A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is again told from Angela's point of view. It shows how emotional she is, and how she's coping with what's happened, and who does she end up leaning on for support? I'll give you three seconds to guess.
ONE... TWO... THREE...
Not going to tell you! HA HA, got you, didn't I? You must READ to find out.
Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to Vertical Horizon, haven't we been through this before?
Reviews always welcome
Somewhere there's speaking
It's already coming in
Oh and it's rising at the back of your mind
You never could get it
Unless you were fed it
Now you're here and you don't know why
But under skinned knees and the skid marks
Past the places where you used to learn
You howl and listen
Listen and wait for the
Echoes of angels who won't return
"Alright, move! Move! Get those people out of here!" I read Mac's lips as he secured the scene. EMS was already prepping Don and moving him into the ambulance. I covered Charlotte's ears and kept her away from the ambulance. I didn't want her to see her dad in this state.
She thought her dad hung the moon. Don was her hero, and it needed to be kept that way. I didn't know what was going to happen to the man I loved, because right now, it was my job to take care of our daughter.
I left the scene (with Mac's permission, of course) and took her to my mother's house in Jersey. Without taking too much time or giving too much away, I raced back to New York and went to Bellevue Medical Center. Mac, Peyton, and everyone else were waiting outside his hospital room.
I was terrified. As much as I hated to admit it, I was terrified. I wanted Don to come back to me, because I loved him, and I wanted him to be there to see our daughter grow up. When he was finally out of surgery I pleaded with his doctors to let me sit with him.
"I can't let you see him unless you're family…"
"I'm his wife!" I blurted, signing at the same time. "I'm the mother of his child, is that family enough?"
The doctor nodded and let me through to see him. I felt tears well in my eyes as I found a chair and brought it up beside his bed. When I sat down the tears overflowed.
"I need you, don't leave me…" I silently pleaded with him.
I took his hand in mine and kissed his forehead. The tears were coming steadily now.
"Please don't leave me…" I silently begged. "I need you… the lab needs you… Charlotte needs you… we all need you…"
It was late now, the lights in his room were out, but I stayed. Charlotte would be fine for the night; my mom could put her to sleep, because right now, Don needed me.
I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see who it was.
Mac had his hand on my shoulder.
"Do you want to go get some rest, Angela?" he signed to me. The entire lab had learned sign language so they could communicate with me, although I wasn't readily accepted. No matter what people say, in terms of "I'm not judging you", or "Don't worry, I like you", when they really don't, at least not that well, you will be judged to some degree. It had taken them a while, but as soon as I brought Charlotte to the lab for the first time, I knew they loved both Charlotte and myself.
"No…" I told him. "I'm fine here. If we need anything I'll send you a text message." Not everyone would have a video phone, so a text was the next best thing.
"You've been sitting up with him since he got here, which was more than six hours ago," he tried to reason with me.
"Mac, I'll be fine," I insisted again, "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but right now, Don needs me, and I have to be with him."
Mac nodded. As a former Marine, he knew the importance of loyalty.
This wasn't exactly loyalty, not to the same degree.
This was love.
This was what people went through when they loved someone. Don loved Charlotte and me so much, that he had given our daughter to me and told me to take her home to protect her.
But then the explosion had wracked his body and thrown him into the police cruiser, and a large piece of debris had landed on his chest.
I don't remember the ride to the hospital, or taking Charlotte back to my car and driving her to my mother's house, all I remember is driving back to the hospital and crying as I waited to know whether or not the man I loved had survived.
Mac got me to stand up and wrapped me in a tight hug. When he left, I turned back to Don, who looked almost nothing like the man I'd fallen in love with. When I'd met him he was smiling his cheeky grin (which Charlotte had inherited), his blue eyes shone like crystals, his hands rough but gentle; he had the hands of a seasoned police officer. Now, he just looked vulnerable, and I could see the tension in his face. His jaw looked like it had been smashed in the explosion; there was a long stitch line running from behind his ear to the cleft in his chin, his eyes were swollen shut, and the doctors had said that even if he did wake up, there might be some memory loss.
Even if he did wake up?
I refused to accept the fact that the father of my child and the man I knew I was hopelessly in love with would never wake up. Don Flack wouldn't leave me or Charlotte behind, he loved us too much, he'd said so on many an occasion.
I leaned forward and took his hand once again. Turning his wrist so that his palm was exposed, I carefully began to spell words into it; much like Annie Sullivan had done with Helen Keller.
Don, I know you can't see me… I spelled letter by letter into his palm. But we need you… so badly. I kept going. If you can feel what I'm spelling in your palm, squeeze my hand… I stopped and waited.
Nothing yet.
Please. I signed into his hand again. Let me know you're in there… squeeze my hand.
I stopped and waited again.
When nothing happened, the tears began to fall even faster. A few tears even dropped on to his open palm.
"Please don't leave me, I need you…" I pleaded with him. It still hurt to speak, my lisp even more pronounced because I was so emotional.
I felt another hand on my shoulder.
Don's parents, Stephanie and Don Sr. had come in.
"Come on, Angela, you need a break." Stephanie signed.
"No!" I flat out refused, not even bothering to sign back. Screw the sign language; I was going to speak, no matter how much it hurt. Sign language wasn't going to do anything for anyone right now. "What if he wakes up and I'm not here?" the tears were running down my face as I looked at Stephanie and Don Sr. "He was always by my side when I needed him… he would only get up to go to the bathroom. He needs me now, I can't leave…"
"Honey, if you don't take a break you'll wear yourself into hysterics," Stephanie reasoned, "that won't do anyone any good."
"I need to stay here." I insisted, not knowing why I was crying anymore. Was I crying because I was scared? Angry? Unsure? Was I crying because I couldn't stand the thought of never seeing Don open his eyes again? My hand seemed permanently attached to his as I refused to let him go.
But then, I just stopped fighting it. Don's father took me by the shoulders and got me to stand up. He wrapped me in his strong arms and let me cry.
I had to be strong for Don, but right now I needed to cry.
Right now, I wanted to cry.