He watched them sitting quietly in the room and saw Sun hand Stef her meal. It seemed almost like a routine as he watched them eat their food while they waited. Then Sun stood up with the two following and they approached the door. When they stepped into the hall, he followed their departure from sight carefully and then he entered the room. It was way too familiar for him to be semi-calm and he silently approached the bed.

He sat down next to the bed and watched the monitor work while he let his mind wander. When he had reached the hospital after finding out, he raced here only to hear the doctor talking with the three supporters. He had watched Cheri crumble into the couch and Sun support Stef as they listened to the doctor's words. It was still freshly in his mind on how he had reacted, but he wouldn't let himself think about it. He kept wondering if he had only shown up earlier at her house that evening like he had planned before he was delayed.

With a sigh, he ran his hand through his hair as he remembered the words he had exchanged with Ash as she delayed him. The fact that she didn't know anything about this made him sick to his stomach. He knew he should tell her because of what hiding the truth had done to people in his past, but he just couldn't tell her. She was still accusing him for not being entirely with her once he was able to, and he knew it was true. A growl escaped him before he knew it and he quickly came around.

His eyes looked at the clock and he was surprised to see that he had been there for an hour. He shrugged the news aside and he turned his gaze to the bed. She looked so broken lying there and he felt like he was only encouraging this pain by admitting the hidden truth finally. His hand subconsciously found hers and their fingers became laced together. He couldn't help but smile at how much she had grown up since she had left to escape him.

The hand he was holding wasn't the hand that he knew, but the hand of a complete stranger. He winced at the thought about how much she had changed towards every aspect of life. Everytime he had seen her since her first hospital stay, he had seen a mask played out perfectly. When they had talked, he knew she didn't want him there and he felt disgusted on how he still pushed. Every word she had said that day still echoed in his mind and the last picture of what her eyes showed haunted him every night.

He had seen a look that froze every nerve in his body; he had seen a look of confusion and fear. She was terrified of him and he knew he deserved that and more. When his hand had brushed her cheek that day, he felt it warm like it hadnt for years. The night he had left her place, he had spent hours working over the entire event and he had come to one conclusion. He was still lost in her even though he tried denying it for so long and hurting her just to prove it to himself.

Venom always burned his blood everytime he thought about the look she held for him after the note. She hadn't spoken a word to him since then and he had to keep telling himself that it had ended between them. When he got word of her moving away, he didn't let it show but it made him go insane. The idea of not seeing her at all made him want to die, but back then all he did was lie to himself and everyone else. After months of her gone, the pain and self-hatred dulled down to the point he thought he had been right.

When he had seen her on the beach that day, he felt like he had to be stuck in a nightmare. Then she disappeared for another day and he had began to relax again even with Ash. Then that day came when he was driving down the road and heard the police report. He had felt everything begin to go insane and the moment he had seen her lying like this he had died. Now she was back here and all he felt was self-disgust at his timing.

He heard something in the background and he slowly came back to his senses. When he realized it was his cell phone, he picked it up and checked the number. Then he turned the phone off and placed it back on his belt. His eyes returned to her and he let out a sigh. The monitor's beeping kept him breathing as he hoped she would wake while he was still here.

A turning of the knob made his eyes moved to the door and he saw a doctor watching him. He remained focused on the man until the doctor picked up the chart at the end of the bed. The man studied the monitor and another machine he hadn't noticed. When he picked up a pen, the noise of the pen writing was all he could hear. Then the doctor laid the chart back down and placed the pen back in his jacket.

He walked to the door and said, "Soon we will be able to remove the chemicals keeping her in this state."

His eyes narrowed and he asked, "You put her in this?"

The old fart nodded and said, "It was the only way for her body to recover from everything. In a few days we will begin to determine if she will wake."

Then he left and once the door closed, he leaned back in the chair and ran his free hand through his hair. To think he had thought she had slipped into another coma when actually those idiots put her in one. He groaned in frustration and then he heard a light gasp. His eyes moved back to the door and he saw Cheri standing there with Stef and Sun behind her. When he saw her watching their joint hands, he reluctantly freed her hand and rose to leave.

Sun stepped into his path and said, "Sit back down."

