Hey my dear readers. This update is later than I wanted, but it turned out I had to split this chapter, so I'm one up for the next one.

mkpunk: Rex became a unique character and I thought something would be lost more than gained if Robbie ever really 'incorporated' Rex into him. We'd lose Rex and in a sense we'd lose the Robbie we know. I'm not totally against the latter if it is due to organic character development instead of him waking up one day and decided to be partially Rex.

When I first saw Swindled where her character was a geek and her name was Benson, there was no way I couldn't take advantage of the story opportunities.

I don't know if Beck's blood boiled at seeing the duet, but it sure was a slap in his face as to what Jade and Trina was trying to warn him.

Dusty knows what's going on with Heather. He hears her when she's prayed to him, she just hasn't done it since… spoiler.

Sorry, Tori's dead :P

babydoll92: I answered yours personally, but I still wanted to thank you for the review.

PD31: Yes, a T-bone collision is the best way to start a trip. Yeah, the movie will have to be postponed, so she won't meet her costar that VJ actually got with during filming. Tori could be the bad guy in this situation, spoilers for all the rest.

Fanfic-Reader-88: Poor Heather, Dusty was a real ass in breaking her heart. Beck really couldn't snap at Tori or Jonathan because nothing happened but a duet. He really would look like a paranoid guy if he did anything.

Jade is looking at it this way, the house to her left's foundation is crumbling then the house on her right's foundation is doing the same. A prudent person might looked under his or her house to see if their foundation was crumbling and try to do something beforehand. Evil temptress? Freddie is surrounded by beautiful girls… you never know.

A lot could be said, good and bad, about Beck doing what he did, like it was good that he did it, but it shouldn't have took his jealous side being awakened to do it, but seeing how the chapter ended, Tori's life and well-being is more of an issue. Good job.

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Twilight Warrior 627: Whoever said celebrity life was any easier than everyone else's life? Nate was taken with Tori for a simple reason: she's hot and cute at the same time? I have a feeling that Dusty will be back sooner than later. Beck finally experience what Jade had to put up with? My heart bleeds for him. There is still some randomness in the universe, so what happened to Tori just happened or it is Fate. :P

Challenge King: The two younger Bensons are nice and friendly and he does have an instant shared interest with Amanda. Yes, another Benson being a thorn in Beck's side. You'd think at some point he would curse the name. Who do you hope things to work out for? Beck and Tori or Jon and Tori? Heather and Dusty, my gamma or delta couple… their story is far from done. Do you think I would kill off Tori? That certainly would be a shakeup in the story.

Guest: Thanks.

PD31 has updated and finished 'ShelbyVision', so check that out when you can. I also updated a parallel story of my take on 'Killing Daddy' called 'A Daughter's Salvation', so when you get a chance, I would appreciate a read and review.

Also, remember to support Daniella 'Trina' Monet by watching 'A Fairly Odd Summer' Saturday.

Rating: T Language, Violence

Chapter 10

Private Room
LAC+USC Medical Center
1983 Marengo Street
Los Angeles, CA

Beep… beep… beep… beep…

Tori softly groaned as she squinted her eyes tight from the noise invading her brain and the overhead light starting to shine through her closed eyelids. She started to stir as she realized she was lying down at a slightly propped up angle, but suddenly stopped as she felt sore in a variety of places including her forehead and softly whined out in mild pain.

She felt a soft touch on her right forearm then the soft words from her sister, "Tori, Tori, you're alright. Relax, just relax."

The young brunette finally started blinking her eyes opened and saw Trina leaning over the right side of the bed, thankfully blocking the blinding overhead light. She looked through one squinted eye to towards her left and saw Beck wearing a relieved smile.

Tori attempted to sit up despite the aches going through her body and asked, "What… what happened?"

Trina placed a soft hand on her right shoulder to keep her lying down as she quietly answered, "You were in a car accident."

Tori glanced down at the foot of the bed, seeing that she could wiggle her toes, "Car accident? How was I in a car accident?" She looked back to her sister and asked with a confused tone, "Wasn't I just at home? We had just wrapped up my party."

Beck sat on the edge of the bed, taking her left hand to gently cradle it and answered, "That was yesterday. Today's Sunday. You were driving to the airport when the accident happened."

The young starlet pursed her lips and searched her memory. The memories began to flood back about packing the rest of her things that morning, trading some kisses with Beck then getting into her car and making her way to the airport. She was just driving down the last stretch and passing through an intersection when…

She blinked several times the uttered in a panic, "I hit someone. I, I, I hit a van or something."

