As her daughter showered, Nola nervously bit her nails and walked Anastasia's room. The nanny had finally arrived and picked up Ava, leaving Nola alone to pace restlessly. She was relieved when she heard the water shut down.

After a few anxious moments, though, when Anastasia still had not appeared, Nola called out, "Stace, the later we get over to the site, the more questions your father is going to have."

"I'm hurrying, Mom. I'm hurrying." Anastasia dashed out into the main room, furiously towel drying herself.

"In the history of man, I don't think there's ever been someone to take showers as long as you."

"Mother, please," Anastasia pleaded, vigorously drying her hair.

"Anastasia, please," Nola imitated her testy tone. She couldn't help, but notice her daughter's young womanly body. It made her feel a smidgen old and nostalgic for when her eldest daughter had been a little girl.

Stacey dropped the towel and quickly pulled a fresh bra and pair of panties out of her top dresser drawer. She shimmied into her underwear as Nola placed a pair of khaki shorts and one of her work shirts on the bed.

Stacey softened, "Thank you, Mom."

"Anything I can do to help," Nola remarked. She squirreled away the moist, discarded towel to the bathroom.

As soon as possible, Nola and Anastasia made it to the dig site.

Quint looked up from his work long enough to give them a smile. "I never thought you ladies would make it," he teased. He looked directly at Anastasia, "And we missed you last night."

"Sorry, Daddy, I guess I can't always be perfect,," Anastasia responded in an uncharacteristically sarcastic tone.

"Honey, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just worried."

"You don't need to worry," Anastasia declared, swallowing hard to fight back the tears that were threatening.

Nola stepped in to ease the tension, "Quinton, sorry we're so late," She placed a loving peck on Quint's cheek. "Rohana was late picking up Ava. Problems with her mother again."

"I assumed it was something like that," Quint told her, patting his wife's behind. "Stacey, Jack was asking about you. I think he might be a little annoyed."

"Well, he can be annoyed," Anastasia proclaimed. " I got here as soon as I could. I'm sick of him giving me a hard time."

"Honey, if he's giving you a hard time, just let me know, and I’ll speak with him."

"Daddy, would you just stop that," Stacey snapped. "I can take care of myself. I'm not your little baby anymore."

Quint recoiled, "What's the matter with you today?"

"Nothing, just nothing," Stacey insisted. Then she blurted out, "I need you to stop treating me like a child. I'm sick of it."

Quint stammered, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to do that."

Stacey huffed and pouted, "Maybe I don't deserve to be a Chamberlain. Maybe it is nature and not nurture. Maybe you should just call me Kelly Louise."

Quint was stunned. Of course they had told Stacey that she had been originally named Kelly Louis, and the less-than-respectable reasons why such a name had been chosen, but Stacey never mentioned it and barely acknowledged it at all. And she had certainly never brought up anything about her adoption, or that Quint was in any way not her father, not since she first found out when she was a young girl.

"Anastasia, stop it, you should apologize to your father."

Stacey shook her head, made a less than half-hearted apology and dashed off in the distance to where Jack was working.

Quint frowned, "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know," admitted Nola with a sigh. "She's been in a mood all morning. It's not like her, but it happens. She’ll get over it."

"I know that Jack has put her on edge. But to say what she said?" Quint’s hurt was evident all over his face. "Maybe we should see if Seamus can come out here?"

"Honey, I know you want to help, but I think you need to let her handle whatever is bothering her. I'm sure it’ll pass."

"How is it that you know so much?"

"Let me see, I have six older brother and sisters. I have been a mother for over twenty-four years and your wife for almost as many. I now have an infant in diapers. I have dealt with Silas Crocker, Helena Manzini, the crazy Rebecca Cartwright, that twit Morgan Richards and you." Nola continued to tease, "I’ve watched every single Bette Davis film a hundred times. I know people."

"Nola Chamberlain, if you could only know just how much I love you, and how happy you make me every single day of my life . . ." Already feeling much better, Quint placed a tender kiss on Nola's lips.

