take your sweet time; closed

[brittany.ღ.morgan]

Take your sweet, sweet time
I will be there, for you baby, anytime

It was over. The distance, the coldness, all of it. For the first time in weeks Brit was feeling better than ever. The hole that had been there only a couple weeks before now was filled with nothing but happiness and a love that there weren’t even words for. Brit was so glad that her and Kade were doing so much better. It was like there had never been anything there between them. Like they hadn’t just gone two weeks without speaking or looking at each other. It was a great feeling, that was sure, and it made Brit so happy that she was practically carefree. The other day she had walked into work, Tish cleaning glasses with Hunter behind the bar and Anna chatting away as she always did. She had turned, saw Brit’s face, and had said with great enthusiasm: “Oh my God! You’re glowing!” Yep, that was Anna for you. But Brit felt like she was. She could say that she’d probably never, ever been this happy in her life. She was thrilled to have Kade “back” and she wasn’t afraid to let it show. She spent every night in her arms, and any other time that she could get away with it. She enjoyed being close to him, and she never, ever wanted to be away from him again. It had just been way too hard, and she couldn’t even imagine not having him at all. It would kill her, and that was just the simple truth.

It seemed that her own personal happiness was infectious. Anna seemed even more upbeat than she usually was, if that was at all possible. She was enjoying her spare time with Hunter, and since school was pretty much over for her, she had tons of time for Hunter to occupy. The news of Anna and Hunter’s engagement had spread to pretty much everyone, and each and everyone of them was thrilled for her. Maria and Charles had always loved Hunter like a son, and it looked like that was just the direction that the whole thing was going. They weren’t worried about when, where, or how. It was just the fact that one day, in the future, they would be together, that made Anna and those around her so happy. Brit knew that Anna didn’t really care about the details, like most girls did. She was all for waiting and coming up with plans when they were ready to go there, though Brit knew deep down that as far as Anna was concerned they could high tail it to Vegas when the time was right. All that mattered to that girl was being with Hunter, and Brit honestly didn’t blame her. She knew how her cousin felt about Hunter. She looked at him the same way Brit looked at Kade. Besides, Brit knew it was good for Anna to take stuff slow with Hunter in this instance, even though their relationship had been anything but slow. Anna knew that, though, and she knew marriage was a big thing, though no one really doubted that Anna and Hunter could make it. When it came to those two, they were never short on love or miracles.

The weeks had flown by it seemed and before they knew it Anna was graduating from high school. She wasn’t an honor student or at the top of her class, but she had made it, and pretty much everyone was there, even Kade with Cooper. Watching Anna that day in her gown and tassel made Brit think of her own graduation… which had been a disaster and a half. She’d been named top of her class, and right in the middle of her graduation speech her father, step father, and uncle had started arguing and throwing punches. That wasn’t the worst of it. Dean, Briar, Ginny, and Nora had all jumped in to break it up, and from there it had simply escalated into a full out brawl. It all ended with her family being escorted out, along with a couple other unhappy people. Brit had practically finished her speech in tears and then ran off the stage. She didn’t talk to any of them for almost a week after that, staying with Jeff most of the time, and when she finally did talk to one of them, it was to tell them where they could go… in many more words that would certainly of had to be censored. She was glad to see that Seattle had a lot more class than that, though. They had more people, but it was certainly better than her own graduation, which was just simply not brought up when she was around. That was one of the worst days of Brit’s life, though pin pointing the absolute worst day would have been hard, because she had had a lot of bad days in her nineteen (almost twenty) years of life.

After Anna’s graduation, the gang decided it would be tons of fun to go out and have a good ol’ time on the town, to just be together and celebrate all that had happened. Brit’s birthday and Anna’s graduation were close together, and so it was plenty of reason to celebrate and just get away for the night. While Anna went home with Hunter to change out of her graduation stuff, Brit and Kade dropped Cooper off with Vivian’s parents for the night, then they swung by and picked up Anna and Hunter. The night consisted of a little bit of everything, movies, and little dancing, and then dinner. It was the dinner part, or at least afterwards, when everything seemed to go wrong. Brit and Anna left Kade and Hunter inside to argue over who was going to pay what on the check and what not, and they were standing on the curb outside. The warm night air was great, and the constant rain that is usually associated with such a place had come to a stop for the whole day, making the night amazingly beautiful, though Brit didn’t really mind the rain at all. She was just standing there, talking to Anna, and looking at her cousin’s ring for, like, the thousandth time. And then Anna started playing with it, something she usually did when she wasn’t doing something with her hands. Brit did the exact same thing. That’s when Anna pulled just a little too hard and the ring went sailing into the street, and Anna went racing after it. She never saw the care coming.

Before Brit could even step off the curb to grab Anna, the car had hit her just as she had reached down and picked up the ring. It hit her head on and all Brit saw was the blood… lots of it. “Anna!” Her scream was loud and high pitched, and without even thinking she raced out into the street too after her cousin. She never saw the car either. Just as Brit was reaching her cousin, the car hit her. He didn’t even slow down. She sailed over the hood of the car and landed hard by Anna’s side. The air was knocked clear out of her, and she immediately felt pain in her side and everywhere else. A few seconds before she hit the ground Brit saw a bright flash of light and Kade’s pale and frightened face before she completely blacked out. She wouldn’t wake up again for a long time. The paramedics rushed to the scene quickly, and Anna and Brit were rushed to the nearest hospital. Once they got there, they were rushed into surgery after surgery, the doctors fighting desperately to save the girls’ lives. Once again Fate had felt a deadly hand, and just like always, things for Brittany Morgan and Anna Allan had gone from completely amazing, to completely terrible in less then a minute. After hours of fighting, though, that was all they could do for the girls. They were sent to private rooms of their own, right next to each other, and left to fight for their lives. Anna lay rocking on the point of life or death. The slightest tip of the scale and she would fall into either. Her stats were everything but stable, and the nurses never ventured far from her side. Meanwhile, Brit hung somewhere in the same place. Unlike Anna, though, she was stuck in the horrors of her own mind and past, living a life that was nothing like the one she was supposed to live.

[kade trent.]

come back to me
it's almost easy ,

Things were finally back to how they should be. Well, they were as far as Kade Trent and his family and friends were concerned. Things in the world weren’t all perfect. Not at all. But, for this group, things were going so smoothly now that it was hard to believe that only a few weeks before, they’d all wondered if things were ever going to be right again. Then, Micah and Ali had had more than just a falling out. It was a falling out topped off with a betrayal so deep that Kade had thought it was the end of that relationship for sure. But, the couple had fought back and things were right now. Around that same time, Kade and Brit had been having their own troubles which had been added to by Kade and Brit’s friend, Evan, getting into a brawl at the auto garage the two of them had worked at. Kade had lost his job there, but that had sort of been the turning point that had led to Kade and Brit making up. Everything on that front was more than good. Evan had gotten to keep his job at the garage, and Kade had even, in a round about way, apologized for the fight. He knew that it was his fault and that Evan hadn’t deserved the beating, and Kade had swallowed just enough of his pride to try and set things right. But, the main front that he was concerned with was his and Brit’s relationship. They had suffered a major blow, but had miraculously bounced back from it like nothing had ever happened at all. They had made up that night and had talked everything through. The next morning, it was back to how it always should have been, and how Kade was determined that it was going to be. They were laughing and kissing and just loving again, and while that wasn’t a side that a lot of people saw of the man, it was a side that Brit would never not see. Never again would he let things get that bad. He’d promised her, and Kade Trent didn’t make a promise that he didn’t keep.

Really, Kade wasn’t able to think of a way that things could possibly be any better. He and Brit were the happy couple that people recognized. Cooper was growing bigger everyday and getting ready to turn three in a couple of months. Hunter and Anna were happy in their engagement, Anna seeming to be attached to Hunter’s hip as she was everywhere he was. Kade picked on Anna about it, and picked on Hunter even more, but he could see that the two were just like he and Brit were. Where one went, the other was not far behind. That didn’t mean he picked on them any less for it; it just meant that he understood. Hunter had told Kade that the younger couple wasn’t sure about anything yet, meaning the when and where for their wedding. Anna had come along then, and the idea of a Vegas wedding had come up, the girl saying that she would get married that way for all she cared. Just so long as she was with Hunter. That was a sweet idea and all, but Kade had shook his head and advised against it. Grins had come to everyone’s faces. Of course Kade Trent would be the one with the experience of a Las Vegas wedding and to be the one to say it wasn’t the greatest idea in the world. Sure, it was cheap and quick, but Kade’s reasons to say no to it were simple. You don’t remember a thing about it and you wake up with one killer headache the next day. Not a great way to kick off a honeymoon at all. It was actually kind of a touchy subject for Kade, one that he avoided whenever there was a good way to do it, but he played it off like it was nothing when talking to the bright young couple. Kade knew that Hunter knew better than to rush things, or to go about them in that way. They were just talking and having a little fun with the idea, and Kade wasn’t about to tear down their good mood or his own.

The best part of the time that had passed for Kade was without a doubt the evenings spent with Brit when the rest of the world got quieter. He liked to sit on the couch with her cradled in his arms while they watched something on TV with Cooper, or when Cooper had convinced them to play a game of some sort. His games were still simple ones with action figures or some remote control car. No matter what it was, Kade always found it easy to join in and he thought that Brit did too. It always felt good to get away from the adult world for a little while and to sink back into a time where the biggest concern of the day is what toy to play with. Cooper had started calling Brit Mom awhile back, and he still did. He liked her to tuck him in at night, and always held her hand when they were out somewhere. Kade had started out calling him a traitor, just to tease, but he loved to see his little boy finally having a mother figure in his life. Coop and Kade were still close, of course, that bond that they had developed one that wouldn’t be able to be broken. Cooper still hung onto Daddy, his green eyes always looking for him and watching him. These evenings though were probably the most perfect thing that Kade ever imagine. He got to just relax with the two people he loved more than anything, and then when Cooper finally fell asleep, he and Brit had the rest of the evening to themselves. He loved to just hold her in his arms and talk to her, feeling her so close to him and listening to the sweet sound of her voice. There were nights when no talking was involved in what they did, those of course being ones that he loved as well. No matter what, though, it was the fact that he was there and sharing all it with the one woman that he had always known in his heart that he was supposed to be with. They were still so young and still had a lot to do, but they weren’t something that shouldn’t be questioned. Their love was undeniable, and their bond one that hadn’t broken in their years apart or the trying times they had just conquered. They had loved each other all their lives. It had never really been an option for them to be with anyone else. Kade had never seen it before, but his eyes were wide open now and he knew it was the truth.

Time passed just like that. Mostly smooth sailing with the exception of a fight that Micah had landed himself in. Kade had gone to help his friend, and in the end Hunter had gotten involved as well. That had been a little more than a week ago. The bruises were gone from Kade’s face and hands, and his lip was all healed up. Hunter hadn’t really walked away with much to show from the fight, so there was nothing to heal. Brit’s birthday was coming up, but Anna’s graduation from high school had came first. Kade had joked around with her that he simply wouldn’t go, but he had always known that he would go whether or not her and Hunter were together. He and Anna fought like cats and dogs sometimes, but always in a good humored way. They picked and had their fun, and they were really a lot more alike than either were willing to admit. Kade had only ever really been pissed at the girl once, and that was when she had broken up with Hunter without a good reason. Kade had thought her to be nothing short of a bitch, and therefore had treated like one. But, he’d come around and befriended her again. Since, she’d always felt like a younger sister to him. Now with her engagement to his baby brother, that was going to be an actuality. Of course he would be going to her graduation. He would be bored as hell, but he was going. And he even dressed up for it. Well, as much as Kade ever dressed up for anything, which was a pair of jeans that only had one small hole in the left knee and a black button up long sleeved shirt. The sleeves got rolled up to just beneath his elbows, and his boots weren’t all that dressy, but there was no way that anyone could complain about it. Hunter had gone all preppy and clean cut on them, but it was his girlfriend’s graduation. Kade had teased that it was about time that he got cleaned up, and Hunter had said the same thing to him.

Cooper had done exactly what Kade had hoped and provided a good distraction for him. The speeches made by the faculty and the principal were of no interest to Kade, so he and Cooper whispered as Kade tried to explain to his small son what was going on. Millie had come up with a half interesting valedictorian speech that Kade listened to part of, but he tuned it out mostly. Hunter wouldn’t talk to him, his attention on the ceremony. Kade got Brit to talk to him, but he knew he couldn’t talk a lot and be rude to the people around them. So, he settled in and waited for it to be over. Anna’s name was one of the first to be called, and everyone that had showed up for her cheered as she walked across the stage in cap and gown to get her diploma. Micah was there, and of course he’d brought a blow horn with him. It was good of him to show, especially with just finding out Tish was pregnant and Ali on the war path with him. But, looking at him, one would never know he was stressing about a thing. Kade listened to some of the names that were called, recognizing some from when he went to school here and others as the younger siblings of people in his class or a year or so above it. Mostly, his job was keeping Cooper entertained, which kept him entertained. There were a few times that his hazel eyes looked through the crowd and he’d spy someone that he’d gone to school with. No one that he liked well enough to catch up with after the ceremony, but he knew them. Sitting there took him back to his own miserable graduation. It had been long and boring, and the only redeemable thing about it was the party he had gone to afterward. There he’d been able to drink away the fact that Jared wasn’t there celebrating with him and had found a pretty girl willing to help him further forget it.

Hunter’s graduation the following year had been worse because it was also the year that Jared had been supposed to graduate. The moment of silence that they had held for him had been a killer, and it had just made the rest of the night a sore reminder of what the family had lost even though they had tried to be upbeat for Hunter’s sake. Though, Kade knew that Brit’s graduation that had taken place the same year as Hunter’s wasn’t all that great either. She had only told him about it once and after that, she had not spoken of it. Her family really amazed Kade sometimes. Not because they were all that great, but because of the lack of consideration that they had for Brit. That was supposed to be her special night, the one night that is a turning point of her life and that she should always remember and treasure, but they had turned it into the exact opposite. He didn’t mention it at Anna’s graduation, nor did anyone else that knew the story. They asked a few questions about Kade and Hunter’s graduation memories, but they didn’t ask Brit. Kade hardly imagined that she felt left out. He knew that she would be glad for them not asking her about it, not wanting to dig up that crappy memory again. The ceremony was over soon enough, anyway. Caps were thrown into the air, air horns were blowing, confetti flying, and all kinds of silly string. Kade hoisted Cooper up onto his shoulders so that the boy could watch the party down on the football field as the graduates did their thing. Coop loved it, and Kade loved looking down and seeing the fun. He remembered that part well. He’d stayed down on the same field for a long time, hunting out friends and saying his goodbyes before he’d departed and headed off to that party. But, Anna took a different route. She stayed down there for awhile, but came seeking Hunter out sooner than Kade had expected her to.

After some chatting, the four of them decided that they should spent the rest of the evening out on the city of Seattle. Hunter and Anna headed back to Anna’s house with Maria and Charles so that she could change. Kade, Brit, and Cooper made their way across the city to Kathy and George’s house. Kade had called and asked them if they minded taking Cooper for the night. They hadn’t, and that’s where the little boy would be staying for the night. Vivian’s parents loved their grandson and were thrilled to get him for any amount of time. Kade was a little bad at sharing his son, but he figured he could do it this one time and just go have some fun and act his age for a change. At the Anderson’s, Cooper hugged and kissed Kade and Brit goodbye, calling Brit Mommy once again. Kade watched Kathy and George, and saw that they were watching the exchange with smiles on their faces. Kade had been worried how they would act toward Brit, but they treated her like their own, and that meant more than they could know to Kade. After that, Kade and Brit were back in the car and swung by to pick up Hunter and Anna. The rest of the night was spent driving around the city and trying to figure out exactly what they wanted to do with their free evening. A movie sounded good, so that’s where they had headed first. They had let Anna pick it out, and she had done a decent job with the choice. Kade hadn’t hated the movie, at least. But, he’d had Brit there with him and that always made things more bearable. Next had come going to a club for some dancing. Kade almost felt like a traitor, being in a place other than Jared’s, but he’d gotten over it fairly quickly, especially when he saw Brit dancing. He wasn’t one to dance a lot, but had gone out and joined her and had succeeded in not making an idiot of himself. He wasn’t a bad dancer. He could actually be pretty good at it, but he just didn’t do it for anyone. Hunter even danced, which Kade had to laugh at. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen that happen.

Next, they all decided on a late dinner. Anna had to pick out the restaurant, but once again she picked a good place. They had all laughed and ate and just had a good time with it. It was at the end of the meal that Kade and Hunter came to their first disagreement of the day, which was really saying something for the two brothers. The girls dismissed themselves and left the guys to fight over it. ”I’m not paying for that dip thing you ordered.” ”But I ordered it for you and I to split. You agreed to it.” Kade frowned. ”But I only got one bite of it. You ate the rest.” The artichoke dip was one of Kade’s favorites, and he had really liked that one bite of it he had gotten. It was also Hunter’s favorite. Kade and Anna had gotten to talking about something, leaving Hunter all the free time he needed to inhale the rest of it before Kade had had a chance for a second bite. The two brothers stared at one another for a moment, both with hard expressions. Kade’s changed to a smile only when he saw Hunter look down and sigh. Kade had won. “Fine, but you pay the tip. And don’t be cheap about it, either.” Kade couldn’t help but to chuckle a little at that. ”Sounds good.” he got his wallet out of his pocket and had just started to count out the bills to pay his and Brit’s half of the bill plus a non-cheap tip when his attention was drawn to the front of the restaurant. He had heard Brit scream, and without even looking he was heading for the front exit which the girls had gone out. Hunter was right on his tail, and they pushed their way out of the front door just in time to see one of the worst sights in the world. Anna was lying in the street, clearly injured, though Kade’s hazel eyes were glued to Brit as a car wiped her out, rolling her over the windshield and the top of it before she hit the pavement.

