AN: Sorry for the wait guys. Hope you guys are enjoying this. Perhaps the next chapter will be more entertaining.

Chapter 5. At The Hospital

Jay sat downstairs waiting while Leah changed to go to the hospital for the night. Although she was supposed to change, since that was her explanation for going upstairs after all, Leah sat at her desk, crying.

When it rains, it pours, and for Leah Lewis-Hall it seemed as if she was forever going to be caught in this hurricane.

What did she want? Leah's head pounded, screaming the question in her mind. She had spent so much of her life now trying to build herself up, move on with life, as if the only thing she had to live for was just pure survival, to prove to herself that she could last. Although she had, at what cost? No happiness flooded her soul as she looked at all in her life.

"But what would make me happy?" Leah closed her eyes, knowing only one possible thing would be able to help make her life make sense.

It was crazy, how quickly the words came to her. The plea had been within her all alone. There was no need for eloquence or long, elaborate explanations. Leah was able to sum up everything with the use of three words before signing her name at the bottom of the page. Enclosing it in an envelope, Leah wrote down the address that was ingrained in her heart for the rest of her life.

"Very nice," Jay commented as she walked downstairs. "I see you did a good job at changing."

"Thanks," Leah smiled weakly. "Can we stop at the post office on the way?"

"What do you need to do that for?"

"Please?"

"You know I can't say know to you, dear." Jay opened the door for her, letting Leah pass through. "I would sail across the ocean andaround the world and back if that would make you smile again, Leah darling."

The hospital brought back more memories that bombarded Leah to the point she felt she might shatter from the impact. Walking in the white, sterile corridors of the hospital, Leah shivered, remembering being confined within the walls once upon a time. Visiting another person in the hospital, she prayed this time the person would not end up dying.

"Mrs. Hendrickson?" Leah entered her room to find her alone on a bed, a Bible in her hands.

"Oh Leah, dear." Mrs. Hendrickson laughed, although her voice was hoarse. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright," Lead sat down on the chair beside her bed. "I'm more concerned on how you are doing right now."

"How sweet," Mrs. Hendrickson smiled. "Just an old woman with fading health, honey. Nothing to worry about. The doctors say I will be out in a few days."

"Is there anything you need?" Leah asked. "I have nothing to do, so feel free to tell me if anything needs to be done at the house or you need groceries or company here."

"No. No. I'll be fine, child." Mrs. Hendrickson shook her head. "You go out. You have fun. Be young. No need to stay all cooped up on account of me. I will be fine, dear. So thoughtful though. I have plenty of company here. I'm losing my voice from talking so much already with the Gordon's child."

"The Gordon's child?"

"Yes, have I told you the Gordon's had children?"

"Wasn't one of their kids the one that's going to be the doctor?"

"Such a nice child," Mrs. Hendrickson's face brightened as if thinking something pleasant. "The Gordon's son was the one that found me, Leah. His parents had sent him over to say hello and he found me in the kitchen. Lucky for me I had a medical student tending to me before the ambulance came."

"I'm glad," Leah closed her eyes, realizing how this woman might have died today. "I wish I were there to have helped. Maybe I could have prevented it."

"Dear, these things happen," Mrs. Hendrickson set a tender hand on Leah's arm. "Don't worry yourself over me. I will be fine. I am an old woman and have lived a full life. Do not prevent your life from being just as full by worrying over me."

Leah was stranded at the hospital until late in the night when she realized Jay had no intention of coming back so she used a pay phone to contact Will. He drove by slowly, coming to a stop when he spotted Leah sitting on a bench.

Though she wore the same clothes he had seen her in that morning, she now seemed much different. Looking at her in the illumination of the streetlamp, he saw how skinny she had become, the light playing shadows across her cheeks and collarbone. She looked so tired and feeble, as if the slightest breeze might knock her over, making her fall over and shatter into millions of pieces.

"What's a pretty woman like you doing out so late at night?" Will joked, rolling down his window.

Leah did not respond and only got up to get beside him in his car. Wrapping her arms around herself, Leah shivered from the chilly night air. Turning on the heater, Will drove in silence.

"How is Mrs. Hendrickson?" Will could not bear the drive unspoken any longer after the first five minutes. "She doing alright?"

"She's doing better than me," though she intended it to be a joke, Will could not find the humor in the truth she spoke.

"Will you… are you… doing better?"

"I am doing fine," Leah looked out the window, seeing the lights of the town in a blur. "I just have a headache."

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Will realized how he sounded like some parent, inquiring their child about their health, but he shook it away, his concern for Leah stronger than his desire not to impede too much.

"Sleep…" Leah placed a hand on the finger, tracing her fingers in an attempt to repaint the symmetry of the passing town on Will's window. "I don't remember."

"Leah?"

"I really don't," Leah trembled, not caring what she had admitted and only thinking of her present situation once more. "Mrs. Hendrickson… she's not doing well. She said she'll be out in a few days. I talked to the doctors and they said there's more to it than she is telling me. Mrs. Hendrickson said she has spent the whole day talking to my neighbor's son, but the doctors say she hasn't had a visitor at all today except me. They said she might be in the hospital for weeks, maybe months, depending on her recovery. They have her under close monitoring."

"Mrs. Hendrickson will be fine," Will reached out and grabbed her hand from the window, squeezing it tight. "I'm worried about you."

"I'll be fine," Leah pulled her hand free. "But I'm not sure if Mrs. Hendrickson is. The doctors don't know what's wrong with her. They don't know what triggered the attack. All the tests say she is perfectly fine. It doesn't make sense."

