Feed the Fire

Sabrina glanced at her watch as she clicked on the TV to one of the local news stations. As she settled in front of the computer the news filled up the empty space of the room with its voices reporting on the day's events that happened locally and statewide.

"...Accident on the New York State Thruway about 30 miles from the Geneva exit..." caught Sabrina's attention as she glanced at the screen somewhat interested in the story. "... SUV was heading West on the Thruway before striking a deer and then being struck from behind by a tractor trailer before coming to rest in the median. The two victims whose names are not being released at this moment were airlifted to University Hospital in Syracuse."

Sabrina was only half listening to the story until they showed a picture of the front of the battered SUV and the license plate was in view; 'SKD 311'. The woman blinked and picked up her cell phone hitting a speed dial number and waiting for the person to pick up but they never did as the phone went into voicemail. Turning back to the computer screen in front of her, she quickly typed in a web address and brought up the webpage of the news station that aired the footage of the accident. Her fingers stumbling over the keys of the cell phone she finally managed to ring up the news station trying to get more information. As the phone rang on their end, the land line of the Farm began to ring. Hanging up the cell phone with a click of a button Sabrina reached over and grabbed the cordless phone clicking it on and in a shaky voice answered it, "Good Evening, Hopeful Farm."

A strong male voice replied, "Hello, This is Trooper Waynewright from the New York State Police and I am looking to speak with Sabrina Wright."

The woman swallowed down the lump forming in her throat, "Speaking."

"Can you please verify your birth date?"

"February 19th, 1961," she replied puzzled at the question.

"Thank you. Do you own a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox?" Sabrina felt her heart stop beating and a strangled sob came from deep inside her. "Ma'am; are you still there?"

Sabrina again swallowed her panic that was rising in her throat, "The accident on the Thruway? I just saw a picture of it on the news and saw my license plate." She paused as a feeling of dread flooded through her body, "Mike Dirnt and Beth Pritchard were in the SUV, oh my god are they okay?"

"Ms. Wright those are not the names on the ID's that we recovered from the scene."

Sabrina blinked for a moment until she understood what the Trooper was talking about. "Their stage names... . Michael Pritchard is from California and Holly Pritchard is from Plattsburgh, New York; and they aren't related by the way. I let Michael borrow my SUV to go to Albany to pick up Beth from her cousin's house. He must have been heading back here to the Farm," Sabrina quickly explained trying not to trip over the words coming out of her mouth at a record speed.

"Slow down Ms. Wright. Your friends were airlifted to University Hospital and they are being worked on as we speak. Your SUV is currently in our impound pending investigation but it looks as though according to witnesses a deer jumped out in front of the vehicle and your friend was unable to avoid hitting it. The winter weather road conditions added to the problem as the SUV went out of control flipping over a few times before being hit in the back end by a semi and finally coming to rest in the median."

"Oh my god," Sabrina murmured out loud. "I'm going to head to Syracuse from here and I should be there in about an hour and a half, I'm gonna drive and I'll leave as soon as I call Michael and Beth's family."

"Okay Ms. Wright, do you have a cell number where we can reach you if we need anymore information from you?"

The woman gave the needed information and after saying good bye, hung up the phone with the trooper. Hands shaking she dialed the first number that came to her and waited until the man picked up.

"Hey Boss what's up?" Toby asked.

"Toby, there has been an accident. Michael was coming back here and a deer ran out into the thruway and he hit it and he and Beth are in the hospital in Syracuse."

"Sabrina, slow down and breathe for a second. Let me start damage control and I'll call Bill and together we'll get the press dealt with. Are you heading out to the hospital?"

"Yea, as soon as I call Maia, Ana, Billie and Tre."

"Wait, I'll do that. What was the name of the person you spoke with so I can take over the rest... " Toby paused as he could hear the terror and fear in his friend's voice. "I'm sure they will be okay Sabrina, your SUV has a shitload of safety features; they're probably just banged up."

The woman let out the breath she didn't even realize she was holding, "You're probably right, Tobe. I just feel... " The woman sighed again, "I don't know."

"Let me know when you get there okay?"

"Okay Toby, I'll call you in a bit."

The woman quickly went and packed a small overnight bag and threw on her coat and headed outside to decide what vehicle to drive. After thinking for a moment she opened up the door to the somewhat new Dodge Durango and fired it up to begin the long hour and a half drive to Syracuse.

Sabrina arrived at University Hospital about two hours after finding out about the accident which was roughly about 2 hours from when the accident actually happened. The woman ran into the Emergency Room entrance and went straight to the front desk, "Hi, my name is Sabrina Wright and my friends; Michael Pritchard and Holly Pritchard were in an accident on the Thruway earlier and were airlifted here. Can I see them?"

