Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

A/N: I know, I know, you guys want to shoot me for taking so long. I'm sorry for the wait. I won't bore you with my excuses this time…lol. But as always, love you guys for reading and for reviewing. You all rock!

There might be some confusion in this chapter so before you start reading and think you missed a chapter or something, this chapter is what happens after all the stuff in the boiler room, and the rest of what happened in that room will be revealed in more detail by either stating or through flashbacks over the next couple of chapters.

Also, because I didn't want to always be saying 'the doctor, the doctor', I've brought in some of my fave ER doctors and nurses in this chapter, and there will be more in the next one, maybe two, as well. So…

Just as I don't own One Tree Hill and its characters, neither do I own ER or its characters. Now onto the chapter. Again sorry for the wait and hope you like it.

…

The doctors were there waiting when the three ambulances pulled in to the ambulance port carrying the five teenagers in need of care. Three were brought out on a gernie and the paramedics gave a quick but thorough summary of their findings. The other two, Nathan and Haley, were able to climb out on their own.

The doctors quickly assessed the three on the gernies, deciding instantly that the two standing were less critical. Unfortunately, there were only two trauma rooms and not enough doctors so they had to decide on the spot which two of the three criticals were in most need of their immediate attention.

"Ok Carter, you take this one to trauma one," a lady doctor, apparently in charge, yelled out to one of the other doctors. "Carol and Chunie, go with him. Sam, you're with me," she said as she began to pull on one of the other stretchers, directing it to trauma 2. "Hi, I'm Doctor Weaver..." she began talking to the patient. "We're gonna take care of you."

"Wait, hold up," Nathan protested. "What about her?" he asked of his beautiful fiance beside him. "Someone has to take care of her."

"Someone will, sir," Weaver informed him. "As soon as we have a trauma room open and a doctor is available."

Nathan followed, pulling the gernie behind him. "You are a doctor," he said. "Why you taking them first?"

"Because they're more critical."

"What? No, what are you, stupid? She was drugged and shot," Nathan argued. "All Lucas did was faint or something. And Damien, he doesn't even deserve your help. Take her instead."

"Patients are treated by priority here, no matter who they are," Weaver told him.

"Which is why you should be taking her. What if she bleeds to death while you're in with this useless piece of trash? None of this would have even happened if it weren't for him so why should he get treated first?"

"Sir, I understand your frustration, but best you can do right now is sit with your friend and wait. We'll get to her as soon as we can."

Nathan frowned. Sit and wait? While they fixed Damien up? No way in hell. "No, you can get to her right now," he ordered sternly.

His frown deepened when everyone ignored him and he heard the doctor shout out to the nurse to give Damien Demerol for the pain. "No, don't give him anything for the pain," he shouted. "He deserves to suffer."

"I'm gonna have to ask you to leave," Weaver said. "So we can do our job."

"Your job," Nathan seethed. "Is to take care of Peyton," he said, glaring at Damien, who lay there beaten and burnt to a crisp, in excruciating pain just as he should be. "He can fucking keel over. You need to help Peyton."

They still weren't listening to him, and it frustrated him to the point of pushing Peyton's gernie inside, knocking Damien's out of the way so that hers took its place. No way was Peyton waiting in line behind this bastard. "Fix her," he said.

"Call security," Weaver ordered. To Nathan's surprise and disappointment, they were there within seconds, grabbing his arms.

He grunted in pain as the touch aggravated his own burns, but mostly he cursed everyone in general, Weaver in particular, as he was dragged out of the room.

Used to emotional outbursts such as these, Weaver calmly ordered the nurse's aide to remove Peyton from the room. "And find out who these kids' parents are and get them down here. Not much we can do without their consent." After that she focused once more on Damien.

He was watching her appreciatively though he was reeling with pain. "Thanks for getting him out of here," he croaked. "That guy's crazy. Him and his brother tried to kill me."

"Yeah?" Nurse Taggart replied. "And what'd you do to them?"

"Nothing."

"Are you sure about that?" she asked. "I'm just asking because there's gunshot residue on your hand. Did you shoot that girl?"

"It was Nathan's fault," Damien answered. "He tripped me and the gun went off."

"Save it for the police report," Weaver ordered. "Sam, our job is to treat them, not interrogate them."

The nurse nodded. "Right, sorry."