"Leah…" Will took in a deep breath. "I'm not trying to sound cold-hearted, but Mrs. Hendrickson is old. These kinds of things happen. She's lived a long life already. But you're still young. You look exhausted. It seems as if you're in just as bad of shape as Mrs. Hendrickson right now."

"I'm fine."

"Did you eat anything today?"

"Eat…" Leah stiffened, knowing what he was trying to get at, and turning her head to look at him. "You think something is wrong with me, don't you? You think I have some sleeping or eating disorder and I'm doing this to myself to punish me. I'm not. I've just… been really caught up with everything right now. I can't help that I haven't had the time to do everything. It happens. But that doesn't mean that something's wrong."

"I'm not trying to say something is wrong," Will answered. "I just want to make sure you realize your health matters too. Leah, you're so skinny, and you don't even remember the last time you slept."

"I… was writing."

"What?"

"Last night, I was writing."

"All night?"

"Is that so hard to fathom?" Leah replied defensively, her voice taking on an edge. "Really, Will, I would think you of all people could understand how you could get so lost in something that you lose track of all time. By the time I realized I should go to sleep, it was already morning."

"Oh Leah," Will parked the car in Mrs. Hendrickson's driveway, and leaned over to hug her. "God, I just want you to be happy."

"Thank you, Will." Leah broke apart from the hug and got out. "But I need to go and catch up on my sleep."

"I'm coming in."

"I didn't invite you," Leah reminded as she unlocked the door, although Will could see a small smile of amusement on her face.

"I'll just assume that Mrs. Hendrickson would want you to have company for a bit," Will explained, walking in and closing the door behind him. "Something smells good."

"But Mrs. Hendrickson isn't…" Leah stopped and felt her breath catch.

Mrs. Hendrickson small white table's lace tablecloth was replaced by a burgundy velvet sheet with golden beads that dangled at the ends. Countertops were covered with gold and silver candles, casting the room in a bronze haze. A small basket rested in the center of the table, filled with marigolds and daisies. Approaching the table, Leah looked in and picked up a daisy, staring at it blankly.

"Who did this?" Will questioned, staring at the porcelain plates and bowls filled with soup, salad, and a full meal.

"Who?" Leah shuddered, not knowing what to think. "What are you doing?"

"Helping myself," Will shrugged, reaching to fill his glass with champagne. "Someone obviously wanted you to have a full stomach tonight, and it's set for two."

"What if it's poisoned?"

"I don't think anyone is out to get you, Leah." Will responded. "If anything, it's probably Jay's attempt to make up for forgetting you or, perhaps, her idea of us spending the evening together."

"Definitely sounds like something Jay would do," Leah admitted, taking a seat and helping herself. "Although it still leaves one to wonder…"

Ethan frowned, unsatisfied with his current position.

Left alone in this room when there were fields that needed tending to, work that needed to be done… he felt completely useless lying in this bed, his cast weighing him down.

He had been in a very bitter mood, more so than usual, as everyone inquired him on when he and Martha would marry. Using his work as an outlet, he had fallen from where he and his father were adding an extension to their home, and broken his leg.

Now, stuck in the hospital for the night, he could only brood, realizing he was finally out in the world where he wanted to be, but inept to go anywhere from where he laid at that moment.

"Hello?" Ethan cringed when he moved to sit up when he heard the sound of feet scurrying across the floor of his bedroom. "Who is there?"

"Kendall?" the girl's eyes went wide at the sight of Ethan in the bed. "Where's Kendall?"

"I don't know anyone by the name of Kendall."

"He's my brother," the girl put her hand on his bed to stand on her toes and stare at his cast. "What happened?"

"Broke my leg."

"Doing what?"

"Building a room."

"Kendall broke his leg climbing a tree once," she grinned at him, showing a gap where her two front teeth should be. "My mom got mad, and said that if he kept breaking bones like did that he… that he should go and be a doctor. That way he could take care of his bones without always going to the hospital."

"Really?" Ethan chuckled at the girl. "He sounds like a nice boy."

"Oh… no." the girl opened her mouth for a moment and waited a minute before talking again. "Kendall… he's all grown up now."

"A big boy now?"

"Yeah," the girl giggled. "Way big."

"You should not be out of your bed this late," Ethan told her. "If you are sick, you need your sleep."

"But I want someone to talk to," the girl pouted. "And I can't find Kendall anywhere."

"Where was the last time you saw him?"

"At my house."

"Your house?"

"Yes," the girl's head bopped up and down. "But I already went there and he wasn't there. So I thought he might be here."

"Really now?" Ethan grinned, amused. "Now when was the last time you saw him?"

"I don't know," the girl frowned, scratching her head. "Before the accident."

"The accident?"

"Yeah… something happened and then… and then… I didn't see him again."

"Oh," Ethan suddenly forgot his own bitterness, as he realized that the girl's brother probably died awhile ago and she thought she would go to his old room while in the hospital for the night. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sad," the girl took a step away from the bed and clapped her hands together. "Kendall says to smile like there's no tomorrow."

"Smile like there is no tomorrow."

"Yup," the girl beamed, glad she was able to share that bit of information with someone. "I have always wanted to say that."

"Well, I am glad you could tell it to me."

"Nightie night night!" the girl waved before running out of his room, her footsteps fading away into silence.

"Funny kids," Ethan smiled before remembering that he was stuck in a hospital while everyone back at home were planning for a wedding after a proposal that would never come.