Jessie followed Mrs. Nash down the hall, unsure as to what exactly she had gotten herself into. Surely she wouldn't have to deal with blood, right? Wasn't that against hospital policy? "Where are we going?" she finally asked.

Mrs. Nash shot her a smile from over her shoulder and said, "We're going to a separate wing. There's a special patient I think you should meet."

They exited the room, meeting fewer and fewer people as they left the wing. Their shoes made quiet tapping sounds as they became the only people in the hall. Mrs. Nash led Jessie through another wing and turned towards a door at the end of the hall, beckoning for Jessie to follow her. "Don't worry," she assured Jessie, quelling any worries that the girl might have. "It's fine."

Jessie nodded and followed the nurse inside, her eyes widening when she stepped fully into the room. State of the art equipment covered every inch of the room from the monitors to the bed itself. Light filtered in from large, open windows, and Jessie could see for quite a long ways through their polished glass. She turned to look at the patient, expecting him or her to be looking at her, wondering why she had suddenly turned up in their room, but then she stopped.

Lying there, covered in two blankets, was a young man, perhaps a couple years older than Jessie herself. His hair was a rich, chestnut color and as curly as could be. His eyes were closed and his breathing was regulated by an oxygen hose connected to his nose. The monitor proclaimed that his heart was beating at a rather low, but steady pace, and aside from a few scratches on his face and arms, Jessie could not see an ailment that would have landed him in the hospital.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked, turning to Mrs. Nash, who seemed to be waiting expectantly, for she didn't answer for a moment.

"Do you not know who he is?" Mrs. Nash asked her, sounding slightly surprised.

Jessie turned and peered at the young man again. "No," she told the nurse. "Should I?"

Mrs. Nash smiled broadly and nodded. "This is Jason Grey. You've heard of the Connect 3 band, right?"

Jessie frowned and then blushed bright red. "I'm sure Diana told you that I'm a foster child," she prefaced. "I've never really watched much TV and I don't buy CDs because they tend to break from one house to the other." She shrugged. "Sorry."

Mrs. Nash glanced over her face for a moment, and Jessie felt that she was once again being studied. "Perhaps, then," she told Jessie, "you'll be the best thing for him." She motioned for Jessie to come sit next to her on two of the plentiful, plush chairs scattered around the room. "I'll tell you a little bit about him, and then I have to get back to work."

"Okay," said Jessie softly.

Mrs. Nash glanced at the Jason and said, "Connect 3 is a group of three brothers that are pretty popular with the teenage girls," she said. "There's Nate, Shane, and then there's Jason. He's the oldest, and he's the one that gets the least credit." She paused, making sure that Jessie was following her, and then continued on. "Two months ago, Jason was driving home from an after party and was hit by another car. He's been in a coma ever since, and almost everyone's given up on him. No one expects him to come out of it anymore." Mrs. Nash sighed. "Poor boy. For some reason, he doesn't want to come out of it." She turned and smiled at Jessie. "That's where you come in."

Jessie, having taken in all the information, frowned. "How?" she asked. She was no one special. She wasn't even normal, according to a growing consensus of people. She glanced at Jason and felt her heart immediately go out to him. Looking at his face and studying it for the first time, she began to understand. She knew what it felt like to feel that you're not important. She knew what it felt like to want to go to sleep and to never wake up. She also knew what it felt like to have everyone you knew give up on you. It hurt.

Mrs. Nash waited, watching as Jessie slowly began to realize why she had been brought here. A small smile played at the corner of her lips as she watched a light began to dawn in Jessie's eyes. When the girl looked at her once more, Mrs. Nash told her, "Because you're perfect for him."

"But I don't know what to do," Jessie told her softly, and the tone of her voice conveyed desperation, like she wanted to help, but had no idea how.

Mrs. Nash took Jessie's hand and led her over to the bed, pulling a chair behind her. She set the chair next to the bed and said, "Have a seat." Jessie obeyed. "Take his hand." Jessie reached out, and her hand touched Jason's. She curled her slim fingers around his and looked up at Mrs. Nash, ready for further instructions. "Now just talk to him," Mrs. Nash told her. "He can hear everything you say, and doctors have proven that people sometimes come out of comas because of someone caring enough." She winked at Jessie. "I'm sure you can do that, right?"

Jessie stiffened for a moment, fear making her uneasy. "But I have quiet spells," she told the nurse worriedly. "I might just stop talking and not want to talk anymore, and I can't control it." She bit her lip and looked down at where her hand was still entwined with Jason's. "Perhaps I'm not the right person after all."

Mrs. Nash gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Don't say that," she told Jessie. "If that happens, then simply hold his hand. Presence and actions can say more sometimes than even the spoken word." She smiled again kindly. "Any more questions?"

Jessie shook her head. "No," she said softly. "I'll give it a try."

"Good," Mrs. Nash said and headed towards the door of the room. "I'll come get you when Diana's shift is over."

Jessie nodded. "Thank you," she said sincerely. The nurse nodded and slipped out the door as Jessie turned back to where Jason lay. Could she do this? Could she talk to a boy she had never met before? What would she say? Should she talk about herself, or would that be selfish? She couldn't exactly talk about him since she knew absolutely nothing about him, now could she?

With only the slightest amount of hesitation, Jessie squeezed his hand a little tighter and opened her mouth to begin talking. She would tell him about herself. She would tell him about her hopes and her dreams, and maybe, just maybe, he would wake at some point and tell her about his.

A/N: Hey you guys! Here's the next chapter. Hopefully you liked it! Please review! I've loved reading every single one of those reviews. However, some of your reviews would not let me respond to them, so for those that I did not thank, thank you! I haven't forgotten about you. FF is just making it kinda hard at the moment!! LOL!