“Just stay away from him,” Don nudged Brant in the arm gently as he tried to get his friend to wake up. Don saw Kyle take a step forward as Don shot up to his feet and took a step towards Kyle. “Don’t you test me Houston.”

“Test you?” Kyle repeated Don’s words before taking a step forward. “You want me to test you, because I can. I dare you to try and throw us out Don because that would be the last thing you would want to do on account of your wife is a very good friend of mine.”

“Don’t you dare talk to me like that,” Don scowled, taking a step in closer to Kyle. “My wife doesn’t care about you, she is my wife--not yours. If you want to try and scare me with something, it better be something better than that.”

“You want me to scare you?” Kyle laughed, his hazel eyes filled with anger as he took a step in closer to Don. “Fine, I’ll scare you--since that’s what you want.”

“Kyle,” Grady reached out with his good arm to try and pull Kyle away from Don, but Kyle only pulled his arm away from Grady in a quick movement.

“I’m not doing anything for this loser,” Kyle snapped looking back at Grady before giving Don another glance. Kyle looked down at Brant before letting out a small scowl. “The only thing Don wants is to help ruin Russell’s life and I am never going to let them do that to him.”

“Back off freak,” Don pushed Kyle back as Kyle slightly stumbled back and shook his head slowly. “Don’t even think about coming near Brant.”

“You can’t touch me like that,” Kyle went to take a step forward as Russell grabbed Kyle and pulled him back. Kyle struggled in Russell’s arms as he tried to get out of the grip. “Let go of me Russ. I just nearly killed myself saving everyone and he tries to pull something like that. No, that‘s not going to happen.”

“No Kyle,” Russell replied trying to hold onto Kyle as Kyle struggled in his grasp. If Kyle had been one hundred percent, he would have gotten out easily, but now that Kyle was injured--Russ had the upper hand on holding him back. “Leave it be. Don is a doctor and he is an asshole. So put those two things together, that makes the man dangerous in this game because he can kick us out. Don is just a big enough jerk to try and do it.”

“Fine,” Kyle felt Russ let him go as he saw Brant starting to move on the ground. “Your lover is getting up Donny boy and I think he may need your help.”

“Brant,” Don kneeled down to try and help Brant up off the floor. Brant blinked widely as Don looked at the groggy Brant. “You alright?”

“I just had the weirdest dream,” Brant informed Don with a small frown as he turned to see Kyle, Grady and Russ all standing together watching him.

“Hey,” Don caught Brant before Brant could fall back after stumbling over his two feet. “It’s okay, just take it easy.”

“Yeah, take it easy Brant,” Kyle piped, feeling Russ rest his hand on his shoulder. “Nobody wants you to get hurt, let alone break your neck.”

“You shut up or I‘ll make you shut up myself,” Don snapped at Kyle, feeling Brant push away from Don to stand up on his own. Don reached out to place his hand on Brant’s shoulder as Brant stared out at Russell.

“It wasn’t a dream at all,” Brant muttered to himself before looking over at Don who shook his head slowly. “How the hell are you here? Why are you here?”

“I’m here for my wife,” Russell emphasized his words as Brant took a bold step forward towards the three men. “And there is no way that you are going near her Ashford. She doesn’t need you crap right now. What she needs is her husband and her family and friends. Not some prick like you bothering her.”

“Don’t talk to me like that,” Brant scowled, pushing Russell back as he motioned Russell to take a step forward. “You don’t need to be here dead man because she already has a man that’s here for her and that‘s me.”

“That’s it,” Russell took a step forward, grabbing Brant by the collar of his shirt only to feel Don push him back and away from Brant. Russell stumbled back as he saw an injured Kyle step in towards Don quickly.

“Don’t you ever touch him again Leveski,” Kyle warned sharply as he felt Brant push past him and go for Russell as they both tried to hit each other. Kyle quickly pushed himself between the both of them, but it was no use because they didn’t even bother going around Kyle to try and hit each other. Kyle felt Brant bump into his injured thigh as he let out a small growl. There was no way Kyle was going to take this crap anymore, he didn’t want to end up leaving this place with getting his wound stitched again only after a few hours. “Stop it, now.”

“Let go of me,” Russell scowled trying to get back towards Brant while Kyle pulled him away from Brant. Russell saw Don hold Brant back as he let out a small hiss. “He doesn’t have the right to be here at all. Avery is my wife and she needs me by her side--not him.”

“You by her side? Where have you been this whole time Denton?” Brant questioned angrily, struggling in Don’s arms as Don tried his best to hold Brant back. “What makes you think you can just walk in here and everything will be back to how you want it?”

“Shut up,” Kyle snapped at the both of them with an angered tone of voice. Kyle let go of Russell, but stepped between Brant and Russell so he could talk to the both of them. “Would you please, just give it up? This isn’t helping anything.”

“He’s right,” Don replied, still holding Brant back. Don let go of Brant as Brant straightened out his shirt and tried his best not to try and pass Kyle again to get his hands on Russell. “Fighting isn’t going to be settling anything good. For Avery’s sake, we need to stop.”

“For once I finally agree with the idiot,” Kyle declared, looking between Russell and Brant. “Even with his tiny brain he could evaluate something like that.”

Grady stepped in next to Russell and rested his hand on his brother’s shoulder supportively, watching as Don nodded slowly like Kyle had said something good.

“Hey wait,” Don frowned, watching Kyle take a step in closer to Russell and Grady. Don cleared his throat uneasily, trying to think of a way to lighten the things that were going on right now. “Pushing all things aside, I think the only thing we need to focus on right now is finding out what’s wrong with Avery.”

“Exactly,” Russell agreed with Don, glaring over at Brant with complete anger. “That’s all I care about right now, knowing if my wife is okay.”

“And,” Don began, cutting Brant off before Brant could come back with something to say to Russell. Don looked between Brant and Russell for a moment before letting out a small sigh. “I am going to go in there and check on her condition. That is if you two can be able to behave for a little while.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kevin hugged Angela a moment longer before finally releasing her feeling the weight of her words still hanging over him. To believe that she’d asked him to take on her children if she’d died, sure it was something that he could say proved how much she cared about him, yet to think about the idea of having her gone… No that was not an option. Pulling back just a bit his dark eyes fell into hers.

“Angie, this was an impossible conversation and while I know that you’re upset about Nick leaving, that shouldn’t lead you to thinking like this. You shouldn’t start believing the worst and…” he began hoping to find a way to put her worries at rest for one last time.

“Kevin, you and I both know that pregnancy and I don’t mix,” she threw out a pointed look watching the stubborn expression on his face, “Remember what happened the last time I was pregnant?”

