Ignoring the orderly's comment to slow down, Nick just ran faster as he darted between people that were walking too slow. He needed to get out of that hospital quickly, and he begged and pleaded for his legs to carry him faster but his legs did not obey. He tried to ignore the tears that threatened to fall down his cheeks, but the constant rainfall originating from his eyes blocked his vision immensely.

As he came upon the entrance to the hospital, he stopped dead in his tracks when he remembered the gallons of people that were still gathered outside. Mumbling obscenities to himself, he quickly backtracked a few steps and sped off for the back entrance to the hospital.

On his way, he stumbled upon Brian who was napping in one of the empty waiting rooms. Brian woke up at the sound of Nick who whizzed by him in a hurry.

"Nick! Where you going, man?" He asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes and running to keep up with Nick.

"Don't talk to me. Don't fucking talk to me!!" Nick bellowed. Brian stopped and took that as a clue to leave Nick alone. He slowly walked back into his waiting room and watched from the doorway as Nick quickly threw open the heavy, gray hospital doors and ran outside into the black night.

*~*

As soon as Nick stepped into the humid air, a puff of smoke wavered over his head and in his face. Coughing a few times, he stopped running and took a look at where the smoke came from. Leaning on the hospital wall with one leg for support was Richard, smoking a cigarette and staring up at the sky. He moved his head towards Nick and a smile crept across his face.

"Nick, nice of you to join me," he said. Nick swallowed hard and walked a few steps closer to him. Nodding his head, Nick placed both hands on his hips and stared up at the stars as he tried to catch his breath. He then remembered that he had been crying and he quickly wiped his tears off from his wet cheeks.

"It's only natural for a patient to push away loved ones," Richard said as he took one last drag on his cigarette before throwing it on the ground and stifling the sparks with his shoe.

"What are you talking about?" Nick huffed, trying to act tough and macho when on the inside he was crying like a child.

"Nick, I've been working here for the past twenty years as a psychiatrist. Do you really think I don't know what happened between you and Autumn?" Richard sneered.

"I just don't get it. I mean, one minute she's telling me that we would be together forever, and the next minute she's telling me it's over. She can't expect me to handle this situation so easily!" Nick spat out.

He was shocked at himself for just admitting his inner feelings for someone he met only one time prior to now, and as brief as it was. Richard just nodded.

"That's it. Just say what you feel," Richard said, urging Nick on.

Nick all of a sudden became aware of his gush of feelings and he shook his head forcefully. He wasn't going to tell anyone anything anymore.

"It's only going to hurt more if you keep it bottled up inside," Richard advised. Nick just stared at the man while in his mind he was mimicking every word he said.

Richard walked over to the door and beckoned for Nick to follow him when he made his way back inside the hospital. Nick was obedient and he followed the slighty rounded man into the hallway that Nick had remembered from the first time he visited Autumn in the hospital.

Pulling out a set of keys, Richard unlocked the door and flipped on the lights. He sat down at his chair and pointed to the chair across from him.

Nick was reluctant at first, but then sat down and crossed his arms tightly across his chest. When Richard handed him that same picture of the clouds in the sky that he made Nick hold upon his first visit, Nick just sat there stone cold with no expression in his movements or emotions.

"Nick...tell me something. Tell me about you and Autumn." Richard said as he played with the brown mustache that sat upon his upper lip. Nick looked at him like he grew two heads.

"Is it any of your business?" said Nick rudely as he watched Richard's expression. Richard shook his head no.

"To break the ice, Nick. Please."

Nick sighed and ran his hands across his face and sighed, "What about me and Autumn?"

"Like, how did you meet, how long you were together. Stuff like that."

"Let's see. Autumn and I met at a party that her dad was throwing in honor of the Backstreet Boys' success. We were together three years up until a half hour ago," he said as a single, wet tear slipped out of his blue eye. Ashamed, he quickly wiped it away, hoping it would go unnoticed.

"It's ok to cry. Just let it out," consoled Richard.

"If you say that one more time I'm going to walk out of here," Nick threatened, his patience wearing thin. Richard nodded.

"I don't know why you have this attitude towards me. I am a psychiatrist; my job is to help people with their problems. But you seem to have something against me helping you," said Richard.

"I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself, you know," Nick scoffed. Richard snickered and shook his head.

"Don't shake your head at me! You don't fucking know me!" shouted Nick.

"If you don't watch your mouth young man, you will be on your own!" This time it was Richard's turn to shout and that didn't scare Nick at all.

"I'd rather be out on my own than in here, listening to your bull shit! Yeah, you know what I'm going through!" He shouted with sarcasm dripping from every word he shouted. He continued, "Did your girlfriend almost die from an attack at her very own house?! No! I don't think so!! And yet you still try to tell me that you can help me. You don't know what the hell you're talking about!"

"Get out!" Richard yelled. Nick laughed.

"It would be my pleasure. Don't worry, I'll show myself out!" And with that, Nick sent Dr. Richard Jackson one more last stare before whipping the door open and slamming it shut as he walked away from the hospital, from Richard; from Brian; from Autumn; from everything.

*~*

A sweat broke out above Autumn's upper lip as she painfully walked from one end of her hospital room to the other. For the past four weeks, she had undergone extensive physical therapy. She had managed to progress more rapidly then the doctors had thought, but everyday was still a struggle. Even though Autumn didn't think that she was ready to make it on her own, the doctors were releasing her later on that day.

Once she reached the window, she gazed through the glass and surveyed the scene below her. Many of the patients were walking outside in the beautiful sunny weather with someone.

Whether one patient was holding hands with their significant other or just sitting in the grass, Autumn felt extremely lonely as she remembered once again that Nick was not hers anymore. She shook her head at the thought and slowly walked back over to her bed where all of her belongings were. She sat down on her bed and let her memory drift back five and a half weeks ago.

She tried to think back to the night of the attack, but it was as if her memory had blocked out everything important. The only thing that she vaguely remembered before her attack was Nick. She remembered how he acted. She remembered the sound of his laugh and his smell. She remembered the taste of his lips on hers, but then she remembered his face falling when she told him that their relationship was over.

"What was I thinking?" she asked herself as she leaned backwards onto her pillow. She sighed and sat straight up when she heard a pair of footsteps outside her door. Brian knocked on the door before walking in and smiled once he saw her.

"Up and about today, are we?" He asked as she got up to greet him. She laughed and hugged him, careful not to brush against the many bruises and stitches she had.

"Today is a good day. I only hurt on rainy days," she joked as she picked up some of the medical equipment that the doctor had subscribed for her.

"You ready to go?" Brian asked. Autumn nodded and she fell into step behind Brian and he walked slowly so that she could keep up with his pace. She stood by his side as he signed her out of the hospital. He turned towards her and took her hand in his.

"You ready to make your appearance into the world again?" Brian said and flashed her a gigantic smile. She nodded slowly and feigned a smile as she walked through the automatic sliding doors and into the human world once again.

*~*

Nearly a month passed when Nick finally returned home to Florida. He figured a trip would do him some good - to get his mind off of his past and onto his future. He ended up going to California to visit his family again. It was only supposed to be for a weeks visit, but he ended up staying for a little over a month. Nothing is better than family, was what Nick had thought and he found his thoughts to be almost true.

He sat down on his bed and rid himself of his clothes for the shower and pressed play on his answering machine. The first message nearly took his breath away.

"Nick, it's Autumn. Give me a call back...please. We need to talk."