A/N: Thank you guys for your reviews, it really does make writing worthwhile.
The room was silent, minus a few beeping machines that Amber was hooked up to. Adam sat in the corner reading over the surgery paperwork while Sarah was glued to her daughter's side, begging and praying for her to wake up.
Adam finished his reading and maneuvered to his sister's side. "Hey," he whispered, as though trying not to disturb the sleeping teen. "It looks all good. I would do the surgery."
"Really?" Sarah asked, accepting the clipboard from him.
"Yes, really. Despite all that medical technical talk, it does seem simple enough." He laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Besides, she needs it. Think of it as a broken arm, her skull needs to be popped back into place."
Sarah rolled her eyes at the comparison. "But this isn't an arm, this is her head. There's a difference."
"I know."
The mother sighed, glancing at Amber. "Okay, fine. She needs it." She reached for her purse and fished a pen out. "Man… it's purple, do you think they'll accept it in purple ink?"
Adam chuckled slightly and handed her an expensive looking pen. "Here."
"Thanks." She was about to scrawl her name down when she gasped. "Oh my God… I have to call Seth. He should know."
"The hospital probably already contacted him," Adam said. Looking at her worried expression he quickly added, "but, if it makes you feel better, I'll call him."
Sarah nodded. "It would, thanks."
"M-mom?" A dry, raspy voice asked above a whisper.
Sarah nearly cried when she saw Amber's eyelashes flutter open, revealing her beautiful green eyes. "Hey, baby," she greeted, kissing her cheek. "Oh my God, you had me so worried. Honey, don't ever, ever do that again."
"Sorry," Amber replied, her voice sounding normal now. "I… I didn't—"
"I'm the one who should be sorry," Sarah interrupted. "I shouldn't have said what I did. I didn't mean it… I just, I was mad and embarrassed, and I blamed it all on you."
"'s okay, mom." Amber tried to smile, but the cut across her lips made her wince instead. "Ouch."
Sarah winced with her daughter, hating to see her in pain. "Where did you go? How did this happen, Amber? Did someone do this to you?"
"No," Amber shook her head. "I uh… you told me to think about it. Think beyond… yeah… and I did. And I thought it would be better if… if I wasn't there to cause all the problems."
"Oh, baby…"
"I'm tired, mom." Amber started crying, pausing occasionally to catch her breath as she spoke. "I'm tired of always making mistakes. I'm tired of it always being my fault. I don't know why I did it… why I do these things… but… I—…"
"Shhhh," Sarah pulled her daughter into a hug, tucking the small, bruised head under hers.
Amber didn't stop. "I hate who I am… I'm sorry; I don't mean to make it harder for you. I'm sorry. I just couldn't… I couldn't be another disappointment. Not again."
"Amber, listen to me," Sarah said, crying herself. She moved to be eye-to-eye with her daughter. "You are definitely not a disappointment. I'm sorry if I ever led you to believe that. Sweetie… you're my kid. You're my beautiful little girl. I love you more than anything and it kills me to see you go through this, to hear you say those things. They're not true, okay? You have to know that. It's not true."
Adam turned away as they began to hug and cry again. He glanced towards the door and saw his wife and daughter standing there, coffee in their hands and tears leaking from their eyes. He gave them a slight smile.
"Hey," Kristina said, her words slicing through the emotional atmosphere. "It's good to see you awake, sweetie."
Amber stared at her niece and cousin, taken back by their presence.
"Yeah, we were really worried about you." Haddie began, handing her dad a coffee and moving closer to Amber. "I was really worried about you."
"I'm sorry, Haddie." Amber said, her voice quivering. "I'm really sorry. I messed up…"
"I know," Haddie nodded. "I know… I messed up too. What I said… what I thought… I was wrong. I'm sorry for blaming this whole mess on you."
The two shared a small smile that said more than their words ever would—everything would be okay.
"Not trying to kill the mood here, but, Amber, what happened?" Adam asked, seeming uncomfortable with all the crying women around him.