Trina softly answered, "You hit an SUV while crossing the intersection."

Beck frowned, showing his disapproval with Trina supplying that information.

The older Vega sister glared back at him then looked back to Tori to clarify, "It wasn't your fault. There was a traffic light malfunction. You both had a green light, so that's why you were both in the intersection."

The younger sister closed her eyes then asked with a soft groan, "Is everyone okay?"

The pair on either side of Tori fearfully looked at one another and remained silent. Tori opened her eyes, them finally adjusting to the waning light of the day filtering in through the blinds (which indicated how long she had been out) and looked back and forth between her sister and boyfriend.

The singer's stomach felt like the bottom fell out of it as she assumed that the people in the other vehicle were not as fortunate as her.

Beck forced a smile and answered, "Yes Tori, everyone's fine."

Trina glared at her sister's boyfriend and clenched her jaw tightly.

Tori's eyes darted back and forth and quickly demanded, "What's wrong? Don't lie to me."

Beck threw a disgusted look at Trina for being forced to go ahead and tell her.

Trina had a seat on the bed and answered with a worried expression, "The other car… it caught on fire and…" She swallowed and momentarily glanced to Beck for support, but that was a vain action as he wasn't in agreement with what she was about to say in the first place. She threw him a dirty look then looked back to Tori, finding her disgust with Beck enough to get her through her next words, "…there was a little girl in the car… about five, six… and was trapped for a minute or more before she was pulled out. She was burned very badly and they're not sure she's going to make it."

Tori stared at her sister for several seconds, hoping that she was just playing a very cruel and unfunny joke on her, but the sad look in the older girl's eyes told her that it wasn't a joke. The younger sister felt a knot in her stomach as the news sank into her mind then a wave of nausea swept through her. She placed a hand over her mouth and turned away from her sister and towards Beck.

The long haired actor realized what she was about to do and fortunately was able to grab the waste bin on the side of the bed in which he was standing. He lifted it up to her just in time for the brunette to throw up what little she had left in her stomach that hadn't been digested from lunch.

Trina shifted in her seat and grabbed her sister's hair to pull it away from the side of her face as her baby sister heaved several more times.

Tori was panting after she was done and face flushed then pulled away to relax back against her sister that had slipped up behind her.

The older Vega sister motioned towards the tissue box on the table on the left side of the bed and Beck pulled a few out to hand to her before sitting the wastebasket on the floor.

Trina took the tissues and started wiping away the bit of vomit and spittle on Tori's lips. She balled it up in one hand then tossed it over the edge of the bed, not caring whether it hit the trash bin or not.

Tori relaxed the back of her head against Trina's shoulder and looked up to her sister's eyes with a pathetic expression, hoping that Trina would tell her something different.

Unfortunately, the determined actress could not give her any different news.

Tori turned her face into the crook of Trina's neck and let out a sob.

Trina wrapped her arms around her sister and whispered, "It's going to be okay Tori. It's going to be okay."

Beck stood on and watched helplessly for untold minutes until Tori pulled her face from Trina's neck and looked past him to the window. She quickly wiped her eyes and suddenly became quiet, eerily quiet from Beck and Trina's perspectives.

The television actor quietly asked, "Tori?"

The brunette maintained her gaze out to the window and the fading sunlight and whimpered out, "Please just go. Both of you. I just want to be alone."

Beck knotted his brow and softly asked again, "Tori?"

Tori looked up to meet his eyes, hers already becoming bloodshot and puffy, which made her discolored eye socket look even worst. "Please?"

The actor let a breath past his lips then reluctantly turned and headed out the door, not having the heart to argue with her as he didn't see the point of fighting her in such a state.

Once he was out the door, Tori closed her eyes and whispered, "Trina, just leave me alone. I'm fine. I'm not the one that needs the attention."

The older sister gently rubbed up and down her baby sister's arm and whispered, "You can't bully me out baby sister. It's not your fault. What happened was a stupid accident because a stupid short in a traffic light."

The younger Vega sister opened her eyes, but refused to meet her sister's eyes and just stared out the window. "But I was the one driving. If you or Beck had driven, this wouldn't have happened or if I had insisted in going to LAX, I wouldn't have been at that intersection."

Trina took in a deep breath and slowly letting it out. She had no real comeback to those points other than the ones she had already given and didn't want a fight. This wasn't just some sibling fight that she could hope to whine or pester her way to victory, so wasn't sure show she could convince her sister that she was right. The only thing she could do was to pull her sister to turn and return to the embrace.

