I barely remebered being carried to Alicia's car, or arriving at the hospital, wher apparently they gave me something for the shock. I asked everyone in the famil, except Mimi, to stay away until I knew how they were. They would listen to me because they knew it wouldn't do anygood for them to be crowding the waiting room, waiting for good news that might never come. Mimi still wasn't there yet when Leah returned with a large pumpkin spice frappachino from the cafe in the hospital.

"Thanks." My voice was horse from crying, and I had no idea if I would be ble to keep the icy coffee down, but I needed the caffiene to keep me going. It had been three hours since I got here... Maybe longer. I was starting to feel sleepy, but not in a good way. A haggard looking Mimi, completely back to her old BP (before pregnancy) self walked down the hallway. She was wringing her hnads and her hair was wild.

"Aunt Mimi!" Leah surprised me, by calling Mimi my name for her. Mimi came runnig over to us, whispering a spanish prayer as she held my face and searched my eyes.

"What took you so long?" Mimi coughed and blinked.

"I walked, I couldn't bear myself to be in a car."

"Ah." I still hadn't spoken bug I hugged Mimi so tight I thought that she would break. Mimi wrapped her arms around me, and smoothed my dark brown hair out of my eyes, the tips that I had dyed pink for Mom adn Dad's wedding hadn't been changed back, and they clashed horribly with the orange cami I was wearing over a skin tight white turtle neck Mom had bought me. Mimi pulled my slightly damp hair back and bound it with a orange ribbon she had tied around her wrist.

"Miss Collins?" I pulled away from Mimi and looked at the nurse. She walked over to me, refusing to meet my eyes.

"Yes Ma'am, what can you tell me about my parents? Are they okay?"

"Mr. Tom Collins is stable at the moment, but he still hasn't woken up since he did at the scene. He has a slight concussion and a cerebal contusion." I frowned, understanding her words, which made me even more scared. "His face is badly lacerated, and he required Seventy two stiches in total. He has a broken rib, and a punctured lung, both of which we were able to repair without much difficulty. We set his broken wrist, and we'll have to wait for that to heal on it's own to make sure there are no permanent damages."

"So you're telling me that he's battered as hell, but you think he'll make a full recovery?" Mimi and Leah were sitting on either side of me, each holding one of my hands in both of theirs.

"Yes Ma'am." I sighed with relief.

"When can I see him?"

"Well, you can actually see him now, he's still in a coma though, and he looks pretty bad." I nodded, and looked at her expectantly. "Mr. Angel Collins suffered fourth degree lacerations to his abdomen. He suffered a severe concussion, and a cerebal contussion. he had six broken ribs, and a punctured lung as well. We repaired those, as well as the internal bleeding. His condition is ot as stable as we would like, but we are hopeful. He has yet to wake up." I leaned my forhead on Leah's shoulder.

"Are they in the same room?"

"Yes, we try to keep spouse's together if possible. It seems to speed up the recovery in some cases." I nodded and memorized the room number. THe nurse pointed me of in the correct direction and Mimi, Leah, and I all head toward the room, still holding hands.

I braced myself outside the door, preparing myself for what I might see. When Mimi made to push the door open I held out a hand to stop her. "Aunt Mimi, can I please go in by myself? I need a few minutes alone with them so I can try to understand things. Just give me thrity minutes." Mimi nodded and kissed my forehead, moving to the bench right outside the door. Leah squeezed my hand.

"Me too?"

"Yes baby, you too." I kissed her breifly on her lips and she too turned away and went to sit with Mimi. I turned the door knob and pushed the door open, bracing myself and taking a deep breath.

Room number 3317, ICU, Mercy General. Ashlynn's POV

I gasped in shock as I took in my mother's beautiful features, marred by an ugly white bandage, that i was quite grateful for. I wasn't sure I would be able to handle actually seeing the damage to my mothers face.

Just knowing it was there was bad enough. I sat down in the space between the beds, big enough for a cot I wagered, and nobody was going totell me I couldn't stay here. I grabbed Mom's and looked to her first.

