"Glad to see you awake," greeted Dr. Morgan. "How do you feel?"

"Tired, sore in places I never knew existed and my leg hurts some."

"That’s to be expected. Chelsea, you’re a very lucky lady to have survived that crash. Your seatbelt saved your life."

"I don’t feel very lucky," whispered Chelsea as her eyes moistened.

AJ was still beside her with his arm around her and he gave her a gentle hug as he explained, "We told her this morning about Monique."

Dr. Morgan nodded and took Chelsea’s hand. "Sweetheart, I’m extremely sorry for your loss. I know you two were extremely close but you should look at the positive. You and Annie are both alive because you were smart enough to wear your seatbelt."

"I know you’re right but…."

"I know it’s going to hurt for awhile but you need to focus on yourself for now so you can heal."

"What exactly is wrong with her, Doc?" asked AJ.

"Let’s start with the surgery. Initially, we thought you’d ruptured your spleen, Chelsea, but when we got in, we found that we could fix the problem. You just need to take it easy for a few weeks and I’ve got you on high antibiotics."

"She’s not going to have to lift a finger until she’s completely healed. She’s going to have six guys at her beck and call 24/7," smiled AJ as he looked at her with complete adoration. "What about her leg though?"

"That’s not going to be as quick a recovery, I’m afraid. The left leg was caught by the front of the car when it was pushed in and the ankle was crushed. An orthopedic surgeon is going to have to reconstruct it and I’ve already sent the x-rays to Dr. Crane."

"Who is Dr. Crane?"

"Our resident orthopedic surgeon."

"What’s involved?"

"Several surgeries, casting for a minimum of two months, and intense physical therapy."

"Time frame?"

"Hard to tell. Minimum….six months. It’ll all depend on Chelsea."

"Does the surgery need to take place immediately?"

"Well, no, but it does need to be done relatively soon so that it doesn’t start healing incorrectly. What do you have in mind?"

"I want her to have the best so I was going to call the man who worked on my knee back in January."

"Alex," whispered Chelsea trying to get his attention.

"Okay. We’ll leave the temporary cast on it but I will warn you, flying is going to be painful for her."

"When can you release her?"

"Friday. I want to be sure no infection sets in with the surgery."

"NO! I have to be out before then," insisted Chelsea.

"The funeral will probably be Friday," explained AJ.

Dr. Morgan frowned, "That’s a little quick and you’ll be exposing yourself to all kinds of germs that could lead to infections."

"Dr. Morgan, I’m going to be at Monique’s funeral…and the visitation whether you release me or not."

Dr. Morgan had known Chelsea for some time now and knew just how strong-willed she could be. Shaking his head, he said with a playful smirk, "Why do I always get the difficult patients?"

"Sorry," apologized Chelsea.

"No need to apologize, sweetheart." Looking at AJ, he asked, "You said she’d have plenty of help. When does that start?"

"My friends are already at her place now with Kevin and Annie."

"How long will she have this help?"

"We have open ended tickets to return to LA."

"I don’t like this but I will release you Thursday morning but if ANYTHING starts to go wrong, I want you back here IMMEDIATELY….no playing around with this."

"You have my word, Doc," promised AJ.

"As soon as you can, I’d like for you to get her to your doctor. The sooner she can have it taken care of, the more likelihood of her regaining full use of that ankle."

"I’ll set up the appointment today."

"Give me his name and address so I can send him her x-rays and other information."

"Will do. Thank you, Dr. Morgan."

"My pleasure. Chelsea, looks like something else good came out of this wreck."

Chelsea blushed knowing he was referring to AJ. "You’re probably right."

"If you need anything, just give the nurses a call and I’ll see you later tonight."

"Thank you, Dr. Morgan." As soon as the doctor was gone, Chelsea rested her head on AJ’s shoulder and ran her finger down his arm. "Alex, I can barely afford THIS hospital bill. There’s no way I can afford to go to California and have a top surgeon fix my ankle."

"Don’t worry about it, beautiful. I’ll take care of it."

"No! I don’t want you paying my bills and supporting me. Part of me not telling Kevin about Annie was because my father called me a two-bit whore who would always have to depend on a man for everything. I’m NOT going to let him be right NOW."

"Chelsea, you’ve been on your own for seven years. In my mind, you’ve proven your father was wrong. Don’t let what he said then stop you from getting the attention you need now. Besides, I’m NOT supporting you. I’m just taking care of your hospital bills and if I don’t do it, Kevin will and you KNOW he’s not going to listen to your arguments."

"True," conceded Chelsea. "Okay. I’ll let you help on one condition."

"What’s that?"

"You let me pay you back when I can."

"Deal. Now, let me call my orthopedic man," said AJ as he reached for the phone.

Chelsea listened as AJ made the call to his doctor and as he was talking, she realized that she had another problem. If she was going to LA with AJ, what was she going to do with Annie? There was still two months left of school and no one to look after her.

When AJ hung up, he said, "You’re all set. He’ll see you a week from Wednesday."

"I can’t go," she said flatly.

"Why not?"

"What am I going to do with Annie? School isn’t out until June 7^th."

"Let Kevin worry about that."

She shook her head as she realized she’d forgotten about Kevin. "I’m just so use to taking care of her without him. It’s hard to change."

"Its going to be tough, I know, but Kevin’s going to do what is necessary and I’ll be here for you too." AJ hesitated trying to decide if he should continue. "You know, there is someone else who can help you with Annie….someone who wants to help you."

"You mean my mother?"

"Uh huh."

Chelsea closed her eyes as she thought about her mother. They had always been close but the fact that her mother hadn’t tried to get in touch with her all these years hurt just as much as her father kicking her out.

"Chelsea, Annie said you use to tell her about your mother and the things she use to do for you when you were little. She also said you have a picture of her by your bed. That doesn’t sound like you hate her or that you’re mad at her," pointed out AJ.

"Honestly, I don’t know how I feel."

"Do you really think she knew the truth all along?"

"I don’t know, Alex. I passed her in the hall that day and she use to always eavesdrop when Daddy and I would spend time alone talking. I guess I just assumed she’d done it that day too."

"I don’t know your mom all that well but when she refused to leave with your father last night, she sounded pretty convincing that she didn’t know the whole truth. From the sounds of it, you aren’t completely convinced she knew either. Why don’t you give her a chance?"

"It’s too late. I’m sure she’s gone home by now."

Shaking his head, AJ said, "No, actually, she’s got a room at the same hotel we were in. Her plans had been to stay with you and Annie until you were able to travel and then she was going to take you home."

"I’m sure my father would have LOVED that."