"Breaking news. We are reporting live at the scene of the fatal accident involved superstar celebrity Nate Hollan."

Holy shit. Jeremy turned up the TV in his Avalon apartment. His eyes widened when he saw the awful car accident shown behind the reporter. The collision was almost hard to look at.

Wait, he thought. Julia was with Nate.

"As you can see behind me, the impact from the head-on collision made both SUVs flip over and catch on fire. Again- live in the center of LA. Singer Nate Hollan has been involved in a car accident and rushed to the hospital by ambulance. We currently have no information on his injuries, but we do know Julia Moretti, America's Voice winner, was also in the SUV. In the other vehicle. A Range Rover was a male drive and Nate Hollan's personal assistant, Trisha Banks. What are the odds?" The reporter shook her head, and Jeremy felt lightheaded watching it all unfold. The reporter is then told something in her earpiece, and she looked at the camera again.

"This just in, one dead and three injured in what is now considered a crime scene"

"One dead?" Jeremy's heart began to pound harder. He had to get to the hospital right away.

*****

"Can you give me any info? Julia Moretti is a patient of mine." Jeremy stood at the nurse's station, pleading with a coworker. Once a month, Jeremy would work one weekend at the busy hospital in the psychiatric wing, so he knew many of the nurses that worked there.

"Jeremy, you know I can't release personal information. Doctor Prade would have my head."

"I'm her goddamn Avalon doctor, Melanie. I need to know she is ok!" He snapped. "Who was involved?"

"Ok. Listen. There were five people involved in the collision." The young nurse leaned in a little and lowered her voice. "The famous singer Nate Hollan and Miss Moretti were in one of the cars. Then, the other one had his assistant Trisha Banks. The driver was some guy named James Gallo."

"James Gallo!" Jeremy couldn't believe it.

"You know him??"

"Yes."

"Jeremy, maybe I shouldn't be telling you this stuff..." Melanie hesitated now knowing Jeremy knew these people.

"Bullshit, Mel. Tell me everything. I need to know. Are they ok? Who died in the crash??"

"Nate Hollan's personal driver died on impact. James Gallo is in critical condition. We don't think he is going to make it, Jeremy." Nurse Melanie put a hand on Jeremy's shoulder when he gasped and threw his hand to his mouth.

"Oh my God." He gripped the corner of the desk to steady himself.

"Julia had surgery on her leg. Nate Hollan has broken ribs, and his PA has a concussion. It's Mr. Gallo we are worried about. He had a brain bleed."

"Jesus." Jeremy muttered. "Who is the nurse with Julia? I need to talk to her about Miss Moretti's mental health status."

"Casey Reaves. We have everyone together due to security reasons because it's Nate Hollan. Well, everyone except James Gallo." She frowned. "Follow me." Melanie said. Jeremy followed her down the hall. They had to go through security before entering the wing that Nate Hollan was recovering in.

Casey was outside the presidential suite, filling out charts.

"Hey. I'm Jeremy Donovan. Julia's doctor." Jeremy introduced himself to the nurse.

"From the Avalon, right?" The young nurse asked. Jeremy nodded and studied the woman's face. She actually resembled Julia in many ways. "Could I look at her chart?"

"Yeah. She's a bit of a mess, Doctor."

Right as he scanned her chart, Dr. Prade exited the elevator. Jeremy knew who she was but had never met her. He entered Julia's room before she could get to him and reviewed her chart before looking up.

Nate Hollan was in Julia's bed trying to comfort her through a PTSD nightmare she was in. He held a wet face cloth to her head, and when she woke up, she turned her head into his chest and cried. It was hard to watch.

"It's ok, Jules." Nate wrapped his arm around Julia and held her the best he could without moving his broken ribs.

"You really can't be in her bed. You have broken ribs." Dr. Prade shook her head in disapproval.

"Does it LOOK like I fucking care??" Nate's temper was through the roof. He ignored the doctor, turned back Julia and kissed her forehead. "I've got ya doll." He whispered.

"Julia, do you remember what your dream was about?" Dr. Donovan ignored Nate's outburst and stood by Julia's bed with her chart and a pen, ready to write down notes.