He shoved past the boy, but then Cheri said, "You'll only confuse her more if you keep coming here and then leaving her like this."

He stopped and Stef said, "Whatever you had said when you were down there last week had her quiet for some time."

His eyes narrowed and said, "What I said is between the two of us."

Sun stepped in his path and said, "I don't think so. We don't want her running off without one of us."

He looked at Cheri and said "If she explains what I said, then she does. Otherwise, it is none of your business."

Cheri nodded and said, "I need to speak with you though, alone."

Stef met her gaze and said, We'll go get some drinks and be back then. Come on Sun."

She drug him out of the room and when the door closed, Cheri said, "Return to your seat."

He silently walked back to the chair and sat down while his eyes remained fixed with hers. She sat in a nearby chair and looked at the chart lying on the table where she sat. As she read the doctor's note, he found a chance to risk a glance and he looked back at the bed. How he knew it was his fault this had happen and how he felt now not being able to help her made him hate himself even more. He just wanted to end all of his mistakes now before he did anything else to hurt another.

His eyes became fixed on the monitor screen and his hand found its way back to hers. He let the coolness of her touch keep him semi-alert as his thoughts began to become too strong to ignore. When he felt his mind wandering too far back, he silently pulled his mind back to reality. Their fingers were laced once more and his thumb gently raced over her wrist. It was so hard to just sit here watching her when he wanted to be holding her or going after that bastard of a stepfather.

Lost in himself, he didn't notice Cheri watching him or the smile that pulled on the corners of her mouth. She knew that he had been here before, but when she found him like this she knew something had been missing in both of the two. She didn't understand why this was happening or why she couldn't hate the young man for doing what he did. All she knew was that he had been in the family since the first time the two met and now he was back without her daughter really knowing it. Her eyes slowly looked from the stern look on the young man's face to their laced hands lying on the bed.

The door opened and when he looked up, Cheri saw a hint of self-disgust and surrender in his face before she looked at the visitor. He got to his feet and slowly walked over to the chair holding his jacket. When he picked it up, a hand smacked him across the jaw. He let the pain remain dominant so he didn't have to say a word. Then he finally took a deep breath and faced the woman in front of him.

She stared at him and said, "You cheated again."

He looked away and she asked, "Is she that important for you that you couldn't tell me she was back?"

Slowly he met her gaze and she asked, "Is she? Is she that damn important to you that you wouldn't tell me where you were going or who you were seeing?!"

His eyes narrowed and he said, "Yes."

She backed away from him and said, "I knew it! I knew you were lying to yourself this entire time!"

He rolled his eyes and said, "I honestly don't care."

Her eyes met his and she said, "I hope you realize this will change everything. I don't want it to change, but now that she's back I'm going to just have to make sure you don't see her without me."

Slit eyes met hers and he growled, "Get lost."

Eyes widening in shock, she asked, "What did you say?"

He dropped his jacket into the chair and said, "You heard me. I told you to get lost. I don't want to have to worry about what you could possibly do to make it even harder for her to get better."

She took a deep breath and said, "You know I would never harm her, but I would protect you from her."

He turned from her and said, "I don't want you to."

She shook her head and asked, "Does this mean that we're finished?"

With no response, he sat next to the bed with his eyes looking at the monitor and his hand finding her hand once more. When their fingers became laced, he heard her stifle a cry and leave. He sighed in frustration, but then he felt relief claiming him. Finally he could be himself again and he could breath without her being there. Then he remembered Cheri's presence and he closed his eyes in defeat.

His head fell onto the soft mattress and he let out a groan in defeat. A hand gently grasped his shoulder and he raised his head. When he looked up, he found Cheri watching him, but the look he couldn't believe. She nodded and then she left. He watched her leave before he let out a breath he had held in surprise and then he felt a chuckle escape him.

Then every inch of a semi-peaceful feeling disappeared as he looked back at her face and he sighed, 'God I messed everything up. I should've been there."

He leaned his head onto the mattress and let his frustration turned into exhaustion and swallow him whole. As he drifted out of reality, he knew the time had passed and he should be heading home, but he just couldn't. Eventually he let the reality die off and he became oblivious to anything and everything.

PGS