Chapter 7: My Brother (And Sister's) Keeper

Beep. Beep. Beep. The constant choruses of heart monitors were the only sound filling the halls as Spencer peered through the glass into the hospital room. The hallway was cold and unfriendly, filled to the brim with bitter silence and fear of the unknown.

"What…what happened?" Were the only words she could mutter.

"Drunk driver." Jason's nurse, Ellen, replied solemnly. "It appears that your brother was on his way home from work and another car hit him straight on. The driver was under the influence."

"Will he be okay?" Her voice broke on the last word.

Ellen paused. "Well, we hope so. He's comatose right now, and we are running some tests to see if there was any permanent brain damage. He was trapped until the car for a good ten minutes before we reached him, but the engine didn't catch fire, thankfully."

Spencer nodded, still frozen. "Thank you." She whispered. Ellen put a reassuring hand on her shoulder before disappearing down the hall.

Toby came to stand next to her, reaching for her hand. She sighed and let him take it. He didn't try to make her talk, or ask her any questions. He just stood there, waiting, being her supportive rock. Spencer was rooted to the spot, unable to tear her gaze from her half-brother, lying on the other side of the window, in the dimly lit room, with his face expressionless and an IV protruding from his wrist. His left arm was bandaged as well as his leg. A large, newly stitched cut zig-zigged along his forehead. It was everything Spencer could do not to bust through the door and shake him until he woke up.

A loud sound of footsteps hammering against the tile made them both turn, and Melissa came sprinting down the hall, followed by a man Spencer had never seen before. She scampered to a stop before them and struggled to catch her breath. "I came as quickly as I could." She wheezed. "How is he? What happened?" She exclaimed. The man behind her – who was, shockingly, not Wren – looked nervous as well.

Spencer arched an eyebrow at their unknown guest, but nevertheless replied. "He got in a car accident on the way home from work." She said softly, thankful that she could get the words past her lips.

Melissa pushed past her and pressed against the window, "Why can't we see him?" She asked.

"He's stable – comatose, but stable – and the doctors won't allow visitors until they finish with their tests." Toby replied, knowing that it would be easier for him to.

Melissa's eyes were glassy and she sniffed. She closed her eyes tight and when she opened them, they were like black fire. "Who was driving the car?" She demanded angrily.

"Uh, the nurse didn't say. He's probably in the hospital, too." Spencer answered. "Uhm, shouldn't…shouldn't Wren be here?"

Melissa shook her head. "He's at a conference with some…other doctors in Chicago." She said, her voice monotone.

"Uh-huh." Spencer said, knitting her eyebrows as her gaze once again returned to the mysterious man, then back to Melissa. "And, uh, who is this?"

"Hm?" Melissa turned to her, in a daze. "Oh, this is Franco. Franco, this is Spencer and her boyfriend, Toby."

Franco nodded. "Nice to meet you. Melissa's said so much about you."

"Pleasure…" Spencer replied at the same time, her face still furrowed with confusion.

Thankfully, Toby stepped in to save her, "Uhm, here, how about…Franco and I go and get more information on the incident from the nurse while you two…catch up?" He said, giving her a knowing look.

Spencer nodded. "Yeah." She said quietly. Toby began to saunter down the hall, and Franco dutifully followed.

Once they turned the corner, Spencer rounded on his sister, "Who the hell is he?" She whispered.

"Franco? Oh, my repair guy." Melissa waved her hand, shrugging it off.

"You-Your repair guy? And he….what? Gave you a ride to the hospital? Where's Taylor?" Spencer demanded, irritated with Melissa's breezy attitude.

"With Mom and Dad. She was spending the night with them and they are on their way here with her. I called them." She replied, her eyes still fixed on the window.

"Well, what does he mean when he says that you've 'told him so much about me?' Did you – " Realization struck Spencer, and her face froze. "Oh my God, Melissa, no, you didn't."

Melissa finally turned to her, her expression reading, 'I can explain.'

"No, no, no, no. Melissa, you are not having an affair on Wren. Are you?" She asked, panicked.

"I…" Melissa searched for the right words. "It's complicated."

"What? No, no it's not." Spencer shook her head frantically. "There's nothing complicated about it. You're married to Wren and having an affair on him with your repair guy."

"Oh, please, like he's ever treated me better." Melissa snapped, her eyes roving Spencer up and down, the past bubbling to the surface.

Spencer squeezed her eyes shut, "Melissa, I thought that we were over this."

"We are." Melissa said, crossing her arms tight. "But you don't have to live like I do." She stressed each of the syllables, her eyes like glaciers. "You don't have to walk around every day knowing that your husband would rather be with someone else. You don't have to watch your daughter grow up with a father who doesn't give a rat's ass about her. You have someone who cares about you more than anything. I would give anything to have that. And Franco? He makes me happy. He makes me feel like I'm worth something. Don't you think I deserve that?" She asked.

