The Intersection (Missing Scenes)

Author: Romantique

Email: dolph1n@sbcglobal.net

Rating: PG}

Summary: It seemed some scenes may have been missing from the beginning of The 
Intersection.
 
~*~*~
 
Mt. Aire Community Church
Barbara's wedding
 
From outside the bridal dressing room, Alvin Masterson lightly taps on the door 
that is slightly ajar. He offered to find out what was taking so long for the 
ceremony to begin. Unfortunately, he had the answer. 
 
How I wish I didn't have the answer.
 
“Barbara,” he sheepishly begins as the door creaks open. His face is grim. “It's 
Evan,” he continues, holding out a cell phone for her to take. “He was called to 
assist at the scene of an accident “. . . It's Lulu and Nick . . . I'm sorry.”
 
Is this some kind of a joke?
 
Barbara searches Alvin's face for some sort of confirmation, as she cannot 
believe the words he has just uttered. 
 
An accident? On my wedding day?
 
She slowly takes the phone from Alvin's hand and brings the receiver up to her 
ear.
 
“Evan?” she speaks into the receiver, her voice quaking in fear. She is afraid 
to hear what she is about to hear.
 
“Barbara, honey,” Evan begins from the scene. “Listen to me,” he attempts to 
speak with calming authority. “There's been a car accident, but every one is 
alive.”
 
“Lulu?” she begins to sob. “And Nick?”
 
“Yes, honey,” he tries to console her from afar. “We're transporting them to the 
hospital now. Why don't you meet me there? Can you get someone to bring you to 
the hospital?”
 
From somewhere in her shock, she answers, “Yes.”
 
“Barbara,” Evan continues. “I am so sorry this happened on our special day. I 
swear I'll make it up to you. I love you.”
 
“I love you,” she weeps and disconnects the call.
 
“Are you okay?” Alvin asks.
 
From her seated position, Barbara looks up at him. Her face is stricken pale and 
tears are streaming down her trembling cheeks. The bride cannot speak.
 
“Look, why don't you change your clothes, and I'll take you to Evan,” Alvin pats 
the shoulder of his long-time coworker. “I'll be back for you in a few minutes. 
I need to tell Burton what happened.”
 
“Burton,” Barbara repeats with a sudden wave of sadness.
 
~*~
 
Alvin begins the long walk down the aisle towards Burton Fallin. How he equally 
dreads having this conversation.
 
As he approaches his old friend, from behind he taps him on the shoulder. “I 
need to speak to you right a way,” he says with immediacy in his voice.
 
From across the aisle, Jake and James carefully watch Alvin. The room becomes 
hushed. It is obvious something has happened.
 
“What's wrong?” Burton asks.
 
Both Burton and Red search Alvin's eyes for the answer.
 
“It's Nick,” he replies. “There's been an accident. Nick and Lulu were in an 
auto accident.”
 
“My God,” Burton exhales, and Red reaches over to steel his friend's shoulder. 
“Are they all right?”
 
“All I know is that they're alive. They're being transported to the hospital. 
I'm going to take Barbara there to meet Evan, and I'd be happy to take you, 
too.”
 
Burton is silent for a moment, as he desperately tries to let this information 
sink in. Then, finally, he speaks.
 
“Uh, thanks, but I have my own car. I'm going to go on over, now,” he states and 
stands to leave.
 
“Let me go with you,” Red offers and struggles to stand beside him.
 
“Yeah,” “Burton answers almost robotically, and the two men exit their row from 
the front of the church. “I'll see you there,” he states to Alvin.
 
“Right,” Alvin responds. He trusts Burton knows this town like the back of his 
hand. He trusts Burton will be all right, as all right as a father can be.
 
~*~
 
The drive to the hospital is surreal. Burton drives in silence, concentrating on 
the road ahead while quashing horrible, random thoughts about what happened to 
Nicholas. Red sits beside him in the passenger seat, allowing his friend 
private, reverent silence. After all, he is a father too and can only imagine 
what Burton is feeling.
 
Then suddenly, up ahead of the road, the two older gentlemen notice police cars 
and a tow truck at the scene of an apparent accident. Traffic on the interstate 
suddenly slows as each passing car slows to take a look at the scene.
 
As Burton moves closer and closer toward the accident, suddenly his breath is 
taken away. It is immediately evident that a small car and an SUV were involved 
in a severe collision. The driver's side of the small foreign car is crumpled 
deep into the middle of the car. And the front end of the SUV sustained major 
damage.
 
There's no way anyone could walk away from this.
 
As his car inches closer to the scene, an eerie feeling overtakes Burton. There 
is blood . . . all over the Volkswagen . . . all over the SUV.
 
“My God!” Burton utters extemporaneously. “That's got to be their accident.”
 
“Yeah,” Red agreed, knowing the small size of this town. “But those are two, 
late model cars equipped with lots of safety equipment. And Evan did say that 
everyone survived the collision. Try and concentrate on that.”
 
Burton nodded his head, unable to take his eyes off the Passat.
 
I think Lulu drives a Passat. I hope Nicholas wasn't driving her car.
 
Burton's heart pumps faster as a thick lump forms in his throat. He can't shake 
the eerie feeling that this is bad.
 
This is very, very bad.
 
Fear quickly turns to impatience as each and every driver ahead slows even more 
to get a look at the wreckage.
 
“Damn it!” Burton snarls. “Must everyone gawk?”
 