“Yeah and it was unfortunate,” Kevin nodded his jaw flexing tightly, “but I really, truly believe that was brought on by Cary. You let him knock you around and…”

“I didn’t let him knock me around,” Angela argued with him a pause sweeping over her, “Unless of course it was a mutual thing in which case it had nothing to do with him hurting me and more to do with…”

“Angie, I’m not talking about that,” Kevin frowned a tiny shudder taking over him at the thought of her late husband. The man had been a monster and even if Angela didn’t mind playing rough with him every now in then on an intimate level, Kevin was well aware of what a son of bitch Cary was. The things he’d done to Angela had been shameful even if she was blind to it all. If she had any idea…

“Kevin,” she snapped her fingers in front of his face, her dark eyes commanding his attention, “are you listening?”

“Yeah sure,” he nodded trying to dismiss his lingering thoughts.

“Yeah right,” she rolled her eyes doubtful, “Besides we both know that wasn’t the only time I didn’t stay pregnant…”

“Angie I…” Kevin stopped himself surprised that she would bring up something that was obviously so very long ago for them. He eyed her for a long moment before reaching out to her once again instinctively, “You were really young at the time and with your father…”

“It still doesn’t change the fact that I lost our child too Kevin,” Angela blurted out firmly, her hands pressed at her sides, “and I refuse to let that happen to the twins so if someone is going to have anything happen to them here, then it had better damn well be me instead of them, which means that you are going to have to take care of them. Kevin, you’re the only person in this world that I can trust and I won’t take no for an answer.”

“Angie, I think you’re jumping the gun a bit here. We both know that things were different and each one of those experiences were…” Kevin tried to remind her all over again.

“Something that I would just as soon not repeat. Granted I know I’ve been keeping busy lately, but so far things are going good--better than they were the other two times,” Angela informed him with a heavy sigh, “I have another doctor’s appointment this week and you’re more than welcome to go with me since I was just trying to play it safe.”

“Yeah well now that Nick’s gone we can play it safe together. I’m sure that you’ll be fine. This isn’t a difficult pregnancy so far,” he paused thinking about it for a long moment, “is it?”

“No, of course it’s not, but given what my father told me about how perfectly healthy my mother was when she had me and then just died, well you never know what will happen? I mean I haven’t been able to discover what went wrong with her. Every time I asked my father about what happened, he shut down on me. I even tried to get access to my mother’s records, but I can’t get close to them,” Angela ran her fingers through her short, dark hair, “If I knew more about that, then maybe I wouldn’t be so worried, but…”

“Maybe we should check into it. Maybe now that Cyrus is gone you can do a little digging around,” Kevin suggested thinking about Angela’s mother. “I mean maybe Cam could help you.”

“Cam isn’t about to go down that road again. He gets angry when I start thinking about it simply because he knows how worried I am,” Angela paused thinking about her older brother, “He doesn’t even know I’m pregnant Kevin.”

“Yeah, well something tells me that right now isn’t a good time to get into that with him. I think he’s got his own problems going on at the moment,” Kevin revealed thinking to his brief interactions with Cameron.

“What do you mean? Have you seen him?” Angela questioned with obvious worry, “Is something wrong with my brother?”

“Not really Angie, but…” Kevin struggled with what to tell her about Cameron when a frown touched over her lips.

“You did this on purpose didn’t you?” Angela arched a curious brow, “There’s really nothing wrong with Cameron is there? You just wanted to change the subject so that you wouldn’t have to answer my question.”

“Actually if you want to be technical you changed the subject,” Kevin held his hands up in the air defensively, “I was merely indulging you by going along with the topic at hand.”

“Yeah, well we’ll get back to my brother after you tell me that you’ll do this for me,” Angela pleaded with him, “Kevin you know I wouldn’t ask you to do something like this unless it was absolutely necessary there.”

“Pardon me if I don’t like the thought of my best friend dying. It kind of sours the mood for me there if you catch my drift,” he sighed heavily knowing she’d be unrelenting in her mission to win him over, “I mean I understand where you’re coming from but…”

“But I’ve already started working on papers offering you legal guardianship in the event that…” she felt him place his hand over her mouth to silence her.

“We’re not going to even dignify that thought again,” Kevin explained simply a frown still tight over his lips, “And while I know what you’re asking and I’m honored, given the level of intensity behind the comment, I’m going to need to think this one over, which by the way I really don’t want to.”

“Don’t want to what?” she asked muffled by his fingers. His hand moved away from her mouth, “Think this over or raise the children?”

“Of course I would raise your children Angie. I’d do it in a heartbeat, but given what you’re asking me to do--what you’re saying to me. It feels like you’re leaving the options up to me about what happens next for them and for you. What if something happens, yet you’re still alive? What then?” Kevin couldn’t help but ask.

“Then you watch them until I’m able to do it myself,” she suggested sensing his unrest with the topic at hand, “I had some papers put together and if you’d like to read them over…”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” he nodded wondering how he could sit back and ponder the thought of what if.

“Great, then I’ll just get them for you on my way out. I have to make a trip to the office and you can look them over while I’m gone. If you don’t think something is right, then we can fix it and see how to make it better,” she promised reaching out to embrace him once again, “thank you Kevin.”

“Sure,” he replied watching her walk away knowing full well that nothing was right with the idea of his best friend suddenly up and dying on him. While he was convinced that wasn’t going to happen, he really couldn’t even begin to imagine having a life without her in it. Maybe it was the freshness of losing Jade on the front of his mind that was guiding his thoughts, but he wasn’t really prepared to face the thought of losing his best friend as well. It just seemed so very morbid and unnecessary.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“How are you doing?” Annie questioned, walking over towards Joseph who was standing by the window just staring out into the area before him. Joseph turned to face her when she got close to him and accepted the mug of tea that had she had just made for him. “How are you doing?”

“I don’t know what it is, I just can’t get her out of my head Annie,” Joseph began with a small shake of his head as he walked over towards the coffee table and set his mug down gently. “I can’t get the thought of Susan out of my head.”

“You want to talk about it?” Annie took a seat next to Joseph on the couch after he had sat down. Joseph leaned forward, letting out a long sigh as he shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know what to say,” he stated with a small shake of his head as he felt her hand on his back, gently caressing it. “I just keep thinking about how angry she was. Maybe there was something I could have done…”

“There was nothing you could have done for Susan, she chose to make her own decisions,” she pointed out with a small frown, knowing that Joseph would most likely be blaming himself for what happened. “Unfortunately, the decisions she made weren’t good ones.”

“People say there was nothing I could have done, but I just remember her being so upset and disappointed in me,” he sighed, feeling her hand gently squeeze his shoulder. Sure, he didn’t force Susan to do all of this, but part of him thought part of this was his fault. “I could have somehow made her become a better person…”

“No one knew what was going on Joseph,” Annie hushed, trying to get him to calm down, knowing that he would need to feel better because feeling down wasn’t at all good for him. “You never could have imagined all the things that were going on in her mind.”

