"Andrew, can't you drive any faster?" I asked impatiently. The ride to the hospital seemed to go on forever. The truck was packed. I sat in the front. Kia, Paul, & Yvonne sat in the row behind us, while Toby, Sebastian, Olivia, & Eunice sat in the very back.

"If I did, we'd be downtown in lock-up." He replied, glancing over at me with an "I'm sorry" look on his face.

After about 5 minutes, we FINALY arrived at the emergency room of Illyria General Hospital. When we entered, I saw Coach Dinklage and Duke's parents sitting in the waiting room. His mom, Marie, looked as if she'd been crying. My heart went out to her.

"Hey kids, come over here and sit with us." Duke's dad, Darren called to us. Once we sat down, he began to talk again, " I don't know what happened, but I'm glad none of you got hurt either. As of right now, Duke's doing well. We know that he's has a few broken ribs and is having trouble breathing. I got to see him before they took him up for an MRI. He told me to let you all know that he'll be fine and not to worry."

After what seemed like an eternity, a doctor came out. He asked us if we were here for Duke and then sat down:

" Duke was in pretty bad shape when he was brought in. After a brief examination, we found that a couple of his ribs punctured his left lung. We inserted a chest tube to reinflate the lung and drain some of the fluid that has built up. His hip is just bruised and has some swelling. Nothing is broken. As for his knee and ankle, however, the damage is extensive. His kneecap is shattered. There's enough bone still in tact so the surgeon can fix it. His ankle is broken in 24 places. With surgery and extensive rehab, he should be back to playing soccer very soon. His shoulder is fine, just swollen. The one area that we are concerned with the most is the head injury he sustained. Duke has a fractured skull that was putting a lot of pressure on his brain. Currently, he is in the operating room having a tube put in his head to relieve some of the pressure. While in the operating room, he's also having his knee and ankle worked on. When surgery is done, a nurse will come update you." He stood up and left the room.

I was a nervous wreck. Didn't know what to do. After crying for a few minutes, I laid my head on Paul's lap and drifted off into sleep.

When I woke, Duke's parents were over in a corner talking to a medical person. I stood up and walked over to them, just to make sure Duke was ok.

"Viola, sweetie. Maybe you should go see him first. I think if he hears your voice he'll feel better." Marie told me with a smile.

"Thank you both. You don't know how much this means to me." That was my reply as I gave her a hug.

I followed the nurse to the elevator. Once we were in, she pressed the number 4 button. The doors closed and we began out ascent. After a brief ride we were on the fourth floor.

"Intensive care?" I asked as we stepped off.

"Yea, just for safety measures. With any head injury we like to keep the patients under close observation. In Duke's case, we just wanna keep an extra close eye on him. Now, I must warn you. There's gonna be a lot of equipment hooked up to him. If you aren't ready, just let me know."

"Nope, I want to see him."

Becky, the nurse, opened the door slowly. I thought I was prepared for what I'd see, but my knees went weak. There he was, lying in the bed hooked up to god knows how many machines. There was gauze around his head where the tube was, and over the cut above his eye. He had a tube down his throat to help him breathe. It was so ugly. The only thing that would make him feel better was that it tube was blue, his favourite color. The constant color of the blood coming out of his chest would also make him smile, only because it was red…his other favourite color. All of the I.V.'s were in his left hand, leaving his right one for holding. His left leg was heavily bandaged, from where he had surgery.

"You can touch him. Contact with you might wake him up." Becky said smiling as she fixed one of the needles in Duke's arm.

I cautiously stepped up to the bed and grabbed his hand. I gave it a squeeze and hoped that he would squeeze back…..nothing.

"Hey baby. It's me, Viola. I don't know if you can hear me but I love you. You're gonna be fine. The doctor said that you should be playing soccer in a few months, just in time for the season. And the game against Cornwall. Just know that I love you and I'll be waiting for you when you wake up." I cautiously ran my fingers through the remainder of hair he had left, and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. Then I sat down and waited for Becky to come back and tell me my time was up. Thinking about the last dance we shared before Justin showed up, I began to sing, hoping it would wake him:

This time, This place
Misused, Mistakes
Too long, Too late
Who was I to make you wait
Just one chance
Just one breath
Just in case there's just one left
'Cause you know,
you know, you know

That I love you
I have loved you all along
And I miss you
Been far away for far too long
I keep dreaming you'll be with me
and you'll never go
Stop breathing if
I don't see you anymore

One my knees, I'll ask
Last chance for one last dance
'Cause with you, I'd withstand
All of hell to hold your hand
I'd give it all
I'd give for us
Give anything but I won't give up
'Cause you know,
you know, you know

That I love you
I have loved you all along
And I miss you
Been far away for far too long
I keep dreaming you'll be with me
and you'll never go
Stop breathing if
I don't see you anymore

So far away
Been far away for far too long
So far away
Been far away for far too long
But you know, you know, you know

I wanted
I wanted you to stay
'Cause I needed
I need to hear you say
That I love you
I have loved you all along
And I forgive you
For being away for far too long
So keep breathing
'Cause I'm not leaving
Hold on to me and
never let me go

Just as I finished the song, I felt something flinch below my hand. When I looked, I saw Dukes hand move.

"Come on baby, open your eyes. Do it for me, please?"

Then, after a few tries, his eyes opened into slits. After a little while, his eyes fully opened and he looked around. Fear shone through his eyes as his grip tightened around my hand.

"S'ok baby. The tube is there to help you breathe while your lung heals. Don't worry about it, you'll be fine. They're gonna take it out tomorrow. We gotta set up a communication system. How bout you squeeze my hand for yes, and don't for no. How does that sound?"

He squeezed my hand

"Good. There's a tube in your head that's keeping the pressure down in your brain. You got fractured ribs and a collapsed lung. Now, there was some serious damage done to your knee and ankle. Your knee was shattered. Baby, they put a couple of screws in your knee to hold the bones in place as they grow back. Your ankle was broken in 24 places and they did surgery on that too to make sure there wasn't too much damage. The doctor said within a few months you'll be able to play soccer like you used too. Are you ok with all this?"

A soft squeeze let me know his reply. When I met his face again, I noticed that tears were forming in his eyes and softly rolling down his cheeks.

"Baby, you're gonna be fine. I love you and nothing's gonna change that. Now, why don't you try and get some sleep. Hopefully, the next time you wake up, you won't have a tube down your throat or in your head, and everyone who's waiting downstairs will be able to see you at the same time. So, close your eyes and get some sleep. I love you." I finished off talking as I bent down and kissed the corner of his mouth where the tube didn't touch. Once I knew he was asleep, I got up and left the room.

Now that I know he understands what's going on, I'll be able to tell him what's going on with Justin. Hopefully it goes better then I think it will.