Note from author: I'd like to thank Kimber for beta-reading the story, and for helping me through some tough spots! I really appreciate it Kimber. This story is dedicated to Kimber.
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As Angie opened her door, on her way out, she found Dingo Tyler, her boyfriend, Rollie's
father, with his hand raised ready to knock.
"Dingo? What are you doing here?" Angie asked a little surprised by Dingo's presence. She or Rollie hadn't heard from him since he tricked them into telling the other about there true feelings for the each other, which was about six months earlier.
"Hello, Angela. Is Rollie here? I went by the loft but he wasn't their. I really need to speak with him. I thought he might be here?" Dingo asked.
"No. Rollie isn't here, but I'm on my way to meet him now, at Famous Ray's." Angie told Dingo stepping out into the hall, where Dingo was, shutting the door behind her.
"Mind if I tag along?" He asked the blond woman.
"No, not at all." Angie said, starting down the hall, with Dingo following. "Does Rollie know you're in town?"
"No." Was the man's simple response.
"So, Dingo, you in some kind of trouble?" Angie asked, once they stepped out of the six story apartment complex she lived in.
"Now, what makes you think that?" Dingo asked.
"Because you usually are when you show up." Angie stated, as they walked down the street.
"Hey, I wasn't in trouble last time I was in town. If I remember correctly you were the one in trouble" Dingo replied.
Angie just turned her head to look at the older man and smiled at him.
"You know, last time you were here, you left before Rollie and I had a chance to thank you."
"Thank me for what?" Dingo asked.
"You know what for. For getting Rollie and I to admit our true feelings for each other." Angie told the man. "If you didn't show up then and did what you did, I think Rollie and I'd still be hiding those feelings."
"Well, I'm just glad it worked. I wasn't sure if it would. I think I used a similar trick on Rollie when he was younger. But not for the same purpose, of course." He added, while they crossed, a not very busy street.
"Of course not." Angie added smiling.
As Dingo and Angie neared the sidewalk, a car came speeding around the corner. At the time, Dingo had already reached the curb, but Angie had not. The car slammed right into her. She rolled-up to the wind shield, and down to the cement. The car quickly drove away.
"Angie! Oh, bloody hell!" Dingo exclaimed, running to the unconscious, but alive, woman's side.
"I'll call 9-1-1." Dingo heard someone, from the growing coward, shout.
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Fifteen minutes after the call came in, Detective Mira Sanchez, arrived on the scene of a 'hit and run' car accident.
"I'm detective Mira Sanchez, from Midtown South. You the officer in charge?" Mira asked a cop who looked like she was in charge of the accident.
"Yes, I am. Officer Kimbell." She replied.
"What have you got?" Mira asked.
"A female and male were crossing the street when a car came speeding around the corner. The woman got hit, and the car drove off. She's alive but still unconscious. The EMT's are loading her into the ambulance now. The man who was with the woman is over there, by the ambulance." Kimbell told Mira, pointing out the man.
"Dingo!?!" Mira said out loud, shocked.
"You know that man?" The officer in charge asked.
"Yeah, I should say so." Mira said. "Do you have the name of the woman who was hit?"
"Yep, Angela Ramirez." She told the detective.
"Oh, God." Mira muttered, starting towards Dingo.
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"Dingo....." Mira started, when she reached Dingo, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Dingo looked at the woman who slightly startled him. "Angie..... She...."
"I know." Mira told the visibly upset man. "Look, I'll find out what hospital Angie's going to be taken to, and drive you their, okay?"
Dingo just nodded his head in reply, staring off at the ambulance.
"Does Rollie know yet?" Mira asked.
"Oh, bloody hell!" The man exclaimed, looking at the detective. "I forgot all about him. She said they were meeting at Famous Rays......."
"Okay. I'll have Francis go over there and get Rollie." Mira told Dingo.
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Rollie looked at his watch for about the hundredth time in the past thirty minutes. Eight-fifteen P.M. Angie was over an hour late. It wasn't like her to be late.
Rollie had gone through all the possibilities on why she was late. Did he say he was going to pick her up? No, he didn't. Rollie was sure they planned to meet at the pub at seven.
