Part II

***author's babble***

I want to dedicate this to Megs, Krye, Sarita my loverly beta reader and all those who have said that they are enjoying this story. Thank you all for your patience while waiting for me to get this part out. Hopefully it will be worth the wait! Enjoy folks�

Daniel's POV

"Darren!" I cried out as I saw him get far, FAR too close to the edge of the stage. When he turned towards the sound of my voice I swear my heart stopped. Time slowed down...

And Darren fell.

There was a collective gasp from the audience and many terrified screams, but I barely heard them as I ripped my guitar from my body and raced towards the stage edge.

//Oh god...//

Darren was lying there, unmoving, beautiful blue eyes closed from the world. The sunglasses, broken, were lying beside him. A growing pool of crimson trickled and gathered on the hard concrete. Seeing Darren's crumpled figure on the floor below, I leapt without thinking from the stage to land heavily six feet down. Pain shot up through my feet and legs but I ignored it; Darren was my only focus. Shaking off the pain, I threw myself to my knees by his side and stared on in shock. He was breathing, but not rhythmically each breath shaky and labored. With the exception of the measured rise and fall of his chest, he was still. The stillness scared me because Darren, in all of the time I'd known him, was never still, not even in sleep. I was almost afraid to touch him, afraid that if I did, I'd break him. I knew that I would have to touch him, though, because the pool of blood continued to grow.

Time was disjointed and suddenly we were surrounded by people. Out of nowhere, a white towel was thrust into my hands and gratefully I took it to put pressure on the head wound and stop the blood flow. The noise from the audience was deafening and all I wanted to do was get Darren somewhere safe and secluded. And quiet. More seemingly faceless people gathered around. A few of them I recognized as our emergency medical crew; the rest didn't matter. They tried several times to move me away from Darren's side, but I would have none of it. I took one of Darren's limp hands in my own and latched on for dear life, rubbing this palm lightly.

"Darren," I whispered, the sound becoming lost in the surrounding chaos. The arena lights went up around us and I squinted at the harshness. On stage the rest of the band stood looking down horrified and worried. A non-descript voice then filled the stadium, telling everyone to remain calm. At the same time, two blue jumpsuited EMS workers barring a stretcher approached and our emergency crew was moved aside.

I was also, forcibly, moved away as the medics began a quick-but-thorough examination of Darren's prone form. Because of the fall, they immediately put Darren in a neck brace and carefully moved his body onto a backboard to prevent any further injury. Both spoke in rapid medical jargon, one pausing every now and then to radio information to the nearest hospital over a walkie-talkie.

I felt the sweat from the show and my worry drip off my body as I watched; I shivered. The EMTs lifted Darren onto the stretcher and proceeded to wheel him from the arena to an ambulance waiting nearby. At this point I overcame my body's numbness and hurried to follow running on legs that felt weighted with stone. On the way out I literally ran into Leonie who looked as scared as I felt.

"Leo," I started quickly and disjointed. "I'm--"

"Go on,' she interrupted, knowing already what I was saying. "I know where they're taking him, the rest of the group and I will follow in a little while. Hurry now, go!"

I nodded my thanks, extremely grateful, and resumed my rushed exit. Pushing my way through a throng of gaping people, I finally made it to the ambulance just as Darren was being loaded into it.

"I'm going with him," I breathlessly stated to the nearest medic as I slowed my gait. The force in my tone nearly surprised me, but I paid it no attention.

The medic hardly spared me a glance, but instead motioned for me to climb in. "Just make sure you keep out of the way," he warned me. I gave a slight nod then jumped into the back. The two rear doors slammed closed behind me and the medic I had been talking to quickly made his way to the front of the ambulance and got behind the wheel. The two remaining EMTs--one male and one female--were already busy looking Darren over. I silently situated myself in the corner of the ambulance, by Darren's side, but not in the way. Still afraid to touch him, I huddled quietly in the corner and watched them work with morbid fascination. The ride was basically silent. We drove on with no siren (no need to draw unnecessary attention, after all) but plenty of speed. Inside the two medics conversed in hushed tones while the third drove.

While still carefully examining Darren, the female attendant turned her attention to me. She studied me closely for a second, without saying anything. Then she smiled a soft-almost-knowing smile. "What's your relationship with our patient, here?" she asked me conversationally, while still giving off a professional air.

I briefly looked up from Darren's pale face. "Best friend," I replied. "And band mate�" //And so much more// my mind added silently.

She offered another kind smile. "He's rather important to you, isn't he?" A rhetorical question. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. We'll take good care of him," she assured me while gauzing the gash over Darren's temple.

I nodded absently. "How badly is he hurt?"

