Kates POV

It had been about five minutes since I slapped my poor sister. The more I sat crying the more I felt bad. I'm not sure if it was for myself or everyone around me. Is that why Garth did what he did? For me? Is he trying to get rid of Rick? I won't let that happen. If he loves me so much why can't he just let me be happy? Why does he have to do this? He is tearing my family apart. That doesn't matter though. What matters is Rick's well being. Right now I've done all that I can, and I need to start doing that with everything else. One bit at a time. Yes the future was dark, but I had to start working to turn that around. I'm not going to sit here and feel sorry for myself. Humphrey was right, there are more important things than pointing fingers. When I hit Lilly… it didn't feel good. It felt awful. Immediately I felt sorry for what I did when I saw the hurt in her eyes. That's where I would start.

I wiped the tears out of my eyes and stood up. I then took a look around. Humphrey and Lilly ran over to the entrance, so they're most likely around there. I jogged over to the front doors and started looking around. If I knew my sister she wouldn't run inside, she would be too embarrassed. I continued looking around. The cold wind continued to blow, making me shiver so I crossed my arms in hopes of staying warm. My teeth chattered as I saw every breath I took. It had to have been in the teens at most. I walked until I heard soft cries coming from my right. I turned in the direction to see a playground for the children's section of the hospital. I remembered coming here for my eye exams when I was a pup. The doctors here were so nice. I only ever played on this playground once. It was after one of my exams and mom wanted to have a smoke so she told me I could play for ten minutes while she did so. Everything was so much simpler then.

I ran over into the playground and saw Humphrey hugging Lilly as they sat on one of the steps to the playhouse. I walked over and just looked down at them, not knowing where to start. Lilly wasn't facing me, she didn't know I was there. Humphrey on the other hand looked up from the hug and up to me. His look said that he was disappointed in me. He wasn't the only one. I broke eye contact out of guilt, rubbing my right arm as my sister continued to sob. Humphrey backed away from the hug and looked into Lilly's eyes and then gestured with them to look behind her. She did and just stared. It took a moment for me to look at her but I did. I felt as though I had no right to talk to her after hitting her not ten minutes ago. Let alone speak to her. Slowly though I built up the nerve to walk over to her, kneel down and hug her as well. She hugged me back and started sobbing again. I closed my eyes as I rocked her gently, left to right. I opened my eyes up to see Humphrey staring at us. Or rather at me. I pulled out of the hug to look Lilly in the eyes, same as Humphrey did. I was about to apologize but Lilly actually spoke first.

"I know you're scared. We all are. But please don't be mad at me right now, I know I was wrong for leaving him but he didn't want me to stay" she said and then looked down as she started crying again. I rubbed her arm as I felt even more guilt sink in.

"Lilly… I'm not mad, like you said I was scared. I wasn't in a good state of mind. I'm still not but… I can't do this by myself… I need you guys… we need each other, Rick… needs us" I explained.

"But what about his mom? She hates us" Lilly cried.

"I think she was in the same state as I was, she was scared. She'll come around… but we have to wait, and we have to be there for her, for her son, for our family member" I explained. Lilly sniffled a bit more and then nodded.

"Okay" she whispered.

"Why don't we go inside, it's freezing out here" Humphrey said.

"Agreed" I replied and then stood up, offering Lilly my hand. She took it and I pulled her up.

"I love you Kate," she said.

"I love you to Lills,' I smiled. We then walked back into the hospital. When we got inside it was immediately warm, and it felt amazing. I could feel my body warming up and it made me feel tired but I couldn't sleep. Not now, what if Rick wakes up? Or his mother comes out? I need to be up for that. Fixing things with her is next on my list. I took a seat, and Lilly sat next to me, Humphrey sat next to her and we waited.

"Guys… What are we gonna do about Garth?" Humphrey asked.

"Everybody already knows what happened, it's only a matter of time before the police get involved. When they do they're most likely going to ask us what happened in our own words, when that happens we just… tell them the truth. We tell them Garth drugged him and nearly killed him" I explained.

"You think they'll believe us?" Lilly asked.

"Why wouldn't they?" I answered. Lilly nodded. We sat in silence for a bit as the typical late night hospital bullshit played on the waiting room TV. some game show that honestly gave the sickening hospital aesthetic its final touches. As I sat I looked up at the clock to see that it was almost 2:00 AM damn… I felt my phone vibrate. I pulled it out of my pocket to see it was mom calling. I answered quickly. I didn't get out so much as a hello before I was yelled over.

"Where the hell are you? I went to sleep hoping you would come home and you didnt. Are you at Rick's? You scared me half to death" she said angrily. I sighed before I said what I said.

"Rick's in the hospital mom… he almost died" I explained. Her mood changed instantly.

"What happened? Is he okay?" she asked.

"No, he lost a lot of blood, he almost died, he still might. I didn't get much information, I'm sorry I didn't call you but-"

"Its okay, it's okay. listen , me and you're dad are on our way" mom said. That didn't sound good. What with Rick's mom feeling the way she did and all.

