Several thoughts raced through Mike's mind, as he made his way through the halls of the hospital that evening. He thought of Eden and past few hours they spent together. They had been hours he had wanted to put a pause on, hours he had been reluctant to have come to an end. At the same time, he thought of Nate and of Grace. He thought of the situation Grace now found herself stuck in, and it was familiar to him. He understood the feeling of helplessness, and he understood the frustration that came along with it.

He reached Nate's ward, but the room was empty. Confused, a slight frown settled on his face as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Grace's number.

“Mike?” Her voice was barely audible and he could tell she had been crying.

“Hey, I'm here, and you're not, neither is Nate.”

“I- uh-” She sniffed. “I'm on the fifth floor, in the chapel.”

“Okay, wait right there.” He tucked the phone back in his pocket and hurried over to the elevator.

It must have taken only a few minutes to get to the chapel, but it seemed like hours, with anxiety rapidly racing through his veins. When he finally walked into the chapel, he found Grace sitting in one of the pews with her back to him. Her head was slightly tilted upward, and he guessed that her eyes were closed. She was most likely praying, he thought, walking into the dimly lit room, with his eyes fixed on the wooden cross that hung above altar.

He tore his eyes off of the cross and slipped into the pew beside her. She didn't speak, or turn to acknowledge him. He had been right; her eyes were indeed closed. Her breathing was shallow, and her hands were clasped before her in a prayer stance. Her pale face was tilted upwards, and her lips were clamped shut.

Mike sat silently beside her, unsure of what was expected of him. He couldn't speak for he didn't have the words to comfort her. He couldn't pull her into his arms, for she seemed content to just sit there and pray. What was he going to say to a mother about to lose her kid? What was he going to do to ease the pain? He couldn't promise the pain would get better. He couldn't tell her that after a year, she would hurt less. He couldn't tell her that life would begin to make sense at some point. He couldn't tell her she would one day forget her little boy's face... Or his voice... Or the sound of his laughter... Or the cute wrinkling of the nose when he was upset. She would never forget the feeling of his tiny arms trying to wrap themselves around her. She'd never forget his eyes.

She would never forget...

And eventually, the memories would become burdensome, they would pull her down and rip her apart until she would be unable to do anything to be rid of them, and until death became the only way out.

“The doctors had to move him to the intensive care unit. He slipped into a coma,” Grace finally said, breaking the silence between them.

He turned to her. She sat still, her eyes still closed and her head still tilted up. “I'm sorry.” The words drifted from his lips.

She shook her head. “It feels like someone has reached into my soul and is ripping it into so many, many, tiny shreds and some of those pieces have gone missing, and I'll never be fixed.”

Glancing down, he fought against his emotions that threatened to choke him as the silence built between them.

“Maddie,” he whispered after a few seconds, turning his attention from his trembling fingers to the wooden cross. “Her name was Maddie and she was four. She was the most fabulous four year old I have ever seen.” He let out a mirthless laugh. “She had the brightest eyes. Smart kid. Smart, beautiful kid. She was my world after Sarah died trying to bring her into the world. She was my compensation for losing my wife.” Tears slowly slipped down his cheeks, as he acknowledged the pain for the first time in months. Ignoring the pain and trying to drown it with alcohol didn't make it better, but acknowledging it made it feel worse. “Then cancer came and turned my world upside down until it threw her out of it.”

Something touched his hand where it laid on the wooden bench. He turned slightly to the side to find Grace staring at him.

“Is,” she whispered softly.

“What?” he choked out.

“Maddie is, not was.”

Forcing a smile to his lips, he squeezed her hand. “I'm here for you.”

She nodded. “I know.”

“I only wish I could make it better.”

“Well, unless you have a spare kidney compatible with Nate's...” She smiled and shook her head.

“And who says I'm not?” He turned fully to her, her words igniting a spark of hope in his heart. “Who says I'm not, Grace? I could take the test, right now.” He sprang to his feet.

“There is almost a hundred percent chance that you're not compatible. Even if you are, there's so much to be done to ensure...”

“I'll take the 'almost' right before the hundred, and I'll hope that it's enough. If I'm compatible, they can have my kidney right now.”

“Mike...”

“It is worth the shot, right?” He saw the struggle in her eyes and immediately understood. Stepping forward, he took both her hands captive. “I might not be a match, and this might just be me giving you false hope. But it's hope, and I've found that no matter how short a time we have to hold on to hope, it's worth every second of it.”

She exhaled, her eyelids snapping shut briefly. “Okay,” she breathed, “Okay.”

~*~

The cold tip of the needle settled on the surface of Mike's skin, a soft sigh escaping his lips as it pierced his skin.

“We'll take this to the lab,” the doctor said, once his blood was drawn.