Never in his life had he been so terrified. He had rushed over to Brit, seeing those dark eyes look at him once before they closed. He repeated her name over and over, but after he got no response, he yelled for someone to call 911. Kade took only a second to glance over to where Hunter knelt down beside of Anna and saw that Hunter’s hands were dark crimson. Blood. Kade looked back down to the limp Brit that lay before him, knowing that he couldn’t move her, but not knowing much else. This was his entire world, and it felt like it was being ripped away from him. He felt so helpless, and even more so when the paramedics finally arrived to take the girls to the hospital. Hunter and Kade rode along, both in so much shock and utterly at a loss. They were left to pace and make phone calls as the girls went into surgery, the doctors here doing everything in their power to save them. Finally, they were placed in rooms, the decision of living or dying up to their injured bodies. Kade was almost afraid to enter Brit’s room, though Hunter didn’t hesitate when he entered Anna’s. Kade hated hospitals, and this was the first time that he’d ever see his girl so bent and broken. He went in, though, knowing that she had always been there for him and him not being there for her simply not an option. Her room was quiet, the nurse having stepped out and the only sound the soft beeping of the machines. He moved a chair over and sat by her bedside, gently taking her hand closest to him in his own gently, his hazel eyes looking up at that still beautiful face.

He remembered his last stay in a hospital after his and Jesse’s crash. That caused his eyes to gaze around the room, remembering how he had thought he’d been outside his body looking in and seeing the people around him with the help of a few old friends. Kade almost wondered if it was a dream, but it had felt so real, and he had been convinced when he had woken up that he actually had been on the outside for awhile. Looking around the room, he wondered if the same thing might happen to Brit. Maybe she’d see Jared again, or Jeff. Maybe she was really right there beside of him, wishing his face weren’t so worried or that his heart wasn’t breaking to see her like this. Maybe she wasn’t out here at all. Kade turned his eyes back to Brit before lying his arm on the bed and then letting his head rest against it, still looking up at her. He sighed, letting his eyes close and saying a silent prayer for what was the first time in years. Kade wasn’t sure if there was anything out there that would hear him, but he knew that it couldn’t hurt to try.

[brittany.ღ.morgan]

Take your sweet, sweet time
I will be here, when you change your mind

The monitors in the hospital beeped frantically. The machine monitoring her heart was the faintest, just barely coming through compared to the rest of the noise throughout the room. She was just barely hanging there, just as Anna was in the room next door. Around her arm was a blood pressure cuff, taking her pulse and what not every two minutes or so. She was covered with cuts and bruises were already starting to form on her face, arms, and the rest of her body. The rest of her injuries were many. She’s broken a couple ribs and her right leg. There had been a lot of internal bleeding, not as much as Anna, but still a lot and she’d suffered a nasty head wound. Anna’s injuries were closely related to Brit’s. She’s fractured a good number of ribs, broken her right arm, and possibly broken a bone in her leg. Her left lung had collapsed, but so far was doing okay. The thing was, though, that Anna’s wounds were pretty severe. She was unconscious, and at the moment had no pain killers pumping through her system, though she’d certainly need them when she woke up. Anna was much worse off than Brit, due to the way she was hit by the car, and the doctors were almost certain she wouldn’t make it, though they hadn’t voiced those opinions out loud for the grieving family and her fiancé.

Maria and Charles had arrived at the hospital shortly after Brit and Anna had been moved into their rooms. Maria ran immediately to Anna’s room, kneeling down on the opposite side of the bed as Hunter. Charles had peeked in to look at his daughter, then went into the room beside her, to look after Brit. She was family to him, almost like a daughter since she’d come to Seattle. For the next couple of hours he and Maria traded places a couple of times, each spending their fair share of time in both girls’ rooms. Eventually, though he’d rather not have gone anywhere, Charles talked Maria into going home with him to get a couple hours of sleep. He didn’t bother trying to talk Kade and Hunter into doing the same, because he knew it was a fruitless cause, no matter how tired or exhausted they got. After talking briefly with the doctors Charles and Maria left their girls to fight for their lives, knowing that there was absolutely nothing that they could do for either one.

* * *

Brit groaned and squinted at the light flowing through the window next to her bed. Her head throbbed and ached, almost like someone had beat her over the head with a heavy, blunt object. She ran her right hand over her eyes, trying to rub the sleep from them. She let her eyes drift open, and what she saw made her heart start to pound. It wasn’t possible. She’ couldn’t be here… in this place. She sat up and looked around her, gasping when she realized that someone was next to her in bed. She knew that it should be Kade there next to her. All logic told her that there was no one else she should be next to. She didn’t have to look at the man next to her, though, to know that it wasn’t Kade. She recognized this room, had once known it better than her own. It belonged to the man next to her… a man she has once sworn she loved with all her heart. Though she didn’t want to look at who was next to her, because she already knew who it was, she did anyway. She felt her heart practically stop in her chest as she saw the dark black hair and bronze skin shine in the morning sunlight. Underneath those closed eyelids she knew that there would be green eyes shining back at her. Eyes that were so full of life and laughter. She knew his face, every single part of it, and she knew his voice. She knew him, better than almost anyone else on this planet… and she had watched his casket go down into the ground almost six months earlier. The man besides her, was Jeffery Mathews.

Brit was stunned, but at the same time she wanted to hurl her guts out. She was trying to figure out what day or moment in time this was, but she was at a complete loss. She had been here, with him, more times then she could count, and just when she was sure that it was all over, here she was again. There was only one answer for what she was going through, and that was that she was dreaming. For good measure, she pinched herself on the arm. It didn’t work, but Brit knew that this couldn’t be reality in the slightest bit. Jeff was dead. He’d been dead for months. Nothing could change that. That’s when her mind flashed to James and her hand flew immediately to her stomach. It was flat. She lifted up her shirt for good measure, and she could see the fresh stitches on her stomach. She’d had similar ones a couple months back after she had lost James… which told her that at least one thing had stayed the same. She let her shirt fall back over her stomach, and she slowly stood from the bed. In a flash all of the memories flew to her mind. Where she was, when it was, and everything that had happened. This world was slightly behind her own, and was much different than her own as well. It was messed up, in all senses of the word, and she suddenly got the urge to take off running, and to not stop until she reached either the Pacific Ocean, or Seattle, Washington.

In the place she was now, Jeff had never been killed, but instead become a hero… a live one. He’d been injured and so granted leave to come home. He’d come home just in time for the birth of his son… who hadn’t made it, even this time around. Brit had taken up spending most of her nights at Jeff’s, though he had spent several at the B&B with her. Jeff had been pretty much the same, which Brit found odd, but there were times when she could see differences. War wasn’t a subject brought up around this Jeff, and if she happened to walk in on him when he was alone she saw that something bothered him. Brit didn’t really understand this world… at all. It was so confusing to her, and she almost dreaded it. This wasn’t the place she wanted to be, or who she wanted to be with. She wanted to be back where she belonged… with Kade and Cooper and Anna and Hunter. That was where she belonged. That was where she wanted to be. She glanced down at Jeff where he lay in his bed. He had always been a sound sleeper, and so it didn’t surprise her that he hadn’t woken yet. Honestly, though, she didn’t want to be there when he did wake up. So she ran out of his room, down the stairs, and out the front door. Thankfully, Jeff’s mother and sister, Karen and Allison Mathews, weren’t up, and so no questions would be raised by her run out.

Brit stopped by the B&B long enough to change her clothes, then she grabbed Levi and headed out of the beach house. She had no idea where she was going, but that didn’t matter. She just wanted to get away from this whole crazy ass situation. It was a little too much for her to handle, honestly. She didn’t know what to think or what to do… but then, what else was new. Brit crossed the not so busy street in front of her house and immediately was in the park. She ran for a while, Levi keeping pace beside her and she didn’t stop until she was out of breath. It wasn’t like she could really run from all of this, though. Running never worked. She was stuck in some alternate universe where everything was just turned completely upside down. She didn’t like where she was, and really all she wanted was to go back to her own life, however it may be right now. Eventually Brit made her way back towards her home. She crossed the street and was just about to step onto the front porch of the B&B she felt someone grab her arm. She swung around, half afraid to see who would be there, and low and behold, she wasn’t disappointed. There stood Jeff in his jeans and a t-shirt, his dark hair messy, even though she knew he had run a comb through it. “Hey, where’d you go this morning. You had me worried.” That was clear in those pretty green eyes of his. Brit searched her mind for a reason why he would be worried and then it occurred to her. Even in this world Brit had turned to alcohol to solve her problem, which explained her headache this morning.

Brit offered him a small smile, though it barely touched her lips. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just wanted to go for a run, that’s all.” Her dark eyes looked away from his, her unable to handle looking into those beautiful eyes of his. In her mind, he was supposed to be dead, not standing here all sweet and loving, looking at her with a concern that he shouldn’t have. It all made her want to cry, but she didn’t dare do that. Jeff wasn’t fooled by what she said to him, though. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. Against her better judgment, Brit rested her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck. She had always wanted the chance to see Jeff again; had always wanted to have just one more day with the man that she loved. She’d wanted it so badly, and now it seemed that she had it. But suddenly she didn’t want it anymore. She didn’t want to be here, with him, like this. It wasn’t what she wanted at all. She couldn’t help but think of Kade, her best friend and the man that she loved so much it hurt. She’d almost lost him, and now he was nowhere in sight. She had no idea what was going on with him in this world, or where he was. She knew nothing about his life here, and that killed her.

She felt Jeff plant a kiss on her forehead, the way that Kade did, and suddenly her heart ached for him. She was in the arms of the man she had lost six months ago, and all she could think about is the one she was currently with. She pulled out of Jeff’s arms, not giving him a second look as she came inside the B&B. Jeff followed her inside, heading straight to the kitchen where Briar was fixing breakfast for everyone. Brit moved past the kitchen without a glance at her pregnant cousin and took the steps three at a time until she reached her bedroom. When she turned to close her door she saw that Jeff had followed her up the stairs, obviously still worried about her. He leaned against the door frame. “Brit, are you seriously okay?” His green eyes pleaded with her to talk to him, to let him in, but she just couldn’t do it. Brit could have told him the truth, but that just wasn’t something she could do at the moment, especially when she was completely freaking out. “I’m going to go get a shower,” she said. She saw the thoughts flowing through his mind come through on his face and in his eyes. That’s when she added, “alone.” She saw that he was disappointed, and in an effort to change that she leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss before she shut the door in his face. She quickly threw her clothes in a pile on the floor, started the hot water, and then stepped into it. She let the water flow over her and before she knew it she was sitting in the bottom of the tub, letting those tears flow freely from her eyes. “Where are you, Kade,” she whispered softly to herself. For once, she didn’t know the answer to that question.

[kade trent.]

come back to me
it's almost easy ,

The idea of God had always sounded nice. Marion Trent was a strong believer, always with a little golden cross hanging around her neck and a prayer to be said for anyone and everyone that needed it. She did not attend a church regularly, and she didn’t cling to her Bible and read it every night, but she believed. She had taught her boys from the start that there was something bigger than them in this existence, and that something was God. She had been the one to tell them about angels and Jesus, and that He would save them if they let Him do it. It was something that was easy enough to believe in. What child wouldn’t want to hope with every fiber of their being that there was someone or something out there that gave them a purpose and that was watching over them even when it felt like they were all alone in this big world? What good reason did any of the boys have to not believe their mother as she told them that angels were watching over them and that there was always something to believe in because God was really there? Kade had believed it. He had never had a reason not to believe it. He had listened as his mother taught from the Bible to her young sons, hoping that the messages in the scripture would inspire them and lead them onto that path of salvation and faith. Sure, as he got older he knew that he wasn’t living the more virtuous life, but that’s what forgiveness was made for, wasn’t it? It was made for the sinners, and he had been told time and time again that his Savior was big on the forgiveness thing if he asked for it. Kade asked all the time, and he hoped that God really was all for that sort of thing. If not, Kade figured that he was officially screwed. But, there came a point in his life that he really didn’t worry about it anymore.

That point was when Jared died. Kade had always been told that his God was a kind, loving God and would take care of his children. How was killing Jared taking care of them? What kind of God would take a sixteen-year-old boy away from the earth before he’d even really had a chance to live his life and fulfill his purpose here? What kind of God would do that to that boy’s family and friends? Didn’t He know that they needed Jared more than He did? Didn’t He realize that Kade still needed his little brother around? Jared hadn’t done one thing to deserve the hand that he had been dealt. He didn’t live a very virtuous life either, but he was the one that had more faith and belief in God out of the three brothers as odd as that may sound to anyone that had known Jared. And yet he was the one that was taken away. What kind of God did that to one of his followers? To one of his own children? In Kade’s mind, there couldn’t be such a thing, and so his faith and belief ended right then and there. Since, he had only had more reasons to doubt the existence of such a being. Why would anyone take away a mother before she had even gotten to hold her newborn child? Why would they leave a child without a mother? Why take that beautiful young woman away from her parents, family, friends, husband and child? How could anyone be so cruel as to take a child away from a young mother not too long after taking away his father? To Kade, there was no God. There might have been one once upon a time, but not anymore. None of it made sense, and he didn’t want to hear any of the reasoning that his mother had to say to him. She’d quit trying a long time ago.

But now, he didn’t know what the difference was. Kade still had all the reasons and all the doubt in the world, but now he closed his eyes and said that silent prayer in his head. Maybe it was because he had nowhere else to turn to. Maybe it was because he knew how bad this was, and he knew that he needed all the help that he could possibly get. Maybe he was looking for a way to see if there really was someone out there watching over them. He really didn’t know what the hell he was doing, but he was doing it all the same. Please let her be okay, his prayer said. Please don’t take her away from us. We still need her here. Cooper needs her. And Anna… Hunter needs her. Let them both be okay. Please don’t take Brit. I need her. Let her come back to me…” It felt like he was talking in circles, saying things that were simple, but yet made his throat tighten and his eyes threaten to grow moist with tears. This was the closest that Kade had been to tears in almost two years. He didn’t want to cry, though, and he closed his eyes a little tighter, willing them to stay at bay. This wasn’t the time or place. If he just accepted it, then there was no hope. He had to keep fighting, just like Brit kept hanging on even if it was only by a thread. She had never given up on him. Not when he was in the hospital bed, and not in anything that he had ever done. Kade wasn’t about to give up on her. He let his hazel eyes open when he was sure that not tears would spill, looking up to Brit’s face once again as he sat himself up. The bruises and cuts seemed to have grown more visible just in that short amount of time that he had had his eyes closed. It made him hurt to see her so broken, but he kept his expression carefully guarded. Not that there was anyone to see, but he wasn’t about to show his own weaknesses. That just wasn’t something that Kade Trent would ever do with anyone other than Brit. She was the only one that got that much of him.

The monitors weren’t helping things much. Kade let his eyes wonder over them, having been in the hospital so much that he knew what most of them were for and what they meant. Hell, he knew that most if not all of these machines had been hooked up to his own body once or twice. But, that wasn’t a comfort to him. He’d been bad off both of the times that he’d been in the hospital for a serious injury, and he didn’t like to see these things on Brit. That just made him realize how much he hadn’t been told yet, and that a lot of it wasn’t good. When he heard footsteps, he turned his head to see a nurse entering the room, coming to check on Brit’s vital stats. It was a heavyset black woman that Kade recognized as one of his own nurses from the last time that he was here, that time as the patient. Glory was her name, and she was something else. “Well, I’d say it’s nice to see you as the visitor for once and not the patient, but that would be a lie,” she said to him, offering a smile that could only be described as sympathetic. “She’s such a pretty little thing. Dang near breaks my heart to see her like this, and her cousin too. Your brother…I’ve never seen him like that before.” Kade felt a little frown pull at his lips at the mention of his baby brother. Hunter was in the next room with Anna, who appeared to be much worse off than Brit, which was bad. Poor Hunter. Kade wished that he could have been there to help his brother, but he couldn’t be two places at once. Hunter understood, though. They were where they were supposed to be; with their girls. “No one’s told you much, have they?” At that, Kade just shook his head. He and Glory had chatted quite a few times in the past. Now, he didn’t really want to bother much with words, and Glory wasn’t going to be the one to push him into them. She was an understanding woman like that.

