The hallway was deserted, which should have felt eerie after all the frantic action inside the emergency room of Charity Hospital when they first entered it.  That is, if Justin could have felt anything.  However, both his body and mind had shut down.  He was totally numb.  His brain only functioned enough to let him relive, over and over again, that terrible sound from the crack of the bat as it collided with Brian's skull.  The sound reverberated inside his brain to a point of agonizing pain.  He waited alone, sitting on the bench outside the swinging doors leading to the operating rooms.  Only minutes before, he had watched as they wheeled Brian's gurney through those doors as rapidly as they could.  He knew nothing about what was happening now to the man he loved.

No one at the hospital would give Justin any solid information on Brian's condition.  He wasn't family, they told him.  They insisted on knowing who to contact, somehow frightening Justin even more than he already was.  He actually didn't know whether he should give them the name of Brian's mother.  He had learned enough about Brian to know that there was no love lost inside the Kinney household.  He snapped out of his fears long enough to give them Debbie Novotny's name, only halfway lying when he told them that she was Brian's adoptive mother.  Now all he could do was sit and wait for her to arrive.  She would know what to do.  Someone had to be in control.  Justin had lost all control of his ability to deal with what had happened.  

*******************************************************

Debbie looked around desperately for someone to help her.  She had arrived at the emergency room of the hospital with no idea what to expect.  Shortly before, she had received a call from the hospital informing her that her 'son' had been injured and was in the emergency room being tended to.  At first she was in disbelief.  She knew it couldn't be Michael that they were talking about.  She had spoken with him only an hour before, while he was seated safely on the plane with Dr. Dave just before take-off.  By now, the plane was flying high over the countryside taking him along to a brand new life with a perfect mate.  There was no way Michael was the one injured in a Pittsburgh hospital.  

When she hesitated before responding to her caller, the voice informed her that her son, Brian Kinney, would need her to come to the hospital so that she might give them vital medical information.  It dawned on her at that moment that someone had lied to the hospital staff and claimed that Brian was her son.  The reason was obvious.  Debbie knew that Brian wanted little to do with Joan Kinney, especially after his father's recent death.  Either Brian himself, or one of his closest friends, had tried to avoid bringing Joan into it by giving them Deb's name instead.  She knew she'd have to be straight with the staff once she got there, but first she had to find out more about the reason Brian was in the hospital.  It was obvious they weren't going to give her any details over the phone.  

She finally spotted the central information desk where she could get some answers.  She made her way quickly to stand in front of a rather corpulent older woman with a sour face.  It took a moment to distract her from her computer, where she was busy typing out notes from the papers standing next to the keyboard.  Debbie cleared her throat several times, receiving no response in return... not even a glance upward.  Deb finally lost her patience.  She slammed her hand forcefully on the counter in front of the computer, startling the woman.  Her head jerked up, and she found herself staring into the angry eyes of a rather stern looking redhead.  Debbie didn't give her a chance to react.

"That's better," she declared.  "Now that I have your attention, I need to find my 'son'.  I got a call from you folks telling me that he was injured and had been admitted to the emergency room."

The desk lady was flustered, but gathered herself together in order to answer the irritated woman, before she got even more physical.  

"What did you say his name was?"

"Not was... is.  And his name is Brian Kinney."

"I'm sorry.  Give me a second.  I'll check our records."  

The woman quickly pulled up the list of recent patient entries on her computer screen.  Brian's name was part way down the list.  But she could see that he had already left the emergency room and been transferred to the surgical floor.  She scanned the information on file and quickly pulled out a sheet of paper, writing down the name of the attending physician assigned to the Kinney case.  She passed it over to Debbie.

"This is the name of the doctor assigned to your son's case.  But Mr. Kinney is no longer here.  They have already taken him to the surgical floor."

Debbie's body turned cold.  Surgical?  Why would they have to take him into surgery so quickly, and without having all his medical information?  This was bad... much worse than she had thought at first.  

"How do I get to the surgical floor?  And who do I need to talk to there?"  

Her desperation was clearly evident in her voice.  The receptionist took pity on the obviously frantic 'mother'.  She quickly told Debbie where the elevators were and where she needed to go.  She let her know that the nurse at the central desk on that floor would get her in touch with the right doctors, who could answer any questions she had.

"Thank you," Debbie told her.  "And I'm sorry I was so rude."

"Think nothing of it.  I understand.  And good luck."  For the first time the woman smiled, and Debbie felt the compassion being offered.  She hurried off, heading for the nearby bank of elevators.  She needed answers, and needed them now!