Nodding, he waited until the doctor was out of the door, before relaxing into the bed. What was he thinking? What was the probability that he would be a match? Certainly, he was being cruel for giving Grace false hope! Common sense scolded him, but the part of him that wanted to see a little boy live again, convinced him he was doing the right thing.

Exhausted, he pulled his eyelids shut. His body relaxed into the bed, and he gave in to the fatigue.

“Mike! Mike! Mike!”

He groaned as the voice beckoned to him. Tearing his eyelids apart, he stared at his unfamiliar environment.

“What?” he grumbled, forcing his tired body upright. When he turned to the side, Grace was seated beside him, tears crawling down her cheeks. His heart immediately dropped, and his intestines felt like they were being tied into a very painful knot. “He died?” Even as the words drifted from his lips, he felt his heartbeat slow down.

She shook her head, clutching a piece of paper to her chest. “No, and he just might live. Oh Mike, you're about to save my kid's life! You're compatible.”

~*~

His lips brushed hers, setting off a spark that traveled rapidly down the length of her body, completely setting her ablaze.

Eden shook her head as if to rid her mind of the ridiculous thought that had kept her awake all night. She needed to not think of Mike! For the love of chastity, she needed to think nothing of his lips brushing against hers. For that was what it was, right, a simple brushing? They hadn't kissed. Their kiss had been interrupted by a woman named Grace and the second she dropped Mike off at the hospital, he had raced into the building without a backward glance her way. She had been saddened by his behavior, but there was a part of her that was thankful for it, for maybe it meant the whole 'brushing' incident meant nothing to him. She certainly needed for it to mean nothing to him if she was going to convince her silly heart that it meant nothing to her as well.

She locked her car doors, and made her way to the hospital reluctantly. She dreaded bumping into Judie for the singular reason that Judie would take one look at her and know she had been lip 'brushing' with Mike.

Groaning, she entered the hospital just in time to see Judie.

“Eden!” Judie hurried over to her. “Where have you been, girl? I have been calling you all morning!”

“Emergency?” she asked, relieved Judie hadn't looked closely enough to realize what she and Mike had been up to the night before.

“Sort of. It's about Mike.”

“Is he alright?” Her voice raised a notch in panic, her heartbeat accelerating.

Judie shook her head. “He's going in for surgery in about an hour. Homeboy's donating a kidney.”

Eden felt blood drain from her face and her limbs tremble. Still, she managed to keep them from giving way beneath her.

“Where is he?” The words barely formed on her lips.

Judie grabbed her hand and pulled her to the elevator.

Eden stood shaking in the elevator. For some reason, she couldn't keep herself from trembling. Mike was donating a kidney! So many things could go wrong with the operation! Did he think it through? Was he prepped for the operation? For all she knew, it took weeks to get the donor ready. Was he physically and mentally ready? What in hades possessed him to wake up —or neglect to sleep— and decide to donate a kidney?!

Eden forced her legs down the hall with Judie until the door was pushed open and she stepped into Mike's ward.

The familiar blonde head woman was seated with him as well. Twenty eight, perhaps? Eden thought they were the same age and if they weren't, then perhaps she might have been younger. The woman looked like an emotional mess.

Mike raised his eyes to her, and a delighted smile immediately settled on his face. “Hey, doc.”

Eden responded with a frown. “Hey, man-who's-about-to-have-his-kidney-ripped.”

His smile broadened. “Pretty cool, huh?”

Eden felt doubly frustrated in that second; one, she was frustrated he thought the entire thing was a joke. And two, she was frustrated for feeling frustrated about how he felt about the entire thing.

“I'll leave you two.” The blonde head thankfully rose to her feet and left the room.

“I guess that's my cue to leave as well. Good luck Mike,” Judie called from behind Eden.

“Thanks Judie.”

Eden waited until she heard the door closing behind her, before slowly making her way over to where he laid.

“When did you decide you wanted to donate a kidney?” She mustered the energy to speak without hurling a pillow at his face.

“Last night.”

“Mind if I ask why? Have you considered the risks involved? The mental, physical, and health risks involved?” Eden knew it wasn't her place to interrogate a man who was certainly well over thirty, but the part of her that was frustrated could hardly keep silent at that point.

Mike's face crumbled into a frown, two lines pulling at the edges of his brows. He patted the bed space beside him, motioning for her to take a seat.

Grudgingly, she obliged him.

He shook his head. “I haven't thought of anything but the little kid who needs what's inside of me, urgently, to live.”

Eden exhaled softly then, understanding his reason, yet, hating herself for still not wanting him to do it. “Okay.”

She felt his hand settle on hers as he took it captive. “You gonna be here when I'm wheeled out?” he whispered, holding her gaze.

When...

When meant eventually. When meant certainty. He would be wheeled out. He wasn't going to die saving a kid.

Nodding slowly, she tightened her hold on his hand, and silently passed a message to him with her eyes; she'd be right here when he is wheeled out, and that's a promise.