Murray paced the floor waiting for Lou to come in. Joe had just called from the hospital. Mary was unconscious and in intensive care. He and her parents had been there all night. Lou finally came in and hung up his coat.

"Morning Murray." He said

"Lou, I've got some bad news." He said

Lou could tell by his expression that it wasn't good, "What is it?" he looked around and noticed Mary wasn't there, "Where's Mary?"

"That's the bad news," he began, "Lou, she's in the hospital. She was in a bad car accident last night."

Lou couldn't believe it, "She what?" he said sitting in her chair

"She left here last night to go to Joe's. He got back in town yesterday. He just called from the hospital. From what the police could tell, she went around that curve on Nicolette Avenue and her car spun out of control on the wet road and an on coming car's lights obstructed her view. She went off in a ravine."

"Oh my God, is she going to be okay?" Suddenly he felt the room start spinning.

"Murray sat down in his chair, "Well she's in intensive care and unconscious so until she wakes up they don't really know the extent. She hit her head pretty bad and has a couple broken ribs, lots of bruises."

Lou stood up, "Well if Joe or anyone calls from the hospital you make sure I get the call, okay?

"Sure, Lou, whatever you say." He assured him

Lou walked into his office and shut the door. He sat at his desk with his head in his hands. How could he have acted the way he did? Sure he was hurt that Mary told Murray about his night with Sue Ann, but was it really worth ending their friendship over? Mary had always been someone he could trust. A million things went through his mind. He recalled the look on her face when he told her they were no longer friends and how painful it had been the previous night to tell him she wanted to leave. He knew he could hold grudges too long and some people could handle it. How many times had he said mean, insulting things to Ted and Ted always bounced back. But Mary wasn't Ted. Ted was full of himself and had an ego the size of Texas. She truly cared about what others thought of her and he knew she particularly valued his opinion of her. He knew she never truly wanted to hurt him and for him to be disappointed in her wasn't something she could bare. He knew he had to make things right, if she recovered. He couldn't live with himself if he didn't.

The mood was somber in the newsroom the following day. The last they had heard the previous afternoon was that Mary was still unconscious but stable. Lou was so upset he didn't even yell when Ted complained about the towels in his dressing room.

Lou came out of his office, "Hey Murray, can you type this up and get it to Ted?"

"Hi Everybody." Joe Warner entered the newsroom, he looked weary and tired

Murray jumped up, "Hey Joe, how's Mary?"

"Well that's what I came to tell you. She finally came out of it sometime last night. She's gonna be okay, she had a mild concussion but the doc says she'll recover. Her ribs will take a while to heal but she should be able to go home in a couple of days."

"Joe, that's great, just great." Murray said smiling

"I'm glad to hear that, Joe." Lou said

"Listen Lou, after Mary woke up last night we talked for a while and I know you two had some kind of falling out. She told me she wants to find another job but obviously she can't do that right now."

"Look Joe, uh…" Lou began

"Hey, I'm not here to get in the middle of this but I know it would mean a lot to her if you were to stop by and see her, even just for a few minutes. I don't know what happened but that seemed to upset her more than the accident." Joe explained

"Sure Joe, I'll…I'll go see her." Lou assured him

"Great, she's being moved to a regular room sometime today," he paused looking at his watch, "Well, I need to get going. I haven't been to the office since this happened. Her parents are there right now."

"Okay Joe, you let us know if anything changes, will you?" Lou asked

"Of course, I'll talk you all later." Joe said as he exited the newsroom

After the broadcast that night Murray and Ted stopped by the hospital. They walked down the long hallway until they found Mary's room. Joe was there having relieved her parents.

"Hi Joe," Murray said

"Hi, Murray," Joe said standing to shake his hand, "Ted," he said shaking Ted's hand

Ted and Murray turned their attention to Mary, "Hey, Mare." Murray said bending down to give her a kiss on the cheek

She had some bruises and was clearly subdued, "Hi Murray, I'm really glad you guys came."

"Hi Mare, I brought you a little something to cheer you up." Ted said handing her a manila envelope

Mary smiled, "Thank you Ted." She opened the envelope and pulled out an autographed picture of Ted, "Well, how nice."

"Yes, it is. It's one of my new poses." Ted responded

Mary and Murray exchanged a knowing look, "So Mare, they said you can go home in a couple of days. That's terrific."

"Yeah, they said I was really lucky," she paused, "So did Mr. Grant say if he was coming?" Joe hadn't told her he had talked to Lou.

"Oh, I'm sure he'll be here soon," Murray said pausing, "Well, we better get going. You need your rest."

"Oh, okay, I really am glad you came." Mary said

"We'll come back tomorrow and we'll bring you some dinner. I bet you're sick of hospital food, huh?" Murray asked

"That would be great." She was holding back her tears once again

"Good night, Mare." Murray said giving her another kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, Mare, I'll get you a frame for my photo." Ted said heading for the door, "and I really am glad you're okay."

Mary smiled again, "Thanks, Ted."

They both said good bye to Joe and left the room

Mary looked down at her hands fighting back tears. Joe came and sat on the side of the bed and lifted her head with his finger, "Hey, he still may come."

"I know," she said sighing, "You probably think I'm being ridiculous, huh?"

"No, not really. I know how close you are to the people you work with. I just hate to see you so sad." He said

She smiled a broad smile, "Have I told you how wonderful you are?"

Joe pretended to think a minute, "Not in the last five minutes."

She leaned in and he kissed her long and deep

"Excuse me," a familiar voice said

Lou was standing in the doorway. The look on Mary's face was a mix of relief and wariness, "Mr. Grant, thank you for coming by. I appreciate it."

"Well, I uh, I wanted to see how you were doing." He explained then turned to Joe, "Hi Joe. How are you?"

"Better now," he said looking at Mary, "Honey, I'm gonna go check my messages, okay?"

"Okay," she said and he kissed her again before he left

"So, uh, how are you doing?" Lou asked looking down at the floor

"Well, okay considering. I should be back to work next week." Mary said

"Oh, take your time. You come back when you're ready." Lou told her

"Thank you," she said pausing, "I still plan to call channel eight as soon as things settle down."

Lou looked at her and his heart began to melt. She looked so fragile and sad. He imagined one of his own daughters being in a wreck like that, "Mary, I…I don't want you go to channel eight." He said almost mumbling

"What did you say, Mr. Grant?" Mary asked

He spoke louder, "I said, I don't want you go to channel eight," he paused looking down again, "Mary, I'm sorry. I've been a real jerk. I was just so embarrassed about Sue Ann and I know you didn't mean to let it slip to Murray what happened. Can you forgive me for being a complete ass?"

Mary smiled again, "It's forgotten."

Lou smiled back at her, "Good," he sat on the side of the bed, "I've missed you. I mean before the accident. I missed our talks, you know."

Mary nodded, "Friends?"

"You bet." He said giving her a huge hug.