Frank's voice. "Hey, Barnett."

"Not now, Frank."

"I have somebody hollering on the phone ..."

"That's great. I don't care 'cause I don't work at the desks."

"Yeah, well, I have somebody calling for Dr. Landon Carter ... I have a Dr. Carter, but his name ain't Landon ... your middle name is Landon but your last name ain't Carter."

Ray stopped listening to Frank's tirade before he interrupted him, "Shut up, Frank. Which line?"

"Line 3."

Ray hurried back to admissions desk, but he called back to Abby who had a questioning frown on her face. "Tell Corday to start the surgery. I have to take this call," he said.

Picking up on Line 3, he answered, "Barnett."

"Landon? Is that you, man?"

"Dean?"

"Yeah. We've been trying to get a hold of you. Your folks have been callin' your place. Nobody is picking up on your cell. Some guy keeps saying that there's nobody by the name of Landon Carter. What's up with that?"

"It's Ray Landon Barnett, Dean. I had my name change."

"Oh yeah, about that ..."

"This isn't a social call, is it?"

"No."

Landon had a sudden sinking feeling. He wasn't going to like this at all. "Who is it?"

"It's the Reverend."

'No. Anybody but him ...'

"Is he?"

"You should come down. He's asking for you."

"Is it the cancer?"

"It's spreading..."Landon's reality suddenly crashed.

A little over year after Jamie's death, Reverend Sullivan was diagnosed with colon cancer. Landon felt the injustice of the whole situation.


(Flashback)

"Haven't you suffered enough?"

"Maybe it's God's way of letting me get close to Jamie."

"By you suffering?"

"By trying to get me to understand what she has been through all these years with her leukemia."

"I don't think it's fair."

"I have faith, Landon."

"Jamie always say that."

"You don't believe it?"

"Jamie made me believe, but ..."

"'I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore, choose life.' Deuteronomy 30:19. I choose life, Landon."

(End flashback)


He talked for a couple of minutes with Dean getting as much info as possible and then, he promised to call once the travelling arrangements have been made. He caught Dr. Carter's stare from across the admissions desk. "I need some time off. One of my family members is dying," the younger intern blurted out.

Carter nodded sympathetically at Ray's grief stricken face. "Alright, how soon?"

"As soon as you can spare me."

"I'll call in Pratt to cover for you. Have you been up to see Neela, yet?"

"No, I was going to before ..."

"Go. I'll make some phone calls. Where do you need to go?"

"Beaufort, North Carolina."

Landon hurried upstairs to the first OR room. He wished that he could stay until Neela woke up but he was caught in the middle with the news of the Reverend's deteriorating health. He grabbed a gown and gloves and quietly entered the surgical room. Dr. Corday glanced up briefly and greeted him, "Joining us, Dr. Barnett?"

"No, a family emergency just came up, but I just want to say a few things to Neela before I go."

There must hae been something in his words that made Corday looked up from her. She nodded her consent as Ray went closed to Neela's head. Ray tried to comfort himself by the sound of the machines that indicated her vital signs. "Neela, you have the best surgeon at County working on ya. You have to pull through this, roomie. I know I was acting like an idiot before and I am sorry. If it wasn't for me ..."

A sound from Corday prevented him from continuing. She knew that there was a story there, but she reminded him that a surgery was still going on. "Talking sometimes help, Dr. Barnett, but I doubt Neela wants to hear self-pity."

She didn't mean for it to sound like she didn't care, so she amended by saying, "Neela is a very forgiving person and from what I heard, it was a drunk driver that was the cause of the accident."

Landon nodded on his way out, but his mind was already on making plans to go back to Beaufort. Dr. John Carter waved him over when he spotted Landon on the floor. "I called Pratt. He's coming to fill you in."

"Thanks. Sorry, I know this is short notice."

"We're family here, Barnett. You don't have to apologize. Anyways, I called my travel agent. One of my family planes is stopping over here in Chicago before heading over to Virginia. North Carolina is on the way, so you can land and then probably rent a car."

Ray was speechless in his surprise. "I don't know what to say. Thanks doc."

"You don't have to thank me. I can see the look on your face and let me tell you I know the feeling."

"What feeling?"

"Of wanting to be in two places at the same time."


"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, let's go." Landon jumped out of the car and ran to the other side to grab Jamie's hand. Together, they started running.

"Where are we going?"

"Run!" He called back to her until they stopped in the middle of the road.

"Okay… uh, stand there," he indicated on a seemingly-random spot on the road.

"All right."

"Put one foot there, and one foot there." He pointed to other spots.

"Okay. You're acting like a crazy person, what's going on?" Jamie asked in disbelief.

"Okay, right now, you're straddling the state line."

"Okay…?" She didn't see his point, so Landon pointed to the sign behind her that read 'Welcome to Virginia.'

"You're in two places at once."

When she came to realization, all she could do was jumped into his arms. "Ahhhhhhh…"


This time, things were different. He couldn't be in both Chicago and North Carolina at the same time, no matter what. He was truly thankful for the pre-arranged flight plans but he left his beeper and cell phone numbers behind. Abby promised to update him on any changes.

With that, Landon hurried back to his apartment. He called his mom who told him a similar story as Dean did. She told him that her dad was also coming down. Landon informed her of his travelling plans before hanging up his phone to dial his dad's cell but only got a voicemail, so Landon left a message. He then called Dean as he promised. Afterwards, he proceeded to packing a couple clothes in a carry-on bag before he was off to the airport.

End of Chapter 5


AN: Alrighty another chapter. What do you guys think so far? Remember, anything italicized and left-justified are quotes from the movie. The parts that I labelled as 'flashbacks' and bolded are written by me. Hopefully, you guys are still following.

Also, I'm sorry if anybody is offended by any of the religious quotes that I used. I am just trying to keep with the theme of faith that was in A Walk to Remember which I think it's important for the development of Landon (Ray). Again, I apologize if anyone is put off by that. Let me know in a review 'k.