Carly spent the rest of the evening trying to call Lee over and over. She left six messages and kept her phone in her pocket at all times, even though she knew it was against the hospitals policy.

Her shift finished but she didn't go home. She tried on several occasions to get into Mrs. Dawson's room but was told not to at every turn. Frustrated, she booked a room in the hospital for the night and told Lou to update her straight away if there was any change. The room that she was in was usually kept only for the members of staff who were doing a split shift, where they absolutely had to get as much rest as possible in between. Luckily for Carly, there was no one doing such a shift at the moment and all the rooms were free.

She lay on top of the pale blue cover telling herself she was trying to sleep but she knew she was lying. Hours passed by but she only got up when her cell phone ran out of power after trying to contact Lee so many times. It was the first time she could remember her battery ever going completely flat.

She walked down the now empty corridors and arrived back at the door to Lee's mother's room. She looked around to make sure there was no one there to stop her going in this time. There was no one in the room besides the patient, but she knew that there would be a doctor or nurse standing very close by. She snuck into the room and looked down at the helpless woman on the bed. She had an oxygen mask over her face but there was no denying who it was. She wasn't smiling now like she was in Lee's picture though.

Carly took the clipboard from the end of Mrs. Dawson's bed and read through it. She didn't have too much health problems but she had a severe case of arthritis which Carly assumed was why she was in the care home. She'd fallen over a couple of times since moving to the home but had never any serious damage. As good a sign as this was, Carly knew that when it came to heart attacks nothing was ever certain.

She placed the clipboard back where it belonged and sat down in the lone chair that was positioned next to the sleeping woman. Whether or not the chair was more comfortable than the bed she'd been lying on or if she was only tired now that she'd at last been in the room, Carly now felt her eyelids dropping rapidly and each time she lifted them again it took a lot of energy from her. Eventually she gave in to her fatigue and found herself in a dreamless sleep.

She was abruptly awakened three hours later by Lou's heavy hand on her shoulder.

"What is it?" Carly groaned, trying to wake herself up.

"Mrs Dawson is awake" He smiled. Carly suddenly remembered all that had happened yesterday and jumped out of her seat. She looked to where Linda Dawson was now in a seated position smiling at her.

"Is she going to be ok?" She asked nervously.

"She's stable. We'll need to keep her in for a few days but it's looking good" He smiled.

"Thank god" Carly sighed in relief.

"She'd like to talk to you if you don't mind?" Lou whispered.

"Why?"

"You're the first person she saw when she woke up. She's very curious as to who you are" He laughed, as did Carly. She then sat back down in the chair and turned her attention to Lee's Mother.

"You must've got quite a scare seeing me this morning" Carly said to the smiling woman.

"I did wonder" She said. "Part of me wished I was looking in a mirror. You're a very pretty girl".

Carly found herself blushing. How on earth could Lee have come from this woman?

This was a question that Lee had never thought to ask himself. Right now he was asking himself when he'd next be able to get a day off to go to a Steelers game.

The first half hadn't been great but they managed to turn it around in the second half and eventually won by 31-21. Although he had been sitting by himself, he had made friends with several other supporters around him. He never normally spoke to strangers but he was in too good a mood not to. The game finished and he headed back to his hotel where he fell asleep almost immediately. Clearly it was tiring work cheering on a team who'd been losing for so long in the game. He woke up and headed to the airport. He'd enjoyed his trip away but was looking forward to many things at home. Work, because that's all he ever did. His phone charger, because as much as he hated to admit it, he couldn't live without it. The biggest thing of all though was Carly. He hated admitting this to himself as well but he was well aware that if it wasn't for her then he wouldn't even have gone to the game. He couldn't believe how someone who seemed to be so annoying at first could be considered such a good friend now. Of course, he wasn't going to tell her that.

He arrived back in Pittsburgh and quickly caught a cab to his apartment. He paid the driver and exited the car. Once in his home, Lee dumped his bag on the living room floor and headed to his phone to check his messages. He didn't normally bother but today he could clearly see the light flashing which told him that he had at least one.

His message tone played, was followed by the standard beep and then he heard his first message.

"Hi there, I'm trying to reach a Doctor Lee Dawson. My name is Angela and I work at the Fair Oaks home where your mother is one of our residents. I'm afraid she's been taken to the Allegheny General Hospital. We think it might be a heart attack but we can't be sure until she's checked out. We'll keep trying to get a hold of you so please let us know as soon as you hear this message".

Lee didn't even wait to hear the rest of his messages. He jumped out the door and flagged down another taxi to take him to the hospital. So many thoughts ran through his head that he couldn't make any sense of them. His head was so foggy that he didn't even lock his apartment. He didn't care either.

*

"Where is she!?" Lee demanded as soon as he entered the front door of the hospital, still wearing his black and yellow Steelers top.

Lou was the first person to approach the enraged doctor.

"She's in room 204. She's alright now, you don't have to worry" He tried to calm down Lee, noticing the disapproving looks from the patients who were crowded around the reception. Lee didn't wait to be calmed, strongly barging past Lou and marching towards the room, with his boss following close behind.

Lou tried explaining the situation to Lee but it all went in one ear and out the other. Nothing was going to stop Lee from seeing his mother. She was the only family he had left and he couldn't believe he'd nearly lost her.

He entered room 204, scaring both his mother and her guest. A guest that Lee was absolutely stunned to see.