“I know it’s just,” Joseph began, hearing the sounds of the news on the television. He watched on to see the story about Bruce and about everything he had been doing. “You know, only a short while ago my own daughter was on the headlines of the news. She was the one that was causing all the problems.”

“And none of that was your fault,” she reminded him once more, trying to point the obvious fact that Susan had something going on inside of her and it was something that no one could have stopped.

“She was my daughter and I can’t stand the fact that I let her live being the way she was,” Joseph began, trying to think of some way to explain how he was feeling. He heard a knock on the door before going to get up.

“I got it,” Annie stood up before Joseph could get up. She walked over towards the door and opened it up to see a young man with shoulder length blonde hair before her.

“Dad, I came as soon as I could,” the young man began before cutting himself off when he saw a woman before him. “You’re not my dad--and something tells me you were never a dad in this lifetime, so I may have the wrong room.”

“I’m not quite sure yet, but is there something I can help you with?” Annie questioned curiously as she saw the young man take his sunglasses off to reveal his sky blue eyes to her. “Your eyes seem familiar, do I know you?”

“No, but I am hoping my father knows you because I have his eyes,” the man began, extending his hand out to her. “My name is Chase Hastings, my father is Joseph Hastings.”

“Oh, you’re his son?” Annie questioned, taking his hand in hers as he gently shook it lightly. “Joseph is just…”

“Chase,” Joseph walked up behind Annie as he saw his son at the door. Chase walked into the room as Joseph wrapped his arms around his son tightly, letting out a small laugh of joy. “I can’t believe you are really here.”

“I came as soon as I heard about Susan dad,” Chase informed Joseph with a small frown as he saw Joseph backed away slowly and touched his son’s face. “I knew you wouldn’t be in good shape and I couldn’t let you handle this all alone. I got on a plane and came here as soon as I could.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ben walked out of his bedroom thinking about the night he’d had. He’d gotten up a couple times feeling like his flu would do him in, but somehow he’d drifted back to sleep again and again. It had been a rough night, but somehow he woke up feeling rather refreshed. Granted it was later than he was used to getting up, but now he felt surprisingly well.

“Maybe today won’t be so bad after all,” he had decided taking a quick shower before he’d come out of his room. Now that he was in the hallway his eyes fell upon Diane’s sleeping form on his sofa. He moved in closer watching her snuggled up underneath a throw blanket he’d had out there and he couldn’t help but smile. She looked so beautiful laying there before him--so at peace and yet so welcoming in her own special way.

Stepping in quietly in an attempt to get closer to her, Ben remembered full well how she’d stayed at his side last night doing anything and everything to ensure that he’d be feeling better today. Now that he was, he couldn’t help but thinking about the woman he still loved so very much. Sure their problems were far from over and he was still trying to understand how they could’ve fallen so very far from where they’d once been, yet in looking at her his feelings were apparently clear. He loved her. There was no refusing his heart in that respect. He’d had feelings for her since the first time he’d seen her and even now that old familiar spark still remained.

“I love you,” he whispered leaning down to brush his lips against her forehead gently. He felt her move beneath him and for a split second he’d thought she’d awakened. However, she hugged the blanket instead and rolled onto her side with a small murmur.

“Love you too Ben,” she mouthed still clearly lost in whatever dream she was having.

Ben stood up smiling down at her as he decided that maybe it was time for him to find a way to thank her for what she’d given him last night. He remained quiet for a long moment before another thought occurred to him and with that special idea in mind, he walked into the kitchen ready to do something nice for her. Yes, he had a really wonderful idea about what do to for Diane after all she’d done for him. He was certain that she was going to love it!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Mindy fumbled with the keys in her hand not really sure how she was going to balance them on top of everything else she had in her arms. Still she wasn’t about to let everything she’d picked up earlier fall to the ground now that she’d managed to carry it all the way home. Carefully tucking the bag underneath her arm she finally got the key in the lock and pushed the door open with a triumphant sound.

“Need some help?” she heard Guy call out to her from where he sat on the couch looking over a magazine that he’d randomly picked up.

“Not anymore,” Mindy frowned taking a long look at her best friend. “How long did you know I was out there?”

“I didn’t,” Guy tossed the magazine aside. “I mean I heard someone out there, but I thought maybe you were Gabe.”

“Gabe?” Mindy repeated setting the bags down and giving Guy a look, “I take it he’s gone then.”

“He was taking Brittany out today--to go looking at schools around here since he’s decided he’s not letting Noelle take her away from him. He knows that it’s approaching that time of the year for him to start thinking about putting her into school where she can interact with more than just, well just all of us.”

“Hey, she’s very grown up for her age,” Mindy pointed out with a small smile, “Maybe even more mature at times, but I’m glad that Gabe is looking into getting her more involved in town. I like having her around and would hate to see her go back to Europe.”

“You and me both,” Guy sighed heavily sinking down further onto the couch. “Although I have to tell you that my sitting here and relaxing has been anything but. I think I cleaned out the kitchen cabinets a couple of times, then I swept the floor and…”

“Hey since you have nervous energy, I will be more than happy to help you find a way to work through it,” Mindy motioned to the bags she’d carried in with her. “Starting with these.”

“And just what might those be?” Guy questioned peering over the back of the couch to inspect her bags closely.

She swatted at his hand and frowned, “All in good time Guy, but first I need you to promise that you’re not going to be a spoil sport about this.”

“Uh oh now I know you’ve brought trouble home with you,” Guy added curiously climbing over the back of the couch to see just what she’d brought home.

“It’s not trouble, but rather it’s something that I’m hoping will cause a reaction in those who are around it,” she started to further explain when she noticed the television on across the room. She started to say something further, but a picture of Avery flashed on the screen. “Oh my God Guy look!”

“What?” he questioned spinning around to see the tail end of the news report about Bruce and his attack on Avery.

“I don’t believe this,” Mindy gasped watching Guy rush over to hear the solemn report indicating that his sister was at the hospital.

“I don’t believe this,” Guy’s worried eyes began as he glanced over at Mindy. “I thought that they were going to find this monster. What did he do to my sister?”

“I don’t know, but they said she’s at the hospital,” Mindy reminded him putting her new purchase aside for the time being. “What do you say you grab your coat and I’ll drive you over there?”

“Deal,” Guy nodded in agreement praying that Bruce hadn’t found a way to hurt his sister all over again. If he had, then Guy vowed to find a way to make that madman pay in ways even a man like Bruce Mathis hadn't thought up.

“Okay, I’ll just…” Mindy paused hearing the news reporter explain that Bruce was dead. She looked up at Guy and saw his eyes fill with worry, “That has to be a good sign, right?”

“I sure hope so,” Guy mouthed praying that this time the madman would truly stay dead.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Am I allowed to know where we are going?” Wendy questioned eagerly as she felt Ken gently place his hand on top of hers as he drove. “I think I should be able to know where we are going. I like going down memory lane, but I'd like to know the destination first.”

