dchsix

Mike opened his eyes slowly. Bright light flashed in his brain, the images around him remained out of focus. Words formed in his mind, was that his mother he heard? Whispers� �Speak up!� He wanted to shout. He knew the words, he could feel the sensation of yelling in frustration, but nothing was coming out, no words, he couldn�t move his mouth, he felt trapped inside, unable to let them know he was there� and then there was pain. Suddenly, sharply, he felt everything snap into focus; he saw the figures clearly now, standing around him, sitting in the room, holding his hand, he wanted to scream, to cry, to beg� anything that would make the pain go away. As if by magic another form appeared beside him, white, smiling, and he felt the needle push in and then the release� Demerol was a good thing� he slept.

Faith had been there that morning. She and Mona had pulled up to the hospital and sat in the car, amazed by the horde of reporters waiting to catch an image of the spectacle they had made of made of the life that sat in the car with them. She had wanted so badly to wrap her arms around him, make him invisible to the vultures that waited outside the door for him. It was frightening to see them try to bombard the little car with their cameras flashing. Then he had dropped a bomb of his own. A baby, gone, he had been devastated, Mona horrified, Faith had just been confused. Left out of the loop again� She�d thought he might have told her that there was someone else for Christ�s sake. Might have been nice to know she was just a momentary diversion in his busy life� She had sat there, stunned, when he had opened the door. Neither he, nor Mona had noticed, at least right away, that she had remained in the car, behind the wheel with her mouth open, starring straight ahead at where Michael had been sitting only minutes earlier. She watched as the mob of reporters swarmed in and surrounded her two friends� then she saw Mona hesitate and look back. That hesitation effectively separating her from Michael as he was dragged in by the swimming mass of humanity that grabbed, shouted, snapped their pictures� all in an attempt to capture the moment for posterity. Their version of it anyway� the truth may very well set you free� but it wouldn�t necessarily win you a Pulitzer. Hell, it wouldn�t even guarantee you a by-line. Then the door on the driver�s side of the car opened violently, a hand reached in and grabbed her shirt and pulled her out of the car. Once on her feet she looked at Mona and shook her head.

�You go� He needs you� I� � she sniffed a sob back into her throat. �I� I don�t belong here.�

�Ohhhh, poor you.� Sarcasm dripped from her voice, but Mona�s eyes had softened� she no longer looked upon this helpless child as a threat. Actually, truth be known, she had begun to like the young woman standing in front of her. �Did you really think it would be easy?� She looked into Faith�s eyes for some sign of response. Nothing. Well, except maybe a hint of self-pity� �Do you love him?� She waited, nothing. �DO YOU LOVE HIM, CHILD?� Now she was demanding to know, if she were to waste her time helping this woman struggle to gain a foothold in the craziness that surrounded her, she was damn well gonna make sure it was worth the effort first. �Well, do you?� Her voice was strong and emphatic, but her eyes were soft, searching for an answer, praying for the right one.

�Yes, but��

Finally, Mona breathed a sigh of relief and cut her off before she could say something Mona would regret.

�Yes. Is all that�s necessary.� She wrapped her arms around the girl and held her. �Everything else will fall into place� You�ll see.�

Faith looked up for the first time to see Mona smiling at her.

�I promise.�

Tears filled Faith�s eyes, amazed at the love and hope that her one-time enemy was now offering. Filled with sorrow because Mona wasn�t the one she needed to hear those words from.

Standing outside the car the two women looked in the direction of the hospital doors, surprised to see the throng of people dissipating, then horrified to see them begin to look their way. A police officer stood between them, and the mob of hungry-for-anything-now reporters. If they couldn�t get their prize catch, they�d have to settle for the catch of the day, and Mona and Faith both knew that they were suddenly on the menu. Faith was relieved to see the officer look in their direction and wave them over. No hesitation was required, in fact, Faith was pretty sure that hesitation would be a major error given the hostile environment that was beginning to develop.

�I think your friend was looking for you, inside.�

�Mike?� Faith asked. �He made it in then.�

The officer laughed in spite of the situation around them.