"Good, now let's take care of these burns first before they get septic. After that we'll get a CT, a chest and pelvic x-ray and a blood sample. ..the whole works. Then we'll have a clearer picture of what we're dealing with and hopefully his parents will be here by then."

It was then that Damien revealed to her that he was 18 and could consent to medical procedures himself. A look at his identification told her he was telling the truth, so she went straight to work.

She looked over the multiple abrasions on his body and shook her head. "You sure pissed somebody off," she said dryly.

…..

Also used to emotional displays were the security guards. Experience had taught them when a person was simply distraught and venting verses being a real threat. To them, Nathan was only venting for now, but was angry enough to become a threat if left be. Which is why they had to be extremely careful when releasing him. They issued a warning that they wouldn't do so until he calmed down.

It took a while but they were finally able to convince him that Peyton needed him calm and in control right now. Finally he nodded and they slowly released him.

He went straight over to Peyton, who they'd put back in the hall, noting her complexion had become even more pale and pasty. Haley was with her as well, instinctively holding the gauze the paramedics had supplied to her leg where blood still oozed.

"They should have taken her first," Haley said softly, showing Nathan that she agreed with him, despite what the doctors said.

Nathan nodded. If the smartest girl in school agreed with him, then he must be right.

It didn't occur to either of them that the doctors, not only had a clearer, unbiased perspective, but also had years of medical training and knowledge far beyond the scope of these two young people. Even if one of those people was the smartest girl in high school.

And due to the serious state of the moment, neither did it occur to them to feel awkward around each other. It would be hard to tell from looking at them now that just a few short hours ago she'd been petrified that he'd walked into the tutor center.

Nathan took Peyton's smaller hand in his and held it gently. "It's gonna be ok, baby. You're going to pull through this. You have to."

…..

Brooke closed her phone and returned to the waiting area where she and the other uninjured lunch hour captives had been told to wait. While five of them had been taken by ambulance to the ER, the rest of them had been held back for police questioning before they could take off in their own respective vehicles to the hospital.

"Get hold of them?" Rachel asked.

Brooke nodded. "They're coming," she said of both Nathan and Peyton's parents.

"Good. Maybe they can find out something since they're not telling us anything."

"I hope so," Brooke agreed before turning to Mouth. "What about you? You have any luck finding Luke's mom?"

"No," he replied, shaking his head dissolutely. "Tried her at home and the café. I don't know where else she'd be."

"I tried Keith's garage," Jimmy said. "He's not picking up either."

"They're probably together," Mouth reasoned.

"Just have to keep trying, I guess."

"What about Haley's parents?"

"On their way," Skills replied.

"And Damien's?" Fergie dared ask.

"Damien can rot in hell," Brooke returned snidely. "Hope he dies on the table," she added, reflecting what they all felt but only she voiced.

"So, out of curiosity," Rachel piped up. "What did you all tell the police about Damien's…physical state?"

One by one, they gave their version of what they'd related to the police. Once they'd all done so, they couldn't help but smile a little.

"Wait, we all lied?" Brooke asked just to be sure she'd heard right.

"If those Scott boys didn't appreciate their friends before, they'd better now," Rachel said in amusement.

"How's this amusing?" Junk asked. "Our stories contradict each other. They're gonna know we lied."

Rachel shrugged indifferently. "Relax, they won't know which story's right."

"They can find out."

"How?"

"Trained interrogation methods," Mouth deadpanned. "We're all dead."

"Just stick to your story and there won't be anything to worry about."

"I hope you're right."

…..

"Something's off," Thompson said as he, Sheriff Corbin, and the rookie cop went over the teenagers' police reports. "All the stories match up till the point Damien West holds up the gun to Haley James, is tripped by Nathan Scott, drops the gun and it goes off as he's falling down. After that, it's like they all saw something vaguely similar yet completely different."

Sheriff Corbin looked over the various reports…"Damien fell onto the boiler plate," "He was beaten to stop him from picking up the gun and shooting Haley" "After he fell to the ground, everything happened so fast, it's all just a blur." Corbin shook his head. Ridiculous. "Listen to this one," he said. "They were hitting him in self-defense and when Damien noticed how mad everyone was, he threw himself on the boiler plate." Still shaking his head, he huffed. "How stupid do these kids think we are?"

"Apparently very."

"You questioned the kids," Thompson said to the rookie, having given him the privilege of doing so on his own. "You didn't notice the inconsistency?"