The Aussie thought of calling her but had second thoughts on that idea, after remembering the fight he and his girlfriend, Angie, had had about him being too overprotective of her, the month before. And if her being late was nothing more than her just running late, and he called her, then he was sure Angie would have another fit about him being overprotective. Rollie didn't deny being overprotective of Angie. He knew he was, just didn't think it was all that of a big deal. He loved Angie and didn't want anything to happen to her. And if being overprotective of her would help make sure she would be safe then so be it. What was wrong with that?
Rollie pulled out the small black box, that he had hidden in his coat pocket. He had had an important question to ask Angie that night, but maybe her being late was a sign that he shouldn't ask her.
Feeling a figure approach him, Rollie looked up to see a very grim looking Francis standing next to the table.
"Francis? What are you doing here?" Rollie asked the man, while quickly putting the small box back in his pocket.
"Hi Rollie. Um... Look, there's no easy way to tell you this but........" Francis started but stopped, don't knowing if he'd be able to tell the now worried looking man what had happened to his girlfriend.
"But what Frank? What happened? Did something happen to Angie?" Rollie asked anxiously, getting a bed feeling at the pit of his stomach.
"Yeah, it's Angie. There was a accident. She was crossing a street and a car came speeding around the corner. The car slammed right into her. She's on her way to the hospital now. I'll take you." Francis told the Aussie, who was already half way out of the pub before Frank stopped talking.
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When they reached the hospital, Francis dropped Rollie off at the emergency entrance, then drove off to find a parking place.
Entering the hospital, Rollie instantly spotted Mira over by the nurse's station, and started walking over there.
"Rollie." A familiar voice, that didn't belong to Mira, called out to Rollie.
Rollie turned around to find his father standing few feet away from him.
"Dingo? Dad? What are you doing here?" Rollie asked confused at his father's presence.
"He was with Angie when the accident happened." Mira answered for Rollie's father, standing at Rollie's side.
"What? What were you doing with Angie? Wait, save it for later. What I want to know is if she's okay?" Rollie asked, worried, as Francis joined them.
"We don't know how Angie is yet. The doctor hasn't come out yet." Mira responded.
A man a little older man Dingo approached them.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Kyle. You all here about Ms. Ramirez?" The doctor asked.
"Yes. I'm her boyfriend. Rollie Tyler. Is she going to be okay?" Rollie asked the doctor anxiously.
"Ms. Ramirez has sustained a few broken ribs, nothing else is broken though." The doctor started, but stopped before going on.
"But?" Rollie asked knowing there was going to be a 'but' in there somewhere.
"But she's in a coma right now." Dr. Kyle, told the man, sadly.
"She's going to come out of it though, right?" Rollie asked almost afraid of the answer the doctor would give him.
"That's undetermined right now. Some coma patients come out of them and some don't. There's nothing that can be done at the moment. It all depends on Ms. Ramirez to pull herself out of the coma. I'm sorry." The man said, before turning around to leave.
Rollie couldn't believe what he heard. He felt his legs starting to collapse beneath him and sat down on a nearby chair. He couldn't loose her. Not Angie. He just couldn't.
"Can I see her?" Rollie asked, before the doctor walked away.
"Not yet. Maybe after she's moved to a bigger room." Doctor Kyle told Rollie, then walked over to the nurse's station.
Both deciding Rollie needed some time to himself, Mira and Frank exchanged looks, said their good-byes, assured Rollie the man who hit Angie would be caught and they left.
Dingo sat down next to his son, who had his head in his hands and kept mumbling that 'this couldn't be happening.' Dingo tried talking to Rollie but after getting no response or even any signs of Rollie even hearing him, Dingo stopped trying. He then got up, deciding to go get a cup of coffee or something.
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Awhile later Rollie was slightly startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up he saw a nurse smiling down at him.
"Mr. Tyler? The doctor told me to tell you that you can go in and see Ms. Ramirez now." The nurse said.
"Angie. Her name is Angie." Rollie told her, getting a little annoyed at everyone calling her "Ms. Ramirez'.