Amber sniffled, rubbing the back of her hands across her eyes. "I, um, I… I was hitchhiking…"
"Amber!" Sarah exclaimed, fear and shock flashing across her eyes.
"I know, I'm sorry. I know it was dumb, and I know you want to murder me, I'm sorry." She said quickly before continuing with the story. "Some trucker had dropped me off in Gilroy, and I realized I wanted to go home, so, I was going to hitch a ride back…"
"Why didn't you just call me?"
Amber looked at her mom. "My phone was dead, or I would have, I promise." There was a pause.
"Amber," Adam started. "Did someone do this to you?"
She shook her head. "No, um, yeah, I guess, technically. Someone stopped to give me a ride. I was crossing the street, it was raining so hard and the wind was so loud, I didn't hear the other car until it was too late. They tried to break, but…"
"Someone hit you?" Sarah gasped.
"It wasn't there fault," Amber defended. "I didn't look…"
Sarah stared into space for a moment, as though she was taking it all in.
"How do you feel?" Kristina asked, giving her niece a smile. "Are you okay? Are you in pain?"
Amber shook her head. "Not really… I'm just sore and have a headache." She licked her dry lips. "And I'm hungry."
"The doctor said he would be back in a minute, we'll talk to him about getting you something to eat."
Amber smiled back at her aunt. "Thanks." She looked at her mom, who looked pale and ready to strangle someone. "Mom, I'm okay… really. I promise."
Sarah shook her head as she was brought back to reality. "Of course you are. You're my girl. You're tough."
There was a knock on the door before Dr. Beaumont entered, a huge smile plastered across his face. "Amber! It's nice to see you awake. How are you feeling?"
"Good…"
"She said she was still sore and had a headache," Sarah supplied.
"Well that's not uncommon for someone with the injuries you sustained. But in any case, I'll have a nurse help you out with that headache." He smiled again before turning to Sarah. "Miss Braverman, have you had a chance to look over the paperwork?"
"Yes. Here," she quickly signed her name on the papers and handed them to him. "Um, you just need one signature, right?"
He nodded. "Yep, one will do."
"Oh, and, can we get her something to eat?" Kristina remembered to ask.
"I'm afraid not. We have an OR open in about an hour. She can't have food in her stomach when we operate."
"Operate?" Amber asked, confused, but no one seemed to hear her.
"But you're fixing her skull, it has nothing to do with her stomach." Sarah stated, not understanding.
Dr. Beaumont nodded. "That is true, however, the reason for not eating has to do with the anesthesia. It's a precaution, she could probably eat to her heart's content and be fine, but the anesthesia often causes vomiting and while she's sedated she won't have the ability to control where she throws up. We certainly don't want her suffocating on her own vomit, now do we?"
Amber grimaced, completely disgusted.
"Okay, yeah, that sounds reasonable." Sarah agreed. "You said in an hour?"
"Yes. A nurse will be here soon to prep her and we'll head into surgery after that. The procedure should only take about an hour."
"You'll be the one who's doing the surgery, correct?" Adam asked.
Dr. Beaumont nodded. "Yes."
"And do you have much experience with this type of surgery?"
"Adam!" Kristina objected. "I'm sorry, he's—"
"What?" Adam began. "I just want to know if the guy who's going to be messing with my niece's skull has had done this type of thing before! I don't want him poking around there fresh out of medical school with no actual experience."
The doctor smiled understandingly. "Mr. Braverman I assure you I won't be 'poking around' Amber's skull. I can guarantee you I know what I'm doing and your niece will be fine."
"Thank you." Sarah said, reaching to shake his head. "Keep my baby safe."
"I will do my best."
Amber glanced at each of the family members, and before the doctor could walk out of the room, demanded in a annoyed voice: "Will someone please explain who's pokin' around whose skull?"
I apologize in advance; I'm going out of town tomorrow so I won't be able to post anything until Saturday evening. Anyways, your reviews are always welcome.