AN: It has been a ridiculously long time since I updated. And for that I feel like a terrible person. Life kind of got in the way. What with moving to a new state and then going on a family vacation. I've been preoccupied. But now I can concentrate on my fics. And the muse is raring to go. So thank you to all who reviewed and added the story to your alerts and favorites. Special thanks to Brina. And I think that's it. So on with the show :)
"Alan?" Kristina asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
She reached up to hug her brother, but he didn't hug her back.
"Alan what's wrong? Is someone hurt? Is it mom? Or dad?"
"No Kris, they're fine. The family is fine. It's… it's Don."
Kristina almost fainted. She grabbed on to her brother's shirt. "Oh god what happened? Is he okay? Where is he?"
"He's at the hospital right now. He was in a car wreck earlier and he's in a coma right now. I came over to get you and take you to see him."
This scene was all too familiar for Kristina. She didn't think she would be able to get through something like this again. She grabbed her purse and followed her brother out the door. He held her close, never taking his arm off of her.
When they got to the hospital, Alan led Kristina to Flack's room. She walked in and found Sam and his parents. Kristina took one look at Flack and burst into tears. Sam got up and, with tears in her own eyes, held her best friend.
A few minutes later, Detective Don Flack, Sr. got up and walked over to his daughter. "Come on Sam. Let's give Kris a few minutes alone with Don."
Sam nodded and let go of Kristina. She took her mother's hand and the three of them walked out of the room.
Kristina silently walked up to Flack's bed. She sat down in the chair his mother had vacated and took his hand in hers. She kissed the back of it and held it to her face.
"Don, I need you to wake up," Kristina said through her tears. "I need you. I don't know what I would do without you. I can't go through this again. You were there for me when Nate died, but who will be there for me if you die? I was thinking about us earlier. About the first time we slept together. Do you remember? You had picked Sam and me up from the bar. You always helped us out.
You were always there for us when we needed you. It made me realize that I've never returned the favor. I've never been there to pick you up if you needed me to. I've been so selfish my entire life. I should have been there for you. I'm so sorry. But I'm going to change. I'm going to stop thinking about myself and start thinking about everyone else. I just need you to come back to me and help me start over. I want to start my life over. And I want you to be in it. Forever. I love you."
Kristina paused and looked at her boyfriend. He just lay there, cold and pale. Could he hear her? Did he know what she was saying? She thought he could, so she continued. "I'm sorry about what happened that other night. I know I was wrong. I realize I have a problem. Sam took me to a meeting yesterday. We're going to go every week. I'm finally getting all the help I need, but now I'm worried that it's too late. I'm scared that I fucked up and you don't want me anymore. But, that's not the real me. I want you to come back so you can see the real me. Please Don. See the real me."
She looked at him once more. Deep down Kristina hoped that Flack would suddenly wake up, but she knew that wasn't going to happen. He wouldn't wake up for a while, if at all. It broke her heart to see him like this. She laid her head down on his bed and cried herself to sleep.
Kristina's eyes flew open. She thought that she had felt Flack's hand move in hers. When she looked up she saw that he was still unconscious. Confused, she looked to her right and saw Mac standing there.
He smiled down at her and then knelt down next to her chair. "Hey Kristina. Go home and get some sleep. I'll stay with him."
"Mac, you and I both know that I won't sleep if I go home. I want to be here when he wakes up. I want to be the first person he sees."
"You will be Kristina. I don't think he's going to wake up anytime soon. You should at least go home and get some clean clothes. Maybe you can get some stuff for him. His favorite book maybe or one of his pillows. It might make him more comfortable."
Kristina sighed. She knew that Mac was right, but still didn't want to leave in case Flack woke up.
Mac saw her silent struggle and took her hand in his. "Kris. Go. If anything changes I'll call you immediately. I'll even give you permission to use lights and sirens."
Kristina couldn't help but laugh. She knew that Mac would drag her, kicking and screaming, from the room.
"Fine, I'll go. But if I find out that something changed, if he even moved a finger, and you didn't call me… You will be in huge trouble," Kristina told him, sticking her finger in his face to emphasize her point.
"Okay, okay I get it. If he twitches, you're the first person I call," Mac replied with a laugh.
Kristina rolled her eyes and turned back to an unconscious Flack. She leaned down to whisper in his ear.
"I'm going home for a little while honey. I'll bring some things back for you. Please get better soon baby. I love you." She kissed him softly on the lips, then hugged Mac and left.
As Kristina passed the waiting room, she saw Alan still sitting there. Gavin had joined him at some point and as she looked at her older brothers, fresh tears formed in her eyes. Kristina knew they were there because Flack was their best friend, but they were also there for her.
They saw what had happened to her when she lost Nate and they did not want her to go through that pain again. She walked over to them and they looked up. Gavin stood up and tightly wrapped his arms around her.
"Hey Krissy. How you holdin up?" he asked. When he saw the tears in her eyes he held her close again. "God, I'm so sorry. I wish there was something I could do for you."
"You could take me home," Kristina quietly offered.
"What? Why?" Alan asked, speaking for the first time.
"Mac's making me go home and shower. I'm also going to get some clothes and stuff for Don," she explained before adding, "And I want to get my car."
"Of course I'll take you home. Al, you comin?" Gavin asked, turning to his older brother.
"Nah. I'm gonna wait here. See if Don gets any better. Are you comin back after droppin her off?" Alan replied.
"Yup. I'm gonna stop and wait for Ellie to get off work. Jordan's got the car and she wants to be here," Gavin answered.
"Great. Mom and Dad'll be here in about an hour, so you guys should all get back around the same time," Alan said with a small smile.
Kristina loved her family. Flack wasn't a blood relative, but both he and Sam were part of them. Just like she and her siblings were part of the Flack family. She couldn't help but smile a little at the thought of them as one huge family.
Kristina was brought back to earth by the sound of her brother's laughing. She remembered that she was supposed to be going home and wanted to hurry.
"Come on Gav, let's go. I want to get back as soon as possible," Kristina said, tugging on her brother's arm.
"Alright, alright calm down," he told her as he turned to hug Alan, "See ya in a few."
"See ya man. And I'll see ya later too Kris. Love you."
"I love you too Al. See you soon."
Kristina stepped under the scalding hot water. She knew that it would burn her, but didn't care. It would help get rid of her pain and no one would be able to see the marks.
Crying, she sank down to the floor. Her life was just starting to come back together and once again it was in pieces. Kristina didn't think she'd be able to live if Flack died. She needed him. He was her life.
Twenty minutes later Kristina reached over and turned the water off. She figured she had wasted enough time in the shower and quickly got out. As she dried off, she winced at the pain in her back. Kristina turned around in front of the mirror and saw that her back was bright red.
"Ugh. No one better touch me. Cause it'll hurt like a bitch," she said out loud. Kristina quickly got dressed and began walking through the apartment. She picked up Flack's latest book, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown. Kristina figured she could read it out loud to him. She also grabbed her pillow and the blanket she kept on the back of the couch.
Deciding that she had everything she needed, she grabbed her keys and made her way down to her car. Kristina hoped that she would be able to bring these things, and her boyfriend, home soon.
AN: So if you've paid close attention to the first four chapters, you will notice that there was a flashback in all of them. However, there was not a flashback in this chapter simply because I didn't have one that fit anywhere. I do however have plenty planned out and I would like to use all of them. So thank you for reading and I would love it if you left a review :D
Also, I started a forum a few months ago dedicated to the men of the show. The link is in my profile, you should definitely check it out. [/end shameless self plug]