"Give her a minute. She just woke up!" Nate shook his head.

"Julia. I'm Dr. Prade. I'm on call overnight. I know you're tired, but can I check your vitals now that you're up?"

"May I?" She pulled her stethoscope off her shoulders and listened to Julia's heart.

"Is this gonna happen every night? If so, I change my mind and want my own room." Trisha said from her bed, trying to fall back asleep.

"Julia, does this happen often?" Dr. Prade asked.

"It does, it's all in her charts. The same charts that say she is a recovering Benzo addict, yet you have her on Ativan." Jeremy waved Julia's chart sarcastically. He was pissed to read they put her on the one thing she was addicted to. "It took her a long time to get where she was. And now you undid it all."

"And you are?"

"I'm her doctor at The Avalon. I'M the one who has been treating her. Did anyone even bother to look at her charts? To read the notes? Anything?!" He became heated fast over the staff neglecting to look over her charts before administering Ativan.

"You know what? It's two in the morning and I think everyone is tired and could use some rest. Doctor Donovan, can I see you out in the hall?" Dr. Prade exited the room and Jeremy followed right behind her.

A full fifteen minutes went by of Dr. Prade and Jeremy going back and forth on how to care for Julia. He knew there were other ways to help her without giving her Ativan. The doctor was just too lazy to read her chart or didn't want to deal with Julia's outburst with being Bipolar. Either way, someone fucked up and he was not happy.

But Dr. Prade is a tough doctor. Hard to handle and she decided to take the time to give Jeremy a piece of her mind.

Dr. Donovan went back into Nate's room with his shoulders slung low.

"I still hold firm that Julia shouldn't be on Ativan." He plopped down on the recliner and put his head in his hands.

"I agree." Nate sighed. "You know, you can go home and sleep. You don't have to pull an all-nighter for Julia. She'll fall asleep eventually."

"I live too far away, and I'm too tired to drive, especially after seeing everything that happened here. I'm closer to The Avalon. I may just find an empty room and crash, though."

Jeremy knew he didn't want to go back to his own house. The house Maddie still lived in. His ex was making things more difficult than they needed to be and Jeremy did not have the energy to fight with her that night.

He knew there were plenty of empty rooms in the hospital to crash in and knew most of the staff. No one would bother him. And he did desperately need sleep if he was going to help Julia and give her the proper care moving forward.

But first, Jeremy needed to go down to the ICU and check on the status of James Gallo. Because if James Gallo didn't survive this, Julia wouldn't. This was her best friend, at one time her lover. Jeremy knew the history between the two of them from his therapy sessions with Julia.

Once down in the ICU he spotted another nurse he knew who lead him to Gallo.

"Sir, it really doesn't look good. We don't expect him to survive the night."

Jeremy looked at the man hooked up to a million machines and unable to breath on his own and knew the nurse was right. James Gallo would not survive his injuries. Julia was as good as gone.

*******

Nevermind the Avalon Apartment, after the accident, Jeremy spent most of his time in the hospital where Julia was admitted.

Her best friend was in a coma and most likely not going to survive his brain injuries. If he did, could be looking at jail time for Reckless Driving. Even Trisha Banks was admitted to the hospital. Trisha, his cousin Dave's ex- fiancé. Though she was unaware of the relation between Jeremy and Dave.

This situation was more complex because it involved the well-known Nate Hollan, and the fact his personal driver was killed in the crash. Because of all this, Jeremy pawned all his current patients off to other therapists temporarily.

He needed his time to be solely invested in Julia.

"Doctor Donovan? You can't be in here!" The nurse said outside Julia's door, but Jeremy showed her his hospital badge and the required paperwork needed to get through.

"She's my patient at the Avalon. I sure as hell can be in here!" The young doctor pushed past the nurse to stand by Julia's bedside.

"Julia." He stifled once he noticed how out of it she was. He picked up her chart to look over the notes. "Shit. SHIT!" The doctor scurried out of the room and began yelling at the staff.

"She can't be on this! She's a patient of The Avalon. Doesn't anyone ever read patient's damn charts around here?!"