The other medic answered this time. "It doesn�t appear too bad," he stated. "But we could be looking at a number of things. I'd say a concussion is a definite probability, but there could be a possible skull fracture--we'll have to take x-rays at the hospital to be sure. It also seems that he has dislocated his shoulder and there might be some spinal bruising�"

Christ.

Meanwhile, the female medic continued her examination. She had been shining a penlight into Darren's eyes and frowned at the results of the action. She let one of Darren's eyes slip closed again and shut off the little light. "There doesn't seem to be any rental response," she stated, her tone puzzled and a bit worried.

"None?" the other repeated.

She shook her head. "No, none�" she affirmed. "Even with a concussion messing with his focus, there should be some reaction. And his eyes appear somewhat, glassy. Glazed, even�"

My brain must have sort of been working because I was able to latch onto one thought and say, "He's blind�would that make any difference?"

"Blind?" she repeated, fixing me with a quizzical look. "Yeah, that would explain it�Is his blindness the reason for his fall?"

I gave a nod. "Uh-huh� He just isn't used to it, yet."

"Used to it? How long has he been blind?"

I frowned, unsure of how to answer this one. //Darren's the talker, not me�//I thought distractedly before waving that thought away with a hint of annoyance and replying instead, "How long has he been blind or how long had he been going blind?"

The pair of medics looked surprised at this. "Ummm both?"

"He went completely blind only earlier today. But he had said that it started several months ago�"

This information was taken with a slight nod as the driver announced the ambulance's ETA to be in about two minutes. True to his word, the emergency vehicle pulled into the hospital parking lot in what seemed like less than an instant. In a flash of speed, the back doors were thrown open, the medics were out, the stretcher's wheels were being folded out, and Darren was being rolled away from me. An elderly doctor in a long, spotless white labcoat met the stretcher at the entryway of the emergency wing.

Quietly, I followed the emergency personnel and my unconscious soul mate into the hospital.

* * * * * * *

Thirty minutes later found me chewing my nails in an uncomfortable waiting room doing something that I had no patience for�*waiting.* I hadn't heard form Darren's doctor yet nor had Leonie and the rest of the group shown up. I was growing very tempted to start beating my head against the wall in frustration--a reaction that would have been unusual coming from me. Before I could attempt to dent the wall, however, the same balding, bearded, elderly man who met us at the doors began approaching my chair. Darren's doctor, I presumed.

"Are you the one who came in with Darren Hayes?" he asked me. At my nod he continued. "Good. Well then, I'm Dr. Ron Kessler and you are?"

"Jones�" I answered. "Daniel Jones�How's Darren?"

"Yes, that's what I wanted to speak to you about," Dr. Kessler stated.

That answer--or rather non-answer--startled me more than just a little. "What's wrong?" I demanded. I would not have called my tone panicked, but others might.

"Nothing immediately life threatening, I assure you," he attempted to pacify me. "I just wanted to speak with you about Mr. Hayes's cerebral scan."

Again my worry was peaked, but I remained silent.

The doctor continued. "When he was brought in, his brain was scanned to check for any dangerous swelling that might have been occurring due to the nature of his injury. We didn't find any swelling, but I believe we may have detected something�unexpected."

That was reassuring. Really�

"If you would please, Mr Jones, join me in my office?"

Wordlessly, I followed. We walked a ways down the hall and entered his small, boring, white-walled office. He moved for me to take a seat and reluctantly I did so. "Well," I prompted, wanting him to get on with his explanation.

He did so. "Physically, Mr. Hayes did little more to himself than bruise his back, dislocate his shoulder, and receive a concussion. He has yet to regain consciousness, but that isn't really unusual in light of these circumstances and he is expected to awaken at any time now."

So what was the big deal?

"That doesn't sound too bad," I stated slowly, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "So what did you find that was so unusual?"

Nodding to himself, Dr. Kessler took a dark plastic sheet off of his desk then stood to walk over to a white-lighted box on the wall. He clipped the sheet to the box and gestured for me to take a look. What I saw was a mess of black and white and gray--the inside of Darren's head. With a pen, the doc directed my attention to a large black area shadowing the x-ray just behind Darren's eyes. Monotonously, the doctor explained to me what I was seeing and I sat there the entire time irreverently thinking that this seemed to come straight out of an old ER re-run that I had caught earlier in the tour. I wanted more than anything for him to come to the point.

"�it's this portion of his brain that has me concerned," Dr. Kessler went on, drawing my attention away from my not-so-kind thoughts and back to the screen. "There seems to be some kind of growth in the frontal lobe."

"A growth?" I repeated, my mouth suddenly dry and my tongue feeling rather like sandpaper. "Like a tumor or something?"

