A/n: Here's Chapter 12. I'm thinking I have about 4 more chapters left. I'm not too sure. It could be less it could be more, we'll have to see.

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

Tiny droplets of rain fell from the dark, New York City sky as Ben and Abigail finally exited Trinity Church. The horde of emergency vehicles and on-lookers had dissipated down to nothing, which the treasure hunter was grateful for. He didn't want to be bombarded by reporters wanting to get the inside story on the events that unfolded inside the church. He just wanted to go see Riley. Make sure he was ok; apologize for everything that happened to him in the past few days and most of all tell him that….

"Ben?" Abigail's Saxony-German accent shattered the thoughts of the treasure hunter. "You know visiting hours are long over, right? They're probably not going to let us in."

"They're going to let us in," Ben argued. "I will not leave that hospital so long as Riley's in it." A determined expression masked the features of the historian, his pace quickened and Abigail knew what was going through his mind. She jogged ahead of him and stood in his path causing the look of determination to shift to annoyance.

"Ben, what happened to Riley wasn't your fault," She insisted. "Ian did this to him, ok? There was nothing you could've done to stop this."

"Yes there was. If I didn't tell him to stay behind, Ian would've—"

"Ian would've shot us all down there and left us for dead." Abigail finished very matter-of-factly. Ben let out a frustrated sigh.

"Look, Abby, I don't have time for this," The treasure hunter walked past Abigail in the direction of the hospital. "Riley needs me. I can't let him down again."

"Excuse me?"

The nurse at the reception desk in the main lobby of "New York's finest hospital" looked up from her issue of Cosmo, giving Ben and Abigail a look that read 'I really don't want to deal with you right now.'

"What can I help ya with?" She had a Brooklyn accent as thick as her glasses.

"We, uh, are looking for the room of a Mr. Riley Poole." Ben informed her.

"I'm sorry, sir," Her eyes focusing on the pages of Cosmo as she spoke. "But visiting hours are over."

Ben slammed his hand down on the top of the desk, "Look, Lady I—"

"I'll take it from here, Ben," Abigail intervened before the situation got ugly. She patted Ben's shoulder as a gesture for him to move out of the way and let her handle things. Reluctantly, the treasure hunter obeyed, crossing his arms and pouting like a child the whole way.

"We have special permission from the FBI to be here," Abigail explained. "I believe a Mr. Peter Sadusky was going to inform you about that?"

The expression on the Brooklyn nurse turned thoughtful. "Oh, yes. Debbie was telling me somthin' about that before her shifted ended. You must be, uh…" The nurse put down her magazine and reached for a hot pink post-it on the top left corner of her computer screen. "…Benjamin Gates and Abigail Chase?"

"Yes," Abigail nodded. "That's us."

"Ok, who was yous two lookin' for again?" The nurse readied her fingers on the keyboard.

"Riley Poole." Ben spat out impatiently, getting a 'what the hell is your problem?' glare from Abigail in response. The treasure hunter rolled his eyes and looked away, as the sound of acrylic nails met the plastic key board.

"Mr. Poole has just gotten outta surgery," The nurse read off the screen. She scrolled down the page a bit. "He's in ICU room 1776 on the 3rd floor." Brooklyn leaned over and over and grabbed two visitors' passes that had been put off to the side by Debbie earlier that evening. She handed them both to Abigail. "Stay as long as you'd like."

"Thank You." Abigail replied with a gracious nod and smile. She turned to face Ben, who was already half way to the elevator. Dr. Chase expelled an exasperated sigh as she once again found herself jogging to catch up with the overly anxious treasure hunter.

As soon as the elevator reached the desired floor, and the doors opened with a ding, Ben bolted out of the area and headed down the ICU hallway. The treasure hunter glanced at each room he passed. 1758…1759…

"Ben!" Abigail's distant voice came from behind. "Ben, slow down!"

But Ben wasn't about to stop. No, not until he was in Riley's room, right by the techie's side. 1765…1766…

The treasure hunter was getting closer and so his pace quickened to a run. A nurse distributing medicine on the floor came out of one of the rooms, taking Ben by surprise as he nearly collided with her.

"Sorry," Ben called over his shoulder, as he continued forward. 1774…1775…

The treasure hunter came to a halt when he finally reached his destination. Out of breath and breathing hard, Ben entered the room slowly. The only sound coming from the dim hospital room was the steady beeping of the heart monitor. Ben approached the far side of the room gradually. He reached the curtain that divided the room in half and pulled it back. Riley's motionless body lay in the center of the bed, hooked up to all kinds of machines. Ben's heart broke. He moved to the side of the bed, fighting tears all the way, and ran his hand through the chestnut hair of the techie. The gashes on the youngster's head had been stitched up and he wore a cast on his right hand from when he had punched Ian. A ghost of a smile appeared on Ben's face as he recalled the computer geeks heroic attempts, but then the traces of the small smile faded as he recalled what had happened just mere moments after that.

"How is he?"

Ben tore his eyes away from Riley's sleeping form to see Abigail standing at the foot of the bed. He didn't even hear her come in.

"I don't know," The treasure hunter sighed, returning his gaze back to the techie and reaching out to stroke his cheek. Abigail placed a comforting hand on Ben's shoulder.

"He's going to be fine, Ben."

"Yeah…" Came the distant reply. It was obvious the treasure hunter's mind was long gone. Without saying another word, Abigail slunk away to find a nurse and ask about them spending the night.

Not even realizing she had left, Ben pulled up a nearby chair and planted himself next to Riley's bed. This time, neither of them was going anywhere.

A/n: I don't really have anything to say…wow that's a first. You'll have to excuse me, my brain's been kinda shot lately, from what, I don't know. All I know is is that all the creative juices in my mind are running dry. But, you know I think some reviews might help me with that problem….