Present day- 3 months later.

"Today must be your lucky day man; the nurses are fighting over who gets to give you a sponge bath. It reminds of that summer when we had the hook-up on all that good weed; and we couldn't put it down." Mason laughed, but it quickly faded, "I am so sorry for putting you through all this shit."

Mason stared at his best friend. Watching Dax lay there not moving seemed so surreal. Seeing him like this stood in stark contrast of the man he knew and it made him feel even guiltier. It was his fault.

"Remember when you told me that no one can fully understand what you have been going through?" Mason sighed and rubbed his temples, "I may not know that kind of pain buddy, but this probably comes pretty damn close to it."

He reached for Dax's hand, "I just wish you would get your sorry ass up out of this bed and fight me like a real man; I have to tell you Dax, seeing you like this hurts much worse than that black eye you gave me at Erin's wedding. And that shit hurt."

"Shit ,what a mess we made that day, huh...."

Flashback 6 months prior.

"Come on, dance with me beautiful." Mason tried to coax a still sitting Zhay. "It's a wedding all of the bridesmaids have to dance with the best man."

Zhay laughed at him. He was sitting next to her and table dancing as he called it. She appreciated what he was trying to do; he wanted to make her smile. "Um that only works if you are the best man and I was at church as the maid of honor, and I don't think it was you who had the rings."

"Maybe not at this wedding, but you have to admit that I am the best man here; the ladies have been all over me. I don't know what it is about weddings but for you females, your defenses weaken with quickness." Now adding hand movements to his shoulder twitches, Mason was in rare form.

"Mason you are nuts." Zhay laughed as he continued his table dancing.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of her seat, "Let's go; we are going to have a little fun."

Mason ignored her protests as he found a spot on the crowded dance floor. A popular pop tune was playing and everyone was up having fun. Zhay had to admit that dancing with Mason and laughing at the other guests was improving her mood. Dancing to three straight tunes she started to feel a bit fatigued but Mason insisted that they dance at least one more before he gave his toast to the couple. She agreed and the dancing duo chatted to the slower song that played.

"What's this?" Dax asked; seeming to appear out of nowhere. Looking back and forth between his wife and his best friend.

The wild look in his eyes told Mason that he needed to be on alert. "Dax." Mason greeted, still holding Zhay in his arms. "I didn't think that you'd make the reception, since I didn't see you at church."

"My attention was engaged elsewhere." Smiling towards his date for all to see; the tall red head in the too short red cocktail dress was hard to miss. "Ava and I lost track of time this morning. But I wanted to wish Erin good luck with the marriage thing; at least better luck than I've had."

Zhay mumbled something to Mason and was attempting to flee, when he tighten the arm that was around her waist. He had finally convinced Zhay to have some fun and take a twirl on the dance floor; and his efforts at getting her to smile now seemed short lived.

"Stop that Dax." Erin screeched as soon as she heard him; leaving her husband's side, she  moved  closer to Zhay, "It's my wedding and you are not going to ruin it, so you and that tart can get the hell out of here."

"What? I thought I was invited, I just came to toast your union; I thought that we were all friends here. I see that some of us have become friendlier than I realized." Motioning between Mason and Zhay, "How long has this been going on?"

"Dax, go home you're drunk and you are embarrassing yourself." Mason whispered, hoping that the other guests who were now staring in their direction couldn't hear the exchange.

"I'm embarrassing myself? You're the one parading around with my leftovers and a noted murderer at that; you should be the one who is embarrassed." Mason felt Zhay practically shrink in his arms. They both knew that Dax was drunk and they should just ignore him; but still his words were so venomous that ignoring him proved difficult for Mason.

 "Dax, I am warning you. Leave now, before I personally throw you out." Mason gritted through his teeth.

"Wow, man after all these years. It's like that, huh? Her over me? You'd choose a ho before your bro? That's cold man." Dax baited.

Mason felt his blood boiling and he knew where this was heading. "That's it, get the fuck out." Grabbing Dax by his elbow, he attempted to usher him out of the party. He loved Dax as if he was his own brother and because of it, he knew that he had to stop him from saying and doing much worse to hurt Zhay.

