Sheets of rain pounded onto the windscreen as Jesse squinted into the darkness. It had been raining all day and showed no signs of letting up. Driving down Route 17 the road was slick with water and driving hazardous. Jesse peered out of the saturated windscreen, the wiper's efforts to clear the water being refuted immediately by the tempestuous storm. His shoulders ached with the muscle tension which lingered from the sixteen-hour shift he had just served at the hospital, and he wanted nothing more than to sit back and relax. And that was precisely what he intended to do.

Being an ER doctor at Community General Hospital wasn't the easiest of jobs, but Jesse loved it. He loved the sense of urgency, and thrived under the intense atmosphere of the emergency room, and although he never knew quite what to expect next he looked forward to each day as though it was his first. One of the best things about working at the hospital though, was not the patients or the dynamic environment in which he worked, but the people he had had the fortune of meeting there. Dr. Mark Sloan, his son Steve, and Dr. Amada Bentley – his colleagues and his friends. More like my family Jesse thought to himself as he manoeuvred his car cautiously around a sharp corner.

Mark was like the father he'd always wanted: caring, loyal. Reliable. Unlike his own father whom he barely knew, Mark had been there for him on more occasions than he could number. Then there was Steve. Mark's son, and Jesse's best friend, Steve was endowed with his father's loyalty and caring nature. Owning a BBQ business together presented arguments sometimes – particularly due to Steve's apparent aversion to salads – but Jesse looked up to Steve as much as a brother as well as a friend. Finally, there was Amanda, beautiful and intelligent, she acted as a counter-balance to the three men with a dry wit and a deep sense of compassion.

Jesse smiled to himself, despite his aching shoulders he was looking forwards to an evening spent with his three friends, which was precisely where he was heading at that very moment. The Sloan's lived right on the beach and were always welcoming.

Maybe Steve's got a new case he's working on? Jesse thought to himself absent mindedly.

A sudden roar of thunder sounded from above and a flash of lightening brought Jesse's attention crashing back to the road in front of him. Gripping the steering wheel he leaned closer to the window in a desperate attempt to get a better view of the road. The droplets of water refracted car lights and sent flares of luminosity into the air, and with them a glare so blindingly bright that it caused Jesse to snap his head away momentarily and squeeze his eyes shut in pain. Turning back to face the road Jesse blinked furiously, a hazy blur of light obscuring his vision. He shook his head slightly in a futile attempt to clear his eyes and in doing so swerved across the road causing several cars to blare their horns in his direction. Breathing heavily, Jesse pulled on the steering wheel, his hands shaking.

Keep it cool, he thought to himself taking a deep breath. I'm nearly there, so just keep it cool.

Slowing his speed to take a bend in the road, Jesse became aware that the car directly behind him was edging nearer and nearer, intermittently blaring its horn. Jesse frowned, peering into the rear view mirror.

"What the hell…?" he muttered to himself, edging his foot down onto the accelerator in an effort to distance himself from the car which immediately sped up to follow him. Pressing his foot down harder Jesse glanced again into the mirror, the darkness of the night and the raging storm concealing most of the car and its driver from view. Only the headlights were clearly visible, flashing off and on distractingly. Turning his attention back to the road Jesse bit onto his lip. He didn't like this, he didn't like it at all. What was the other driver doing? Why were they pulling in so close? Trying desperately to ignore them Jesse focused on the road ahead. A sudden jolt from behind sent Jesse sprawling forward across the steering wheel, his seat belt cutting painfully into his ribs. Again the car was sent staggering forwards and Jesse realised that the car behind was deliberately colliding with him. A third jolt impacted the car, causing it to veer sideways. Jesse tried frantically to pull the steering straight, but the wet sheen to the road sent the tires into a skid, and as the car careered off the tarmac onto the grass verge Jesse felt his head slam back into the headrest and he knew no more.