"I love you, but if we don't get to work soon, Jack will be angry at us as well as Stacey." Nola looked off to where Stacey was with Jack. "Although it looks like she might be giving him a piece of her mind right now."

"Can't I give you just one little kiss, sheila?" Jack asked Stacey with a leer.

"Jack, stop it, this is all a big mistake," declared Stacey hotly. "I made a big mistake."

"Your mum and dad are looking over here."

"Exactly, which is why I need you to stop this. My father can never know about this."

"You mean about us?"

"There is no "us," Jack."

"There sure was last night," Jack remarked with a salacious tone. "What about your mum? Does she know?"

"Yes, I told her. She saw me going back to my room."

Jack playfully fished, "What did she think?"

"She asked me what I was thinking, and if I was okay. My mother thought I was loyal to Seamus. I let her down. I let myself down."

"But last night was so great."

"Jack, listen, obviously I’m attracted to you. But what happened last night just cannot happen again, unless I sort out what I am going to do with my life. I need you to respect that. I need you not to pressure me. And I need no one else to find out about this, please."

"Okay, but I want you to know that I want you. You’re a brilliant and sexy woman, and I can't get you out of my mind."

"Please, just keep that to yourself for now. I beg you."

The work at the dig site closed down early that day when a heavy rain storm blew in. The dark clouds overtook the clear blue sky in a matter of moments. All the scientists and workers fled for base camp and the lodge as the rain came down in buckets.

Nola and Quint were drenched by the time they got to their room. "Wow, what a storm," Nola excitedly chirped. "I loved summer rain storms when I was a little girl."

"I don't remember anything particular about them from when I was a child."

"We didn't have much, so we made the most out of everything," Nola explained, shaking some of the water from her hair. "Tony, Maureen and I would take off our shoes and go outside and splash around in the puddles and get soaking wet. Mom would get so mad at us. But there was something so free about it. Something almost animal about it."

Suggestively eyeing his wife's figure draped in the clinging clothing, Quint approached her. "I am feeling a little animal right now, looking at you in those wet clothes, wet hair . . . Reminds me of the times in St. Croix and in Machu Pichu and in . ." While unbuttoning her shirt, he gently lathed her neck with kisses.

"I was thinking the same thing," she purred, melting into him. "And we have a few hours before Rohana is back with the baby . . .Mr. McCord."

"Ahhh," he lasciviously chuckled in her ear. "I'm the luckiest man in the world," he whispered between kisses. He brushed her shirt back off her shoulders, and licked the bit of moisture from the nape of her neck.

"Oh, you give me tingles right down to my toes when you do that," she gasped, pulling his mouth to hers.

Quint smiled and emitted a deep growl. He unhooked her bra and cupped his hands under her breasts. "Even after all these years," he whispered, "I cannot get enough of you."

"And me, you. I'm the lucky one." She deliberately ran her fingers through his damp, soft blonde hair. He was a tad self conscious about his thinning locks, but to her, it was a part of her husband, her lover, a part that made him who he was, and a part that represented the precious time that they had spent together.

Quinton was not going to correct his wife, but he knew that he was the lucky one. They fell to the bed, their remaining articles of clothing were tossed aside, and their pleasured moans filled the room. He thrilled in her pleasure and expertly caressed the still slim, but now, softer curves of her body that he knew so well. He locked his eyes with hers. While they had both physically changed a lot over the years, her eyes were the same as the day they met. They still had the fire of the twenty-three year old young woman he’d fallen in love with. He trailed his fingers along her quivering thighs and slowly slid inside her. Remaining completely still, he torturously held her gaze for a few long moments, encouraging her to hold back and placed his finger to her lips, silently instructing her to quietly enjoy the closeness and intimacy. His belly pressed firmly to hers, she searched his face, and saw everything that he didn’t need to say in his crystal blue eyes. They relished in the spiritual moment, until he could feel the tension in her body ready to explode, her hips desperately trying to buck under his weight. He shifted his body and attended to her neck which she hungrily arched toward him as they moved together. Her eyes closed in rapturous ecstasy, her body trembled, and the room was once again filled with her exuberant vocalizations. They pleasured each other while the rain fell heavily outside.

