Five Years of Fame [COMPLETE]

48. In A Hospital Room

She finally hung up when Kelly hit the freeway, heading instinctively towards the house first and then the airport. Reeve talked to Anton and worked out logistics, ending with the decision to send the band home for the day. If she did make it back for the show, her and Anton could perform the song together, just the two of them. They had done enough times during tour, they wouldn't need to rehearse.

Reeve didn't even leave the car when it came to a stop outside her house, she was busy calling her mom to go check in on Noah at the hospital. Kelly reappeared with a suitcase packed and threw it into the back seat before speeding them out of the neighborhood and back onto the freeway, this time headed for the airport.

Kelly had a car waiting for her when she landed and Reeve didn't even have to tell them where to go. Her eyes barely saw the familiar landscape speeding past them as they drove. All she could see was Noah alone in the waiting room, his dad somewhere in the depths of the hospital, unconscious. Her heart constricted at the thought of Walter in any pain whatsoever.

Every memory of him came flooding to her mind; his smile, his thick Boston accent, their friendly chats and the concern he always held in his eye when greeting her, an unspoken 'you okay, kid?' that he never went without. She didn't let her think of the worst-case scenario. She had to get to the hospital first.

If it wasn't for her driver, Reeve would have completely forgotten her suitcase. She walked up to the front desk and grabbed hold of the attention of the first person she encountered and dared them not to give her the information she needed. Her determination was met with success and she was led to the ICU waiting room. There was no one there and so had to wait.

She got so jumpy waiting, wringing her hands over and over again to dispel some of her anxiety, almost tempted to start playing with the kids' toys that lay on the floor just to have something to do when Noah's older brother suddenly appeared.

"Olivia! Hi! Noah said you might be coming."

Matthew was Noah but with about twenty more pounds to him, a healthy dad weight. Shorter but with a darker skin color that truly reflected their mother's Portuguese heritage.

"I came as soon as Noah called. Do you need me to take Donovan?"

Matthew seemed to remember at that moment that he was holding his two-year-old son and passed Reeve the child and his diaper bag. A nurse appeared to lead Matthew into the depths of the hospital where Walter was recovering from surgery with barely a nod of thank-you in Reeve's direction.

Now she had a legitimate reason to play with the little kid toys and was grateful for the distraction, something to do, some way she could help. Donovan was quiet and fascinated with a pair of wooden blocks so all Reeve had to do was sit on the floor and wait.

Her mind wandered to her cousin, trying to remember where he was stationed these days, positive he had joined the military just like the rest of his brother's had. She made a mental note to ask Dani the next time she saw her when two young girls paused outside the waiting room entrance.

They had merely been passing by but one of them did a double-take and grabbed her companion's arm so they both stood frozen only a few feet away. Reeve hadn't met their eye directly and so pretended as if she hadn't seen them. She didn't have the energy to interact with them and focused more intently on Donovan and his determination to throw the wooden blocks as far as way as he could just so she would lean over and retrieve them for him, just so he could do it again.

An hour after the girls had gotten the message and left her alone, Matthew and Noah appeared. Donovan had eaten a packet of apple sauce and then promptly fell asleep on the chair next to Reeve. She only noticed how late it had gotten when she saw that the only light shining through the frosted glass window came from the parking lot street lights.