By His Side
        Chapters 1 & 2
 

Rick Bauer walked through the corridors of Cedars Hospital in relative quiet. It had been a slow night in the Emergency Room, so far, and his shift was almost over. He couldn't wait to get home. After all, things were going well in his life. He and his wife Abby were expecting their first child in a couple months and his dear sister was happier than he had seen her in years. He couldn't imagine things being more perfect.

As he turned the corner, he heard the call over the intercom, "Dr. Bauer to ER stat." He quickly turned around and headed back to prepare for the incoming patients. As the two men were wheeled in he was informed that they had been in a serious car accident and both had life-threatening injuries.

Two doctors had already begun to work on one of the men, who's heart they were desperately trying to restart. He rushed over to the other man where a doctor was trying desperately to stop the massive bleeding. When he reached the man he released a gasp as he looked into the face of Danny Santos.

"Oh, God", Rick sighed. Turning to a nurse he quickly told her to call his sister and tell her to get there as soon as possible. He then turned his attention back to the table and with a renewed sense of strength and purpose, vowed to make sure this man made it out of there alive. As soon as they had Danny stabilized, Rick walked out into the waiting area to watch for Michelle. Within seconds she came rushing through the door, frantically searching the room for Rick. She had silently prayed the entire drive there that she was wrong, that nothing had happened to Danny, and that he was home right now preparing to get some sleep. In her heart though, she knew she was right. She could feel that something terrible had happened. She quickly found her brother and rushed over to him. He met her halfway and as she looked up at him, her eyes silently pleaded with him not to tell her what she already knew deep down. It was Danny and it was bad.

The look in Rick's eyes confirmed it, and the tears she had been fighting ever since she received the phone call began to cascade down her cheeks. She collapsed into his arms, crying, releasing heartbreaking sobs that shook both of their bodies.

After a few minutes she began to regain some semblance of control and Rick led her to a chair to sit down. He then began to tell her what they knew about Danny's condition, which unfortunately wasn't much. He was stable, but in critical condition. He was being taken to the ICU at that very moment. He was far from out of the woods, but it appeared as if he would survive. The biggest question was how much damage had been done. He had several broken bones and both head and neck traumas, which the severity of would remain unknown until the swelling went down. He had not regained consciousness and that wasn't a great sign. The sooner he woke up, the sooner they would know how badly his head had been injured.

Rick told her he needed to go check on something but would be back in a second. As he quickly walked to the desk he couldn't help but think of what he had seen in that room a few minutes earlier. With the bruising they had seen on his head, he wasn't sure if Danny would ever wake up. He hoped with all his heart that he was wrong. Not only for Danny, but for his sister that he loved so much. She had been through so much and he didn't know if she could handle the death of another person she loved so much. He didn't want to share his fears with Michelle until he knew something for sure. She needed to hold on to all the hope she could grab on to.

He returned to find Michelle staring into space, tears steadily flowing from her red, swollen eyes. At the sound of Ricks voice Michelle was brought back to reality. "Sweetie, are you alright?" Her only reply was "I need to see him, I need to see Danny." Rick didn't think it was a good idea. He wasn't sure if Michelle could handle seeing Danny like that. His body was badly bruised and broken. Even Rick had almost broken down at the sight of the normally strong, self-reliant young man so battered and helpless. He was about to tell her no but, after taking one look into her determined eyes, he realized there was no point in trying to dissuade her.

"Follow me," he replied. Rick and Michelle entered Danny's room quietly and calmly. Michelle had regained most of her composure and decided she was ready. Rick wasn't as sure, but he knew he couldn't stop her. He had warned her about the condition of Danny's body, but nothing could have prepared her to see the man she loved more than life itself lying there so pale and lifeless. The only coloring she could see in his skin came from the bruises that seemed to cover every inch of his still form.

Michelle took a long, deep breath and made her way to Danny's bedside. Once she got there she placed his hand in hers. She shivered as she realized how cold his normally warms hand felt in her own and tears once again threatened to fall. She silently prayed to God to spare this wonderful man. They had so much to look forward to. They were to be married in less than three months. In fact, they had spent that very morning making plans. It now seemed like a lifetime ago. They were so happy, she couldn't bare to think of what her life would be like if she were forced to spend the rest of it without him in it.

Rick looked on in awe of the amazingly strong young women his little sister had become and he too prayed for Danny's life to be spared. He had seen how much happiness this man brought into his sister's life and with everything she had been through, she deserved nothing less than to be that happy for the rest of her life. He quietly slipped out the door to give her some time alone with the man she loved so deeply.

Rick had told Michelle to talk to Danny, that he could probably hear what was being said around him. She carefully sat on the edge of his bed and taking both of his hands in hers, begged him to come back to her. " I need you Danny, I love you so much. I can't imagine my life without you in it." She paused as imagines flashed through her mind causing the tears to once again slide from her eyes. She thought back to the first time she ever saw him. She was walking through the college parking lot on the way back to her car after another late night study session in the library. She dropped her car keys and when she bent to pick them up she was grabbed from behind, one arm around her waist, the other hand covering her mouth. She kicked at him and hit him with the hand that wasn't pinned to her side, but his grip never loosened. Finally, she bit him and his hand released her mouth long enough to let out one scream before firmly clamping back to her mouth.

He threw her on the ground and before she could even make an attempt to get away he was on top of her. Pinning her to the ground. One hand was attempting to unbutton her shirt before getting up and tearing it open. She wasn't screaming any longer, now she was crying as she desperately tried to get away. Just as the man reached for her pants he was ripped off of her and thrown to the ground by another man she didn't recognize. The attacker got up and began to run off. She sat up and tried to cover herself, but it didn't do much good. Her shirt was ripped so badly that it didn't cover much of anything. The man came towards her and fear began to well up inside her again. Realizing her anxiety, he stopped, took off his leather jacket and slowly approached. He knelt down beside her and wrapped the coat around her shivering body. She immediately leaned into him and sobbed. He had only seen one other person cry like this, his sister when they were informed that their parents and older brother Mick had been killed in a plane crash.

After a few minutes, he picked her up, carried her to his car and drove her to the hospital. "You need to be that strong for me again Danny, for us. Please come back to me, I love you so much," she murmured as she continuously rubbed one of his hands in hers as her other ran through his dark curls, careful not to bump any of the bruises or cuts found there.

"Being here like this reminds me of the first time I ever really met you. I woke up in my hospital bed and Rick told me there was someone here to see me. I was so confused, he told me that they had given me a sedative after you brought me in. That I had been so upset and wild that that they knew that was the only way I would get any sleep. He also told me you had stayed there all night, that you refused to go home until you could see for yourself that I was alright. I remember my first thought when you walked into my room was that I must have been really out of it the night before to have not noticed how incredibly handsome you are" as she said this a small smile spread across her face. " I remember thinking how adorable you looked as you stepped to my bedside and introduced yourself. I don't know if I ever told you this, but I realized at that moment that you were the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I remember you flashed me that beautiful smile that always made me melt." She sighed and almost under her breath added, " I would do anything to be able to see that smile right now."

Michelle's reverie was cut short as a nurse came into the room to check Danny's vitals. The nurse stepped out of the room for a minute and returned with a pillow and blanket for Michelle. She gave Michelle a knowing smile as she left the room and somehow Michelle felt a little better.

As she settled in and tried to get as comfortable as possible, she paused one more time to pray that Danny's life be spared and that he would be brought back to her. She soon fell asleep with her head lying on Danny's bed.

It wasn't long before she woke to the touch of a hand on her cheek.