Red calmly answers his friend's rhetorical question. “It's human nature to look. 
We'll get past this traffic jam in just a few minutes.”
 
After a small eternity, Burton is finally able to maneuver past the accident and 
resume normal driving speed. He lets out a huge, pent up sigh of frustration.
 
“You hanging' in okay?” Red asks his friend. If he's not, he will talk Burton 
through this, just as he had done for others during the Korean War.
 
“Oh, Jeez, Red,” Burton sighs again. “I'm just trying to hang on until we get 
there, trying to get us there in one piece.”
 
“You want me to drive?” Red offers.
 
Burton lets out a little laugh. “Well, I don't think you're in any better 
condition to drive than I am.” After a little pause, he reassures his friend, 
“I'm fine. I can drive.”
 
Now that Burton seemed to be a little more level, Red and Burton resume their 
silence.
 
~*~
 
Burton Fallin drives his car into the Emergency Room entrance, double parking in 
his haste to find his son.
 
“Are you okay?” he asks Red, hoping his frail friend can take care of himself 
now that he has been returned to the hospital. “I'll send someone out with a 
wheelchair.”
 
Red hates his state of dependency, especially at such a moment as this. “You go 
on and see about Nicholas,” he orders. “I'm fine.”
 
Burton nods and rushes into the ER. He quickly makes his way to the reception 
desk.
 
“I need some help,” the elder Fallin searches for a friendly face.
 
A young man in hospital scrubs catches his gaze.
 
“I have a patient in my car out there that needs wheelchair assistance,” Burton 
explains while pointing out the ER entrance. “And my son was brought here. A car 
accident,” he searches for words. “An ambulance brought him here.”
 
“Hold on just a minute, sir. What is your son's name?” the young man asks.
 
“Nicholas. Nicholas Fallin,” Burton enunciates.
 
“Let me see what I can find out for you. And I'll send out an orderly to assist 
the person in your car.”
 
It seems as though the young man at the reception desk is gone forever. Burton 
begins to impatiently pace the floor. Finally, the young man returns.
 
“Sir,” he calls. “Your son is in X-ray. A doctor will be out to speak with you 
as soon as possible. You can wait in the waiting room over here.” And the young 
man directs Burton to a nearby room.
 
Robotically, Nick's father takes a seat and begins his vigil, as a million 
thoughts crowd his head.
 
X ray means he's still alive. Was Nicholas driving? Oh, my God. Was he high? 
 
He sits alone, holding his hanging head in his hands as he tries to imagine what 
happened between the two vehicles.
 
~*~
 
“Look, it's been over an hour,” an exasperated Burton tries to explain reason to 
the ER nurse.
 
“I'm sorry, sir, but a doctor will be out to speak with you, as soon as 
possible. We've had a car accident with multiple casualties,” the dark-haired 
woman explains. “Our staff is overwhelmed this afternoon.”
 
I need to have Nicholas moved to Pittsburgh. This isn't a trauma center!
 
“Where is Sam Cunningham? I need to see him immediately.”
 
“Sam who?” the middle-aged RN asks.
 
“You know, the head of your hospital,” Burton retorts in astonishment. “Sam and 
I go way back.”
 
“I've worked here for seven years, and Ben Lawton is the CEO of this hospital,” 
the nurse informs the frustrated man.
 
I've been out of touch longer than I thought.
 
“Well, then let me see Mr. Lawton. I've got to find out what is going on with 
Nicholas,” he contends.
 
Just as the nurse leads Burton to an internal hospital telephone, Nicholas walks 
down the hallway toward the ER reception desk.
 
“Nicholas!” Burton shouts upon sighting his son out of the corner of his eye.
 
“My God. Nicholas . . . . Son, are you all right?” he asks as he walks toward 
the shaky young man.
 
Nick is wearing his suit; his white shirt is splattered with blood.
 
“I'm fine,” Nick answers with a vacant look in his eyes.
 
Burton takes his son by the elbow and gently leads him to the waiting room.
 
“Let's go in here,” Burton says. “You can tell me what happened.”
 
Nick slowly takes a seat. It is at this time Burton notices his son's left hand 
is bandaged. And he is holding a prescription bottle.
 
“You're fine?” Burton asks. Nicholas certainly doesn't look fine. “Your hand is 
okay?”
 
“Yeah,” Nick nods and continues his blank stare.
 
“How's Lulu?” Burton continues to press for information.
 
Nick hangs his head. “I don't know. They won't let me see her. They told me to 
wait out here.”
 
“Well, I know what that is like,” Burton sighs in frustration. “Can you tell me 
what happened?”
 
Nick takes in a deep breath. “I don't know. We were on our way to the wedding 
when, bam, we were hit.”
 
“Were you driving?” Burton asks. “Lulu drives a Passat, right?”
 
Again, Nick nods his head. “Yeah, we were in Lulu's car. She was driving.” And 
he returns to his vacant stare.
 
“And the other driver?” Burton continues to persist, carefully watching his 
son's eyes.
 
“I don't know,” Nick tries to explain. “There was a small boy who seems to be 
fine. The other driver? I don't know.”
 
“I saw the wreckage,” Burton offers, obviously upset. “You are very lucky to be 
alive. It's a miracle that you and the boy walked away from this.”
 
For the first time since they sat down, Nick finally looks up and locks eyes 
with his father. “We need to pray for another miracle.”
 
Burton Fallin understood and silently nodded his head.
 
The End