Chapter One
Awakening's

	Daniel was drowning in a pool of black water. Voices mixed and swirled in his head. It wasn't painful, but he felt himself being pulled farther and farther under. His late father's voice kept telling him to wake up, go home. He saw his daughter reaching for him, calling his name. He though he could hear his wife's voice telling him to just sleep, let go. He screamed over and over again for the voices to help him. He though he saw demon's attacking him from all sides, pulling him deeper into the cold, numbing water. Lights were flashing around his head. Voices, this time from strangers, telling him to wake up. Pain in his face and neck, from all over his bady. The pain struck his face again. He realized he wasn't drowning, there was no water. He opened his eyes. The light from the room blinded him, blurry and bright. He felt a pain in his face, the source too dark and blurry against the bright lights.
	"Mr Leblanc, wake up!" The voice said, then slapped him on the face. "You need to wake up!" Dr. Peters tapped Daniel on the face, then struck a bit harder. He was worried that Daniel would stay in this coma. He slapped agian. "Wake up Mr Leblanc,  you have to wake up!" He reached down and pinched Daniel's neck, a bit above the chest cast he was wearing. "Mr Leblanc, if you don't wake up your going to die!" He knew that wasn't too far from the truth and cringed at the thought.He had to wake him up. 	
	"Stop that shit." Daniel was able to mutter, barely a whisper. His mouth felt very dry, and he could taste blood. "I'm awake, quick hitting me damnit." He tried to raise his arms to bat the doctor's hands away, but coudn't lift them off the matress. "I can't move!" Daniel tried to scream, it came out a harsh, rasping cough.
	"Daniel, you've been in an accident." Dr. Peters placed his hand on Daniel's right shoulder. The left one was covered by the chest cast. "You've been in a coma for a long time. I had to hit you to wake you up. How do you feel?"
	"Like shit." Daniel said. "I hurt all over." His eyesight was starting to clear. and he was able to move his right hand. "What happened? He lifted his hand to his face. He felt a tube that exited his nose. "How bad is it?"
	Dr. Peters turned and poured a glass of water out of the pitcher and placed a crooked straw in it. While he had his back to Daniel, he sighed. "It's pretty bad Daniel." He turned around and offered the water to him, holding it steady while he drank. "We lost you several times." Daniel drank the warm stale water like it was Dom Peringon champagne. He spit out a bit when the doctor said what he said.
	"Well, I'm glad you found me." Daniel laughed, then moaned. "Ouch, shit that hurt."
	Dr Peters laughed too. "I'm glad to see you still have a sense of humor." He stopped smiling. "Daniel, I need to tell you something." He groped deep for the next words. "When you crashed, your seatbelt snapped. You went flying through the windshield of your truck." He took a deep breath. "You were thrown into the embankment, most of your bones were crushed. Both legs, pelvis, half your ribs. Your left arm was shattered, with massive nerve damage.." He pointed to each part of Daniel's body as he talked. "You also had multiple skull fractures."
	Daniel's eyes widened as the doctor talked. "Damn." he moaned. "No wonder I feel like I've been run over by my own truck. "So, when will I be up and about?" The doctor turned his back again. Daniel thought he heard a sob escape the doctor's mouth. 
	"It's not easy to tell you this Daniel." Dr. Peters said with his back to him. "Your," He stopped and took a deep breath. He turned to face him. Daniel could see a tear running down the doctor's cheek. "Your spine was crushed, your sacrum, and your lumbar spine, L3, L4 and L5." He took a deep breath. Now for the hard part. "Daniel,
we had to fuse your lower spine. Your spinal cord was very heavily damaged, severed in 5 places." Daniel's eye's widened all the way. Before he could say anything, the doctor said quickly. "Daniel, you may be paralized from the chest down. I'm going to run some test's to see how much feeling and movement you have." Dr. Peters looked down at his feet. "But, I believe the damage is perminent. You were in a coma for over eighteen weeks. You should be having some feeling returning by now."
	Daniel was crying. The doctor reached in the top drawer and handed him a tissue. "Doctor, I can't be paralized. How can I drive a truck?"
	"Let's do these test's first, ok?" The doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a darning needle. He poked the ball of Daniel's left foot, right above the cast. "Do you feel that?" He said a silent prayer.
	"No." Daniel whispered. He started crying harder, the tears streaming down his cheeks. "I can't even move my toes!" 
	"Daniel, please." He poked his other foot, but got the same response. Dr. Peters patted his shoulder. He didn't know what to say. This case was really hitting him hard. He thought about Daniel's wife with a bit of anger. He shook his head to clear the angry feelings. A little over four months, he was her husband damnit. He turned to put his pen back in his coat pocket. "Look Daniel" He turned to face him. "I know that this is really bad news, and you have a very long road ahead. But, we are here to help you." He smiled. Daniel smiled back through his tears.
	"I bet I have enough metal in my body to set off the detectors at the airport." He laughed and sobed at the same time. "Doctor, can you call my wife and tell her I'm awake?" Dr. Peters frowned, and turned away, heading toward the door. 
	"I will, but later." He didn't want Daniel to see the look on his face. He stepped outside, then came back in with a syringe. "Right now, you need to rest."
	"I was asleep for four months, how much more sleep do I need doc?" Daniel laughed. "But, I am hurting pretty bad, will that help?"
	Dr Peters lifted Daniel's IV tube and pushed the needle into a junction of the plastic. Daniel felt his right arm get very warm, then felt himself sinking into sleep. "Yes, it will Daniel." The doctor patted his shoulder. "You rest, we're going to take the cast's off in another week or so. You've got some work to do to build your arms up."
	"Ok doc." Daniel's whispered. "Please call Sandy. I'll bet she'll be happy I'm awake." His eyes closed, and he muttered something else. "Tell my daughter that daddy loves her." He started snoring. Dr Peters left the room and headed down the hall. Nurse Renolds met him at the nurses station. 
	"What's wrong Tim?" She asked him after he thumped the counter with his fist. "You look like you accidentally shot your favorate hunting dog. She sipped her coffee. He put his head in his hands.
	"It's the LeBlanc case. I feel so sorry for him." He ran his hand through his grey hair. "And, he wants to see his wife."  He got angry again. "He dosn't know about her decision last month. And, I don't know if he should. I'm just glad he woke up when he did. The judge was suppose to make his final decision in two days. His brother Alex has been fighting tooth and nail to keep him on life support. He never gave up hope."
	"He needs to know about it Tim." She told him. "You can't keep his hopes up that his marrage with work out. She came in again yesterday with that friend of her's." She spit the last three words out. "I can't believe it, her husband in a coma for four months and she's playing hankie pankie with another man, bringing him to the goddamn hospital none the less."
	"Look Betty, he's not to know for now, ok?" Dr Peters looked her straight in the eye. "I want him as strong as he can be in the next few weeks." She nodded. "If he knew about all of these goings on, he'd lose the will to live" He poured a cup of coffee out of the pitcher, and sipped. "I need him to want to live, to get out of this hospital and go on with his life." He turned and started walking toward the elevators. "I'll be back tonight to check on him again on my rounds." 
	"Ok Tim, try to get some rest." But she knew he wouldn't. Once Doctor Tim Peters starts a case, he dosn't rest till it's finished. 
	"I'll try." He said as he walked into the elevator and turned. "No rest for the weary." He chuckled as the elevator doors closed.