Thanks so much for all of your reviews!

There was a question about the events of the last chapter that I feel I should clarify. It regarded Alan's awakening and why he was 'ignored' by Jeff, Scott and Quaid.

Alan's awakening was rather harsh. Physically and mentallyhe couldn't move. Being bombarded with information like 'you're in hospital' and instructions like 'just relax, don't move', from a patient's perspective, can be very frightening. Combine that with the memory loss, and you have one very stressed person. In these circumstances, when the patient becomes visibly upset, your first response is to try to calm them down, sometimes by restraining them (especially if they're likely to hurt themselves). Understandably, this cannot be very calming for Alan. Amidst trying to sort out his jumbled thoughts and memories, the sudden concern for his friend and the physical shock, Alan is scared and confused as to why the people around him won't listen to him. This causes him to panic and fight back, increasing the trauma to himself.

From Jeff, Scott and Quaid's perspective, they know that Alan is upset and they know the damage that could be caused, so their first reaction is to calm him. They understand his confused ramblings to be a result of trauma, and so quieting him is the only thing they can do. Because the scene was written from Alan's perspective, it appeared that they were ignoring him, as Alan's hysteria and paranoia dominated his thought processes. Alan's inability to calm himself from such a state results in his body effectively giving out.

This chapter will makes things clearer, but hopefully my explianation has helped. I'm hopeless at explaining such things! Nevertheless, if anybody has questions, I will try to answer them.

Boann

Fermat was officially bored. His bruising was aching and he had nothing to take his mind off it. It was now well into the night and his father had fallen asleep in his chair, his chin resting on his chest and his glasses wobbling precariously on the end of his nose.

It was the perfect opportunity; one that Alan would use. Just a shuffle over to the edge of the bed and a few steps and he'd be able to see his best friend. He bit his lip and slowly slid to the side. His body protested against every movement, as did the voice in his head. You're not allowed! Don't take the risk! You'll get into trouble! Fermat silently cursed himself when he paused, hanging over the side of the bed. He couldn't...Alan had been right all along. He didn't have the courage to take risks. He couldn't even get out of bed to see if his friend was all right.

"Fermat, what are you doing?"

Fermat looked up to see Scott in the doorway. Guiltily he carefully maneuvered himself back into bed. Brains still slept. "I just wanted to…" he ceased stammering when he saw Scott's disheveled face. Some was wrong. "How is Alan?" Fermat tentatively asked.

Scott approached and sat down on the side of the bed. "He woke up a little while ago," he said.

Fermat's eyebrows rose. "That's great!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah," Scott murmured half heartedly. Fermat wondered if he was keeping his voice down because of Brains or because he was upset. "It took a while for him to recognise us. He was in a lot of pain, I think. He was scared and confused and…"

Fermat wasn't going to allow Scott to trail off. "Then what?"

"He started to panic. I think he felt smothered. He couldn't remember the accident. The doctor doesn't think he was delusional, but it was clear that he was upset. We couldn't calm him down and he passed out. The doctor tried to give him oxygen to help but it didn't make any difference" Scott told him.

"Wh…wh…Is he going to be f…f…all right?" Fermat stuttered.

"The doc's running a few more tests now. Dad's in a mess," Scott said with an even softer voice.

"You don't look so g…g…wonderful yourself," Fermat said ina n attempt to console his friend.

Scott rubbed his face with both hands. "God!" he hissed. "I've never seen him like that Fermat. Never! He must have been petrified. He was asking for you," he added as an after thought.

"Really?" Fermat's heart soared. "What did he say?"

Scott shook his head. "Nothing coherent."

Fermat's excitement deflated like a balloon.

Scott gave a ragged sigh. "Well, I'd better get back to Dad before he wears a hole in the floor with his pacing."

"Scott," Fermat offered a weak smile. "He'll be f…f…okay. Will you t…t…inform me when the test results come back?"

Scott nodded and left without another word.

It's going to be ok, Fermat told himself. Alan's just creating a little drama, that's normal.

But despite these self reassurances, the desire to get out of bed and see his friend grew stronger than ever.

TBTBTBTBTBTB

Scott returned to an anticpated sight. Jeff paced in front of the doors to Radiology, his brow creased. He looked up as Scott hesitantly approached. Scott saw the lines of tiredness etched across his father's face. "Dad…"

Jeff interrupted him, obviously not in the mood for his son's speech of concern. "He should be out soon."

Scott didn't have the energy to revert the subject and start an argument, so he murmured, "Good."

"I've called home and put them in the picture," Jeff told him.

Home! How could he have forgotten?

"How's Fermat?" Jeff questioned

"Physically, he looked exhausted. I don't think he's slept. I think he's too worried about Alan. I caught him sneaking out of bed, presumably to come and find him," Scott told him.

His father massaged his brow. "Two peas in a pod," he murmured. "It's scary how much Alan is rubbing off on that kid."

Scott smiled. "Yeah, it sure is worrying," he attempted to joke.

His smile immediately disappeared as the doors opened and Dr Quaid approached them.

Jeff spun around to follow Scott's gaze. "How is he?" he asked.

"Good news," said Quaid. "No sign of damage or bleeding. But it's obvious the trauma of his injuries is taking its toll. Alan woke up again during the scan but he was very groggy."

"He didn't have another panic attack?" Scott confirmed.

The doctor shook his head.

"Could his lethargy be a sign of complications, like internal bleeding?" asked Jeff.

"That possibility did occur to me, but after running a thorough examination and finding no such evidence, I'm confident it is simply stress," Quaid explained. "Don't worry, I'm not about to turn a blind eye just yet. I'll be keeping a very close watch over him."

"Can we see him?" asked Scott, slightly pleading.

Quaid nodded. "He's been taken back to ICU so he can be closely monitored."

"Thank you," said Scott, as he and his father took off at a jog towards the elevators.