The receptionist manning the desk looked up at the whirlwind that represented Sabrina and cocked her head, "I'm sorry, but I can't give out any information due to HIPPA laws."

Sabrina barely suppressed a growl, "I understand that, but Michael was driving MY truck when he hit the deer and he is my best friend in the whole... if something has happened to him... " the woman trailed off as she thought about the worse case scenario.

Something in the obviously pregnant woman's voice said something to the woman behind the desk; that and the fact she knew who Sabrina really was and who the patients in question really were. "Lemme go double check in the back to see if we really do have Mike Dirnt back there," the receptionist said with a smile as she rose from her seat and walked into the ER itself.

Within minutes although it seemed like hours to Sabrina the woman came back to her desk, "You can go in, room number 8." Sabrina smiled her thanks and went through the doors into the ER itself and quickly looked around and spied her target and moving as fast as possible walked to where Mike would be. She paused by the door and knocked softly and when she heard the reply to enter she pushed open the door and entered Mike's room.

The bassist had definitely seen better days, "Hey," Sabrina said softly. "You had me worried there for a minute or two... actually for a few hours." The tears spilled down her face at the relief that the man was indeed somewhat okay and indeed alive and breathing.

Mike attempted a smile for the first time since the accident and opened his arms to the woman standing before him, "C'mere." He smoothed her hair as she fell into his arms and cried on his shoulder. "It's okay Sab, I'm fine. Just another broken nose... and that's nothing," he cooed to the woman in an attempt to calm her down.

When the tears finally abated Sabrina pulled back and smacked him gently on the arm. "God dammit Michael, don't you ever scare me like that again," she smiled at the man as she dried her eyes on her sleeve. When he chuckled at her comment she smacked him again, "You ass... " she muttered.

Sabrina moved into the chair by the side of the bed settling in and tucking her legs underneath her as she just stared at the man until he began to talk, "So you know anything about Beth? They won't tell me a thing, I don't know if she's okay or not." The man closed his eyes and his breath hitched in his chest as his mind went back to the accident, "I last remember trying to push the airbag from off of my face and calling out to Beth but she didn't answer... then I woke up here."

"Lemme go see if I can find anything out, I seem to have someone on my side out by the front desk," the older woman said as she stood up and went to her task of finding information. Soon she was back and returned to her chair before speaking up to Mike, "My source said that she is stable but she was pretty banged up. She had a few broken ribs and one punctured a lung along with a broken wrist and ankle. They are going to keep her for a few days though to make sure there isn't any infection from the lung wound."

The man nodded as he closed his eyes and thanked the lord that the woman he knew he cared deeply for was alive. A few tears leaked out from underneath his closed eyelids and he felt and delicate hand come up and brush them away. He opened his eyes to find Sabrina looking at him in a way that he hadn't seen before but as quickly as the look appeared it vanished without a trace when the woman spoke, "It will be okay Michael, I also found out that you are set to be released soon so I figured that I'll rent some rooms next door at the Holiday Inn and we'll stay there until Beth is ready to be released, okay?" The man nodded his agreement. "Just try to relax as well as you can until it's time to go," she murmured as he closed his eyes and tried to do just that.

About an hour later the doctors came in and did a final checkup of Mike and after giving him the once over they signed his release papers and the two friends walked out the ER and into the chilly February air. Mike had lost his jacket somewhere during the accident and his thin shoulders shivered as the harsh winter wind licked at his back. Sabrina took off her own jacket and threw it over the tall man's shoulders until they reached Sabrina's Durango. Once settled into the SUV Sabrina quickly brought the engine to life and pulled out of the spot it had been sitting in. With deft motions the woman guided the vehicle across the road to the Holiday Inn and found a parking spot near the front door.

When Mike didn't move, Sabrina nudged his arm and brought him back to the present and from his musings. He blinked and finally noticed the jacket about his shoulders. "Here... I'm fine," he said as he made motions to remove the coat and return it.

"Nonsense Michael, I have on a heavy winter sweater, it won't be too cold for me from here to the building, please keep it for the moment."

Again the man just nodded his agreement and together the two got out of the car and made their way into the building. Mike just stood there still kind of shell shocked as Sabrina got the rooms. She left Maia's name at the desk for when she showed up so she could get the room Sabrina had reserved for her. After being handed two room cards Sabrina again had to bump Mike from his daydream and led him to the room. Once there with a quick insertion of the card Sabrina opened up the room to reveal two double beds and another door going to the adjoining room which was for Maia.

Sabrina tossed her bag onto one of the beds and stood and stretched, "I'm whipped Michael. Does it matter to you which bed you have?"

