Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

Acknowledgments: I would like to thank my magnificent and ever so dedicated Beta Reader, Robyn. You're a lifesaver and you're the best. Thank you so very much! Hugs and Kisses.

The small group stood there, staring through the large window, their gazes transfixed on their unmoving friend. After a few moments, Josh approached the window, placing his hands on it, as if he could reach through it to touch his best friend. Doctor Thomas, watching the group from the sideline, was again amazed by their quiet display of emotion.

"I can let you in one at a time to be with him," she said softly, placing a comforting hand on Josh's shoulder, hoping to appease his worries before he went straight through the glass. Josh faced her, as if to make sure that she wasn't playing games with him. She nodded reassuringly.

"Go ahead first, Josh," said Toby. "Go see him."

"There's a waiting room just across the hall." Toby nodded and along with CJ, Mallory and Donna, they made their way in the direction she was pointing towards.

Josh slowly came around the window and entered the cramped room. He was greeted by a series of continuous beeping noises emanating from the machines connected to Sam. Carefully, he approached the side of the bed and got a better look at the young man. With the bandage around his forehead, covering his eye and his ashen features, Josh barely recognized his best friend. Doctor Thomas followed him into the room and made her way to the other side of the bed.

"How long before he wakes up?" Josh whispered, as if he would inadvertently wake him if he spoke too loud.

"Once the effects of the anesthesia wears off, it's all up to him," she said as she was checking the readings on one of the many machines and writing the information in her patient's chart. Josh simply nodded and ventured another step closer to the bed, his eyes still locked on Sam. As he took that step, a raspy, congested and painful sound reached his ears. He was shocked to realize that the sound was Sam breathing, or at the least trying to. Josh winced. Doctor Thomas noticed his expression and reaction to the state of her patient.

"It sounds worse then it is."

"Uhhhhh?" Josh quickly looked at her, as if he had been caught doing something wrong.

"His breathing," she explained. Josh didn't seem convinced.

"Are you sure? It sounds so....painful."

"Well, it's a little labored, but that's normal with pneumonia. And he's not in any pain right now, that I can assure you."

"Can he hear us?" he asked her, still keeping his distance. Doctor Thomas couldn't help but grin at his question.

"I don't think so. He's still in a medication induced sleep because of the anesthesia." She gazed at him carefully. "He's not in a coma, if that's what you're worried about."

"It's just that the way you ...... A skull fracture? It just sounds so..."

"Serious?" she finished. Josh nodded slowly. "Well, it is, but there is still no sign of pressure build up or any intercranial bleeding. These kind of head injuries heal themselves with time." Upon hearing that, Josh took another step closer to the bed, his nervousness and fear slowly diminishing, followed by another one, landing him directly beside Sam.

"He's my best friend," he whispered to himself, absently.

"Excuse me?" asked the doctor, not completely sure of what she heard. Getting this man to open up seemed like the right thing to do right now. Josh felt embarrassed for a second, then realized that he had nothing to be embarrassed about. He was proud to be able to call this man his best friend, and was even more honored that that Sam reciprocated that feeling.

"He's my best friend," he repeated, this time with a stronger voice, laced with pride. Carefully, he brushed his hand against Sam's fingers protruding from the cast. Helena Thomas smiled at the scene playing out in front of her. From the way he had reacted since he arrived with the others, she had a feeling that there was something a little more than just simple friendship between the two men.

"I'll leave you alone with him," she said as she replaced Sam's chart at the end of the bed.

"Thank you," Josh said gratefully without taking his gaze off the man lying in the bed.

"You're welcome. I'll be back soon." She exited the room and made her way down the hall. Josh then found himself alone with Sam and all that could be heard in the room was the monotonous sound of the heart monitor and Sam's labored breathing. He decided to ignore those unbearable noises as he made his way to the other side of the bed. He needed to touch Sam, to truly make sure that he was here, that all this wasn't a figment of his imagination. He pulled up the chair that was against the far wall of the room and carefully let his tired body fall into it. He gingerly grasped Sam good hand and lightly squeezed it. Josh let out a heavy sigh of relief upon the contact.

"I don't know if you can hear me Sam, but I can't keep this inside anymore. Do you realize how scared I was? How we all were? You are never going sailing alone again! Never! Over my dead body! Do you understand me?" Josh practically yelled, realizing that he was slowly losing his composure, but he had gone through too much at this point to really care. He took a deep breath of air, attempting to dissipate the lingering anger within him.

"What the hell happened to you out there?" he asked, his voice now metamorphosed into a quiet, pleading whisper, impatiently wanting an answer. It was so hard for him to sit there and watch his almost unrecognizable friend. He tightened his grip on Sam's hand again, making sure that they were both where they appeared to be and that Sam was still with him. His breathing was so shallow that his chest barely moved when he breathed. He then remembered the doctor mentioning that Sam had 4 broken ribs. Josh winced at that thought. He remembered cracking a rib once and how painful that had been and how difficult it was just to take a deep breath. He could only imagine the kind of pain 4 broken ribs caused.

