Natalie sat in the large, blue vinyl chair next to her husband's hospital bed while gazing up at the television that hung from the ceiling of his ICU room. Despite the chair being reclined back and comfortable, Natalie wasn't able to get any sleep. Watching the cable news channel in the middle of the night was just boring enough to relax her, but the fact that her husband was in a medically induced coma had kept her awake for the past two days. Ever since the day she received that call at work, she had been operating on overdrive. She worked in Bloomfield, just across the bridge from the Oakland VA, at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Her day was hectic as usual; what with doctors calling her to help hold infant patients for ear exams and impatient parents asking her when they were going to be seen by the doctor. By the time Natalie was able to finally get a lunch break, she walked into the staff lounge to finally catch her breath. However, her peace and quiet didn't last long and was interrupted when Julie, her co-worker, poked her head in.

"Nat, You've got a phone call," she said nonchalantly.

Natalie clenched her teeth and threw her sandwich down. "Can you take a number and tell them I'll call back?" she asked without looking over her shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure you'll wanna take this," Julie said.

"Dammit!" Natalie cursed as she stood up and walked over to the door, pushing it open and blowing past Julie. "Which line is it?" "Line one," Julie called back as Natalie marched down the hall.

Natalie picked up the phone and pressed the flashing line one. "This is Natalie; how can I help you?" her words did not match her tone.

"Mrs. LeRue?" the voice on the other end asked politely.

Suddenly, Natalie realized this wasn't a business call; however, it wasn't it social call either. Something told her it wasn't a call she wanted either way. "Yes, this is Natalie LeRue. Who's calling?"

"Mrs. LeRue, this is Officer Garrett with the Pittsburgh Police Department. I'm afraid I have some bad news ..."

That scenario played in Natalie's mind as she sat in that chair and stared up at the television, mounted to the ceiling of her husband's intensive care unit suite. Natalie didn't even notice when her stepdaughter, Brianna, walked into the room, which is why Natalie was startled when Brianna asked how her father was doing.

"I'm sorry," Brianna apologized. "Did I wake you?"

"No," Natalie replied with a tired laugh. "I couldn't sleep if I wanted to."

"I brought you a cup of coffee," Brianna said as she handed a small Styrofoam cut to her stepmom.

Natalie thanked her with a small smile as she took the coffee and watched Brianna walk to the other side of her father's bed. Brianna stood for a moment and looked at his bruised face and the large surgical wound that ran across the top of his head. The sight of the metal staples holding her father's head together caused her to shutter before she reached down and took his hand. She did her best to hold back her tears because it bothered her that her father couldn't respond to her touch. She wished he would hold her hand the way he did when she was a child. Instead, his hand was lifeless in her own hand. Horrible thoughts started to flood her mind and without even realizing it the tears began to flow from her eyes. Natalie understood as she could almost read the young woman's thoughts.

"Bree," Natalie sternly said, reminding her that if she began to cry, Natalie would start to cry again as well. "Don't do this to me."

"I'm sorry, Mom. It just hurts to see him like this," Brianna said as she fought back her sobs.

Natalie stood up from the chair and walked over to Brianna and put her arms around her. "I know, Baby. I know."

It was at this point that one of the ICU nurses walked in and noticed Natalie hugging Brianna. She froze and looked at the two of them awkwardly when she overheard ivory skinned Brianna call Natalie "Mom." Brianna, a blonde at five feet nine inches tall with platinum blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes; and Natalie at five feet, three inches with skin as dark as ebony and hair as black as coal, made it very unlikely that the two were mother and daughter. When Brianna and Natalie noticed the nurse gawking at them, they immediately started to laugh.

"Yes!" Natalie said sarcastically. "She's my daughter."

"She's my mother," Brianna added.

It was something the two of them had gotten used to over the years. From the day Stitch and Natalie had started dating; Natalie and Brianna had fun in letting people believe they were mother and daughter just to see the foolish looks on their faces. Once Stitch and Natalie were married, it didn't feel like they were deceiving people so much. Perhaps that's why the nurse became so nervous and flustered and quickly exited the room, leaving Natalie and Brianna to laugh for the first time in days.

"I don't think she likes us any longer," Brianna said.

"I don't think she liked us to begin with," Natalie corrected.

Their attention quickly went back to Stitch and their smiles slowly faded as they gazed at the wounds on his face and head. Brianna cringed as she could visibly make out the tread marks from a boot on the side of her father's head. She tried to shake away the image of what he must have gone through, but the story told by the police officer of the beating her father took was so graphic that it left an indelible movie playing in her mind. The very idea that the doctor's had to cut away a portion of her father's skull because his brain had actually swelled up so large that it could no longer fit in the casing of his head was nearly beyond her comprehension.

"I guess dad might want to consider growing his hair back when he wakes up," she said out loud. But instead of laughing, she started to cry when the thought 'if he wakes up' crossed her mind. Natalie took her in her arms and hugged her tighter.

The main lobby of the Pittsburgh VA Hospital was quite different from that of the Detroit VA Hospital, which J.P was used to visiting. He admired the large glass overhead as he walked in the main doors and looked up at the evening sky. He stopped for a moment and looked around for someone to help him when he noticed an information booth; however, it was unmanned.

"At least we have people in our damned VA" he thought to himself. He looked around and noticed a housekeeping worker mopping the floor. "Hey, Pally!" he called out politely, getting the man's attention. "Would you mind telling me where I can find the medical ICU?"

The housekeeper stopped mopping and looked up to see a very thin, pale looking man standing next to the information desk. He had a wispy, blonde mustache that barely covered his upper lip, making him wonder if he was being addressed by a man or a very aged-looking teenager. The housekeeper stepped closer and noticed the Adam's apple and facial wrinkles. His eyes were drawn to the military ball cap on the man's head bearing that of a U.S. Navy amphibious ship dated 1981-1985. "You were in the navy?" the housekeeper asked as he nodded acknowledgement of the man's hat.

"Yeah," J.P. replied. "Boatswain's Mate," he stated proudly. "You?"

"Marine," the housekeeper said, just as proudly.

"Oh!" J.P said with a coy smile as he walked closer. "This ship was an Amphib," he stated, pointing a thumb to the embroidered image on his ball cap. "We used to haul...