The doctor hesitated. "Something like that�However, I don't feel that it is malignant. We won't know for certain until we operate, but I would venture a guess that this growth is what caused your friend's blindness."

I was dumbfounded. //Weird growth�Darren hurt�Operate?!?//

"How did this growth make Darren blind?"

Again the screen was pointed to. "Because of the way the growth has rapidly multiplied in size, it created pressure on the optical nerves. As the growth got larger, the pressure increased and so did Mr. Hayes's symptoms; the headaches, dizziness, and vision impairment."

I was silent for a long time before I finally spoke again. The doctor waited quietly as my mind processed all that I had just been told. Finally, I found my voice again and asked, "So, once you operate Darren should be fine�"

Again there was hesitation before I got a reply. "Let's just take this one thing at a time, Mr. Jones."

My eyes narrowed; that didn't tell me a damned thing, but instead of calling the doc on his ability to avoid a topic, I asked for something more important. "Can I see him?"

Dr. Kessler nodded. "He's been situated comfortably."

The doc told me where Darren was, and I didn't waste any more words. Instead, I gave him a nod of acknowledgment then hurried to leave his office. I made my way back the way we came then continued on to the end of the hall. Darren's room was the last one on the left. Carefully and quietly, I eased the door open and was surprised to see Darren awake, sitting up in bed, looking like he was waiting patiently for something. As quiet as I'd tried to be, Darren heard the door anyway, and turned in an attempt to face the sound.

"Nurse?" he called out, softly.

"No, love," I replied, voice lower than usual. "It's me."

"Danny!" a smile lit his face for an instant, only to be quickly overshadowed by a grimace. He pulled a hand up to rub gently at his temple. Before I realized it, I was sitting on the bed beside him.

"Flirting with the nurses already?" I joked lightly, then took Darren's hand in my own, bringing it to my lips for a moment, relieved that he seemed to be, for the most part, okay. "How're you feeling?"

His other hand searched out, seeking my face. I guided his hand to my cheek and leaned my face into his palm. "I'm feeling fine, " he assured me. "I'm so sorry for scaring you. I should have listened�"

I sighed. "That's water under the bridge�You worried a lot of people tonight. How badly are you hurt?"

His beautiful eyes, though vacant, narrowed in thought. "Not badly. My shoulder and back are a bit sore and my head really hurts, but I'm okay."

"And your vision?"

"Completely black�" he replied with a despondent huff. "The doctor is supposed to come and see me soon; hopefully he'll have some good news."

My throat felt tight. "Hopefully," I forced out. He picked up on the catch in my voice and his brow furrowed.

"Jonesy," he began. "What's wrong?"

Oh Christ, I really didn't want to tell him. "Nothing Daz," I returned. "I just talked to your doctor earlier, is all."

His frown increased. "And�" he prompted.

"And he may have some news for you," was all that I told him. I wouldn't elaborate anymore; I couldn't. I knew that my silence wouldn't do much to help his fears any.

"What kind of news, do you think?" he whispered.

I kissed his hand once more then pulled him to me to lightly brush my mouth over his. "Just news," I breathed against his parted lips. He let out an annoyed little puff of air, which I felt ghost across my face. I took this as a sign to cut off all further inquiry and kissed him again. He melted against me, all protest gone from his body. I smirked.

Shifting, I moved to sit fully on the bed and to carefully pull Darren into my arms, against my chest, in a position that was quickly becoming familiar to both of us. Mindful of the IV in his arm (--and doesn't it seem that no matter that you're in a hospital for, they always pop an IV into you?--) Darren snuggled into my embrace.

"So where is the rest of the clan?" he asked me.

I shrugged, letting him feel the movement. "Dunno. I wasn't all that concerned with them at the time. Leonie said that they'd get here soon, but that was over an hour ago." Darren nodded against my chest and I couldn�t help but stroke my hands over his face. His lips curved into a smile at my touch. I smiled, too, but the smile faded while I continued to gaze intently at him. Suddenly I was overcome by an intense feeling of despair as I looked deeply into his unseeing eyes. Those blue eyes were still so beautiful, but so blank, expressionless, glasslike. Knowing that he was looking right at me and not seeing me, I clutched his body closer to mine, startled to find a tear coursing silently down my face.

Darren seemed to know what I was thinking because he moved slightly in my arms and brought a hand up to wipe away the moisture from my cheek. I ducked my head, a little embarrassed that he had caught me crying.

"Don't," he began, letting his fingers dance across my face. "Don't cry over this Jonesy; don't cry over me."

I laughed at that, the sound catching on a sob in my throat. Breathing in shakily, I replied. "It's either laugh or cry Daz," I stated, using his words to me from earlier. "And I can find nothing funny in this."