"Mom I-"

"Don't worry about it we'll be right there, see you soon honey pot" she said and then hung up. I groaned as I slapped the phone to my leg.

"Mom's on her way" I said to Lilly.

"This should be good," she replied. I then remembered Angel. She should know what's going on. I swiped over to her contact and clicked call. It rang and rang and rang.

"hey , this is Angel. Couldn't get to the phone, but leave a message or text me and I'll get back to you. Or if this is a telemarketer or someone else I don't care about then fuck off" the voicemail said. I hung up and tried again, still no answer. I groaned again and slid the phone in my pocket.

"Maybe she's already on her way," Lilly suggested.

"Maybe" I said. Just then the double doors opened and I saw Rick's mom come through them. She looked around and spotted us. She then started walking over. Oh God please don't be mad. Lilly and Humphrey watched as she walked over and then sat next to me. We stared at each other for a brief moment before speaking.

"I heard you gave blood to save my son, they say he wouldn't have made it without you" she said.

"It was the least I could do" I said in a low, nervous and confused voice. I was excited that she was talking to me but I was also terrified. I was really hoping that she would forgive me. She did more though. She reached over and hugged me. It caught me off guard.

"Thank you" she whispered. I returned the hug. I guess she wasn't mad. She broke it and looked at me again. "I'm sorry about what I said before I was just-"

"Scared… I know. I'm not exactly in a good place either… at the party… I didn't know Rick was sick, he tried to hide it from me so that I wouldn't worry. If I knew then I would have left immediately I swear" I explained.

"I know, oh my God Kate I'm so sorry for how I acted, thank you. Thank all of you for saving him, if it wasn't for you…" she said. She then wiped some tears from her eyes and stood up. "If you want you guys are more than welcome to come back" she offered. I nodded and then stood up with her. Lilly and Humphrey followed me as we walked down the halls again over to the room. Once we were inside I saw my love again. He still wasn't awake and he still had that mask on. Heart Rate was a little higher so that was good. I took a seat next to him and held his hand.

"How is he?" I asked.

"The doctors say he's in a coma, not sure when he'll pull through. He got all the blood that he needed, and he needs a machine to breath, once the blood settles though he won't need it, from that point on it's only a matter of him waking up. When he does the doctors say he'll be in a lot of pain, but he can come home" his mom explained. A coma? Rick is in a coma? This night just keeps getting worse.

"Have you called Angel?" I asked.

"We did, we didn't get an answer though. She should be over at Shaky's so at least she's safe" his mom said. I nodded and turned to Rick again.

"He'll pull through Kate" Lilly said.

"I know… I know… it's just hard seeing him like this'' I said as I started to cry again. I honestly didn't know how I still had any tears left. Rick's mom came over and hugged me again.

"Poor baby" she cooed. I cried into her shoulder as she tried to comfort me. I just kept thinking about how much pain he would be in, how much better off he would be without me, abd how much time would pass before he would wake up, how much time it would be before things went back to normal. I was looking forward to my first christmas with him. It would be here in one week, as long as he gets better though. That's all I could really ask for. I felt my phone vibrate again. I broke the hug to check my phone. It was from my mom. It was a text that read "they wont let us in, can you come get us?"

"My mom's here, they won't let her in," I explained.

"I'll go get her," Rick's mom said. She then walked out of the room.

"You know you kids are a great group of friends, my son's done pretty well for himself" Rick's dad said.

"You're too kind sir," Humphrey said.

"Oh please, it's Dwayne, and you can call her Delores," he said.

"It's an honor Dwayne '' I said, shaking his hand. "I wish I was meeting you under better circumstances" I said.

"I've seen you before, like around thanksgiving but we haven't really talked. Your the one that's sweet on him right?" Dwayne asked. I snickered. Humphrey and Lilly doing the same.

"Yeah… I am sweet on him" I said, rubbing Rick's chest with my hand. "I hope he comes back soon. '' I prayed. Delores then walked in with my mom and dad. Dad… he has some fucking nerve showing up. I'm all for fixing this family, but this is the guy who didn't want to when I offered. I tried with him and here he was.

Mom took a look over at Rick and then at us. She walked over and brushed Rick's bruised, lifeless face. She then turned to me.

"Kate… guys… I'm so sorry this happened" mom said.

"We still don't exactly know what happened, so I kind of wanted you to tell us who could have done this to him" Dwayne said. Everyone turned to us three for answers. Lilly started to stutter.

"It was um… it…" she started.

"It was Garth. It was Garth and his fucking football buddies" I growled.

"Garth? The one that fought him before?" Delores asked. Us three nodded.

"He drugged him, and he was gonna drug me. When I was on the phone with Rick one of the last things he told me was not to drink anything. I think that's what he was talking about '' I explained.

"He was going to drug you? My daughter? To do what?" mom asked furiously.

