When Tammy opened her eyes, she found that her airbag had deployed. Smoke, and the acrid smell of charges filled the inside of her car. Coughing she got out and looked at the mess around her. The passenger side of her car was crushed. There was a brown car smashed in on two sides and a station wagon with a smashed rear end and a fourth car that had received damage.

Reaching a hand up to her acting face, Tammy headed in the direction of a child crying. She stumbled over something. Looking down she saw that it looked vaguely familiar. Focusing harder, she tried to concentrate. Then suddenly she realized what the object was. It was a man's forearm.

With that realization, everything around her went immediately out of focus. Her vision tunneled, and the rushing winds of unconsciousness rolled over her.

~*~

The meeting hadn't turned out the way David had planned it. He felt mostly to blame. He could barely think after the bombshell Tammy had dropped on him just prior. Sitting at the conference table he placed his head in his hands. At least now he knew why Tammy had been so moody lately. It was just too soon. She was trying to get her own business of the ground, and the fall was a particularly busy time for ACI as well as for her and Tammy. They hadn't really had time to enjoy one other. Besides, they had planned to wait two more years before they had children. Why hadn't she followed the plan?

Katy stuck her head around the corner, having led the visitors out of the complex. "David, are you sure you're okay?" she asked in her lightly accented voice.

David nodded disheartenedly. "Yeah," he sighed. "I'm all right. Sorry about what happened; I wasn't at my best. I just hope it wasn't too obvious. "

Katy grinned wryly, "You seemed a bit preoccupied. That's not so bad. It actually allowed me to get in some well needed practice. Overall, I think they thought you were just training me. I think it turned out to be a good thing." She looked at the sad expression still lingering around his eyes. "Well, if you need someone to talk to, you know where I am. Anytime." She allowed the invitation to hang open as she always did.

David smiled wryly up at her. She had been a good friend. Even though Tammy's moods had strained their relationship lately, he could always rely on Katy to be the same. A sudden page by Sarah, alerting him that he had a call on line 17 precluded his saying anything on the subject.

Standing, he reached across the large conference table for the phone. "This is David Brinkman." He spoke into the receiver.

~*~

Katy was leaving the room when she heard David's sharp inhalation. She turned to see that he'd gone at least 3 shades paler.

"Which hospital?" he asked in a choked voice. A moment later he slammed the receiver down and was out of the office passed Katena like a shot.

"David, what's wrong?" she called after him to no avail. She doubted that he had even heard her. She rounded the corner into the reception area just as Sarah jumped out of his way. The older woman's worried gaze looked with hers.

"Was that Tamellyn that called?" Katena asked. Something seemed terribly wrong here and she meant to find out what it was.

"No, " Sarah thought back to the phone call. "Actually he introduced himself as Lt Reiter with the city police dept. I thought it had something to do with radar equipment or something."

Katena shook her head, "No, that couldn't have been it. David was pretty shaken up by whatever they told him. In fact, I think he's going to the hospital. I just don't know which one."

Sarah's eyes widened and she gasped in horror. "The hospital, how do you know that?"

"I heard him ask," Katena said. "And David was as white as a sheet when he asked it, too. Something is very wrong here, Sarah."

"I hope it's not Tammy," Sarah breathed a small prayer. "Whatever it is, though, we're going to have to wait for David to tell us."

"I guess you are right." Katena said. "I certainly hope it's nothing serious." She headed down the hall toward her office. But, neither she nor Sarah could keep their mind off whatever it was that was happening with David.

~*~

David parked in the emergency room parking lot. By the time he arrived in rush hour traffic it was getting dark. He jogged up to the glass doors and stopped short. He could do this, he told himself, raking a hand through his hair. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he entered the emergency room.

A central desk sat at the head of two corridors leading off in opposing directions. He approached the desk. "I'm David Brinkman, my--my wife Tamellyn Brinkman was in an accident and I got a call, saying she has been admitted here. Where is she?" David asked.

The heavy set nurse behind the station looked up at him, "Just a moment, sir," she said, picking up the phone. She spoke so softly into the receiver that David couldn't make out what she was saying. A minute later, she hung up, telling him that someone would be coming down to meet with him, all the while she was writing on a clip board.

Without missing a beat, she handed the clipboard to him. "If you would just give us some information, meanwhile."

David numbly nodded his head as the woman began to ask her questions.

"Do you have insurance Mr. Brinkman or will you be making other arrangements?"

The nurse asked matter of factly. She had obviously asked the same question many times before that very day.

"Yes, I have an insurance card." David answered. Reaching for his wallet he pulled it out and handed it to the nurse.

"Would you mind removing the card from your wallet, sir?" the nurse asked. David realizing his mistake apologized and removed the card. His hands were shaking so badly, he could barely retrieved the laminated card. Looking toward the two corridors, he wondered when the someone that the nurse had promised him would arrive.

"Is your correct address: 1532 Wayfarer Drive?" the nurse asked. "Does your wife have any allergies that you are aware of?" "Who is your wife's regular doctor?" "Does your wife have any dangerous or unusual medical conditions that we should be aware of?" David answered all of them distractedly between glances down the two corridors. Then it occurred to him, " She's pregnant!" he exclaimed. "I just found out today."

The nurse paused at his revelation and made a notation in all capital letters at the bottom of the page. A young man dressed in a hospital uniform stepped toward the desk. The nurse pointed to David, "If you'll follow Julian, Mr. Brinkman."

David followed Julian around the corner to the elevator. "How is she?" he asked when the doors closed.

"I'm afraid I don't have any information, sir," Julian told him. "The doctor will talk to you when we reach the floor."

David nodded his head and watched as the numbers continued their slow climb to the sixth floor. Julian pointed him toward another desk as he exited the elevator. Julian went back with the elevator.

David started down the hall toward the desk. The nurse looked up as he approached. "I'm David Brinkman. My wife is here." he said.

"Yes," the nurse nodded. "Please, have a seat in the waiting area. It's just around the corner to the left. The doctor will be out to see you in a few minutes." David looked around tiredly at the other people in the waiting area. Several plants lined the walls and hung at the window. A stack of newspapers and magazines sat on a central table. A coffee pot sat in the corner. With the sign: Feel free to have a cup of coffee. Compliments of Ward 6 staff. Taking a chair in the corner, David tried to focus on anything but the worries that were plaguing him.

"Mr. Brinkman," a voice called from the doorway. David looked in the direction of the door. A tall man dressed in a white lab coat stood in the doorway with a chart in his hands.

"Yes?" he said, standing.

"Come with me," the man said. David followed. "I'm Dr Lyons," he introduced himself. "I was the examining physician at the time your wife was admitted," he said.

"She has a couple of bruised ribs and a major concussion. Also a sprained wrist. Those things she will recover from. Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do for the developing fetus. The shock of the accident was simply too much. She lost the baby. By the time she reached the hospital, it was too late." The doctor's sympathetic tone was almost too much for David. He cut him off. He needed to be with Tammy now. He knew that she had really wanted this baby.

"Can I see her?" he asked. "She only found out for sure today."

The doctor nodded his understanding, and gestured down the hall. "Her room is this way. She hasn't regained consciousness." He came to a stop in front of room E-617. "If you need me, I'm Dr Lyons. Just ask any nurse."