Tori was too emotionally tired to fight with her and just surrendered to the caring embrace and the gentle rocking.

Beck exited the room with his shoulders slumped and at a lost for what to do. He took a deep breath then squared his shoulders before heading down the hall to a waiting room. He found nearly everyone that mattered in Tori's life was in the waiting room absent her parents either sitting or pacing about. He briefly wondered if anyone had called them or if they had seen what happened on the news.

The group of friends from Hollywood Arts anxiously looked to him, eager to hear any news.

Jade got up from her seat between Freddie and Cat and was the first to speak, "What's going on? Has something happened?"

"Just that she's awake and she physically okay."

The pale girl and Cat immediately started on their way past him, but Beck gently grabbed Jade by the right elbow. She turned her head and knotted her brow.

He quickly explained, "She kicked us out."

Cat called out in a pout, "Why?"

The long haired actor dropped his hand from Jade's elbow and quickly explained to all of them, "I didn't want her to, but Trina told her what happened. She ah… she threw up after hearing the news then she broke down. She just wants to be alone."

Freddie looked around Beck and pointed out, "Where's Trina then?"

The taller teenager slightly turned in place to look over his shoulder to find Trina, but paused when he realized that she wasn't behind him. He frowned as he turned to look back at the rest.

Jade remarked with a dry voice, "She's not going to be able to bully Trina."

Beck immediately turned to head back to the room. If Trina was going to ignore Tori for her own good, he certainly would do the same.

André quickly called out, "Beck, maybe you should just give Tori a little bit time?"

The taller teenager turned back to his long time friend and pointed out, "But I should be in there with her."

Freddie hated to agree with André on that point as he of course had been vividly in Beck's shoes. He sympathetically pointed out, "Not if your presence is going to upset her. André's right; if she needs you to step back then you should take a step back."

Beck snapped, "You didn't leave Jade's side last year when she was in a hospital bed."

Freddie set his jaw tightly for a second then replied calmer than he momentarily felt, "You aren't keeping vigil of Tori wondering when she would be taking her last breath."

The taller teenager cleared his throat and closed his mouth tightly shut, being thoroughly chastened by the retort.

The others looked on mildly embarrassed, once again caught between a potential conflict between the sometime rivals.

Fortunately, depending on one's point-of-view, any further potential conflict between the pair was interrupted with the coincidental simultaneous arrival of David and Holly Vega.

The group turned nearly as one looked to the concerned parents as Detective Vega looked to Beck and asked, "How's Tori?"

Beck quickly answered, "She's alright. She's just a little banged up with some bruises and soreness. She was wearing her seatbelt and the airbag deployed just fine… even if she partially missed it. It's just a bruise on her forehead. She has no real head injury."

The parents sighed out in relief as they only had the news from gossip reporters and were hesitant to believe good news unless it was from someone truly reliable. After the wave of relief washed over them, Detective Vega directed a sarcastic remark to the group of friends, "I really appreciate that I had to find out that my daughter was in the hospital by one of my fellow detectives hearing it on the news."

Cat innocently remarked, "I didn't know any of us had your number?"

Detective Vega looked to Cat with very little patience, a look that caused her to glance to the floor to break eye contact. Jade took a step in front of Cat to block the policeman's look towards the redhead and returned a challenging one of her own.

Vega slightly frowned and turned to head for the hallway with a thrown out comment, "If you'll excuse us, we're going to go see our daughter now."

Beck cleared his throat and hesitantly informed them, "Tori would prefer to be alone right now."

The police detective showed clearly that he wasn't happy at all with that statement and had no interest in following such instructions, but Holly was more tactful in speaking up, "Okay, but we are her parents and I think she would understand that we have to physically see that she's alright and then we will give her all the time she needs to be by herself."

The long haired actor nodded his head and stepped aside for the parents to walk past the group and headed for the private room.

Jade slightly shook her head and remarked, "Oh that's not going to end well…"

The parents briefly knocked, identified themselves and entered before the heard a response. The parents paused at seeing their daughter once she pulled her face away from Trina's shoulder, having a few minor scratches on her face and some yellowing, purple around her right eye and mark on her forehead.

Holly crossed the distance and immediately hugged Tori, nearly pushing Trina aside and the girl tensed, not only from the soreness, but simply from the contact.

Trina crossed her arms under her chest and she wanted to roll her eyes. She knew in the deepest parts of her heart that her mother wouldn't have reacted that way if it was her sitting on the bed injured.

Holly pulled back, but kept her hands on her daughter's upper arms. "Are you alright?"