Dax protested Mason's rough handling but it was all for naught. Zhay tried to stop Mason, she' offered to leave the party instead; she didn't want their personal problems to ruin Erin's wedding. But Mason refused to entertain her offer. As far as he was concerned Dax was the unwelcomed guest here.

Making their way to the main house Mason stopped walking and let go of Dax's arm. He knew that his friend was too drunk to drive, so instead of tossing him out on his ass like he planned, he ushered him into the privacy of his father's library. Carter, the family butler who always seemed prepared for everything, quickly brought in a pot of coffee.

Mason was beyond pissed with Dax. He looked over at his friend, who was staring at him wordlessly. But the man with the bloodshot eyes, who reeked of alcohol, looking at him certainly was no friend of his. He couldn't imagine what Dax was going through but he also knew that it wasn't an excuse to do what he just did.

"What the fuck is wrong with you man?" Mason asked, searching Dax's eyes for any sign of his best friend. "You're shit faced and you bring that hooker to Erin's wedding."

Walking towards Mason, Dax stumbled but recovered; "I had a few cocktail before we got here and Ava maybe very good at a lot of things but she doesn't get paid; she does it for free." Dax winked. "She maybe my new Marketing Director in the morning, if she plays her cards right, tonight."

Mason was now truly disgusted with his friend.

"You've done what you came here to do, you've hurt Zhay; your little act out there not only made her feel like shit but you humiliated her in front of her friends and colleagues. Are you happy now?" Mason congratulated, knowing that was what Dax's drunk mind wanted to hear. "Do you feel better? Do you feel vindicated now?"

Dax shrugged his shoulders and smirked at Mason's ranting. All of that only served to irritate Mason even more. "Do you know how hurtful that was, to hear you call Zhay a murderer, knowing that she has been in a very fragile state since leaving Cedar Grove? Is that how you treat the woman you love? She deserves better than that; she deserves someone better than you."

"Oh really and tell me good buddy who does she deserve? Someone like you? Why the fuck, do you care so much about my wife's feelings?" Dax spat back nastily.

Mason walked to Dax to stand toe to toe with him, looking him straight in his eyes, "I told you a long time ago, that I love Zhay just as much as I love Erin and would protect her all the same no matter what. I will do that today and I will do that tomorrow; I will protect her from anything that could hurt her and that even includes you, especially you."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Dax seemed to snap out of his drunken stupor and was now eyeing Mason with contempt. "My wife doesn't need your protection."

"It means that, I am going to advise her to take out a restraining order against you. Today you have proven that you are unstable and potentially dangerous; I don't like her living in that house all alone and vulnerable to your drunken tirades."

"You don't like....My wife's safety is of none of your damn business, Mason." Dax warned.

"Your wife? The wife you just verbally assaulted a few minutes ago?" Mason mocked, "You bring that street walker to her best friend's wedding to hurt her and..." he stopped, he knew Dax wasn't hearing anything right now. "You're wrong, Zhay's safety is my concern, I love her...."

"First off, you are going to stop telling me how much you love my wife; second you are going to keep your fucking hands off of my wife; third you are going stay away from wife." Dax cautioned, poking Mason in the chest.

Mason stared back at his friend, "As I said before, I will protect Zhay no matter what. So don't threaten me."

"I guess that's what best buds are for though, right; when the opportunity presents itself, just slide in and take advantage. You think you're so slick, don't you. You never had me fooled. I always knew you wanted to fuck her."

The punch Mason threw caught Dax off guard and he stumbled back and landed onto one of the book shelves. He felt a trickle of blood leave his nose and watched as a stun Mason moved towards him. The sound the punch made when it landed on Dax's face also surprised Mason. He had reacted without thinking. He looked at his friend, who was wiping the blood that was falling from his nose with his hands; Dax stared at the red globs but said nothing.

"Dax I'm so s...." Mason tried to get out, while reaching to help him up.