He stroked his fingers over my face to rest on my lips. A second later his lips followed his fingers and met mine in a kiss. That one kiss turned into several and I held him tighter against me, letting a wave of emotion wash over me like the tide crashing against the shores of a beach. I wasn't used to feeling all that I was; emotions seemed to be spinning out of control. I felt a sense of completion, yet pain, sadness, anger, awe, despair, happiness, worry, and an overwhelming surge of love. Each feeling fought for dominance in my mind and body and I clutched Darren closer, kissed him harder, and poured all of the excess emotion into that kiss.

It wasn't overly sexual; it wasn't lust; it wasn't me wanting to ravish him (well, that's not quite true�I did--just not right then!). I tore my lips away to hungrily gasp air into my starving lungs. With a smirk, I noticed that Darren was out of breath as well.

"Wow�" he gasped. "That was�Wow�" He smiled then, his breathing still heavy, and pulled me back to him. We kissed again, this one more gentle and tender than the last one, but no less involved. So involved, in fact, that neither of us noticed when the door to the room opened. We did notice, however, several gasps of surprise and a very familiar,

"Oh. Holy. Mother. Of. GOD!"

Darren and I jerked apart, startled. We both groaned simultaneously and I felt the heat rushing to my face, turning it several shades of scarlet. I ducked my head and refused to look at whom I knew would be standing, open-mouthed, in the doorway.

Sighing, Darren leaned back and closed his eyes. "Hello to you, too, Ben," he muttered. Forcing myself to look over, I saw, as expected, the entire troupe standing half in and half out of the room.

"Yeah. Hi. Whatever�" Ben replied. "I was going to ask you if you're okay, but clearly from what I just saw, you're doing just fine!"

We blushed which elicited a cackle from our torturer. Angie smacked Ben. "Oh, hush! Don't embarrass them anymore; let them alone."

"But I knew it! I knew that they were together and hiding it!" Ben caroled happily.

"Yeah, Benny-boy, you're a genius. We admit it. Now *shut* up!" was Karl's wise retort.

"Both of you be quiet," Leonie cut in as she, Angie, and Elisa pushed past the other three men to get to the bed. "Darren, hun, how are you feeling?"

Darren shifted in my arms, inconspicuously inching closer to me for contact and comfort. "Ummm�" he started, turning and facing the sound of Leonie's voice. "I'm okay�I guess."

Leonie closed in further. "Are you sure?"

Darren flinched and squirmed at the sudden feeling of his personal space bubble being invaded. No one else noticed, but I did. I glanced at the others settling comfortably in the room, on the other empty bed and in a couple of chairs, then wrapped my arms around Darren's body, drawing him nearer to me. I could feel the tension in his body slowly begin to drain away, slightly.

"Yes," he assured her. "I'm a little sore and I'm going to be feeling it for awhile, but basically I'm okay."

//And fucking blind, Daz. You're leaving that one out.//

"You gave us all quite a scare," Elisa spoke up quietly.

"I know. I did a good job of scaring myself, too."

Angie and Leonie stepped closer to get a better look at Darren. "How's your head?" Angie asked as she reached out to lightly brush the hair away from Darren's forehead.

I felt his body stiffen again, his back and shoulders tensed and he pressed himself against me. I moved to rub my hand over his back in soothing circles. "It's fine�" he replied at length.

"And you're sure?" Leonie pressed, stepping forward to grip Darren's chin lightly and tilt his head upwards. Darren flinched and jerked away from her. I tightened my grip on him. "Darren?" Leonie's worried expression deepened and she looked to me in askance. "Darren, what's wrong?"

"You just surprised me, that's all," he answered in a strained voice. My hand continued its gentle rubbing over the small of his back. Leonie's worried frown increased, as did the concerned expressions of the others in the room.

"I'm sorry," she stated slowly, looking at him intently. Her worried look slowly became an appraising one. "So, you're positive that your head is okay; that you don't have a concussion? Because your eyes aren't focusing right�What did your doctor say?"

Again Darren tensed. "Ah�" he hedged. "I haven't talked to my doctor yet; just a nurse."

Leonie frowned again, this time in irritation, and turned on her heel to head out of the room--presumably to find Darren's poor, unsuspecting doctor and give him an earful.

"Uh-oh," Karl remarked. "She's pissed."

"You think?" retorted Lee, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, Daz, I sure hope your Doc has life insurance!" Be said with a laugh. "'Cause he's gonna need it."

Darren shook his head, closed his eyes, and sank limply back against my chest. I re-wrapped both arms around him. "You okay?" I whispered quietly in his ear. He nodded slightly. "Tired?"

"Yeah," he muttered.

"Want to lie down?" In answer he relaxed further into my embrace.

"No," was his sleepy reply. "M'fine right here."