“Well, your driver is going to be showing you the way and as long as he knows--I think you are going to be okay,” Ken assured her with a small wink. He gripped her hand in his tightly as he made another turn. “I thought you liked surprises.”

“I do like surprises,” she replied with a small laugh, looking over at Ken as he gave her a small glance. “I just think knowing the secret is a lot more fun.”

“Well, I happen to think otherwise,” Ken replied with a small shake of his head as he felt her fingers squeeze his tighter. “I think the look on your face when we get there will be well worth it all. I think it will be better than spilling the secret.”

“You’re no fun,” Wendy joked, lighting poking him in the ribs with her free hand as he let out a small laugh.

“Hey, it might not be good to poke the driver here,” Ken chuckled before finally coming to a slow stop to turn into the cider mill. “We’re here.”

“A cider mill?” Wendy smiled looking around the area before them as he pulled into a parking spot. “It looks beautiful out here today Ken.”

“Exactly the point,” Ken pointed out, getting out of the car and then walking over to the other side of the car to help her out. “It blends with all your beauty. The two things put together and makes all the beauty in the world.”

“Oh come on,” she laughed, feeling him wrap his arm around her shoulders gently, leading her up towards the building. “What are we planning on doing today?”

“Well, I was planning on filling you with cider and cinnamon flavored donuts,” Ken began with a tiny laugh, seeing her smile at his comment, “but I have something better planned out first.”

“What might that be?” Wendy questioned, seeing him nod towards something next to him. She looked over and saw a hayride next to them before she let out a small laugh. “You want to go on a hayride?”

“Not only a hayride, but our own personal hayride,” Ken informed her, leading her towards the hayride. He got onto it first before reaching his hand to help her up into it. “You see, this hayride is just for the two of us. I pulled some strings and I think you will like this. It may give you a remembrance of our life together.”

“This is perfect Ken,” Wendy smiled, seeing him nod slowly before they started moving. Ken wrapped his arm around her shoulders and made her snuggle into him gently. “Thank you.”

“It was no problem,” Ken replied, kissing the top of her head gently before letting out a small smile. “Anyway, just lay back and relax because I think you are going to be having a good time.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sarah walked with Diego down the hallways of the hospital after they had walked into the room that Kyle and Grady were supposed to be in. When they had gone in there Kyle nor Grady were in the place they were supposed to be.

Sarah’s eyes looked up to see Kyle standing by a group of people. She let out a small smile as she took a step away from Diego and out towards Kyle.

“Kyle,” Sarah called out his name as Kyle turned around to see her standing there. A small smile appeared over his lips as he slowly limped over towards her. Sarah quickly rushed over towards Kyle before wrapping her arms around him tightly.

“Sarah, that’s a little rough,” Kyle groaned, feeling her loosen her grip on him as he wrapped his arm around her.

“Are you okay?” Sarah questioned, placing her hand in the center of Kyle’s chest and looking into his hazel eyes. “I heard what happened and I thought, I didn’t know what to think.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Kyle hushed her, caressing her cheek gently before letting out a small sigh. “I’m alive and I may be a little bruised, but I am here.”

“I thought I could have lost you forever,” Sarah stated with a small frown, feeling her emotions overcome her as a tear slid down the side of her face. Kyle reached his hand up to gently push it away.

“You know me,” Kyle smirked, pushing a piece of hair behind her ear before letting out a small laugh. “I just keep coming back, no one can keep me down.”

“Do you realize what happened Kyle? You almost died,” Sarah pointed out seeing Kyle nod slowly before shrugging his shoulders. “I would have never seen you again Kyle.”

“But I’m here Sarah, don’t worry about it,” Kyle hushed, caressing her cheek gently with his thumb. “The fact of the matter is that I am here and I’m not gone.”

“Where did he hurt you?” Sarah questioned, seeing Kyle bite down on his bottom lip as her hand ran over the side of his arm gently.

“Well, one is there,” Kyle informed her as she lifted his sleeve to see the bandage on his arm. “The other is my thigh, but I am going to be just fine. I promise.”

“Do you know how happy I am to see you alive?” Sarah questioned reaching up to touch the side of his face gently. “I can’t believe I almost lost you.”

“You didn’t though Sarah,” Kyle pointed out with a small sigh as she tipped up on her toes to kiss him gently. He pulled away from her before letting out a small laugh and kissing her forehead gently. “I’m okay, I really am.”

“Are you sure?” Sarah questioned hugging him tighter as Kyle looked out to Diego who was on the other side of the hallway watching them.

“I am,” Kyle pointed out, noticing that Diego seemed to be looking really down. “I wonder what’s wrong.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Shannon walked into the hallway to see Diego and she went to go talk to him before seeing the way he was looking. She looked over at what he was staring at and it was Kyle and Sarah hugging.

“Okay,” Shannon whispered to herself before slowly walking up to Diego. She reached out to touch his shoulder gently as he quickly turned around to face her. “It’s okay, it’s just me.”

“Oh, hi Shannon,” Diego sighed turning more to face her so Kyle and Sarah were out of his sight. “So, what’s going on? Any more news?”

“Not really,” Shannon answered with a small frown, noticing the way that Diego kept looking back over his shoulder at Kyle and Sarah. They were now just talking and it seemed like most of Diego’s attention was on the two of them. “Hey, Diego.”

“Yeah?” Diego looked back at Shannon before letting out a small sigh. Shannon folded her arms out in front of her chest as Diego tried to make things less obvious. “What is it?”

“Is there something wrong?” Shannon questioned, seeing Diego shake his head quickly--not even taking the time to think about the answer. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Diego lied, knowing that deep down the reunion he just saw between Kyle and Sarah made him slightly jealous. There was no official sign that Sarah wanted to be back with Kyle, but when she kissed Kyle--it just did something to him. “What could possibly be wrong?”

“I don’t know, but something seems to be bugging you,” she pointed out with a small shrug. She watched Diego give Kyle and Sarah another small look before shaking his head slowly. “Is something really wrong?”

“Trust me Shannon, nothing is wrong,” he assured her once more, trying to get the point across to her. “Don’t worry about me, I think I can handle myself well enough. I think I can tell when something is wrong and simply, everything seems to be going okay, so you have nothing to worry about.”

“I know you say that but something seems to be bugging you,” she stood to the point before seeing Diego point down the hallway towards something.

“Look, there is something I really need to do, but I will talk to you later. Okay?” Diego questioned, seeing Shannon nod slowly before he started to walk off. Without even turning around he waved goodbye to her and that was it.

“Sure,” Shannon nodded slowly, watching the way that Diego just seemed to walk off quickly. It was like he was having a hard time just standing here and talking. “Which makes me wonder.”

