I'm Right Here by Rose Haze

Disclaimer I do not own The Suite Life of Zack and Cody

Author's Note: Heeey... are you ready for the longest chapter of the story? Over three thousand words people! If you get bored halfway through, I totally understand, but I think you should leave a review anyway, lol. You know I love them:) Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Thirteen

Safety Net

"I'm shedding my skin so you can see my face"–Idina Menzel

After what seemed like hours, Dr. Harrison came to get Zack, Carey, Kurt, and Samantha so they could see Cody. Zack was feeling much better, but still a little bit tired.

When they arrived in the recovery room, Carey, Kurt, and Samantha quickly crowded around Cody's bed. Zack sort of hung back, but he still had a perfect view of his brother's face. It was swollen and sort of puffy, which made him feel nervous.

"Why does he look like that?" he asked shakily.

"It is just a side effect from the surgery," Dr. Harrison told him, "it happens most of the time. But don't worry; the swelling will go down within a day or two."

They spent some more time with Cody. Carey and Kurt continued to speak to him as if he were really contributing to their conversation. Zack stood at the foot of the bed and didn't say a word. The adults noticed this, and remembering what happened before the surgery, they urged Zack to talk to Cody. Kurt pulled up a chair for him and they let him have some time alone.

Once the adults were gone, Zack stared at Cody's chest. He watched it go up and down, as if he were really breathing on his own. He couldn't bear to look at his bloated face. It scared him to see Cody looking different. The bruises and stitches were bad enough.

He sat there, unable to speak, for over an hour until his mom came back into the room.

"Come on, Zack, we're going back upstairs. Dr. Harrison told me that they would bring Cody back up in a little while.

Zack nodded and followed her out of the room. He noticed that her face was white and her teeth were clenched.

"What's wrong?" he asked once they were out of the hall.

"Nothing," she replied quickly.

Zack froze, "Yes there is. I can tell. What are you not telling me?"

Carey looked him in the eyes. Her expression softened. Zack looked so scared. His blue eyes were big, as if they were bursting with questions. He seemed so small in the black sweatshirt he was wearing.

She took a deep breath, "They found him."

Zack blinked, "They found who?"

A tear slid down Carey's cheek, "The driver. The police found him."

Zack felt his mouth drop open, "The guy that hit him?"

Carey draped her arm across his shoulders and walked him to the elevator, "Yeah—him. I'm going downstairs with your dad. I want you to go upstairs to where they are going to take Cody. Can you do that for me? I don't want him to be alone."

Speechless, Zack nodded and the two of them went upstairs.

---

Samantha and Zack were sitting in chairs at opposite ends of an empty hospital bed. Cody was still in the recovery room on the floor below, and Carey and Kurt were talking to Officer Ryan and the PIs.

According to Samantha, the driver who hit Cody was being charged with a Hit and Run.

Zack was glad that they found the guy, but he didn't want to hear anything that the police officers had to say. He did not want to know anything about the man who almost killed his brother.

Samantha twirled her long, silky blonde hair around her index finger. She was trying to think of something to say to Zack to fill up the awkward silence that tainted the room. But she didn't know very much about him. She didn't know very much about twelve year old boys in general. And Kurt didn't really talk about the twins very often. Sometimes Samantha forgot that he even had kids in the first place.

"So," she said, after finally remembering something that Kurt told her, "Your dad told me that you went to math camp this summer."

Zack looked up, "No, that was Cody. I didn't go."

"Oh," she said, surprised, "I assumed both of you went."

He narrowed his eyes, "How did you know about that anyway?"

Samantha gulped and realized that she shouldn't have said anything. Obviously Carey didn't tell her sons that it was Kurt who paid for Cody to go to camp.

"Well," she said as she tried to cover up for her slip, "Your mother lets us know what's going on in your lives every now and then."

'She does?' Zack thought to himself, 'I wish Dad would do the same.'

He thought about all the birthdays and Christmases when they didn't hear anything from him. 'Why didn't Mom tell me and Cody that she and Dad were still in touch? Why did she let us think that he never cared?'

Out loud he asked, "How long have you and my Dad known each other?"

"I met him about three years ago. But we've only been together for nine months."

Zack nodded than stared sullenly at the floor.

Once again, Samantha was at a loss for words.

'What do you say to someone whose brother, and best friend, is on the brink of death?' she wondered to herself.

"Tell me what it's like to live in a hotel," she blurted out.

"It's good," Zack answered, "There's always something to do there."

"I stayed at the Tipton in Florida once when I was a little girl," Samantha told him, "my dad had to be there for a business convention and he took the whole family. We had to go to these fancy dinners every night. But one day my older sister and I ordered room service without telling our parents. We ordered an elaborate breakfast and silk linen and a few other things that we didn't need. It cost a fortune and when our parents found out what we did they were livid."

