"A Life So Changed"

WRITTEN BY DAYNE DINNING

~This fanfic follows on directly on from Overcome

# Disclaimer – I do not own Emmerdale or any of the characters used.

Aaron's eyes slowly flickered open and as they did, he took a quick panicked intake of breath, what he felt seemed other worldly. He tried to move his head but he couldn't. But he moved his eyes slowly; side to side. He saw the dark blue colour of the room he was in, the medical equipment, he heard the constant beep of one the machines every two seconds which was already doing his head in. It seemed so loud. Then his vision found the metal bars which were positioned over his forehead. It then dawned on him why he couldn't move it seconds earlier. His breathing became fast, the situation he was in intensified and he began to panic. What had happened? It repeated over and over in his mind. His breath was sharp fast and he began to groan, he couldn't move. Why couldn't he move? His frustrations and panic became audible and it got louder and louder.

Jackson had heard Aaron from outside in the corridor and quickly rushed in to calm him down. He ran to the bedside and held his hand. "Aaron..." he sighed; relieved that he was awake finally. "...It's alright you've been in an accident, but you're gunna be fine, the brace is just to make sure you don't damage anything..." Jackson smiled slightly, happy to see him awake.

For Aaron Jackson's support and his presence their meant nothing to him; He scowled. "Get out!" he spat viciously.

Jackson sighed. "Aaron please!"

"I said! Get out!" he almost screamed.

"He wants you to leave, I suggest you do as he says" her voice hit Jackson sharply, partly due to the fact he didn't realise Chas was there and also because he knew she would want words with him at some point.

Jackson turned to her. "I just want to be here for him." He told her.

Chas frowned. "Oh like you were when you let him drive off?"

"That's not fair!" Jackson walked closer to her. "You don't know what happened, so you have no right to say anything about it"

"I have 'every' right Jackson, he's my son!" her face scrunched as she fought to keep her tears in. "Look at him" her voice went high as she said those words and she took a breath and put her hand to her mouth briefly. "You did this!" she said angrily as she looked directly into his eyes.

Jackson let out a breath as the tears fell from his eyes; he stepped forward and shook his head slowly as he walked past her.

"Mum...let him go"

"He is love, it's alright..." she said as she kept her eye on him until he'd gone. Her back straightened from the unexpected loud slam of the door from Jackson leaving.

Hazel shot up from her chair which was lined up along the corridor wall with several other chairs. Jackson had darted past her and by now, aswell as Paddy; Cain and Charity had arrived, concerned and in the dark as to what had happened. She followed Jackson as quick as she could but he was younger and fitter than she was. "Jackson!" she ended up calling to him and he stopped and turned and faced his mother and dropped his hands down at his waists.

"What?" he asked with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Where are you going?" she asked with a concerned expression.

"I don't know" Jackson simply replied.

"Aaron needs you love"

Jackson flippantly shook his head. "No he doesn't" Jackson waved his arm and pointed down to Paddy, Charity and Cain. "He's got them...you and Chas...So you can get on with it..."

Hazel sighed. "It might not seem like it now Jackson but he does, you need to look past all this and stay here"

Jackson pouted his lips and motioned them side to side as he thought, it was pretence because he didn't really need to think, it was pure sarcasm. "No, I'm going" and he turned and started walking away again.

"Where?" Hazel sighed.

Jackson didn't answer.

Hazel turned on her heel and saw Charity walking slowly to her. "He'll be okay Hazel, he just needs time to think and by the looks of it he hasn't slept all night and neither have you" she rubbed Hazel's arm softly. "Go home and get some rest, Aaron's woken up now so that's a good sign at least"

Hazel partly smiled and nodded. "You're right...see you later"

"Yeah...see ya" she smiled.

"How you feeling love?" Chas was sat on a stool next to the bed by Aaron's head holding his hand.

"Well..." he managed a cheeky smirk. "I'm not" his serious look returned.

Chas frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I can't feel anything" he sighed.

"It's probably the medication son" she smiled.

Aaron nodded.

"Now it's just me and you I need to know what happened kid...please?" she asked him. "It doesn't have to be all the little details just the basics"

Aaron moved his eyes to the side slightly to look at her. "I left bar west for a smoke and I saw Mickey, I wanted to confront him but Jackson came out, and we started arguing, going on at me about how I' am and stuff...Anyway he stormed off to the van but I wouldn't let him drive, I made him get in the passenger seat, I'd had a drink but I was ok"

Chas nodded as she listened.

"I was driving home and we argued in the van, I got frustrated and stopped and got out and we talked, well more like argued..." Aaron stopped and closed his eyes. "It just went from bad to worse mum, he said he wished he'd never met me and I lost it, I got back in the van and drove off and left him, he was ringing my phone and I reached to get it, but I knocked it onto the floor, I was about to reach it when I saw a van or lorry...I-I can't remember but I swerved and lost control and went speeding onto the train track...and then well you know the rest...I couldn't get out..." tears slid down the side of his face.

Chas was also silently crying as she listened and she raised her hand and wiped his tears away.

"It was too fast" he breathed and let the tears out.

Chas cleared her throat. "Let it out son" she told him softly as the door to the room opened and she turned and saw the doctor, with a very neutral look on his face, she didn't know why he was there and whether it was good or bad.

"Miss Dingle, can I talk to you...outside please?" he asked.

Chas nodded and got up out of the stool. "I won't be long love."

Paddy stood in front of Chas but to her side. Both of them looked intently at the doctor. "W-What's this about?" he asked.

The doctor seemed hesitant. "We have the bulk of the test results we've ran on Aaron since he arrived here and I think you should take a seat"

Chas shook her head. "No, I'm not sitting down" She looked at Paddy; her panic began to start again.

Paddy shook his head too and looked back at the doctor.

"Alright...the results show that Aaron's spine has suffered more damage than we thought, his cervical region has undergone extreme trauma and the result of this has caused him to lose all muscle strength from the neck down"

Chas frowned and shook her head in denial. "Nooo, that can't be right"

Cain got up and walked over to them. "What's going on sis?"

"No, do your tests again, they have to be wrong" Chas began to cry.

The doctor's expression was full of sympathy for Aaron's family. "Believe me, we've double checked, and checked again, the tests are correct, this is permanent Miss Dingle, there is no cure for an injury as serious as the one your son has endured, I'm so sorry, I'll be back to check in on him later"

Chas reached out and touched Paddy's chest and grabbed his jacket slightly as she lost her breath for a good few seconds and her knees way and she fell to the floor and sat and cried, holding her head in her hands.

To Be Continued...