MONDAY 10: 24 AM -SACRED HEART HOSPITAL
Piper Halliwell sits chewing her fingernails nervously. Why did I ever let Chris go on that field trip? With that manic loose out there? What am I going to do if I lose him?
She eyes her gold watch for the millionth time. Why don't these doctors hurry and tell me what's going on?
Magic could have avoided a lot of all of this and could have had Chris up and running in no time. But it was not the way he chose to go. After Chris accidentally killed Leo when he was 13...
Of course, they could still see Leo as much as they wanted to but not mortally. Leo told Chris it was okay. But Chris never did forgive himself and swore magic of. Till today, Piper hadnt realized just how much Chris really did mean it.
A middle aged doctor walks into the waiting room. He is wearing green scrubs, a paper mask and a plastic cap.
His scrubs aren't bloody, that's a good sign. Piper thinks.
She gets up as the doctor walks to her.
"Are you here for Chris Halliwell?" The doctor asks in a rhythmic pleasant voice slipping the paper mask down.
Piper nods scrambling for words. "Is he? Is he?"
The doctor smiles warmly. "He should be fine. He's up in the ICU resting."
"Can I go see him?"
"He's asleep but I do think he'll be fine. He was very lucky."
Piper hoops her big red purse on her shoulder. "Can you tell me where the ICU is?"
The doctor nods. "I'll have a nurse take you to there. Do you happen to know who Courtney is?"
Piper shakes her head. "No, why?"
The doctor shrugs. "Probably nothing. It's just that he kept calling her name when he woke up in the ER."
SAME DAY -UP IN THE ICU
Chris lays in a bed literally 'wired'. Plastic tubes run up and down his arms and mysteriously creepy machines make beeping and hissing noises.
His eyes are closed, his face bruised and a white bandage wraps the upper half of his head. Though they're hardly visible, Chris's eyes are closed.
"Oh my poor boy!" Piper cries dramatically.
"It probably looks worse than it really is." The nurse explains.
Piper walks to Chris's side and gingerly takes his hand. It's cold and limp as is the rest of his body.
Mud is still caked in his arms and hands. Piper's never felt this scared and wobbly. And more than ever she wishes Leo was still here if only to have someone hold her and tell her it's going to be okay.
"I'll leave you two alone." The nurse says walking out.
Piper hears her voice but somehow her brain just doesn't click and she completely ignores the woman.
She cries on Chris's hand feeling more alone than ever. Then, she settles on the red chair putting her purse next to her feet and deciding to stay here for the night.
Piper goes over the doctor's word in her mind. Why had he said Chris 'should' be fine? Why didn't he say 'will' be fine?
TUESDAY 6:02PM -SACRED HEART HOSPITAL
Piper just got out of work and she's right back at the hospital. She hasn't been home since she left in a hurry when she received a call from the police saying that her son had been injured by a murdered in Hightrails.
The elevator takes her up to the fifth floor and she steps out nervously fingering her belt hoping and praying Chris's awake and okay.
She arrives at Chris's ICU room expecting to see him as she had the night before. She felt like this was all a horrible nightmare and she'd soon wake up screaming in her bed. But she'd been waiting to wake up since yesterday and it hasn't happened.
She pushes the door open to find an empty room.
"Chris?" She calls as if somehow Chris was hiding somewhere.
Piper runs down the hall and back to the elevator ready to choke an explanation out of the first doctor she saw.
"Where's my son?" She yells at the lobby's desk.
"What's his name?" The nurse asks calmly. She has obviously been screamed at by many other moms.
"Chris Halliwell."
The nurse types in on her computer. "He's been moved down from the ICU to the recuperation rooms in the teen wing."
"So he's better?"
"It seems so,"
"Thanks," Piper says walking away a bit embarrassed and feeling as if the whole lobby is staring at her.
She walks to the teen wing's desk to check in as a visitor.
