| Brian paced in the waiting room. Hospitals, God how he hated them. Images of being five again and spending all those weeks confined came flooding back. He was alone, and even though the initial reports were good, he was still worried. The car never hit her but the wet pavement had caused her to slip and she hit her head on the bumper of the car as it came to a screeching halt inches from her. She had a concussion and was unconscious. Her leg suffered a severe sprain and there were some bruises and contusions. But the doctor said she was very lucky. The driver of the car had not been charged and had even checked on Shelby�s condition at the hospital before going home for the night. He felt like he had been there for hours. The coffee had turned cold and the magazines were months old. He was about ready to check with the nurses when the doctor came into the waiting room. "Brian, good to see you." The man shook hands with him. "You know Miss O�Connor?" "Good to see you too, Dr. Turner. And yes I know Shelby. Is she going to be okay?" They both moved into the room and sat down across from each other. "Yes. She has a concussion from the hit to the head and she is still unconscious, but I don�t expect any real danger from that. She should wake in a few hours I believe. We will watch her closely. Her other injuries are fairly minor. So depending on her waking, she may only be here a day or so." The doctor saw the relief in Brian�s expression. "Can I see her?" Brian was anxious to see for himself that she was all right. "Just for a few minutes. Come I�ll take you down there." They went down the hall and Brian entered Shelby�s room. Her head was bandaged and her leg was wrapped as well. There was a bruise on her cheek and her arms were scraped from her fall. Her lashes lay on her pale cheeks and her breath was even as she slept. Brian pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed taking her hand in his. "Ah, Shel, look at you," he rubbed her hand with his. "Why did you run? I love you, and even though you want to think otherwise, I�m going to make you listen to me. Just give me a chance. Please." He sat and just stared at her. He wasn�t going anywhere until she woke up and he knew that she would be okay. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ She could see Brian�s face. He called to her and then nothing, but a pounding in her head. Shelby felt like she was in an abyss. She tried to reach the opening but would slip and find herself back down in the depths, darkness surrounding her. She felt pressure on her hand but couldn�t move her own. The hours moved slowly and still Shelby slept. Brian sat and waited. The nurse brought him more coffee until he felt he would jump out of his skin from all the caffeine. He told Shelby over and over that his feelings were real. He paced the room, his eyes never leaving her as she continued to sleep. As the night stretched on he began to worry and when the nurse checked her vitals Brian asked if there could be a problem. She assured him there was no change in her condition and that the doctor would check on her in the morning. When she left Brian returned to the chair next to the bed and took up his position again. But it wasn�t long before he gave up the fight and fell asleep with his head resting on the bed next to Shelby. And as the sun rose the next morning, he was still sleeping, his head against her body and his hand intertwined in hers. Shelby�s sleep had been filled with images of her fleeing from someone. She could never see their face as hard as she tried. It was shrouded in mist and even though it frightened her, she felt drawn to the presence. There was a comforting, tenderness about the person and she wanted very much to stop and let herself be drawn into them. As the dream ended again, she slowly opened her eyes to the early morning light. Her head throbbed and her body ached. She tried to move when she felt a heaviness next to her. Brian�s head rested against her hip and his hand held hers tightly. His unruly curls rested on his neck and Shelby could hear the soft sounds of his breath as he slept. As she tried to slip her hand from his he lifted his head, and a warm smile spread across his face as he looked into her eyes. "You�re awake." He slowly sat up, his hand still clutching hers as his wiped his eyes with the other. "Have you been here all night?" Shelby tried to sit up but a sharp pain in her temple caused her to lay her head back down on the thin pillow. "Don�t try to move, you�ve had a concussion. And yes, I�ve been here all night. I couldn�t leave until I knew you were okay." His thumb rubbed her hand and Shelby could feel her insides begin to churn at the sensation. Even with his rumpled appearance, he set her heart burning. "You didn�t need," Brian silenced her. "You are here because of me." She looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Yes," he told her as he sat softly on the bed. "I hurt you Shelby, and because of that you walked away last night." She lowered her eyes as