Chapter 80 - You Live For The Fight

That could have been the only thing that anyone could have said to him to make him get up and leave the room.  And when he did, it hurt like hell but he knows that if he doesn't, bad things will get said and feelings will get hurt. 

"I'll be back in a minute."  he says to Monica's mom as he scoots between her and the Monica's bed.  Snagging his Giants ball cap and sunglasses off the table.

"Where are you going?" her mother asks, with a hint of surprise in her voice.  "Jon, I didn't mean to upset you, I just wish you would have waited to get married."

"I'm going outside for a minute, please stay with her."  and he disappears, walking to the nurses station, with a hobble and a hop. 

Seeing a man walking toward them in a cast, with a painful look on his face, one of the nurses ask him, "Mr. Bongiovi would you like some crutches or a wheel chair?"

He shakes his head no, "I'd like to know where I can smoke a cigarette."

One of the nurses, that's a Bon Jovi fan,  smiles and points to a door down the hall, "I can take you there, it's a little private.  That's where we go."

Jon motions for her to lead the way and he follows her out the side door of the hospital, where he is unexpectedly met by a swarm of reporters each with their own photographer.  The clicks of the flashes anger him with each one and when he hears people yelling out questions, that makes him even more upset.  The nurse whispers to him, "They weren't out here an hour ago, I am so sorry."

"Is there somewhere else I can go?" he snaps at her.  He looks at the reporters and stops for a second, reminding himself that the person that hit them had not been caught yet.  He puts his attitude aside for a moment, as he lights his cigarette.

The photographers and reporters continued with, "Jon, how is Monica."

"Is it true that she's brain dead?"

"Jon, Jon over here."

"Jon, did she lose the baby?"

To that reporter he looked, "Excuse me?"

The reporter was caught off guard by his reactions, after tripping over his own tongue, the reporter repeated, "We heard that she miscarried? Is that true?"

Firming his stance, and playing to the cameras like he knows how, he says, "I will comment on her accident and how she's doing.  That is all."

Another reporter yells, "How is she doing?"

"She is still in a coma, with no change."

Another one shouts, "How are you doing?"

"I'm holding on, that's how I'm doing."  He takes a drag off of his cigarette and feels the head rush, he hasn't had a cigarette since they were brought in by ambulance.

"You are in a cast, are your injuries severe?"

"I have a bruised back and a broken leg.   I'll be fine." he hits his cigarette again.

One reporter step in toward Jon, with a microphone in her hand she asks, "Is it true that you and Monica were married just before getting hit by the car?"

He exhales slowly, hiding how he's feeling by going expressionless.  He can't let them see how terrified he really is.  He can't let them see any sign of weakness, if they do - they will never give up.  "That's true.  We were married just before we were hit by the car."

"The police tell us that they have no leads in finding the person that hit you, have you heard differently?"

"No."

An older reporter interrupts, "Jon, what is Monica's prognosis?  Is she expected to make a full recovery?"

"We have a long road ahead of us."  Was all he wanted to share.  He didn't even want them to know he was there, but news of the accident hit the wire and it was inevitable. 

The same reporter questions, with gentleness, "Has she woke up at all?"

"No." As soon as he got the word no out of his mouth, he decided that he needed to say more.  He has fans, they both have friends and family that are in the dark about the whole accident and even the events leading up to it.  So paying extra attention the older, more seasoned reporter, he went on to say, "Maybe you guys can help us.  We were hit by a black Mercedes with an Arizona plate, that's all I remember.  We were crossing Bonneville Avenue and the car came out of nowhere.  After hitting us, the car drove away."  He pauses, and takes a deep breathe.  "Monica's injuries are pretty severe and she is expected to make a full recovery.  They had to operate and give her blood.  Our friends and families are here and I ask all of you that are here, and all of you that will come - please leave us in peace to deal with this."

"What about the baby?" one snarky girl asks.  He turns his head and gives her a look.

"What about a baby?"  Jon and Monica did not make that public, before getting married.  There was speculation, but they never confirmed or denied the rumors.  The ones that needed to know, knew and those that didn't need to know, didn't.

"Rumor has it that she was 20 weeks pregnant and lost the baby during surgery.  Is that true?"

It was then that he decided that the impromptu interview was over.  He gave them more than he wanted to, but he needed to use the reach that they had.  They could let the family and friends know what's going on and they can keep the fans abreast - what he needed the most now that his location is out there. 

He politely excuses himself when he was finished with his cigarette, paying attention to the media organizations that were there.  He would need to remember to get the papers in the morning, making sure that what he said is what was printed.

When he went back to Monica's room, her mother was gone.  There were a few nurses in there tending to Monica, changing her dressings, emptying her catheter bag, rubbing lotion on her pressure points and making sure that she was comfortable.  He stood there and watched.  She didn't move a muscle and she didn't wake up.  Although he's discourage and scared, he still has hope and faith.  They were all that he had.