"God damn it Momma. You can't keep scaring me like this and expect to get away with it. I'm so scared for you." I rested my forehead against her hand, crying again. "Please, i don't know if you can hear me, but please, Mommy, if you can. Don't die... I need you, I need you to hold me again, and help me through all this shit.I love you so so so much, you are the only mother I've ever had, and ever wanted tohave. You're to young to die Mom, and I don't know if I could bear it if you did. Think of what it would do to Daddy... He'd be lost without you! Please... Hang on, for our family." Still getting no response out of my mother, and knowing I wouldn't for at least a week I moved closer to dad. I gently picked up his un broken hand and threaded my figers through his like I used to do when we went on walks and it was dark and I was scared.

"Daddy... I know you can hear me... And, well, I love you and It would tear me apart to lose you. You have to hold on! Please, You and Momma are the only family I have ever realy known, and if I lost you... The only parent's I've ever had... Daddy please... I wish we could just close our eyes and count to ten like we did when I was little and you and Momma would clean up one of my scrapes... I wish I could that... Make you close your eyes and fix all of it with a hug and kiss..." I broke down and kissed my father's cheek softly, letting my tears drip onto his gotee, I grimced when red ran down his chin, so I cleaned his chin off, wiping the remaining blood away. "Please stay... Mommy... Daddy... I need you." I closed my eyes and counted to ten many times... Wishing i could store this away as a bad dream. I clmbed into the bed and curled gently around my Mother, careful not to really touch her and cried ont her blanket covered shoulder.

Outside room 3317, ICU, Mercy General, Leah's POV

I don't know how long Mimi and I waited, but it was definately longer than thirty minutes when the door opned and Ashlynn stepped out looking very shaken and pale. I stood up and touched her arm softly. I jumped nack, as hough burned, as she growled and ripped her arm out of my reach.

"Baby, what's wrong."

"Leah, If you value my fucking sanity, then you won't fucking touch me right now."

"Of course-"

"Or talk to me." I frowned and looked nack to Mimi, hoping she could help me. AShlynn was crying, but would allow no one to comfort her. I tried once more to put my arm around her, and managed a short kiss to her cheek before she pushed me away hard.

"God fucking damn it Leah! I said leave me alone! I can't take it! The looks, the touches, the tone of your voice. I need you to make me feel better, but i don't want you near me, because you remind me so much of them! Everything about us is identical to them. The passion, the love, the hurt, the understanding, the need, the want, the attitude, the knowing, the fucking silence! I can't fucking take it anymore!" Ashlynn turned and ran down the hallway, barging past people,a nd she even knocked one person down. I tried to figure out what she meant when she said the "silence" because I sure as hell din't understand her. mimi looked over a me,

"Should we go after her?" I shook my head.

"She'll be back before tonight, you know she's going to stay here." Mimi nodded and walked into the hospital room, crying outat the sight of her bezt friend.I stayed in the hallway, waiting for Ashlynn.

At the scene of the accident, Ashlynn's POV

I leaned against the light pole and watched in morbid fascination as the city cleaning crew scrubbed my parents blood off the street. I slid down the pole so I was sitting firmly on the ground and buried my head in my hands.

I meant every word I had said to Leah. I needed the comfort of knowing she loved me right now, but i couldn't be near her. Everything she did reminded me of them. The kisses the touches, the way she hugged me, the way she spoke to me, the way she didn't speak, but i knew what she was saying. Everything reminded me of them, my parents, the only true parents I've ever had, the parents that are lying in hospital beads, the parents that I loved more than anything in the world the parents that loved me and each other so hard, the parents that might not make not through the night. I lifted my headout of my hands and wiped furiously at my swollen eyes.

"Ashlynn?" I buried my face back in my hands and gave a huge heaving sob. Mark and Miguel were the only two people I hadn't been abl to get ahold of, they were at a play on broadway, and I wouldn't let Alicia spoil their night. Neither of them knew about mom or dad. Miguel let go of Mark, dropping to his knees beside of me.

"Ashlynn, chicita, what's the matter?" Mark dropped to my other side, and I threw my arms around him, sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me, sitting down and tugging me oto his lap.

"Ash, what's happened? Does it have anything to do with this accident they're cleaning up?" I nodded, still unable to form words.

"Chicita, you have to tell us what's worng. Is it Leah?" I shook my head frantically and took dep, gasping breaths."