"Oh. Okay. Well, if you follow me I'll show you to Ms. Ra.... Angie's room." She told the man, starting down long hallway.
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Entering the room that the nurse said was Angie's, Rollie slowly walked over to the bed where Angie laid in a coma.
The room was silent, except for the loud buzzing of machines. Rollie really had no clue what some of them were for either. Frankly he really didn't care. All her cared about at that moment was that Angie woke up.
Sadly, Rollie looked down at the still figure laying in the hospital bed. It broke the young Aussie's heart to see his one true love laying motionless. It wasn't in Angie's nature to be still and motionless like that. For as long as Rollie knew her she had always been energetic. Even after a long shot for a movie.
Rollie moved his hand, to push a piece of hair out of Angie's eyes. She looked so peaceful laying their with her eyes closed. It just looked like she was sleeping.
He didn't move his eyes off the still woman all the while pulling up a chair close to the bad and sitting in it, taking Angie's hand, holding it tight.
"Please, Angie. Please, wake up. Don't leave me. Please." Rollie pleaded desperately to the comatose woman. "I need you. You can't leave me."
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Dingo came back from his walk, to find Rollie gone from where he had left him. As a nurse began to pass him, Dingo stopped her.
"Excuse me. Do you happen to know where Rollie Tyler is?" He asked, the nurse.
"Oh, yes. He was told he could go see Angie Rameriz, and he's in with her now. It's right down the hall. Room 367." The same nurse who led Rollie to Angie's room told Dingo.
"Thank you." Dingo told the nurse starting down the hall.
Quietly, Dingo entered the room. "Rollie.....?"
Rollie looked up at his father, tears in his eyes. Not saying anything to his father, Rollie looked back at Angie.
After a few minutes of silence Rollie finally spoke. "I was planning on asking Angie to marry me tonight."
Dingo, who had now sat down in a chair on the other side of the bed, looked up a little stunned, eyebrows raised. His shock soon turned to regret and guiltiness. What had he done? This was all his fault. He had to tell Rollie, but how?
"Maybe this is some strange sign that I shouldn't ask Angie to marry me." Rollie mumbled, to know one in particle, still holding Angie's hand.
"Rollie, I don't believe that. If I hadn't been with Angie tonight none of this would've happened. She wouldn't be in this coma right now." Dingo blurted out.
"What do you mean if you weren't with Angie none of this would've happened? What are you talking about?" Rollie asked his father confused.
"That car that hit Angie, was meant to hit me." Dingo confessed, looking away from his son, not able to bear seeing the look on his son's face. "I've got into some trouble. The man I'm in trouble with, wants me dead. The car that hit Angie was meant to hit me."
Rollie just looked at his father at a lost of words. He had never been so angry at his father as he was at that moment. Dingo's trouble had got Angie hit by a speeding car, meant for his father, and left her in a coma.
"I'm sorry, Rol." Dingo told the man upset and angry man.
" 'I'm sorry'? That's all you can say?! Your bloody sorry!?! Well, I'm tried of hearing 'your sorry', all the time from you. You said it when mum died. You said it every time you broke one of your bloody promises to me. You said it every time you conned someone after you told me you wouldn't do it anymore. And you bloody said it every single time you got put in jail for a week or over night. I for one am sick and tried of hearing 'your sorry', all the time. It never made or will make anything better or right! There just bloody words that don't mean a bloody thing!" Rollie exclaimed at his father, standing up.
"Rollie....." Dingo started, trying to think of something to say that would calm his son down.
"Dingo, whatever your going to say, save it. I don't want to hear it. What I want is for you to leave." Rollie told his father, pointing towards the door. "I don't want you near Angie or me."
Dingo knew there was nothing he could say to make his son forgive him, and he wasn't even about to try. He didn't deserve to be forgiven. The eldest Tyler, got up from his chair and quietly walked out of the room.