”She took a pretty good hit to the head, but I’m sure you’ve realized that. She broke a few ribs in the impact, and her right leg too. They’re waiting for the swelling to go down before they put a cast on. There was a lot of internal bleeding, but the doctors really did do everything that they could.” Kade knew that it wasn’t Glory’s job to tell him all of this, but she was taking it upon herself to be the bearer of bad news because she knew Kade. She spoke kindly to him, and she knew that she didn’t have to spell it all out for him. He could put it together for himself. The broken ribs and the broken leg were things that Kade could almost stand. Those things would heal. Those things wouldn’t take her away from him. It was the blow to her head and the internal bleeding that were threatening Brit’s life, threatening to tear his whole world apart. Kade looked away then, his hazel eyes locking on Brit as Glory went to machine after machine, taking notes and getting print offs to compare with the last ones. “I’ll be back in later, sweetie. You look after our special little lady,” she said to him, making her way to the door. ”Thank you, Glory,” was all that Kade could scrape up for her, him still not looking at her, but he heard her pause at the door. That meant she’d heard him. It wasn’t but a few minutes after Glory had left that Charles came into the room and sat down in another chair beside of Kade. The two men didn’t talk much. Just an exchange of how she was doing, and a few explanations of what a certain machine did or didn’t do. Maria came in too, but Kade still wasn’t much for words. She tried to get him to eat, drink, and sleep, but Kade wasn’t hearing it. Neither of Anna’s parents took offense to it, though. They knew that Kade was stubborn and wouldn’t abandon Brit. He figured they were getting the same thing from Hunter.

Marion and Robert showed up at the hospital as well. Robert lingered over with Hunter and Anna as Marion came over to Brit’s room, Maria sitting in at the time but leaving to see her daughter and leaving Kade with his mother. She smiled a smile that only a mother could find for her son in such a trying time, and Kade really appreciated it. “Here, sweetie. I brought you a shirt to change into. I thought you’d want something a little more comfortable.” She extended a hand that held a grey t-shirt that he knew had had been in his and Brit’s apartment earlier. His parents must have stopped and gotten it for him before coming here. Kade took it gingerly in his hands. ”Thanks, Mom.” He offered her a small smile before letting his eyes go back to Brit, her still form unchanging. Marion sat quietly in the chair beside of her son for a moment before reaching over and touching his arm, getting his attention again. “Honey, why don’t you go ahead and change and get yourself some coffee or something? I know I can’t talk you into leaving, but I do want to make sure my boy is okay as he can be considering. Just get up and move around a little. She’s still going to be here when you come back. I promise.” Kade didn’t like that idea. Not one bit. He didn’t want to leave Brit, and his face must have shown it because Marion’s set in that motherly expression that said that there was no way in hell that she was going to accept anything other than what she had just said. Kade sighed and rose from his chair, knowing that he’d lost that one. His sore knee was stiff, but with a few steps he had the kinks worked out and he could walk without that small discomfort being noticeable to anyone else. He turned out of Brit’s room and took a glance into Anna’s where he saw his father and Hunter along with Maria and Charles hovering over the still figure on the bed that Kade could only assume was Anna. Looking at her, he couldn’t recognize her. He hurried passed toward the restrooms to change and get washed up a little.

He got a cup of coffee from the cafeteria quickly and was right back up to Brit and Anna’s floor. When he re-entered Brit’s room, Maria and Charles were there to tell him that they were going to leave for a few hours and then come back. They looked like they needed the rest, but Kade was sure that he looked that way as well. He took his seat again with Marion sitting beside of him in hers. “See, I don’t make promises that I don’t keep. She’s still here.” She was trying to be optimistic, but Kade wasn’t buying it. Brit was still alive, but she wasn’t here. She was somewhere far away, somewhere that Kade hadn’t been allowed to follow. He hated her being in that place, and he wanted her back with him. “Kathy called to check in. I spoke with her for a little while.” Kade had spoken to Kathy a few hours ago. She had told him that she and George would keep Cooper for as long as he needed them to, and he was grateful for it. He wished he could have his son here with him, but at the same time he was glad that Cooper wasn’t there. Cooper wasn’t old enough to understand what was happening with Mommy, and Kade was glad to not have to try and break it down for the young boy. It had been so hard on Cooper to see Kade like he had been after that car accident. To see Brit like that would be just as hard, and Kade didn’t want to put him through that again. Plus it was just one less thing that Kade had to worry about at the moment. “I think I’m going to go over and sit with your dad and Hunter,” Marion said after a few moments of silence. “Hunter’s not doing well with this at all. He’s very quiet, and he just sits and stares. You know that’s not how he is.” No, that was how Kade himself was. Kade was the quiet one. Hunter was the one that broke down and didn’t care if people saw him cry. It’s when he doesn’t cry that you know things are bad. ”That’s fine. I’ll be okay.”

Marion offered up a small, sad but somewhat proud smile. “I know you will be. You’re my oldest and my strongest, Kade. You always have been. You’ll get through this, and it’ll be that strength that keeps Brit hanging on. She won’t go where she can’t be with you. You’re both too stubborn to let that happen.” She kissed her oldest son on the cheek before exiting the room to go to Anna’s, leaving Kade alone once again with Brit. That was fine. He was thankful to have the shirt she’d brought him, and he was glad that she had made him get up and stretch and re-energize a bit with the cup of coffee that he’d chugged down, but he was fine here with Brit. He always liked it best when they were to themselves, anyway. This wasn’t the ideal situation, but this is when he could be himself without prying eyes watching. It was just him and her. Kade took her hand gently in his own again, his hazel eyes on his love’s bruised face as she lie there, so close but so far away. He offered her a little smile, even though she couldn’t see it. ”I hope my mom’s right,” he said, his voice so quiet that it would only be heard by Brit if she could in fact hear. ”I know she’s right about us being stubborn. Just don’t leave me here, Brit.” He brought her small, fragile hand to his lips then, letting them brush over it in a small kiss before he looked back to her. ”Come back to me…” His eyes were moist with tears then, and he didn’t even try to hide it. It was scary when Hunter didn’t cry, but even worse when Kade did. He couldn’t do it. A day without Brit in his life would tear him apart. This wasn’t how things were supposed to be. He needed her back, and if there really was a God, surely he’d see that Kade would trade places with Brit in a heartbeat if it meant she got to live and be with Cooper. Whatever it took, just so long as she made it.

[/size]

[brittany.ღ.morgan]

I'm feeling you pull away
Cause letting go isn't easy for me

* * *

If it was at all possible, Brit felt worse after her shower. She was in there for an hour or more, letting the tears simply fall and not even trying to stop them. Brit had always been an emotional girl, but she had always hated it when people saw her cry. There were people she had known her whole life that had never once saw her cry, and Jeff had only seen her do it a couple times, all of them after James had died. He’d never stood a chance, and she had no idea why her baby hadn’t made it. There was only one person that had ever, ever seen her cry frequently, and that was Kade Trent. He was her number one go to when she was hurting. He had always been that way until the summer after she left him. After that she had always had Jeff by her side. When she had lost her grandparents, though, she hadn’t really cried. She’d done a little of it, finding comfort in the people around her, but for the most part she had been numb… in shock. She hadn’t known what was going on, and it hadn’t really registered to her until a day or two after all of it that everything really sank in. For the longest time she had watched her grandparents health deteriorate, and that had hit her a little bit, but to separate herself from it she had always just blocked it out, and acted like none of it bothered her. On the inside she had been closed to breaking and falling to pieces, but because she was so strong, she didn’t let it out. Only a couple people had been able to see through it all, and they all just knew better than to ask.

Brit let her long, wet hair fall from the towel she had wrapped around it, pushing her bangs to the side, not caring if the waves made their way to her hair. She dried it a little with the towel, then brushed it out and let it go. She had changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top, the Carolina whether hot here, even though spring wasn’t officially there yet. Living on the coast had it’s advantages, which included the nice whether all year round. It was never too hot or too cold, and that was the prime reason they had visitors all year round. She checked herself in the mirror, not really caring how she looked, but her eyes were caught by the image. It just… didn’t feel right. The image was the same, but it didn’t feel like her. That made no sense, and she knew it. She also knew that she didn’t belong there… that this wasn’t her world in the slightest. She sighed softly before opening the bathroom door, meeting cooler air than what was in the steamed up bathroom. She shivered slightly, but made her way to her room anyway. She expected him to be there… at least the her in this world, but Brit jumped slightly when she walked in and saw Jeff sitting—no, lying—on her bed. He looked up at the sound, and his grin widened, until he saw the look in her eyes which told him he’d startled her. “Sorry, I figured you’d come directly here.” He turned onto his side and propped himself on his elbow. “I snatched a brownie for you.”

Briar’s brownies were Brit’s favorite, but when she looked at it, she couldn’t help but feel sick. She saw the glow in his eyes and the smile die as the expression on her face changed. “I guess I just don’t feel like brownies today.” Brit turning down her favorite treat was enough for alarm, but due to her even resent behavior in this world, it only caused a sympathetic look from Jeff. He patted her bed next to her, and for a second her heart jumped, the gesture so familiar to her. He’d done that a lot after she lost her grandparents, always encouraging her into his arms. She offered him a small smile and slowly made her way towards her bed, surprised only once she’d laid down next to him that she hadn’t thought about it more than that. She hadn’t even hesitated in her movement… not at all. After all her efforts to avoid him, here she was moving into his arms without the slightest hesitation. What was going on? She knew what it was, though. She had him so close after having him gone for so long. No matter what a part of her would always love him, but she didn’t love him as much as she loved Kade. She never had. Still, she tried not to think about that as she felt him wrap his arms around her waist and rest his chin on her shoulder. She felt his chest against her back, and that small touch sent chills down her spine. She shook slightly in his arms, and he mistook her action. He held her tighter, then grabbed the small blanket that rested at the foot of her bed and threw it over her body. He kissed her on the cheek as he returned his head to her shoulder, and held her even tighter once more. Without thinking about it, Brit reached over and grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers through his. Surprisingly, having him hold her so close was a small comfort, something she had laid awake for nights missing until she was with Kade. It was weird for her, and the more she thought about it, the quicker the tears ran to her eyes and started to fall. She had thought he was gone forever, yet here he was.

He heard the slight tremor from her lips as the tears came and felt her body shake again. Jeff had a sixth sense about her crying, though, and so he hadn’t really even needed those two indications to tell him what was happening. He loosened his grip on her and encouraged her to roll over, so that she was facing him. Brit didn’t fight him, and she was soon looking up into those amazing green eyes that she sometimes still saw in her dreams. “Hey, what’s wrong, Brit?” He touched his lips to her forehead and then hugged her close to his body, not even waiting for her to reply. He knew her so well, and his kindness and concern were so overwhelming Brit could barely catch her breath. His love for her was the same. In these simple acts she could feel those things, and she felt so bad about them. She couldn’t push Kade from her mind, and feeling his absence made her chest tighten, her stomach lurch, and her tears to fall harder. The harder her tears fell the tighter Jeff held her to him, and without thinking she wrapped her arms around his waist. She held onto him tightly, crying into his chest for several long minutes. Eventually her tears slowed and stopped all together. He didn’t loosen his grip on her until he was sure that she was done and then slowly let her go, never completely letting go of her. He looked down at her, his eyes full of concern. “What’s wrong, Brit? Is everything okay?” Obviously everything wasn’t okay, but those were the typical questions that seemed to pass through Jeff’s lips in such situations.

Brit shook her head slowly, though she didn’t really need to. Brit looked up at him, her dark eyes catching his and almost hating the way that they looked down at her and what they did to her. A part of her felt like she was somehow betraying Kade. She was laying here in the arms of another man, someone that wasn’t him, and she couldn’t help but feel like it was wrong. She adverted her gaze from his, instead looking at the white t-shirt that covered his form. “None of this feels right,” she whispered. Obviously that wouldn’t make sense to him, and she didn’t need to see his face to know that it confused him. She hesitated a moment, then decided to just let it out. “I just feel like this isn’t where I’m supposed to be.” She waited, and when he didn’t say anything she looked up at him, wondering why he was suddenly so quiet. She couldn’t read the expression on his face, but after a couple minutes he sighed. “Brit, I know losing James was hard for you,” he whispered, not liking to go there as much as Brit did. “We’ll get through this. I promise. We just have to pick up and move on.” Brit knew that he wouldn’t understand it. He couldn’t possibly understand it. Brit sighed, sitting up and letting his arms fall from where they were around her. “Jeff, it’s not that. It’s just…” What was it? She didn’t know. Brit thought, and realized that this was where she had been a while back. She had been here, suffering from losing Jeff and James, and when it just got to where she couldn’t bare it anymore she ran. And where she ran to was Seattle. “Jeff… I want to go to Seattle.”

[kade trent.]

come back to me
it's almost easy ,

How had this even happened? No, that wasn’t the right question. Kade had learned how it had all went. He and Hunter had let the girls go stand outside on the sidewalk beside a busy four lane street in the city while they fought over who paid the bill for the dinner. It was something so simple. Kade and his friends had walked through that part of town so many times that it was impossible to recall them all. There were all sorts of restaurant through there, along with some nice stores and a few little thrift shops here and there. It almost felt like a section of New York City placed on the west coast, but it had never seemed like a big deal. It was a place that people went every single day and didn’t get hurt, so why would Hunter and Kade ever imagine that something like this could happen? Exactly; they hadn’t ever saw this one coming. Getting into an accident while riding in the car was something that they were all familiar with, and fender benders happened on that particular stretch of pavement here and there, but this was the first that Kade had ever heard of someone actually getting hit. No, not just one person, but two. These were grown girls, and one of the first wonderings of all of their family and friends was why the hell would they let themselves get hit by a car? Hunter had pieced that one together. While sitting beside Anna and waiting for the ambulances to arrive, he had found her engagement ring lying on the pavement just short of a foot away from her. “She must of dropped it,” he had said while both Brit and Anna were in surgery earlier. “When she went after it, Brit probably went after her.” Of course that’s how it happened. Even Kade knew how much Anna loved that ring, and if Anna was in danger, there was no way that Brit wasn’t going to try and help her even if it meant rushing out into the middle of a busy street and getting hit with a car herself.

So that was how it happened. What the right question was here was why. Why the hell had this had to happen to them? Anna was still so young. She had just graduated from high school and was supposed to be living the night up like there was no tomorrow, making memories and having fun with it all. Kade had no doubt in his mind that had this not happened, had she not dropped her ring and gotten hit by the car, she would be in Hunter’s arms right now, the two of them spending the night together somewhere and making a few more memories. Why had this had to of happened to Brit? She was young as well, just getting out of a semester of college and finally getting a night out on the town with her boyfriend, cousin, and future brother-in-law. It was the first time in a long time that they had all just been able to go out and act their age, and it was supposed to end with them all happy and content and unharmed. Hadn’t they all suffered enough? Hunter and Kade had both lost their brother, and they had both lost a dear friend in Vivian. Cooper had already lost one mom. Rob and Marion had already lost not one, but two children as they always thought of Vivian as a daughter like they did with Anna and Brit. Brit had lost a fiancé and a child of her own. Why should any one of them be asked to go through this? What good could possibly come from it? What kind of reason could any kind of God have for doing this? Kade couldn’t find an answer. There was not an answer other than his reasoning that God, if there was one, only kept him around for the sake of having someone to test just how much pain a man can live through and to laugh at when he finally failed. Maybe these were the thoughts of an angered, bitter man, but Kade thought that he had all the reason in the world to be angry and bitter right now.

Of course he was scared to death, but Kade had never worked well with fear. The only person in the world that he had ever shown his fears to openly was lying in front of him on the hospital bed, and even then he hated to show that kind of weakness to her. Brit always understood, but Kade just wasn’t that kind of person. So, instead of letting his fear get the best of him, it often turned to anger. He knew that was what was being done now. Kade could almost feel it happening, but he wasn’t angry with Brit. There was no way that he would ever be angry with her. Even when they weren’t speaking and were hardly looking at one another, he was never mad or upset. Just hurt. He was there in that little hospital room alone with his thoughts, and the thoughts that were coming to him were what were sparking that little bit of anger inside of him, making the moist tears that had formed in his eyes dry away. God, he was so angry that this was happening to them. And he was so scared and lost and confused. Kade hated being here, mostly because Brit was fighting for her life, but also because he hated feeling so vulnerable and weak. He was the one that was strong. He was the one that was the rock for everyone else. He was the one that had to take the hits like they were nothing for the sake of being there to pick everyone else up when they had fallen to pieces. That was who he had always been. Even when Jared had died, he had been that strong boy, the only one he allowed to see him weak and broken being Brit. When Vivian had died, he had put on that brave face and had taken responsibility for their son. Throughout all of that, he had been able to do it, but here beside of Brit, he was finding it harder and harder to keep everything he was feeling in check. The emotions were so strong, and there was no game face or mask that he could pull on to hide them.

Kade leaned back in his chair, sitting close enough that he could still hold Brit’s hand in his own. His hazel eyes rarely left her, though he knew that face by heart. The only thing that was different now were the cuts and bruises, but he could look passed them and see that beautiful face that belonged to the woman that he loved so much. A sigh passed through his lips, his eyes starting to feel a little heavy. Kade had no idea what time it was. He knew that it had been late when they had been getting up to leave the restaurant, and that had been hours ago. It was probably well passed midnight was what he guessed. That wasn’t really giving him an exactly hour, but it was good enough for him. He felt exhausted, after taking more time to think about it, but there was no way that he was leaving that hospital room. He wouldn’t leave until Brit was awake and forced him to go take a break. He hoped like hell that that would happen. Kade wouldn’t like leaving her even then, but she would be able to give them one of those looks of hers that said there was no arguing, and he would have to obey. He loved that little look, the one that he could never resist. There had been other women along the line that had tried to use those little pouts and glares to get him to submit to their will, but Kade had never budged. Brit was the only one that he ever submitted to, the only one that had to look at him just for a second before he gave in completely. She was the only woman that had ever caught his heart and kept it, and she hadn’t even had to try. They had been too young to realize it, but their hearts had been taken by each other since the day that they had met. There was nothing that Brit did that Kade didn’t think was adorable or cute or sexy. Those little looks she cast his way set his heart beating in his chest a little faster. There was nothing that she would do that would ever make her less perfect in his eyes.

