Elyse paced the hallway of the hospital. She was crying silently and uncontrollably. When Steven tried to comfort her she brushed him off.

"Mom?" Jennifer asked from her chair in the waiting room. "Is Alex gonna die?" That got her attention. Elyse stopped and looked at her. Steven walked over to the chair and put Jennifer in his lap. Elyse walked over and sat next to them. Steven pushed Jennifer's hair behind her ear.

"Alex is going to be fine Jen. I promise."

"Really?" Jennifer looked up at him.

"Yes. He's going to be okay." Elyse looked at Steven. Then she stood up and walked away. "I'll be right back." Steven got up and followed after her. "Elyse!" She broke down crying and looked around.

"I just wish they'd let us see him." He touched her arm.

"They will."

"It's been hours!"

"Why don't you take Mallory and Jennifer home to change clothes and leave for school?" Elyse looked at him.

"I'm not leaving this hospital until I can see Alex."

"We may not be allowed in. The girls still need to get to school."

"No we don't." Mallory replied walking by.

"Mallory." Elyse scolded. "I'm not going anywhere." Steven sighed.

"Mallory, get your sister. We'll go to the house before you have to go to school."

"Oh man," Mallory walked over to Jennifer, "come on Jennifer."

Elyse was sitting alone when a doctor walked over to her.

"Mrs. Keaton?" She looked up at him. "Alex is out of the danger zone. We may lose him due to trauma but we've done extensive surgery and don't see any more potential problems."

"Can I go in and see him?"

"He's in recovery. You can see him soon." The doctor walked away and Elyse sighed. Alex could be okay. Where was Steven? She wanted to be able to tell him. She was scared and needed Steven to lean on.

When Steven walked into the hospital in the evening he couldn't find Elyse. He left the girls in the cafeteria. As he rounded the corner, a nurse stopped him.

"Mr. Keaton, your wife is in the room with your son."

"Is he awake?" She shook her head.

"No, he's in a coma, but I can take you to the room."

"Thank you." Steven followed her. His heart collapsed when he saw Alex lying in the bed. Elyse held his head and rested her head on his chest. Quietly, he entered the room and rested his hand against her shoulder. She looked up at him. Her face and cheeks were covered in tears and her nose was blood red. "I heard."

"He's in a coma." Elyse said looking at Alex. He wasn't breathing on his own. "He may never wake up." Steven squeezed her shoulder.

"It's fine. He's going to wake up."

"But what if he doesn't?" Steven stood there silently next to her.

A week had passed since Alex first went into the coma. Jennifer was sitting on the bed by Alex's feet. Elyse was in a chair by the bed holding his hand. Mallory had her arms crossed and stood behind Elyse's chair.

"Alex?" Elyse asked.

"ALEX!" Jennifer cried out.

"Come on Alex, wake up." Elyse said rubbing his hand. Alex's eyes opened. They slowly tried to open and then they fluttered. "Alex?" She paused. "Steven! He's awake!" Steven rushed into the room and stood in the doorway.

"Nurse!" He exclaimed.

"Pain." Alex said softly.

"Shh." Elyse replied. "Don't talk, you rest." Steven walked around the bed. He had his hands in his pockets trying to calm down.

"I wonder why you're in pain. You only tried to blow your brains out!" Steven exclaimed. Elyse shot a glance at him.

"Steven!"

"Where'd you get the gun Alex? We don't have weapons in our home. Where did you get that gun?"

"Mr. Keaton!" The nurse yelled. "Come with me." They walked into the hallway. "Your son is in a very crucial state. You cannot do this to him."

"The hell I can't. I need to figure this out."

"You can ask him at home, but as long as he's a patient in this hospital you won't talk to him like that."

"Come on Alex. What happened?" Jennifer asked.

"The school rejected me." He said quietly.

"What?" Elyse asked trying to process what she heard.

"I didn't want to live because I couldn't go to college." Elyse sighed.

"I'm sorry Alex, but I can't believe you did all this because one school rejected you."

"It was all I had."

"We're your family! You have us!" Alex didn't respond right away.

"I need to go to school."

"You aren't thinking straight!"

"For once I am." He responded. "I wasn't good enough for the school. I wasn't even able to die. Lesson over. Story done."

The End