"Of course I did," the rookie acknowledged. "But I thought I was just supposed to take their statements."

"You were," Corbin said. "It's not his fault, Thompson. It's kids these days. They know how to play the system. They're obviously covering for someone."

"Yeah, wonder who," Thompson returned sarcastically.

"So, we can bet the parts they all agree upon is the truth," Corbin said. "After that, it's the lot of them…"

"Making up their own versions," Thompson finished.

"But why would they do that?" the rookie questioned. "If the first part happened like they say, then wouldn't anything after that be classified as self-defense, considering the guy had a gun and was about to use it?"

"Self-defense only flies when you're in immediate danger or perceive to be in immediate danger, and a reasonable amount of force is used. Neither theory applies here. The gun had already left his hand so the bunch of them together could have confined him without much force. The extent of this assault was excessive, clearly an act of rage, not self-defense."

"And we can all guess who the guilty party is."

"Well, how do you know?" the rookie questioned.

"Trust me, once you've been on this job as long as we have, you develop a sixth sense for these things," Thompson stated. "Kid should have been locked up on his first offence."

"Unfortunately, if the others insist on covering for him, this is just another crime he'll get away with."

"Yep. You get the feeling sometimes that these juvie criminals are laughing at us?"

"All the time. But what can we do if we can't get the stories to match?"

"We question the others when they're available and hope to get a confession from the guilty one."

"That's it?" the rookie asked. "What if he doesn't confess?"

The two older officers shrugged their shoulders in reply, their years of experience telling them there was nothing more to be done. Some crimes simply went unpunished.

"We're going to take over the questioning on this one, if you don't mind?" Corbin told the rookie.

"But you said this was my case," the rookie countered. "That I could handle it all and only report back to you my findings."

"I did say that," Corbin agreed. "But this may be a bit much to handle for a newcomer."

"It's not," the younger guy denied. "How am I gonna learn if you keep taking over? Please, I can handle this."

Corbin nodded agreeably. "Ok, kid. If you're sure you're not in over your head."

"I'm sure. Thank you."

…..

Nathan felt her hand move in his before he saw her begin to stir, and his heart raced. She was waking up!

"Nate," she mumbled hoarsely as her eyes fluttered open.

He didn't think he'd ever seen such a beautiful sight. He smiled at her, relief washing over him. "Hey, baby," he said softly. "How you feeling?"

"Umm, I…it hurts."

"What does? Your leg?"

She nodded and looked around in confusion. "What happened? Where are we?"

"You were shot," he answered. "But we're at the hospital, and you're gonna be fine."

Her eyes widened in fear as memories of the boiler room came rushing back. She didn't know all that had happened, but she recalled a good majority of what had gone down before she'd passed out. "Damien…" she began before Nathan cut her off.

"Shh, you don't have to worry about him. I'm right here, and I'm not gonna let him hurt you again."

"He set you up," she revealed before erupting in a fit of coughs.

"I know, babe. Shh…"

But she wouldn't be silenced. She would tell him the danger he was in even if it killed her to do it. "He wants to hurt you," she said between coughs. "Torture you."

"That's not gonna happen."

"He wants you to watch…me and him…to-together. Oh God…Nathan…"

"Baby, it's ok. You're safe now."

"But he…" Her eyes rolled back before she could finish and, all of a sudden, her body started convulsing violently.

"Peyton!" Nathan exclaimed, instantly panicked. "Baby, what's wrong? Talk to me. Peyton?"

Haley, just as frightened as Nathan was, spoke up. "Is she having a seizure?"

"I don't know," Nathan answered before shouting out to whoever was around that he needed a doctor.

A balding guy, apparently just coming in, since he still wore his jacket, rushed over, along with a few nurses. "She's seizing," he said. "Let's get her into trauma."

"They're both full," a nurse informed him.

"Make room," he ordered, already pushing the gernie toward the same trauma room Nathan had brought her to.

"What's happening?" Nathan asked as he followed behind. "Are you a doctor?"

"I'm Dr. Greene," the guy said. "And you are?"

"Her fiancé," Nathan answered. "What's happening?" he repeated. "Is she ok?"

"We're not sure yet. Do you know what she took?"

"Nothing. Damien gave her liquid X."