Spencer stood there for a moment, frozen and silent. She pursed her lips and her eyes fell on her shoes – which she had hastily thrown on in a rush to get dressed and forgotten to tie the laces. She shook her head, not raising her gaze. "There has to be another way." She murmured softly.

"Well, there isn't." Melissa retorted. "Unless you want to call up a divorce lawyer and damage Taylor's life before she even turns four."

"Melissa…" Spencer peered up at her sister. "I know that Wren can be…rude and unloving but…will you at least talk to him about it? If not for me, then for Taylor?"

Melissa let out a breath and weighted her options for a moment. "Fine." She said finally, her words short, crisp, and to the point. "I'll do it. I'm not saying it will work, but if it's what Taylor needs…then I'll give it a shot."

"Thank you." Spencer whispered.

There was a brief moment of silence before another refrain of scrambling footsteps erupted from down the hall. Spencer looked over her shoulder and spotted her parents, Taylor in tow, hurrying towards them.

"What happened?" Veronica asked, out of breath.

"Whath's wong with Uncle Jathon?" Taylor lisped, blinking innocently. She stood below them, tugging on the hem of Spencer's sweater.

Spencer knelt down in front of her niece and peered into her eyes, petting her hair softly. "Taylor, remember when I told you about wearing your seatbelt at all times when in a car?"

"Yeah." Taylor nodded. Her Melissa-like face furrowed with concern.

"And remember what I told you could happen if you didn't?"

"That you could get hurt in a car accident?"

Spencer nodded. "Mm-hmm. Well, Uncle Jason was on his way home from work and he got in an accident."

"Was he wearing his seatbelt?" Taylor asked.

Spencer smiled slightly, in spite of herself. "Well, I think so. But another driver hit him straight on."

"Is he okay?"

Spencer took a breath and sighed. "Yeah. Well, we hope so. The doctors are running some tests on him to make sure that he won't have any brain damage."

Taylor's eyes filled with tears, "But what if he isn't okay?"

Melissa knelt down beside Spencer, "Shh, shh, Tay, honey?" She said soothingly. "I'm going to need you to be a big girl for Mommy. You have to be brave."

"Like Aunt Spencer?" Taylor asked, her eyes roving over to her aunt, before snapping back to her mother.

Melissa chuckled and cupped her chin. "Yes. Just like Aunt Spencer."

Taylor nodded, "Okay."

"Alright, honey, how about you have Grandma take you to get some dinner from the cafeteria?"

"Okay."

Veronica nodded at Melissa, before taking Taylor's hand and gently leading for down the hall.

"I'm going to go speak with the nurse." Peter said gravely, before disappearing in the opposite direction.

Before Spencer could further convince Melissa of the severity of her actions, Toby returned, Franco at his heels.

"The, uh, nurse says that the doctors are definitely keeping him over night, but so far, there isn't any permanent damage." Toby reported, coming to stand before Spencer and Melissa. "But they did say that when he wakes up, there's a possibility that he might have some amnesia."

Spencer closed her eyes tight, willing herself not to cry. "So he's going to be okay?" she choked out.

Toby took her hand. "Yeah. They think so."

Spencer grinned widely and Toby pulled her into a hug. She sighed into him before pulling back, realizing that her recent conversation with Melissa might bring about some jealousy. She cleared her throat and licked her lips.

Toby fished his cell phone out of his pocket, pressing a button and it glowed to life. "Caleb says that he's in the waiting room with Hanna. Aria and Ezra are there, too. Do you want to go see them?" He asked her softly.

Spencer nodded. "Yeah." She turned to Melissa, wiping the leftover tears from her eyes. "We'll see you guys later."

"Spencer…" Toby's gentle voice rang out through Spencer's subconscious. She felt a soft poke on her shoulder, and her eyelids fluttered. "It's two in the morning. Don't you think we should be getting home?"

"Hmmm?" Spencer asked, stretching a bit as she awakened. She was curled up in a ball, leaning against Toby's shoulder, in the waiting room of the hospital. The room was nearly empty, except for the nurse behind the counter and an elderly man sitting a few chairs down. Hanna, Caleb, Aria, and Ezra had left hours ago, just as she had drifted off to sleep.

"You have class in six hours. And then you have to pick Em up at the airport tonight." Toby said gently, "I think you should get some sleep."

Spencer sat up groggily. "Don't take me back to my dorm. I don't…wanna wake Bree up…" She said, her eyelids fluttering.

"Shh…you can sleep. I'll carry you." Toby murmured softly. Spencer vaguely heard the sound of him getting to his feet, and within seconds he had scooped her up into his arms, so that she was against his chest.

"Mmm…" She sighed. "Keep me safe." She said hazily.

Toby chuckled. "Alright, I will. Jason will be fine, I promise."

"Okay." She murmured sleepily, and she could hear his laughter once more and felt the soft press of his lips to her forehead.
The last sound she heard was the clank of him unlocking the door of his truck before the allure of sleep pulled her under.