Shannon looked back at Kyle and Sarah before letting out a small frown. Something had to be up because the way that Diego was staring at those two wasn’t normal. A friend didn’t stare like that, they didn’t stare at all like that. There had to be something going on between the three, but what was it?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Russ paced along the hallway unable to let go of the nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach. Tilting his eyes up he glanced down the hallway seeing Brant standing in front of the window looking out at the world beyond the hospital walls. That in itself set Russ off all over again. He started to march towards Brant ready to give him a piece of his mind when he felt someone touch his shoulder.

“Don’t do it little brother,” Grady warned in a firm, authoritative tone, “as much as I’m sure you’d like to tear him to pieces right now, he’s not worth it.”

“I’m well aware of that, but I don’t want him here when I’m worried about my wife,” Russ spun around to face Grady again, “I don’t understand why the hell he thinks he’s entitled to be here when I’m worried out of my mind about Avery. Here I am back in town less than twenty four hours and he’s ready to start irritating the hell out of me all over again.”

“Join the club. He’s been a pain in the ass with me for months now,” Grady paused realizing that his reasoning for not liking Brant was a bit of a slight variation on the one that Russ obviously had. For the briefest of seconds Grady flashed back to making love to Avery. He could still feel the sting of the fresh scratches still on his back from that experience. He flinched ever so slightly using the pain to remind him of what he wouldn’t let happen now that Russ returned. Looking up at his younger brother again, Grady let out a long breath, “Russ, forget about him. He’s not worth getting worked up over.”

“Yeah, well I can’t help but fixate on it considering that I haven’t heard a word on Avery and I’m beyond wired over it,” Russ revealed unable to keep from letting his worries get the best of him, “I just don’t understand why they haven’t said anything before now. I wish they’d just tell me something.”

“They will Russ,” Grady promised seeing Brant walking over towards them, “but you know why don’t we just go check in on Erin? I’m sure that they will call us if…”

“No, I’m not leaving,” Russ shook his head adamantly, “if Don comes back and says anything about Avery, then…”

“Russ, I really think that now would be a good time to,” Grady started again only to be cut off by the sound of Brant’s voice.

“Well isn’t this just lovely,” Brant scowled at the both of them, “Not only do I have one Denton to constantly harass me, but the other is back to pick up where he left off in making Avery miserable…”

“Listen you,” Grady wiggled his finger in Brant’s face, “Back off!”

“Me?” Brant let out a pinched laugh, “I’m not going anywhere. I have every right to be here at this hospital worried about Avery especially considering Russ just pops up out of nowhere after leading everyone to believe that he’s dead.”

“That’s none of your business,” Grady warned sharply, a scowl teasing over his features.

“The hell it isn’t,” Brant challenged his eyes turning to Russ, “Do you have any idea what kind of torture you put Avery through in leading her to believe that you were gone? What kind of misery you’ve put this town through by faking your own death?”

“I didn’t fake my own death,” Russell argued with him unable to keep a lid on his anger any longer, “This was not my fault.”

“Right,” Brant rolled his eyes, “yet suddenly here you are after months of no one seeing or hearing from you. That makes a lot of sense. So tell me Russ, what was it? A woman on the side? Another life that you don’t want Avery to know about?”

Russ lunged forward ready to attack Brant, but Grady used his good arm to keep him back. Brant laughed wickedly before glaring over at Russ.

“Face it obviously you’ve been too busy to care about her for this long, so who the hell said she wants you back? Come to think about it Denton, I know that she’s not going to need you anymore especially now that she has me and I make her happy,” Brant added throwing another jab in Russell’s direction.

“Shut up Brant!” Grady warned knowing full well that after the night they’d been through Russ was so very close to snapping and losing it completely.

“No, let him talk. It only reminds me of how stupid he truly is,” Russ waved his hand around in the air dismissively, “and it’s all the more motivation for me to have him thrown out of the hospital.”

“Me?” Brant laughed sarcastically, “Oh that’s a good one seeing as everyone around here knows full well that Avery’s my…”

“This isn’t the time for this,” Grady shouted above the two men knowing that the news about Brant and Avery’s relationship would be all that was needed for Russ to give into his frustrations. “Russ, come on. Let’s go check in on Erin.”

“No, I’m not going anywhere,” Russ shrugged his brother off of him not wanting to be anywhere else, but with Avery when the doctors told him what was wrong.

“Russ, come on,” Grady pleaded once again when the truth became painfully obvious to Brant.

“Wait a second,” Brant’s eyes widened with a flicker of surprise before a smug expression filled over his face, “You don’t know do you?”

“Shut up Brant!” Grady pointed his finger in Brant’s face before motioning to Russ. “Maybe they can be more helpful at the nurse’s station. Let’s go!”

“Grady, I’m not going anywhere, but he is,” Russ finally decided ready to get rid of Brant once and for all so that there wasn’t one more thing to deal with on top of the fear of losing Avery.

“The hell I am. I dare you to try to get rid of me,” Brant moved forward getting nose to nose with Russ, “because I can tell you now that there isn’t a person in Coral Valley who would dare try to keep me away from my wife.”

“Your wife,” Russ let out a small laugh before rolling his eyes, “Oh wonderful, why don’t you go harass her instead of annoying me?”

“Russ come on…” Grady started urgently once again, “Let’s go.”

“No, I think he needs to hear it because he’s obviously not understanding,” Brant taunted Russ further, “you see I’m not going to go annoy my wife because she’s the one we’re worried about right now. My wife is the woman that I’m going to stand here and wait around for the news on because I’ve been nothing but the best husband I can be to her since you flaked out on her.”

“What?” Russell’s eyes shifted with confusion. He started to process Brant’s words before shaking his head, “No, that’s not right. There’s no way in hell that Avery would’ve…”

“Married me?” Brant finished with an arched brow, “Oh Russ she’s more than married me. In fact it didn’t take her very long to move on after you left.”

“No, that’s not possible. Avery would never,” Russ shook his head not willing to listen to the lies that Brant was telling him. He turned to Grady with a frown, “That couldn’t be true right?”

“Russ I really don’t think that now is…” Grady tried to reason with his brother, but the moment Grady spoke up Russ saw the truth behind his brother’s eyes.

“No, no!” Russ shouted clenching his fists at his sides. He glanced over at Brant feeling as if he’d been kicked in the stomach, “there’s no way that Avery would’ve lowered herself to be with you. She couldn’t have married you when she and I were meant to be. She chose me Brant, not you. She loves me.”

“So much for forever love huh,” Brant jabbed further seeing the pain behind Russell’s eyes. He held his finger up in Russell’s face flashing the wedding band at him with a smug expression, “Avery and I have been beyond happy with one another for months now. Our marriage has been flawless since she’s finally come to her senses about what a pathetic waste of time you were.”

“That’s not true. Avery would never…” Russell felt the walls closing in around him. He looked between his brother and Brant seeing the painful truth on both of their faces.