The nurse at that station eyes her suspiciously. "You a reporter?" He asks.
Piper shakes her head. "No, I'm his mother." She says showing him some ID.
"Sorry, he's sort of the hospital's celebrity. Many reporters have shown up to see him, but don't worry we've kept them out."
"Thanks,"
The nurse nods, "Sure," He eyes a list as he jots down Piper's name. "His sister was in to see him today."
"His sister?" Piper asks confused. "He doesn't have a sister."
The nurse checks the list with a puzzled look. "No? Really? That's funny. It's says right here she did. Must be some kind of mistake." He smiles shortly. "Anyways, your son is in room 165."
Piper nods taking her ID from him. Though it is suspicious that Chris had a nonexistent sister visit him, she's wants to see him more than she wants to play detective so she thanks the nurse and walks to Chriss room.
MONDAY -SACRED HEART HOSPITAL
"Chris?, honey?" Piper stands over his bed smoothing his hair backward.
Chris opens his eyes. His nose filled with his mother's expensive perfume.
"Mom," He says.
"Are you alright?" She asks. "I was so scared, I can't believe that man was in the mountain of all places."
She hugs him again. "I'm so sorry about your friend I'm just so glad it wasn't you."
"My friend? What do you mean?" Chris asks still groggy.
She pulls back and looks into Chris's eyes. "Oh Chris I'm so sorry. Your friend died in the mountain. The paramedics couldn't do anything about it."
"What?" Chris asks alarmed. That last flash from the mountain, had Courtney been dying when he saw her? Was that it?
"Mrs. Halliwell, I need you to sign some papers." An old nurse says from the door.
Piper nods. "Very well," She turns back to Chris. "I'm sorry baby. Try to sleep some more okay. You've had a tough week." She walks away with the nurse.
Chris sits in his bed motionlessly.
"Courtney died." He whispers incredulously.
All his efforts to save her, the poem, the trip, the cautions, it had all meant nothing. Things had only turned out worse. Courtney didn't kill herself, she was murdered.
Chris bites his lip and tries to push tears back. He looks up and tries to blink them away. They roll down his cheeks anyways.
It wasn't that he felt responsible though he did. But there was something else, he really liked her. Sure she insulted him almost most of the time, but still she didn't deserve what happened.
Between tears and sobs Chris's drifts away back to sleep.
TUESDAY 3:45PM -SACRED HEART HOSPITAL
"You here for Chris Halliwell right?"
"Yes," Piper answers to the nurse at the check-in desk.
The nurse's grave face turns puzzled. "His sister went in to see him earlier."
"What sister?"
"The list just says it was his sister."
"Well did you see her? What does she look like?"
The nurse shakes his head. "I'm sorry but she came in before my shift started. In fact, according to this list, his 'sister' goes in to see him every day at exactly 10:00AM. Would you like me to ban her?"
Piper shakes her head. "No, it's probably just one of his friends."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, why not."
WEDNESDAY MORNING 10:00 AM -JERRY'S HOSPITAL ROOM
"Hello?" ,"Chris?", "Hey, rich boy."
"WAKE UP!!"
Chris opens his eyes to find Courtney banging a spoon on the wall.
"Courtney?" He says not believing his eyes.
"Hi, I ate your roll, hope you don't mind."
Chris notices a tray of food on his bedside table. Of course he doesn't mind she ate his roll, she is alive.
"I thought you died."
She shrugs, "Well, I can't say you don't have bizarre thoughts." She smiles. "Sorry about your friend."
"My friend? Who are you talking about?"
"Tom, they found him dead in the cabin. His head was cracked open." She shakes her head angrily. "And you know what? His parents didn't even come, they sent the maid. And she was crying." Courtney looks down like she actually feels sorry for Tom. "When she saw Tom's body she put a banana in his hand."
"A banana?"
"Yeah, I don't know why. I just thought it was sweet."
Chris takes her hand. She gets up from the bed and walks to the foot of the bed.