 "No don't apologize." Dax snapped back;  instead of  taking the hand that Mason offered, he hit him with  a crushing blow to his body that sent Mason crashing into the sofa table.

Now steadier on his feet he was circling Mason like a rabid dog.

"Dax, calm down." Mason pleaded attempting to stand, hoping that the crazed look he saw in Dax's eyes wouldn't push them down a path that they would regret later. "I don't want to fight you."

"You don't want to fight me." Dax screamed, punching Mason in his left eye; sending him to the ground.

Mason looked up at his friend. He wanted a fight. He needed an outlet for his anger but this wasn't the time. "Let's not do this, not here; not today." Mason reasoned.

"Get up, you fucking pussy...you started this," Dax reminded Mason. "You thought it was ok to rub your dick all over my wife? As much as you would like to taste her chocolate goodness, that pussy is  still all mine; and at the moment my sloppy seconds are not up for grabs..."

Mason didn't think it was possible that after nearly 30 years of friendship with Dax, that he would want to punch him. In 30 years they had never truly had an argument or a fight with each other; though they had caused a lot of them. Never had  words so spiteful between them ever escalated to exchanging blows. Dax was drunk and saying things he probably didn't mean. Mason knew that he should have just let it go; but he didn't. Hearing his insinuations left Mason hotter than July. Before he could stop himself, his fist was again connecting with Dax's face. And before long both sets of fists we flying, glass was breaking and furniture was being tossed about. The brawl grew so loud that Evans Grey himself was compelled to break up the melee.

"What the hell is the matter with you two?" Evans thundered as he pulled the fighting pair apart. "Today is Erin's day and I won't stand for this shit." He gave the servers orders to bring in a pot of ice, water and bandages for Mason and Dax.

---------------------------

Mason took the ice pack that was handed to him, covered his eye and sat down on the leather sofa in front of the fire place.  It felt like his eye was about to explode and his fingers were cramped. He looked over to his friend and noticed that Dax wasn't in the best shape either. His nose was red and was bleeding profusely. He had cuts and bruises over his eyes and lips were starting to swell.

"Erin is going to kill me." Dax said reaching for another drink of water. Walking to the big bay windows he looked on at the festivities happening on the great lawn, he felt terrible for his earlier display.

"Yes she is." Mason agreed, kicking off his shoes to stretch his legs on the ottoman. "You look like shit man." He took off his jacket and untied his bowtie.

"I feel like shit. Did you have to hit me in the nose? I think it's broken." Dabbing the iced towel to his nose, Dax noticed that the blood stream was still pretty heavy.

"I know a great doctor who could check that out for you, if you want." Mason laughed, "There's like a thousand of them out there."

Dax didn't respond. He only stared out the window, he was straddling the line between being drunk and sober and the sad reality of what his drunken mind had just done crushed his spirit.

"Zhay probably hates my guts. Did I really just call my wife a murderer in front of all these people?" he asked aloud but more to himself.

Mason looked over to his friend, he was watching the party. But he was pretty sure that he was only looking for Zhay. "Yes you did; and you also called her a ho."

Silence lingered in the room and Mason wasn't sure of what he wanted to say to his friend. It wasn't until he heard the sound of faint whimpers that Mason got up from his comfortable position on the sofa and walked over to his friend.

"Let it out man, you'll feel better." Mason encouraged as he wrapped his arm around his friend.

"Fuck man. Everyone says that shit...but...you'll never understand."  Dax managed to get out but fighting his tears.

"I know; but I hate to see you like this. I hate this person that you are becoming. The person who showed up drunk to my sister's wedding,  with another woman, calls his wife a ho and a murderer, then accuses me and his wife of the unthinkable...isn't the Dax I know."

Dax looked up at Mason, and it seemed to sober him up when he heard that "I need to go, I need to find her and apologize to her. I don't mean to hurt her but every time I see her..."

Mason quickly blocked his passage, "Listen, right now you're drunk and she's fragile; you'll talk to her later when your thoughts are clearer."

