My knuckles were white as I gripped the steering wheel, feeling even more nervous than I did last night. Trott rode shotgun while Smith sat in back, both equally quiet. We knew we had work to do, however this seemed much more important right now.

It was the morning after she woke up. I was tired, having not gotten home until around 4 in the morning, yet here I was at 8 o'clock, returning to the same hospital. I hoped that she was allowed visitors, because I needed to do a lot of explaining before she gets the wrong idea. I didn't want to come off as creepy or annoying, so I could only hope the nurses hadn't mentioned me.

Trott and Smith had insisted coming, even though they might be recognized and kicked out again. They had used the excuse that they were already emotionally invested in this, and there was no way they wern't going to see me through the end of this, where ever that may be.

We parked and quickly walked in. Willow spotted me almost immediately, and pulled all three of us over. "I'm not happy about you're little stunt last night," she scolded, "I shouldn't even let you back in there."

"But you're going to let all three of us see her right?" Smith asked, flashing her a devilish smile. He was very aware of his effect on women, and tried to use it now.

Willow just raised an eyebrow at him. "You're pushing it," she said, before turning back to me. "She's allowed visitors now, but I don't need you three overwhelming her," she said, giving Trott and Smith a look, "she's still pretty out of it."

I understood. "So can I go talk to her?" I asked, wanting nothing more than to hear her voice and look into her eyes again.

"You can," she said, and then turned to my two flatmates. "Can I leave you two alone without causing trouble?" she asked.

"You could take us with you," Trott smirked, "So you can keep a better eye on us."

"We might get into some trouble otherwise," Smith smiled, following Trott's lead.

Willow sighed and rolled her eyes. "I don't have time for this," she motioned to us as she started walking away, "All three of you, follow me."

Smith and Trott celebrated behind me, acting a lot more cheery than I felt. It may just be a game to them, but I was a coil of nerves. I had so many expectations for Amanda, and I knew that most of them were pretty ridiculous and would only cause me more heart ache when I find out she's different than I expected.

She was in another room again, this time with a door. I walked in to find a more homey room, though it still screamed hospital. There were some fake flowers in a vase by her bed, and a tele sat across the room. There was only one extra plush chair in the corner of the room, though I didn't feel comfortable enough to take a seat. Amanda was staring into space again, not really registering the bad soap opera that was playing. She seemed lost in thought, and didn't notice us until Willow cleared her throat.

"Amanda? You have visitors sweetheart," Willow called. Amanda looked over and gave a curt nod, the only acknowledgment that she even saw us. "Don't be too loud or talk too much," she hissed to us as she left, though the eerie quiet of the hospital room kept us all quiet.

Her eyes shifted over us. "Alex Smith and Chris Trott, the other two thirds of Hat Films," she noted, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Does she not know about all you're visits Ross?" Smith asked in a lack luster whisper, loud enough for Amanda to most likely hear us.

"I don't think she remembers," I breathed to him, trying to signal him to keep his mouth shut.

He didn't get it. Throwing an arm around my shoulders, he boomed, "This twat has done nothing but sit next to you for the past two months!"

I quickly tried to cover up the outburst, stepping closer to her. "Uh, I saw you get hit..." I stammered, "And you didn't have any family so I... I just thought I could keep you company..."

She just blinked, studying the three of us. It got awkward, and I was about to fill the silence when she asked, "You work at Yogtowers, don't you?"

I flinched, knowing exactly where this was going. I hadn't talked to Lewis yet, for I was afraid of being rejected and I wasn't ready for the prospect that Amanda might not be working with us. I was more worried about when she would wake up and what we would become than if she still had the internship.

All three of us agreed, and she continued. "Do you...happen to know anything about my internship there?" she asked, eyebrows furrowed in worry.

Smith and Trott both looked at me expectantly, and I knew I wouldn't get much help from them. I sighed, "You were replaced by someone else," I told her bluntly, sparing her the waffling and just telling her the truth.

She turned from us, squinting and looking sadly towards the wall. Her eyes shinned, and the pained look on her face was enough to make my heart ache for her. I wanted to reach out and touch her, to comfort her in anyway I can, but I didn't have enough courage to do it when she was awake, nor in front of my friends.

"But we'll talk to Lewis!" Smith assured her. I knew how much he hated watching girls cry, and seeing this broken girl with silent tears on her cheeks was enough to make him impulsive. "We can fix it, don't worry!" he told her.

She quickly wiped the tears away and gave us a thankful look, the ghost of a smile crossing her lips. "Can you fix everything else?" she asked quietly, giving a halfhearted chuckle, "Like the lawsuit and my board and..." she pushed her hair back, only making more fall into her face. "Oh my gosh, my insurance premiums are going to skyrocket... I won't be able to even eat anymore," she sighed, looking at her hands in her lap.