“Russ there were circumstances,” Grady tried to appeal to him, “You don’t understand that…”

“Avery’s had the time of her life and she’s never been happier than she is with me. In fact, your dying was honestly the best thing that ever happened to her and if you were smart, you would’ve stayed dead,” Brant delivered with malicious intent flashing Russ an icy smile, “True love’s a bitch, ain’t it?”

“Russ come on. You don’t have to listen to this,” Grady tried to plead with his brother, “Let’s just check in on Avery and…”

“You’re right I don’t have to listen to this. I won’t listen to this,” Russ vowed moving forward to punch Brant right square across the jaw knowing that his patience was long gone and all that remained was the rage and the desire to rip Brant apart piece by piece.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I didn’t think you could be out here,” Joseph began as he looked at Chase before him. “You look like you have grown up so much since the last time I have seen you.”

“Great, I’m turning into an old man,” Chase chuckled, seeing Joseph smile as Chase reached out to place his hand on his father’s shoulder gently. “You don’t have to worry about me leaving you because I am going to be here for quite a while.”

“How? I thought your work schedule was really tight,” Joseph pointed out seeing Chase nod slowly before shrugging his shoulders. “How could you find time for your old man?”

“Well, I kind of quit my old job because I felt that my father was more important,” Chase informed him with a small shrug before letting out a tiny chuckle. “But, being a radio DJ is pretty good because I already have a job here. I’m planning on staying here with you for a while dad.”

“Really?” Joseph questioned as Chase nodded with a small smile. Joseph leaned back forward to hug his son tightly before letting out a small sigh. “I can’t believe you did all this just for me, I’m so glad you're back in town.”

“Anything for you dad, you‘re what‘s important right now,” Chase patted Joseph on the back lightly before letting out a small sigh. Chase’s blue eyes met Annie’s as a small smile appeared over his lips. “ So tell me, who is this lovely woman you have with you? I must say she is quite beautiful.”

“Oh, thank you,” Annie smiled, seeing Joseph look back at her and smile widely. “That was really sweet of you.”

“Chase, this is Annie,” Joseph let go of Chase for a minute and went to grab Annie’s hand to bring her in closer to Chase so they could get a better introduction with each other. “Annie, this is my baby boy, Chase.”

“Just so you know, I’m older than he makes me sound. Other than that, it’s nice to meet you Annie, is it Annette?” Chase asked seeing her nod slowly. He reached out to grab her hand in his before laying a small peck upon it. “You and my father make a very adorable couple Annette.”

“Chase,” Joseph laughed, seeing Chase shrug his shoulders before letting out a tiny laugh.

“I was just saying,” Chase chuckled, seeing Annie now looking at the television as if something was wrong. “Are you alright?”

“I think I have to go,” Annie informed them as she heard the news about Avery. She walked over to Joseph and gave him a small hug, kissing him on the cheek before grabbing her jacket. “I’ll call you later. It was nice to meet you Chase.”

“It was nice to meet you too,” Chase declared, watching Annie walk out the door. Chase reached out to squeeze his father’s shoulder gently, a smile peaking at the corner of his lips. “My dad is in love. Admit, you’re in love.”

“Chase,” Joseph laughed, seeing Chase shrug before walking over towards the couch to take a seat. Joseph came over and took a seat next to him before shrugging. “What about you? Any new girlfriends?”

“Yeah, about twenty,” Chase informed Joseph with a small roll of his eyes, “but I broke up with all of them so I don’t think you want to be meeting any of them. I haven’t found anyone that I think is perfect for me yet. I know there is someone out there for me, but I haven’t found her yet.”

“You will find a good person soon son,” Joseph patted Chase on the back lightly before letting out a small sigh. “Don’t let it get you down.”

“I’m not down about it, I just don’t like a lot of people these days,” Chase explained, letting out a deep breath before shaking his head slowly. “But enough about me, I came here to see how you were doing.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Good morning beautiful,” Ben’s voice rose up through the heaviness of the dream Diane was having. She turned onto her back opening her eyes to see him holding a single, red rose out to her.

“Ben?” she questioned wondering if she was still somehow dreaming. She reached for the flower feeling it real beneath her touch and her eyelashes fluttered curiously.

“Watch for the thorns,” he explained with a small, sexy smile, “I just pulled it from the rosebush outside and really didn’t have a lot of time to get every one of them before I handed it to you.”

“What?” she questioned feeling a tiny prick on her index finger that caused her to jump just a bit. She sat up straighter and gasped in realization, “oh right.”

“Hey, are you okay,” Ben asked giving her a long look. He reached for her hand taking it in his to inspect it carefully, “are you cut?”

“No, I’m fine,” Diane watched him eyeing her finger intently and she couldn’t help but offer up a small smile, “Better than fine actually.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Ben tipped his eyes up to see her watching him, “I’d hate to think that my rose did you in and hurt you.”

“It’s beautiful Ben,” she smiled back at him, “I love it.”

“I’m glad because it’s only one of many surprises for you this morning,” he informed her releasing her hand much to her dismay. He took a step back and motioned to the tray that he’d carried with him out of the kitchen, “I know this isn’t exactly breakfast in bed seeing as you’re on the couch, but…”

“But it smells like heaven,” Diane blurted out feeling a rumbling in her stomach, “what is it?”

“A little bit of everything,” he replied with a small smile, “I wasn’t sure what you wanted so I made some eggs, bacon, hash browns and even brought some Lucky Charms along in the event none of that agreed with you this morning.”

“Or you, right?” she arched a curious brow knowing full well that Lucky Charms were his favorite cereal.

“Okay, so maybe I was feeling a little bit hungry this morning, but not ready to push it just yet,” he explained mildly pushing the box of cereal off of the tray. She sat up straighter adjusting on the sofa before he handed the tray to her with a bright grin, “Enjoy.”

“By the smell of it I think I’m really going to,” she nodded in confession taking in everything he had laid out before her, “Of course I feel a little guilty. I don’t think I should be eating up everything you have.”

“Given that I haven’t been shopping for groceries in a little while, I think this is a good start at getting me to take another trip,” Ben replied watching her reach for a piece of toast he’d made for her. She lifted it from the plate and he spoke up again, “I even put that strawberry jelly that you like on it.”

“I see,” she took a small nibble, “and it tastes fantastic, but…”

“But what?” he watched her set the toast down, “Is something wrong?”

“Well no. In fact everything is just right which is why I thought I should ask you why you’re doing all of this,” she confessed with a small sigh, “because we both know that I’m far from deserving your pampering.”

“On the contrary, you deserve a lot more for the way you took care of me last night. I feel so much better and I know I owe it all to you,” Ben dropped down to take a seat on the couch near her feet, “How could I not do something to say thank you for all of that?”