Dax nodded his head in agreement but Mason still wasn't convinced that he was 100 percent listening to him. "What's going on talk to me, bro; you know that you tell me anything?"

"What can I say really? Everyone knows the story." Dax sat down and rubbed his sore jaw.

"Yes but...how are you dealing with all of this? You've refused counseling so I have to tell you I'm worried. Getting liquored up is not the way to handle your pain; it will only hurt you and Zhay both in the end."

"I know." Dax conceded, "But you have no idea what it's like living with the thoughts in my head; I can't escape them."

"Dax, you need help. You have to talk with a professional; it is going to get worse. And I have to tell you, that I am not only concerned about you but Zhay too. You've always been able to handle your liquor; but I'm afraid that your drinking maybe getting out of control. Look around this room. We fought each other, we've never done that. Granted I did throw the first punch, but we've never been that angry with each other in all our years of friendship.  And you've never been that drunk. If that could happen between us, what would happen if you and Zhay got into a heated exchange like we just did, while you were drunk?"

Dax quickly jumped up at hearing that, "Mason, you know me. I would never hit Zhay. I would cut my arm off before I ever did anything like that. I love that woman with everything that is in me."

"Do you? Then start acting like it. Get your shit together so you two can work things out. She misses you dumb ass and she needs you. And from what I've witness today, you need her now more than ever."

"I miss her too." Dax started, "I need to find her; I need to go out there and..."  Heading towards the door, Mason stopped him. Though, he seemed to be more conscious of his actions and sounded remorseful of his behavior. Mason knew that his friend was still in the midst of an emotional moment and thought it best for him to be alone.

"No, not now; let her be, just for today. I'll talk to her. You can apologize tomorrow when you're sober. Besides, I'm sure the estrogen brigade out there won't  let you anywhere near her. Stay here clean up and go home." Mason suggested, pointing to the coffee pot and water on the table.

"Thanks, Mase I owe you one." Dax stood up and hugged his friend.

"No, you owe me two, you are paying to have this room redone. Evans wasn't too happy that we smashed up his gaudy antiques." Mason chuckled, recalling his father's look of irritation when he rushed through the doors.

Grabbing his jacket off the ottoman,  "Dax, I have your back; I will save your ass every time, no questions asked. I will even save you from yourself, if I have to. That's just how much I love you."

Dax turned from the window to look at his friend, he was lucky to have Mason in his life. "Just one more thing buddy, stay off the sauce. And call me whenever you need to talk, seriously...oh and Ava from marketing, end whatever that shit is, today." Mason didn't wait for his response; he headed out of the library and back out to the wedding reception in full damage control mode.

Dax sank lower in his seat and thought about everything that had just happened. Mason was a good friend and his display today could have easily cost him his friendship. But Mason was right about his drinking lately; and he did get angry when he saw Zhay laughing and smiling; while he walked around miserable. Maybe it was time to seek professional help.

She looked so beautiful today he thought; he knew that he needed to talk to her but he couldn't. Every time he saw her all of his confused feelings rushed out in the worst way. Dax sat in the quiet of the Grey Family library and cried, he wife was only a few feet away from him yet he wasn't strong enough to talk with her. He was still angry and hurt; and experiencing every other emotion one feels when hopeless took over their life.

-----------------

"Evans was pissed that night. But he loved your redo. You won him over with that old English Pub set up. Turning the library into his own private saloon was classic. I mean it's still a bit stuffy for me but you know I love the grainy...listen to me babbling on like a girl."

Mason pulled his chair closer to Dax and place his hands in his, "Just know that I miss you buddy. Zhay is ok, but she is waiting on you to wake up; she never leaves your side man; poor girl lives in this chair. So get your ass up so that she can get some rest. Speaking of rest, you know, three months is a long time for a vacation buddy; you need to get back to work. I'm stealing all of your clients. Don't get me wrong, Harper is good, but he's not that damn good; plus everyone wants your autograph on the plans. Something about you being a genius and all. Anyway Did I tell you about Cecile, the hot flight attendant that I meet coming back from Paris. Man....." Mason rubbed his friend's hand and started talking about everything that was going on in his life. Their friendship was an easy one; it weathered more days than most marriages and Mason was struggling without Dax's counsel in his life. Just like the others around him, he too needed Dax back at 100 percent.