"M-m-mo-mom-mommy and D-d-da-daddy w-were i-in the t-ta-ta-taxi, 'nd th-the sem-i hi-hi-hit them." I stopped unable to say anymore, I felt like throwing up, so I threw myself out of Makr's lao and threw up right next to the curb.

Miguel gasped, and I could hear him crying. Mark was taking heavy breaths behind me, but he held the few loose strands of my hair off my face as I was violently sick for several consecutive minutes.

"They... They're okay, right?" I shook my head, still trying to hold onto what little was left in my stomach, and wipping my face. My stomach won over, and threw up again.

"I-I wa-want to go ba-back to the H-hospital." Miguel and Mark nodded, and helped me to my feet. I was so weak and sweaty that I leaned against the pole, it was a very cold night, but I was very hot. Miguel put a hand to my forehead and jerked it back.

"She can't walk Papi, look at her, she can barely stand." I closed my eyes and tried to stiffle my tears. Miguel's hispanic accent was soothing my nerves slightly, causing the same calmness that my mothers words always caused.

"Mi-mi, can you sing me a spanish lulabye?" Mark sooped me up in his arms and craddled my head close to his chest. My eyes drooped shut, and Miguel smiled, draping his outer jacket over top of me. He started singing softly, just the song i was waiting to hear. He translated it into english, something my mother had done for a long time.

"The tree's are swaying in the night, the birds have stopped their chirpping, the cat is pacing on the 'sil to gaurd my baby sleeping, the sun has darkened, dimmed her light, and yet you still are weeping. I'll cradle you and c'ress your head, sleep soft my little lady, Momma will still be here to watch my precious baby." He repeated t twice more in spanish, watching as I softly drifted off to sleep.

Hospital room, 3317, Ashlynn's POV.

I woke up to find someone squeezing my hand. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I realized I was laying on a cot, between two beds and the hand holding mine was pleasently large and wamr and dark.

"DADDY!" I jumped up and hugged him as tightly as possible without hurting him. Mimi and Leah were asleep on the couch, their heads together.

"Shh, baby. Don't be so loud, and please don't hug me so tight." I smiled sadly and sat back down on my cot, still squeezing his hand.

"I'm so glad you're awake." Dad looked even worse awake, he was on an oxygen tube, that ran under his nose. "I love you so much, I was afraid I was going to loose you, I didn't know if you were going to wake up. I was so, so, so scared." Dad brought his bad hand up and touched my face.

"It's okay baby, I'm awake now, alothough i'm porbably not going to be able to get out of this bed for another week at least. It's okay. The doctor said my condition is touch and go at the moment. So I have to tell you something, okay baby?"

"Okay daddy." I tipped my face into his hand and bit my lip, trying not to cry.

"You and your mother were the best decisions i ever made in my life, and not a second goes by when I don't thank God for the both of you. I love you both more than life and if this is the last few chances I'll have to tell you that, we'll I can't imagine better company to spend it in. You're my life Ashlynn. Angel and I would be so lost without you." I sniffed back in hard, trying to stop crying as I pecked my father affectinately on the lips.

"I love you Daddy. I don't want you to die."

"I know you don't baby, but when it' my time, it's my time." I frowned and climbed onto the side of the bed, wrapping my arms around him.

"I know Daddy. I know." When it was his time he would ell me, if he had the chance, but if he didn't I would understand. I would have to.

Room 3317, Tom's POV

I cried as my daughter slept in my arms for the rest of the night. I cried for her, I cried for Angel. I cried because I didn't like to be out of control, and I was definately out of controli this situation, and it scared me, the fact that every time I fell asleep might be the last.

"She's beautiful, even like this you know?" I looked over to see that Leah was touching Angel's face softly.

"I know." And she was. I looked at Leah's pale fetures and noticed the red, swollen eyes.

"Leah, I have to talk to you. Come here." Leah wandered over, pulling her pink skirt tighter around her legs. she sat up on the side of my bed, next to Ashlynn. She put a hand on my arm which wsa around Ashlynn's stomach. "When we got hit, we were on our way to finalize your adoption. Angel and I." I frowned and looked over at Angel.

"What?"

"I know, I was surprised when your moms lawyer called and said that you had been left in the gaurdianship of Angel and I. She also left you everything of hers." Leah made a sound between a gasp and a laugh.