Tori slightly bowed her head and nodded while glancing at her lap. She muttered, "Yes, I'm fine."

Holly warmly asked, "Are you sur—"

The famous musician snapped, "I said I was fine!"

Mister Vega started to admonish his daughter, "Tori, don't speak to—"

Trina interrupted with a cold tone, "If you dare finish that statement I will throw you both out. Tori's an adult and you will not lecture her as a child. Don't get mad at her for not listening to her first answer."

The police detective turned an unapproving eye to his eldest daughter, but Trina snapped at the glare, "Dad, I don't give a damn about you and you don't give a damn about me, so don't try to give me that look or Tori. Say your piece then get out. She wants to be left alone."

David Vega clenched his jaw then slowly whispered, "It sounds more like you want us to leave."

"I don't want you here, but Tori really does want to be alone… she wants even me to leave and she doesn't want to see the others, not Cat, not Jade… not Freddie."

Their mother asked the obvious in her eyes, "They why are you still in her if she wants to be left alone?"

Tori frowned towards her mother with her suddenly being talked about as if she wasn't in the room.

"Because the difference between you and me is that I actually love her."

Holly snapped, "Trina, how can you say such a thing?"

Trina cocked her head to the side and snapped her fingers. "You're right, I forgot. She's the daughter you actually love—well not you, because you stopped giving a damn about the family when you decided to hop in the bed with dad's partner."

The affair pricked at her father, but Trina really didn't care how much it hurt him while Holly looked to the floor in embarrassment. The LAPD detective remarked, "Is that why you didn't call either of us about what happened? I had to hear it from a fellow officer from one of Mason's press releases?"

"I really didn't see calling you as a priority. Making sure that Tori was alright was my priority."

The father and daughter got into a starring contest which was only broken when Tori asked in a strained friendly voice, "So, how have you two been doing?"

Outside the room in the hallway, the group of friends idly waited to hear if there would be any screaming with all the Vegas in the same room together. They may not have known the details about how the former couple interacted with one another since the separation. They weren't even sure if they were actually divorced or not, but it wasn't necessarily how they would react to each other that concerned the group of friends but how Trina would interact with her parents especially in such a high stress situation. There was no love lost between Trina and her estranged parents and she wasn't shy in voicing her opinions.

As the tension began to build in the air between them waiting for the shouting match, Freddie looked to Sam and quietly whispered and motioned his head over to indicate he wanted to talk to her privately, "Sam?"

She slightly squinted, unsure what he wanted, but she followed him a little down the hallway a few yards before they found an out of the way corner. She hissed, "What?"

Freddie glanced over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching them then quietly asked, "Can you do anything?"

The blonde knotted her brow and slowly questioned, "Do anything?"

He whispered harshly, "Sam, this is important. There is an innocent little girl in the burn ward that is going to die and if she somehow survives, she's going to be scarred and broken for the rest of her life. You can bend reality around you to your will. You were doing it for years subconsciously to get away with everything. Bend it now to wanting her whole."

"Why are you asking me? You got a hotline to jankin' angels. Why aren't you calling some of them down to help?"

"They didn't come down Jade was lying in bed dying; what makes you think they're suddenly going to answer me now?"

The dirty blonde crossed her arms over her chest and deeply frowned. She looked on, mildly angry as she answered, "Do you think I'm that black hearted that I'd just let a little girl die?"

"As long as I've known you and our history, you've made it a point how you don't like people and I can count on one hand how many people you truly care about and I don't have to use all my fingers—and I know Cat's not one of them. You can't blame me for having a little doubt."

The former juvenile delinquent narrowed her gaze on her one time crush and tried to give him an intimidated glare, but it was pointless as he long lost his fear of her. She bowed her head and blew out a breath through her nose. She regretfully admitted, "I don't know how to do that. I could accidentally turn her into some ham because I'm subconsciously craving it. I'm not super-Dusty; I don't know how to work it."

Freddie bowed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I get how most of you think I'm just a bitch—"

The former tech-producer dropped his hand and snapped, "Because you continue to act like one. You'll find any excuse to screw with anybody that you think you'll be able to get away with. You're going to push one day and someone is going to say to Hell with Cat's feelings and simply kick you out of all our lives for good."

Sam crossed her arms under her chest and cocked her head to the side. "And who would do that? You?"

Freddie softly shook his head and softly answered, "No, because if you and I ever go at it… you know only one of us is going to come out of it alive and if you're the one that wins… you know you won't be living that much longer afterwards, so it's pretty moot."

The former friends exchanged cold stares for several seconds before a familiar voice called out, "Freddie? Sam?"

