Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko

Pairings: JxA, OxS, UxY

Warnings: death, tissue alert!

Title: Forever Doesn't Always Mean Forever

Chapter: Seven - Hospital

Point-of-View: Odd

Author's Note: Ooh...a twist. Odd's POV:gasp: Anyway, new chapter! Yay. I'm trying to update all my fics now. Hehe. Let me know what you think okay? Review please.

Hospitals always smelled funny. They were just to clean, they were covering up something, the stench of decay and death perhaps. I got up, pacing the small waiting room we'd been sent to, my shoes squeaking on the laminated tiles. The florescent lights were to bright for sleep beside the monotone intrusion of the voice-over when a nurse paged a doctor every few minutes.

Beside that fact, Aelita was curled up against Jer, trying to get some sleep. Jer had his head tilted back, staring up at the ceiling, I wonder if he was counting the dots, one of my favorite past times in school. Sam was sitting by a lamp, like the room wasn't bright enough, flipping through a magazine. She shifted a bit and I saw it was a parenting one, I wonder if I should be concerned.

"Did you call him?" Jeremie finally asks, rousing himself from whatever he had been doing. He wraps an arm around Aelita's waist as I nod.

"Yes Jer, I called him. You saw me call him."

"Shouldn't he be here by now then?"

"Come on Einstein, he has to catch a flight first," I said. He nodded, once again letting his head fall back.

We'd been here for three hours, waiting, waiting, waiting. The doctors had been in surgery for just as long. I turned, pacing back to the hallway. I stopped as I saw the nurse assigned to us heading back.

"How is she?" I asked when she'd reached the room.

"Still in surgery."

"And...?"

"She's fine. In the children's ward, room 210 if you want to see her," she replied. She nodded to us before leaving and I sighed, leaning against the doorway. My cell rang and I pulled it out.

"Yeah?"

"Odd, the plane will be landing in thirty minutes."

"Got it." I hung up before he could ask any questions, it wasn't something that could easily be explained over the phone. "I'm leaving to pick up Ulrich," I called before leaving.

Ulrich was waiting outside when I got there, stupid traffic jam. "Hey," I said as he opened the back door. He tossed his bags, or maybe it was just one, into the back before getting in.

"What happened Odd?"

He never hedged, always straight to the point. "There was an accident Ulrich," I sighed.

"An accident?" He turned, facing me and I swallowed, slowing as the light turned red.

"Yeah." I took a breath, watching the streets carefully as a fine drizzle began to fall. "Yumi and her parents took Maurie out to dinner tonight. We all joined them, it was this sort of party, cause it was her birthday. Maurie's, not Yumi's. Anyway, we all came in different cars. Sam and I, Jer and Aelita, Yumi, her parents, and Maurie. We were gonna go back to Yumi's for cake so we were following her car." I saw him pale and hit the gas as the light changed. "The light turned green and she went ahead. Some jerk ran the red light and collided with her."

"Odd...?"

"The car flipped three times and hit a building. Her mom died at the scene, dad on the way there."

"What about Yumi? What about Maurie?"

"Yumi's in surgery, he hit her side. It's amazing she wasn't dead on impact. Maurie's okay, they took her to the hospital and had her checked out. The car-seat protected her from a lot of it." I glanced at Ulrich out of the corner of my eye. His jaw was clenched and he was staring straight ahead, hand held tight in a fist, knuckles white. "I'm sorry Ulrich."

"Just drive Odd," he muttered.

We got back to the hospital and Ulrich went to talk to the nurses, I returned to our waiting-room prison. I wonder how many people went crazy here. I collapsed in one of the plastic-foam chairs next to Sam who was still reading that parenting magazine, or a different one.

"How is he?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Quiet. He's still absorbing it all."

Another couple joined us, sitting on the opposite wall and I watched them carefully, trying to figure out why they were here. The woman was leaning against her husband's shoulder, crying loudly. The husband looked straight ahead, reminding me of an older, blonder, greyer Ulrich. So they weren't here for a good reason either.

I saw Ulrich in the hall outside the waiting room, talking to a guy in a white coat. White coat? Doctor. I stood, making my way over to the door as the doctor left. Ulrich leaned back against the wall, head hanging down, knuckles white again.

"Ulrich?" I asked. It scared me to see my best friend like this. I walked over, standing next to him. "What did he say?"

"They did everything they could for her," he stopped and I swallowed, resting a hand on his shoulder. "There was to much blood loss, no matter how many transfusions they gave her, the blood kept leaking out because of her injuries. They couldn't stop the bleeding fast enough. She died."

He sank to the ground and I crouched next to him, wrapping my arms around him, hugging him tightly, whether he wanted me to or not. He didn't seem to mind, hugging me back and crying. Ulrich Stern was crying. I felt my stomach tighten and closed my eyes tightly.

"I'm sorry Ulrich. I'm really sorry," I whispered.

He shook his head and held me tighter. "She was all I had Odd. She was everything to me."

"You still have Maurie. She's beautiful Ulrich," I said. He nodded mutely as I rubbed his back.

"I'll have to quit school," he said finally.

"What? Why?"

He sat back, leaning against the wall. "No one else to take care of her," he said finally. "Unless I send her to Germany."

"No Ulrich. Your almost there, almost finished. One of us will take her in? I'll take care of her for you," I said.

"Sam wouldn't go for it."

"She'd understand." I shook my head. "You need to finish school Ulrich." He looked uncertain and I bit the inside of my cheek, debating. "That's what Yumi would've wanted," I said at last. He looked away, nodding slowly and I sighed, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "I'm sorry Ulrich." He continued to nod, resting his head on my shoulder.

Author's Note: :pulls out tissues:wipes eyes: Next chapter coming soon hopefully.

Starr