"I know that you know this but... I don't think I've ever told you and I know that I should be telling you this when I'm sure you can hear me, but now seems like a pretty good time ....I'll give you highlights when you wake up....Why is it always in situations like this that we realize that? ....how important some things are and.... I'm so not good at this!" he said, frustrated. He covered his face with his free hand, ordering his tired mind to focus on what he was trying to say. "I wish you were awake right now so you could feed me with those million dollar words of yours that always get on Toby's nerves," he said with a slight laugh. "What I'm trying to say here is....you're my best friend. You're the brother I never had. You're always there for me, always. And I want you to know that I'll always be there for you." Josh leaned over the bed a little more and looked into Sam's face, trying to ignore the bandages. "I love you, Sam. You're the best friend a guy can have and I swear to God, if you ever pull something like this ever again, I'm going to kick your butt so hard, your grandchildren are going to feel it." Josh closed his eyes and imagined the grin Sam would have on his face if he were awake right now.

"You're going to be okay, aren't you? I don't know what you're pulling here, but I'm not convinced. I know you better then this and this isn't going to stop you. God, even the President thinks that." Josh sighed, the grin reappearing. "It's always the quiet ones..." he said sarcastically. Even if his short conversation was one-sided, he felt much better. A hopeful feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.

Just then, a tall, slim man in his mid-forties entered the room, followed by a nurse carrying a tray, disrupting his thoughts. Josh also noticed that the man wore a white lab coat, indicating that he was a doctor.

"What's wrong?" Josh asked, standing from his seat, the words escaping his mouth before his mind had a chance to process them. The doctor was taken aback by the sudden panic in the young man's voice and demeanor.

"There's nothing wrong. I'm Doctor Truman. I'm the ophthalmologist, here to check up on Mr. Seaborn," the doctor responded calmly. Josh simply starred at the man as if he just spoke in a totally foreign language. 'I really have to relax and get some sleep,' thought Josh as he shook his head, becoming aware of the strange way he was acting.

"Are you okay?" asked the doctor, a little concerned.

"Uhhhh, yeah. I'm fine. Just tired. It's been a long night," he said, peering down at Sam.

"I know," replied the doctor. "I was told about the events tonight. He's an extremely lucky young man." Aware of who Sam was, the doctor gazed at Josh quizzically. "You're Joshua Lyman, aren't you?" he asked. Josh simply nodded. Usually, he felt a sensation of pride and a boost to his ego when strangers recognized him, but this time, it didn't affect him at all.

"Mr. Lyman, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to wait in the hall while I examine Mr. Seaborn." Josh simply nodded, but didn't move. He still held Sam's hand and wasn't really ready to let go. He knew that Sam was a grown man, actually that thought made him grin internally. Nonetheless, that fact never stopped any of them from treating Sam like the eternal little brother who needed someone to hold his hand to cross the street. And the thought that made his grin grow even larger was that it never really seemed to bother Sam, either because deep down, he really needed that sense of protection and feeling of closeness with his friends, or, and Josh was more convinced that it was this, it was just Sam being Sam; not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings by waving off their concerns towards him. Gradually, Josh's internal grin made it's way to his exterior as he slowly let go of Sam's hand. He looked up at the doctor standing at the foot of the bed and nodded. He slowly made his way out of the room and left the doctor to check on his patient.

****

Toby looked up as Josh entered the waiting room. He immediately noticed that he looked a little more relaxed and his face actually seemed to have brightened up. Toby knew that seeing Sam would do him good, even thought his condition was still serious. Josh made his way to an armchair and flopped down into it.

"What's wrong?" Toby asked, not too sure what to make of Josh's expression or of what could have made him leave Sam's side.

"Uhhhh, nothing," he replied, looking up at him, suddenly becoming aware of the other's presence. "The ophthalmologist is checking on him."

"You okay?" CJ asked Josh after a few moments of silence. He seemed to be drifting off to sleep.

"Yeah," he answered softly and calmly, without lifting his head. CJ glanced at Toby and shrugged. Both were surprised by Josh's sudden change in attitude, but were nonetheless relieved. Obviously, seeing Sam, even in his current condition, was enough to appease him. Suddenly, they realized that he was now sleeping, his head leaning on the back of the chair and a slight grin on his lips. Toby, Mallory, Donna and CJ were speechless as they simply sat there and watched Josh sleep.

Mallory took this opportunity to get up and stretch her legs. Inadvertently, she made her way just outside Sam's room. She stopped and looked inside. The doctor was leaning over him, examining his now unbandaged eye. She managed to catch a glance of his injured face. She quickly regretted it though. The bruising was horrific and the swelling gave him an unnatural look. The dark bruises accentuated his paleness tenfold. With a hand over her mouth to strangle any cries that tried to escape her, she continued to watch. Her heart was in so much pain right now that she was sure it was comparable to Sam's.