Back at Tori's room, the parents reluctantly left due to Tori's wishes after they couldn't really make any small talk as it was still too awkward between parents and children plus Trina more than willing to call hospital security on them to leave. Detective Vega threw a disapproving glance to Trina and the older sister resisted the urge to tell him where he could go. Nearly as soon as the parents left, Tori quietly remarked to Trina still sitting beside her, "I'm sorry Trina."

The older girl knotted her brow and slightly squinted. "For what?"

The younger sister lifted her head and met her sister's eyes, saying all she needed to say in answering.

Trina pulled Tori back into a hug. "That's not your fault. That's them."

"But I should have said something years—"

"Shhh… no, don't do that. They're the adults and we were the children. It was their choices."

Tori slightly turned her head to rest the side of it on her older sister's shoulder. "I love you Trina."

"I know you do baby sis."

The older young lady held her sister for a few more seconds then pulled back, but remained close sitting to her on the bed.

Though Tori had been a sleep for a few hours, she felt a wave of tiredness and probably the little pain medication that was being giving to her earlier, so she lay back on the bed. She remarked in a tone that fell somewhere between an accusation and curiosity, "So Mason released a statement?"

Trina closed her eyes, damning her parents for having to mention Mason. She opened her eyes and answered, "We had to release a statement. We couldn't let TMZ break everything and paint you as a… in a negative light when none of this is your fault."

Tori looked down at her lap and idly played with her fingertips. She quietly asked, "What did you say?"

"We told them the truth about what happened and I said that you thanked them for all their wishes and concerns, but that you asked that they pray for the little girl's recovery."

Tori raised her left eyebrow.

"What? If you had been awake you wouldn't have said if you were awake and you gave me power-of-attorney."

The younger girl rolled her eyes then looked back to the window.

"While you were out, Katie and Kendall and the rest sent their love and concern. They asked whether they should postpone some of their concerts and fly back to see you."

Tori sat back up, a wave of soreness going through her body for her troubles. She stifled a groan then asked, "What did you tell them? You didn't tell them to postpone?"

The older sister shook her head. "I told them that you wouldn't want them to do that since for the most part you're fine… you're actually in better shape than I was after my fall in your play." She subconsciously rubbed a hand just under her bust of the phantom pain of nearly broken ribs.

The younger girl smirked her thanks and asked, "Could you text them back my thanks?"

"I already did."

Before any further conversation could continue, the door to the room opened. Trina figured it wouldn't be long before someone (most likely Freddie and Jade, possibly Cat) defied Tori's wishes to come and see her. However, the Spanish program actress was surprised by who was walking inside, gave a curious look to the college freshman and asked, "Jon?"

Tori had rested back on the bed with her back to the door, so she had to slightly roll and lift her head to look over her right shoulder. She cracked a smile at seeing the younger Benson's face.

The older Vega sister asked with a confused expression written all over her face, "How did you get in here?"

Jon glanced to Trina then to Tori's tired smile. "I just said I was Benson. They didn't ask for a first name, so…"

He looked to Tori and tentatively asked, knowing that plenty of others had already asked her the same question, "Are you okay?"

She turned and sat up, despite how sore her body felt. A groan escaped her lips before she muttered, "I'm fine."

Jon was over to her in a shot and took a seat next to her, slipping an arm around the small of her back to help hold her up.

He paused in getting a good look at her face, seeing the bruise on her forehead and discoloration around her eye. However, to his eyes, it really didn't distract from her beauty. He snapped out of his admiration and had his doubts to her words and stated, "I'm sorry. I heard about the little girl."

"Yes… the girl's life I'm going to take in probably the next few hours."

"That wasn't your fault."

He looked to Trina for some support, but before the older of the Vega sisters could answer, Tori sharply retorted, "I was the one driving. I was the one behind the wheel and I'm the one that hit them."

"And so was her mother. It's not either one of yours fault."

Tori rolled back onto her left side, unable to take his forgiving eye. She used her bent left arm as a pillow and lazily laying her right hand on the mattress.

Jon got up from his seat and walked around the foot of the bed then had a seat on the edge midway up the bed. He looked down at her and reassured, "It's not your fault. It was just some stupid, random accident of a traffic light. That's what the news is saying."

"How does that make any difference? If I had just taken Beck's offer to drive me, I wouldn't have hit them because I'm such a lousy driver."

The younger Benson rested his left hand on top of Tori's hand and attempted to reassure her, "You can't know that. He would have taken the same intersection and may have hit them too. Would it have been his fault if he did?"

