At his warning to hurry home, her attention shifted from the man on the ground to stare out into the grass.  What had he seen?  There was no time to waste.  If the archer had spotted something with his keen eyes then there must be something out there.  Erin hated to leave Alek there on the forest floor but if he wouldn’t wake up for them then it was unlikely that the pirates would be able to rouse him either.<br/><br/>She straightened slowly and stepped closer, behind yet off to one side as she continued to search for what might be coming their way.  Her eyes narrowed; the sky darkened and another rumble of thunder filled the air.  One delicate hand rose to rest on his upper arm, the fingers curling around the muscle there.  She was filled with the urge to slide her hand down his arm and lace their fingers together.  Only the uncertainty of how he would react kept her hand in place.  “You’ll come too, won’t you?  You can’t stay here.  She’ll defeat you,” she pleaded.  Erin took one step backwards, tugging gently on his arm.  “I don’t want to leave you.”  There was a short pause as she glanced once more out into the open field.<br/><br/>“I don’t want to let go.”  Her voice wavered now, on the verge of tears as she tried to pull him into the forest with her.  The thought of leaving him here alone to deal with Madelyn Hooke terrified her.  They would be okay if they just stuck together.  Just the thought of separating from him made her heart ache and a rock form in the pit of her stomach.<br/><br/>As the panic began to claw its way through her, the light continued to fade until the sky was that dark gray that signaled an impending storm.<br/><br/><hr class="bbc-hr"/><br/>“Hey, anybody in here?” Sarah called as she rapped on the door with her knuckles, opening the door a crack.  A tired smile appeared as her eyes landed on Chris sitting by her sister’s bedside.  Every single time she had come to visit since the accident, he had been here.  Not that she could blame him.  She came as often as she could but it never felt like enough.  It just felt<i>distasteful</i>to leave her older sister alone with only the rhythmic beeping of the machines to keep her company.<br/><br/>Sarah stepped into the room, pausing a second to let her eyes adjust to the dim lighting.  “I brought you some coffee,” she said quietly as she set a styrofoam cup on the bedside table closest to Chris.  Despite the numerous doctors who assured the family that Erin could not hear them, she still couldn’t help but speak in hushed tones every time she came to visit.  She’d almost just managed to convince herself that Erin was simply sleeping.  After kissing his cheek in greeting and giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze, she pulled a chair up next to the man but angled it more to face him than her sister.  He needed just as much support as anyone else, probably more since he knew how serious Erin’s injuries were.<br/><br/>“You know, I keep thinking one day she’s going to sit up and wonder why we’re all here sitting around her bed, moping,” she mused out loud, mostly to herself.  “She’s a tough girl, Chris.  She’ll pull through this, you know she will.  Maybe you should pull out that giant ring you bought her and wave it under her nose.  Tell her how much you love her and how you want to spend the rest of your lives together.”  It was a gentle tease that only Sarah would be able to get away with.  She knew how much Erin loved him and how sad she’d be knowing that he was so distraught over what had happened.  Sarah reached for his forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze.  “When’s the last time you left this room?  Going home to sleep and shower doesn’t count.  I can sit here with her if you need to get some work done or take a walk.  I promise I won’t leave her alone.”  Sarah and Ryan, as Erin’s siblings, were worried that Chris wasn’t taking care of himself.  They had taken it upon themselves to visit in turns so he wasn’t always alone.<br/><br/>Sarah sighed softly as she settled back into the uncomfortable chair.<i>Hospitals should really invest in more comfortable seats for visitors, especially for long term patients</i>she thought.  At that moment, the EEG, which had been just one of many machines beeping regularly in the background of the conversation, gave one beep out of rhythm before settling back into rhythm again.  “Did you...what was that…?”