The man turned to look at the woman and just shook his head so Sabrina took that as a 'I don't care' answer and deftly grabbed her bag and dropped to the side the of the bed. She reached into her shirt and did the secret shimmy shake inside of her shirt which removed her bra without taking off the shirt. She tossed off her shoes and undid her jeans, letting them drop to the floor in a pool of denim and pulled back the covers of the bed and climbed in. She looked back at the man who just now seemed to start to move around the room.

"I don't have anything, my stuff is still in the truck," he said sounding unsure of himself.

"When daylight comes, we'll take a ride to the impound center and see if we can get your stuff out from the truck or not. Okay?" she questioned the man. Sabrina quickly checked her cell phone for any messages before placing it on the table beside her bed. "Michael, you need to try to sleep a little. She saw the man nod his head and she snuggled down into the covers and closed her eyes with sleep coming very quickly.

Mike sat there propped up against the headboard channel surfing through what the hotel offered on their TV system. He trembled as a non-existent draft fell over his shoulders. He absentmindedly plunked at the thin green surgical scrub the hospital had given him to wear after cutting off his own shirt. With a start he realized he had nothing, not even his cell phone; his bags still being in the totaled vehicle and the latter being lost somewhere during the accident.

The silence was shattered by the ringing of Sabrina's phone which lay on the table between the beds. Mike moved quickly; grabbing it and turning it on so as not to wake the sleeping woman in the next bed. "Hello?"

"Oh my god Mike, is that you?"

"Yea, Tre... it's me."

"Jesus man, what the fuck happened? All we know is that Sab called Toby who in turn called us saying you and Beth were in some sort of accident but nobody knew anything yet since Sab was leaving to drive to the hospital. Is Beth okay? Are you okay?" the drummer queried his friend in search of answers.

Mike sighed before gathering his thoughts, "I'm fine, just a broken nose and some cracked and bruised ribs from the seatbelt. Beth, she had a broken ankle and wrist and ended up with a punctured lung from some broken ribs. We haven't been able to see her yet. Sab and I are at a hotel next door and we're waiting for Maia to show up. Hopefully tomorrow we can see Beth."

"I take it things went okay in Albany before this happened," Tre asked the man.

"Yea, actually we got along great and had a wonderful Valentine's Day date; all romantic and whatnot. Jesus Tre, I hope she's okay. We're to the point of her liking me, and god... " he trailed off lost again in his own musings of the accident.

"Mike... Mike... Mike man, are you still there?"

Mike heard in the distance Tre's voice and focused on it and tried to leave the gruesome memory behind him. "Yea, sorry... just thinking about what happened."

"You need to call Ana, she is worried sick and she hasn't told Estelle anything since there wasn't any information yet."

"Yea, I will. I'll call Billie too... " Mike said again losing track of the conversation as to the pain meds kicking in finally.

"Mike... MIKE... "

"Wha... "

"I'll call Ana and Billie; you sound like you're on your last legs. Just call in the morning when you know what's happening okay?"

"Ummmhmmm," Mike said as he clicked off the phone and let it drop to his side as he too stretched out under the covers and let an uneasy sleep claim him.

The next morning Mike, Sabrina and Maia; who had shown up an hour or so after Sabrina; went back over to the hospital in order to get some information and hopefully see Beth. With Maia leading the way the trio walked down a hallway looking for a number that would led them to Beth. Upon coming to the correct room, Maia knocked softly and pushed open the door to reveal Beth in a bed that was propped up a bit so she could be in an upright position. There was an aircast on her right wrist and a bulge under the blanket that covered her left lower leg. The blanket was pulled up to her waist and her arms and face were pale compared to the standard issue hospital gown she was wearing. Various cuts and scrapes and bruises covered her upper body and face. She was awake and trying to eat the slop that the place tried to pass off as food and watching some morning talk show.

Beth turned at the noise and smiled as she saw who was invading her room. She glanced quickly from Sabrina and Maia and settled on Mike's face. "Did we get any venison? I mean we should have at the very least gotten some for the crap that deer put us through," she joked as she looked at the man. She watched as a passing look of shame and regret came over his face until he pushed it off with a smile.

"No, I don't think there was any deer left after that," he replied trying to return her joke.

"Meh... " she said trailing off. "It's okay... I'm not a big venison eater anywho."

Sabrina came up along side of the younger woman, "You know that disappearing scared and worried a few of us Beth."

"Well I didn't intend to totally disappear... my place... "

"Yea, we found out about that Beth. Hey I just want to let you know that you have a place at any one of my homes; Oakland, The Farm, the Penthouse, the Florida farm, my place in LA; anywhere you want. You're kinda like a little sister to me and I try to take care of those I consider family."

Beth smiled at the older woman's words. "Thanks Sabrina, but I think I'm going to go to Oakland; with Mike."