The Patient 7/23/06-7/24/06 (not factual)

Gerard slept throughout most of the flight from Jersey to LA. After they stopped for a connecting flight, he tried to eat something to fight off the nausea from the Oxycodone that was slowly wearing off. But he couldn't help but start to cry again. Pulling his hood up, he turned to face the window and dozed off again.

The next time he awoke, the plane had landed at LAX. The guys rented a car and drove straight to the hospital.

Once they were at the hospital, they were given Andie's room number and went up to the correct floor. But since she was in ICU, only family was allowed in to see her. Gerard stood there staring at the nurse in shock. Had they come all this way only for him to be held back by some stupid fucking rules?? But just then a man walked up to him.

"Are you Gerard?" he asked.

"Yes..." Gerard answered confused.

"I'm Steve Redmond, Andie's dad." He held out his hand to shake Gerard's.

"Oh hi...hi! How is Andie??" Gerard couldn't wait for niceties.

Andie's dad gave the nurse Gerard's name and instructed her to add him to Andie's list of family members. Gerard would be allowed in her room at any time.

Mikey, Ray, and Frank decided to go stay with a friend of Mikey's while they were in LA, but Gerard knew he could reach them if he needed them. They had always there for him and he knew he could count on each of them again.

As they walked to ICU, Steve updated Gerard on her condition and he listened intently.

"And had I known how to get in touch with you, I certainly would have. Andie spoke with me several times since she met you. She thinks a lot of you. Her mother couldn't take the waiting anymore and had to go get some rest at her hotel. And...if you wouldn't mind...I need to take care of some things myself."

"Oh no. Of course. I want to be here with her. I would have been here all along..." said Gerard.

Steve pushed open the door to Andie's room.

Gerard walked through the doorway to see Andie lying on the bed resting peacefully with all kinds of tubes and devices attached to her. The EKG beeped in time with her heart and lungs. It was a beat he knew all too well...but from a much better place. He swallowed hard. Her face was badly bruised and she had some stitches above her brow and by her ear. The sight of her looking so helpless was almost too much for him to bear. He turned to her father as if this man could supply the answers.

"She'll be in a deep sleep for awhile. They aren't sure how long. They want to make sure her brain hemorrhage is completely under control before they take her off the sleep-inducing medication in her IV. But at that point, it will be really important that she wakes up on her own."

Steve saw the apprehensive look on Gerard's face and smiled reassuringly to him. "Don't worry, they're taking the best possible care of my little girl. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Neither would I." Gerard agreed and turned back to Andie. "Do they know how long before they can take her off the medication?"

"Not yet. But they are checking on her constantly." Steve continued. "I'm so glad you came. Here's my cell number. Don't hesitate to call me if anything changes before I get back."

"Okay. Thanks, I will." Gerard stared at her resting on the bed.

When Steve left the room, Gerard sat his bookbag on the floor and slowly walked over to the bedside chair. He sat down, and scooted it next to her bed. Taking her delicate hand in his, the tears welled up in his eyes.

"Oh God, Andie... I am so sorry.." He lifted himself off the chair and kissed her motionless lips. "You're gonna be alright, Sugar... And I'll be right here with you. I'm not going anywhere. I promise." He brushed her hair off her forehead with his fingertips.

Gerard stayed awake for several hours just sitting there quietly beside her bed, holding her hand in his. He took the time to come to grips with all that had happened, and to make peace with himself for taking the Oxycodone...and for the thoughts he'd had about Andie. He began to see things clearly again. He realized that, for the rest of his life, he would have to consider his past before taking any medication, even if a doctor prescribed it for him.

The melody that had been forming in his mind since the day he met Andie, suddenly took on it's lyrics and he sang them softly to her.

"Well if I... If I told you... You were the one... Would you take my hand?... Would you be the one?... Until the very end?... You'll never... You'll never be alone again... I'll spend my last breath... Telling you... You are the one..."

After some time, Gerard dozed off in the chair holding onto Andie's hand.

When he awoke early the next morning, a nurse was in the room with them, checking the readouts from the EKG and changing Andie's IV fluids.

"Don't mind me. I'll be out of here in just a moment." She smiled at Gerard.

He stepped across the hall to the bathroom and freshened up as best he could. The warm water he splashed on his face made all the difference in the world. When he came out, he asked the nurse if there was somewhere he could get something to eat and some coffee.

When he returned to Andie's room with something on his stomach and a cup of coffee in his hand, he felt much better than he had the day before. He finally felt like himself again.

"Guess what? I'm gonna read you some of my favorite comics." He sat down in the chair next to her bed and pulled out his bookbag. "Let's see...I've got some Sandman. I think you'd like it. It's got this hero guy, 'Dream', or..sometimes he's called 'Morpheus'..but anyway, he's the hero and he's got this older sister, 'Death', and...well...I'll just read you some of it. I know you'll get it. And I've got some 'X-Men' I'll read to you, too. I found one with 'Marvel Girl' in it. I know you said she was your favorite."

Gerard read to her for some time. He would slip out and grab some more coffee between stories. But he felt like maybe it would help Andie. He didn't know if she could hear him or not, but he'd like to think she could.

"Hey, you know what?" He said when he'd finished the last comic book. "I'm gonna draw your superhero for you. I almost forgot I had started the one where you were using your powers."

Gerard took out his pad of paper and continued talking to Andie while he drew, telling her about herself as a superhero.

After some time, Gerard's cellphone vibrated in the pocket of his bookbag. It was Mikey. He asked how things were going and if Gerard wanted to take a break and get something to eat. After some convincing by his little brother, Gerard agreed to get some fresh air and a shower.

When he returned to Andie's room, fear rushed over him as he saw that she and her bed were gone. He burst through the door to the hallway just as she was being wheeled back to her room. A doctor came in with the entourage and stopped to write some things in her chart, when he saw Gerard standing there.

"Mr....Way?" he asked Gerard.

"Yes." Gerard answered. "What's going on? Where was Andie?"

"I'm Dr. Fletcher, Andie's neurologist." He tucked her chart under his left arm and shook Gerard's hand. "We needed to get another CT scan to check on the progress of the coiling procedure. It's good news. We can take her off the anesthesia."

"So...she's going to wake up now?" Gerard asked hopefully.

"Well...not right away. But we're hopeful that she will soon."

"Hopeful? What do you mean? She might not?" Gerard was trying not to sound impatient, but he needed to know exactly what was going on. He needed a straight answer and now.

"There's always a chance that an induced comatose state can become involuntary. But it's well worth the risk to ensure a cranial trauma repairs itself properly." Dr. Fletcher explained. "Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on her."

Then Dr. Fletcher left with the rest of the staff.

Gerard was alone with Andie again in the bleak hospital room. He sat down beside her and took her hand again. Now it was up to Andie.