Dr. Greene had no idea who Damien was, but it didn't matter. He was only concerned about the medical issues at this point. First stop the seizing and control her bleeding, then go from there. The other two patients must be pretty bad if this one had been made to wait, he surmised. "Does she have a history of seizures?"

"No. She was shot," Nathan told him. "She said it hurt."

"Gunshots generally do," the doctor said. "But one thing at a time. Is she over eighteen?"

"No."

"Call her parents."

"I wanna stay with her," Nathan said. "You have to help her."

"I'm not going anywhere, but I need you to call her parents for me please."

Nathan struggled between doing as he was told and staying with Peyton, but the decision was taken from him when both Larry and Ellie came rushing in and he was ordered out of the room.

"I'm staying," he argued.

But like earlier, his arguments were in vain, and he was forced out. However, he didn't go any further than outside the door where he could still see everything going on.

He could hear the doctor shouting out various health questions to Peyton's parents as well as orders to his colleagues. He saw a nurse put in an IV with some sort of medicine in it. He vaguely wondered what it was, but when her body almost immediately went limp and the doctor seemed pleased with the result, he relaxed a little. He watched the doctor move on to her leg and shout out another order to get "OR" down there, and then pull Larry and Ellie to the side, speaking quietly.

Nathan tried to make out what they were saying, but it was impossible. He considered barging in and forcing them to tell him what was going on, and then he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Don't do it, honey," the person said. "It'll only delay her care."

"Mom," he said, facing her, his torment evident on his handsome features. It was that that worried her most, despite all the bruises on his face.

"I'm right here, sweetie," she told him, glad she could be there for him for once when he needed her.

"Where's Dad?" he asked, making her heart sink.

"I called him at the office," she said, trying to keep the disappointment she felt over her son's obvious preference out of her voice. "He's coming."

Nathan nodded in acknowledgement, glad to know his father would be there. He could always take care of things.

"Nathan, goodness, your face. Your arm!" Deb shrieked in horror as she noticed the burns.

"I'm fine," he said, though the pain was getting to be nearly intolerable. It certainly wasn't as urgent a matter as Peyton.

"You're not," she denied. "Has a doctor looked at you yet?"

"They're busy," he mumbled. "Besides, it's Peyton I'm worried about."

"Yes well, you won't be a bit of good to her if you don't take care of yourself."

"What do you want me to do, Mom? They said they were taking the worst ones first."

Ignoring her son's comment, Deb grabbed the nearest nurse she could find, laying into her about her son's lack of care.

The nurse tried to defend the hospital staff's actions, repeating what Nathan had just said about more critical patients, but Deb was tenacious, almost vicious even, in the way she handled the situation. "Look, missy, do you know who I am and how much money my husband and I put into this hospital?"

Offended by the woman's superior manner, the nurse scoffed. "Frankly ma'am, I don't care who you are. Patient care is patient care, and your son, no matter how rich and important you may be, will have to wait in line by priority like anybody else."

Nathan thought that was the end of it, but was surprised when his mother persevered and called out the head of the department, receiving a round of flustered apologies from the man in charge before he proceeded to instruct his staff to have Nathan looked at immediately and given top notch care.

Nathan had to admit he was impressed. He didn't know his mother was capable of pulling strings to get her way like his father did. Too bad she hadn't been there earlier when he was fighting to get Peyton looked at.

He was instantly brought into a room and examined. While the doctors' assessments that Nathan's injuries were less critical than some of the others were correct, it certainly didn't mean they were minor. As it turned out, he had several cracked ribs and a broken jaw from his beating outside the school courtesy of the Rivercourt boys, and the burns on his arm, he was told, were second degree burns.

Luckily the doctors were able to get him medicated and bandaged fairly quickly, and he wouldn't need to stay in the hospital to recuperate. That, they were told, could be done at home with plenty of rest and home-care instructions.

It was only then that Dan arrived, looking as worried as can be. Like Deb, he too harassed the doctors about his son's care.

Nathan, though glad his father was there, couldn't help roll his eyes when Dan asked the doctors if the injuries would affect his ability to play basketball.

"I hardly think that matters right now, Dan," Deb scoffed. "He's your son for heaven's sake."

"Which is why I need to look out for him and his future," Dan argued.

"He's been through a horrible ordeal," she snapped in return. "So could you please set aside your precious basketball long enough to find out if he's going to be okay."

"What do you think I'm doing?" Dan snapped back. "If he can't play, he'll be miserable."