I smiled slightly, tucking his head under my chin, and pressed a gentle kiss into his hair.

"That is really strange�" Ben deadpanned.

I glanced over at him to see all of the others in the room looking intently at Darren and me, then staring back at Ben. I merely raised an eyebrow in inquiry, almost silently challenging him.

Ben flushed slightly under the weight of the stares, but apparently decided to brazen it out. "You two. Openly lovey," he explained. "It's just weird to see it, is all�"

"It's not weird," Elisa argued, "I think its cute! They're perfect for each other."

"I didn't say they weren't!" Ben retorted. "I merely stated that it was damn strange to see 'em kiss!"

The others wisely stayed silent during this exchange. I shrugged dismissively as Darren stirred and sleepily muttered, "So?"

"Shh," I hushed him. "Ignore them; go ahead and sleep."

"Kay."

I tried to move away so that I could lay Darren down on the bed. He clutched onto me and made a sleepy noise of protest. I immediately stilled and let him resettle against me. I didn�t try to move again.

This time, it was Karl who had something to say. "He has you so whipped!" He laughed at me with a smile. Lee and Ben joined in with him.

I just shrugged again, careful not to disturb the man sleeping in my arms. What they had said might have been true, but I'd never admit it. To them, anyway�

//Why shouldn't I be whipped?// my mind whispered. //He's more than worth it�// But part of me was also worried. Darren had always been important to be, but in the past few hours he had moved into being the center of my world. I always knew that he was my other half, my soul mate as he would say; the music we made together was testimony to that.

And now the other half of my soul was hurting. He was hurting and scared and that made me worried. And scared. And hurting for him. I stared down at him, sleeping comfortably in my arms, and wanted nothing more than to keep him there and never let him go. At least in my arms, he was safe.

He looked so fragile, so innocent. His dark hair felt soft under my chin, and framed his face making him seem more pale than usual. His skin was so pure, so white, it looked like perfect marble; the illusion marred only by the nasty gash hidden partially by his hair. His closed eyelids hid the cloudy blue eyes away from the scrutiny of others and his full lips were curved upwards in a small smile.

I closed my eyes and tightened my hold, suddenly, unexplainably glad to have him and needing him closer. I could have stayed that way for hours. Forever. It would have been a good forever�

But, as usual, forever was cut short when Leonie stalked back into the room with Darren's doctor following behind. He stopped short when he saw Darren and me, then slowly smiled and carried on his way. "Well, Mr. Jones," he started with laughter in his voice. "It seems the patient is doing better than the last time he was looked in on."

I smiled slightly and gave him a nod as reply. He turned serious then and continued, "Have you told him the findings?"

"No," I replied. "I figured that you'd know how to say it better than I would. So, I decided to leave it to you."

The others watched our exchange, slightly confused. Doctor Kessler tilted his head in acknowledgment. "Would you wake him?" he asked me. "It would be better for him for you to do so because he knows your voice. I need to see if he is in any additional pain to know whether to change the IV or remove it altogether." He paused then glanced around the room before he went on. "Then we'll see about giving you an update on his condition�"

The last part was said with an uneasy glance in Leonie's direction. I had to hide a smile.

"Darren," I whispered, turning to my assigned task. "Dazza, wake up love." I shook him gently. He stirred only a little.

"Hmmmh?" he mumbled, still mostly asleep. Then a more awake, "Huh? Wha--?"

"Darren," I repeated. "Your doctor is here and he wants to talk to you."

That woke him up. He sat up straight, almost hitting me in the chin in his haste. "Oh," was his now-alert reply.

"Mr. Hayes," Doc Kessler began, walking over to the bedside without giving the two of us entwined there a second glance. Darren tried to extract himself from my embrace, but the doctor stopped him. "No, no�It's alright for you to remain right where you are. You'll probably feel safer that way. Now, Mr. Hayes, I have some news for you, but first I want to give you a quick once-over. Okay?"

Darren exhaled slowly. "Sure�" he said after a slight hesitation. My hand automatically found the small of his back again and rubbed once more.

The doctor continued. "First off, are you currently experiencing any more or any new pains?"

"Not really. Not any worse than usual."

"How's the head feeling?"

"Umm�okay I guess."

"Good�good." Dr. Kessler closed the final distance and stood directly in front of Darren. The other group members looked on in curiosity. "Okay, now, Mr. Hayes I'm going to take ahold of your chin and tilt your head up slowly. Alright?"

Darren smiled slightly in relief. "Yeah."

Dr. Kessler moved to do so when Lee spoke up. "Why are you telling him all of that?" he asked, his face writ in confusion.

The good-doctor looked puzzled, but answered anyway. "So that I will not startle him."

