The drive to the hospital showed no change in her condition. She was weak, shakey, and cried out in intense agony with every bump in the road. By the time they reached the hospital, she was in the seat beside him, arms wrapped tightly over her abdomen, tears leaking down her cheeks. The moment they arrived, she reached for the door handle with shaking hands, slid her feet out to place them on the pavement, and pulled herself out.<br/><br/>Her legs trembled under her weight but she managed to pull herself to her feet. Two orderlies came out of the emergency room doors just then. She couldn't keep herself contained, and suddenly knew what they were thinking. She fought so hard for so many years to keep herself out of other peoples' heads. But now, her self control was shattered. She heard it all.<br/><br/>There was no panic to either of their minds. She found it fascinating that their thoughts seemed to follow along the same lines, at almost the same time. They had noticed the way the car pulled up, speeding in and slamming to a halt. They'd seen the panic in the man that had immediately emerged and run around to the passenger side. She didn't wait for him though, and got to her feet by herself. They both noted that the woman... she had to remind herself the woman they were both thinking about was herself... the woman was pale. Extremely so. She wobbled and stared with glazed, unfocused eyes. Even as they both leaped into action, she appeared to be about ready to collapse.<br/><br/>That wasn't true, was it? She wasn't going to... okay, maybe she was. She felt so dizzy that she leaned back against the car for support and looked around for Jim.<br/><br/>One of the orderlies dashed forward to help out, while the other sprinted back into the emergency room to find a gurney. He came back with a third man, this one a doctor judging by his thoughts.<br/><br/>After that, things got a little disjointed, and she lost track. There were thoughts milling around everywhere. She felt the pain and fear and grief and joy of every patient and loved one within fifty feet wash over her in a massive tidal wave of sensation.<br/><br/>When she returned to herself, she was lying on her back on the gurney, staring straight up at the white tiled ceiling. Someone was leaning over her, shining a light into her eyes. Reflexively, she reached up to try and bat the light away. Her hand connected with a wrist, and her fingers closed around it, her skin connecting with the doctor's. There was a sudden static charge of electicity which jolted from her, into him, and back again. They both jerked, winced, and their eyes locked. For the breadth of a single second their gazes remained locked.<br/><br/>In that single second, she saw everything that was Dr. William Jackson, M.D. She saw his secret addiction to pain pills. She saw his earnest dream to become the kind of doctor that saved lives. She saw the fear in his eyes that this patient might be the first he would lose. She saw all of this and so much more.<br/><br/>She knew he would have seen just as much about her as she had seen about him. When the moment passed, she sagged with fatigue. One hand lifted to lay her palm over his cheek. He leaned over her, tears flowing from his eyes in reaction to what he'd seen. She pulled him closer gently, and kissed his forehead.<br/><br/>"I will not be the first, Bill." she whispered weakly, "I am stronger than you know. You have the knowledge you need. Take from me the courage to use it. With it, take also my blessing."<br/><br/>Once more, she kissed his brow, this time more formally. There was a very faint pulse of light, so faint it might possibly go unnoticed to any who were not paying intense attention to the exchange. Then she exhaled softly, all of the breath leaving her body. Her hand fell to her side, and her eyes went vacant, still staring up at him.<br/><br/>"No!!" the doctor screamed. He called for help from the nurses and they all leaped into action.<br/><br/>The whole thing was terrible. Traumatic. Bloody. But they managed it! The monitor first gave a tiny, weak little beep, then picked up the rhythm of a faint heartbeat. She was alive!