“Oh,” she replied tilting her eyes down to look at the plate in her lap, “well you’re welcome. I mean I didn’t want to see you feeling bad.”

“I was feeling horrible--beyond horrible last night,” he paused seeing her grow unusually quiet, “Until you showed up and made things right for the first time in a while.”

“Ben,” she lifted her head up to see the way he was looking at her.

“I’ve missed you Diane,” he confessed not bothering to lie about the truth in his heart, “I hated coming back here and not being able to go home with you.”

“Me too,” she blurted out honestly, “My apartment sucks.”

“Tell me something I didn’t know,” he chuckled in response catching her small glare, “What I mean is that I don’t see why you and I should be at our apartments when we both said we were going to get rid of them. It kind of defeats the purpose of the mortgage that we’re paying on…”

“Look Ben about that. I’ll give you any money that I owe you and…” Diane started watching him get up from where he was seated.

“I don’t think you’re getting it Diane,” Ben continued kneeling in beside her, “What I’m trying to tell you is I don’t think either one of us should be living at our apartments. I think we’ve evolved past that, don’t you?”

“Well yes, but,” she paused biting down on her lip, “I don’t get what you’re trying to say here…”

“What I’m trying to say is that I don’t see why we shouldn’t be in our home,” he took in a breath offering up a heavy emphasis, “with one another.”

“But I thought that…” her eyes widened.

“I know what happened with JT is something we’re going to have to work through Diane, but the truth is that I’m not ready to let go of what we have,” he paused his expression pained for a brief moment, “If there’s some chance that this baby is his son or daughter, well I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that it doesn’t hurt because it does.”

“I know and I’m so sorry that we’ve had to face this. I wish like hell I could take it back and…” she started trying to find a way to make the pain lessen for him.

“But even so,” he placed his hand to her face causing her to fall to silence once again, “I love you Diane. I love you so much that the idea of not being with you hurts me more than having to face the possibility that JT could be this child’s father. I don’t want to lose you.”

“I don’t want to lose you either Ben,” she replied tearfully, “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“I love you Diane and I still want us to find a way to work this out,” Ben added unable to resist the urge to get closer to her. He leaned forward contemplating kissing her before pulling back.

“Don’t stop,” she sighed wishing like hell that he would just kiss her--just show her how he still longed to be with her.

“Diane, um I had the flu last night. I don’t think I should be kissing you right now,” he replied catching her disappointed expression.

“Well yes, but I was with you last night and…” she tried to argue with him, “I mean don’t you think that if I was going to get sick I’ve already exposed myself and…”

“Diane, trust me,” he mouthed with the first hint of a smile, “we need to wait at least another day, but after that day is up, I swear to you that I’m going to give you the longest, most romantic, sensual kiss you’ve ever experienced in your whole life. You can mark my words on that.”

Diane reached out to touch his forehead for a moment catching the strange look he was giving her, “I’m checking to see if you still have a fever,” she explained matter of fact.

“I don’t have a fever--well at least not the kind you’re worried about,” Ben smiled down at her. “I’m just realizing that there’s no point in staying away from one another when it’s obvious that the only place we’re happy is together with one another.”

“Do you mean that? Is that really how you feel Ben?” she searched his eyes hoping that she wasn’t imagining it.

“Yeah, I do,” he nodded in response, “being with you is the one thing in this world that makes me happy. I don’t want to lose you Diane.”

“I don’t want to lose you either,” she replied reaching out to embrace him as she found herself praying that he wouldn’t change his mind. She hugged him closer to her thinking about how close they’d come to good-bye and she swore that from here on out nothing would get in the way of them. She would be everything that he wanted and needed and more if they could make it through things with one another.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Angela sat back in her chair finding that work was somehow the last thing on her mind. She’d taken the time to retreat to the office in the hopes of accomplishing something significant, but at this moment in time she seemed to be coming up less than empty. Closing her eyes she sank back in her chair pondering why it was she’d had absolutely no focus. Sure on some level a lot of people would’ve thought that coming into work today was a negative, but she knew she needed to get something done.

“A lot you’re doing,” she let out a groan returning her attention to the monitor in front of her. She clicked on the keys of the keyboard for a moment longer before another thought occurred to her.

Putting her work down she opened up the internet running a search on her father. She knew it was a long shot, but maybe somewhere there was something about her mother--something in a rumor in some archive somewhere that could help her learn more about what had truly happened to the woman that had given birth to her. Angela didn’t doubt for a second that her mother had died in delivery, but the why and how was what was really on Angela’s mind. She clicked away at the keys again seeing a brief summary for something with her father’s name in it, but it only turned out to be another article about what a menace he was. Frowning she realized that the more she googled her father, the more negative she was filled with where he was concerned. That was the last thing she’d wanted to see and in that moment, she shut the browser down.

“That was useless,” she groaned feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on when another thought occurred to her. She sat up straighter feeling as if a sudden light had gone off inside of her, “Chris.”

The name hadn’t really crossed her mind in a few years, but now that she was pondering her own mortality, she knew she needed to dig up some dirt on her mother’s death. If anyone would have the inside scoop or at least the level of insanity required to do some serious digging, it would be Chris Foley. He’d been a friend and former lover of hers years ago at a time when her father was spurning the idea of his only daughter taking up with a scandalous reporter, yet Angela had found their time together totally invigorating. Sure, they might’ve wound up in over their head with one another more times than she cared to admit, but Chris had always been there when she’d been in a bind. He’d been able to help her get other information and she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d still be willing.

Reaching out for her address book, she eyed the last known number that she had for him. It was outdated by a few years, but still maybe it would be a good guess. She reached for the phone suddenly realizing that it was the number to the newspaper he worked at. Hanging up quickly she discarded that idea. The last time she’d read anything on Chris, he’d gotten fired for seriously ticking off some spoiled brat who was living off his father’s money and making an ass of himself. Angela hadn’t caught the piece herself, but man did Chris have a vendetta against that jerk for some reason.

“So now what,” Angela pondered the idea for a long minute thinking about her long lost pal. She knew he would be able to help her, but how to contact him. Eyeing the address in front of her another thought occurred to her.

“His e-mail address,” she blurted aloud locating it just below the number she had. Just looking at it now made her blush as Chris had gone out of his way to be a little bit perverse in coming up with an e-mail address, saying that it was ‘witty and charming with a raw sense of humor laced onto it’, which meant that when she wrote him she’d either contact him because he’d been too stubborn to conform to a normal e-mail address, or she’d reach out to some pervert, which wasn’t exactly her cup of tea either. Still she quickly started a message.

“Here goes nothing,” she thought aloud starting to talk out her thoughts as she typed them, “Hey sexy. Long time no see, eh? Well, if you can remember me, then you know where to reach me. Well maybe you don’t, but at the same time if this is still you and you can prove it, then write me back and I’ll give you a proposition and an offer I’m sure you can’t refuse. Love your Wicked Angel for always.”