Their confusion deepened. "Yeah, but must you state the obvious?" demanded Ben. "I mean, he can just see that while you're doing it�"

Darren flinched at that and inwardly I grimaced. Doc Kessler turned an unbelieving look on me and stated flatly, "They don't know."

I shook my head while Darren just gritted his teeth. The doctor sighed.

"What don't we now?" Leonie asked, a nervous edge in her voice.

I exchanged a semi-helpless look with the doctor; there was no easy way to explain this. I opened my mouth, not sure exactly what was going to come out, and found myself interrupted by Darren sighing explosively.

"Daz?" I questioned, glancing down at him.

"Hush, Danny�" he breathed out, his voice sounding utterly tired and defeated. "I'll tell them myself."

"Tell us what, Darren?" Angie prodded gently.

He took a deep breath to steel himself, his body going completely rigid once more. "There is no easy way to say this�" he began, mirroring my thoughts exactly.

"No hedging," Karl stated. "C'mon Daz, out with it."

The tenseness didn't fade from his body even with my massage and he still couldn't put the words together to form an answer. I gave him a slight nudge and the words suddenly exploded from his mouth like they were fired from a gun. "I've gone blind!"

The reaction was very much as expected. A volatile "WHAT?" from Ben and looks ranging from shock to fear to horror on the faces of Lee, Karl, and Leonie. Angie stood openmouthed, looking wide-eyed at Darren and Elisa visibly paled and remained silent. Darren repeated the words again slowly. Deliberately.

"I'm blind."

"Wha--? How?" demanded Leonie, one hand going up to her mouth as she tried to physically contain her shock.

"The fall?" Lee guessed, looking at me and the doctor in askance.

It was Darren who answered though. "No," he stated. "No, I was blind before then. I'd been going blind for months, but the lights went out completely earlier today."

A second wave of shock washed over them. I felt strangely apart from it all, like I was only watching some dramatic play being acted out in front of me. Mouths were gaping, frowns deepened, and heads shook in disbelief. Darren sat silently, also seeming to separate himself from those around him.

"How in the *hell* did we not notice?!?" Ben exploded. "This has been going on for months and we didn't have a fucking clue!"

"I didn't want you to know," Darren stated simply. "So, I kept it hidden."

Elisa looked to me, questions in her eyes. "How long have you known, Danny?"

I bit my bottom lip before replying. "I'd been suspicious about it for awhile," I admitted slowly. "But I only found out for certain today."

"You and Darren have been together for who-knows-HOW-long and you only found out today?" Ben exclaimed, turning on me.

"Actually," Darren began. "*That* just happened today, too."

Eyes wide, Ben snorted in frustration. "Busy day�" he muttered.

"To say the least," I agreed with a sardonic smile.

"What's wrong with your eyes, Darren?" Leonie asked gently.

"No one knows, Leo," he answered automatically. "I've gone to several people about the problem, but no one knows."

"That's not exactly accurate," Dr. Kessler spoke up. All eyes turned to him--even unseeing ones. I didn't bother to look; I knew what was coming. "While you were unconscious, Mr. Hayes, we took what was basically an x-ray of your brain to check for any signs of swelling due to the nature of your injuries. While we didn't find any swelling, I noticed something of concern." The doctor paused to see how his listeners were taking the news. "When magnified, a dark area was found in the front part of your brain�" Dr. Kessler slowly reached out and ran his hand over Darren's forehead. "Right about in here."

Darren jumped slightly at the contact, but quickly settled back. He cleared his throat nervously. "So what exactly does that mean?" he asked, his voice small. "Do I have cancer? Will it kill me?"

"What this means," the Doc stated. "Is that you have a rather sizable mass of tissue growing on your brain. This is what was causing your vision problems. As I discussed earlier with Mr. Jones, I don't feel that the growth is cancerous or potentially fatal at this stage, but that can only be clarified upon removal."

"Removal?" Lee repeated.

"Operate," Kessler explained. "We need to go in and surgically remove the mass of cells. Once done, the pressure behind your eyes should dissipate and then we can see about repairing the damage to the optic nerves."

"So the blindness is only temporary?"

"I can't be certain of that until we operate."

Darren swallowed hard. "When do you want to perform the surgery?" he asked.

"Though not immediately life threatening, it would be best to do it as soon as possible. A surgeon who specializes in such operations is available at the end of the week. Should you decide to go through with it, the procedure can be scheduled for eight days from now."

"'If I decide to go through with it'?" Darren repeated in confusion.

"Yes. Ultimately, the choice is up to you. The surgery cannot be forced upon you, but I highly recommend that you go through with it."

Darren nodded absently, his hand seeking out the comfort of mine. I clasped his hand and entertwined our fingers. "Do I have do decide now?"

