**I DO NOT OWN THIS SHOW OR THE CHARACTERS IN THE SHOW, I AM JUST BORROWING THEM**

-The Crime Scene-

The police had finally arrived along with ambulances. Catherine, sitting next to a still unconscious Vincent, runs her hand along his face and through his hair. Tears falling from her face, and landing on his. Hoping that the love of her life would just wake up. Even though he was not dead, death could sit in at any given moment…and she knew that. EMT's surrounded them while lifting Vincent up onto a stretcher, and rolling him into the back of a near ambulance. Catherine approached the ambulance to get in, when they stopped her from entering.

"Do you know this man?" asked one of the workers. Tears running down Catherine's face as she said, "Yes…he's….he's my everything!"

"Well ma'am, we are going to take good care of him from here. I believe one of those detectives over there…" pointing behind her, "…would like to get a statement from you and the others."

Catherine hesitated. "I can't leave him…he needs me!"

"Ma'am, he will be fine. We got everyth…"

"I'M GOING WITH HIM!" she interrupted in a harsh, yet firm voice. "If the detectives need my statement, they will know where to find me. I will not leave him!"

Catherine pushes her way into the back of the ambulance sitting next to Vincent…holding his hand and squeezing it in hopes for a squeeze back. Nothing. She raised his hand up to her face, nursing it, and then giving it a kiss while more tears built up in her eyes. She truly loved this man, and would do whatever it takes to see his beautiful, amazon eyes staring back at her. To see his cute dimples as he smiled. To feel his touch as he wrapped his arms around her. To have her Vincent back. She whispered to his ear, "Vincent if you can hear me…I love you. Please wake up for me….Please!...I need you…I can't live without you."

-Vincent's Mind-

Vincent could hear every word Catherine was saying. He kept screaming out her name, but they never turned into voiced words. She couldn't hear him. He couldn't make her hear him. His body felt so numb…..not able to move an inch. His heart ached as he felt each tear hit his face and every sob coming out of her. Catherine…I wish that you could hear me. I love you too! Please don't cry baby. I wish I could hold you. Comfort you. The hurt in your voice, hurts me. Catherine…I'm still here. Always will be. I'm not going anywhere.

-Hospital-

-The sound of machines beeping in Vincent's ear let him know he was in the hospital. The numbing in his body began to fade as the harsh pain of cracked ribs, and a dislocated shoulder made him feel uneasy. He was still not able to move, for he was still out of consciousness. Footsteps neared, then a hand brushed his forehead and through his hair. The touch of the small hands was so familiar. It was her…Catherine.-

"Good Evening! I'm sure you already know my name. I'm Doctor Marcus."

Catherine took the doctor by hand and shook it. "Hi, I'm Catherine….So any news yet on when he will wake up?"

"I'm sorry my dear, but it could be a while for that to happen. He has some pretty serious injuries. Head trauma in the back of his head, broken ribs, dislocated shoulder….the pain alone has put him into shock. Now we are doing everything we can for him to keep him comfortable. But it could be days before he wakes."

"But he will wake up….right? I mean he will be okay?" said a concerned Catherine.

"As far as the test results are concerned he will be okay. We relocated his shoulder, and gave him medicine for the pain. The nurse will be in shortly to put a waist brace on him and to insert a feeding tube to feed him to keep his energy up to par. I promise you, as an old friend and ex co-worker, I will do everything I can to help him." claimed the Doctor.

"Thank you, doctor."

-See Catherine. I'll be okay….and now I will fight hard to come back to you. No more tears.-

No sooner than the doctor had left, a tall man dressed in a brown suit with a shiny badge hooked to his belt loop came into the room. He had a binder of paperwork in his right hand and a cup of coffee in his left hand. God that coffee sure smelt good to Catherine.

"Hello…I'm detective Brown. Are you Catherine Chandler?" he said in a musky tone. She nodded, looking puzzled as to how he knew her name when she didn't even talk to him at the crime scene.

"Uhm…yes. How did you…"

"I got your name from the other witnesses that I had spoken with." he interrupted. "I can clearly see that Mr. Keller isn't in any condition to talk about what happened, so I would like to get a statement from you if you don't mind?"

"Of course." said Catherine as she turned back towards Vincent. She mumbled to him, "I'll be right back, okay?" Then she bent down to kiss him on the forehead. She followed the detective out into the hallway, then to an empty waiting room. She sat down at one of the tables and he did the same.

"Okay, I'll need you to sign here and…"

"I know what I am doing. I too am a detective and I know how this process works. Look, I'm in a hurry to get back to Vincent in case he wakes up."