The gesture did not go unnoticed by the older Vega sister, but she refrained from commenting.

"No…"

"Then why is it your fault?"

Tori broke eye contact with him and turned her gaze to the bed sheet, unable to answer him or herself.

The door opened and Jon looked over his right shoulder at the new guest while Trina got up from her seat, ready to shoo whoever was stepping inside.

Beck stopped at seeing Jon's back as the younger teenager sat on the edge of the bed.

Jon stood up and offered a friendly smile, but Beck barely held back a glare at the young man. "What are you doing in here? Tori doesn't want to be disturbed."

Jon paused, caught off guard from Beck's reaction, but he gathered himself as he understood an underlying threat in the slightly older teenager's voice and replied with an equally steeled voice, "What does it look like I was doing? I was checking up on her. I heard the news and I came over to see her. I didn't realize that was a problem."

Trina clenched her jaw as a conflict browed between the pair. It was the last thing she needed Tori to see regardless if either side was in the 'right'. She quickly stated in a friendly voice, "Jon, we appreciate you stopping by, but I think Tori needs her rest and needs to gather herself in private."

Jon broke eye contact from Beck and looked at the lovely Vega sister. He cracked a smile and easily answered, "Of course." He looked down at Tori's face and whispered, "You feel better Tori."

She mouthed, "Thank you."

He smiled and nodded then walked around the foot of the bed and towards Beck. He stopped just before his right shoulder could bump the longer haired teenager's right shoulder and passed him a quick glance indicating that he wasn't intimidated by the actor and was only leaving from Trina's wishes.

Beck glared back just before Jon walked around him and out the door. He looked back to Trina with a near accusation directed at her with a simple expression.

Trina rolled eyes and shook her head while crossing her arms under her chest.

Down the hallway from the room, Freddie and Sam turned to look at the source of a lower pitched, but familiar voice.

Amanda hurriedly approached them with a man in his late forties.

Freddie blinked in surprised then out of reflex answered, "Hey."

The dark redhead stopped at the muscular boy and quickly stated, "We came as soon as we heard. Is Tori alright?"

He nodded in reassurance. "Yeah, just a little banged up, but she should be fine."

Amanda rested a hand on her upper chest and let out a relieved breath. "I was praying the news we heard about her was true." She smiled up to her father and realized him standing next to her. The dark redhead quickly motioned to the man to her left and introduced, "I'm sorry, this is my father."

Mister Benson put on a friendly if a little forced smile at seeing Freddie.

Freddie paused as he saw the man of his late forties. He had seen that face before, maybe not that exact one but a least a younger one.

Sam knotted her brow at seeing a resemblance between the pair.

The former tech-producer offered his hand and the older, taller man accepted it to shake. "Freddie."

"I'm Mister Benson. Nice to meet you son…" He almost winced when he realized what he had spoken.

The computer engineer student tightened his smile and replied, "It's nice to meet you too sir. I just wish it was under better circumstances."

Mister Benson nodded in agreement then asked, "So do I. Is there anything I can do? My wife's a doctor and though she's not a practicing medical doctor, she's network with plenty of others. I could make a call."

"Thank you, I'm sure she'll appreciate the offer. If anything, perhaps your wife knows some doctors that specialize with burn victims. She would appreciate if you had any way to help in that way."

"The girl in the crash?"

Freddie nodded his head and regretfully answered, "Yes. Tori's taking it pretty hard."

"I will give my wife a call. If you'll excuse me." He turned to look for an area he could safely use his phone.

Freddie glanced to Amanda and commented, "He's a considerate guy."

The New Yorker giggled, "That's my dad for you."

Sam frowned at practically being ignored by all the Bensons.

Down the hallway, the elevator opened and Heather quickly stepped out to look around for the nursing station. She began to ask about the location of Tori's room and if she would be allowed to see her, but the nurse instantly said the room number and waved her off in the direction of the room, probably assuming she was looking at Jade.

The model didn't bother correcting the nurse of her identity and started down the hall. She stopped midway down as she saw to her left a waiting room with the Hollywood Arts gang waiting around. She turned and headed inside, troubled that they were out in here than in Tori's room.

Jade and André were the first to meet her and she quickly asked, "Hi, I came as soon as I heard. Is she alright?"

The ironically lighter haired teenager quickly answered, "Tori's okay. She's just a little banged up."

"I heard that on the news, but what about the little girl?"

The singer and songsmith glanced to each other, clearly becoming uncomfortable in answering the question.

Heather's shoulders slumped and she painfully asked, "So it's true? She's really hurt?"