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Rollie watched his father walk out of the room into the hospital hall. Rollie couldn't believe this. Of all the things Dingo did... or hadn't done.... in the past this was the worst. Sure there wasn't anyway Dingo could've known when this man he was in trouble with would've come after him, and Dingo didn't know that Angie would get hit, but he still
could've prevented the whole thing if he didn't do what he did to get in trouble with this man, whoever that was. Rollie would never be able to forgive his father for this. Never. How could he? Angie, the woman Rollie wanted to make his wife, was lying in a coma, and it was his fathers fault. Rollie wasn't going to forgive his father. If Angie didn't wake up from the coma he'd never be able to face Dingo again.
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For the next two hours Rollie sat next to Angie holding her hand and praying she'd wake up. Then the nurse came in and told him to go home and get some rest. When he wouldn't leave she gave him ten more minutes, and said after that he'd have to go. Reluctantly Rollie nodded his head in agreement.
Leaving Angie's room, Rollie walked down the hall and when he saw the nurse leave the room and walk away, Rollie quickly sneaked back into the room where Angie was.
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Around nine in a morning, the nurse, entered Angie Ramirez's room, and wasn't one bit shocked to find Mr. Tyler, sitting in a chair, close to the bed, where his girlfriend laid in a coma, his head laid on the edge of the bed, asleep. She knew he had snucked back into the room after she had shooed him out. Most of the loved ones of patients did that, she had noticed. The nurse had finally decided to pretend she didn't notice this.
She moved over the where the Aussie sat, and gently shook his left shoulder. "Mr. Tyler time to wake up."
"Huh? What?" Rollie mumbled not fully awake.
"Time to wake up." The nurse repeated. "You spent the whole night here, didn't you Mr. Tyler?"
"Um...... Yeah, I guess I did." Rollie told the nurse, and was about to start explaining when the nurse interrupted.
"It's all right. I understand. I'm use to it any ways. This sound of thing happens all the time." The older woman assured the man. "But you will have to leave now. The doctor will be by in a few minutes to check on her, and you'll have to wait outside in the hall."
"Can't I......"
"No, you can't. It won't be that long." She told him before he had a chance to finish his sentence.
Giving Angie's hand, that he held a squeeze, when he got up to leave, Rollie was almost positive he felt a squeeze back. He looked back at the woman. She still looked like she did the moment before. Rollie wasn't sure if he had imagined it or not. As the nurse pushed him out of the room, Rollie decided he must've imagined it.
Once in the hall, Rollie saw Mira and Francis approach him.
"Hey Rollie. How's Angie?" Mira asked Rollie.
"The same I guess." Rollie told them.
"Well, we have some good news to tell you about the guy who hit Angie." Francis announced to Rollie.
"If your here to tell me the man who hit Angie was actually after Dingo, I already now." Rollie told the two detectives, walking over to where some chairs were, and sat down.
"Where'd you get that idea from?" Francis asked confused.
"Rollie, the man who hit Angie was after YOU." Mira told the Aussie.
"What!?!" Rollie exclaimed shocked, not sure what to make of this revelation.
"There was a eye witness who got the license plate of the car. We ran it through our records at Midtown South. It was traced to a Albert Rice. We picked him up about an hour ago. He confessed to everything. He said that the one million dollars he was paid to kill you, wasn't worth going to jail for. Mr. Rice told us that he was hired and paid by a
Alexander Gipe." Mira began, still a bit confused by what Rollie meant when he said that he already knew the accident was Dingo's fault.
"Alexander Gipe? Gipe..... I've heard that name before." Rollie muttered, looking up at the detectives.
"You should. You helped Leo put him away two years ago, for smuggling rare and expensive animal parts to Japan." Francis told the Aussie.
Oh, Bloody hell. Rollie yelled at his father, told him he never wanted to see him again, and it wasn't even Dingo's fault. It was his fault.
"I've gotta find Dingo." Rollie mumbled under his breath. Hearing a familiar voice, in the distant, Rollie looked down the hall at the nurse's station, and saw Dingo there.
The younger Aussie, got up and walked over to his father, leaving the still two confused detectives behind.
"Dingo!" Rollie called out as he approached his father.
"Rollie, I just came by see how Angie was. I'm leaving." Dingo told his son, about ready to turn and leave.
"No, Dingo, wait. Mira and Francis just told me the driver that hit Angie was after me, not you." Rollie confessed to his father, receiving a confused look.