"Most likely… he was going to rape her" Humphrey answered. My mom growled as she tried to calm herself.

"That mother fucker" she said.

"The cops are gonna be here in the morning, I want you guys to explain everything to them" Delores said. We all nodded in agreement. Dad then walked over to me and knelt down. I avoided his gaze and kept my eyes on Rick.

"Kate… i'm so sorry you have to go through this' ' he said. I felt anger rise within me. How dare he. After throwing that whole scene, refusing my willingness to make him understand, and worst of all, after wishing they were dead. I turned to him and stared angrily before gently saying.

"Why? You're getting exactly what you wished for" he stood back shocked at what I said. Looking around the room were looks of confusion and awe.

"K-Kate I- '' my dad started but I stood up and barged out of the room. I really didn't want to leave Rick's side but I couldn't be in the same room with my dad. Not now. I walked passed one of the desks and over to a small seating section where that fucking game show was still playing. It was just six chairs and a table in the middle, with that small TV in the top corner of the room. The last thing worth noting was the water cooler in the corner. Which I gladly used to pour myself a quick drink and take a sip to calm my nerves. I was so tired, angry, upset, sad, and beat. I wasn't sure how much more I could take of tonight. I sat down and sighed. Trying to calm myself. It wasn't long though until my dad came and sat next to me. I looked at him not head on, but from the side.

"What?" I spat.

"You know Kate, I didn't want this. Not a single part of me wanted what happened tonight to happen'' he explained.

"No, when you were pissed off that night and punched the wall, you said that Rick and Humphrey should be dead. You almost got one tonight, would that have made you happy?" I asked. Dad didn't respond right away. He just looked at the floor and sighed.

"That night… I was so angry about him taking your innocence. And Lilly losing her's. She was always a symbol of innocence to me. Acting shy and gullible all the time. So when I heard Humphrey took that from her, and not only that but it had been going on for two years right under my nose… I snapped… I wasn't ready to forgive that. I said things I shouldn't have said, did things I shouldn't have done, and I'm sorry for that. After you left I kept thinking about that picture you showed me, how happy you guys looked… After your mom told me Rick was in the hospital I too felt… scared. I didn't know what happened, what the context was or that he was even okay… I was scared. I realized how much he meant to me, not only because he's a great kid… but he's a great member of the family. Mine and yours… and I look forward to going to your wedding one day so he can continue to make you the happiest girl alive… I should have listened sooner'' Dad explained. I turned to him in disbelief. "I was wrong" he added.

"You really mean all of that?" I asked. Dad nodded.

"I did, and when Rick gets out of here I'm going to do everything I can to make it up to him, and you" dad answered. I smiled and gave him a hug.

"Thanks dad" I said muffled. Dad chuckled as he broke the hug.

"Just promise you won't forget about me, okay?" he said. I nodded.

"I promise," I said.

"Should we get back then?" he suggested.

"Yeah, we should," I agreed. We stood up and walked back over to the room where I saw a nurse and everybody else at the door.

"What's going on?" dad asked.

"The hospital wants us to leave. They said visiting hours were over a long time ago and that we shouldn't have been let in, that bitch at the front desk called security basically" mom explained.

"Miss it's not security, it's just the rules. I don't make them, '' the nurse said.

"It's fine, we'll leave. Sorry for the trouble" my dad said.

"We do allow one person to stay overnight," the nurse explained. I already knew it would be Delores, she was Rick's mom after all and it would only make sense that-

"Kate… I think you should stay with him" Delores suggested. I froze in shock as everyone looked at me.

"Huh?" I asked.

"As much as I don't want to leave him… he was with you when you were here and… if you want I'm willing to let you stay with him. Besides… I think he'll be happier to wake up and see you then me" she said.

"Will you stay?" mom asked. I nodded.

"Yes," I whispered happily. "Yes" Delores hugged me again.

"Thank you for being there for him," she said.

"Thank you for letting me have this," I said back. She broke the hug and then the group set off.

"See you Kate" Lilly said. I raised my hand slightly to wave goodbye. Humphrey patted my shoulder as he passed me and dad gave me a simple nod. After everyone left I turned back to the room. The heart rate monitor continued to beep as the air kept being pumped into him. I still couldn't believe he was in a state to where he couldn't breathe on his own. Slowly I walked into the room and shut the curtain behind me and then sat in the chair after dimming the lights.

"I'm here Rick… just like you were for me… I'm not going anywhere… I'll stay right here until you wake up… I'll be here" I whispered as I started crying again. "Please… wake up… if you can hear me then please wake up… wake up" I sobbed. I did this quietly for some time. "I love you… I love you so much, and when you wake up… things are gonna get better I promise… if you can hear me just know… I love you Rick… I love you… I love you, I love you, I love you… I love you so much… I love you so much" I sobbed silently into his arm as I leaned in the chair. Not long after that, without even realizing it I had cried myself to sleep.