The next morning, Quint and Nola met their daughter early at the dig site. Anastasia and Jack had gone over immediately after dawn to try and clean things up after the rain storm. It was early, but already the humidity felt intense. It was going to be another scorcher which would certainly help to dry out the site, but in the meantime, the heat and the mud made the work very difficult. Nola was worried because Ava had a slight temperature, but Rohana assured her that the baby would be fine. Rohana was a miracle worker with children, and Nola had total trust in her. There was a barely a hint of a breeze and almost no relief from the heat, save for the little bit of shade they got in the morning from working so closely to the bottom of a steep slope. Nola had a hard time focusing, worrying about the baby and about the dramas of her much older daughter. She looked over in the direction of Jack and Anastasia, hoping for some indication of the mood between the two.

"Nola, are you okay?" Quint inquired.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just worried about the baby."

"I've never known you to not be able to focus on the work. Rohana said she would be all right."

"I know, I guess the heat is getting to me."

"I have to admit it’s hot."

"Yeah," Nola muttered in a faraway voice, glancing discreetly over at Jack and Stacey.

"Nola?"

She did not respond. Quint repeated her name a little louder, bringing her out of her trance.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I said, why don't you take my cell phone and call Rohana, if that will make you feel better," Quint handed her his phone from his shorts’ pocket.

"Okay, it would be good to check in." Nola dialed the phone a few times in frustration trying to get through. "The signal is so weak here."

"Why don't you go over by the base camp? I can usually get a signal there."

"You know everything," she told him with a broad smile.

"That's what husbands are for."

"One of the things," she happily retorted. Nola gave him a quick peck on the lips, and she headed off to make her phone call. Quint shook his head lovingly as he watched Nola trot off. Just as she disappeared amongst the tents of base camp, Quinton heard what sounded like a whooshing sound, and then everything went dark.

As if in slow motion, Nola turned toward the loud swirling sound and dropped the cell phone. All her fellow workers also stopped what they were doing to see what was going on. Nola heard several people yell out, "Mud Slide! Everyone get back."

Running to see what had happened, Nola instinctively yelled out, "Quinton, Stace."

"Nola, get back, get back," Jack demanded.

"Where's Stacey?" Nola asked frantically.

"I'm right here, Mom," Stacey replied. Nola noticed that her daughter was covered in a significant amount of mud.

"Jack, where's Quinton? Where's Quinton?" Nola heard someone shout out for help. "Oh my God, where's my husband?" she screamed, frantically trying to get away from Jack's grasp. Another hand grabbed her. It was Timo. "Timo, please, where is Quinton?"

"Nola, they’re helping him. You need to stay over here."

"What do you mean they’re helping him? Is he all right?"

"I don't know what’s going on yet," Timo admitted.

"Jack, you need to help my father," Stacey cried. Jack left Timo to restrain Nola and rushed in to help.

"What do you mean you don't know what's happening?" Nola insisted, "Let go of my arm, I have to see Quinton." Nola heard more yelling in the area where she left Quinton.

In the distance, Jack shouted, "We need all men NOW." Timo released Nola's arm and ran to help in the rescue. Nola ran after him with Stacey on her heels.

"Mom, maybe we shouldn't . . ." Stacey started, but stopped short when she saw her father.

Quinton was unconscious and pinned under several rocks that had gotten carried down the slope during the mud slide. Even larger and more numerous rocks covered the exact area where Nola had been working just moments before. Nola immediately realized that she would have been killed had she not, by chance, gone off just a few moments before the accident. But could she have helped Quinton? Her mind raced with questions of fear and anxiety.

Attempting to grab her arm, one of the men insisted, "Nola, Nola, stand back."