"Shit! Look at me. This whole mountain thing turned me into a softy."
Chris smiles. It is sad Tom died, but he's so glad it wasn't Courtney. "Don't worry, you'll always be a mean bitch to me."
Courtney's fingers play with his sheets. "Thanks," She says looking up.
A nurse pushes the door open. "Oh God, there she is." She walks in the room smiling at Chris.
"Miss Wright you can't be walking around like that, you're going to rip your stitches. How can you even get up?"
"Pain killers," Courtney answers shrugging. "Lots of them."
The nurse rolls her eyes. "Miss Wright, your aunt and her boyfriend are here to see you."
"Can you tell them to go to hell?" Courtney asks.
The nurse's eyebrows soar high in her forehead. "I'm afraid that's not possible. And would you please stay in your room, the other patients need their rest unlike you."
Courtney walks out. "Fine, but I don't get how they can sleep all day and still need more sleep. They're not babies you know…"
Her voice fades away as she walks down the hall complaining to the nurse.
Chris smiles. When this is all behind, he's going to ask her to go out with him. She'll probably laugh at him the first hundred times, but she might come around after that. It was her courage, after all, not to mention insanity had saved them all in the forest (well, everyone except Tom.)
WEDNESDAY MORNING 10:15AM -DR. FLINT'S OFFICE
Adrian sits in Dr. Flint's waiting room. In front of him sits a girl. She wears a mini skirt, pink boots, and big red bow on her hair. From an 80's point of view, she looks good.
Adrian considers talking to her, but decides against it. Not only because his father is sitting next to him (he refuses to leave his side ever since the mountain incident.) but because the girl would just run away scared as soon as she found the truth about him. So why bother?
Dr. Flint's door opens and she motions for Adrian and the girl to come in.
"Both of us?" Adrian asks.
Dr. Flint nods.
They shrug and go in leaving Adrian's dad waiting in the waiting room by himself.
Dr. Flint signals them to sit. They do.
"I bet you're both wondering why were having this little party here today." She says waving her hands up.
Adrian and the girl nod.
Dr. Flint rests her elbows on the table and says. "Would you two look at each other. Don't you think the other one is beautiful?"
"Uh… sure." the girl says in a deep voice. Adrian just nods.
"What if I told you the other one isn't who he or she appears to be?"
"Huh?"
"Adrian is a girl," She says to the girl. "Charlie is a boy," She says to Adrian.
"I know I'm supposed to be confidential. It's just the stories I heard from both of you are the same one. I thought you'd maybe want to talk to each other about it. Say how you feel." She looks at them hoping she's done the right thing. "And if you don't like the idea, either of you can walk out the room right now." She says slamming a palm against her messy desk.
Neither Adrian nor Charlie get up.
"Is that a 'yes we'll try'?"
Adrian answers first, "I - I'd love to," He says slowly.
Charlie turns to Adrian. "Me too,"
Dr. Flint giggles excited, a wave of relief washing over her. "Oh thank God, I was so afraid you two would, you know."
"I'll provide with the topic," Dr. Flint says waving her fears away. At that moment the phone rings. "Oh, gotta get that." She says making a hand gesture.
She picks up the phone, "Hello?"
Dr. Flint listens for a second. She gasps, "Oh God, the poor thing."
She shakes her head. "No, no I'll be right there. Tell her I'm on my way."
Adrian and Charlie stare at Dr. Flint wondering what that was all about.
Dr. Flint frowns getting up and grabbing her coat. "I am so sorry, but I have to leave. One of my patients needs me urgently. You can stay in my office and talk or go home. I'll call you both and set up an appointment tonight." She yells as she leaves the room.
Adrian and Charlie are left alone in the room. Adrian turns to Charlie, "Hi," He says and smiles awkwardly. She looks at him shyly and offers him her hand. "Hi,"
Adrian shakes Charlie's hand and she smiles back.
