Just thought I'd mention a random piece of information for you, that Jennifer's doctor's name is based on Shane from A Walk to Remember, one of my favorite books (haven't seen the movie, though) and Riggs is borrowed from my favorite medicine show, Strong Medicine, in which the main nurse, Peter Riggs, is HOT! Josh Coxx. But you already knew that, didn't you, Rosablasifann08? LOL.

Chapter 18

After what seemed like forever, a nurse came out and consulted her clipboard. "Jennifer Cohen?" she asked.

Mark stood up so swiftly that Stephanie jumped. "Is she OK?" he asked.

"Come with me, please," the nurse said, and Mark's heart sank. This couldn't be good. He, Stephanie, and Roger followed her down a long, white hallway.

It was the walk of doom, or so it felt. Stephanie and Mark clung to each other for moral support, and Roger walked close beside them. Nobody said a word.

"You can go in," the nurse said, when they reached Jennifer's room, which was at the very end of the hall, close to the E.R. Doctors and nurses rushed in and out of every room, but not Jennifer's; there was nothing more they could do for her at this point.

Roger gently grasped Mark by his shoulders and pulled him over to a chair. "Sit down," Roger said firmly. Mark nodded and obeyed.

He looked long and hard at Jennifer through his crystal blue eyes, which were softer than normal from stress. There was gauze pads covering part of her entirely black and blue face, and a large bandage encircled her head. Her left arm was encased in a white cast. A sheet was covering her up to her chin, so they couldn't see her body; but Roger, Stephanie, and Mark knew, beneath it, her body was much worse.

Mark pulled his chair close to her bed and took her hand. Jennifer's hands were the only part of her that wasn't damaged. Her hands, normally warm, were uncharacteristically cold.

A doctor knocked on the door and came in. "Hi," he said, "I'm Doctor Shane Riggs, Jennifer's main physician."

"Is she gonna be OK?" Mark asked, looking pleadingly at the doctor. "Just tell us she's gonna be OK."

"She lost a lot of blood at the scene," Doctor Riggs began. "She was lucky to get here alive."

"OK, I don't want to hear all your fucking negativity," Mark snapped, letting go of Jennifer's hand and standing up. "Just tell me how bad she's hurt and if she's gonna make it out of here alive."

"Mr. Cohen, please sit down," Doctor Riggs said to him. "I know this is very difficult for you, but the sooner I finish here, the sooner I'll let you and your friends here be alone with Jennifer."

After a moment of Mark staring angrily at Doctor Riggs, he sat down and listened intently to what the doctor had to say. Doctor Riggs silently thanked him for cooperating and continued.

"Jennifer was hit on the driver's side door by a woman who ran a stop sign. The woman was not wearing her seatbelt and was ejected upon impact. Somebody 'up there' must be watching out for Jennifer, though, because her blood pressure was zero at one point and she had no pulse when the EMT's arrived. She was revived and brought here, where she was treated for a broken arm, broken leg, cracked skull, three broken ribs, and many cuts and bruises. Jennifer is also in a coma."

Mark sank back in his chair and put his face in his hands to hide more tears, but he didn't interrupt. The doctor's face fell to one hundred percent sympathetic before he continued.

"As you probably know, comas as very tricky to deal with, especially if they are not medically induced and controlled. If Jennifer doesn't wake up within 24—"

"24 hours, we know, we get it," Mark snapped. "What will happen to her if she doesn't wake up before then?"

"Then the possibility of irreparable brain damage arises, since even simply getting knocked unconscious causes the brain to swell," Doctor Riggs said. "Her swelling has gone down, which is a very good sign. If she does wake up within the 24 hours, however, we will do tests to see what she remembers and test her movements and fine motor skills. However, due to the head trauma she received, I cannot guarantee she will remember who any of you are, nor know where she is or what happened. We can only find that out when she wakes up."

"You say 'when'," Mark said, noticing this. "So you know she will, then?"

"I don't know, Mr. Cohen," Doctor Riggs said. "We can only hope and pray that she does. But there's something else you should know."

Mark looked up. "What?" he asked.

"Jennifer is two months pregnant."

Mark didn't speak for several moments. He was positively stunned. He leaned his head back against the wall, feeling miserable. "Wow… thank you, Doctor," he said, when he finally found his voice.

Doctor Riggs gave Mark a small smile, shook Mark's hand and gave his final sympathies, and then left.

Mark heaved a heavy sigh and swallowed. "Pregnant again," he echoed, his voice cracking. "Why the hell didn't Jen tell me?"

"I think she might have been trying to," Stephanie said honestly to Mark. "That night when you two separated…"

Mark sent Stephanie a glare, but he realized she was entirely right. "Wow," he said. "How is— how is our baby gonna survive when she's"— he indicated to her comatose form on the bed— "like this?"

"She's not gonna starve to death or anything while she's in a coma, Mark," Roger said. "You know that. They'll do the best they can. She's in good hands here."

"I can't lose both of them, Rog," Mark said, as he sobbed into his hands. "I just can't."

"And you won't," Stephanie said firmly, sitting next to him and putting her arms around his very tense shoulders, "as long as you just have faith, OK?"

Mark looked up. "If you don't mind me asking, Steph," he said, "what is it with you and this sudden 'faith' thing? You've never come across to me as a Christian."

"Mark!" Roger said sharply.

Stephanie was surprised by the personal question, but not at all offended. She shrugged. "I just try," she said. "That's all we can do. Come on, let's get sleeping bags or something and try to rest. It's late."

Mark swallowed again and nodded. "OK," he said, and he followed her out of the room. They got a sleeping bag for Mark and a roll-away single bed for Stephanie. The three of them were so tired, they fell asleep almost immediately. Throughout the night, Roger and Mark traded off sleeping in the sleeping bag and in the three folding chairs.

When Mark woke up the next morning, it was already one P.M. and Stephanie and Roger were still sleeping. Mark was so stiff from sleeping in the hard folding chairs, he could barely move. But he went over and sat next to Jennifer nevertheless. Jennifer's condition hadn't changed one bit. Mark went over and took her cold hand in his own warm one. He shuddered involuntarily and swallowed before he tried to speak.

"Jennifer," he began in a small voice, "it's Mark. Can you hear me, Baby? Jennifer, I'll do anything to fix what I did to you, the day we separated. Just please wake up, OK? I miss you so much, Baby, and I'm so sorry..."

Mark looked at the clock on the wall. 1:05 P.M. Jennifer's accident had happened shortly before six P.M. the evening before. Mark, Stephanie, and Roger had approximately five hours not to give up hope.

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Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07