Author's Notes: Same author's notes & usual disclaimers apply. I don't own any of the characters, except those I create, I'm not making any money off them, yadda, yadda, yadda…

For more information, and specific details, please see the complete Author's Notes at the beginning of any of the first six chapters of this fanfiction story.

Also, if there are any errors in the timeline of real life as to events that occur or occurred (such as when certain movies came into theaters, or when certain events happened) it was not intentional.

Finally, I am not a doctor. Although a lot of people in my family, including my mother, are doctors, I am not. I tried to get as much information as I could from medical research sites, or links to information on the Internet. What I know about medicine comes from growing up with doctors in my family, and from watching shows like "ER", "Strong Medicine", "Third Watch" and "Chicago Hope" on TV. So if I get some of the medical terms wrong, or use them in the wrong context, please excuse and forgive me for the errors & hold off throwing the rotten tomatoes!

Summary: What happens when Mary is kicked out & sent to live with her grandparents? Set after the episode, "Bye".

Rating: PG - PG-13 in first few chapters, then may or may not increase to R rating, depending on author's whims! :)

Recap (Previously on "Mary's Fate"): Mary was kicked out and sent to Buffalo to live with her grandparents. Soon after, she decided to commit suicide. She swallowed all the pills in the medicine cabinet, collapsed and passed out, The Colonel, Grandma Ruth, George and his father found Mary unconscious on the bathroom floor, in a small pool of blood (from hitting her head on the hard, tile floor when she fell).

Mary was rushed to Buffalo General Hospital by ambulance, and the Colonel & Grandma Ruth went with her. George and his dad stayed behind to call Eric and Annie. When they heard what had happened to their daughter, they immediately took the next available flight to Buffalo, leaving their other kids in Glenoak with Hank and Julie. George and Will picked them up at the airport and drove them straight to the hospital. At the end of the last chapter, Eric and Annie just finished seeing Mary, after speaking with her doctors, who told them that Mary's condition is extremely critical, and that it's very unlikely that she'll survive.

Contact: Any extra comments (beyond the review) questions, or concerns, Email me at: benbrattlover at gmail dot com

Enjoy & after you're done, please click the link at the bottom of the page to leave me a review! :)

After visiting with Mary, in the Intensive Care Unit, Eric and Annie, came out into the hall, still stunned and shaken at the sight of their eldest, and once successful daughter's very shocking appearance. The Colonel, Grandma Ruth, George and Will rushed right over to them.

"Colonel, Mom, You should go in now and see her." Eric whispered, as his parents paused, scrutinizing the expression on his and Annie's face.

"Eric, Annie, what is it?" asked the Colonel. "How is she doing?"

Eric just shook his head sadly. "She is just so weak and fragile," he answered, feeling his eyes starting to fill with tears again. He gazed upward, blinking quickly to try to get rid of them. "I don't know! I just don't know!"

Patting his son's shoulder sympathetically, John and Ruth entered the ICU to see their grand-daughter, as Eric and Annie shed their gown, mask and gloves in the nearest trash can and headed for the Intensive Care Waiting Room, with George and Will.

In the waiting room, the theme song for "Jeopardy" blared loudly in the background on one television, while across the room "Days of Our Lives" droned on another TV. As Annie sinked into one of the chairs, exhausted, and George & Will sat down close by, Eric started pacing the floor restlessly. After several minutes, the Colonel and Ruth entered the room. They stumbled in, holding each other, their faces as white as a sheet, obviously shaken by Mary's shocking appearance and condition.

"Dad?" broached Eric tentatively.

The Colonel just shook his head, as he collapsed into one of the hospital chairs, dazed. "In all my life, in all my years in the Marines, and fighting in wars I've seen some pretty horrible things. But nothing as bad as seeing my beautiful grand-daughter, Mary so, so….." his voice broke, as his eyes filled with tears, which he quickly tried to shield anyone from seeing. "This is not right! It's against nature! I'm supposed to be the one to die first – before my children, and grandchildren! I'm a soldier – a U.S. Marine! I've fought in wars, and I'm supposed to put my life on the line. I should be the one who's dying – NOT Mary! This is not natural! It's not right! It's just not right!"

"I know, Dad." Eric whispered softly. "I know."

All through the rest of the morning, and afternoon, Eric, Annie, Ruth, the Colonel, and George took turns sitting with Mary, and talking to her, hoping for a miracle. Every few hours, Dr. Kingman and Dr. Zhang came by on rounds. Each time, they examined Mary, and checked in with her family to report that, unfortunately, Mary's condition had not changed, she remained in a deep coma, and that they were running several tests, including an EEG (electro-encephalogram) to determine the extent & severity of damage to her brain. The doctors told Eric, Annie, George, Will, Ruth and the Colonel that they would keep them informed and let them know as soon as the test results came in. After Dr. Kingman and Dr. Zhang left, Eric, Annie, Ruth and the Colonel went back to alternating between visiting Mary, and pacing the floor in the waiting room restlessly. As they refused to leave the ICU floor even for a short time, George or Will brought them coffee, soda, or food from the hospital cafeteria, a few times during the day.