"Jeremy, you need to calm down." Another doctor who knew him said.

"Do you know how hard she's worked to get where she is.... was... She was starting to recover."

"Sir. She was out of control. The nurses couldn't - "

"Fuck that." Jeremy threw the paper back at the doctor and took his glasses off, wiping his eyes in frustration, before putting them back on and walking into Julia's room again.

"We're gonna get you back on track. Don't worry about that, ok?" He picked up Julia's hand.

"Ja- James. Nate..."

"Everyone is being well taken care of. I don't have details though, I'm sorry." Jeremy answered. His heart hurt seeing Julia this way. This sedation will set her back big time and he knew it. That on top of her other mental illnesses could send her to The Avalon full time. Julia can't handle detoxing at The Avalon. The nurses are already so overwhelmed with the needy celebrities that come through those doors, Julia is not one of them. She'd get lost in the crowd.

A nurse wheeled Trisha in to see Julia for a moment before going to see James. She had a huge bandage on her forehead and sad eyes. She looked worn down. Jeremy knew he had his work cut out for him. He'd been helping his cousin through his own alcohol problem because he wanted to show Trisha he's a changed man. Finding this out will send Dave right back to Sullivan's Tap. Jeremy knew about Dave's abusive behavior towards Trisha when he drinks, from being his therapist, but he couldn't let Trisha know this. It was confidential. But from what his cousin had told him; Trisha was a very kind and loving woman. One that does not deserve someone like Drunk Dave, that much Jeremy knew. So seeing her hurt like that, after what he knew, teared Jeremy apart.

He left the room knowing his first task. Get Julia out of the psychiatric wing. Yes, she was a psych patient. But also, a detox patient. All they would do here would be to dope the poor thing up instead of actually treating her. They were too short-staffed and she's too much of a live wire when awake. Sedating her is all they had time to do. Jeremy knew he could take care of her much better than anyone else in that wing.

He found the doctor on call and decided to have some words with him outside of Julia's door.

"With all due respect, Dr. Donovan, the reality is Miss Moretti is a psych patient. This is where she needs to be monitored." The on-call doctor, Dr. Mitchell, explained.

"No. She was not admitted here for mental health issues. She was admitted here due to physical injury from a car accident." Jeremy fought to get Julia out of there.

"Correct, but while being treated for her physical condition, her mental status has declined." Dr. Mitchell retorted.

A young nurse was also part of the conversation who apparently was caring for Nate Hollan.

"Dr. Mitchell. Mr. Hollan has requested that this patient be put in the same room as him."

"That's not a possibility." Dr. Mitchel responded.

"Doctor, it's really hard to staff floor nurses as it is, never mind sending one up here to treat her in a separate wing. Not only that, but we also need as much security for Julia as we do for Nate Hollan. We don't have a big enough team to be in multiple areas AND man the crowd outside and regular situations that this hospital experiences." She explained.

"Nurses downstairs aren't trained to deal with complex mental illnesses such as hers. She needs to be monitored up here-"

"Also," The nurse cut in. "Mr. Hollan said if she doesn't get put in the same room he's going to pull all further donations to this hospital." She bit the inside of her cheek nervously. Jeremy was impressed with Hollan.

"Shit." Dr. Mitchell dropped his head down and took a deep breath. "He donates a lot every year." The nurse and Jeremy watched Dr. Mitchell put his hands on his hips and start pacing back and forth a little. "We can't lose that funding. Do as Mr. Hollan wishes. Release the patient from this wing and put her in with him. But Mr. Donovan. You're gonna have to work with the physicians here to make sure she gets the mental health care she needs."

"I will be here for her as much as I possibly can. Even if that means finding coverage to handle my patients back at The Avalon."

"You're pretty invested in this patient...."

"I am. Her situation is complex. I want to make sure she gets through this and receives the best care possible." Jeremy said before entering Julia's room.

"Apparently money talks. You will be moved downstairs into Nate Hollan's room with him to be treated. Don't worry, I'll still be around to take care of your mental health and medications. We'll get you back on track once you are off the Ativan." He walked over and took Julia's hand again.