she remembered their conversation from the night before. "But you have to believe me when I say I love you." Shelby shook her head, but the pain shot through her and she cried out. "I�ll be right back." Brian left and went to the nurses station. Dr. Turner was called and confirmed what he had told Brian last night. Shelby would be fine. The headaches would continue for a while and he gave her something for the pain. He advised she stay one more day in the hospital, even though she argued profusely that she would be fine. "Doctor, really, I�ll take care of myself. I don�t need to spend another night here. I�ll go home and stay in bed." Shelby pleaded. "I really don�t want you alone, especially with the concussion. Someone should be with you." "She could come home with me," Brian suggested and Shelby glared at him. Her eyes warning him not to get involved. "I have plenty of room and the spare room is made up and I would be there just in case." "Brian, I don�t want to inconvenience you." He came and took her hands, grinning at her, his eyes full of mischief. "It�s not an inconvenience. I want to do this." He looked at Dr. Turner. "So what do you say Doc?" "I think I can allow that, as long as you stay in bed at least another day, Shelby. Is that agreeable with you?" He gave her a sidelong glance as he started writing her discharge papers. "Looks like I don�t have any choice." She scowled at Brian and he just smiled at her. This wasn�t going to change anything, no matter how charming or solicitous he was. Within a couple of hours Elise arrived with an overnight bag for Shelby. When she entered the room, Shelby was alone. "Shelby, what happened?" Elise wanted to know, seeing Brian with the doctor in the hall and Shelby bandaged and bruised. "Nothing. Nothing. I don�t want to talk about it." "This is not nothing, Shelby. Look at you." Elise came and sat next to the bed. "Come on spill it." Shelby rolled her eyes and as she began to shake her head the pain returned. "I ran. He told me and I ran, and slipped in the street and this car almost hit me." "He told you? Told you what?" Elise had a feeling there was more between Shelby and Brian than just a past working arrangement. He had been almost frantic all these weeks as Shelby refused to return his calls or gone when he came by to see her. And now here she was in a hospital bed, because she was so stubborn. Couldn�t she see that the man was in love and Elise knew Shelby was too. The signs were all there. So why was she fighting him on this? If they loved each other, what was the problem? "It doesn�t make any difference." "Yes it does Shelby. Brian is in love with you and you are in love with him." At the sound of Elise�s words, tears fell on Shelby�s cheeks. "Was he here all night?" Shelby slowly nodded. "He�s going to look after you for a few days?" "Yes." She rubbed her forehead trying to ease the dull ache. "It�s just not that simple. So much has happened. There was someone else and�" "Is he still seeing her?" Elise handed her a tissue and Shelby wiped her eyes. "No, but," "No, buts, Shelby, he�s here right now and this is your chance." Elise came and sat on the edge of the bed and took Shelby�s hand. "You listen to me, girl. I may be younger than you, but you don�t throw this chance away." Shelby went to speak but Elise kept on. "You�ve been running too long, it�s time to face facts, Shelby. For whatever reason you never said anything and for years you have kept all your feelings inside." "How did you know?" Shelby now realized she hadn�t done a very good job of masking her feelings. "The signs were there Shelby. Besides the obvious, like not returning his calls, or being around when he came to visit, just the mention of his name or anything related to his charity and you changed. It was the little things, they kept piling up." "But how do I get passed," "The other woman?" Shelby nodded. "It�s over, so what does it matter." "Because he said he was in love with me all the time he was with her." Shelby swallowed and looked at Elise. "You didn�t see them together, Elise. It looked so real and I was so jealous." Even though it had been over a year ago, the images of Brian and Laurie were still vivid. "Okay. I see your point, but the fact still remains you love him and he has now acknowledged his feelings for you too. My advice is that you two need to talk. Really talk. Put everything on the table, even if it hurts, because only then will you be able to move forward." Elise stood and opened the overnight bag and began to remove Shelby�s clothes. At that moment Brian walked in the room. "Well, you�re free to go," he held up Shelby�s discharge papers. "So as soon as you are ready we can fly this coop." He smiled at Elise and then looked at Shelby. Elise watched as his eyes softened. Yup, the man was in love and the sooner they both worked everything out the better. "Come on Shelby, I�ll help you." Elise gathered up the clothes and took them in the bathroom and then came back and shooed Brian out so Shelby could get changed. |