"No," Dr. Kessler answered. "Not right away. I wish to discuss the risks and the procedure with you before you make a decision. However, it is late now--past visiting hours in all honesty-- and you've undergone a quite a bit today already. We want to keep you here overnight, for observation and testing purposes, so I advise that you sleep on it tonight and we'll talk tomorrow." He looked up at the rest of us. "I'm sure you all have questions, but they'll have to wait until morning." His gaze moved to me. "One of you may stay with Mr. Hayes tonight, if wished, and for the rest of you, visiting hours begin at eight-thirty."

"I guess we're being dismissed," Ben quipped. He got up and moved to stand in front of Darren. I loosened my hold and backed away slightly to give them room, knowing what was coming. "Daz," Ben warned. "I'm just lettin' ya know that I'm about to hug you. *Hard*."

Darren laughed as Ben pulled him into a bear hug. When they pulled apart Ben stood still for a moment starring into Darren's eyes before slowly shaking his head and whispering, "I'm sorry."

Darren's brow furrowed in confusion. "Whatever for?"

"Not knowing," Ben answered gruffly, "For *me* being blind as well."

That comment choked some people up. Darren reached out and Ben hugged him again. "Don't be," Darren told him. "Don't feel sorry for it or me; don't even think about it."

Ben didn't reply; he only hugged Darren tighter for a moment longer then moved aside to let someone else take his place. One by one each of the others hugged Darren and exchanged good-byes and promises to return early the next morning. The others didn't even question who would be staying the night, they already knew.

I extracted myself from Darren and the bed leaving him with Dr. Kessler, and followed the crew out into the hallway. Somber looks and heavy silence hung over everyone. As I closed the door, finally Leonie spoke. "God," she breathed. "Poor Darren."

"Yeah," Karl agreed. "Why in hell didn't he tell us?"

I spoke up quietly. "He didn't want you to know. He was trying to be strong; he just didn't want us to worry."

"But you knew," Angie stated. "You saw it while we remained oblivious."

A slight smile crossed my features. "I'm in love with him," I told her softly. "So, its amazing what I notice about him�"

She returned my smile, full-force. "You two are so good for each other," was her only comment.

The knowing smiles on the others' faces showed their agreement to that fact. I hung my head, slightly embarrassed at their attention.

"We're going to go now," Elisa told me. "Will you be okay here?"

I looked up at her and nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine; we both will."

She gave me a half-smile and a small wave, then turned to go. Karl, Lee, and Angie waved as well and followed her down the corridor to the elevators. Only Leonie and Ben remained.

"We'll be back early tomorrow morning," Leonie assured me. "Don't worry about anything else tonight; just take care of Darren and try and get some sleep. You look absolutely bushed�I suppose worrying does terrible things to your psyche."

I managed a weak smile at that, too tired to try and find any humor in it. She pulled me into a hug and whispered, "It'll be alright; he'll be alright. He has you, so he'll be just fine."

"He will," Ben agreed, his eyes and expression looking more somber than I could ever remember seeing before that moment. "You'll both be okay. If you need anything tonight or tomorrow don't hesitate to call. 'Kay?"

Ben was being serious; the world was coming to an end.

Keeping all thoughts and comments of the like to myself, I hugged him briefly and agreed to call them if they were needed. Ben seemed almost relieved, and the sadness in his eyes retreated a little. I bade them both a quiet goodbye then turned to compose myself before re-entering Darren's room. Glancing back at the room I saw the door open and that the doctor and Darren's IV were both gone. Darren was alone.

I paused in the doorway to simply watch him. He was sitting up in the partially inclined bed, perfectly still, eyes staring uselessly at the wall in front of him. Without moving from his position, I saw one of his full lips quirk upwards in amusement.

"You coming in?" he asked me, still not having moved. "Or are you just going to stand there and breathe the rest of the night?"

I was startled at the sound of is voice because I hadn�t known that *he* knew I was there. "How'd ya know?" I asked as I walked into the room.

He turned towards me and grinned cheekily, "By the sound of your breathing!" was his reply.

I had to smile at that; sometimes he was just too much.

"Are you staying the night?"

//Did he have to ask?// "Of course, Darren," I told him. "Where else would I be?"

"Thanks�" Darren whispered, almost embarrassed. Then, "Wanna sit?" he offered, rubbing his hand over the spot on the bed beside him.

I nodded, though the gesture was lost on him, and replied, "Yeah," before moving over and sitting beside him. I had to resist the urge to automatically take him into my arms. As much as I wanted to, I wasn't sure what he wanted or needed right then.

"So you knew before, about the surgery?" His voice was flat, but underlain with�something�I couldn't quite tell what.