The doctor then pushed a button and she watched as Sam's face slowly disappeared from her sight as the top part of the bed was lowered. The doctor then hovered over him and put drops on his injured eye. He was softly speaking with the nurse who was assisting him, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. She studied the doctor's face to see if she could somehow tell if Sam's condition was improving or worsening, but he was unreadable. After putting the drops in his eye, the doctor replaced the bandage and raised the bed again. During this procedure, Sam's facial expression didn't alter. He looked as passive and unaware of his surroundings as he had before. Her gaze fixed on Sam, Mallory didn't notice the doctor and nurse exit the room. Next thing she knew, someone was putting their hand on her shoulder.

"Miss? Miss?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, emerging from her daze.

"Are you with the group here for Mr. Seaborn?"

"Yes. Yes, I am. Actually, he's my.......my boyfriend," she managed to finish the sentence as she looked back at the person she was referring to. She had to say those words. She felt so strongly about it, but she had never really uttered them out loud before. "How is he?"

"I was just on my way to speak to all of you, so why don't we make our way to the waiting room and we can talk there," he suggested with a professional smile. Mallory didn't know how to decipher his reply, so she slowly turned and headed back into the waiting room.

As they both entered the room, everyone rose to their feet, except for Josh who was still asleep. As soon as she saw the doctor appear at the door, Donna quickly made her way to his side and gently nudged him awake.

"Mmmmm", he muttered.

"Josh, wake up. The doctor's here," she said, bending down and whispering in his ear. Like before, Josh bolted up wide-awake. Josh immediately recognized the man.

"I'm Doctor Truman. I was the ophthalmologist on call when Mr. Seaborn was brought in. I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to met with you earlier, but I'm sure that Dr. Thomas brought you up to speed in regards to his eye injury. I just finished examining him and things are looking good. The pressure is coming down - not as fast as I'd like - but decreasing nevertheless. We have been giving him Brimonidine drops, which is designed to decrease optical pressure and it seems to be working, so we are going to continue with that treatment." He looked at the 5 people in the room and noticed that they all now looked as if a ton of bricks had been removed from their shoulders. Tired smiles now appeared on their faces.

"Has their been any damage to his optic nerve?" asked CJ.

"We won't be able to determine that until he wakes up, but one way or another, his eye is going to be very sensitive for some time and he'll have to wear a patch. He'll also have to undergo at least 1 pressure check every day for the next month or two." As if on cue, everyone looked at each other. Had the doctor really said what they thought he said? Next month or two? What did this mean? Did this guy know something that he wasn't telling them? Toby decided to venture into unknown waters.

"Doctor Truman, you said the next month or two?" The doctor nodded, a questionable on his face, not sure where this conversation was going.

"So, are you saying that he's going to be okay?" A hopeful grin appeared on Toby's face.

"Ahh." Doctor Truman suddenly appeared a little uncomfortable. "First of all, don't get your hopes up too much and remember the fact that I am an ophthalmologist, but your friend is looking a little better then when he was brought in. Things are looking up." He smiled sheepishly.

"He's looking better?" Mallory asked, wanting to be absolutely sure she understood what he just said.

"Yes, he is. But I shouldn't be the one telling you this or answering your questions. I'll go find Dr. Thomas for you, okay?" They all nodded and gave him thankful smiles. As soon as the doctor left the waiting room, Josh let out a huge sigh. The grin he wore on his face earlier reappearing. 'I knew he could hear me. I knew it,' Josh thought to himself.

****

After waiting about 20 minutes, Doctor Thomas joined the small group in the ICU waiting room. After examining him, she confirmed that Sam was slowly improving and that his breathing was becoming less strained. His head injury also seemed clear, but again, she warned them that even after many hours or a few days, the effects of head injuries could surface. They would have to keep a careful eye on it.

"Now, about his arm," she said with a grave voice. "I spoke with Doctor Chamberlain who performed the surgery on Mr. Seaborn's arm. He apologizes for not being able to speak with you, but he got called back into surgery on another case. Unfortunately, the broken bone did cause some nerve and muscle damage."

"He won't lose the use of his arm, will he?" asked CJ, a little panicked, a feeling shared by all 5 of them at that point.

"No, once the bone heals, his arm will be fine, but the strength and dexterity in his hand will most likely be affected. He'll require a lot of physical therapy to counter the damage he sustained." 'Physical therapy and some patience, we can deal with. That's nothing compared to the other possibility we were facing tonight', thought Toby. At this point in the waiting game, they were finally leading and there was only a few seconds left on the clock.

After waiting a few moments for the group to absorb the information, Dr. Thomas stood and started making her way to the door.

"I highly recommend that you all get some sleep. We'll be keeping him in ICU and in 24 hours, if his condition continues to improve, we'll move him to a private room."

The group nodded and thanked her.

They all looked at one another, each asking themselves if they all looked as bad as the next. Through the large windows at the far end of the room, the sun was slowly rising, marking an end to their dreadful night and hopefully marking the beginning of a better day.

To be continued.....