WEDNESDAY 10:22AM -SACRED HEART HOSPITAL
"Get them out of here!" Nurse Caldwell screams.
The security officers place handcuffs on Anne Wright and Zed Hunt. They take them away by force pushing their way through clouds of curious patients and staff.
"I'll make you pay for this!" Zed screams to Courtney.
"I wanna see you try!" She yells back as he's been taken away.
"Call child services." One of the cops tells nurse Caldwell who was the one to also place a call to Courtney Wright's psychologist, Dr. Flint.
Chris sees what's happening from the door of his room. First he'd heard some slamming and screaming. He went to his door to find nurses rushing to Courtney's room, they dragged a man and a woman out, both kicking and screaming and cursing.
Courtney was angry too. She yelled at both of them saying that they had killed her brother and that they should go to hell.
Nurses, doctors, patients and security officers and even reporters crowded the hall in no time.
The police where now taking the crazy couple away and Courtney stood in her doorway breathing hard.
Nurses and doctors shoo patients and reporters away till the hall is emptied.
A red blood stain in the side of Courtney's hospital gown grows in size in front of Chris's eyes.
"Oh honey, you ripped your stitches." The nurse says.
Courtney's got a faraway look in her eyes. She doesn't answer. Then her face screws up and she breaks down crying covering her face with both hands.
Nurse Caldwell takes Courtney in her arms and leads her back inside the room slamming the door after her.
Minutes later a doctor wearing a white lab coat carrying a suture kit goes in the room accompanied by a pretty, brunette woman with a badge hanging from her neck. "Dr. Linda S. Flint." Chris reads wishing he could go in the room, but still frightened by the sight of Courtney Wright -the toughest girl, queen bitch nominee for three years in a row- crying like she had.
WEDNESDAY 10:35AM -COURTNEY WRIGHT'S ROOM
Dr. Huala works on Courtney's belly trying to concentrate on doing a good job instead of listening Dr. Flint's sweet voice.
Courtney wipes her eyes with wads of tissues and Dr. Flint smothers her hair back.
"I'm gonna be a damn foster kid." Courtney sobs.
Dr. Flint frowns. "Courtney don't say it like that. It's not a bad thing, it's a good thing. You'll get better parents, people who deserve you. Why are you so scared of that?"
"I don't know, I mean, as bad as Aunt Anne is she's the last link I have to my family."
"Courtney, it's not okay to cry yourself to sleep every night. Child services has already been called and honestly, I'm not going to intervene this time and I'm not going to stop them."
"But I…"
"What? Do you expect me to let you keep on like this when I know all the crap you've been putting up with? I can almost say that I was waiting for this to happen, Courtney. Can't you see those people are hurting you?"
Courtney looks away ashamed by her own stupidity. Tears rolling down her cheeks. "I don't want to talk to you right now."
"Courtney please, don't push me away." Dr. Flint takes Courtney hand.
Courtney yanks her hand away. "Leave me alone!" She screams. "Both of you, get out of here!" She yells talking to the doctor as well. Her eyes go mad red pouring with tears and her voice goes up to a deep furious scowl.
Dr. Huala looks up. "I have to finish here, you'll bleed out otherwise."
"Get out!" Courtney screams pushing him away. Hot tears roll down her eyes. She takes a tray with her right hand, pain shots up through her side. She winces, but too mad to care she shoves the tray of food to the wall. The Styrofoam tray hit's the wall, mashed potatoes stick it to the wall for a second and then it fall splashing thick gravy all over the floor.
Dr. Huala runs out the room. "We need help here!" He scream.
By when he comes back a small float of orderlies is following him.
Dr. Flint tries to calm Courtney down. She tries to take Courtney's hand, but Courtney jumps up in her bed and pushes Dr. Flint to the floor while screaming madly and commanding her to leave.