"Get your fucking hands off me," she shrieked wildly and jerked her arm away. "God damn it, what is going on?" she continued, stomping her feet and frantically screaming with tears streaming down her cheeks. She finally saw Quinton under the rocks. A steady flow of blood was coming from an injury on his head. "Quinton, no," she cried hysterically over and over.

Stacey held her mother, "Mom, Mom, Daddy's going to be all right." She tried to remain strong for her mother, but was not so convinced that everything would be all right. Her father looked terribly small and helpless under all those rocks, not strong, perfect and invincible like the man she had idolized every single day of her life.

Several of the female scientists and a medic tried to help to calm Nola.

Nola's eyes searched her husband's bloodied face, "Is he okay? Oh my God, Quinton. You have to be all right."

Jack and the other men carefully lifted the heaviest rock that Quinton was trapped under. "He's breathing," Jack announced. Anastasia was amazed by the masterful way that Jack took control of the situation.

"He's breathing?" Nola gasped through her sobs. The heat was intense. Nola was perspiring profusely. Then everything started to spin, and a loud buzzing in her ears overtook her.

"Yes, he's definitely still alive," a male medic stated.

"Where's that damned ambulance?" Jack shouted as the site medics busily worked.

"The ambulance is on its way," a random female voice responded.

A group of men and women worked to clear another larger pile of rocks. The word was that one of the young female geologists was trapped under the pile. Her fate did not look good, the fate that could have been Nola’s had Quint not handed her his phone at the precise moment he did and told her to go to base camp to get a signal. Even if he was not cognizant that he was doing it, Quinton always took care of and protected Nola.

The heat, her own hysterical sobbing, the site of her injured husband lying unconscious and strapped down from head to toe on a board and the slow arrival of the ambulance overwhelmed Nola. She turned pale, went limp and passed out in her daughter's arms. Reetta and one of the medics assisted Anastasia in bringing her mother over to a safe place near the base camp where they could revive her.

Quint's body was on a byzantine-looking board, collar and head block device, which was strapped to a stretcher and hurriedly placed in the ambulance. Nola was laid out on a cot in the base camp. The medic swabbed the cold sweat from her forehead with a chilled wet towel and carefully checked her vitals. Jack sought out Anastasia, who was anxiously watching her mother being cared for. "Stace, are you okay?" He spontaneously threw his arms around the frightened woman.

"Jack, I'm fine," she hugged back, holding onto him as if he was the last person there for her in the world. "Is my Daddy going to be all right?" she asked, starting to cry.

"I don’t know, sheila. He was hurt real bad, but he was breathing, and he's real strong."

"Mom can't take this, Jack. Daddy is everything to her. It's always been like that."

Nola fretfully started to come to and mumbled Quint's name a few times.

Injecting medicine into Nola’s IV, the medic said in a soothing voice,. "Mrs. Chamberlain, your husband’s going to be all right." Checking the flow of the IV, she assured Stacey, "This will help her to relax."

"Rebecca did this," Nola whimpered.

Jack queried, "Who's Rebecca?"

"She’s someone from my parents' past, a long time ago," Anastasia answered.

Nola continued to randomly and slowly mumble. "Stace . . .AJ . . . .Ava." Then she quieted down for a few long moments before she started to cry, her chest heaving, "Where's my Beatrice? Quinton, our baby."

"Beatrice was my baby sister that died about ten years ago," Anastasia said softly, at Jack’s questioning look. "Mom talks a lot about her."

"Quinton, come back to me," Nola cried and then went peacefully quiet.

"She's sleeping now," the medic quietly remarked. "Her blood pressure is normal, everything seems normal, but we should take your mother to the hospital so they can give her a thorough exam." The medic called on her radio for another stretcher to take the shocked wife of one of the accident victims to a waiting ambulance.

