TIM POV: After Faith leaves, I grab a scotch and suck it down. It was taunting me all night, so I couldn't help myself. I stand at the bar and watch Colorado celebrate New Years. Carrie walks up behind me and orders a dacari.
"Hey there stranger." She says, nudging me a bit.
"Hey." I say. "You were great up there tonight."
"Thanks, I used your advice." She says. "You were amazing too. That was really brave, you know, changing plans on the fly like that." I nod. "You must really love her..." She says, leaving it to hang in the air for a moment.
"I do." I say.
"I can't wait till someone loves me like that." She says, smiling at me.
"I'm sure you'll have no problem with that." I say. She raises her brow.
"You think?"
"Yeah," I say. "you're a great catch." She smiles.
"Thank you." She says. "So, you busy?" She asks, biting her lip. I can tell this will only lead to more trouble, but the alcohol is making me think that this is harmless. What Faith doesn't know won't kill her.
We go back to the dressing rooms and lock the door. We slam down on the couch, and start to kiss.
"Tell me something about you, Tim." Carrie says, wearing my shirt.
"What do you want to know?" I laugh. She bites her lip and begins to think.
"What's the one moment that lead you to want to become so huge star?" She asks, lying down next to me.
"My Step-dad being such a dick. I just wanted to get away from him really." I say. "I guess I also wanted to impress my Dad, because he was a famous figure. Maybe I would be worth something to him if I were worth something to the rest of the world." I continue, finally voicing what has been stuck deep down.
"Wow." She says. "That sounds tough."
"Yeah." I say. "How about you?" I ask. Her face turns to a bit of a frown.
"Please don't tell anybody about this." She says.
"I won't."
"Well," She starts. "my dad was an alcoholic, and uh..." she thinks. "he would drink too much. I mean, he would never hurt me or my mama. He would just hurt anybody around us. He was so protective... but one time my mom's boss was sexually harassing her, so daddy took a gun to him. He's been in jail for about four or five years now." She says.
"I'm so sorry." I say.
"Well, I just remember him coming in and telling my mom that it was over. She didn't have to deal with it anymore. But then my mom was obviously fired, and my dad was in jail, so we went through a major money crisis. So I came here for the money. Everyone told me I had the voice, so why not use it?" She says.
"You have to enjoy some of it though, or else the fans can tell..." I say. She nods.
"I know. I didn't think I would like it, but I love this. It's like I don't want to leave the stage. It's like..." She thinks.
"a drug...." I say. She looks at me. "You have to be careful Carrie. Stay grounded, or else this business is going to sweep you away. Don't turn this into your life. I've made that mistake many times." I say. She nods as my phone rings. Carrie gets up and grabs it. Her slight frown tells me who it is.
"It's Faith." She says.
"Just leave it. She's probably calling to say she's home." I say. Carrie nods and comes back to lay down. She starts to kiss me as the phone rings yet again.
"Should I grab it?" She asks.
"Nah. It's fine." I say. The phone begins to ring for a third time, which is odd. "Let me grab this." I say, slightly aggravated.
"Hello?" I say. I'm immediately met with the sound of crying.
"Baby..." Faith says, sounding like she's in incredible pain.
"Honey, what's wrong?" I say, freaking out.
"I got in a wreck..." She mumbles. I look outside to see a complete blizzard. It's sub-zero temperatures outside.
"Did you call 9-1-1?" I ask, hoping she's still inside of Nashville, that way she's closer to help.
"Yeah... They're coming..." She says, sounding like she's passing out.
"Okay, just stay on the phone with me honey. Where are you?" I ask.
"Just off of 155." She says.
"Fuck." I mumble. She's half an hour away from a hospital. "Okay, I'm getting Gary to drive me to the hospital. I'll meet you there. Just stay on the line, okay?" I say, running out to the hallway to find Faith's manager. Carrie follows.
"Tim, I'm passing out..." She cries.
"Don't. Faith, stay awake. Do you understand?" I try not to freak her out, but it's obviously not working
"I-" She utters. I hear the phone hit the ground and begin to panic.
"Faith, are you okay?" I ask "Faith?" I say, without an answer. "Baby?" I ask. A deep pit forms in my stomach as I find Gary.
"Hey, Tim-" He starts to chat.
"No time." I say. "Gary, we need to go."
"I can't..."
"Then I need your car." I say, panic is obvious in my voice.
"What's going on?" Carrie asks, changed back into her dress.
"Faith's been in a car wreck." I say. "I need to get to the hospital now."
"Here's my keys." Gary says. "I can walk home from here." He lives in a high rise downtown, literally a block away.
"Thank you." I say. I look to Carrie. "I'll see you soon, okay?" I say. She nods.
I run out to the parking lot as fast as I can, then barrel down to Vanderbilt hospital. I peel into the parking lot, then race inside. I run into the emergency room and spot the front desk.
"How can I help you?" A woman says calmly behind the desk.
"My wife has been in a crash, and I think they brought her here." I say, stuttering. Is that from me panicking?
"Okay, what's her name sir?"
"Faith." I say, struggling to spit that out.
"Her full name please." She asks, staying calm.
"Audrey Faith Hill." I say. The woman nods and types in her computer.
"Let me see." She clicks a few times on her computer as I feel lightheaded. "Okay, I'm going to need a date of birth."
"Are you serious?"
"It's security protocol." She says. My whole body stings and my muscles tense up. I fall to the ground and begin to shake. Am I having a seizure? Before I can think, I pass out...
"Mr McGraw?" I hear someone say. I open my eyes to be blinded by the bright lights of a hospital room. It's Kendricks. "Hey bud, well it seems you have had a seizure." He says.
"Faith...." I start.
"We believe this happened because of your stress and anxiety levels. The tumor was being suppressed by the other parts of your brain that were reacting to the stress." He says.
"Faith. Where's Faith?" I say, not paying much attention to what he has to say.
"Oh! Faith?" He says. I nod. "She's fine. I was just working with her a minute ago. You want to go see her?" He asks. I nod. "Alright, come on!" He says walking out of the room. I look to see that I have no IV's or wires hooked to me. I'm also in my regular clothes, so I don't need to change. We walk into Faith's room. She still looks beautiful.
"Hey." She says smiling. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just fine, honey." I say wrapping my arms around her. I sit on the edge of her bed. "How about you?" I ask.
"I'm great actually." She laughs. "Babe, I have something to tell you." She says, smiling even brighter.
"What would that be?" I say, smiling at her.
"I'm pregnant." She says. My chest tightens.
"What?" I say, smiling and laughing in case she's being serious.
"I'm pregnant, again! They found it while they were checking for other injuries." She says, holding onto my hand. "I'm about a month along." She says. I smile and give her a hug.
"Is the baby okay?" I ask.
"Yeah, it's fine. My head took most of the impact." She says, tapping the huge cut on her forehead, surrounded by a nasty bruise. I smile at her.
"Well I'm glad you're okay." I say.
"I'm glad you're okay too." She says