I think I say thank you, but I'm not sure if the sound makes it past my throat. Bunker down, huh? What other choice do I have?

Across from his desk is an alcove with a TV, vending machine, a couple of chairs, and stacks of magazines. If this were the hospital Maggie was taken to, the magazines would be a year old and the TV would be static-y. But this is a hospital in the nice side of town so of course everything is shiny and new. All I can hope is their doctors are worth the money they're paid because they will be the difference between whether Adam lives or dies.

I don't know how long I sit there. Several sitcoms, a few talk shows. Three volumes of Cosmo, read front to back. I even do the crossword on a newspaper. There is no reception for me to call Casper and let her know what's happening, and I'm afraid if I step outside I'll miss something vital. Besides, I tell myself, I have no news to report to her yet. She's as much in the dark as I am.

The guy at the desk isn't even there anymore. He's been replaced by an elderly gentleman with coke-bottle glasses and a smoker's cough. I accost him almost immediately, feeling drained but no less nauseated. I tried stomaching a Pepsi from the vending machine, but the idea of food is too much.

"Excuse me. Can you call up and see if there's a status update on Adam Rockswell?"

He calls, tries to make idle chatter until a doctor comes down. The doctor gives me a bewildered smile as he offers his hand. "So you're his...brother."

He, obviously, has seen Adam. I shake his hand dumbly, because I don't know what else to do, but I say "Step-brother," in hopes it will alleviate his suspicion.

"Of course. I'm Doctor Carl. First, let me just say that Adam should be fine."

All the air has dropped out of me. I lean against the counter. Shut my eyes. Gingerly scoop up the pieces of my heart and mush them back together like play-dough.

He'll be okay.

"Can I see him?"

Doctor Carl leads me through a door I've seen others go through only when the guy behind the desk buzzed them through. I have to wear a nametag that says Visitor across the top. Just visiting. No worries. I won't keel over and die on your floors, because Adam is going to be okay.

As we walk, the hallways, nurses, doctors, patients, all blurring around me, Doctor Carl explains the pills Adam took dropped his blood pressure significantly, so they gave him stuff to counteract it. It had started to seep into his bloodstream, but they got to him in time before it could do any significant damage to his liver or kidneys.

As we stop outside a patient room, he says, "Adam isn't breathing entirely on his own just yet, so we're keeping him on a ventilator. Just until he wakes up." Before I can nod and step inside, he touches my arm. "Vincent... Can you think of any reason Adam would want to kill himself?"