Stacey and Jack heard, via the medic’s radio, that the female geologist, Erin Brody, had been recovered dead from under the pile of rocks. Erin was only twenty-eight years old and had been a lively person and an acclaimed scientist. But now she was gone. Anastasia sought comfort in the arms of Jack who unexpectedly turned out to be very able in this time of crisis. The paramedics arrived with the stretcher for Nola and whisked her away to the hospital. Stacey and Jack followed in his jeep.

There were a few phone calls back to the States that Stacey knew she had to make immediately. She also had to call Rohana to make sure she could keep Ava until further notice. Her mother would be physically fine, but the site of her father being carried away haunted her. How would she deal with this? Anastasia knew she had to be strong for her family. But she couldn’t do it alone. She needed to immediately get in touch with Aunt Vanessa whom she trusted would know what to do. In her thoughtful contemplation, she looked over at Jack, so solemn, so calm, so purposeful. He was taking care of business and surprisingly, taking care of her. She was grateful. And there were other confused feelings stirring inside her.

Jack noticed her looking at him, "Stace, it’s going to be okay. Your father is going to be okay, you just have to believe that."

"I want to, but seeing him on that board strapped and collared . . ."

"That’s procedure, sheila. They can’t take any chances in a situation like that."

"But Jack, what if he . . . I mean, it’s so unfair. They just had little Ava, she’s just a little baby. It would be so unfair to her." Anastasia started to sob, "And I was so terrible to him yesterday. I just want him to know that I love him more than anything."

Jack carefully watched the twisting road, as he brushed his dirty fingers through her hair and replied with calm certainty, "Don’t worry, Stace. He knows. You idolize him. I know he knows. Everyone knows that."

Jack and Anastasia arrived at the hospital where her parents had been brought. The women at the front desk were busily helping other guests and directing incoming patients. Anastasia impatiently paced until it was her turn. "Hi, my name is Anastasia Chamberlain, my mother and father were just brought in via the ambulance. Quinton and Nola Chamberlain."

The woman had a kind face. In broken English she explained, "I’m sorry, Miss. Could you speak slowly, my English is not as good?"

"Oh, I’m so sorry, of course . . ."

Jack interrupted, "Stace, let me talk to her." Jack spoke to the woman in fluent Malay. The woman nodded her head and checked her computer. She wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed them a pass.

"Are they okay?" Stacey nervously inquired.

"She doesn’t know. She’s just the receptionist here. She’s sending us to the floor where they have been admitted and is calling the doctor to let him know we’re coming."

As directed, they took the elevator up to the third floor.

"Did she say what the doctor’s name is?"

Jack showed Anastasia the piece of paper with scratchy handwriting, "Yes, and she wrote it down, Dr. Amri."

When they got off the elevator, they immediately encountered the nurses station. Immediately, Jack started speaking to the nurses in Malay.

"Sir, you may speak English so the young lady can understand."

"Oh, thank God," Stacey burst out. "I’m Anastasia Chamberlain. My parents are supposed to be on this floor. They were brought in from the accident at the dig site. Quinton and Nola Chamberlain. We were given Dr. Amri’s name."

"Yes, your mother is resting comfortably with the sedative. If everything continues as well as it has, we should be able to release her before the end of the day."

"What about my father?"

"Your father has gone in for x-rays and ultrasound."

"Is that it? You don’t know anything more?"

"I’m so sorry, they only got here, maybe, fifteen minutes before you arrived."

"May we speak with the doctor?"

"Dr. Amri is with your father right now, but if you can possibly wait, I’m sure he will have some information for you."

Anastasia despondently thanked her.

"Miss Chamberlain, we will tell you everything we know, but rest assured that Dr. Amri is one of the best neurologists in this part of the world. Your father’s in excellent hands."

"Why does my father need a neurologist?"

"In this kind of accident, it’s one of the first things we consider. It may be nothing, but we want to error on the side of caution."

"Can I see my mother?"

"You can, Miss Chamberlain, but she is going to be sleeping for a few hours. There really is nothing she, or you can do, so it’s good for her to rest."

"You’re right."