I gulped, taking a breath before stating simply, "Yeah. I did."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

//Shit.// Closing my eyes I counted silently to myself while trying to formulate an answer. "Just couldn't."

He nodded once to himself, apparently accepting my non-answer, then winced, bringing a hand up to absently rub at his head. His fingers came in contact and brushed over the stitched up cut, causing him to jump in startlement. He sat there, a puzzled expression sliding over his face, as he let his fingers trace over the spidery-looking black thread. He looked so lost for a moment, so alone, that I almost felt as if I wasn�t even sitting there.

"Darren," I asked softly. "How are you feeling?"

His glassy, doll-like eyes turned to me, staring past me. It was eerie. "Honestly?"

That surprised me. "Yes, of course."

"My head hurts," he began shakily. Then paused before hesitantly continuing. "And I don't like this darkness. I feel so� detached. Like nothing's real, nothing exists. Like there is a wall separating me from everything else. I need�" he trailed off, uncertain.

"What Darren?" I prompted. "What do you need?"

He clenched his hands together, wringing them in frustration. "I need to see you!" he burst out finally.

I cringed. "Uh, Dazza�" I didn't know what to say to that. There *wasn't* anything that I could say to that.

"No," Darren interjected. "With my hands, Daniel. I want to see you with my hands. I need to touch you, to feel connected. I need to know that you're real."

With a breath catching in my throat I gathered him into my arms. "I'm real," I assured him. "Believe me, love, I'm real."

He extended a shaky hand gently stoked his fingers over my face. I closed my eyes as he traced over each lid, then softly grazed my cheeks, which seemed to burn under his slightly cold hands. He moved on and rubbed his index finger over my parted lips then trailed his hands down over my neck and then over my shoulders. Finally, he wrapped his arms around my back and pulled me close to him, burying his face in my chest and breathing in deeply.

I held him tightly, a rubbed a hand over his back, up to his neck to clasp him gently. "Better?" I whispered.

"Yeah�" he snuggled closer. "What should I do, Danny?"

It took me a moment to figure out what he was talking about. "About the surgery?" He nodded against my chest. "I really don't know." I told him softly. "But you shouldn't think about it now--remember what your doctor said? We'll think about it in the morning," Trailing off with a yawn, I moved to glance at my watch; it was well past midnight. "Scratch that, " I amended, returning my hand back where it had been. "�It's already morning. We'll talk about it when we wake up. Okay?"

"Kay�" Darren said through a yawn.

"Is Doctor Kessler coming back?" I asked as I disentangled myself from Darren and moved to help him lay down.

"No," he answered. "He's got to finish making his rounds and then he's through for the night. He did tell me while he took out the IV that a night nurse will come around a couple of times and to not get alarmed at that. He also said that you were welcome to use the other bed in here," Darren paused for a moment. "But you aren�t going to use it, are you?" he finished quietly.

"Nope," was my reply. "But I am going to need to let go of you for a sec, though. Alright?"

"That's fine."

I walked over to the other empty bed, having no intention of using it to sleep. Quietly I removed my shirt and smoothed it out over the bed so it would be semi-presentable when I was forced to put it on again in the morning. I stood and silently debated with myself about whether or not to remove the pants. Finally after a while of deliberation I decided to leave them on--after all being in the same small bed with Darren while wearing only boxers didn't sound like such a great idea. Then I went over to close the door and turn off the main lights, leaving only the dim blue-ish lighting on above the hospital beds.

Then I turned and approached Darren's bed once more. He heard me coming and tilted his head towards the sound, listening to my soft footfalls on the tile floor. I stopped at the bed's edge. "Think we'll both fit?" Darren asked, a grin both on his face and in his voice.

"It'll be a squeeze," I replied. "But I think we'll manage."

With that I climbed in beside him, then pulled him so that he was half-laying on my body with his head resting on my bare chest. I wrapped my arms around him and we seemed to interlock together perfectly. It was a tight fit, but neither of us was complaining.

"Night Jonesy," Darren whispered, his warm breath tickling across my skin. "Thank you for staying�"

"No need to thank me for that; there is no where else in the world I'd rather be." I assured him, before placing a quick kiss into his hair. "Now go to sleep, love. And don't worry about anything. We'll get it all sorted in the morning."

Darren laughed a bit, tiredly. "You said it was already morning," he reminded me.

"Smart ass," I growled in return, with no real fire in it. "Go to sleep ya' fool."

He gave one last sleepy chuckle then quieted down. After a few moments, I noticed his breathing become a deep and regular pattern. He was out like a light.

I lay there silently for awhile in the dim lighting just watching him sleep and listening to him breathe. After a time, I too, closed my eyes and felt myself drifting off to sleep, to join Darren in the darkness--if only for a little while.