Jack sat on the uncomfortable maroon couch in the waiting room of the hospital with Dan on her left and Nadia on her right. A pile of tissues had materialized in front of them in the last two and a half hours since they had arrived. Jack was still holding on to her newest one, which was wiping her tears at the moment. She was about to crumple it up and throw it into the pile when the doors flew open and Ben walked in wearing an old bomber jacket, red and green plaid boxers, and a white tee shirt. Jack jumped out of her seat with a shriek.
“How did you know we were here?” Dan asked immediately after calming her down and getting her to sit on the couch again.
“Late night new on MTV, but that’s not important,” Ben hurriedly replied. “Is it true?”
“Is what true?” Dan said.
“Darren was involved in an accident.”
“No, much worse.”
“What could be worse than an accident?”
“A suicide attempt.”
Jack immediately began to cry again when she heard those words. Dan led Ben out of the waiting room and out into the hall. He took the note out of his pocket and handed it to him.
“Oh, God,” Ben whispered with a horrified expression on his face after he read the note. “Now I know why Jack is so upset.”
“Guys!” came Leonie’s voice from down the hall. She ran over to them in her baby blue bathrobe and pink bunny slippers.
“Before you ask, read,” Dan said when he gave her the note.
“Oh, Darren!” she cried after reading it. Dan wrapped his arms around her and held her until she managed to contain herself.
“Here come Angi, Karl, and Lee,” Ben warned. “Oh, right behind them, Jen and Nikki.”
“Is Darren okay?” Angi shouted as she skidded into Ben.
Dan shook his head as his expression hardened. The note was passed around to them. By the time they finished reading, all were either crying or about to start.
“Come on,” Dan said as he led them into the waiting room. They piled in to find Jack cradled in Nadia’s arms still hysterical.
“Oh, no. I completely forgot about Jack,” Leonie whispered. She sat down beside her and gently put an arm around her shoulders to take the strain off Nadia.
Jack stopped crying for a moment to look around the room and see who had arrived. When her eyes settled on Leonie sitting beside her, she buried her face into her bathrobe and began to cry once again. “Honey, it’s going to be okay. Darren will be fine,” Leonie comforted as she tried to calm her own fears.
“He’s not going to be fine! He fucking killed himself because I was so cold!” Jack screamed as she shot off the couch out into the middle of the floor. “No wonder people can’t picture me with children. I’m not fit to be a mother, let alone a girlfriend. I shouldn’t even be alive right now! That accident should have killed me! Why did I have to live? Why did I have to let everyone around me suffer because of my stupidity? Why did I inflict so much pain?”
Dan was about to grab Jack when she took a deep breath and fell into his arms. He desperately looked around the room to see if anyone else was as shocked as he was. Leonie came to his side as he gently laid Jack on the floor with her head in his lap. He carefully stroked her face wit his hand as Ben ran out of the room to find a doctor.
~~~~~~~~~~
“What’s wrong with her?” Dan immediately asked when the doctor stepped into the waiting room. He appeared to be in his later thirties maybe early forties with a balding scalp and a short, pudgy body.
“Calm down,” the man replied. “I’m Dr. Peter Anderson. I’m also taking care of your friend Darren.”
“How are they?” Leonie repeated.
“Jack is resting comfortably in a private room down the hall. Tell me something, have you seen her act strange lately?” Dr. Anderson asked.
“Not really, she’s been a little moody, but that’s about it,” Dan answered.
“Odd,” Anderson pondered.
“Why, what’s wrong?” Nadia worriedly questioned.
“Nothing’s wrong. She’s just fine,” he replied. “Has she been complaining of stomach pain or vomiting?”
“Okay, enough with the questions! What’s up with Jack?” Nadia shouted, startling everyone.
“In that case, I’ll just go ahead and say it. Jack is three months pregnant,” Anderson nervously answered.
Dan grabbed the edge of the couch to steady himself as he felt his head get lighter. Nadia’s jaw dropped and Leonie was ready to pass out. The others stared at the doctor, wide eyed and mouths gaping open.
“Oh, good God,” Dan gasped
“Before you get too excited, I have some bad news,” Anderson continued. “It’s about Darren.”
“What about Darren?” Leonie asked.
“It doesn’t look too good for him. He crashed twice in the ER. It took us quiet a long time to stabilize him, but even after we did, it still doesn’t look good. He’s in a deep coma and we don’t expect him to make it through the night. The amount of Vicodin in his system was off the charts. It he does survive this, I wouldn’t be surprised if it has caused any brain damage,” he explained.
“Whatever you do, don’t tell Jack about the baby,” Dan warned.
“But…” Anderson began.
“No, not a word. She’s already on the edge. She doesn’t need this to push her off,” Dan interrupted.
“Why shouldn’t I tell her?”
“Because of Darren. She feels responsible for what he’s done. Do you see what I’m getting at?” Dan replied.
“But I’m her doctor,” Anderson argued.
“No, you’re not,” Nadia stepped in. “I am.”
Anderson backed off without causing a fight. He left the room defeated. It stayed quiet for a few minutes before Dan said, “This just gets more and more fucked up.”
“No shit,” Nadia replied. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it up until now. And I would have called myself a doctor.”
“So, what are we gonna do now?” Leonie asked.
“Damned if I know,” Dan said. He sat down in an unoccupied seat still trying to straighten things out in his head. He stood up again and added, “I think I’m gonna go see her.” He left the room and started down the hall looking into every room until he found Jack asleep in a comfortable bed about five doors down.
Dan quietly walked into her room and sat down beside her. He took her hand, careful not to startle her if she woke up. Jack yawned and opened her eyes. She saw Dan, his eyes blood red and his face in extreme exhaustion, sitting by her side, holding her hand.
“Hey,” he whispered. “How are you feeling?”
“Okay, I guess. A little tired,” she replied. “What happened? One minute I was yelling my brains out and the next everything went black.”
“You passed out,” Dan answered. “Fatigue and exhaustion is what the doctor said. You’ll be fine. You just need some rest.”
“What time is it?” Jack asked.
Dan looked down at his watch and said, “Almost seven in the morning.”
Jack nodded. “How’s Darren?”
Dan’s face lined with worry. He was afraid to answer her question in fear of her reaction.
“That bad, huh?” she replied. Dan nodded as his eyes filled with tears for the first time. Jack wrapped her arms around him and whispered, “I know how you feel.”