Sequel: Picking Up the Pieces

Bringing the Devil Out of Me

Thirty Eight

The next few days were chaotic, with calls, emails, and letters flooding my office. Of course, I had written the only "official" Crosby engagement report, but people were starting to harass me just as much as they harassed him. One night after work I crossed off another box on my calendar and let out a curse. February 10th. Shit! Valentines Day is in four days! What the hell am I going to get Sidney?!

"Hey," I heard Sidney say, tapping the edge of my cubicle doorway.

"Sid! What are you doing here?" I cried happily, shoving my chair away from my desk. He collected me in his arms and kissed my hair lightly.

"I wanted to pick you up," he muttered, burying his face in my hair. There was something strange in his voice. I froze immediately.

"Sid...is something wrong?" I asked. He sniffed quietly.

"There's...there's been an accident," he choked out.

"What? Sid, what happened?!" I asked, looking up. His eyes were bloodshot, and I knew immediately that he had been crying. Tear tracks ran down his cheeks.

"I-i-it's Flowers. H-he was driving home from p-practice...and...someone was drunk and ran the red light..." Sidney croaked, beginning to tremble. I hugged him tightly.

"Is he okay?" I asked, a dark feeling blooming in my chest.

"T-th-they don't know if he's gonna make it. He lost a lot of blood...and they don't have enough of his type," Sidney whimpered.

"What blood type is he?" I asked.

"I have no idea..." Sidney croaked. I grabbed my purse off of my desk and pulled out my keys.

"Babe, let's go." I said, grabbing his hand.

"Where are we going?" Sidney asked.

"The hospital. Get out your phone and tell the entire team to meet us there," I said quickly, whisking him out of the office.

"What's that gonna do?" Sidney asked.

"There's gotta be at least one guy on the team with the same blood type. We aren't going to let Marc die. I promise," I said.
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Sidney wasn't the only one who was crying. When I spoke with the doctor and told him why we were all there, we were all quickly taken to a small lab within the hospital. They took small samples of all of our blood and within twenty minutes they had whisked several of the team members, Sidney, and I, into another room. They took blood from all of us, gave us water, juice, and crackers, and then left quickly.

"What just happened?" Sidney asked, slightly pale from blood loss.

"We just gave Marc our blood. They'll test it for STDs or whatever, and then if it's clean he'll get what he needs," I explained.

"H-how did you know to do that?" he asked.

"You can give someone your kidneys, your bone marrow...your anything almost," I said quietly. When we returned to the waiting room, Sidney pulled me onto his lap and rested his head on my shoulder. I stroked his hair until he dozed off. I eventually fell asleep myself, and it wasn't until one of the doctors came in that most of us remained asleep.

"Are you all here for Mr. Fleury?" the doctor asked. I bolted up and nodded.

"Yes, we're here for Marc. Any news?" I asked.

"He's going to live, but he's in for the long haul. If you hadn't all given blood, he probably wouldn't be alive right now," the doctor said grimly. Several of us let out happy cheers.

"Sid, wake up!" I said, shoving Sidney roughly. He started and looked at me groggily.

"What's going on?" he asked, his words slurred.

"Flowers is gonna be okay!" I smiled. He smiled widely and pulled me back into his lap, kissing me. I smiled and kissed his forehead gently.

"Miss Parker?" A nurse asked, tapping me on the shoulder gently. I groaned and cracked my back. Hospital waiting room chairs were not ideal for sleeping.

"Yes?" I yawned.

"Mr. Fleury is awake...he's been asking for you. We're having a bit of a communication problem with him right now," she said quietly.

"Oh...okay," I said, standing. I looked at Sidney, who was sleeping fitfully, and followed her down a series of long hallways. I had to bite back a wave of nausea as I walked into the room and saw Marc laying on a bed. His face was torn up, with stitches streaking large sections of it. He was donning several casts, he had a breathing mask on, and IV tubes ran all over him. Tears welled up in my eyes.

"Alice," he said quietly. His eyes could hardly open, they were badly bruised.

"Marc...ca va?" I asked, walking to the side of his bed.

"Mal...tres mal. Je me suis blesse," (bad...very bad. I hurt) he croaked. I felt a tear roll down my face.

"Vous serez d'accord...Je vous promets,"(you'll be okay...I promise) I said before turning to the nurse.

"What did he say?" she asked quietly.

"He said that he's bad and that he hurts," I said.

"Does he want medication?" she asked.

"You didn't give him anything?!" I hissed angrily.

"Yes, we did. Does he need more?" she asked, correcting herself.

"Voulez-vous tout médicament contre la douleur?" (do you want any pain medication?) I asked him. He nodded stiffly.

"Oui. Si vous plait," (yes. please) he mumbled.

"He wants it," I said to her. She immediately left the room.

"Où est Sidney?" he asked.

"Sidney dort dans la salle d'attente." (Sidney is sleeping in the waiting room) I said.

"Okay. Merci pour votre aide. Allez dormir en peu." (Okay. Thanks for your help. Go get a little sleep) he mumbled.

"Okay...a bientot." (see you soon) I said before gently kissing his battered cheek and walking out. I curled up in the hallway and let my body quake with silent sobs for a long time before I walked back out into the waiting room. Several of the guys swarmed me.

"How is he?" Max asked.

"Bad...he looks like he's been to hell and back," I croaked.

"Why did he want to see you?" Comrie asked, almost angry.

"Because he can't speak English right now," I mumbled.

"What did he say?" Sidney asked.

"That he was in pain, wanted some meds, and then he asked where you were, and then told me to get some sleep," I said.

"He always thinks of other people first," Sidney said sadly before hugging me tightly. I started shaking, and Sidney hugged me even more tightly.