Is this destiny?

Sarah was in a private VIP room in Franciscan Medical Center. JoAnna rushed into the room as soon as they brought Sarah in, and started a checkup.

JoAnna glanced at Aiden, "You can freshen up there..." she pointed at the bathroom. "And go get something to eat. I will take at least half an hour." Lab technician came in and started taking blood samples from Sarah. JoAnna looked at Aiden, his clothes were still wet, and it looked that he had blood stains on his pants. "If you don't take care of yourself, you can't be there for Sarah. Go eat something and freshen up. There are clean clothes in the bathroom, see if they fit you."

When Aiden returned, Sarah was connected to new IV drip, wearing hospital robe with FMC logo on it. Sarah looked like she is sleeping, and she will wake up any moment. JoAnna was next to Sarah's bed, looking at some documents.

JoAnna spoke without removing her eyes from the documents, "We are doing blood analysis to figure out what drug affected her. So far everything we tested for turned negative. Do you know something about this?"

Aiden shook his head, and then remembered what he heard Philip say on recording. "I heard that effects are progressing gradually: first it affects legs, then voice, next is vision and arms before person loses consciousness. Also... Sarah got a double dose."

JoAnna frowned, "Seems to be something strong. I will look it up. On top of having that in her system, she spent quite a bit of time in cold weather. That might complicate things."

Aiden's eyes didn't leave Sarah's face. "How is she?"

"We got the fever down. Her vitals are stable, but she is not waking up. She will go for a brain scan in about five minutes. I hope we find some clue why she is still unconscious." JoAnna didn't sound optimistic.

At that time Stella rushed into the room. She went to Sarah's bed and held her hand while looking at her with distress. "Oh, my baby girl...", Stella wept.

Everyone was lost, not knowing what to do.

Soon nurse came to take Sarah for a brain scan. Aiden wanted to follow, but JoAnna stopped him. "We can't go in... so let's wait here."

JoAnna looked at Stella and said, "Sophia is on her way... where is dad?"

Stella sighed. "That stubborn man... He came to the hallway but refused to get inside. He got the update from the nurse, and then went back out. I'm sure he is sitting in the car down, in the parking lot. I don't know what is going on in his head... he told me to let him know if anything changes with Sarah." Stella turned to Aiden, "How did this happen?"

Aiden told them what he knows... that Sarah went for a girls' night out and ended up being injected with some drug. She escaped but spent some time outside in the cold.

"Do you know who did this?", Stella asked.

Aiden nodded and clenched his fists.

JoAnna saw that his anger is rising. She walked to him, and patted his shoulder, "This is not the time for that. Important is that Sarah gets better. Then we will get our revenge, all of us, together."

Aiden looked at JoAnna and felt that his anger is reducing with the thought that he is not the only one who cares about Sarah.

The nurse pushed bed with Sarah on it, inside the room. Everything was silent again, except for the heart rate monitor.

Aiden pulled a chair next to Sarah's bed and held her hand in his. Ever since she left with Vivian, he was feeling uneasy. When he found out that she is missing, he could not breathe, as if his lung capacity went down to only 1%. Few times, thought that he will not see her ever again flashed through his mind, and he felt that his heart is being shattered.

Aiden is angry. Angry that he let her go by herself, and she ended up in this state. It's his responsibility to protect her, and he failed. He is angry that he didn't get rid of Philip earlier... 'What was I thinking? I knew what Philip is doing and that he will not give up on Sarah.' Aiden is angry that it took him so long to find her. And even when he found her, he did it mostly with Eve's help. How can he be worthy of Sarah, if he can't find her with his own skills, in time? He is angry that he feels helpless. Angry that he didn't see this coming, and now she is lying on the bed in front of him, not moving.

Or maybe he is not angry. Maybe he is just disappointed in himself… for being inadequate.

When he finally found her lying on that sofa in that rundown farmhouse, he felt a relief and then immediately another pain hit him when he realized that she is not sleeping, and not waking up.

All this is a nightmare for him, and he can't wake up... not until she wakes up first. He rubbed her hand nervously, and then he thought that maybe he is hurting her. He stopped rubbing and kissed back of her palm gently.

...

Sarah was trapped in a dark place. She reached around her, and there was nothing she could touch. She observed around her, and there was nothing visible... only endless darkness, and she could not see a way out. For a split second, she saw a light, and Aiden's face showed up. She opened her mouth to speak. "Aiden... I knew you will find me". Her voice was very faint, she was not sure if he heard her... And then everything went dark again.

She was back in that dark place. It seemed like it's damp, but she was not sure. She was alone, and scared. Will she ever see Aiden again? She did her best not to cry. She needs to find a way out of this place. But everything is dark, and everywhere she looks is the same. She can't see the exit. How can she get out if she does not see the exit?

Her hand felt strange. 'Is something rubbing on my hand?' She lifted her arm and observed her hand, the sensation was intensifying, it was almost painful… but she didn't see anything. And then the strange sensation stopped… and she felt a delicate touch at the back of her palm.. It was like butterfly landed… but there was nothing there.