From across the operating room, a young EMT announced the details as Maria was moved from the gurney to the table. "Car accident. Extreme trauma to the head and neck. Possibly a few broken ribs. She's been in and out of consciousness and keeps calling for Hope."

"Who's Hope?" the doctor asked as he began examining the patient before him.

"Hope is her daughter and was in the car with her. She was lucky...little more than a few scratches and a broken arm, it looks like."

The doctor stared at the patient for a moment. "Her face," he thought. "She looks so familiar."

"She's Marianna," the EMT spoke realizing the doctor must recognize the

patient.

"Who?" the doctor asked.

"The singer? She was on her way to the Grammy awards when her car was struck on the driver's side by an oversized pickup."

"Okay, let's close this room off!" the doctor called as EMT personnel and prep staff exited the room. "Nurse?" the doctor asked looking to his right. "Do we have x-rays?"

The doctor gathered all the details he could and began working on his newest patient.

Hours passed as the hospital's medical staff struggled to relieve the pressure in Maria's cranial caused by the swelling of her brain. The doctor fought to stay focused on the task at hand as his mind wandered. He seemed to be more interested in the girl on the table than the condition of the girl on the table. "She seems so fragile," the doctor thought looking at her small hand. "There's something about her...something that I can't figure out. Get a grip! You're like some teenage boy who has just met Isabel Evans," the doctor scolded himself for his momentary slip of infatuation. "You are in the middle of an operation...a very critical operation. Focus!! You need to Focus. You wander off again and you loose her…you can’t loose her! You can’t loose someone…ever again.”

The doctor continued the surgery with this in mind, but after a few minutes his mind began to drift again. "I wonder what she's like when she's not playing the role of some big Hollywood star. I wonder if she lounges around the house in her slippers like the rest of us normal people in the world. I wonder what it would be like to touch her…to really touch her, to stroke her delicate face, to …Hello! What are you thinking!? She has a daughter, which most likely means she has a husband. She's probably a happily married woman and I am sure her husband would not appreciate her doctor fantasizing about what she wears when she lounges.”

"But look at her. She is so peaceful…even in this critical moment....Right! Critical moment! FOCUS! Don't forget where you are, man! Stay focused. Focused. Focused on her tiny feet, focused on her poutty lips… I want to know this woman. I want to know what the real Marianna is like."

The doctor felt a tingling in the tips of his ears and his vision began to blur. He shook his head in an effort to regain control. When his vision cleared, he found himself in another part of the hospital. He followed doctors as they wheeled a wailing woman into the delivery room. The room was smokey, but he was able to make out a woman giving birth to baby girl. As the nurse held the newborn baby for the woman to see, the baby opened her eyes and looked directly at the doctor and smiled.

"Doctor!" the nurse interrupted. "Her B.P. is dropping...her heart rate is declining..."

Fear struck the doctor. He not only wanted to know the beautiful lady on his operating table, but he needed to know her. "I have to save her," he mumbled through his protective facemask. "I can't let it happen again."

"Again, doctor? Doctor, if you know this woman, you shouldn't be..." the nurse spoke with concern.

"Her vitals are stabilizing," another nurse spoke.

The doctor took a moment to catch his breath. Confusion clouded his mind as he tried to figure out why he felt so much concern for this patient. He never liked losing a patient, but he also knew the miracles of modern science could go only so far in the operating room. Still, he was driven to do anything necessary to save the woman. He wondered if her celebrity status was behind the driving force. "No, way," he convinced himself. "I've never been all that impressed with stars. I didn't act like this when I met Whitney Houston , and she.... well, Whitney Houston! There's something I can't explain about this woman. Though I've never met her, she seems so familiar. And I already know I will do everything within my power to help her...and I do mean everything within my power."

The doctor was suddenly blinded by a flash of bright light. The light dimmed and he saw his patient holding a baby girl with tiny blonde ringlets hugging her face. A rush of warmth and love surged through his body. He found himself wanting to join the pair as they laughed and spun and circles beneath a giant Oak tree.