As he looked at her then, he felt some of that anger and bitterness ebbing away. She was always able to do that. No matter how mad or pissed off he was, just being around her was enough to calm him down and bring him back from that awful place. Just looking at her now brought him peace and helped him relax a little. That’s what she would have wanted for him to do. Brit would hate the worry and fear that she would see in his eyes, and she would tell him that it was all going to be okay. He would be okay. It was that line of thinking that allowed him to let his eyelids close, his head slowly tilting to the side as he slid down a little in his chair. He let his thumb traced over the back of her fingers slowly, the monitors and his slowed breathing the only sound in the room. It wasn’t long before he had dozed off, which wouldn’t surprise anyone. He had looked like hell, and getting a little rest would be great for him. What would surprise some was the fact that he had let himself go to sleep, but it hadn’t seemed much like an option to him. It didn’t last very long, anyway. Kade felt a hand running through his hair, causing his eyes to open and him to sit up, searching for the person that had been touching him. Marion stood over him, looking down with a little smile. Beside her was Robert, his eyes tired. Kade looked from one to the other. ”How’s Anna?” The last that he had known, they were both in her room, sitting with Hunter. Why were they both here now? “The doctors are in her room now. We had to leave to give them more room,” Marion answered. ”What about Hunter?” he asked more slowly, not knowing where his brother was or what was going on with him. Marion’s small smile faded on her lips. “He’s at her door. He still hasn’t said much, but he won’t leave her.”

Kade knew exactly how Hunter felt. He nodded his head slowly, turning his gaze back to Brit where she still hadn’t moved on her hospital bed. “We’re going to go home and get some rest, make some calls into work and those kind of things. We’ll be back in the morning. Is there anything that you’d like us to get for you?” Kade looked back to his mother. ”Vodka. Straight.” He was kidding, of course. Kade didn’t want to be drunk off of his ass when he was sitting here with Brit, and he knew that drinking wouldn’t solve any of his problems. But, he couldn’t resist the little joke, which got a brow raise from his mother and a small grin from Rob. “Anything else?” she asked, giving her oldest son a little smile then, too. She’d always had a good sense of humor. Kade just shrugged at her question. He really didn’t care what he had or didn’t have at this point. The only thing that mattered was that Brit woke up. “Okay then. We’ll be back in a few hours. You should try to get more rest, but not in that chair. You’ll not be able to move when you wake up.” Typical mothering. “And try to look in on Hunter here and there. Not that you’ll be able to do much, but look after him.” Of course. Wasn’t that what Kade had been doing his whole life? Kade nodded his understanding of what she was telling him, and Marion leaned in to give her boy a kiss on the forehead. “Remember, Kade. God won’t bring you to it if He can’t bring you through it. You’ll be okay.” And she just had to end it on that kind of a note, didn’t she? ”I really don’t want to hear anything about your God, Mom.” That he should have kept to himself, but he was much too tired to guard his words. He really should have thought about this one, though. Marion knew that Kade’s faith had been lacking, but she didn’t like it, and she most certainly didn’t like it now. A frown came to the woman’s face, and it didn’t quite look like it belonged there because Kade had rarely seen such an expression on his mother.

"Look, I know this doesn’t seem fair, but-“ ”But nothing. You can believe in whatever the hell you want, but don’t expect me to believe in something that’s already taken so much from us and keeps threatening to take more.” Kade wore a hard expression, still sitting in that same chair with Brit’s hand in his, staring up at his mother that worse an similar face. “If He needs her, Kade, He’ll take her.” That was like a punch right to the stomach. ”If He needs her? What if I need her more? Will He think about that?” Marion’s face softened then, but Kade’s didn’t. However, there wasn’t anymore room for talking. Rob had stepped in and placed a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Come on,” he said, encouraging her to step away. “It’s been a hard night and we’re all tired. We’ll be back, Son. You take care of her.” Rob offered Kade a small smile, and only then did Kade relax again. His parents were out of the room, and Kade’s eyes were back on Brit. Since Rob and Kade had been speaking again, their relationship had been returned to how it had always been. They were close, and Rob knew better than to let Marion keep pushing their son when he had already been pushed so far. Still, he was upset that she had even gone there. If God needed her. God had plenty of other angels up there. Why did he have to go and try to take Kade’s away from him? Couldn’t he let Kade have just this one? ”Come on, Brit,” Kade said, now turned back to her and lifting himself up off of the car and carefully sitting in the empty space on the bed beside of her. ”You know I need you here. I can’t be here without you, babe. You have to come back.” When he was just thinking the words, they didn’t seem so bad, but saying them out loud always made his heart ache even more, and made those tears threaten to form in his eyes again.

[/size]

[brittany.ღ.morgan]

I'm feeling you pull away
Cause letting go isn't easy for me

* * *

Jeff stared at Brit with a look of complete and total shock. “You want to go to Seattle?” he repeated, clearly not believing the words that she had spoken. Brit nodded, showing him that he wasn’t mistaken in what he heard from her. “Why?” Brit pushed herself off of the bed and onto her feet. She looked at Jeff, crossing her arms over her chest and then paced across the floor. Did she really want to tell him the true reason for her wanting to go to Seattle? Did she really want him to know that she wanted to see Kade? That would hurt him. Even though he’d always said that he wouldn’t blame her for leaving him for Kade, she’d always known that it would hurt him, being chosen second. She couldn’t really do that. No matter how much her heart ached for Kade, she couldn’t openly let Jeff see it. She couldn’t let him see her wanting someone else. She sighed then finally stopped and turned back and looked at Jeff, seeing that he hadn’t taken his eyes off of her. “I want to see my family, Jeff. I want to see my friends. I haven’t seen them in… years.” Her dark eyes were practically pleading with him. She realized after she had said the words that she shouldn’t have said friends. She saw the realization come to his eyes, and she knew that he knew what she really, truly wanted. Though, the truth was, she wanted to see Anna too. Anna was a part of her life. She was like a sister now, not distant like she had been for years. Brit couldn’t let that happen now. She didn’t think Jeff would see it that way, and his next words told her that. “You want to see Kade.” He tried to mask the hurt in his voice, but he didn’t succeed at all.

Brit couldn’t lie to Jeff. She never had, and she wasn’t going to start now. “Yeah. I want to see Kade.” She saw the hurt in his eyes deepen a little bit, and so in the same, even tone, she added more. “And Anna. And Hunter. Kade’s not the only person in Seattle.” He doubted her, she could see it in those pretty green eyes of his. He might not like the idea of her going to Seattle, but he’d never stop her from going, and she knew it. Still, she didn’t like the doubt that was there. She sighed again and sat back down on the bed, still looking at him. “Jeff, I haven’t gotten to leave Fate in so long. This place… I need to get away from it. You can either come with me or not. I’m not going to make you come. I just… I don’t want to be away from you either.” Her dark eyes pleaded with him once again. She could see the inner battle in his eyes. He was fighting with himself, trying to figure out with would be worse: Brit in Seattle with him, or Brit in Seattle without him. He didn’t speak for the longest time, and then he finally sighed too, giving up the battle. “Okay, I’ll come with you. But Brit, we get married in two weeks.” Her heart stopped in her chest. Two weeks? She searched her brain for that, trying to see if it was as he said it was, and she was surprised to see that it was. Two weeks? She was supposed to marry Jeff in two weeks? Fear soared through her. She didn’t want to marry Jeff. She didn’t even want to be in Fate. This wasn’t right. None of this was right. How could se possibly get out of this now. “Briar will take care of it. You know she’s already taken over with mom, anyway.” The words just seemed to flow out of her, and they in no way mirrored what she felt. It was then that she saw him smile, and he leaned forward and kissed her lips. That was his acceptance of it, she knew, and there were no more words that needed to be said. Her stomach was now tied in knots, though, and if it was at all possible, she felt even worse than before.

Brit didn’t sleep well at all that night. She was back in her own bed, but Jeff held her so tight that she felt like she couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t just that, though. Her stomach was still tied into a million knots, and all she could think about was Kade. She missed him terribly, and all she wanted to do was hold him in her arms again. She just didn’t understand this. Why did everything go wrong when it was finally right again? She was happy with Kade, and she had accepted the deaths and loses in her family. She was enjoying her new life, and now she had been sucked back into her old one. She was laying in Jeff’s arms. At one point she would have given anything to have him back, but now, a part of her just wanted to run and leave him far behind. She felt terrible for that thought, and it only added to her growing anxiety on what was going on with her. Brit didn’t even know how to go about dealing with this, and she felt as if she might be going crazy. It just wasn’t fair, and she couldn’t catch a break. That was the way things typically went for her, though. Usually when she thought that things were great and running smoothly, that was when it all came crashing down. Why did that always have to happen? Just when she’d thought things were great, something took it away from her. She couldn’t let that happen… she just couldn’t.

The next morning her and Jeff jumped on a plane to Seattle, and several hours later she was stepping off, welcomed there by Maria and Charles. They hadn’t changed a bit, not here in any way. Maria hugged her tightly, then moved on to Jeff as if she’d seen him before. Charles held onto her for a good while too, and then he moved on and shook Jeff’s hand. It was only after the welcomes were over that Brit realized that Anna wasn’t there. “Where’s Anna?” she asked, knowing that her cousin should have been there. Maria kept the same smile on her face, but Brit swore she saw it falter slightly. “She’s with Hunter.” Oh. Great! That meant that things were good with Anna and Hunter in this world. That relieved her. She’d hate it if Anna and Hunter didn’t get their happy ending too. They made their way out of the airport and Brit slid into the backseat of her uncle’s car with Jeff, looking out the window and watching the trees pass by her. They quickly made it to the Allan house, and Brit quickly followed Maria and Charles up the steps to the front door. Brit waited anxiously as her aunt opened the door, and then she quickly dropped her bags by the front door. The Allan house looked just like she remembered it, though she wasn’t sure why she would have expected it to be any different than it was. There was something different, though, and it wasn’t until her and Jeff were carrying their bags to her room that she knew what it was. From Anna’s bedroom came a faint beeping sound, like what you hear in the ICU area of the hospital. After dropping her bags in the room with Jeff’s, Brit made her way towards Anna’s bedroom and pushed the door open.

Anna was lying on her bed, hooked up to several monitors. By her bedside was Hunter, who was staring quietly by her bed side. It looked as if he might have been crying at some point, but now he simply stared at Anna’s still form with a look that broke Brit’s heart. She felt Jeff come up behind her, and place his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry you had to see her like this,” he whispered softly. His words alarmed her and she whirled around to look at him. “What do you mean, Jeff? What’s wrong with her?” His face looked sad, and he didn’t look at Brit, but at Hunter and Anna. He didn’t respond to her, and she hit his arm, drawing his eyes to her. “What’s wrong with her?” Brit was on the edge of hysteria, holding the tears back with everything she had in her. Her teeth were clenched shut, and she didn’t know if her reaction was from being upset, or angry. He stared down at her a minute, then sighed and locked his gaze with hers. “She was hit by a car, and she’ll never wake up.” That sent pure and sudden terror through Brit. She turned back around and watched her cousin, her eyes misting over with tears. “Why won’t she wake up?” Brit asked through the tears. She felt Jeff squeeze her shoulders, and the sadness in his voice was clear when he spoke. “It’s her time to go,” he said softly. Brit spun back around, shaking her head as she spoke. “No. NO! It is not her time, so don’t you DARE feed me that crap! Look at him,” she gestured at Hunter, “he needs her!” Her sadness had moved to anger so quickly, and she didn’t totally understand why she was telling Jeff this. Something about that felt right though.

Jeff sighed once again, and she suddenly had the urge to hit him. “I have no control over it, Brit. It’s already been decided.” She glared at him, then turned and went to take a step into the room, but Jeff held her at the door and refused to let her enter it. “It’s not up to you what happens to her, Brit. You can’t change her fate. You can only change your own.” The tears flew from Brit’s eyes and slid down her cheek. What was he talking about? What did that mean? Brit didn’t look at Jeff. She couldn’t look at him. “If I can decide my own fate, then she can decide hers.” It was a simple stated fact. Jeff was silent for a moment, and Brit wondered if he was going to say anything at all. He finally did speak, though. “How do you know she hasn’t already chosen her fate?” he asked in a quiet tone. Brit didn’t even hesitate when she answered him. “Because Anna would never leave Hunter. Anna would never give up on him, just like he’d never give up on her. She’ll cling to him until there’s nothing left to hold on to. She’d never go somewhere that he couldn’t go too.” Jeff was silent again, evaluating the situation. “Hunter can go there too, you know. He can follow her there.” That was true, but once again Brit didn’t hesitate when answering. “But Anna wouldn’t want that. Anna would never want harm to come to Hunter, and so she would never go somewhere that Hunter wasn’t already.” That seemed to make sense to him, and she knew he was going to respond, but he never got the chance. The next second the heart monitor attached to her cousin started blaring, and the line on it was flat.

* * *

It was three in the morning when the heart monitor attached to Anna started blaring that sound that no one ever wants to hear. The line on the screen was flat, signaling that there was no heart beat. The doctors ran into the room, pushing everyone else out. Anna Allan was crashing, her life leaving her body and this world. She had been fighting so hard to get to Hunter, just as Brit said she was, but in that brief moment that she was, she slipped up and lost her grip, and in so doing started losing the battle. It took a while to get Anna stable again, the doctors fighting just as hard as she herself was. It seemed impossible, and the doctor was just about to call time on her death when the monitor suddenly started beeping again, with a faint and out of control beat. The doctors stared at each other in complete and utter shock before they set to work on making her heart beat stronger. They were in the room for a good couple hours before they all emerged to tell the people waiting outside that everything was okay. Maria and Charles sighed with relief, Maria crying tears of joy. They were all aware of how close they had come to losing Anna, and they all filtered back into the room to see her. After that Allan’s couldn’t brings themselves to go home, and so Maria slumped in a chair in Anna’s room while Charles went over to Brit’s, taking a seat across the room from Kade. They’d been sleeping when they got the call that Anna’s heart had stopped, and now that exhaustion ran over him again. He sighed softly, and within seconds, he had drifted off to sleep.

[kade trent.]

And now Kade felt like a complete idiot. Who the hell was he even talking to? He was sitting there on the edge of Brit’s bed, something that he would definitely get yelled at for at this point if the doctors saw him, pleading with someone that couldn’t even hear him. Well, maybe she could hear him, though he highly doubted it. He had never heard anyone whenever he’d been unconscious like she was. The only exception was when he’d thought he had somehow gotten to do one of those outer body experience things, and he wasn’t even sure that was real sometimes. He felt his eyes stinging with tears, and let his chin fall to where it was almost touching his chest, a shaky sigh passing through his lips. Kade knew that he was pleading with Brit, urging her to hear his words and to come back to him, but it didn’t help him feel anymore hopeful. He knew that he couldn’t give up on her, but this one just seemed like it was too much. Like there was just too much working against him for there to be anything to do about it. His mother’s words hadn’t done anything to put him at ease, either. Marion was a strong woman, and she was very caring and loving with her family, but she was also very accepting. She believed that if this was how things were supposed to be, that was it. She took it as it was and chose to believe that there was a reason for everything that happened in this life, predestined by the one that had created us all. That wasn’t what Kade believed, and he wasn’t so understanding. To him, there had to be a way to fight this. He just wasn’t seeing how he could and that’s what was getting at him the most. This wasn’t a fight that he could help Brit in; it was something that she was in entirely alone, leaving him to just sit back and await the end result.

“Kade?” He turned at his name, his eyes finding Tyler Durden standing in the doorway of Brit’s room. She looked like she had literally just gotten out of bed. She was wearing a shirt that he hadn’t seen in awhile, one from their old high school with some flannel pajama bottoms that didn’t exactly match. Her hair was pulled back into a messy pony tail, and he wasn’t even sure if she was wearing shoes. Oh. She had flip flops. Yeah, she had gotten out of bed and come straight to the hospital. She didn’t even have her eye make up on. ”Tyler? What are you doing here? It’s really late.” Tyler took a step into the room, her eyes going to Brit’s unmoving form on the bed as all the monitors that were attached to her still beeped and kept track of all her vitals. “It’s 2:30, and what does that matter? You’re all my friends, and I wanted to come and see if I could do anything because I know you and Hunter, and you won’t leave these rooms.” Kade offered here a weak smile. She was right, she did know him and his brother. Kade had only left the room because his mother had said so, which right now he wasn’t really all that happy with her and would do the teenager thing and rebel against her the next time she asked him to do something. He could be spiteful like that sometimes. He just couldn’t believe that it was 2:30 in the morning already. It didn’t seem like that much time has passed them by yet, and he couldn’t help but to think that it wasn’t good. The longer that the girls stayed under, the less chance they had of coming back. Kade had been there so many times that he knew it without asking. “Can I get you anything? I went by Anna’s room and asked Hunter, but he didn’t say anything…” That raised a brow on Kade’s face. Hunter was ignoring people, and that wasn’t like him at all. ”No, I’m okay.” Tyler rolled her eyes. “Of course you are. Kade, I’ve known you for years and that’s your band aid answer for everything. You’re not okay and you look like hell. Have you slept at all?”