A tiny grin formed on Zack's face, "What did they do?"
"They grounded us for the rest of the vacation," Samantha said with a laugh, "So instead of going out to boring dinners with stuck-up rich people every night, my sister and I stayed at the hotel where we could swim, watch TV, and hangout in the game room."

Zack laughed, "That's what me and Cody do whenever we're grounded."

"Do you guys get into a lot of trouble?" she asked cautiously. She was glad that Zack was talking to her, but she didn't want to upset him by bringing up Cody.

"Oh yeah, we're always in trouble," his voice trailed off a little, "it's usually my fault though."

"I'm sure that's not true," she said gently.

Zack shook his head, "No—it is. Whenever we start trouble it's my idea. Cody just goes along with it. Sometimes I have to trick him into going along with it. And sometimes he gets punished for things that I do that he has nothing to do with," he paused, "he hates that."

His last few words came out in a whisper.

Samantha shook her head, "Cody's old enough to make his own decisions. When he agrees to go along with whatever it is you guys do, it's his own fault—not yours."

"Don't talk about Cody like that," Zack said sharply, "You don't even know him. And it's not his fault that I force him to do things that he doesn't want to do."

Samantha was taken by surprise, "No—Zack, that's not what I meant."

"It's my fault that he gets into trouble, and it's my fault that he might die."

"Don't say that—"

Zack interrupted her, "It's true!" he cried as his eyes filled with tears, "My mom was supposed to pick him up from the library when his meeting was over but she was late so he tried to walk home. But it's my fault that she was late, and now Cody's in a coma. And it's all because I had to be stupid and immature like always."

"You can't blame yourself for this. It was an accident—accidents happen."

Zack swiped the tears away, "I just want him to be okay."

Samantha looked at him. He was starring at her with his pleading blue eyes. He looked so helpless. She got up and walked around the bed and sat on it, facing Zack. She wasn't sure what she should do. She didn't know Zack very well, but he was obviously hurting. He needed to be comforted and reassured, but Samantha couldn't do that. She didn't want to give him false hope. So she did the only thing she could think of.

She hugged him.

For a second his body tensed. Samantha thought he was going to pull away. But he didn't. He leaned his head against his shoulder and wrapped his arms around her neck.

"I know this is hard for you, Zack," she said soothingly. She massaged his back as his body shook.

Zack did not want to cry, but it was so hard holding it in. And for some reason he felt like he could trust Samantha, so he let the tears fall.

"I miss him so much," he sobbed, "It's only been two days but I miss him."

Samantha held him close to her, "Of course you do. Have the two of you ever spent any time apart from each other before?"

"Only that time that Cody went to camp and I stayed home. I missed him then too. I tried to get him to come home early but he didn't want to."

"You obviously care about him a lot," said Samantha.

Zack nodded into her shoulder. He did care about Cody. Even though he didn't always show it, he cared more about Cody than he did anybody else. He only hoped that he would have chance to show him that in the future.

"What's going on?"

Zack and Samantha broke apart and saw Carey standing at the door.

"Are you okay, Zack?" she asked.

"Fine," he said. He wiped the tears off his cheeks with the sleeve of his black shirt.

Carey frowned slightly. Seeing Zack hugging Samantha struck a chord with her. But seeing him crying was much worse. For one thing she hated seeing him upset. But something else about it bugged her even more. Why could he open up to Samantha when he couldn't open up to his own mother?

"They're bringing Cody up right now."

"Where's Kurt?" Samantha asked.

"He's waiting for you in the car," she answered icily.

Samantha stood up and slung her purse over her shoulder, "I'll see you tomorrow, Zack," she said, squeezing his hand.

He looked up and offered a small half smile, 'See you tomorrow," he echoed.

She averted her eyes as she passed Carey, "Bye, Carey," she said shyly.

Carey watched her walk out the door and did not utter a single word.

"What did the detectives say?" Zack asked awkwardly

"They're holding him for now," said Carey, "He's being charged with a Hit and Run, but they won't know the extent of what happens until we get a proper diagnosis on Cody."

"Why not?"

Carey looked at him, "Because he might be charged with something else depending on the outcome."

"I don't get it," Zack said after digesting what she said.

"Well, he might just be charged with a Hit and Run, but he might get charged with Vehicular Homicide."

Zack felt the blood rush from his head, and a wave of dizziness crashed over him. Whenever the possibility of Cody not making it was brought up, Zack would feel light headed. He took a few deep breaths frowned at Carey.

'Why is she acting so mean, he wondered, 'first she was rude to Samantha, and now she's talking about Cody dying again.'

He was just about to tell her off when the door opened. A few orderlies wheeled Cody in on a stretcher.

Zack watched as they carefully lifted Cody from the stretcher and laid him in the bed. They adjusted the IV and the heart monitor. One of the orderlies tightened the respirator mask to Cody's mouth and another pulled the covers up to his neck.

"Sleep well," one of them said as the group left the room.

Zack noticed that Cody's cheeks were still a little puffy, but the swelling was definitely going down. He was starting to look more like Cody and less like a chipmunk.

