Disclaimer: I do not own The Day After Tomorrow or any of the characters.

Author's Note: This is my first The Day After Tomorrow story, and I hope you like it. Please review and let me know how you felt about it. I have several other stories written, and I need to know if I should post them or not! Thanks and enjoy! (If anyone is reading my PoTC story, Forever on the Run, it's been recently updated, so please check it out and let me know what you think!)

Summary: Sam, Brian and JD had been running from the freezing cold of the eye of the super cell. But, instead of them all making it back just fine, Sam breathes in the incredibly cold air, and gets very sick. Laura wakes up to see him dying, but awake, and they share their feelings while the others rest. Will Jack make it to them in time to save his son? PG-13 for mild language and tense scenes

Review Responses: lilsurfnchik25, Thir13en Ghosts- Elemental, ChibiYugiYasha, Sakura84067, Elizabeth Aiken, Taryn, and Harper's Pixie, thank you all so much for your kind reviews, you are the reason that I keep writing! This chapter is dedicated to you!!

Note: The situations in this chapter may seem a bit unrealistic, I don't know if it's actually possible or not, but that's what fiction's for, isn't it?


CHAPTER 12 (wow…longest story I've written on here…) Ray of Hope

JACK

The doctor led us to a room down the hall, where I rested Sam down on the table and stepped back for the doctor to examine him. There was a large machine sitting in the corner or the room closest to the bed. All of the wires and monitors connected to it made me nervous.

"So…what are the risks of this procedure? And what will happen?" I questioned softly, gazing around the room until my eyes found the doctor.

"The procedure will involve a warm IV inserted in each arm, and warm air being pumped into his lungs. There are a few risks, but he will be faced with great risks no matter what you do. The greatest risk would be of his lungs collapsing. They are incredibly weak, and not allowing him to breath much at all at the moment, so that is a large possibility." The doctor sighed. "Before we go into this, I need you to know…that there is a low chance of him making it through this. But there is always a chance."

Lucy paled greatly at this, and I hugged her close to me. I heard Laura sob, but I kept my focus on my son, who was paler than the bed he was laying on, and his breath was so shallow that it was almost completely unnoticeable.

Without a word, some orderlies came in and helped the doctor set Sam up to the machine. They inserted needles into his arms, and then pulled out a long, wide tube. I had to look away when they inserted it into Sam's mouth and down his throat. A quick beeping caught my attention. Looking at the monitor that it came from, I discovered that it was his heart, beating twice as fast as my pounding one was.

"The tube is inserted. Tape it in place, and then start the procedure. The IV has been started." The doctor turned to me with a sad smile. "There is no telling how long this will take…it has only ever been done on people caught in natural cold. You can stay with him if you would like. An orderly will be with you at all times, and they will contact me if anything changes."

He then turned to the three teenagers behind Lucy and I.


BRIAN

I had cringed when they forced the tube down Sam's throat, keeping it open. Hearing the doctor say that Sam had a slim chance of survival broke my heart. He had done so much for all of us…he didn't deserve to die. If there really were a God, Sam would survive. It was the only thing that could rightly come out of all of this…against all of the odds we had faced in the past week or so.

When the doctor turned to us, I had to suppress a rueful smile. We probably looked like quite the little gang of teenagers…none of us had eaten a proper meal since the party before the storms had hit, and we were all dehydrated. The storm had chilled us all to the bone, and that took more than Mexico's warmth to get rid of. Aside from that, Laura was in a wheelchair and J.D. was leaning against the handles, favoring his leg.

"I'm Dr. Brochio. You were all with him when this happened?"

I glanced at JD and Laura, and nodded to him.

"I want you to follow me. You all look undernourished, and in the strange atmosphere with a weak immune system could make you vulnerable to illnesses." I tried to resist, as did the other two, but he put up his hand. "We will be right down the hall, don't worry."

I sighed, and let the doctor lead the way to yet another room. We were all checked over, and given a large meal and hot cocoa. I ate it slowly, not used to having food after what had to be a couple of weeks, but I felt much better soon afterwards. Laura looked a little less pale as well, and was on the brink of sleep.

"Get some rest," I murmured, kneeling down before her. She looked up at me, and shook her head.

"What if something happens to him? I have to be here for him." Jack and Lucy Hall looked over at her from Sam's side, and smiled sadly.

"Laura, you need to sleep. If anything happens, I'll wake you up, I promise." I took the blanket from my shoulders, and wrapped it around her. She leaned back in her wheelchair after a moment, giving me a resigned look. I smiled, then leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Sleep well."

I stood again, and sat down in the chair next to JD. "She's so worried for him. It seems like she's afraid of something more than just losing him," he whispered so that she couldn't hear. I looked over at him, and he offered to share the blanket that was wrapped around his shoulders.

With a grateful smile, I accepted his offer, and he moved the two chairs closer so that the blanket would reach around both of us. "I think she's still afraid that he doesn't know how she feels. She's afraid that he'll never get the chance to find that out."

"Ma'am? I just wanted to let you know that your son's condition is slowly improving. His pulse and blood pressure are getting stronger," a small orderly informed quietly, knowing that Laura was resting and the rest of us were deep in thought. I smiled to myself. There was a ray of hope in every dark situation…just like the one that had just broken through the veil of fear that had gripped all of us for so long.


(A/N: Just in case someone was confused, there is not and will never be slash in this story! JD and Brian are now close friends, and JD was giving a great gesture of friendship! Just to clarify! Lol)