Leave it to Tyler to tell it like it is. She was usually a bit nicer about it than that, though. Kade was going to go with that it was very late, she’d been woken up by a phone call saying that two of her best friends had been hit by cars, and she was just not in the mood to sugar coat things. She was right, though. He wasn’t okay, and he was very sure that he did look a little rough. Not getting enough sleep did that to a person. ”I slept a little before. Not long, though.” “It wasn’t enough. Can’t you get a cot or something to make yourself more comfortable?” ”I doubt they can do that in an ICU room.” Tyler seemed to think about that and decide that it made sense. Kade wished that he could get a cot because these chairs weren’t comfortable at all, but he would take what he had and not complain about it. A cot would just be in the way, and that’s why he very high doubted that they would be able to get one in here. His only hope for some comfort was that Brit would get moved out of this room and into one of the regular patient rooms on one of the other floors. At least there they have more chairs, and you could request to get a cot because doctors didn’t need to have all that room incase of an emergency. Kade didn’t see Brit being moved for quite some time, though. Nor did he see anything of the sort happening for Anna. “Are you sure you don’t want me to get you something? Coffee? Some food from the cafeteria or vending machines? Do I need to call anyone? Just tell me what to do.” Now Tyler was trying to make herself useful, something that she often did when things like this happened. She liked to be helpful, that being her general nature, but Kade thought that it also helped her to keep her mind off of what was happening and give her something to distract her for a little while.

Kade thought about it. The coffee hadn’t seemed to do much for him before. He wasn’t in the mood for eating. He had called everyone that he had needed to while Brit was in her first surgery. He didn’t need anything like that. But, there was something that he thought that she could do for him. Kade didn’t really like to ask her, but he knew that he needed to. ”Will you sit with her for a little while? I think I need to go over and talk to Hunter.” There really wasn’t anything that Tyler could do for Brit, but Kade had to ask Ty to stay there. He wouldn’t leave Brit there alone, even if she wasn’t conscious to realize that she was alone. He didn’t want to leave her at all, but hearing so many negative reports about Hunter worried him. Brit was stable for now. It sounded like Hunter had gone to a very dark place, and was anything but stable. “Of course. I won’t leave her side.” She offered him a little smile. Kade turned back to look at his girl, gently removing himself from the bed and standing while lying her hand back down at her side. He took one last look before turning and heading out of the room, Tyler going over to take the place where he had been sitting on the bed. She would be the one to get yelled at now, but he was sure that she would tell them right back. She was just in that kind of a mood. His thoughts switched from her to Hunter as he took a step inside of Anna’s room, though. Kade stopped, almost taken aback. He’d never seen his brother like this before. Not once.

``

He didn’t really know how long he had been sitting there. He didn’t really care. All he knew was that he was going to sit there until there wasn’t a reason to sit there anymore, and he was bound and determined for that to mean that Anna got out of that bed and was alive and well, not because she had died. This was all just one, horrible nightmare that wouldn’t end. Hearing Brit scream out Anna’s name in front of that restaurant kept playing over and over in Hunter’s head, like a broken record that he had no way of stopping. It had been an awful cry, but along with that sound came the image that he had seen next. Anna’s broken body lying on the pavement, blood pooling around her already. And it was all because of him and that ring that he had given her. He held her ring in his hand now, the metal growing warm because he had held it that long. He kept trying to figure out why she would do it. Hunter knew that Anna loved that ring, but why wouldn’t she think? Why would she put herself in that kind of danger? She knew better. One of the first things that a child learns is to look both ways before crossing a street. She had lived in Seattle long enough to know what the traffic and the drivers here are like. They don’t stop for hardly anything or anyone? At least, not on that particular stretch of road. But he couldn’t blame her. How could he? She was going after something that she loved. He was the one that was to blame for this. He should have been out there with her. He should have been the one to pull her back and keep her from harm’s way. And if he couldn’t have done that, then he should have at least been the one to run after her, sparing Brit and his brother from all of this. Hunter had messed this one up; this one was on his shoulders and he knew it.

Marion had tried to tell him that it wasn’t his fault, but she was just lying to make him feel better. He knew it. Whose fault was it if not his own? He had heard her telling Kade the same thing when Jared had died, and then when Vivian had, but those two things really weren’t Kade’s fault. This one was Hunter’s fault. (If you can’t tell, but brothers seem to have the habit of taking the guilt fully on their shoulders, refusing to believe what anyone else says.) This was his fault, and he was going to be the one responsible if something happened to Anna, or to Brit. He would be the one that took Anna away from her parents, Brit away from Kade and Cooper. Loosing Anna would be hard enough, but to look at his brother and his nephew and know that he had taken the same thing away from them… He didn’t know if his heart could take it. It was already breaking, seeing his angel lying there on the hospital bed, so broken and so close to losing her life. Marion and Robert had tried to be of some comfort to their son, but he didn’t want them there. He didn’t want them to see what he had done. It was even worse when Maria and Charles had been there earlier. Instead of talking to them and trying to cover his guilt, Hunter and retreated within himself, a blank expression on his face as they all sat around him. He didn’t acknowledge their words, but he heard them. Nothing that they said helped, so why bother? But, he couldn’t just tune them out. No matter how much he wanted to. It was when they had all finally gone away that the tears had come to his eyes. Hunter wasn’t above crying when the situation called for it. He’d cried with Jared, and with Vivian. He had cried the one and only time that he’d ever seen Kade cry because he knew how bad his brother was hurting then, and it had hurt him too. With Anna, he hadn’t found the tears until just then, when his thoughts had turned to his guilt and what he had done to her.

But, the tears hadn’t lasted long. He was still far away, keeping himself locked deep inside so that no one could see. His outward appearance was distant and cold, as it should be. He just didn’t know what to do with this. He was going to stay with Anna no matter what, but he just didn’t know how to save her. He should be able to. He should be able to take her away from all this pain. He shouldn’t have put her there in the first place. Hunter hated this. He hated this room, and he hated this hospital. Every time he even saw this place as he was driving by, his stomach gave and odd turn. Coming inside of it made him feel physically ill. Having to sit there and watch helplessly as Anna fought for her life was too much for him to bear. He felt like he could throw up at any given moment, the hospital enough to do that in itself, but his worry for Anna making him feel that much more sick. Not that anyone would see it, though. His expression was blank, not giving away anything that he felt. And everyone said that Kade was the one that was like a lock box. Coincidentally, that was when Kade chose to enter the room, though Hunter hadn’t looked up to see. It was the sound of the foot against the floor that Hunter knew so well. He hadn’t had to look up to know that his older brother had let his post by Brit’s side to come check up on him. It was probably because of Tyler that he had come. Kade wouldn’t have left Brit alone no matter what. Kade stopped in the doorway, and Hunter could feel his eyes on him. Slowly, he raised his own dark eyes to meet his brother’s gaze, seeing all kinds of worry there. He hated it; Hunter didn’t deserve to be worried over. It was Brit and Anna that they should be concentrating on, not him.

“No difference?” Kade asked. Hunter knew that Kade knew the answer, but Kade wanted to hear it. ”No.” Hunter’s voice came out low and rough, almost with an edge. Kade frowned at that. Hunter decided not to care, his gaze going back to Anna. Kade stood where he was for a few minutes before finally coming over to stand at the side of Anna’s bed, looking down at her with such a sad expression on his face. Hunter had never seen his brother so free with his feelings; it was like the two had traded places, or were just finally showing how alike they were when they weren’t trying to deny it. “You shouldn’t make this harder than what it already is,” Hunter heard his brother say. “Because you’re not only making it harder for yourself, but for everyone else. You can’t block this out, Hunt.” That snapped Hunter’s cold eyes up, looking at Kade who had slowly turned his gaze to Hunter. ”You’re one to talk.” The two were looked in a stare, Kade’s expression turning hard as Hunter’s. Hunter knew that his words had struck a chord. Kade was just trying to be kind and helpful, and Hunter had just shot it down. That wasn’t like him at all, and a part of him felt bad for turning his brother’s kindness away when it was something that Kade just didn’t do for everyone. He felt his own expression starting to soften. Hunter could never stay cold and distant for long, especially when he had Kade challenging him with it. But, before any words of apology could be said, alarms started going off in the room, causing both brothers to look up at the monitors with a start. Hunter found it first; the screen with the flat line.

It was his worst fear. The doctors and nurses rushed into the room, asking Kade and Hunter to clear the area. Hunter had been frozen. There was no way that this was happening. She wasn’t gone. He didn’t realize it, but Kade had been the one to practically pick him up out of his chair and force him out of the room. Hunter wouldn’t go far, though. He was at the doorway, eyes glued to Anna as the doctors worked to get her heart beating again. Oh God, this couldn’t be happening. His angel wasn’t gone. He still needed her here with him. His eyes filled and spilled over with tears as he watched the what seemed to be fruitless efforts of the doctors. Hunter didn’t know what they were doing, but they were all working so hard. It was when the doctors all back away from the bed that Hunter’s heart broke. It broke into millions of little pieces, and he lost every last ounce of control that he had been managing to maintain. His face was soaked with tears, and he felt himself heading toward the ground, not wanting to hold himself up anymore. Kade was once again there, trying to pick up his baby brother. Hunter didn’t care. He didn’t have anything left to care about. But, then there was a sound from within the room. A beep. His eyes turned to see the doctors all return to where they had been, the flat line gone and replaced with a faint heart beat. It was the best sound that Hunter could have ever heard. It took a long time before the doctors would leave her again, and by then Maria and Charles were back at the hospital. Hunter rushed back to Anna’s side the moment he was allowed to, Kade going back to Brit’s to relieve Tyler of her duty when he was sure that Hunter was going to be okay, Charles following closely behind.

[brittany.ღ.morgan]

But you will be fine
The sun again will shine on you

* * *

Jeff stared in disbelief as the monitor attached to Anna started beeping again. She turned around to look at him, that look that every woman has when what they said would happen did, and her tone matching it clearly. “I told you so. She’ll never leave Hunter.” And then Brit walked away from him. “I’m going to go see Kade,” she said over her shoulder as she walked away. Without a word, Jeff followed after her, still looking over his should at Anna and Hunter. Apparently he didn’t believe in the power of love, or the stubbornness of Anna Allan. Brit didn’t really care about Jeff and what he was feeling or thinking at this point, though. She was starting to understand the workings of this world she was in, and she had a feeling she knew why she was here. Honestly, though, she didn’t like it. Brit didn’t stop at the front door, but merely thrust it open and ran down the front steps. She heard Jeff’s following after her, but he didn’t call her back and he didn’t try to stop her. She didn’t know if that was because he was still overcoming the shock with Anna, or if he simply knew that he couldn’t stop her. At that point, Brit was glad that he didn’t try. She just wanted to get to Kade. Seeing Hunter like that, how he was so broken and upset… her heart went out to him, and it made her want to see Kade ever more. She didn’t know how things were for him here, and she had to know.

Brit headed straight for the Trent house, which was right down the street. She didn’t even think about going to the apartment, because something told her that Kade would be at his parent’s house. She was right, too. Everyone was there. She saw Marion, Rob, Kade, and Cooper. But that wasn’t the surprise, though. She also saw Vivian and Jared. Brit stopped dead in her tracks, looking at the group of people in front of her. She didn’t warn Jeff, and so he ran right into her, and because he was in such a mad dash to catch her, she fell from the force. Somehow Brit managed to catch herself before her face smashed right into the sidewalk, but she felt a little disoriented. She didn’t know what to think, which kind of seemed to be the way it was in this place. Before she had the chance to pull herself together, there were hands pulling her up to her feet, and it wasn’t until she was standing that she realized who had helped her. There was Jared’s smiling face looking down at her, that grin of his spread across his face; the grin that had been so familiar to her all those years ago. “Well, now. I told Jeff you’d come and find us.” She was slightly confused by this, but she didn’t really comment on it. She didn’t get the chance. Jared pulled her into a hug, and then messed up her hair when she pulled away, knowing that she had always hated it.

Brit glanced over at Jeff, seeing him glare at Jared until he saw she was looking at him, and his expression softened. Brit was about to ask him what Jared was talking about, though she had a feeling that she already knew, when she heard someone say her name. Brit turned around to see Kade walking towards the group that had now formed around her. He stopped when he was standing in front of her, hesitating before he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his arms. She let him, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him close to her. She felt her heart racing, and for the first time since this whole crazy mess started, she felt… good. She felt like things were right, and that maybe, just maybe, things might be okay again. Kade was silent, and so was she, and it was only when they pulled away that she was aware of everyone else around them. She glanced at the faces around her. Marion, Rob, and Vivian were smiling. Jared had a smug look on his face, but it turned to a grin when he caught her eye. Then she turned around to see Jeff staring at her, a small smile on his face, but sadness in his eyes. She stared at him for a minute, not sure if he was going to say something or not, and then she sighed softly. “I’m sorry, Jeff.” Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, but he heard her. It was then that she felt him place his fingers under her chin and raise her face so that she was looking him in the eye. “It’s alright, Brit. I always knew I’d never be enough for you.”

That made Brit sad… really sad. She opened her mouth to object to what he was saying, to tell him that he was wrong, but he shook his head and stopped her words. “It’s okay, Brit. I always knew there was a part of you that would never let him go. It turns out I was right.” Jeff shifted his eyes up to where Kade stood behind her, and then brought his back to hers. “You two were always meant to be together. I just got in the way.” His tone was sad again, and Brit tried to say something, but once again Jeff shushed her. She bit her lip, not liking the fact that she was the one that had to stay silent now. “I just wanted to see if you’d make the right choice.” His voice was so soft that Brit had to lean forward to hear him. “I wanted to see whether or not, if things were different, you’d stay with me. And now I have my answer.” Brit wanted to say something to him, wanted to tell him that things weren’t really that way, but she couldn’t do it. He was right. She had chosen Kade, though really it wasn’t all that fair. She could still remember being with Kade. She could remember everything that had happened. This hadn’t made her feel better about anything. She realized now that she would have came looking for Kade anyway. Before her and Jeff would have gotten married, she would have had Kade on her mind, and their summer together. She wouldn’t have gone through with anything without seeing Kade first. So, really, Jeff was right, and that’s what made her feel so bad.

“Yeah, and if you hadn’t come back, I would have so kicked his ass.” And there was Jared, ruining the very touching and emotional moment. Brit laughed, turning around just in time to see Vivian hit Jared. “Ow! Well I would have.” Brit laughed again, but then she turned back to look at Jeff again. “I’m sorry.” She felt like she should apologize to him, though it wasn’t really her fault. She couldn’t help the fact that she loved Kade, and that she couldn’t be without him. Still, she did feel bad that Jeff had to feel bad about this. She could see the hurt that he was trying to cover up. He’d never been good at that kid of thing, though, and so she could clearly see through it. “Don’t be. I guess I already knew how this would go, but you can’t blame a guy for trying.” He sent that grin her way that had always made her heart melt, and even now she could feel it. Then he leaned down and kissed her, not pulling away from it for a good while, and Brit let him do it. She figured she owed him as much. He finally pulled away from her, and his green eyes never left her own. “I’m sorry, Brit, but this is going to hurt.” She only managed a slightly confused expression before he pushed her out into the street, in front of a moving car. She felt the pain once again, just like before, and this time, the last thing she saw was Jeff before everything went black.

* * *

It was three days after the accident originally occurred that Brit finally opened her eyes. When she did, she saw a doctor leaning over her, checking her vitals to make sure that everything was in order. He was surprised when he felt her stir, and immediately called a couple nurses into the room, pushing everyone else out. She stared up at him, and complied by answering every question he sent her way. She was able to answer her name, what town this was, where she was born, her birthday, and everything else. He continued to check her over, ask her questions, and just when she starting to get annoyed with him he finally ushered the nurses out and welcomed the family back in. Maria rushed ahead of Kade and everyone else that was waiting outside in the hallway, crying tears of joy as she threw her arms around her niece and hugged her in the best way that she could. Brit just smiled at her aunt and hugged her back, glancing over Maria’s shoulder to see Kade standing just behind her. She was glad to see him there, glad that he was right there in front of her, where he should be. Her dream was only a haze to her at this point, but she could still remember seeing Jeff and Jared and Vivian. That was a conversation better left to herself, though.

When Maria finally let go of her, Charles was there to also hug her, though the hugs were more of a lay over her body sort of thing. When he pulled away she looked around and saw Tish standing in the doorway, smiling at her. She was aware of the one person not in the room, though, and that’s when she looked back at her aunt and uncle. “Where’s Anna?” she asked them, trying to not let herself get worked up over the missing person in the room. Maria just continued to smile, though she was sure that there was something that changed in her eyes. “She’s in the next room. She hasn’t woken up yet.” Brit felt her chest tighten, but a simple touch from Kade was enough to ease that. It didn’t make her any less worried, though. “Is she going to be okay?” she asked softly, hoping that the answer was good and not bad. She’d never forgive herself if anything happened to Anna. She had tried so hard to reach out and grab her cousin, but Anna had just been too fast for her. Brit would never be able to live with herself if that happened. Maria again smiled sadly at Brit. “The doctors think she’ll be okay, but if she doesn’t wake up there’s nothing they can do for her.” Hearing that the doctors believed she was going to be fine made Brit feel better, but the part about her waking up scared Brit. What if she didn’t wake up? What if she just stayed that way? Brit could never have let that one go, and she refused to believe that Anna wouldn’t wake. Anna would come back, she had to. Hunter was here, and Anna wouldn’t go anywhere without him.