"Oh my god, Lee!" Carly leapt up from her chair and hugged Lee tightly. He pushed her aside as best he could and made a beeline for the now vacant chair.

"Mom, are you ok? What happened?" He asked, taking her hand in his own.

"I'm fine Lee, really. You know it takes a lot more than that to take me down" She smiled.

"Why didn't anybody call me?" Lee barked at both Carly and Lou. He didn't care which one answered him.

"Are you kidding?" Carly laughed. "Everyone called you! We couldn't get a hold of you".

Lee remembered that his cell phone had been out of commission all weekend but that didn't stop the anger coursing through his veins.

"I just had a nice long chat with Nurse Oliver here" Linda said, forcing Lee's attention back to her. "She's a lovely young girl you know". Carly began to blush but Lee didn't look at her. He kept his eyes locked on his mom.

"Don't ever scare me like that again" He told her more then asked her.

"Believe me son, I'm going to try it" Linda laughed.

"Here's her chart" Lou said, handing Lee the clipboard from the end of her bed. The good thing, if you can call it that, about a relation of a doctor being in the hospital was that no one needed to explain anything. The doctors or nurses could simply read the charts and understand everything on it.

This seemed to satisfy Lee, who simply nodded as he read. Lou made his exit now that Lee seemed to be much calmer then when he'd arrived at the hospital. Carly remained in the room but kept herself in the background whilst Lee and Linda had a brief catch-up. Every story she told was interrupted by Lee asking if she felt alright. Carly noted that he was more concerned than the actual patient was!

"I have to ask you something" Linda said, interrupting another of Lee's concerns.

"What is it? Ask me anything" Lee replied.

"Why have I never heard you talking about Carly before?" She asked. Lee blinked in surprise. He turned to see Carly standing behind him, near the door. He'd forgotten she was there. "Do you know he phones me every week and still hasn't mentioned you" She said, this time to Carly. "If I wasn't in this bed right now I'd be clipping your ear right now son!"

"Don't get too excited mom. Please!" Lee said, raising his hands as if he was ready to hold her down if he needed to. Once happy that his mom was still resting, Lee looked back at Carly. "Can I talk to you outside for a second?" He asked. Carly agreed and stepped out. Lee promised his mother that he'd be back soon and followed Carly out.

"How are you holding up?" Carly asked as soon as the door clicked shut.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Lee asked angrily, ignoring Carly's question.

"What?"

"What were you doing spending so much time with her? She's my mother, not yours!"

"I know that"

"What gives you the right to do that?" He asked.

"Why are you so mad?" Carly asked. "I didn't do anything! I was here when she got brought in. I tried calling you like a hundred times. I didn't want her to be alone so I stayed with her until you got here" She explained.

"I should have been here from the start. I would have been if it wasn't for you!" Lee barked.

"You needed a break" Carly tried reasoning with him. She couldn't believe that this was the same man that she thought was her friend.

"What I needed was for you to stay out of my life! I can't believe I actually thought you were different. You're just like everybody else!" Lee was now yelling.

"What are you talking about?"

"Just get out of here! I don't need you here anymore. Just leave me and my family alone!" Lee didn't wait for Carly to reply before going back into the room which his mom was currently occupying. Carly knew it wasn't a good idea for her to follow him. Even though she didn't want to, she left the hospital and went home for the first time in almost 48 hours.

"Where did Carly go?" Linda asked her son as he sat back down at her bedside.

"She had to go. There are a lot of patients that she has to care for" he replied.

"She's very fond of you, you know? She thinks very highly of you"

"So she should" Lee said with a smile.

"Lee!" His mother said, sounding as though she was telling him off.

"What?"

"Don't shut her out like you do all the other girls"

"I don't shut anybody out"

"You shut everybody out" She corrected.

"Why are we talking about her huh? This is about you. We need to focus on getting you better" Lee tried changing the subject. This was why he didn't visit her as much as he knew he should.

"Son, the doctor said all I have to do is sit here and rest and I'll be damned if I have to do it in silence". Lee sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win this argument. "I can tell you like her" Linda continued.

"Mom!"

"It's obvious! I saw the way you looked at her. And after everything she told me I can already tell that she's the best friend you've had since jimmy in the fifth grade"

"Jimmy was imaginary"

"Exactly! And don't take it out on her that you were out of town when all this happened. Even if you'd have been here there was nothing you could have done that the rest of the doctors couldn't. I'm ok. And you could seem a little happier about it!"

"I am happy, believe me! I just hate that I could have lost you and I was nowhere near you to help out" Lee told her.

"Well I hate that your plane to San Diego could have crashed and burned to the ground and I wouldn't have been able to save you but you don't see me whining do you?".

Lee laughed, even though he didn't want to.

"Point taken" He nodded.

*

After she arrived home, Carly turned on all the lights in her apartment and then did the same with the heating as well. She liked where she lived but it was always freezing. She sat on her sofa with a thick blanket on top of her but she still couldn't heat herself up. She was pretty sure that it was due to the fact that she was apparently on Lee's list of enemies again, even though she knew that there was no real medical basis to support this theory. She put on her TV and watched a few episodes of some comedy show that she hadn't heard of before. She didn't know when, but she eventually fell asleep and woke up again at around 5am. She was initially confused as to why the TV was on until she remembered where she was. Despite having slept for almost ten hours, she felt like she hadn't gotten a wink.