Thanks to MaddieluvsChrisSabin09 & EmmaRose92 who reviewed the last chapter. You guys are the reason that I'm updating. Like before, I own nothing except Benny and Katie.

Chapter 2 – Who's in trouble now?

He reluctantly took his eyes off of her when a sharp pain shot through his head. He cast his mind back to the accident. He couldn't remember much, just the squealing of the car brakes, Katie's screaming and the loud crunch as metal hit metal. That was when everything when blank. Alex shook his head slowly, trying to get rid of the pain. It eased slightly but still lingered, throbbing occasionally. He glanced back at Benny, still sleeping peacefully. She looked so fragile sat by his bedside. She was pale, a lot paler than normal and her usually bright eyes were red and puffy. He sighed before reaching out tentatively with his good arm to touch her long brown hair. It was silky, smooth like normal, but while it usually shone, like her bubbly personality; it seemed duller, almost reflecting the atmosphere around them. Alex stroked her hair again, making her shift slightly to his touch. He froze, not wanting to wake her. Like Chris, Benny wasn't a morning person. Alex had learnt his lesson many times, waking her up early in the morning for no apparent reason. He still had a bruise on his arm from the last time, when he had woken her up at half six one morning by throwing ice cubes at her. She may be small but she was very strong for a girl. He chuckled quietly, remembering the look on her face. Surprised, shocked and angry. Very angry. Benny shifted again on the seat, her arm coming to rest on the edge of the bed, her fingers gripping the bars tightly. Alex looked at the clock on the wall. Ten thirty pm. He had no idea how long he had been in there, but he knew that he didn't want to be in there for ages. He yawned widely and felt pressure on his eyelids, forcing them shut once again. He rebelled against the pressure for a couple of seconds and sneaked one final glance at Benny before succumbing to the darkness yet again. Katie entered Alex's hospital room an hour or so later, carefully waking up Benny by tapping her lightly on the arm until her eyes flickered open.

"What?" she asked grumpily before realising who it was. "What's wrong? Is it Chris?" Katie shook her head.
"No, I came to tell you that I was going home to get some sleep. I can't sleep anywhere like you." she said. Katie needed a nice comfy place to sleep and couldn't settle on the hard hospital chairs. "Do you want to come home with me?" she asked. Benny looked at Alex before answering. She didn't want to leave him, but she thought that, as he was still in an unconscious state that he wouldn't have known that she was there in the first place. Benny was still unaware of the fact that Alex had woken and seen her by his bedside. She looked back at Katie before nodding and slowly getting up to her feet. She lightly held on to Alex's fingers and squeezed them slightly.

"I'll be back later. I promise." She said quietly before following Katie out of the room.

"So how's Chris doing then?" she asked trying to lighten the mood slightly.

"He's doing alright. He's asleep now, that's why I came to find you and ask if you wanted to go. You know how long Chris sleeps for." Benny nodded while Katie continued. "We need to go home anyway. The doctor says Chris can come home tomorrow, but as he'll be on crutches we'll need to pick him up in the car. It just makes more sense to come home and get some rest first." She said, with a smile on her face. Benny tried to match her smile but failed. It was good that Chris was coming home, but it wouldn't be right without Alex. He was the loudest, and was the main cause of noise in the house. Also without Alex, Benny would be on her own. With Chris home, it would mean that Katie would be spending all her time with him, leaving Benny feeling like the odd one out.

"How was Alex? Did he wake up at all?" Katie asked. Benny shook her head sadly.

"No, he was unconscious the whole time. There was a bit of a scare though." She said, shivering slightly, memory flooding back into her head.

"What do you mean?" Katie asked curiously, "A good scare or a bad one?"

"Bad." Benny said, tears floating in her eyes yet again. "We…we nearly lost him." Tears rolled down her cheeks and she started shaking with sobs. Katie put a comforting arm around her and together they walked the short journey back to their house. Katie unlocked the door and led the way in, walking straight into the kitchen to put the kettle on. After making them both a mug of hot chocolate she sat down on the large sofa next to Benny, who was still crying silently.

"Benji? You ok? She asked, worried about her friend. Benny nodded.

"I'm fine. I'm just worried about Alex. What if he doesn't get better? What if … if something else happens and…" she trailed off and more tears flowed out of her eyes. Katie pulled her into a tight hug and comforted her.

"He'll be fine Benny. Don't worry about him. He's a fighter. He'll be out of there in no time."

"I hope so Katie. I… I don't know what I would do without him."

"I know." That was all Katie could say. She was speechless. She knew that Benny and Alex were close but she had no idea that they were that close. Benny suddenly rose from her seat.

