David shook the man's hand before stepping into the dimly lit room. There among the assorted monitoring machines lay Tamellyn, seeming so small against the green sheets. Her dark hair was spread out across the sheets. Her face was swollen and bruised. The right arm was bandaged, the left had an IV tube leading beneath the white medical tape.

David stared down at his wife. The doctor had said she would be all right. The bruises would heal he knew. He had so many questions about the accident. He needed to talk to someone who could tell him what had happened. Tammy would not be in any condition to talk about, it he felt sure.

He almost hoped that she remained unconscious for a while longer because he had no idea how he was going to tell her about the baby. He would much rather save her from that pain. Pulling a chair nearer the bed, he sat.

A though occurred to David. Had Tammy told her mother, Elaine Veneze? She lived fifty miles away in Valuma County. It came as a shock that it was his job to contact her. And what about Steven, Tamellyn's brother.

Brushing a piece of hair away from the bandage above her right eye, he left the room to call her mother.

When he reached Elaine she was just leaving her flower shop. She carried the cellular phone so she could easily be reached. She'd reacted very calmly when David gave her the news, and promised that she would be coming up right away to be with her daughter. David asked her if she would get in touch with whomever else she thought needed to know. He didn't want to leave Tammy alone for too long. The last thing he wanted was for her to wake up by herself.

"Of course I will," Elaine said. "And David," she added, her tone steady. "She's going to be just fine. She's a strong woman."

David thanked Elaine for her encouragement replacing the phone. As he was turning to leave the waiting area, he heard a young woman in the corner cry out in anguish. One of the doctors was trying to calm her. She didn't appear to have any family with her. David suddenly felt a strange empathy for her. He'd lost both his parents when he was very young, and had been raised by an aunt. Aunt Adelle had died when he was in college. Aside from Tammy, he technically had no family. He was alone in the world.

Turning he hurried on toward Tammy's room. He remembered that he didn't want her to wake up alone. Rushing into the room, he stopped short when he saw that she was still asleep. Slowing, he approached the bed. The piece of hair had again fallen across her bandage. He reached up to remove it again and she stirred. He froze as he waited for her to open her eyes.

Moaning softly under her breath, her eyes slowly opened. David's hand was in the middle of the act of brushing hair off her brow. She focused confusedly on his hand.

Drawing his arm away, David welcomed her back to reality, "Hello Sunshine," he gave her his best grin.

She looked at him with a deeper confusion, then turning her head she looked toward the many machines near the bedside, her eyes tracking slowly around the unfamiliar area. Finally they settled once again on the man who was staring at her with an odd expression on his face. She closed her eyes again.

David just stood there. Though he desperately wanted to take her into his arms, he didn't for fear of hurting her. Leaning over the bedside, he settled instead for words of comfort. "Everything is going to be all right now, honey. I'm going to be right here with you--helping, you."

"What's going on?" she whispered hoarsely through dry lips. She opened her eyes and looked uncertainly up toward him. "What happened? What am I doing here?" she asked, tears began to well up in her eyes. An explicable fear was growing in her eyes.

"You had an accident," David said very slowly, taking her hand into his. It was cold. He wrapped his other hand around it, too. "Your mother is on the way," he added, thinking that might calm her. "She should be here in about an hour."

Tammy looked at him confused. "My mother?" she asked. Looking around the room at the machines the were above and around the bed, she finally looked back toward him. She looked, if possible, more frightened. "I'm in the hospital aren't I?" she asked.

"Yes, the accident...remember," David said. Then immediately wondered if he should have worded that differently.

"Umm...are you the doctor?" As she spoke a single tear spilled over. "I can't remember anything," she cried. The tears gathered and began to stream streamed over her checks in rapid succession.

David looked at her stunned, utterly at a loss. "Uh," he began, "Your name is Tamellyn Brinkman. You are in St Elijas Medical Center Hospital. You were in a car accident earlier today. My name is David Brinkman, I'm your husband. Don't you remember me at all?" David asked, unsure if he could contain the fear that gnawed at his gut.

"No!" Tammy cried harder. "I don't know you." She dragged her hand away from him, covering her face, shaking her head. Crying obviously caused her pain, as she wrapped her arms around her mid section. She seemed to have trouble catching her breath.

David reached for her in an attempt to calm her and she shrunk, horrified, back against the bed. Her lack of memory frightened him, but her outright rejection hurt. He stood, bewildered before bolting out of the door in search of the doctor.

"I need a doctor down here," he yelled from the doorway. "Room 614," he yelled, looking over his shoulder to check the room number. He heard running footsteps . Two nurses and Dr Lyons were headed his way. They immediately took in the situation and went to work. An oxygen mask was placed on Tammy's face and a sedative was put in her IV.

David stood near the doorway as Dr Lyons ordered follow up drugs. When he'd completed his orders he looked at a few of the monitors and wrote something on her chart. Taking one last look at his patient, he turned to a worried David.

"My office is just around the corner," he said opening the door for David to pass.

Seated behind his desk he spoke again, "Mind telling me what happened in there?" His face lacked expression, but David thought he detected mild accusation in his tone.