"As soon as you have settled, Miss, we’ll need you to complete paperwork."

"No problem," Anastasia responded distractedly. "Is there possibly a pay phone I can use? I need to call my brother and family in the States."

"There’s one down the hall," the nurse said in a sympathetic voice.

Jack and Stacey scurried down the hall in the direction that the nurse pointed. "It should be about 8PM in Santa Barbara and 10PM in Springfield. I’ll call Aunt Vanessa first."

Anastasia dialed in a long series of numbers and then waited for the slow connection to be made. She left a quick message when Vanessa’s answering service picked up and then hastily dialed the numbers again to her cell phone.

When Vanessa answered the phone, Anastasia quickly detailed the sketchy information she had thus far. As expected, Vanessa dropped everything and promised to get the company jet, fly to Santa Barbara to get AJ and then onto Borneo. After speaking with Vanessa, she spoke with her brother who desperately wanted more information than was available. It would be almost a whole day before they could realistically get into Kota Kinabalu with the stops for California and fuel.

Stacey and Jack waited to speak with Dr. Amri. Jack ran out to get them something for lunch, but Stacey’s stomach was nervous and queasy, and she could not eat.

"Jack, I have to thank you for being so helpful. You really took control when everything happened. I don’t know if anyone else could have done what you did."

"I did what I thought was right, sheila. I care about you and your family. I grew up respecting your father and his career, and now I’ve met you . . ."

"I just want you to know I appreciate it. I still have a lot to work through, but I want you to know that I’ll never forget it."

"I didn’t do it expecting anything back."

"I know, but you know that I also have to call Seamus. When my father wakes up, he’s going to ask about him."

"I know."

Just then, a stocky, Malaysian looking man wearing glasses approached them, "Miss Chamberlain?"

"Yes."

He held out his hand to shake hers, "I’m Dr. Amri. I have been attending to your father."

"Yes. This is my friend, Jack. He was with us at the site where the accident occurred."

"There is some good news about your father. He’s stabilized, and we’ve done an ultrasound on him, run blood tests, and there appears to be no internal bleeding, which is very fortunate in an accident of this nature. And the trauma to his head appears to be very minor and of no lasting concern. He did sustain some significant blood loss, however, and we may need some family members on hand for blood donations."

"I’d be happy to donate some blood, but I’m not sure if there will be a match. My father adopted me." Jack shot Anastasia a surprised look.

"The hospital will want to test you for a match, just in case. Are there any blood relatives here in Sabah?"

"Just my baby sister, Ava. But my brother and my father’s sister will be here tomorrow."

"That’s good to know. These are all precautions and nothing to be overly concerned about. We’ve also done x-rays that I’ll be examining, as soon as they are ready, with a colleague of mine who’s an expert on spinal injuries."

"Spinal injuries?"

"Yes, this is one of the first things we must consider in such an accident. There are no definitively negative signs at this time, but I wanted you to know what we’re dealing with."

"Is Quint conscious yet?"

"Not yet. He suffered a severe trauma, so that’s not unusual," the doctor assured them. "But his vitals are stable. For a man his age, he’s in excellent health and shape. That will help a lot in his recovery."

"What about my mother?"

"I’m actually not her attending physician, but I have checked in on her status, and she’s just fine."

"My mother saw my father while he was still pinned under the rocks. She’s going to be hysterical when she wakes up if there’s not more good information. They’re everything to each other."

"We will give you information as soon as we possibly can. And the doctor attending to your mother is aware of the emotional situation and will do her best to assuage her grief and stress. There is also a psychologist that your mother or anyone in your immediate family can see if you feel you need it."

Anastasia took the doctor’s hand, "Please, Dr. Amri, do everything you can for my father. He has to be all right. Like I said, they have a baby, my baby sister, she’s not even four months old. She needs him. She needs to know him."

Later that day, one of the nurses on the floor approached Jack and Anastasia. Anastasia had managed to drowse off, but woke up immediately when Jack nudged her. "Miss Chamberlain, your mother is up from her nap. She wants to see you."