"I'm going to go up to bed." She said quietly, "It's been a long day and we've got a lot to do tomorrow." Katie nodded as Benny continued up the stairs. She entered her room and collapsed on the bed, fully dressed, sobbing silently. After a few minutes of crying she fell into a deep sleep. She woke early the next morning. She stumbled off of the bed and realised that she was still wearing the same clothes as the last night. She changed quickly and crossed the hallway to Katie and Chris's room. She knocked on the door quietly, waiting for any sign that would tell her whether Katie was awake or not. After a few seconds of waiting she heard Katie's sleepy voice. She opened the door and sat on the bed next to her.

"So what's the plan for today then?" she asked.

"Well, we've got to pick Chris up this morning sometime, and then as the guys have got some time off cause of their injuries, we've got the rest of the day free to do what we want."

"Oh right. So shall we go and get Chris then?" Benny said. Katie's face lit up and she jumped enthusiastically out of the bed, grabbed her clothes and ran into the bathroom to get ready. Benny smiled at her friend's reaction. Katie was so pleased that Chris was able to come home. She went downstairs and got herself a granola bar out of the cupboard. Katie ran down the stairs minutes later and the two of them got into the car and drove towards the hospital. When they got there Katie went straight to Chris's ward, leaving Benny walking behind her slowly. Katie was so wrapped up in Chris that she wouldn't realise that she was gone. She picked up the pace and walked in the opposite direction towards Alex's room. She hesitated before opening the door and walking in. He was still there, lied down on the bed in an unmoving state, apparently sleeping. Benny studied him carefully. He looked exactly like he had yesterday, cuts and bruises covering his face and arms and his left arm in a sling, but his position had changed. His fingers on his right arm were hanging over the edge of the bed and his face was turned to the right instead of facing the ceiling. Benny ignored that fact and took back her seat at his bedside. She clutched at his fingers again, staring at them. His fingers fitted with hers perfectly. It was as if they were meant to be together. She squeezed his fingers slightly, gasping when she felt her own fingers being squeezed back. She pulled her hand away from his before looking at his face, searching for any sign of consciousness. Her heart stopped momentarily when she saw her reflection in his open, brown eyes.

"Alex?" she said, slowly. She was sure that it was just a hallucination. Surely he couldn't be awake. He had seemed so lifeless just a few minutes ago. Benny closed her eyes waiting for her hallucination to end. She opened them again to see Alex staring back at her, smiling slightly.

"Alex?" she repeated. He continued to smile at her. "Alex! You're awake." She exclaimed, her voice full of surprise and happiness. She jumped off her seat and went to hug him, but stopped when she remembered about all the wires connected to him and the fact that he was bruised all over. She didn't want to hurt him any more.

"Benny," he started slowly and quietly, "you're back."

"What do you mean, I'm back? You've been unconscious ever since you were brought in here." Alex shook his head in disagreement.

"No, I woke up last night when you were asleep. You were sat in the chair next to me." He said, picturing the scene in his head.

"You woke up?" Benny said, "You woke up and you didn't wake me up?" she asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"I didn't want to disturb you. I thought you would be back today anyway. I'm sorry." Benny felt all her angriness fade away with his words.

"Alex, don't be sorry, it's ok. You're awake and that's all that matters." Alex smiled and grasped hold of Benny's hand, squeezing her fingers again.

"How are Chris and Katie?" he asked. After all he wasn't the only one involved in the accident.

"They're fine. Katie's just got a few cuts and bruises and Chris has got a broken leg, a few broken ribs and a headache. He's coming home today. Katie's gone to get him now so I thought that I would come and visit you." Benny said, looking towards the door. Alex noticed what she was looking at.

"Does Katie know that you're here?" he asked, an accusing glint in his eye. She shook her head, avoiding his eyes. She knew what he was going to say next.

"No, she doesn't. I didn't tell her where I was going. I just came to see you. I had to see if you were ok or not."
"Benny, she is going to go nuts when she realises that you're not with her." Alex started. He didn't get chance to finish though as he was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door.

"Benny Marie Taylor! I know you're in there. Open the door." she almost shouted through the closed door. Benny looked at Alex, she knew that Katie was going to have a go at her. Alex looked at Benny sympathetically.

"I was going to say I told you so, but I value my life so I won't," he said, laughing slightly, despite the pain running through his body. "Right I'm going back to sleep." He said with a smile on his face.

"Alex, don't you dare!" Benny said. Alex gave her one final smile before closing his eyes, faking sleep.

"You bastard." Benny said under her breath as she slowly advanced towards the door, ready for the lecture that Katie would surely give her.

So what do you think? Please read and review and tell me if you want me to carry on with this story. I really appreciate all reviews and constructive criticism is always very useful.

CrazyLilRedheadGirl

xx