The detective nodded and got up to leave the room. He turns back towards Catherine and hands her a little white card with information and his name. "Call me when you get done with those papers or if you or Vincent need anything. Also, I'll be keeping tabs with the hospital so I will know when he wakes up. You have a nice day, Detective!"

She nodded. She grabbed the papers and began to walk back to the room Vincent's lifeless body laid in. The nurses were there to put the brace on him and to insert the feeding tube. Catherine couldn't bare to watch them do this and teared up and walked back out of the room. Get a grip Catherine she said to herself. Tess and JT walked up to Catherine. "Hey, how is he?" shot out a stressed JT.

"He's going to be fine…but, I don't think I will!" Catherine said as she buried her face into her palms, balling a river of tears. Tess tried to comfort her and Catherine jerked away shouting, "Get off of me! I don't deserve comfort. I deserve to be the one in that bed….not Vincent! This is all my fault, Tess!"

"Don't say that, Cat! You couldn't have prevented this no more than we could! Hey?! You have got to stop blaming yourself for this and buck up to fight with Vincent through this. When he wakes up, do you actually want him to see you upset? It would only upset him more, and you know it!"

"Tess…I"

"JT and I will stay here with him. Go for a walk….get a coffee and then come back. I am not only worried about Vincent's condition, but I am also worried about you." said a concerned Tess.

"Yeah! I have known Vincent for a long time now and if anything will make him feel better, it will be you standing by his side, strong….not beating yourself up about it!" exclaimed JT.

"Alright….ALRIGHT! But you had best call me if he wakes up!" JT and Tess nodded, then entered the room.

-The Walk-

Catherine made her way out to the parking lot, then towards the nearby coffee shop. Flashbacks of her and Vincent ran through her mind. Her father's wedding. The dancers on that first Valentine's Day. She started to smile. Then she remembered the first time they kissed. The first time they made love, even though he was afraid to. She found herself leaning up against a brick building…tears running down her face. She sniffled then cleared her throat, while wiping her tears away. Another flashback ran through her mind as she began to walk again of the time they were in the subway train…. "I can't live without you!"…. as Vincent had said to her, made her heart melt once again.

She finally arrived at the coffee shop. Bells rang as she entered. She was greeted by an elder woman.

"Hello, dear. What can I get for you?" the old woman asked.

"I'll just have a small coffee…black. Thank you!"

"Coming right up, dear."

Catherine pulled some money out of her pocket.

"Here you go darlin'….it's on me."

"No…no I don't mind paying for it…"

"You look like you have had such a rough day. Please….it's on me."

Catherine thanked the woman and placed some money into the Tip Jar sitting on the counter. She began to walk back towards the hospital…more flashbacks of the man she cared about dearly.

-Back at the Hospital-

-Her presence isn't near. Where did she go? JT and Tess are here. Maybe they sent her away? She could use a break….but I miss her already. I'm starting to feel more of my body now. Maybe I should try to move?-

JT and Tess were lost in conversation when suddenly JT grabbed Tess by her shoulders, the look of shock and relief on his face. "Tess! Look!"

"Oh my god! I'll call Cat!"

Vincent was awake, groaning in pain. JT called out for a doctor to come quickly into the room. Nurses and Dr. Marcus rushed in to find Vincent back into consciousness, slowly reaching his left arm up to discover a tube in his mouth. The doctor told the nurses to remove the feeding tube while he ran out to grab the chart.

-Meanwhile-

Catherine came walking through the parking lot of hospital. Unaware of Vincent's awakening. Her phone began to ring and she rushed to answer it. "Hello?! Yes?!"

"Cat, it's Tess….you're not going to believe this, but….Vincent woke up!"

Catherine stood in shock, dropping her coffee to the ground. She hung up the phone quickly and ran through the hospital and back to Vincent's room. As she walked through the door, JT, Tess, the nurses, and Dr. Marcus was all surrounding Vincent in his bed. She stood there in disbelief, not able to move. Tears flooded her eyes. She looked at Vincent…and he looked back at her….their eyes met. He began to smile and said, "Hey! Are you going to just stand there all day or are you going to come hug me?"

She didn't hesitate and ran to him. She wrapped her arms around him, as he wrapped his around her. She looked up at him, still thinking that this was just a dream. She flooded his face with kisses and said, "This isn't real!"

"It's real, Catherine. By the way, I love you too!" Vincent said. Causing her to burst into more tears, realizing he had heard her earlier.

"Hey, hey, hey! Please don't cry. I hate seeing you cry. You're going to make me cry. "

Vincent wiped away Catherine's tears then pulled her closer to him so he could kiss her. Then he looked at everyone around him and asked, "Where's Gabe? And Sam?"

*I know it was probably boring but I had my reasons for writing this chapter. Please leave your reviews! And I'll be back this weekend with chapter 6*