Disclaimer: Sue Thomas isn't mine. My OC's are mine, but the rest isn't…

This is my first STFBE fic, I hope I do the characters justice …

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Bobby Manning

I blinked my eyes open and was acutely aware that my faculties weren't all there.

For one thing, I couldn't really feel most of my left side, and my body seemed content to just remain in that position for the rest of my life. To be honest with you, I ached if I moved, so my brain was dead set on agreeing with my body.

"Bobby?" Jack's voice was like a gunshot to my system and I jerked my head around so fast I think I might have given myself whiplash. "You alright, man?"

"Am I in the hospital?"

"Uh-huh." Another voice that I didn't quite recognise, but was familiar. "You alright, Bobby?" I nodded mutely, still unsure of who exactly was talking to me. "Son, are you sure you're okay?"

"Mum?" My head whipped around the other way and I looked at her blurred and shaking form. "I-I'm alright-"

"Good." A warm body enveloped me and I felt my mother's arms wrap tight around my body. "Bobby I thought-" She sounded as though she was crying.

I wish my eyes would focus properly.

"You thought?"

"Well when Jack called us and said…" She sounded as though she couldn't carry on. Like carrying on would make it real.

"Said what?"

"I said you were nearly dead, Bob, because you were." I blinked a couple more times and my eyes de-fuzzed. "I thought you were gone, man." He looked as though he'd been crying too.

"God, how long was I out?" I looked around and down at my hands.

"Five days. We never thought you were coming back." A third voice was making my head spin now.

"D?" I looked around but I couldn't see him.

"Right here, man." I smiled at the corner his voice was emanating from and tried to sit up. He was bent over, tying his shoe as I finally saw him. He got up and stood at the foot of my bed.

"Well?"

I looked at them, expecting they would know exactly what I was on about and be able to tell me they'd caught the bastard that'd put me in here. None of them were smiling, which threw me a little.

"Well?" Stretching my neck to emphasise my point was quite painful, but it had to be done. "Somebody tell me something…" Then I realised exactly why they weren't saying a thing. "You've not got them, have you?" Jack frowned slightly and shook his head. "Damn, man, what've you been doing while I've been in here? Sitting reading magazines?"

"Well, I think Lucy might have-"

"Very funny." I huffed and crossed my arms, then looked around. "When can I get out of here?"

"Don't know, man, but you look like you're gonna be here a bit longer." Jack smiled, but when he saw my expression, it quickly turned into a jovial smirk, "Well, at least you'll miss out on Myles' most irritating quirks, eh, D?"

"Oh, he's decided now that chewing gum is out to get him, Bobby," Dimitrius looked at me and I could see the sparkle in his eyes. "Lucy and Tara have been collecting gum wrappers for the past week. He'll find them in every single file he opens…" I was grinning before he had even finished his sentence, "probably for the rest of his career."

Our laughter petered back out into standard conversation and we continued with the boring how's-the-family conversation, until Jack pulled his cell put of his pocket and looked at it for a long minute.

"Mrs. Manning?" He looked up at Mum and she nodded at him. "You wanted me to take you to the airport?"

"Please, Jack." She nodded and I looked over at her.

"You're not leaving already, Mum?" I looked at her, "Surely?"

"Not just yet. Someone's coming in to see you tonight, Bob…" She smiled at me and I felt a lot stronger all of a sudden. Who was it? I could only wonder, but I was excited. It could have been anyone, and I honestly would have been excited to see them. My life wasn't particularly… exciting at the moment, so I'd take the bloke-from-down-the-road-who-always-seemed-pissed-and-never-wore-a-shirt right now.

My life had been lonely, I have so say, since Darcy had left me.

I was looking for someone new, but wasn't holding out any hope.

How fucking wrong could I be?

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A/N : Well that was chapter 2... I'll hopefully update soon…

Please review and let me know what you think…

xxx