Angela reread the message before hitting send. Smiling she sat back in her chair hoping that the message would truly reach Chris. If it did, maybe she wouldn’t be so on edge. Then again she probably would be, but at least hearing from a friend she enjoyed for so very long would be nice. She hadn’t thought about him much before today, but in her own way she missed him--a lot.

Hearing a knock on her door, she looked up to see Kevin standing in the doorway. His dark eyes were fixed upon her and for a split second she felt guilty for contacting Chris while knowing full well how much Kevin hated Chris. Still she wasn’t doing anything wrong. She wasn’t looking for any kind of love connection--since obviously at this point she and love weren’t going to go hand in hand. Brant and Nick had both taught her that in their own way. Still she was sure that Kevin was going to be overprotective especially now that she’d approached him on such a difficult topic.

“Got a minute,” he questioned stepping further into her office.

“For you,” she smiled up at him, “always. What’s on your mind Kevin?”

“Do you even have to ask,” he threw out a pointed look alerting her that he’d come to give her an answer to the question she’d given him earlier. He reached into his pocket pulling out the papers she’d left him with. He held them up and waved them in front of her, “This ring a bell?”

She nodded again, “I take it you’ve made your decision.”

“I have,” he replied setting the papers down on her desk top, “but don’t think that by any means that I won’t move heaven and earth to keep you in this world if something should happen.”

“I never doubt that for a second,” she couldn’t help but smile seeing his signature on the bottom of the papers she’d given him. Overcome with a sense of relief, she rose up from her chair circling around her desk to hug Kevin. “Thank you so very much for doing this.”

“I hate that you asked me, but I promise you if anything should ever happen and I don’t want it to, I swear to you that those beautiful babies of yours will be safe with me Angie. I won’t ever let anything happen to them,” he swore squeezing her in his arms as he said a silent prayer that the day would never come for him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I’ll go ask at the front desk. I‘m sure they‘ll know where Avery‘s at. We can go find her then and see what‘s going on,” Mindy suggested glancing over at Guy only to discover the worry that swept in over him. That news story had been enough to put them into a panic especially after the grizzly tale of Bruce Mathis and his madness had dominated most of the headlines. There was only a brief mention of Avery and Mindy was well aware of the fact that Guy was already on edge overtaken with fear for his sister.

“I’ll go with you. Maybe the sooner we find her room the better,” Guy suggested spotting a familiar face in front of them. Immediately his anxieties tripled when he heard the man before them asking the very question that had been on his and Mindy’s mind.

“Can you tell me what room Avery Morrison is in,” the man questioned as the woman behind the desk checked her computer.

“She’s still in surgery according to this,” she explained glancing up at him, “and I’m not sure if she’s out yet. I’m sure you could go up to the lobby and wait with the family if…”

“Thank you,” he cut her off abruptly spinning around to see Guy standing behind him.

“Cameron Stone,” Guy mouthed his eyes narrowing at the man in front of him, “What are you doing here?”

“I um…” Cameron stammered a bit not ready to explain himself to Avery’s younger brother. He eyed Guy curiously for a long moment trying to see if he could see the resemblance between Guy and Avery, yet it wasn’t as strong as the one between Avery and Angela. It was just so…

“I asked you a question. Why are you here spying on my sister?” Guy repeated harshly, his eyes confronting Cameron with a bitterness and animosity that Cameron was certain he didn’t deserve, but there was still the mystery hanging over his visit to the hospital and it was something Cameron wasn’t ready to reveal to him.

“I’m not spying on your sister,” Cameron adjusted his tie before clearing his throat, “I was merely checking in on someone and…”

“I heard what you asked so let’s cut the games Cameron. Why the hell are you here checking up on my sister?” Guy asked sourly ready to do what was necessary to get the answers out of the man who had made sure to make his sister’s life along with a great many other lives in Coral Valley a living hell. Regardless of whether or not Cameron wanted to talk, Guy would see to it that he had the truth out of him once and for all.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Excuse me a minute,” Kyle pulled away from Sarah, seeing the way that Russell and Brant were all over each other again. Grady was trying to pull them apart, but only one person wasn’t enough.

Kyle quickly walked over to the scene and grabbed Brant by the arms and pulled him away from Russell as Grady did the same to Russ.

“What is wrong with the two of you?” Kyle snapped, keeping his grip around Brant tightly so he couldn’t move. “This is a hospital, people are here sick. They don’t need to hear you two fighting every two minutes.”

“He started it Kyle,” Russell pointed out with an angered expression as he got out of Grady’s grasp and came over and hit Brant again. Grady pulled Russell back once more as Kyle tried to still hold Brant back.

“Stop it,” Kyle yelled at the both of them as he tried to get everyone to calm down. “You just need to stop and take a moment to relax. We all do.”

“Screw you Kyle, you don’t even know what‘s going on,” Brant snapped, twisting around in Kyle arms to bring his knee up into Kyle’s groin, making Kyle fall to the ground.

“Oh crap,” Grady saw Brant come over and deck Russell as Grady let go of Russell and watched the two of them fight. Grady looked between the Kyle and Russell fighting with Brant before finally going over to Kyle. “You okay man?”

“Screw calming down,” Kyle groaned, having a hard time standing up because of his thigh. His hand covered the front of his slacks as he shook his head slowly. “Let them fight, I hope Russell beats the hell out of Brant. I swear I am going to get that little piece of shi…”

“Kyle,” Grady looked over at Kyle with a disapproving look before Kyle shrugged and took a few steps forward towards the two that were now on the ground throwing punches at each other.

“Have him kick you where I got kicked,” Kyle limped over towards Russell and Brant before looking back Grady. “You would feel the same exact way.”

“I don’t want to even go there,” Grady declared, seeing Kyle bend down to try and pull the two apart. Grady took a step to help Kyle, trying to pull Brant back as they got to their feet.

“Damn it,” Russell turned around and punched Kyle in the jaw, seeing Kyle stumble backwards as Russell gasped. “Sorry man, I didn’t know that was you. I…”

“It’s okay man,” Kyle tried to assure him with a small shake of his head as he stood up straight. “You were quick on the punch and you’re angry. It’s okay--I know you didn’t mean it.”

“You okay?” Russell questioned, seeing Kyle nod before he felt someone push him from behind. “That’s it.”

“Would you two please stop. Now,” Don begged, walking out into the hallway as everyone became quiet--knowing that Don was the one that could give them news on Avery. “I need to tell all of you something.”

“What? Is Avery going to be okay,” Russell questioned quickly with a small amount of worry as Don shrugged his shoulders, thinking of a way to answer Russell.

“Things aren’t looking good,” Don informed them with a small frown. Beth had come out with him so he could explain things more for them. “Her condition doesn’t look good at all.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

...to be continued...