"Thank you, Dr. Donovan."

"I've known you for a few weeks now, Julia. Please. Call me Jeremy."

This worked out perfectly. Nate AND Julia would be moved into the presidential suite. Jeremy could care for her there. One on one care. He could spend as much time as he needed with her. As much time as he wanted. He would be the one to get her back and track, not any of these useless doctors. They had no clue what they were doing. Jeremy did. He was certain of it.

******

"How's my favorite patient doing?" Once Jeremy knew Julia has been situated in the Presidential Suite, he wasted no time checking on her. He walked in and took the metal clipboard that held her chart as she looked up at him groggily.

"They've got you on a lot of anxiety meds..." He shook his head while reading the notes, then looked up and scans the room.

"Look at this place. It's like a luxury hotel. Sure puts The Avalon to shame."

Nate and Trisha, the other patients in the room, were both sleeping so Jeremy could talk freely with Julia and lose the doctor act.

"James Gallo. Do you have any updates on him?" Julia asked, full of concern.

"I'm sorry, Julia." Jeremy paused. "I'm not his doctor, so I don't have access to any information on his health."

"So GET access!" She snapped but it didn't faze Jeremy. "I'm sorry. I just need to know he's ok." Julia started to cry. Jeremy put her chart down and walked to the right side of her bed, the only free side since it looked like they had the nurse put her bed as close to Nate's as physically possible.

The doctor pushed her vital machine over a little and slid a chair closer to her bed. He looked down and, once again, took Julia's hand.

"Julia. I'm only going to say this once to you. You need to focus on your health and your health alone. What's going on with anyone else is out of your control, ok? But YOU are in control of your life. YOU are the only one who lives it. Try not to worry about what's going on around you and focus on you."

"If James dies, I don't want to live this life."

Jeremy frowned. He knew the right thing to do would be to document that sentence. It was a red flag. But he also knew Julia. To earn her trust he had to prove himself to her.

"Hey." He whispered. "You can't say that stuff in here or around the staff, ok?"

Julia looked up at him and for the first time, Jeremy noticed she saw him as just a man. Not a psychiatrist. Something he had been trying to get her to see for some time. He was just a man trying to help her. Not a man in doctor mode. A man who was falling in love with his patient.

"I don't think you get it, Dr. Donov-"

"Really, Jeremy... it's ok." He reminded her to call him by his first name.

"Whatever. I don't think you understand. I have only two people left in my life that I love. That's it." She cried. "One is right here with a weak heart, and the other is downstairs barely hanging on. They're all I have. The only reason I wake up and decide to live is because I love the two of them. Equally. If one of them..I... I won't be able to..."

"Ok. Let's not go there right now." He whispered "Don't think about the worst-case scenario. You tend to do that sometimes."

"Can you blame me? Look at my life!" Julia raised her voice.

"No. I can't blame you one bit. You have been through a great deal of heartache and loss over the years. I can't even say you've come out of it stronger because you haven't. I'm aware of it and you're aware of it. Julia, you're quick to give up. Hell, I get it, ok? I can't imagine going through what you've gone through. My job is to make sure you don't go down that road again. That you are safe.... safe from yourself." Jeremy swallowed hard. He hated having to be blunt like that but it is something Julia needed to hear.

"That you only go up from here. Get stronger. Learn ways to cope with anything life throws your way. I care about you." He paused. "I'm angry FOR you. Nobody should experience half the shit you've experienced."

After calming Julia down and staying for a little while, Jeremy left the room to give Julia her rest. But he knew there was no way he would leave the building. He called one of his co-workers to run to his house, the house he no longer spent much time in, to fetch him some clothes to bring to the hospital. He knew he was being a pain as the nurse he called would have to get his key from him at the hospital first which was a good 45 minutes from his house. But he also had this nurse at his house plenty of times before he met Maddie. He had pulled strings for her numerous times to give her the vacation time she requested often. She owed him.

But he couldn't tell this nurse to pack him his medication. He knew the minute she saw the names on the prescription bottles she would know he had mental health issues. He had tried to keep his personal life just that- personal. So he would have to go without his much-needed meds.

