"You want us to do WHAT?"

Elise could not believe what she was hearing.

"It's just a professional observation, Miss Riggs. There has been no change in his condition, and we can find no reason for it. And frankly, the longer he goes without waking up…"

"Wait a minute…when he was in the ICU you were talking about the coma promoting healing."

"And it does, in the case of brain injury such as Mr. Ford's it can limit brain swelling. It helps prevent movement in cases where limitation of movement is necessary without placing undue stress on the patient. But Miss Riggs, there comes a point where…"

"No. I'm not giving permission to turn off life support. I will not sign his death warrant. That is a decision his parents will have to make."

"Miss Riggs, you have power of attorney. The decision will have to come from you."

Elise stood, willing herself to keep her temper in check. "And I am saying no. I have power of attorney because I travel with Brodi and am more immediately accessible in case of an emergency. He trusts me with his life, and right now I am choosing to honor that trust by saying no. Are we clear?"

The doctor sighed and looked at his PDA and back again at Elise. "Yes, we are clear. But please consider what I said. You need to not only honor his life, but his quality of life."

Elise turned to leave. "I have considered what you said, doctor," she said without looking back. "You have my phone number if you need it."

She left without waiting for a reply. Two steps outside the consultation room, she clicked her M-Comm. "Rahzel. We need to talk. NOW."

Elise stopped outside Brodi's room and took a deep breath before going inside. She was still fuming from what Dr. Adams had said to her. She could NOT give up on a friend, regardless of the circumstances.

Still, stepping into the room it was hard not to fall victim to the doctor's way of thinking.

"He's still Brodi," she told herself. "Just talk to him."

The one-sided conversations no longer felt odd to her. Within a few days, when it became apparent that he wasn't going to wake up anytime soon, she had talked to him enough that she could almost hear his answers.

"Hi, sweetie," she began, walking to his bedside and taking his hand. "I just talked to your doctor. You're doing OK, baby. Uhm, I'm going to talk to Rahzel in a few minutes. We're going to see about getting your mom here. I know it's an expensive trip, but we'll see about getting the circuit to chip in. If nothing else, Nate and I will organize the…Brodi?"

Elise stopped short. Had Brodi squeezed her hand? She couldn't be sure…it was very faint.

"Brodi, sweetheart, can you do that again?"

She waited anxiously, watching his face, praying to see his eyelids flutter—anything. But there was nothing. Undeterred, she squeezed his hand and leaned down next to his ear.

"It's OK, honey. We are NOT giving up on you, do you hear me?"

She kissed his forehead, then his fingertips and gently placed his hand back at his side.

"I'm going to go see Rahzel. I'll let you know what we work out."

Rahzel looked up as Elise walked into the fourth floor waiting room.

"Riggs! I got your message. How is our boy?"

Elise collapsed into the chair beside him. Though she had just had several hours of sleep in Brodi's room, she was exhausted in all sense of the word. DAMNED if she was going to cry, though.

"He squeezed my hand."

"What? That's great, Elise. That's the first sign we've had since…"

"We need to get his parents here."

"You know we're working on that."

"No. We need them here NOW. Dr. Adams wants to pull the plug."

"But you just said…"

"I know." Elise buried her head in her hands. "I know I felt it, but I asked him to do it again and he didn't respond. What if I imagined it, out of pure hope?"

"Elise, he's been unconscious for three weeks. Maybe it was just a momentary thing and he went right back out again. I've heard that people in comas wake up in stages. Maybe he's getting better."

"Damn it, Rahzel, I have power of attorney. Brodi trusts me with his life. I want to do what's best for him, but Dr. Adams says there is no hope, and that I should consider his quality of life, not just life itself. Is it selfish to keep him hanging on if there really is no hope?"

Rahzel placed his arm around Elise and pulled her head onto his shoulder. "Honey, Brodi trusts you. You said it yourself. He wouldn't put you in this position if he didn't believe you could handle it and do what's best. What do you believe?"

"I believe that…I can't give him up. I can't sign his death warrant. It can't be beyond hope."

Rahzel sighed again and, placing his hands on his knees, pushed himself up. "Then it's settled. I'll call a team meeting. Should it be here? Or at the lodge and I'll fill you in?"

"Fill me in. If there is a possibility that he's waking up…I want to be here."