"Great, is there any more news about my father?"

"I think the doctor wants to speak with you, but he’s in with another patient right now. But I think you should see your mother first."

"Jack, you should stay here. I hope you don’t mind."

"Of course, I understand," Jack nodded.

The nurse led Anastasia to Nola’s room. "Mom," Anastasia peeked into the room.

"Stace," Nola cried, holding her arms out. "Come here."

Anastasia rushed into her mother’s arms. "Mom, are you okay?"

"I’m fine, but have you heard any word about your father? No one has told me anything. What’s going on? I’m going crazy not knowing anything." Nola motioned for Anastasia to sit on her bed and looked deep into her eyes. Looking into her eldest daughter’s eyes was uncannily like looking into a mirror. It was the same with AJ, and everyone always commented about it.

"I spoke with the doctor just one time so far. He said that there was no internal bleeding. I guess that is really good news with an accident like this. And apparently the injury on his head is nothing major, but he did lose some blood, and they might need donations from blood relatives."

"Oh no, there’s only Ava here. She’s too little."

"I know, but I told him that AJ and Aunt Vanessa are coming. And the doctor promised me it was only a precaution, and that he might not even need the blood." Stacey hopefully added, "And who knows, maybe I’m a perfect match after all."

"That’s good," Nola nodded, trying to make sense of everything that was happening. "AJ and Vanessa are coming in on the private jet?"

Anastasia indicated yes.

"Oh my God, Stace, did you call Rohana to tell her what was going on?"

"I did, Mom. Ava’s fine," Stacey calmly assured her. "Rohana said not to worry about a thing."

"Anything else about your father?"

"Last I heard, Daddy hadn’t woken up yet, but the doctor said he was in good shape and health, and that would help in his recovery. After I spoke with him, they were going over Daddy’s x-rays. I don’t know anything more than that."

"Who’s the doctor?"

"His name is Dr. Amri."

"Your father was strapped down. I saw him. They must think a spinal injury is possible."

"They’re looking into that, but so far I’ve heard nothing, Mom. We have to be positive."

"I know we have to be positive, but I don’t want you holding anything back from me," Nola stated sternly.

"I’m telling you everything I know."

"What kind of doctor is Dr. Amri?"

"A neurologist."

"See, that’s another thing you knew and didn’t tell me."

"I’m sorry, Mom."

"I don’t mean to come down on you, but I need to know EVERYTHING. I want to see your father now." Nola hit the call button next to her bed.

Within a few minutes, the nurse hurried into the room, "Mrs. Chamberlain, is there something you need?"

"Yes, I need to be disconnected from all of this, and I need to go see my husband, NOW."

"That’s not possible. Your doctor needs to approve disconnecting the IV, and we are outside the visiting hours in the ICU."

"Then I need to see my doctor right away, because I’m fine, and I need to see my husband and talk to his doctor."

"Of course, Mrs. Chamberlain, Dr. Amri should be here in a few minutes. He was just finishing up with another patient, and then I know he wanted to speak with you and your daughter. Please, let me check your pressure before I go."

Nola held out her arm for the nurse. The nurse wrapped it to take her pressure, nodded that everything was fine and promptly left.

"So I called Aunt Vanessa and AJ. They’re on their way right now. When I last spoke with Aunt Vanessa, the jet had landed in Santa Barbara to pick up AJ."

Nola erupted in tears, "This reminds me so much of the time your father was in that accident with Rebecca years ago when you were a little baby. I feel so scared. I can’t believe this is happening, Stace."

Stacey held her mother tightly, "I know, Mom. But Daddy’s going to be all right. He has to be. You were given Ava to raise her together."

"I hope it’s that, and not that she was the last bit of your father I would have."

"Mrs. Chamberlain," a male voice came from the doorway. It was Dr. Amri. "I have some information about your husband."

Nola and Anastasia searched the doctor’s neutral expression for any sign of what he was about to relay.