[kade trent.]

Nothing had changed at all in this room. Kade had left Brit’s side, thinking he’d be gone for only a few minutes at the most, but he’d ended up staying away for much longer. He had tried to help Hunter; tried to say things that might snap the old Hunter back into place. That hadn’t really happened. Instead, Kade had just pissed Hunter off, and that hadn’t been his intention at all. Kade knew that he had been hypocritical in what he had said. When things went wrong, he was usually the first one to shut everyone else out. He took the blame on himself, and he let the guilt eat him alive. He didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t want to share his damn feelings. He just wanted to push it all away and be done with it so that he wouldn’t feel the hurt so much. Kade knew that was what Hunter was trying to do, whether his baby brother realized it or not. Kade didn’t like to be a hypocrite, but he was one when he had spoken to Hunter for a very simple reason. Kade had been wrong in doing what he did. The way that he went about things, the way that he handed situations wasn’t healthy at all. He knew that, but he couldn’t change that flaw in himself. Even when he realized he was doing it, he couldn’t break himself out of that old habit. He could, however, try to help Hunter not be like him. Hunter was always the most emotional of the Trent brothers, but he was the one that had the best heart of them, too. All of them were kind and loving when they wanted to be, but Hunter was kind without question, always with a smile an optimistic way of looking at things. He had been the friendliest of the three. (Some might think it was Jared, but Jared was just flat out crazy.) Always. Hunter was just the good one of the batch, as Kade saw he. He didn’t want to see that end, and that’s why he had gone over to talk to him.

Anna flat lining was what had kept Kade away. He and Hunter had just been about to reach some sort of understanding. Kade had seen the walls going down around Hunter, and he had been searching for those words of wisdom, his brotherly advice that he could offer. But, that sound had ended all of that. Kade’s hazel eyes had gone from monitor to monitor, hoping against hope that it wasn’t the one that he already knew it was. Before he could fully comprehend what was happening, doctors were rushing in the room and demanding that they have their space. Hunter had sat there, frozen in fear. Kade had had to hoist his brother to his feet and encourage him to move quickly out of the room. Hunter had fought the whole way, twisting around so that he could see Anna, but Kade had kept him moving until he was at the doorway. Kade was worried, and he was scared, but he knew that he had to take care of Hunter; that always came first. He had stood there with his brother, watching as the doctors fought to bring Anna back. Kade had thought that they had lost her. He had already been thinking about what he would do with Hunter, or what he would go through with Maria and Charles got there. And if Brit ever woke up. He was thinking of the heart break he’d see in her eyes when they told her that her cousin hadn’t made it. His heart had been breaking for Anna as well. They picked and fussed and carried on all the time. Who was going to send him insulting text messages if she left them? Who would he fight with? When the doctors seemed to give up, Kade was broken out of his own thoughts of despair when he had to keep Hunter from falling to the floor. It was a good thing that Kade had a lot of muscle to him, or else he would have never been able to keep Hunter’s tall frame from the hard tile, nor when he have been able to remove him from the ICU room.

It was in that next moment that things had taken a turn for the better. Kade had never been so glad to hear the beep of a machine in his life. Anna had somehow managed to come back just as they were getting ready to call her time of death. Afterward, when Kade thought about it, that just seemed fitting for Anna. Of course she would be the one to scare them all to death, make them think the worst had come, and then come back just to spite them. Kade could almost hear her laughing at them for falling for her little prank. He’d have to remember to kick her ass for that one later. During the time that the doctors took to get Anna stable again, Kade had taken a few moments to step into Brit’s room to let Tyler know what was going on, but had let quickly to keep track of Hunter. As soon as the doctors said that it was okay for family to go into the room, Hunter left Kade’s side and was back at Anna’s, as he should be. Kade had gone in for a few minutes, but he had already been away from Brit for so long. He went back to her room, Tyler leaving to go get herself some coffee then. Kade sat down in the same chair that he had been sitting in before, scooting it even closer to Brit’s bedside. Charles entered the room, too, and that was really the only thing that was different. Kade’s eyes looked across each of the screens. There didn’t seem to be a difference in any of her vitals, good or bad. Charles was soon asleep in his chair, and Kade did allow himself to doze a little here and there and making Tyler promise to wake him up when a doctor came in or if something happened. She hadn’t liked it, but she knew better than to go against him on this one.

That was pretty much how things went for the next few days. Kade rarely slept, and when he did it was never anything that rested him up. Tyler stayed around the clock, going back and forth between the two rooms and taking care of Hunter and Kade, doing what she could. Maria and Charles tried to do that as well, along with Marion and Robert. Kade’s parents brought the boys clean clothes to change into when they tore themselves away long enough to get cleaned up. Kade spoke with Cooper on the phone every couple of hours, the little boy missing his father terribly. Kade missed Cooper, too, but he knew it was better to keep Cooper away from this. He was getting to do a lot, though. Kathy and George spoiled the boy and took him everywhere. From what Kade had gathered, Cooper also had a large collection of new toys that Grandma and Grandpa had gotten him when they’d gone to the mall one day. “They’re a good distraction for him,” Kathy had said, and that might be true, but Kade knew it was because they just liked to see that kid smile, and there was no better way to do that then to buy him something new to play with. At least that was one good thing. Kade knew that his son was being taken care of and was happy. He wasn’t scared or sad because he didn’t understand what was going on with Brit. Coop had asked about Mommy, but Kade always came up with a little white lie for the boy, something that would give him a reason to understand why she wasn’t talking to him on the phone too. Kade felt bad for lying to his boy, but lies were better than the truth. “Mommy got hit by a car.” God, what kind of father would really tell that to his son?

It was three days after the accident before any kind of change was seen. Kade had been sitting in his usual chair, watching as one of the doctors leaned over Brit to check and make everything was still good. Well, not good, but not changing in a negative way. Kade had seen Brit’s eyes flicker first, his heart almost stopping in his chest. Then, he saw her eyes open, and he was up on his feet. The doctor had called for assistance and asked for everyone to leave. What the hell? Kade didn’t want to freaking leave. He wanted to stay and be with Brit when she woke up, but he hadn’t had a choice. They had pushed him out, but he had been right there at the doorway, pacing anxiously. He hadn’t been the only one, though. Maria was there, along with Charles. Marion was there as well, Rob having to go into the office and take care of a few things that day. Hunter was still in the next room with Anna, and Marion had rushed in to tell him, but quickly rejoined the antsy group. When the doctors finally cleared out and reported to the family that Brit was awake and well, it was like a freaking stampede. Kade hadn’t made it in first, Maria rushing ahead of him and getting her arms around Brit the best that she could, seeing that Brit was still lying down in the hospital bed. Kade stood behind Maria, his hazel eyes locked on Brit and so glad to see her awake. What he felt in that moment can’t even be described, but there was such relief in it, mixed with so much love that it was crazy. When Maria finally moved away from Brit, Charles took his turn. Kade wanted to badly to be the one holding her, but seeing her eyes meet his was enough for now. He could wait his turn. When he saw Brit look passed him, Kade looked over his shoulder to see Tish there. He smiled at her, but returned his gaze to Brit.

When she asked where Anna was, he felt some sadness well up inside of him. Nothing had changed with her in the past three days. It wasn’t a bad thing, but it wasn’t good either. Kade moved around Maria and Charles then, going to stand beside of Brit. When her question was answered, Kade saw the fear come to Brit’s eyes. He reached out and took her hand in his, a small gesture of comfort. Brit asked more about Anna, and Kade just stood there and let Maria answer. It was true that these answers weren’t the best ones, but they were the better ones. Things could have always been worse was the way to look at it. Thankfully, Hunter had adopted that way of thinking again, and wasn’t nearly as closed off and cold as he had been that first night. People came in and out of the room for the next few hours, all friends that were so happy to see that Brit was in the land of the living again. Kade didn’t leave her side, and he didn’t let go her hand except for when he needed to move out of the way from people trying to hug her. He was the happiest, though, when everyone else was gone and it was just the two of them left in the room. Kade looked down at her with the softest of smiles before leaning in to kiss her forehead gently. Pulling away, he lowered himself so that he was looking her in the eye. God, how he had missed the beautiful eyes of hers. In them, he could see all the love that he felt for her reflected equally. He saw his whole world. ”Thank you for coming back to me,” he whispered, his eyes threatening tears as they grew moist once again. He kissed her lips softly then, feeling his heart race and glad that it wasn’t hooked up to a monitor for all the world to hear.

They talked for a little after that, but Kade really was exhausted. He was running on fumes, and Brit had been able to see that. He had sat down in that same chair, and feeling too tired to hold himself up, had let his head rest on the empty space of her mattress, much like he had in the beginning of all of this. He used the crook of his arm as a make shift pillow, not wanting to take his eyes off of Brit for a second. But, sleep had won him over, and in his sleep he had turned his head. That was how Micah had found him as he walked into the hospital room, a cup of coffee in each hand. Brit was running her hand through Kade’s hair, and that had made Micah smile. ”Damn. I bring the boy some coffee, but he’s already out. Figures.”

[brittany.ღ.morgan]

But you will be fine
The sun again will shine on you

Brit had never once felt so popular in her entire life… except for maybe when she had been pregnant in Fate, but they were two entirely different circumstances and she didn’t want to go into details on that one. It seemed that everyone she knew that was in Seattle came to visit her. Tish had hung around for a while, talking to Brit some and updating her on the baby front with Micah. Brit was glad that Tish had finally told Micah. He deserved to know, and Tish deserved to have him there, whether she thought so or not. Tish finally excused herself from the room, saying that she needed to go do some things before she went to help Zach out at Jared’s. Brit watched her leave, and then Tish was quickly replaced by yet another smiling and relieved place. Evan Cullen, who now looked like he hadn’t gotten the snot beat out of him, dropped by to hug her and chat a little. Brit had the feeling that he hadn’t totally believed she was okay until he saw her with his own eyes. That was fine. She was glad to see him too. She watched Kade’s reaction from time to time, though, and squeezed his hand every now and then. The last thing she wanted was the old tensions to come back and break out in the hospital, though she very much doubted that they would. After Evan left, his little brother Jake trailing right after him, Matt finally managed to wander into the room. Brit hugged him too, and noticed how he seemed to hold her longer than the others had. She didn’t mind it, though. She could only imagine what had been going through his head at the time. Since losing Jeff Matt seemed to cling to people a lot more and cherish the time he had with him. Since he’d recently picked up a new squeeze he hadn’t been around as much, and Brit had been so wrapped up in Kade, and Anna, and Tish that she hadn’t really noticed to tell you the truth. It was okay now, and after a couple more minutes or making sure she was really okay, he left too.

That finally left Brit and Kade alone in the room, and she couldn’t have been happier about that. One look at Kade and she could see that he felt the same way. Brit smiled up at Kade, hers matching his own. She was so glad to see him, so glad to have him close to her and by her side. She had held onto his hand the whole time, and had refused to let him go even when the doctors came in. They weren’t pushy about Kade leaving, seeing as she was finally awake, and they didn’t push the matter when she insisted that he stay instead of leaving the room. She was headed for the better now, and they didn’t need to force Kade out of the room for any reason what so ever. If they did, she’d give ‘em hell for it. Okay, probably not, but that’s what she kept telling herself. Brit watched Kade finally lean forward and brush his lips against her forehead. She closed her eyes for that brief moment that she felt him do it, and then opened her eyes when she felt him pull up, only to see him so close to her face and looking down in her eyes. His beautiful hazel eyes were just inches above her own. She could have looked into those eyes for an eternity and never get tired of it. She knew those eyes better than her own, and when she looked into them, she always seemed to see exactly what she was feeling in them. The love she felt for this man hovering over her was insane, and she doubted that it was possible for her to love anyone that much ever again. She loved him so much that it hurt sometimes, and it was because of that that she could never, ever love anyone else. She wouldn’t ever be able to be with someone the way she was with him right now. No one else came anywhere close to how she felt for him, even in this completely amazing moment. No one would ever be able to touch Kade, and knowing that that love was returned unconditionally to her, well, there weren’t really words for it.

”Thank you for coming back to me.” Brit smiled up at him. She saw those perfect eyes of his mist over with what looked like tears and it pulled at her heart. Kade never cried. Ever. He was the strongest person that she knew. He was her rock when she needed something to cling to, and even when she didn’t. He didn’t cry, and so that really got to her. She brought her hands up and placed them on the side of his face, running her thumbs between his cheeks and his eyes, almost as if she was brushing those tears away but there was nothing there to wipe away. “Of course I came back to you, Kade.” Her smile was warm, and then it widened a little. “You’re not going to get rid of me that easily.” He leaned down and touched his lips to hers, and she was grateful for it. She let her hands move from his face and around his neck, holding him there until she was ready to let him go. She’d never wanted to hold him so close in her entire life. For a while there she’d thought that she was never going to see him again. She never wanted to feel that again. She’d almost had Kade yanked out from her several times. Throughout her whole life things seemed to try and keep them apart and they always came back to one another. She blessed that broken road every day that led her to Kade. She couldn’t imagine not having him there, and she didn’t even want to try and think about what things would be like without him. Kade made her complete. He made her whole. Without him she was just completely lost. He was her world, her everything, and she cherished him more than anyone else on this world. “I love you,” she whispered to him. She knew that he knew it, but she’d never get tired of saying it to him, and she’d never get tired of hearing him say it to her. They were the three most beautiful words she’d ever heard pass his lips, and they made that world of hers all the more complete.

Brit talked with Kade a little, but she could see that he was exhausted. By the way it sounded, he hadn’t let her side hardly at all, and gotten even less sleep. Brit could only imagine how tired he was, and she wished that he could go somewhere and just sleep. She knew it was useless to suggest that he leave, though. He wouldn’t, she knew it, and so she just didn’t go there. She let him sit in that chair of his, which didn’t look at all comfortable, and then watched as he soon gave in and let his head rest on the side of her bed, his eyes on her until they finally closed. She didn’t even realize that she had started running her fingers through his hair until she happened to catch herself. He hadn’t stirred, though, he was probably too exhausted to realize it, and so she continued to do it. Brit wasn’t tired really. She had a good bit of pain killers in her system, but sleeping for three days straight kind of takes the tired out of you, and anything she felt she could just ignore. She didn’t take her eyes off Kade, once again thanking God for what he’d given her. She did feel bad about his current position, though. He looked so uncomfortable, and she hated seeing him like that. A part of her wanted to talk him into curling up in the bed next to her, but she didn’t think the doctors would like it so much. Not that she really cared much. The times she’d spent in the hospital back in North Carolina with Jeff had been similar to now. He’d slept there next to her several times, and no one had dared said he couldn’t, though she figured that was her mother’s doing. Besides, Brit wasn’t about to wake Kade at this point. He was sleeping so soundly. Though she knew he’d be hurting when he did wake up, she just didn’t have the heart to wake him from his current state of slumber. Besides, she liked watching him too much. She didn’t lift her gaze from him until she heard Micah enter the room.

He stood in the doorway with two cups of coffee in his hands, and a smile on his lips. ”Damn. I bring the boy some coffee, but he’s already out. Figures.” She laughed at him and watched as he moved into the room. “Yeah, and you’re not going to wake him. Hunter could probably use it, though.” Kade had told her how badly Hunter had taken it all, and her heart went out to him. She wanted so badly to see him and Anna, but the doctors weren’t about to let her leave her room and that just made her want to see them all the more. She’d let it go, though. She’d see them eventually, and no one was going to stop her from doing it, either. “How is he?” she asked Micah, knowing that out of all the people he would know. She hated hearing how badly Hunter had taken everything, but she didn’t comment on it. People handled things in their own way. She’d learned that with Kade. You didn’t make people open up. You didn’t make them deal with the problem at hand. In the end they’d come around and do what they had to. That was all you could really do: sit back and wait. She just hoped for Hunter’s sake that things got better. She could only imagine how badly things would get if Anna didn’t wake up. Everyday that passed by the doctors got less hopeful. Maria and Charles were optimistic about the whole thing, though, and they kept their faith with them strong. They’d already had one miracle, and they were still praying for another. “So Tish told me she finally told you about the baby.” She didn’t exactly know what that was supposed to go, but it was something. Besides, she wanted to know how he felt about it. Tish hadn’t gone into much detail on it, but that was mostly because she was rushing through it all so she could get out of the room and off to doing her stuff.