The near identical girl nodded her head and regretfully remarked, "Yes she is. It's really bad."

The outwardly sweeter girl bowed her head, feeling a wave of compassion for her, but helplessness at the same time.

Jade quietly whispered, "Heather?"

The former Minnesotan looked up to meet equally blue eyes.

The international musician licked her bottom lip then as tactically as she could manage her voice, "I know you may not want to do this, but… if you were ever going to pray to him again, this would be the time…"

Heather met Jade's eyes and swallowed. She saw practically identical eyes to her conveying the wish that she wouldn't do something that could be so painful, but had to anyway. The slightly longer hair girl hesitantly answered, "But… if he's not answering you when you two—"

Jade grabbed Heather by the upper arms and stated with complete and unwavering conviction, "He will answer you."

The model's mouth slightly parted, somewhat stunned by her words and hesitated to answer.

In that hesitation, Jon approached the three and called out, "Hey."

The three turned to see the younger Benson and André politely greeted him, "Hi."

Jon smile and nodded to the ladies, taking a moment to politely greet Heather, "Hello Miss Fox."

Heather tightly smiled to him, unfairly feeling uncomfortable around him because of recalling him singing yesterday. However, she pushed that down and sweetly answered, "Hello."

Beck exited the hospital room, being aggressively nudged out and saw the model conversing with his ex, friend and Jon. He took a deep breath as it hit him on how he could help Tori and he wasn't going to take no for an answer. He quickly strolled over to the three and ignored the pair as he slipped between them and looked to the dark haired teenager with a harsh expression. He shouted, "Where is he?!"

He didn't need to explain who he was speaking about to the girl.

Heather glared back at him, not appreciating him getting in her face regardless of how hurt he was at the moment. She calmly answered, "I don't known. I haven't known for weeks, not since we… since we broke up."

"Then get him here now."

The usually sweet natured girl felt a rush of anger boil up from the pit of her stomach and snapped, "And who says I can? You really think he just shows up if I call him after we broke up?" She threw a quick look to Jade, still doubting what the musician had spoken.

Beck spat out impatiently and in disgust, "I don't care what damn problems you two have; you get him here right now. He'll answer you—or is he just too busy randomly murdering people now that he's bat-chizz insane?"

* Smack *

Beck jerked his head to the side as the sound of Heather's open hand striking his cheek echoed down the hallway.

Heather clenched her hand tight, shocked that she had done such a thing.

The actor took a deep breath and took a step forward and Heather took a step back out of instinct, but she tripped over her own feet and started tumbling backwards, but Jade was there to catch her from falling by grabbing her left arm and got a hand on her back. The near identical girls nearly lost their footing, but Jade settled them back onto their feet.

Jade turned a glare to Beck that more or less told him 'back the fuck off', but Jonathan took it a step further by taking a step between the girls and Beck. He raised his hands between the pair and shoved Beck back, hard.

Beck stumbled backwards just as the younger Benson stated with a firm voice towards the actor, "I don't care that you're some big actor with a superstar girlfriend. You need to take a step back pal."

The television actor ignored his words, far more annoyed that another Benson was interfering in his personal business and came back at him and took a wide right swing.

Jon leaned back, swatted it downward to his right and grabbed his wrist with his right hand then turned to his right to pull the actor forward then pull his arm back while keeping him going forward down to the floor. The younger teenager grabbed Beck's shoulder with the other hand to finish getting him into an arm lock and planting the longer haired actor's face into the floor.

Beck growled at the pain of hitting the floor, the contact with it nearly breaking his nose. He slapped his palm against the floor in frustration as he tried to push up, but Jon had the dominate position.

Jon whispered in a fierce, yet sympathetic manner, "I know you're angry about what happened to Tori. I don't know why you're blaming her for anything, but you need to calm down."

The long haired actor growled and tried again to push him off, but Jon added his knee to the small of his back to keep him in place.

Jon stated in a firm voice, "I'm not letting you up until you calm down even if I have to break something." He accentuated his point by bending his arm forward, threatening to pop it out of Beck's shoulder.

André rushed to defend his friend but Mister Benson returned from his phone call just in time and took a step between him and the 'disagreeing' teenagers.

The songsmith quickly stated, "Sir your son needs get his hands off my boy."

The taller and older man looked down at the dreadlock wearing teenager and retorted in a sharp tone, "Why? He looks like he wants to put his hands on this young woman. My boy's just doing what he should do in the situation. It's up to your friend to make the right choice."

André looked like he was about to step around him or push him aside.