******************************

Adam checked Dax's monitor for the evening and compared the readings to last nights and earlier in the day. He and the other doctors were happy to see that his stats had been significantly improving. He couldn't believe that they had successfully removed Dax's breathing tube already; his patient was getting stronger every day. 

When he walked in to the ICU all those months ago, Adam was bracing for the worst; and was confronted by it. After speaking with his father, he knew that Dax would have one hell of an uphill battle. But if anyone could come through this he knew that it was Dax.

"Dax, your stats look good today. But, I am still concerned about possible spinal and brain injuries. I can't rule anything out until you wake up and I can run all the tests that I need to. So I'm just waiting on you, buddy; I need you to do your thing so that I can get you out of here and back home with Zhay."

***********************

Flashback to a young Dax

"Dad are you busy?"

"No. I'm never too busy for you, son; you know that. What's on your mind?"

"How do you know when you're in love?" Dax asked matter of factly.

Barron put his pencil down and peered over his glasses at his 11-year old son who'd just walked into his home office. He had foolishly hoped that he had at least another year before they would have this talk, the talk. Barron had it planned out perfectly. They would go hunting in the North Georgia Mountains and spend the weekend in their cabin and have their talk. A men's bonding weekend; one he hoped would prepare his son to better relate to his female counter parts.

"Why?" Barron countered curiously, standing up from his desk and motioning to Dax to come and sit with him on the sofa. "Do you think you're in love?"

Dax shrugged his shoulders, and sat down next to his father.

"Well son, love is a complicated thing. It can be exciting and exhilarating, as well as painful and exhausting." Answering as truthfully as he could without revealing too much of his own struggles with the emotion.

"I guess you know you love someone when, you are concerned about their wellbeing, you miss them when they're not around, you'll do whatever it takes to make them happy, no matter what and you can't imagine a day without them in your life." Barron looked at his son, "Does that help? Are you in love?"

Dax thought on the words his father just offered and smiled. "Yes! I want to take her flowers tomorrow; she likes them; that will make her happy."

"You're sure you're in love? And this girl you're in love with likes flowers?" Barron asked hiding a smile.

"Yes, especially pink flowers. They're her favorite."

"Flowers are good; but I think that kind of offering may be a bit mature for someone your age." Barron offered gently, "How about a card or candy, maybe she'll like that better?"

"Nah, Dad, no candy. Rosie likes flowers."  Barron blinked twice at his son; surely he didn't hear what his son just uttered.

"Rosie?"

Dax nodded his head at his father's simple question, "You think you're in love with Rosie?" Barron asked, barely holding in his laugh. He hoped that he successfully masked his amusement. He couldn't blame Dax, Rosie was easy to love.

"UH-Huh....Dad she's the best." Dax smiled. I know what you mean son; Barron thought but didn't voice.

"She laughs at all my jokes and she comes to watch all of my games; she gives the best hugs, and I missed her when she went to London, I love her dad and I am going to marry her when I turn 18."

Barron, sat in his spot on the sofa stunned and mute; Dax's declaration shocked him and he knew that he had to handle his adolescent feelings delicately. Who was he to dissuade his son from loving Rosie?

"Son, I think I need to clarify something. Loving someone and being in love with someone are two different things."

Barron searched his son's eyes for a flicker of something, but he wasn't sure what he was looking for. 

"What do you mean dad?" The younger Daxton asked confused by his father's words.

"Well, let's see. You love me, your mom and Claire don't you?" Dax shook head in confirmation, "You are happy when something wonderful happens to us right? Like when Claire won that dance completion and last week for mom's birthday. And it would hurt if something bad happened to any of us right? Like when, we lost Grandma Estelle?  Son, that's the types of feelings we have when we love someone. So tell me, is your love for Rosie any different from those feelings you have for us?"