Zack sat down in the chair and took Cody's hand. He kissed his forehead and ran his fingers through his soft blonde hair.

"Good night, Cody," he whispered, "thanks for not leaving me."

He leaned back in the chair, and then quickly fell asleep.

--Cody's Point of View

I'm so afraid. Mom's talking to me, but I still don't understand what's going on. I don't know where I am.

Zack's with me. I can tell even though he's not saying anything. Mom tells me that Zack's here, but I already know that.

"Hey, Cody."

Zack? Can you hear me? Where are we?

He can't here me.

He's talking to mom right now. They aren't paying attention to me but that's okay.

Now they are fighting. I want them to stop. They are making me nervous. STOP FIGHTING! MOM, ZACK, PLEASE STOP!

I try to scream, but I can't hear myself. Mom, Zack, I just want you to stop yelling at each other.

After awhile they do stop. Mom tells me that everything's okay.

I feel better when she says this, but Zack doesn't. He's sad and upset. He feels like he's trapped, like he's falling.

He leaves for awhile with mom, but they come back.

We stay together, just the three of us. I'm happy when they are with me.

---

They leave again. Now I'm alone and scared. It's so dark. Oh, God. I'm nervous. I want them to come back. I want Zack. I hate being by myself.

---

Zack's here again. I want him to talk to me, but he doesn't. It's still better then being alone. Mom's here now too. She says 'hi' to me then we sit silently.

After awhile Mom leaves again and it's just me and Zack. I think he feels better when it's just the two of us. He's touching my face where it hurts the most. He makes some of the pain go away somehow.

Now Mom's back. She tells Zack that she brought someone with her. It's Maddie from the hotel. She says 'hi' to me, but it sounds uncomfortable.

Zack leaves me again...

...He doesn't come back.

---

I'm alone for a long time. I'm scared and lonely again. When I'm alone everything hurts more. There's nothing to distract me from the pain. My head hurts the most, and my cheek stings and my back is sore.

---

My Dad comes back. He talks to me. His friend, Samantha, is here too. I don't know her, but she is very nice. She talks to me, but it's hard to understand what she is saying.

Mom and Zack come back in eventually. Zack seems far away, but I know he's here.

I listen to Mom, Dad and Samantha. They let me know that they are here for me and that they love me. They tell me to stay strong.

I can tell that Zack is nervous. I want to tell him that everything is okay, but he is so far away. I wish it could just be the two of us, but Dad and Mom and Samantha won't leave.

All of the sudden there are more people here. They are making my family leave. But I don't want Zack to go yet!

"WAIT!"

That was Zack. He says he wants to be alone with me. Everybody leaves.

Zack holds my hand.

"Hey buddy, it's me. I'm here now"

I know! Zack, I know that you're with me.

"I'll be waiting for you right here. So don't leave me."

I won't leave you. You're the one who keeps leaving me!

He's crying now. I want to tell him that everything's fine, but I don't know if it will be.

"Everything's going to be fine."

Somehow he knows what I'm thinking even though we are so far apart. He probably doesn't even realize that he knows that. I don't think that he believes everything's going to be fine, but knowing that we are thinking the same thing makes me feel happy.

"And if it's not fine I just need you to know that I love you."

I know that... but he sounds scared. I'm starting to feel confused again.

Zack is crying again, but he's trying really hard to stop. Zack hates to cry because it makes him feel like a baby. I don't even remember the last time he cried. I want to tell him that I don't think that he's a baby.

He kisses my forehead. He's so close now. I want him to stay with me... wherever I am.

"I don't want to lose you, Cody."

I don't want to lose you either. I never want to lose you...

Zack is getting further away. He's leaving me! Zack, don't leave, please don't leave me!

But he does leave me. I am alone again. Alone and scared.

People are all around me. They are touching me. I don't know who they are. I don't even know if they are people—are they demons? Am I dead?

They are scaring me. I want them to leave me alone so I can be with Zack again. But they won't stop touching me. They take me away...

---

I feel something prick the back of my hand... I'm really tired. Everything's... going...away...

---

It's still dark. I'm still scared. Everything hurts except for my chest. It doesn't hurt to breath anymore.

I wish that Zack and Mom were here, but I am still alone.

---

Somebody is taking me somewhere. I don't know who it is and I don't know where we're going...

So many people are crowded around me. I don't know any of them. At least I don't think I do. Where are Zack and Mom? Or Dad? Or even Samantha—even she would make me feel safe.

The people are touching me. They are moving me around. I want to trash around to get out of their grasps, but I can't. I can't move.

I am happy when they finally leave—even though I hate being all by myself.

But I'm not all by myself. Mom and Zack are here. Zack kisses my forehead and plays with my hair.

"Goodnight, Cody. Thanks for staying with me."

He stays close to me, holding my hand.

He doesn't leave.

I feel safe again.

To Be Continued…

A/N Please let me know what you think. Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter twelve!