Finally around 7 in the evening, the Colonel decided to send George home with Will.

George wasn't having any of it, though, and started to protest. "But, Dad, NO! Please!"

"No buts, son!" the Colonel replied sternly. "You're going home, and that's FINAL! Except for when you went to the airport to pick up Eric and Annie, you and Will have been here almost constantly since last night. You've got to go home now. You have school tomorrow. You've already missed one day of school and you cannot miss anymore. You need go home, and call a classmate to get the assignments you missed so you can finish them before you go back tomorrow…"

"Dad!" interrupted George indignantly. "That's not fair! I want to stay here with all of you, and with Mary!"

The Colonel put up his hand to stop any objections. "No arguments, son! Your mother and I will call you immediately wherever you are and let you know if there are any changes. But you need to go home with Will, and go to school tomorrow as usual. That's an order, from Colonel Camden!"

George sighed, as his shoulders sagged in defeat. "All right, all right. I'll go," he acquiesced reluctantly. "But what about all of you?"

"Oh, we'll be alright. Don't worry about us. We'll manage." Eric assured his younger, adopted brother. "Dad's right. I promise, we'll let you know right away if Mary's condition changes. But you have school tomorrow, and you need to go home, do your homework, and get a good night's sleep."

After George and Will left, Eric, Annie, Ruth and the Colonel spent the rest of the night alternating between checking on Mary, restlessly pacing the floor, or trying to doze off in brief snatches, sitting in the uncomfortable plastic waiting room chairs.

Finally at about 8 o'clock, the next morning, Dr. Kingman, and Dr. Zhang entered the waiting room, accompanied by a slim, willowy brunette, all with grim, dejected expressions on their faces.

"Reverend Camden."

At the sound of the doctor's voice, calling his name, Eric's head shot up with a jolt, though groggy and temporarily disoriented, he quickly turned his head to look at Annie, in a panic, before looking at the doctors, confused for a couple seconds.

"Reverend Camden? Reverend Camden?" Dr. Zhang touched Eric's shoulder gently. "We need to talk to you and your family about your daughter Mary's condition."

Eric looked at his wife, who, incredibly, was fast asleep sitting straight up in the uncomfortable plastic waiting room chair with her head leaning against him. With a nod, he nudged Annie awake with his shoulder.

"Annie, Annie. Wake up, hon. The doctors are here," murmured Rev. Camden as he reached over to the next couple chairs, and touched his parents on their shoulders to waken them. "Mom, Dad, Dr. Kingman and Dr. Zhang are here and they want to talk to us about Mary."

Eric, Annie, Ruth and the Colonel followed Dr. Kingman, Dr. Zhang and the brunette woman into an empty conference room. Once everyone was seated, Dr. Kingman opened up Mary's chart on the table and taking a deep breath, sighed heavily before speaking.

"Reverend Camden, Mrs. Camden, I really wish that we had better news to give you. But like we told you, we have been monitoring Mary since she was brought in. We have conducted several tests to determine the extent of damage. One of the tests we ran was an electro-encephalogram, or EEG, which measures a patient's level of brain activity."

Dr. Kingman paused for a few moments to take a breath, as Eric, sensing the news that is coming, started gripping his chair's armrests so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

"Unfortunately, we've run several EEG's over the last 48 hours or so since Mary was brought in, and they show that there is no significant or meaningful brain activity…" Dr. Kingman explained slowly, before the Colonel crossly interrupted her.

"So what is it that you're saying?" barked the Colonel. "Speak English, ma'am!"

"Dad…." warned Eric, putting his hand on his father's shoulder to try to calm him down. But the Colonel just brushed him off, turning back to the doctors.

"Well?" the Colonel demanded impatiently. "What does that mean? Is my grand-daughter going to recover, or not?"

Dr. Kingman and Dr. Zhang exchanged a grim look, as they shook their heads. "I'm afraid not," replied Dr. Zhang. "Reverend Camden, Colonel Camden, Mrs. Camden, we're so sorry to have to tell you this, but because the EEG's show no significant or meaningful brain activity, there is absolutely no chance that your daughter will ever regain consciousness. Clinically, Mary is brain-dead."

"NO!" Annie let out an ear-piercing scream, as she jumped up from her chair so fast, that she knocked it to the ground. "NO! It's NOT TRUE! NO!"

With his eyes filled with tears and rolling down his face, Eric tried to comfort his wife. "Annie, honey, please."

"NO! You're lying! Mary WILL recover! She'll get better, then she'll wake up, and we can all go back home to Glenoak, and everything will all be fine, like the way it was before! Just wait and see!" shrieked Annie as she ran out of the room. "Mary WILL get better! You'll all see!"

Reverend Camden, the Colonel, Ruth, Dr. Kingman, Dr. Zhang, and the brunette woman all watched in silence as Annie fled the room.

To Be Continued….

Next Chapter: "Hard Decisions…"