"You're awfully stressed for someone who just woke up from a two month nap," Trott pointed out. She just gave him a confused, and somewhat disgusted, look.

They wern't helping my impression on her; I knew I had to get them out before they said anything else that was embarrassing or offensive. "Could you give us some privacy?" I asked through a gritted teeth smile as I turned away from Amanda.

"What do you mean mate?" Smith asked, "I wanna talk to her more..."

I gave them a slight shove, "I'll be right out, just wait for me," I said, covering up their protests.

I shut the door on them, and watched through the small window as they sulked away. Turning back to the girl on the hospital bed, I quickly apologized. "They're a bit... outspoken," I told her.

She looked up at me as I took a few steps closer to her bed. She gave me the same pensive look that I was growing accustomed to. I wish I knew what she was thinking, for this whole visit was very awkward and I didn't want her to shy away from me because of it. I practiced in my head what I was going to say, explaining why I had stayed by her bedside for all those weeks and why I was there last night, though whatever I said I would come off as stalkerish.

"Sit down Ross Hornby, you're making me nervous," she said, nodding towards the chair in the corner.

I pushed it over, thankful for the distraction to give me more time to think. I sat down and looked at her, mesmerized by her hazel eyes as she stared back at me. I could get lost in them, and it was her who spoke next. "So what happened?" she asked plainly.

"You don't remember anything?" I asked, surprised.

"I remember leaving the campus to go to the book store. And then suddenly it was 9 weeks later and I was in a hospital with a hole in my spleen," she said bluntly.

I sighed, knowing I would have to explain a lot of things she didn't want to hear. "I was driving home when an oncoming car hit a... a long boarder," I told her, trying to remember what that skateboard thing was. "You were brought here in critical condition and in a coma," I continued, "just before you woke up you're spleen ruptured and had to go into surgery..."

"Yeah, the doctors told me that much," she noted. She looked at me out of the corner of her eye, gauging my reaction to what she was about to say, "And they said you stayed by my side the entire time, just as Alex Smith had mentioned."

"Yeah, you didn't have any family... I thought you might want some company," I told her, trying to sound as normal as possible. Internally I was freaking out, afraid that she would see it as abnormal to do such a thing.

"Is that the only reason Ross Hornby?" she said quickly, but without any malice. I was once again under her gaze, uncomfortable and sweating for an answer. It started out like that, but soon it changed to something more; I needed her as much as she needed me. And even now, wary of who she really was and somewhat put off by her behavior, I still loved her. It was crazy, and if I had been told I would have acted this way three or four months ago, I would have said it was an impossibility.

"They said that you had a better chance of living if you had some company," I explained, trying to make the entire thing sound plutonic.

Her brown eyes searched mine; I felt as if she were picking my soul apart with them. I wouldn't be surprised if she could read minds with that gaze. "Do you have a girlfriend?" she asked.

I was thrown off by the surprise question. "Uh...no," I sputtered, utterly confused. Why would she want to know that?

She shrugged and let me out of her eyesight, and I felt myself physically relax. "I think I..." she started, but then was cut off by a nurse who held a plastic tray as she opened the door.

"Breakfast time, Miss Romeo," she said, placing down a small lap table and the food. The nurse then turned to me, "Do you want anything sir?" she asked, "We have some fruit? A drink?"

"No thank you," I told her, checking my watch. I knew I had to go to work soon or else Lewis would be on my case again. The videos had been slowing down as a result of all this, as well as the past few months the quality of my work was declining. Normally I was somewhat of a perfectionist, but recently I havn't been able to find any motivation to do a good job. Not after the accident.

"I have... to go...soon..." I trailed, watching her take the apple and shoving the rest of the food into the bin next to her bed. "What...what are you doing?" I asked, growing more perplexed the longer I was here.

She looked at me as if I were the odd one. "I'm a vegan," she said, as if it were obvious.

This was a new development. I had no idea, and it only convinced me more that this was an awful idea. I didn't want to deal with some tree hugging, animal rights activist who yelled at me whenever I drank milk, though she didn't seem like that much of a hippy as far as I could tell; however I barely knew anything about her. I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, realizing that she was nothing like I had pictured.

I got up, suddenly desperate to escape from her. "I'm sorry," I told her quickly, "My friends are waiting for me. I have to go to work."

I shuffled quickly to the door, but stopped when I heard her voice. "You know Ross Hornby..." she said, and I turned to look at her, "I had the strangest dream about you, but..." She paused, looking at some point on the ceiling. "No, it couldn't have been..." she trailed, talking to herself more than anyone else.

I quickly left, not able to understand anything that just happened.

A/N Thank you for the votes and support, I really appreciate it. Sorry if this chapter wasn't up to standards... I thought I was the only one who wrote all day Christmas Eve, but considering all the notifications for new chapters, it appears you are all as crazy as I am. Happy reading.