Mister Benson took a step forward to André, daring him to do something. "Son, you should really think long and hard about your next move."

The musician stared hard at the New York businessman, seriously debating whether he was going to get in a fight with the older and well built gentleman.

The others stood off to the side, not sure what to do. Robbie looked to Rex with a curious gaze, the former puppet being the only one other than Freddie and Sam at the moment that could interfere with what was going on and would most likely actually listen to him.

During the commotion, Freddie, Sam and Amanda returned after witnessing most of the commotion down the hallway. Freddie had no intention of stepping between them for the simple fact that he could easily be the one making Beck eat the floor while Sam, though Carly had a soft spot for Beck and might get an earful later if brunette found out that she didn't interfere, realized in an instant she didn't want to be on the other side of Dusty in the inevitable conversation after this played out.

Beck eventually shouted, "Okay! Okay!"

Jon looked down at him and hesitated for a few moments, debating whether or not he should let him up. Seconds later, the younger Benson teenager stood up and released Beck's arm, but made sure he was standing between the actor and the model.

The pair stared off at one another, Beck rubbing his shoulder while Jon in particular debated whether they were going to start swinging on each other. He took a few moments to figure out how things could go down if it came down to a fight. He wasn't sure how many of Beck's friends would jump in to defend him, so the odds were stacked against him, but he did have his father with him and as Freddie had mentioned before during one of his previous fights, he had right on his side. However, he was concerned about whether his sister would jump into the fray. He glanced over to Freddie, wondering which side he would take, but his gut told him he would just stand to the side since it involved his girlfriend in the disagreement.

The doubt was settled when Sam walked up next to Beck and grabbed him by the left arm in a tight enough grip, one strong enough that he'd have trouble breaking it if he wanted to fight about it. The dirty blonde nearly growled, "Come on, walk it off."

Jon released a breath he wasn't holding and the tension eased considerably among the gathered. André took a step back from Mister Benson, but the older man gave a cautious eye to the songsmith.

Jade finally let go of Heather's arm, while the model took a deep breath and glanced away, trying to process her thoughts. She barely glanced up to inform, "If you'll excuse me… I have some prayers to make."

As the pale girl left to go find the hospital chapel, Jade turned her head just enough to glance at Freddie and softly ask, "You think she'll reach him?"

Freddie sadly answered, "Let's hope so… not just for the little girl's and Tori's sake either."

Amanda looked to her brother and slightly shook her head as she asked, "What are they talking about?"

Jon looked just as dumbfounded at being on the outside of the conversation.

Chapel
Room 2M112A
LAC+USC Medical Center
1983 Marengo Street
Los Angeles, CA

Heather slowly walked into the chapel, doing her best not to disturb a few others that were in quiet prayer, most likely in the same situation she faced. She quietly made her way to an empty pew and knelt down on one of the kneelers. She reached into her leather jacket pocket and pulled out her set of Rosary Beads. She slipped a bead between her right thumb and side of her pointer finger then rested her forearms on the top of the backrest of the pew in front of her.

She quietly started to pray: "Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen."

She took a deep breath, moving on to the next bead between her finger and thumb then continued, "Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and…"

The model took a soft breath, losing focus on the words she wanted to pray. Her eyes darted back and forth, the emotion of sorrow for the innocent child nearly overwhelming along with the hurt she felt towards the young man in her mind's eye.

She looked up towards the ceiling and started a new prayer, "Mother Mary, you intercede for us with your Son and I ask… I beg you that you would intercede for me here and let my… let Dustin hear this prayer. Dustin… Dustin, I know I prayed a lot of hurtful things to you after you left and… you probably just started ignoring what I had to say… turned off receiving anything from me but… please hear me now. We need you… I need you… a precious little girl needs you. Tori was in a car accident. She's alright, but in the other car… there was a fire and this little girl was burned… very badly. They don't know if she'll live through the night and even if she does… she'll never be whole again. Please come back. She needs you. Whatever hurt I caused you with those words, please don't hold that against her."

The dark haired model quietly waited, glancing around to see if he would appear and listening to the quiet flapping of wings. Unfortunately, the only sounds she heard were the quiet prayers of those around her praying to their respective God. She bowed her head and started her prayers again, ignoring the few stray tears that started running down her cheeks at the lack of his presence.

Author's Note: I'd first like to thank PD31 in his assistance to make Heather's prayer in compliance with a Catholic Prayer. Second, this is the first half of my originally planned update, so I hope to have the second half up by August 2nd or the 3rd. That's when the bombshells will start to fall. Thanks for reading.