Dax sat and thought about it for a minute and didn't answer right away.  "I guess not."

"That's what I thought. One day you'll find a woman, who you'll fall madly in love with; and then you'll want to get married. We'll toast your beautiful bride and laugh when I remind you about this conversation. Trust me."

Dax smiled, "But I love Rosie a lot, dad."

"I know you do son, and she loves you too. She tells me that all the time." Barron motioned for his son to move closer to him and wrapped him in arms.

"Really?" Dax asked surprised, taking in the comfort of his father's embrace.

"Yes." Barron replied, smiling at hearing the excitement in his son's voice; and drifting off to memories of her.  "She says that you're her Ethan and you have been since the first time she saw you."

Hearing that warmed Dax, he never told Alise but he always secretly wished that Rosie could be his real mother. He thought about what his father said about love, but was still confused.  "How will I know when I fall in love; how will it feel?"

Without much thought, Barron trained his indigo blue eyes to son's sea foam green ones, "You'll feel like you can't breathe if she is not close to you. You'll hear her laugh when she is miles away. When she is away you count the days until she returns. The smile on her face has the power to make a bad day better. You'll feel her sadness and hurt before she has a chance to say the words.  Her hugs and kisses offer so much comfort that no words need to be exchanged to make you feel better.  You bring her flowers, just because...because you know she loves them. And you'll want her be happy, no matter what; even if it means that you no longer hold a special place in her life."

Dax looked at his father, who was now staring off in the distance, "Dad, can I still give Rosie flowers, even though I'm not in love with her?"

Barron returned his attention back to his on, "Sure, I'll even help you pick them out." Barron promised, kissing the top of his son's head.

"Thanks, dad."

"I love you, son. It's late; you should go get ready for bed." They exchanged hugs and good night kisses, and then Dax was off to bed.

Barron lost track of how long he sat there and thought about the conversation he just had with his son. Love, it sounded so simple and easy when he rushed out his explanation; yet in real life it was much more complicated and messy.

********************

Present day

Barron sat and watched his son's stiff body for yet another morning. As the initial days stretched into weeks and then crept into months, he painfully realized that this could be Dax's future. What the doctors had managed to pull off, was nothing short of a miracle; the rest they advised, was up to Dax.

Dax had to be the one to want to open his eyes, get out of the bed and walk. To watch his son live in a comatose state for 3 months had nearly driven Barron to madness. No matter what expert assessed the situation, it was always the same response. Dax has to want to emerge from his current state. And that was something that Barron couldn't understand.  Dax was a fighter, that he knew for sure. His son had challenged him on just about everything growing up. So why was he so determined to remain in this state, left Barron confused. Each day it got harder and harder for Barron to visit his son. His son, who was so full of life and vitality, was now reduced to a feeding tube and sponge baths.

He slumped down in the uncomfortable chair next to Dax's bed and wept silently; knowing that the longer Dax remained in this state, the chances of a full recovery diminished. Barron thought about all of the things that he wanted to share with his son and was sadden that he could be robbed of his opportunity. He remembered the last conversation that they had and he promised Dax that he would do everything that he can to help him reconcile with Zhay.

His mornings for the past few months had been dedicated to spending quiet moments with Dax. He would talk to him about the happenings in the office, home, politics, history; it didn't matter. He would talk about anything, that he thought would bore Dax to point where he would get up and yell "Dad enough already" like he would do when he was younger; but nothing seemed to work.

It broke his heart to see Dax this way; and soon Barron's silent tears soon grew into sobs. It wasn't until he felt the warm slender fingers on the back of his neck that he heard her soothing words. She was standing over him. He leaned into her warmth but remained silent. It was 6:15 in the morning and she was right where he needed her to be; close to him. She always seemed to know when he needed her the most.