"What are you talking about, son?" Dingo asked.
"The driver who hit Angie was hired by a man I helped Leo put away. And he wanted his revenge. It was because of me, not you, that Angie got hit." Rollie told his father.
Dingo was at a lost of words.
"I shouldn't have said the things I said to you before. I was upset....." Rollie told his father.
"I know you were. And at the time you had every right to say those things. And most of it was true." Dingo told his son, glad that he was talking to him again. "How's Angie?"
Before Rollie had a chance to answer his father's question, Mira approached the two men.
"Rollie....."
He looked at the smaller woman puzzled. Rollie could tell she had tears in her eyes.
"Angie....." Mira started, but by the time she got half of Angie's name out Rollie was already running down the hall, not waiting for Mira to finish what she started to say. Dingo and Mira quickly followed the man, down the hall.
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Rollie hastily entered the room where Angie was. Doctor Kyle, and the nurse that shooed him out of the room earlier, were on the left side of the bed, blocking his view of Angie. Francis was on the other side of the bed.
Seeing Rollie had joined entered the room, the doctor and nurse stepped away from the bed, revealing a opened-eyed Angie.
Noticing Rollie had enjoyed the group of people in the hospital room, Angie reached out her hand to the man, and started smiling. "Rollie....."
"Oh, Angie!" Rollie exclaimed, stepping closer to the bed, taking the women's outreached hand. He then bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.
Neither one noticed the other people in the room leave.
"What happened? The last thing I remember is walking across the street with Dingo, and then everything went black." Angie asked Rollie.
"You got hit by a car that was meant to hit me." Rollie told her.
"What? What do you mean the car was meant to hit you?" Angie questioned, really confused.
"A man I helped Leo put in jail about two years ago wanted his revenge, so he hired a hit man. He thought Dingo was me." Rollie told Angie, happy that she was out of the coma. But part of him was also regretful that because of him helping the cops Angie nearly got killed.
"Rollie, what's wrong?" Angie asked, noticing something was bugging him/
"You always said that helping the cops would get me killed, and here, you almost got killed because of it." Rollie stated quietly, looking down at his hands, that were holding one of Angie's smaller hands.
"Oh, Rollie! I don't blame you for any of this." Angie told him, releasing her hand from his hands, and pushed a loose strand of brown wavy hair behind his left ear. "And you shouldn't blame yourself either!"
"But if I don't always have to help the cops then this wouldn't of happened." The Aussie persisted, taking hold of her hand again.
"Rollie, if didn't help the cops you know how many criminals would be free? You and I both know I don't really like it that you help them, but it's just in your nature to do so. You couldn't stop doing it if you tried. And that's one of the things I love about you, Rollie Tyler." Angie told the man. "I don't want you to feel guilty about this you hear me?"
"I hear you." Rollie said, smiling at the woman.
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The two young FX artists weren't sure how much timed had passed by when they heard a little knock coming from the closed door, and Dingo entered.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I just wanted to see how you were doing, Angie." Dingo told them.
"I'm fine. And no, you weren't interrupting anything, Dingo." Angie told the older Aussie.
"Well, I glad your feeling okay. I'll just leave you two alone now." Dingo said. Before he turned around to leave, Dingo told Rollie, "I think it's time you asked that question you had, Rollie, my boy."
Angie looked at Rollie confused by what Dingo had said. "What did he mean by that, Rol?"
Rollie knew if he was going to ask her, he might as well do it now. he reached around to where his coat hung over the back of his chair and reached into one of the pockets, pulling out the black box he was looking at the previous night at Famous Ray's.
"Angie, I was planning to ask you this last night, but since I didn't get the chance I'm asking you now." Rollie started, turning back to Angie. Opening the box so Angie could see the contexts, a blue-green sapphire ring was revealed.
Angie looked at it surprised. "Rollie, it's beautiful."
"The color of your eyes." Rollie said, taking the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger. "Angela Ramirez, would you marry me?"
"Yes." Angie answered back as soon as Rollie asked his question. She didn't have to think twice about the answer she gave him.
