She looked down at his sleeping self. Maria felt her heart jump as if something inside of her was sick. They had always been close; there was no denying it. They had always shared a bond, a silent bond, maybe because when the little old ladies needed gossip they would talk about her family or his. One night a parent just took off leaving the rest of the family to the dust, Maria knew what that was like. So really the bond they shared was pain that only the two of them could understand.

Maria had never loved him in the way she loved Michael, but she had loved him. He was like a brother to her, and I suppose that's what used to upset her the most. Of course, Kyle's mother had left because she couldn't take life anymore, Maria's father had left for reasons that even now she could barely understand, but at least they were reasons. Maria sat down, her feet hurt from running and she was tired. She looked over the bed once again, Kyle would wake up, there was no doubt in her mind and when he did, everything would go back to the way it was supposed to be, where the two would joke around and Maria wouldn't have to have her feet hurt from running in the desert.

"Maria?" Jim Valenti questioned as he walked into the room. "I have to write up a report of what happened, tell me about it, and then I'll edit the parts the public shouldn't hear," he said smiling warmly.

"Okay," Maria said nodding. She looked up at the TV, which was telling of an attacker that had attacked a boy that night. It wasn't even close to the real story.

Jim pulled a paper and a pen from his bag; he sat down across from Maria and tried not to look at the bed. "Where do we start?"