Jeremy counted in his head how long it had been since he had taken a full dose of his medications. Too long. He was playing with fire now. He would have to get his medications soon or he would start seeing his illness take over. There was no way in hell he could let that happen.

*******

Seven days went by. Seven more days without Jeremy's prescription medications. He didn't care. His focus wasn't on himself. But in those seven days Jeremy started noticing slight changes in his own behavior. He was snapping at some of the doctors and nurses who didn't know what the hell they were doing when it came to Julia. He became frustrated more easily. He became overprotective of her.

He really needed to find the time to get back to his house and get his meds- before it was too late.

Trisha Banks had been discharged so Jeremy's cousin was no longer texting him asking for updates on his ex. It was just Nate and Julia in the presidential suite. Julia shut down. Jeremy knew she had an eating disorder even though she had always denied it but everyone that cared for her in the suite caught on quick. No one was getting through to Julia though. No one but Nate. So Jeremy purposely would leave the room, coming up with a lame excuse like he needed to take a call, in hopes that Nate could get Julia to eat. Somehow, the man always managed to do it. Julia trusted Nate. She wasn't at that stage with Jeremy yet but she would be, soon enough. He could feel it.

"Wow! You ate everything!" The doctor exclaimed when he came back into Julia's room with the nurse for the day, Melanie.

"Ok, Nate. You'll have to let me in on your secret. You're the only one who can get her to eat." Jeremy smiled at Nate.

"I just know what to do. She's ok now, right? Can she go visit James? That's all she wants to do."

"Well. We need to wait a little while. But for good reason. Right now, his sisters are with him, but the ICU is going to start lowering Mr. Gallo's oxygen on the ventilator to see if he can eventually start breathing on his own. If so, that's huge, Julia. It's a step in the right direction."

"REALLY?" Julia sat up a little more and smiled at the doctor.

"Really. But they have to closely monitor him for a while so he can't have any visitors. When he can, I will let you know, ok?" Jeremy walked over to Julia and took her hand. He knew this got under Nate's skin but did it anyway.

"Hey, I'm really proud of you, Julia. You ate. That's also a big step in the right direction."

"Thanks, Doctor Donovan."

"One of these days, I'll get you to just call me Jeremy. When people call me Doctor, it makes me feel old." Jeremy hated being called Doctor Donovan. It only reminded him of his awful father.

"How are you feeling, Nate?" Jeremy sat down and asked Nate once he felt the tension towards himself when he held Julia's hand.

"Fine." Nate responded dryly. "When can she start weaning her off the Ativan??"

Jeremy wished he had the answer to that question but in his head he knew the truth. Most Bipolar patients rely on things like Ativan to suppress their manic episodes. There was no way in hell Jeremy was telling Nate that yet though.

Julia may never fully detox from Ativan. She may always need it in some form. She isn't aware of this fact yet and Jeremy was not ready to give her more bad news when she was already going through so much. He wished there was another way around it. Another medication. One Julia would not abuse. But she was, in fact, a drug addict. Her drug of choice was the one thing that could save her and give her a better life.

No Talk-Therapy would help someone with Bipolar. Sure, it would give the patient tools to help a little, but Mania? There is no talking to a person in the middle of a manic episode. The only thing you can do is make sure they don't physically harm themselves or others in the middle of it and if they cannot control their breathing and being to hyperventilate- sedatives is the only option. If not given the person could withhold oxygen for a good amount of time. Oxygen needed to be delivered to the brain. Oxygen needed to keep them from passing out or worse.

Jeremy knew Julia's addiction was strong. He also knew her addiction was something she would never be able to fully detox from because of her manic episodes.

He knew he had to be the one to take care of her. She would fall through the cracks otherwise.

He was the only one smart enough to crack the code on Eric Furgeson. Unfortunately, Jeremy was too young, fresh out of med school without a name for himself yet, and was too late. Eric took his own life.

That will not happen with Julia. Jeremy Donovan would make sure of it.

But first, he really needed to get his own medications for his mental illnesses.

He needed to get those meds into his system fast.... before the monster in him comes out.

*****