He reached for her hands and gave them a tender kiss. She was the only one that he didn't have to keep up appearances for. She had seen him at his best and still he cringed at her seeing him at his worst. Her right hand moved from his shoulders to the nape of his neck and her fingers began their slow dance in his hair. Her lite massage of his neck and scalp always comforted him and he felt some of his tension leave his body. He rubbed her left arm and sighed.

"Why won't he wake up, Rose?"

"He has so much on his mind Barry. This is the mental break that he needed to take a year ago." Rosie supposed.

"I...I don't know what I'll do if I lose him, Rosie." Barron cried.

Rose came around to face him and took his face into her hands. "We won't; you have to believe that. Ethan has more fight in him than a pack of wolves; he'll get through this." She assured, kissing his eyes. "You have to remain strong Barry; he'll need all of our strength when he wakes up."

He looked up at Rosie; he knew that seeing Ethan like this must have been even harder on her. He was the son that she didn't have. Ethan sought her council on everything and shared more things with her than he did with his parents.

"Come sit. He needs to know that his Rosie is here with him." Barron stood up to give Rosie his seat, so that she could visit with Dax too. He left them alone to talk and he paced the hallway as his thoughts bounced from place to place.

----------------------------

"Hey handsome. How are you feeling today?" Rosie kissed his still bandaged forehead and took his hand in hers.  "You know this conversation would go a lot faster if you would actually respond." She watched for any flicker of life but was disappointed when Dax remained stock still.

"Harper is doing a phenomenal job running DE while you're here. I think that you should be worried." Rosie teased. "I know you can hear me sugar, and I know that you need your rest; but you need to let us know that you are still in there fighting to get back to us, Zhay especially." Rosie squeezed his hand and began rubbing his fingers; they were warm.

"You two have suffered so much and right now more than anything, she needs you to open your eyes, precious." Rosie hoped that her pleas would reach Dax in that dark place where he was. She too was feeling some angst about his prolonged comatose state and every day for the past few months she waited for that call to say that he was awake but it never came. 

Barron stood just outside the room and watched them through the window. Rosie would visit him at least twice a day and sat with him for hours. She talked to him, read to him or held his hands to let him know that he wasn't alone. He saw her body shaking and he knew that she was crying. He immediately went to comfort her.

The tears spilled out of her eyes as she watched Ethan, "I need to get a drink of water." Rosie murmured into Barron's chest.

"I'll go and get it for you; stay and talk with him."

"No, I need a minute to myself."  Rosie cried, "This is so hard seeing him like this, especially today."

"I know darlin'. It's ok if you want to mourn a little..." Rosie looked up at Barron startled. "We lost Ashford all those years ago, today. So I know how hard this is for you to see Ethan like this."

She was surprised that he even knew that date. He looked in her eyes and saw the surprise there. "You're not the only who still carries that pain, Rosie; I feel it too." He held her tighter and encouraged her to cry.

Ashford Barron Daxton was their son, whom they lost before he had a chance to see the world. It was such a hard time for both of them; to this day, they rarely discussed the tragedy that they shared in private. Besides her father and mother and his father, no one else knew that Rosie and Barron had conceived a child together. It wasn't because either was ashamed of it, but Rosie was so young and still in college; her parents thought is best to keep the knowledge confined to a small group. Of course, when Barron's father found out, that led to a chain of events that resulted in the loss of their child. Barron was devastated that he wasn't there for either of them. Not only did he lose Ashford that day, but those events also caused him to lose the love of his beloved Rose.

Trying her best to compose herself, Rosie whispered, "Barry, we can't do this. Not now." She quickly dabbed her moist lids and took in a calming breath. "Ethan needs all of our energies focused on him."

"I'm sure he would give you a reprieve to grieve the loss of our son, Rose." Still holding her, he kissed her temple and hoped that she was comforted.

Hearing him make reference to their son had Rosie thinking about things that she hadn't in a long while. Like the promise they made to each other that they wouldn't talk about Ashford with anyone. As far as everyone else was concerned, Delaine was her one and only and Ethan was his first born.

So lost in their thoughts and embrace neither Rosie, nor Barron noticed the fluttering of their beloved patient's eyelids.