The orderlies run to restrain Courtney. They're a small group of young men in white scrubs. One of them fills a syringe with a clear fluid from a tiny glass bottle and hands it to Dr. Huala. The others move to Courtney swiftly with straight, almost bored, faces already reaching out to Courtney's dangling arms and legs as if they'd handled an crisis like this one too man times. Soon they've got Courtney down. Their big warm hands hold her ankles and wrist as they open their way for Dr. Huala to come through with the magic liquid. She keeps screaming and convulsing as if trying to copy the girl from one of the Exorcist's movies.
"No! let me go!" She screams hatefully.
Dr. Huala takes the syringe from one of the orderlies and stabs Courtney's leg with it.
Courtney screams. Her voice feels raspy and her body aches. Her head feels wobbly and her eyelids heavy. The kicking stops as her energy slips away.
Her body twitches a little and she takes quick ragged breaths. The whole world is drained of its color as it spins round and round and a sick empty feeling fills her stomach.
One of the orderlies holding Courtney's left wrist makes soothing noises and places his huge hand over her forehead. "Calm down." He says in a gooey voice.
Courtney opens and closes her mouth trying to ask what's wrong with her body but nothing other than soft squeals comes out. She looks like a fish out of water, slowly wasting away.
She sees Dr. Flint stand horrified in a corner of the room and then her eyes close and then everything goes off.
WEDNESDAY 2:00PM -CHRIS'S ROOM
"When are you coming out?" Brooke asks.
Chris shrugs. "By the end of the week maybe."
"Tom's funeral is on Friday." Sebastian says sadly. "It's all over school, we're like celebrities."
Brooke leans closer to Chris, "Especially you and Courtney, you two are like heroes. How's she doing by the way? I tried to see her, but they wouldn't let me."
Chris shakes his head. "She's not doing so great."
"Is she still unconscious. We saw her back at the mountain. She died for a couple of seconds you know. We thought both of you would die." Sebastian says.
"Oh no, she's awake and crazy." Chris says. "She woke me up yesterday banging a spoon to the wall."
"She keeps doing that." Brooke says. "So what's wrong with her then?"
Chris shakes his head. "I'm not sure. It's her family you know. She had a really bad fight with her Aunt today, they even called the police and all." He looks in the direction of Courtney's room. "And then I heard her screaming."
They all look down quietly and then Chris adds. "And you know that guy in the mountain?"
Brooke and Sebastian nod.
"He wanted to kill her more than us. Like they knew each other from somewhere."
Brooke digs in her giant purse. "Yeah and look at this." She says showing him the front page of yesterday's newspaper.
"Fieldtrip Turned to Nightmare: two hurt, one dead." The headline reads and then underneath there are pictures of the whole fieldtrip group getting off the bus. The pictures are marked with a bold black marker. Arrows are drawn pointing at objects like purses, boots and Courtney's yellow cookie jar.
"What was in that cookie jar anyway?" He asks Brooke.
Brooke shrugs. "I don't know, she said if I touched it she'd kill me so I never did."
Sebastian puts his arms around Brooke and she giggles.
"You two together?" Chris asks.
They nod.
"About time."
"What do you mean?"Brooke asks.
"Nothing."
"We gotta go, we've got loads of homework. Do you need us to bring you anything?"
"No, I've got a bunch of nurses here for me 24/7."
Sebastian grins, "Hey maybe I can bring my new laptop tomorrow and you can play a few games in it."
"You got yourself a new laptop?"Chris asks.
"No, my dad got it. He felt bad about all that's happened so he said 'heck, I don't know how to make you feel better so here.' and he gave me the laptop. It's great I'll bring it over tomorrow."
"See ya," Sebastian says waving. His arms possessively tight around Brooke.
Chris waves his friends goodbye wondering if they decided to get together before or after they found about Tom's death. Chris's mind goes back to that moment in the forest. They had all stayed willing to help Courtney. Funny how the guy who worried most about his life is the one who ended up losing it.