.

For the second time that day Brodi had woken up in a panic. The first time hadn't been really clear…he just remembered pain, and someone holding his hand and talking to him…then a stinging in his arm and nothing. There were no clear memories.

This time he woke up in what he recognized this time as a drug fog. He was disoriented. He couldn't seem to open his eyes yet, and every inch of him felt like it was on fire. He felt like he was tied down, and somewhere in the back of his mind that was connecting with something VERY VERY BAD. He struggled to breathe, felt like he had a boulder on his chest. The panic was building…he had to take control before it got out of control. Then the door opening….

"Brodi! Calm down, sweetie, just calm down." He heard footsteps coming closer, and felt that hand again. His eyes still wouldn't open, which wasn't helping the panic situation. He felt a hand at his temple, and it felt soft and kind. There was no immediate danger coming from that hand. "Please, just calm down, honey. I'm here with you. You're OK."

Elise. That was Elise. If she was here, he had to be OK. He tried to reach a hand up, and it wouldn't go very far. He felt that soft hand clutch his and pull it back down to his side. There was a kiss at his temple.

"You're OK, babe. Can you open your eyes? No? OK, OK, OK…easy. That's all right. Don't worry about it. You're on some pretty heavy medication right now, honey, that's probably all this is. You're OK. You're safe. I'm with you and I'm not going to leave you."

Brodi did manage to open his eyes partially, but his vision was fuzzy and it made his headache worse. Elise brushed his hair off his forehead and kissed his temple again.

"I'll explain everything, sweetheart, but you have to calm down, OK? I need you to calm down and stay calm. If you get too anxious or move around too much you might get one of the machines disconnected or pull something loose. You have a concussion, but that's not too bad. You're on oxygen because you have a collapsed lung. Whoa, whoa…easy now. Remember calm? You had a bad wipeout. It got you the concussion and a couple of broken ribs. One of them punctured a lung. They're fixing it, though…that's why you have the chest tube. It's also why you have an IV with some pretty heavy narcotics and an antibiotic cocktail."

Elise rested her hand on the side of his head again, and Brodi leaned into it. "You're going to be OK, Surfer Boy. We're watching over you. Your only job is to rest and get better, do you understand me?"

Brodi nodded his understanding, then closed his eyes again and tried to count his breath to see if it would help him get back to sleep. If he was going to live a nightmare for a few days, he might as well sleep through as much of it as he could.