Brit liked seeing Micah, to tell you the truth. When Micah was around it was hard to be serious at all, and he could make pretty much anyone smile. He was a good friend, too, and seeing how good he was with Tish made her feel better about not keeping such a close eye on her friend anymore. She worried about Tish a lot, but moving in with Micah had probably been the best thing that girl could have done. She’d changed a lot, whether she saw it or not, and Brit was pretty glad about that. Tish had been pretty destructive in the past, both to herself and the others around her. Any change was pretty much for the better at this point, even a baby. Brit was listening to Micah’s tale as he told it with enthusiasm, and she couldn’t help but smile. Occasionally Brit looked down at Kade, seeing if he was still fast asleep, which he was. She was glad to see him like that, and she simply continued to run her fingers through his hair and listen to Micah’s tale. It was when she looked up again that she noticed that a doctor was standing in the doorway, waiting for Micah to finish talking before he interrupted their conversation. She let her eyes stay on Micah as he finished, and that was when the doctor cleared his throat. He entered the room, the clipboard under his arm. He smiled at Brit and then glanced at Kade laying at her side and Micah in the chair before looking back at Brit. “We got your test results back, Ms Morgan. Do you want to hear them now?” Brit looked at him slightly confused. What test results. He read her expression and elaborated. “When you came in we ran tests to make sure everything was in order, and something turned up that you might want to know.” Oh.

Brit didn’t even glance at Micah. What was there that he couldn’t hear? If there was anything wrong he’d find out eventually anyway. What did it matter? “Go ahead. What is it?” She looked at him with slight curiosity, but her stomach was a little bit in knots. She had no idea what he was going to say. “Okay.” He looked down at his clipboard, double checking everything, then looked up at her with a wide grin. “You’re pregnant, Ms Morgan.” That certainly wasn’t what she expected… at all. She stared up at him in disbelief, her eyes huge. He didn’t stop there. “And you’re both fine. You a little more banged up, but I have no doubts you’ll be fine. You’re leg will have to be in a cast for a couple weeks, but after that you should be good as new.” Brit barely heard any of it. She was shocked, a look of surprise and disbelief still etched on her face. He just continued to smile when he finished, still looking down at her. “I’m… I’m… What?” Yeah, it wasn’t the most intelligent thing she’d ever said, but it was all she could really muster up. “You’re pregnant. Congratulations.” He offered her another smile, and then he walked out of the room. Wasn’t that just like a doctor? They walk in, drop a humongous bomb, and then walk away. Wonderful. She was still recovering from it all when she remembered that Micah was still in the room. Crap. She looked up at him, her facial expression changing entirely, and her eyes narrowing in his direction. “You will not tell him, Micah. I will do it. If you do tell him, I swear I’ll kick your ass, Micah Orsino.” So her threat was definitely feeble. She’d never be able to take Micah, on. It was simply there to show him that she was serious. And even if she couldn’t follow through with her threat, she’d still find some way to miserable. How, well, she didn’t know, but she’d think of something if it came to it. She shifted her gaze from Micah and down to Kade, her hand still running through his hair, having never stopped. Oh God. How was she even going to go about doing this? Why couldn’t he have just woke up and heard the doctor drop the bomb himself? No, she just couldn’t have good luck like that. Now she’d have to find some way to do it herself. There was only one word that came to her mind at this point. Crap.

[micah orsino ,]

Micah had been in and out of the hospital since he had gotten the phone call from Kade. He had already had a good bit on his plate to deal with, what with Tish’s pregnancy, Aliana’s constant fear that Micah was going to leave her and him having to reassure her often, and then with some dealing issues that had arose. Tish’s pregnancy was something that he was taking care of quite well and handling with some ease. He didn’t know a lot about any of it, but he and Tish were starting to get things and to figure out what they were going to do. Ali wasn’t as easy to deal with, but Micah thought that if they could make it through what they had already endured, then surely they could get through this rough patch as well. The things with the dealing, well, that wasn’t easily fixed or dealt with , but Micah was managing to keep things under control. He’d been out with Ali, trying to do some damage control on that front when Kade had called his cell phone, telling him that both Brit and Anna had been struck by cars and were in critical condition. Had it been up to Micah, he would have been at the hospital that night and he would have been there until both of the girls had gotten the all clear to go home. Micah had known Brit for what seemed like forever, and Anna for as long as he had been here. They were both important to him; both were members of what was his largely extended family. But, Kade had said that there was nothing that Micah could do and he should just stay at home or wherever the hell he wanted to until things got a little better. Anyone that knows Micah knew that he always did what he wanted and that Kade telling him to stay away wouldn’t have phased him at all, only Micah had understood. Micah wouldn’t be allowed back in the room often, and when he would be, he’d only be in the way.

So, he had kept out of the way by staying away from the hospital for a few days. He was worried and tense, Ali trying to help but Micah’s mind never left what was going on at the hospital. He’d been informed of Anna’s flat line scare, and how Hunter had seemed to pretty well go off the deep end. Not that anyone blamed the boy. He thought that his fiancé had died, and she had yet to wake up. If going off the deep end was all that he did, Micah thought that Hunter would be doing pretty well. Other than that, there really hadn’t been a lot to keep Micah updated with. Even so, Micah had called at least twice a day. He had hated disturbing Kade, but he also hated that he wasn’t there. Keeping in touch at least made him feel like he was more aware of what was going on with his two friends. Other than that, Micah had tried to keep himself busy. He had gone over to Kathy and George Anderson’s one day to visit with Cooper for about a hour. Kathy and George were great people, not even caring that they had only met Micah two, maybe three times before he visited their house. They treated him like their own, making him a nice little meal and chatting with him like they’d known him forever. Ali had been the one to fill most of Micah’s other time, except for when he was working at Jared’s. He had been trying to be around the bar more often, see as two bartenders and an owner/manager were gone. Zach had his hands full trying to run the place by himself. Tish and Micah were really the only full time bartenders that knew what they were doing. The customers were very understanding, thankfully. And just because the place was understaffed didn’t mean that they stopped coming, either. No, Jared’s was just as popular as it had always been, making running the place with such absences a little more tricky than usual, but they were all managing.

Micah had had a lot to keep him busy, but he had dropped it all the minute that he had gotten the call from Kade saying that Brit had woken up. All that shit with Ali would wait for him when he got back. Tish was going to see Brit, too. The stuff with Jared’s, and Micah’s other job would all be there later. He was more than glad to hear that there was a good reason that he was going to the hospital instead of a bad one. Tish had gone on to the hospital ahead of Micah, but he was there later. He’d gone in to see Brit first, giving her as tight of a hug as he dared, and then saying a few words before he went over to see Hunter in Anna’s room. The mood over there wasn’t quite so happy, but Hunter was glad to hear that Brit was awake, as were Maria and Charles. Micah had wanted to make himself useful, so he’d gone and gotten everyone in that room some coffee and a snack if they requested it. He really didn’t mind being a runner, and he was glad to be able to help these guys out in anyway that they needed. Maria suggested that Kade would probably like some coffee as well, so Micah was back to the cafeteria, getting Kade a cup of coffee, and one for him too. He sipped on the hot liquid on the elevator ride back up to the ICU floor, and then as he made his way back down the hall toward Brit’s room. The sight that greeted his blue eyes when he walked in was one that was so heartwarming that he couldn’t help but to smile. Kade was already asleep, the first time in almost three whole days. Brit sat there, her eyes looking at him lovingly as she let her fingers play in Kade’s hair. It was such a perfect little moment, and Micah felt almost bad for walking in on it. But, there wasn’t really much of a way to save it, so he had gone ahead and spoke. Quietly, of course. Any other time, he wouldn’t care if he woke Kade up or not, but right now he knew it was best to leave his friend asleep.

Micah stepped into the room, setting the cup of coffee that he had gotten for Kade on one of the stands they had brought in for Brit to hold her drinks and such on. That was when Brit said that Micah wasn’t going to wake Kade up. She knew him too well. She also suggested that maybe Hunter could use a cup of coffee. ”I already took him one. If Kade here doesn’t wake up, I might just help myself to his.” He moved around the room then, taking a seat in the other chair that was placed in it. These chairs really weren’t comfortable. How Kade had sat in one for the passed three days and was sleeping in one that way that he was now was completely beyond Micah. His eyes went back to Brit with her next question about Hunter, and the smile on Micah’s lips faded. ”He’s doing as well as you could expect him to be doing. He doesn’t say much. He just kinda sits there and stares. I’m worried about him, but I don’t know what to say to him. Nothing’s going to make it all go away, and even when she does wake up, he’s not going to be the same with her.” Poor Hunter. Micah’s heart really went out to that boy. He was going through a lot. Everyone was, but Hunter was blaming himself for it and that made it worse for him. Micah could see just by watching Hunter that this was true; Hunter hadn’t had to tell him anything. Micah wished that he knew what to say or do to help break Hunter out of that way of thinking, but nothing that he thought of seemed like it would do the trick. And it didn’t really feel like Micah’s place to do it, either. Hunter had been like another little brother to Micah for years, but it really wasn’t Micah’s place to tell him how to feel or how to think about things, so he had left it alone. That boy wasn’t going to be the same, though. Micah was sure of it. Hunter had always been more of the happy go lucky sort, but after having come that close to losing everything in the world that mattered to him, he’d be more cautious with her, and Micah knew he’d look at her differently. More protective, if you will.

He sighed, and then took another drink of his coffee. Why this family kept getting dealt such a hard hand to play with he couldn’t understand. It seemed that it was just one thing after another. Jared. Vivian. Now this. It was only when Brit spoke again, this time about Tish and the baby situation, that Micah’s eyes returned to her. A smile lit up his lips again. ”Yeah, she pretty much had to,” he said, still watching the volume of his voice so he didn’t wake Kade up. ”After Kade told me, I couldn’t take not knowing more about it, so I just asked her. She didn’t try to lie or cover it up, which I’m glad or else I would have had to of blown that shit right out of the water.” He thought back to the day when he had finally just gotten tired of snooping around for information and had come out and asked Tish very bluntly if she was pregnant. He had been glad that she hadn’t tried to deny it, or else he probably would have caused some sort of a scene, stating that he knew damn well that she was so she shouldn’t even try to lie. That might have been somewhat comical, but he would have been near a mental breakdown at the time. ”We talked about names and maybe having a shower and all that. I’ve never thought of her as the motherly type, but now I can really see her being a great mother to that kid, no matter who the father is or isn’t.” He knew better than to think that Brit hadn’t put it together for herself that he could very well be the father of Tish’s baby. That part didn’t need explaining. ”I had to tell Ali about it and she’s pissed, naturally, but she’ll get over it. I’m not going to leave Tish just because my girlfriend doesn’t like the fact that I’m supporting a girl I might have gotten pregnant.” Micah knew how bad that sounded on his part, but he really didn’t care. He knew that he hadn’t cheated on Ali. Tish was far enough along in her pregnancy to clear him of that accusation, but a lot of people that would have heard what he had just said wouldn’t see it that way.

Probably like that doctor had. Damn. Micah wished he wouldn’t have been talking and getting so into it that he hadn’t heard the doctor walk into the room behind of where he sat. Oh well. It wasn’t that Micah cared what people thought of him or what he did, but it was more of the point that what had just been said really wasn’t the doctor’s business. There really wasn’t much that Micah could do about it now, though, so he didn’t worry about it. This was one of Brit’s doctors, someone that they needed to listen to and respect because he was the one that was taking care of her for the time being. Micah sat back in his chair a little more, taking another drink of coffee. When the doctor spoke, Micah watched him carefully. It was something that he did sometimes, watching people and reading their expressions. Especially people that he didn’t know and didn’t have a reason to trust. Micah had always been untrusting of doctors. There was just something about them that he didn’t like. With Kade out of it like he was, Micah felt that he was the one that had to keep a watchful eye on Brit, and he was going to do just that. Test results? What tests? Micah let his gaze go from Brit. She didn’t seem to understand, either. The doctor explained it further, and Micah felt fear spike in his heart. Something had turned up? What kind of something? Micah was watching intensely now, wishing that he could go over and shake Kade awake. He should hear this. He was the one that needed to know this more than Micah did. God, what if her cancer had somehow come back? Micah’s mind was racing, him hardly hearing Brit asking to know what it was that they had found. He didn’t know if he wanted to hear it. “You’re pregnant, Ms. Morgan.” Wait, what? Micah’s jaw literally dropped, his eyes opening as wide as Brit’s had as his eyes stared up at the doctor.

The doctor had a little more to say, saying that the baby was fine and that Brit would be better in no time. Micah was lucky to understand it, though. His mind was still working around the fact that Brit was pregnant. When the doctor left, Micah’s eyes followed him, and then he chugged down his coffee wishing like hell that it were something more like liquor. It was only when the cup was totally drained and Micah had brought it away from his lips that he looked at Brit to see those dark eyes of hers narrowed at him. And then she was threatening him like she hadn’t just been hit by a car and lucky to be breathing air at the moment. Her threat was laughable, of course. Brit was so tiny that she could be snapped like a twig by a man of Micah’s size and power, but he knew what she was saying. She wanted Kade to hear this kind of news from her, and he didn’t blame her. He would have loved to have heard Tish’s news from her, but he hadn’t had that option. He still probably wouldn’t know if not for Kade. Micah nodded his head. ”Got it,” he said, the only two words that came to his mind in that moment. God. Brit was having a baby. Tish was having a baby. It was just a lot. But, Micah was good at recovering quickly and being himself again, free of shock. A little smile crept onto his lips. ”So how are you going to tell Kade that you’re carrying his baby? … And how far do you think you are with it?” Micah was learning what kind of questions to ask when it came to pregnancy. It would of course be too early to tell the sex of it, so he was asking what he could. Then a thought came to him, and his smile faded again. ”Good God, Brit, tell me this isn’t someone else’s baby…” He was kidding, of course. He knew Brit would never do something like to Kade, (Not like Ali had done to him. Yes, he’s still a little bitter.) but it would still be worth it to see her face.

[brittany.ღ.morgan]

But you will be fine
The sun again will shine on you

Brit’s eyes followed Micah as he moved around the room. She knew the boy way too well, after having known him since she was young. Micah wasn’t above disturbing Kade’s sleep, but he even seemed to understand that Kade hadn’t had a whole lot over the last couple of days, and Brit refused to deprive her guy of at least a couple hours, cause she was certain that was all he’d manage to sleep. If he slept more, great, if not, then he’d get it later. Either way she wasn’t going to allow Micah to disturb what little sleep he was getting, even if the position wasn’t the more comfortable for Kade. ”I already took him one. If Kade here doesn’t wake up, I might just help myself to his.” Brit nodded her head a single time, her dark eyes following him as he moved to the only other chair in the room. Micah could have Kade’s coffee, just so long as he didn’t wake him. She couldn’t stress that one enough. She was just so… I don’t know… protective of Kade. That didn’t really seem right, but it at the same time it seemed perfect. Brit would never let anything happen to him, and if it came down to choosing between her own life, and saving his, she’d save his any day of the week. Brit knew that she couldn’t live without Kade there, and not having him by her side wouldn’t work. She knew he was the same way with her. She could see it in his eyes when she’d finally been allowed to see him. Having someone so close and caring about her so much just made her care for him even more. He had her heart completely, as long as she was still around to have a say in things, he always would. Her dream, or whatever that was, had just been weird. There was a time when she would have given anything to have Jeff back, even if it was just for one more day, but now that she had Kade, it just seemed better to let it all go to rest. Brit didn’t like thinking about a life without Kade. It just didn’t seem possible. This was the best she had felt in years, and it was only going to get better. She wouldn’t give any of that up for the world.

At the moment, though, Brit wasn’t worried about her or Kade. They were going to be okay. They were going to be more than okay. She just couldn’t wait to get home so that she could be with him and Cooper again. They were all that she wanted right now, and without both of them there it just didn’t seem right. But Brit wasn’t really thinking about that. No, she was thinking about her cousin, just graduated from high school, and finding herself on the edge of life and death. Kade had told her about Anna crashing, and she couldn’t even begin to imagine how Hunter was taking it. She’d heard for the most part how he was doing, but when she asked Micah, so many hours later, she was hoping for a different answer. She didn’t get one. ”He’s doing as well as you could expect him to be doing. He doesn’t say much. He just kinda sits there and stares. I’m worried about him, but I don’t know what to say to him. Nothing’s going to make it all go away, and even when she does wake up, he’s not going to be the same with her.” Brit looked down at Kade when Micah spoke about Hunter, letting her fingers continue to move their way gently through his hair. She loved doing that, and she figured that since she’d been in a pretty dangerous situation, that Kade would let her get away with doing it as much as she wanted. Micah’s words unsettled her, though, and she wished like hell that she could go next door and see him and Anna. She wanted to see her cousin, see that she was truly there, and make sure that she hadn’t just faded away. At the same time, though, she wanted to see Hunter, to try and console him as best as she could. She knew that no one could really make it better for him. Anna was the only one that would make things okay for him again. But Micah was right. Even when she did wake up, because Brit would bet her life on Anna waking up, Hunter wouldn’t be the same. Stuff like this changes people, and Brit would be surprised if Hunt let Anna out of his sight for even a second. “I’m worried about him too,” she whispered. She was worried about him. She was worried about Anna too. God how she wished she could go over to that room!