Rahzel nodded. "Just…do me a favor, honey. Take care of yourself. You look like hell. I don't want to lose two of my best boarders."

Elise stood abruptly. "You haven't lost anyone yet." She said angrily.

"I didn't mean that and you know it."

Elise didn't answer, but stalked out of the waiting room and back towards Brodi's room. Then, forcing herself to calm down before entering the room, she pushed the door open. Finally sure of herself, she stepped inside.

"I'm back, babe," she began, and stepped forward to the bed before she found herself waiting for a reply that wasn't coming. She took his hand and leaned forward to kiss his forehead.

"Wherever you are, sweetie," she whispered as she rested her forehead on his, "we need you to come back to us. Please, find your way back."

Elise stood and wiped a tear from her eyes. "And you'd better not tell anyone you saw a tear in my eyes. I have a reputation to protect."

She gave him one last kiss, then went and sat down in one of the chairs. She wished she could block out the beeping machinery, but that was a lost cause. Somehow, though, it moved to the background and she found herself drifting off.

All the hospital sounds—the beeping machines, the carts moving in the hallway, people being paged—faded to the background. She felt like she was just getting into a reasonable state of relaxation when something jarred her awake. Unsure of what it was at first, she instinctively looked to Brodi. Nothing seemed to have changed, but she stood to check on him anyway.

"Miss Elise, I am so sorry to have awakened you."

Elise looked around to see Kaori standing in the doorway. The teenager was wide-eyed and looking uncertain, so Elise smiled at her and beckoned her in.

"It's OK, Kaori. Come in."

"I don't want to disturb…"

"Come on. Did you just come from the meeting? Is that what's bothering you? Come in, hon, he doesn't look scary. I promise you."

Kaori timidly made her way over, and Elise took her hand and guided her to Brodi's bedside. Still seeing her uncertain, she lifted Brodi's hand and placed it in Kaori's.

"I told you it was OK to touch him, remember? You won't hurt him."

Kaori held Brodi's hand in one of hers, and placed her other hand over his. She slowly began moving her thumb back and forth over his hand, and the motion seemed to relax her.

"See? You can't hurt him. In fact," Elise gave the younger woman's shoulder a squeeze, then leaned forward and kissed Brodi's forehead, "Nate says that Brodi can probably hear us, and feel our touch, so it probably helps him to have friends around." She turned back to Brodi, resting a hand on top of his head. "You can hear us, can't you, baby? And I bet you even know Kaori is holding your hand."

Kaori's eyes grew wide, and she gasped.

"What is it, Kaori?"

"I am not sure. I thought…but I must be mistaken."

Elise felt her heart jump into her throat, and she barely contained her grin. "He squeezed your hand, didn't he?"

Kaori nodded. "Yes. Very faint, almost not there at all…but then he must be very weak."

"I KNEW I couldn't have imagined it! That's why we HAVE to get his parents here!"

"Oh! I nearly forgot!" She looked down at Brodi's hand in hers. "That's what I came here to tell you. We had a team meeting. When my father learned of the difficulty in getting Brodi's parents here, he offered to buy them tickets. He purchased emergency tickets, and their flight arrives in the morning. Nate will pick them up."

"That's wonderful! And very generous of your father."

Kaori looked down shyly.

"Brodi has been like a brother to me…helping me, teaching me, protecting me. It is not something that has gone unnoticed by my father, and it is not something he takes lightly. My father views Brodi as an honorable man."

Elise smiled. "Did you hear that, Brodi? You're an honorable man."

"Will he wake up, Elise?"
With that one question, Elise's smile disappeared. "I hope so, Kaori." She stopped a moment to steady her voice. "I think the hand squeezes are a good sign. He was kept in a coma on purpose for a few days, but he can't seem to wake up. Maybe his body just needs more time to heal."

"We were told at the meeting that his doctor…"

"I won't let that happen, Kaori." Elise said curtly. Then, more softly, she began again, "Neither will his parents. Right now he's being given nutrition and being kept hydrated through the feeding tube and the IV. His heart and lungs are stable, but if there is trouble we'll deal with that when the time comes. Right now, the only way any of this stops, until he wakes up, is if I say so. And that is NOT going to happen. So don't worry about that one, Baby Girl."