�Well, you don�t see any grease spots on the pavement. Do you?� He looked at the two women who for a moment looked about the ground for signs of their companion. �That�s all that would have been left if he hadn�t gotten in. You can probably bet on it. Come on, I�ll get you two inside; you�ll be safe in there. We�re keeping all of the reporters out of the hospital.�

Inside the doors they turned to look back on the angry faces that had been cheated for the second time that night, out of the story of the week. Most began to leave frustrated and angry� Some fought the line of police still trying desperately to reach the doors and gain entrance to the building� Perseverance pays off, Faith supposed, but hopefully, not tonight.

The officer smiled at the ladies and began to say goodnight. Feeling the necessity to go and join his comrades in the fight to defend the hospital entrance. But thought better of it when he saw the helpless look in the young blonde�s eyes.

�Have you been here before?�

Faith shook her head and looked at Mona who was shaking her head as well.

�Come on, let�s find your friend.�

Both Faith and Mona let out a sigh of relief and dutifully followed as the officer who had saved them from the carnage outside, now saved them from wandering listlessly through the endless halls all night.

At the receptionist�s desk, they were pointed towards a series of long hallways. Directed to the farthest one, Mona and Faith turned to thank the officer.

�The name�s Patrick. Officer Patrick Peterson, at your service should the two of you need me, please, don�t hesitate to call. Okay?� He smiled and waved as they walked in the direction they had been sent, then he turned and headed off when they turned into the hallway that would take them to their friend. He started to open the doors to leave when a high-pitched scream made the hair on the back of his neck stand straight up. He spun around, drew his gun, and ran in the direction of the scream.

He heard the receptionist drop the phone that she had been talking into and run for the ER doors, he hoped to summon help as he ran toward the hallway the two ladies had disappeared down. As he rounded the corner to the hallway he saw the scene and shouted as he aimed his pistol.

�Back away now with your hands in the air.�

The huge man stood from where he had been. Bent over, beating the still form that lay beneath him on the floor.

�Go get help.� Pat yelled at the women standing in shock at the picture in front of them. But his plea was unnecessary as the hallway filled almost immediately with orderlies pulling a stretcher, and nurses, people seemed to come from every direction and the once empty hallway was now a buzz with noise.

The big man didn�t protest when the officer pushed him up against the wall and patted him down, he wasn�t packin� anything more dangerous than his fists� that had been enough. He didn�t say a word when the officer drew one hand down and cuffed it then the other, joining them together behind his back. He stood silently while Officer Pat read him his rights. He walked with resignation when the officer pushed him from behind back down the hall.

�I�ll be back for a statement if you ladies don�t mind.� Pat said politely as he passed Mona and Faith, who stood in shock looking at the medical team who was working at a frenzied pace in front of them.

They followed as Michael�s limp body was rushed back to the emergency trauma center, startled by the entirely different atmosphere that they now encountered. Medical personnel rushed about in every direction from one curtained area to another. Nurses carrying equipment, interns taking notes and providing aide, doctors moving about from one area to another, shouting orders. All of whom seemed suddenly to be directed to the partition behind which the one and only Michael Jackson lay.

A nurse approached them in a business like fashion and pointed them to a waiting room.

�Wait.� Faith demanded not wishing to be put off. �We need to be with him.�

�Are you family?� The nurse asked with a look on her face that showed plainly that she had her doubts. When Faith shook her head, she continued. �If you know how, I strongly suggest you contact them. We�ll try, of course, but it may take awhile, first things first��

�Please,� Faith begged. �Please let us be with him.�

�I�m sorry, ma�am� and she was too, but sorry or not, these were the rules. �If you�re not family, you have to wait in there.� She pointed to the waiting room with it�s long rows of chairs, filled almost to capacity with strangers all waiting for news of friends and loved ones that were behind the curtains in that room.

Faith began once again, prepared to drop to her knees if she had too, and plead for mercy. When she felt Mona�s shaky hand on her arm.

�Come on. We need to make some calls.�

Faith turned, ready to argue now with Mona, not believing that she could give up so easily when Mike was helpless and needed their comfort, but she stopped and quietly nodded when she saw the tears in Mona�s eyes. The woman whom only yesterday, Faith would have sworn was the Rock of Gibraltar� hard and cold, now stood in tears in front of her, begging for her to come with to make the painful calls