"He will or you will?" she countered.

Tired of the same old argument, Dan faced the doctor again and waited for his reply, frowning when he heard that Nathan would likely be out for the rest of the season. Good thing the year was nearly over anyway. "What about next year?"

"His injuries are temporary so that shouldn't be a problem," the doctor assured him. "A month or two from now, he'll be as good as new."

Dan nodded in satisfaction, finally able to take a solid breath since Deb had called and said Nathan had been hurt. His son was going to be okay, and regardless of Deb's accusations to the contrary, that really was the most important thing to him. "Thank you, doctor," he said. "That's what I like to hear."

"What about Peyton?" Nathan questioned. It was really all he cared about right now.

But the doctor shrugged uncertainly. "She wasn't my patient so I don't know too much I'm afraid," he said as he handed Dan 2 prescriptions for Nathan; one for pain and the other a cream to apply to his burns, along with instructions on how to clean the wounds and change the bandage. As he spoke he directed them back to the corridor.

"Can you find out?" Nathan asked, interrupting the doctor's home care instructions.

"I can, but whatever I learn I wouldn't be allowed to tell you. You're not family."

"We're engaged," Nathan countered. "And I know her better than either of her parents do."

"Little young to be engaged," the doctor remarked. "I'm sorry, but there's really nothing I can do. Once you're married…"

"Once we're married?" Nathan jumped on, encouraged by that remark. "So then she's gonna be okay?"

"Like I said, I'm really not sure. But Dr. Greene is one of our finest so you can bet she's getting the best care possible. As for you, make sure you take your medication until the bottle's empty, bandage gets changed once a day, and either make an appointment at your family doctor or come back here in a week and we'll have a look see how it's healing."

"That's it?" Deb asked. "He can go?"

"I wouldn't go too far," the doctor answered. "From I understand the police are going to want to question your son."

…

Meanwhile, Larry and Ellie stared appalled as the doctor stood before them, along with Officer Thompson and Corbin, requesting permission to do a rape exam on Peyton. After already consenting to blood tests, being informed she had GHB in her system, and hearing that their daughter would need surgery to remove the bullet still lodged in her leg, now this?

"Is that necessary?" Larry asked. "You think she was raped?"

"According to the other kids' statements, it's certainly a possibility," Officer Thompson replied.

Closing his eyes in anguish, Larry muttered a silent oath and ran his hands over his face. "Yeah," he said. "Do what you have to do," he said before all but demanding an explanation of what had occurred from the policemen.

The two officers sat the parents down and told them where their investigation had taken them so far.

"So Nathan has nothing to do with this?" Larry questioned next. "Because you know he's trouble."

"I don't disagree," Thompson replied. "But as far as we can tell he was as much a victim as your daughter in this situation," he went on honestly. He may not be fond of the kid but he had to admit, Nathan appeared to be clean in this one. "It seems Damien West held them all captive at gunpoint."

"Oh God," Ellie gasped in horror. "I knew there was something off about that kid."

"You know him?"

"He and Peyton were working on a school project together," Larry answered, still unaware that that project had only been a ruse for Peyton to see Nathan.

"Well, it would appear his interest ran much deeper than a project," Corbin said. "He had some kind of twisted fixation on your daughter and an overwhelming grudge against Nathan. According to the kids, not only did Damien attempt to rape her right in front of them, but he also claimed to have already done so prior to their arrival."

Larry closed his eyes in anguish, hoping beyond hope that that hadn't happened.

"Can you explain what you meant by you knew something was off about him?" Corbin asked Ellie.

She shook her head. "It's nothing concrete," she answered. "Nothing that really stood out. I guess I just felt that he showed too much interest in her for a guy who's supposed to be good friends with her boyfriend."

"Fair enough. And did you also get this feeling?" he asked Larry next.

Larry sighed deeply. "I suspected he liked my daughter, but I didn't think anything of it. Guys have always shown interest in her."

"She's a beautiful girl," Thompson said.

"I encouraged her to work on this project with him," Larry began guiltily. "I practically forced her, in fact. If I'd known…"

"There's no point in even going there," Thompson advised. "There will always be 'what ifs', but dwelling on them never does anybody any good. What I need from you two is to tell me what you know, if anything, about Damien, however small. Even the tiniest detail can help. Can you do that?"

"I'd like to be with my daughter," Larry said.