Brit felt it was time for a subject change, moving on to a happier subject. She wasn’t let down, because she saw that smile touch Micah’s lips and it came to her own. ”Yeah, she pretty much had to.” Oh did she really? Brit raised an eyebrow at him, questioning that little fact. She could understand Tish having to explain it to him if he saw her stomach or she had gotten bigger, but Tish was too careful for that. So what had happened? ”After Kade told me, I couldn’t take not knowing more about it, so I just asked her. She didn’t try to lie or cover it up, which I’m glad or else I would have had to of blown that shit right out of the water.” Brit laughed softly, shaking her head at Micah. She should have realized that Kade would tell Micah. And Brit knew that Tish would never have tried to cover it up once it was out in the open. She was just that kind of girl. Brit had seen her lie a couple times, but she wouldn’t do it about something so serious, and certainly not to Micah. Brit was glad that it was out in the open. Micah deserved to know. After all, Tish was living in his apartment, and there was a good possibility that it could be his child. That wasn’t really the kind of thing you kept a secret, though she’d known some girls in high school who had. Of course, small towns talk, so those things had always ended up blown out of the water. A lot of angry fathers in Fate these days… ”We talked about names and maybe having a shower and all that. I’ve never thought of her as the motherly type, but now I can really see her being a great mother to that kid, no matter who the father is or isn’t.” Brit’s smile softened. She was glad that Tish had someone like Micah in her life. Granted he wasn’t the best role model in the world, he made up for it with his heart. She didn’t know everything about her new friend, but she knew a lot, and seeing how much better off things were for Tish now made her happy for the girl. She’d never seen Tish smile and genuine, happy smile until now, and she knew it was because Micah had put something in her life that she hadn’t had before. She could see just sitting there and listening to him that he cared about Tish in ways that few other people did. Tish really needed that in her life.

If Brit didn’t know any better, she’d almost say that Micah seemed excited by this. Most guys tended to freak out when they heard a girl they had once upon a time slept with was going to have a baby that may or may not be theirs. Micah was taking it all really well though, the way that Brit had told her time and time again that he would take it. Tish was out of her element in all of this, though, so Brit kind of understood why she was freaking out about it so badly. Sometimes Brit wondered if Tish even knew how she felt about the whole thing, but it seemed that things were going to look up for her. Right now maybe a baby wasn’t the thing that Tish needed, but then again maybe it was. She’d cleaned herself up and moved away from the person she’d always been. She was trying so hard to do the right thing, and it was a side of the girl that Brit had often wondered was there. Thinking on that, she was pretty sure that Micah was right. Tish could be a great mom. No one would have ever saw Tish as the motherly type, but seeing what she’d done over the past couple of months in preparation for this baby could change anyone’s mind. Besides, Brit knew that Tish would have Micah there, whether it was his kid or not. They might not be the best influences in the world, but she was more than sure that they were capable of anything, especially raising a kid. ”I had to tell Ali about it and she’s pissed, naturally, but she’ll get over it. I’m not going to leave Tish just because my girlfriend doesn’t like the fact that I’m supporting a girl I might have gotten pregnant.” Ugh… Ali. Brit still didn’t like the name, and she didn’t really like that Micah felt the need to waste his time with her, but she said nothing about it. It wasn’t her place to tell him who he should or shouldn’t be with. He’d just have to learn it on his own. And she wasn’t surprised that the little rich girl was mad. She had to hand it to Tish. She doubted that anyone else could find so many ways to stir up such emotions in a person. Hearing Micah say that he was going to stick by Tish, though, settled everything for Brit. She knew he wouldn’t leave her, and that made her feel better for Tish’s well being.

And then the doctor came in. Brit found it kind of ironic that the doctor found it necessary to come in just as Brit and Micah were discussing Tish’s pregnancy. Why was that ironic? Because she was pregnant too!!! How was that even possible? She hadn’t even thought about children, and she was sure that Kade hadn’t. The fact that he just couldn’t wake up at that moment made Brit want to groan with frustration. Why did fate see it fitting that the girls should have to struggle with telling their guys about them carrying their child? I mean, seriously, what was the world coming too? And not only could Kade not wake up, but Micah just happened to be there. She threatened Micah, though it wasn’t really one she could follow through on unless someone, like, strapped Micah down and gave her something to hit him with. It wasn’t one she would likely be able to follow through with at all, seeing as Micah was like a brother to her. Though, sometimes all a threat needs to do is get a point across, which Brit seemed very good at doing. He understood too. Who would better understand than Micah? He’d been down this road. He’d found out about his roommate from a friend, not her. Brit didn’t want that to happen. She’d learned that things are better coming from person one than person two. She had no doubt that had she not told Kade about Matt and Kale, that things would have been a hundred times worse for them. Besides, Brit hadn’t been able to tell Jeff face to face. She had been able to see how he reacted, only hear about it. Brit wanted to see that on Kade’s face. She wanted to tell him.

Oh no. Brit could see the questions ready to pour out of Micah. Crap. God just couldn’t have a little bit of pity on her. He had to keep throwing her to the wolves and seeing if she survived the attack. Great. Wonderful. Splendid. ”So how are you going to tell Kade that you’re carrying his baby? … And how far do you think you are with it?” Did he honestly think that she thought that far yet? How could she? She was still recovering from the shock of it all. She slapped her forehead with her free hand. It wasn’t really a conversation that she wanted to have with Micah. That would be about as bad as going through the “sex” talk with him. It just wasn’t comfortable. Awkward would actually be the word. “I don’t know, Micah.” She said the words slowly, trying to keep everything out of her voice. Ha, try being the word. “It’s not like I right down every time that Kade and I have sex. It could have happened anytime. And I can’t even think about telling him right now.” She ran her hand over her eyes, laying her head back against the pillow. Why did these things always happen to her? ”Good God, Brit, tell me this isn’t someone else’s baby…” Her eyes flew open and she lifted her head so that she could look at him, horrified. How could he even SAY something like that? How? She would never, ever do that to Kade. She’d never so much as LOOK at another guy! “Micah, I WISH I could get out of this bed so I could smack you.” Yeah, unfortunately she had broken her leg and couldn’t move!! This would usually be where Brit add in some smart comment, usually before the “I wish I could smack you part” but the way her luck had been going, Kade would have woken up at that precise moment. She wasn’t going to test fate.

The next couple of days passed pretty much the same way. By the time Micah finally left the hospital room she was ready to start chucking things at him. Kade stayed by her side, though Brit wouldn’t have wanted him anywhere else, and she didn’t really think a lot about the latest news. She just wanted to enjoy the time she had with Kade. Apart from that, she was still worried about Anna. She’d seen Hunter once, and that was only when the doctors kicked him out so they could run some more tests on Anna. He didn’t look good, and seeing him like that broke her heart. It was weird for her seeing Hunter without Anna firmly attached to his hip. You never saw one without the other, and seeing Hunt without Anna reminded Brit even more that Anna wasn’t awake yet. She never lost hope, though. Anna was stronger than people gave her credit for, and her love for Hunter was even stronger than that. Brit had no doubts that Anna would come back to them. And she wasn’t disappointed. Three days after Brit woke up, so did Anna. When she woke up, she just managed to get a look at Hunter before the nurse in the room ushered him out and called in the doctors. Immediately Anna went nuts. “Where’s Hunter?” The nurses didn’t answer; they were too busy talking amongst themselves. “I want Hunter!” They didn’t do anything. When one of the doctors moved towards Anna, she pulled away. She wouldn’t let them touch her until Hunter was allowed back in the room. When the nurse let him in, though, he was still only allowed at the back of the room. It was enough, though, and Anna allowed them do their examining in peace. The minute they were gone, though, she wanted Hunter by her side. He was the only thing that she wanted near her.

[hunter trent]

Micah always seemed to know just what to say, didn’t he? I mean, he had talked his way out of a lot of different situations before, some ranging into dangerous while other were just things that saved his own ass from getting chewed out by Aliana. It seemed that he never ran out of words, and that his motor mouth would always keep running. Nothing stopped him from talking for long, even something as jaw dropping as the news that Brit was pregnant. He had found questions to ask all right, but maybe they weren’t the ones that he should be asking right in that moment. The doctor had just run in, dropped the pregnancy bomb, and then left without much explanation at all. It was all a scheme, the docs keeping the patients in the dark, never telling them the whole story… Micah was a slight conspirator and had very little faith or trust in doctors. Anyway, the point was that Brit had just been told that she was pregnant, and the look on her face had matched Micah’s for each and every stunned line. Micah was just the one that was able to recover more quickly from it, his mouth running before he had had time to really think about it. Had he thought about it, he probably would have realized that Brit was still in shock, and that she needed time to think about it. It was kind of a big deal, after all. She hadn’t had time to think about questions or come up with answers, and yet there sat Micah, bombarding her with questions anyway. Really, what the hell kind of friend was he? A damn good one, but one that didn’t always think before he said things, especially when curiosity and a bit of excitement was getting the best of him.

Even though Micah knew that this wasn’t a planned pregnancy, and that he had nothing to do with it, he was still excited for his friends. Sure, it was unexpected and their plans might have to change a little, but Micah knew that that baby was going to have all the love in the world. Kade and Brit were amazing with Cooper, and after the initial shock of an unplanned pregnancy wore off, Micah was sure that they would both be happy and excited about it too. Kade would never flip out and panic or run away from Brit. If Micah knew Kade, and he thought that he did fairly well, then he knew that Kade would probably fall for the idea right away, just because it was Brit and it was them having a child together. It was going to be a really good thing. Micah could see that. Brit obviously hadn’t had a chance to look that far ahead into it. When she spoke to him, telling him that she didn’t know what she was going to do, he was able to detect maybe a certain edge in her voice. She was trying to deal with this, and his questions probably weren’t helping all that much. Though, he had already asked; he couldn’t very well take them back. He sat there, looking at her with his intense blue eyes as she continued to answer him, saying that she didn’t write down every time that she and Kade had sex. Something about that made him realize just how personal of a question he had asked her. Micah knew that people didn’t keep track of that sort of thing, and he knew Brit wasn’t the desperate individual that might actually do it. Then, there was the fact that her saying that made it all a little…weird. Micah wasn’t modest in the least and would talk about sex with anyone, but these were two of his best friends. He knew that they’d done it, but hearing that come from Brit threw him for a moment. He recovered quickly, as usual.

His last question to her had been a joke. Micah knew that there was no way in hell that Brit would ever go with any other guy when she was with Kade, not even when they were having that rough spell. Both Brit and Kade were loyal no matter what. Well, Kade used not to be, but he definitely was loyal to Brit. There was no way that this pregnancy had been brought on by anyone else other than Kade; Micah had just thought that maybe that question would add just a bit of humor to it all and lighten the mood. Apparently, he had been wrong. Very wrong. Brit had looked like she was about to try and relax a little bit, maybe even try to sort some of this out, but then she had heard that and she lifted her head back up, her expression one of horror. Oh shit. That had been the wrong thing to say. Micah was actually kind of glad that she couldn’t get up and follow through with her threat. He had no doubt that Brit would have smacked him a good one right on the back of the head for saying it, but he couldn’t say that he didn’t deserve it. Though, her saying that only added some fuel to the fire. Micah got an evil little grin on his lips, and found that he very much liked taunting Brit when she was unable to do anything about it. He knew that when she was well and back up on her feet that he would have a lot of payback coming to him, but for now, he was going to enjoy getting all the hits in that he could without having to worry about her coming at him. Micah stayed for a little while longer, picking and saying things that he knew would get under her skin. Brit was probably highly annoyed with him by the time that he left, but he had missed her while she was out and that was his way of getting back in touch. He loved that girl like a sister; there was no way that he wouldn’t treat her like family and torment her whenever he possibly could.

``

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. This wasn’t how any of it was supposed to be. This was summer time. Hunter was out of school. Anna had just graduated. They were supposed to be living it up and having a blast with all of it. Hunter had had it all planned out for him and Anna. Maybe he hadn’t had all of it planned, but he had had some pretty special things set up for them this summer, just because they were a young engaged couple that loved each other very much and they needed to live their lives a little. This wasn’t how it was supposed to start out. And what if they never got to do any of the things that he had imagined that they would do? What if she never woke up, and he was left there all alone? Hunter was still young, and he had a lot of life to live, but he really didn’t see the point in living any of it if he didn’t have Anna there with him. She was the one for him. There was no one on the face of the planet that would deny that, nor would they try to tell him that they were too young to be so serious about one another. Anna was the one and only woman that would ever complete him; she was the only one that he would ever want. If she wasn’t able to be with him, he would never be with anyone else. Hunter wouldn’t settle for nearly perfect when he had had a taste of perfect. To put it simply, without Anna in his life, Hunter wouldn’t amount to much. He would walk around in a haze, surrounded by memories of her, and wishing like hell that she would come back to him every single second of every day. He wouldn’t see hope. He wouldn’t see beauty or promise. There just wouldn’t be much purpose left for him. Anna meant that much to him; moving on without her wasn’t an option.

Hunter was already in that haze. He didn’t talk. He hardly slept. He rarely ate, and only drank because he knew it wouldn’t do him any good to get dehydrated and have to be hooked up to an IV somewhere away from Anna. He never left the hospital, cleaning up in the restrooms and changing into clean clothes that his parents brought him, only to rush right back to Anna’s side. The only other time that he left was when the doctors told him that they needed more room and that he needed to step out for a little while. He hated it, but he never said a word. He just stood and did as he was told, rushing back to Anna the moment that he got the okay from the doctors. Hunter knew that people were worried about him. Kade had made that clear, as well as his parents and Anna’s. They wanted him to stop worrying so much, to have faith that Anna would wake up, but Hunter’s faith was growing thin. So much had been taken away already. Jared. Vivian. Brit was hurt. Cooper didn’t have his mother. Kade and Hunter were left without their brother, Rob and Marion without a son. Where had faith gotten them then? Nowhere. Why should he believe that it was going to do anything for him then? Hunter wanted to believe that Anna would come back to him like Brit had gone back to Kade, but everyday it got harder and harder to believe. Her eyes never opened. She never gripped back when he took hold of her hand. She wasn’t there with him, and he was literally lost.

Kade came over from time to time, not wanting to leave Brit’s side, but not wanting to abandon Hunter either. Kade talked to him the entire time, and Hunter just listened, never saying anything back. What his older brother talked about most was that Anna was strong and that she would come back; Hunter just needed to make sure she had something to come back to. Meaning he needed to take better care of himself. Kade also made some comments here and there, smart ones, trying to get Hunter to lighten up, but Hunter wasn’t in the mood for jokes of laughing. He just wanted to be with Anna, but he was currently in a world where Anna wasn’t there. He hide within himself most of the time, not caring to bother with anyone else. He just sat and stared, guilt still eating at him, but maybe not as much as it had been that first night. He knew that it wasn’t entirely his fault, but Hunter still felt that he should have been there. He should have pulled her back. He should have kept this from happening to her. When and if she did come back to him, he was never going to let something like this happen again. He really didn’t know if he could go through all of this again, and he wondered how Kade did it. He had survived Jared and Vivian’s deaths. He had lived through two car accidents that every doctor in this hospital would agree that he shouldn’t have. He had sat there with Brit and held onto her. How he kept moving was beyond Hunter. Sometimes, he really didn’t feel like he could do it. Losing all of those people, nearly losing Kade, and then Brit had been hard on his gentle heart. Being like this with Anna was nearly enough to kill him. He wasn’t really living anymore, anyway. Hunter was just an empty shell, waiting for life to return with little hope of it doing so.

But, it happened. Three days after Brit had regained consciousness, Anna had as well. Hunter had been sitting at his post, never leaving her side, when he had seen those beautiful eyes of her flutter open. Monitors started sounding then, alerting the doctors to her changed state. Hunter had been kicked out of the room, them needing all the space they could get while the checked stats and made sure that she was truly back with them. Hunter clung to the doorway, watching carefully and waiting for what the doctors had to say. His heart was racing, and aching with hope. That hope only increased when he heard her call his name, and saw her put up such a struggle with the doctors that tried to approach her. That was his girl, and a smile lit up his face for the first time since the accident. He was allowed back in the room, and the doctors were then able to get a good feel for Anna’s condition. Hunter stood in the back quietly, meeting Anna’s eye, and feeling his own mist over in what were tears of joy. He didn’t actually cry, but the tears were there. For so long, he thought that she had left him. Now she was back, the doctors saying that she was indeed stable. They left, clearing the way for Hunter to go over to her bedside. He didn’t sit in his chair, but on the edge of her bed. He looked down at her, so glad to see her looking back. God, this was the best moment, and he wasn’t even sure what to do with it.

Hunter settled for pushing a piece of stray hair away from her face before leaning down and kissing her lips softly. Feeling her kissing him back made him smile into that kiss before he pulled away, his dark brown eyes glued to her. ”You have no idea how much I missed you, Angel,” he said, calling her that pet name that he had for her. She was his angel. Plain and simple. ”You had me thinking that you weren’t coming back. I was so scared that I‘d lost you…” His voice cracked just a little, enough to let anyone see how scared he’d been. But he didn’t want her to feel bad about any of it. It was his fault. ”I’m so sorry that this happened. Don’t you know that I would have bought you a hundred more rings just to keep you safe? I would do anything to get you out of this…” He wondered if she even remembered going after her ring or getting hit by that car. He knew that sometimes that brain will block out things like that just to spare the body and the memory the pain. It was odd, but it did happen. Hunter let his hand cradle her face softly, not wanting to not be touching her. He needed to feel her there, alive against him. He needed to hear her again, just to be sure that she was there with him again.