******************************************************

Justin heard a familiar voice calling out his name.  He looked up, but was so blinded by the unshed tears in his eyes that he didn't recognize the form hurrying down the long hallway towards him.  Seconds later, he felt the warmth of Debbie wrapping her arms around him and holding him close to her chest.  That feeling of support broke through the numbness engulfing him, and the tears finally broke free.  They cascaded down his face and onto her blouse.  Debbie stroked his hair and waited.  She had so many questions.  It was obvious that Justin was somehow involved in what had brought Brian to this desperate situation.  His reaction to seeing her told her that much.  But the answers could wait.  Justin was in too much distress to be questioned at that moment.

Long agonizing minutes passed before Justin was finally able to gain some semblance of control over his emotions.  At last the quiet sobs slowed into painful hiccups.  He raised his head slowly, wiping at his eyes with the sleeve of his suit jacket.  He stared at Debbie, nearly losing it again, but somehow managing to maintain that fragile control he had to have right now.  He knew Debbie would need to hear the whole story... the ugly truth as to why Brian was in the hospital, and why he had given them her name to contact.

"It's my fault, Deb!" he started out.  

His eyes were haunted.  Debbie grasped his hands and held them in her lap.  

"What is, Sunshine?  I don't know what has happened.  All I know is that someone from the hospital called me and told me my 'son' had been admitted to the emergency room, and I needed to come right away.  I knew they weren't talking about Michael.  Then the voice mentioned Brian's name, so I came as quickly as I could.  I had no idea why they had my name down as his mother.  I need you to explain it to me.  I am presuming that you are the one who gave them my name."  

"I'm so sorry, Debbie," Justin's voice cracked.  "I didn't know what to do when they asked me who was his next of kin."  Just saying that brought a fresh chill to Justin's bones.  "I knew you would know what to do, and I... I was afraid Brian would be angry with me for giving them his mother's name."

"Alright, I don't know if you did the right thing, but we'll worry about that later.  Now, I need for you to tell me what is going on.  Why is Brian in surgery, and how did he end up here in the first place?"

"It's my fault, Deb!, he repeated.  "If I hadn't invited him to be my date for the Prom, he never would have been there.  Hobbs would have never gotten anywhere near him."  

Tears began to flow again.  Debbie pulled Justin close to her.  She began rocking Justin in her arms, knowing it was of little comfort, yet needed badly.  Finally she spotted a tall man in a doctor's smock heading down the hall towards them.  She waited for him to stop in front of them.

"Mrs. Kinney?" the doctor inquired.

"You have information about my Brian?  Is he going to be alright?"  She was careful not to acknowledge her real identity.

The doctor's serious face said more than either Justin or Debbie wanted to hear, but they listened intently.

"The patient suffered a severe blow to his skull, causing several  fractures.  We had to rush him into surgery to relieve the pressure building up inside his skull.  If we had delayed, it could have resulted in permanent brain damage at best, or even death at worst."

Debbie interrupted.  "So, are you telling me that you got the swelling under control, and he is going to be fine?"

The man shook his head.  "We can't say anything for certain yet.  We did get the pressure relieved, but he is in a coma for now.  This is simply a case of 'wait and see'.  We won't know a lot more about how badly his brain has been affected until he comes out of his coma."

Justin spoke up for the first time.  His fear was palpable as he asked, "How long will he be in a coma?"

The doctor turned to the young man.  He had no idea who he was talking to, but as long as the patient's mother didn't mind him asking, he was going to answer truthfully.  

"There is no way to know.  I'm sorry that I can't give you a more positive outlook, but the patient is still fairly young and in obvious good physical condition, so his chances are as good as they can get under these circumstances.  We'll let you see him once they take him to ICU."

"Thank you, Doctor," Debbie responded, grateful to at least have some kind of answer.

The duo watched the doctor's retreating back before turning to each other.  

"Oh God, Deb, what have I done?"

"I can't answer you until you tell me the whole story," Debbie answered back.  "Tell me what happened, and don't leave anything out.  Then I'll decide where to go from there and who I need to contact."

For the next half hour, Justin relived the best and worst night of his life.  He had to stop often to regain his composure, but he eventually got out the entire story.  Once he reached the point of describing how Hobbs stalked Brian, his composure slipped.  His face darkened even further when he recalled the harrowing ride to the hospital, not knowing if Brian would live or die from the attack.  He fell into Debbie's arms once more, sobbing as though his heart was shattering into a million tiny pieces.  Debbie waited again.  She knew that her Sunshine had to let it all out or it would consume him, leaving only a shell behind.  There would be time enough to figure out what her next move had to be once Justin was functional again.  Although she knew, beyond a doubt, that he would never be the same after this night.

To be continued.....