"The doctor will let you know when you can go back in," Corbin answered. "The rape exam usually consists of just the patient, doctor and one or two nurses. In the meantime, if you can answer our questions…"

Larry and Ellie nodded but with their limited knowledge of Damien, they really couldn't add much to what the police already knew.

"I'm sorry," Ellie said after a while. "There just isn't much we know about him."

"I can tell you about Damien West," a young girl's voice came out from behind the officers, causing them to turn around, finding Katie Sanders, in a patient's robe, standing before them.

The police knew her well, having questioned her often when investigating Haley's rape and, more recently, the vicious attack on Katie herself.

"He's the one who did this to me," she revealed as the four stared expectantly at her. "And if I know him at all, he definitely did rape Peyton."

…..

Nathan and his parents sat in the hallway, none of them saying a word. The police still hadn't come to question him or Haley, who stood not far away with her own parents.

"For Pete's sake," Deb complained. "How long do they expect us to wait? Nate needs to get home and rest."

"I'm not leaving," Nathan protested. "Not until Peyton does."

"Sweetie, I know you're worried about her, but you can't stay here indefinitely. You heard the doctors; you need your rest, and we don't know how long it'll be before Peyton's released."

"I'm not leaving," he repeated stubbornly. "At least not until I know she's okay."

He noticed another balding doctor, shorter than the one who'd seen to Peyton and in a different color scrubs, enter the room where they'd brought Lucas. Nathan's brows quirked in wonder. All this attention for a guy who'd fainted? Where the hell was the logic?

He discovered minutes later how much more serious his half brother's condition was than he thought. The young doctor who'd been assigned to him, along with the short bald one who'd just entered, came out of the trauma room asking around about Luke's parents.

"I tried to call his mom," Haley told them. "But she's not picking up and I don't know where she could be."

"Try again, please," Dr. Carter, the younger of the docs, said urgently. "It's imperative that she get here immediately."

"Why?" Haley asked, her heart suddenly hammering painfully in her chest. "What's wrong? Is Lucas okay?"

"No he's not," the bald one said. "What Dr. Carter is saying is we need a parent here pronto to sign a consent form for emergency surgery."

"Oh my God! Surgery?" Haley exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"What for?" Nathan asked, walking up to them after having heard what was said. "He just fainted, right?"

"Yeah, and I'm the best looking doctor in the hospital," the short guy said sarcastically.

"No need to get snarky," Deb huffed.

"What is the surgery for?" Dan asked.

"I'm afraid we can only discuss the details with his parents…" Carter began.

"I'm his father," Dan blurted out.

"Good," the shorter doctor said as he handed Dan the form. "If you'll just sign here."

"I'd like to know what I'm signing."

"Sir, we don't have a lot of time, but your son had a heart attack and if we don't…"

"A heart attack?" Dan scoffed while the others' mouths gaped open in shock. "He's seventeen years old."

"It happens."

"How does that happen?"

"That we'll determine later," Carter said. "For now we have to repair the damage to his heart. We're running out of time," he added when Dan appeared hesitant to sign.

"You're serious?"

"Very serious. So if you could just sign…"

Unsure if he had the right to make that kind of decision regarding his eldest son, Dan still hesitated. "We should probably wait for his mother to get here," he said.

"There's no time for that," Carter stated sternly. "The longer we wait the less his chance of survival."

"You mean he could die?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, he could," Carter replied candidly.

"Dad…" Nathan began. "You have to do it. You can't just let him die."

"Hang on," Dan said. "Let me think."

"Good idea," Deb agreed. "Let's just take a moment to think about this," she suggested, not sure either that Dan should be given the responsibility for this.

"Mom…"

"Nathan, this is a huge decision that simply cannot be made lightly."

"But one you'd make in a heartbeat if it were Nathan lying there," Haley piped up angrily before turning to Dan. "Mr. Scott, Luke is your son as much as Nathan is, no matter how much you wish he wasn't, but if you do just one thing for him his entire existence, let it be this."

With a grave sigh Dan finally nodded and took the form, scratching his name on it. "And who'll be operating on him?" he asked as he did so.

"I'll be the primary surgeon," the short doctor stated.

"And you are?"

"Robert Romano," the doctor answered. "Trust me, your son's in safe hands with me," he assured him. "Ok, let's go," he ordered after getting back the signed form.

…