Yes, I understand it's been quite a while. And I'm sorry. But, I'm back writing some more, so be happy! I read through the previous chapters and they were SO short! Hahaha. Like, not even 1,000 words each. Anyway, I'm gonna write some, and I hope I haven't lost my stuff. :) Okay, so before it was in 3rd person, I'm changing it to first. It's hard writing in third person.

Story: Strange places, Normal faces

Chapter: Waking up

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I do not own Dirty Dancing or any of the affiliated.

Baby-

My mind was reeling. I thought I had just seen his face and felt his muscles holding me, but it must have been my imagination. Only in a fairy tale would my prince charming save me. My mind went blank again.

The next time I woke up I was lying in a hospital bed attached to all sorts of machines. The constant beeping was what woke me. The first thing that came to mind was Tristen. Where was he? Was he alright? I sat up and looked around the room. I finally found the remote that would call the nurse's station. I pressed the button and waited.

"Oh good you're up." The nurse that walked in said. She walked to my bedside and grabbed my chart.

"Where is my son?" I asked groggily.

"You're son? What do you mean?" The nurse asked back.

"My son Tristen. He was in the car with me when I crashed. Is he hurt? Who is watching him?" I asked frantically.

"Honey, you and the other driver were the only people brought in. Do you want me to call the officer who was on the scene?" The nurse asked.

"Yes! I need to know where my baby is!" I said. I was getting worried. What would they have done with him?

The nurse walked out of the room to go call the officer. I sat in silence and wondered what all had happened. I remembered Tristen telling me something, something about his new friend. Then I looked in the rear-view mirror and that's it. I faintly remembered sirens and being carried to an ambulance. But after that, my memory jumps to the hospital.

I didn't even know what injuries I'd gotten. I knew my head hurt and my shoulder. I tried to get out of the bed, but I was attached by IVs and heart rate monitors. I decided that it would be best to wait for the nurse to come back.

After a few minutes, the nurse finally peeked in the door.

"Oh good, you're still awake. I called the officer." She said meekly.

"What did he say?" I asked. I was so worried. How could this happen?

"He said that he left him with his father." She said.

"His father? What? Tristen himself doesn't even know his father!" I said. "Did he leave a name?" I asked.

"That's all the officer said. He said they looked a lot alike and the man said he was his father, so he left him there with him."

"He could be a child molester!" I exclaimed.

At that moment another nurse came in.

"You have a few visitors." The second nurse said.

"Visitors? What the—"

In the door walked Tristen, a smaller little girl, a woman about twenty-two and the most handsome man in the world.

"Mommy!" Tristen called. I wanted to acknowledge him, but I couldn't stop staring at Johnny. It had been six years and he hadn't changed a bit. He was still handsome as ever and even a bit buffer.

Tristen came over to hug me so I moved my gaze. I grabbed my baby in my arms relived he was okay. So the man wasn't lying. He really was his father. I still held Tristen in a hug and I felt a tear fall from my face. I realized if Johnny knew that he had a son, how he must hate me for not telling him.

I let go of Tristen and wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Thank you for taking care of him and bringing him to me. That was incredibly nice."

By now the nurses were gone.

Johnny looked into my eyes and I swore I felt the connection between us, it was like we understood each other completely. But none of that mattered now. He must hate me for not telling him. He was also married now with a child of his own.

"It was no problem at all." He said while never taking his eyes off me.

"You're really pretty." The little girl said.

"Haha. Thank you. What's your name?" I asked.

"Lilly. I'm five. Me and Tristen go to the same school." She said cheerfully.

"That's cool. You're adorable." I said and smiled. I looked back to Johnny and his wife.

"She is so cute and polite. You two must be proud." I said a forced a smile.

The woman just looked confused and Johnny laughed. There must have been something I was missing.

"Do you mind if me and Johnny talk alone?" I asked.

"Sure." The woman said. She got Tristen and Lilly and took them out with her.

"Look, I'm really sorry. I'm not sure why I never told you. I was afraid I guess. After what penny did, I didn't think you were opposed to that, and I wanted to keep it. I was afraid you would make me…" I trailed off. I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eyes.

"What? No. I wouldn't have been super excited I guess, but I wouldn't have wanted that. I would have stuck with you. We could have been together. We could have raised him together."

That made me teary eyed again. "Really? You would have stuck with me? After I left Kellerman's that summer to go to Mt. Holy Oak, I thought what we had was over."

"I told you I loved you didn't I?" He said and I looked up at him. He was smiling. I wanted to smile back, but I couldn't do it. Instead I started crying.

"What are you crying for?" He got close to me and I looked down again.

"It doesn't matter anymore. You are married and you have a beautiful daughter. You don't love me anymore."

"What? You think Shelly is my wife?" he then started laughing uncontrollably.

"You mean she isn't? Then is Lilly her daughter?" I asked majorly confused. I didn't think it was funny at all.

"No. Shelly and I are friends. She watches Lilly after school. Lilly is my daughter." He said.

"Oh." That was all I could manage. I didn't know what else to say. I was relieved that he wasn't married to that Shelly girl but I was still confused about how he got Lilly. I didn't get a chance to ask him about her because just then, Shelly, Tristen and Lilly walked in.

"They were getting restless and very hungry." Shelly said. I looked at the clock on the wall. It read 8:17.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you again. Tristen, come here. We'll get you something from the vending machine." I told Tristen.

"No, that won't be necessary. We'll take Tristen to dinner and bring you back something. Do you want pizza?" Johnny asked.

"Oh, thank you. Yes. It doesn't matter what kind. Tristen, be on your best behavior. Okay?" I told him.

"Yes mommy. I will be." He said and walked out with Johnny.

I laid there and tried to process what had just happened. Johnny still loved me and he had a daughter. I started to think of other things to get my mind off of Johnny. I began to think money. How was I going to pay for the hospital bill? I started crying from all of it.

The nurse came in to check on me.

"How are you doing?" She looked over at me and her expression changed. "Oh, honey. Why on earth are you crying?" she asked genuinely concerned.

"I can't pay for this. I don't even have insurance." I told her while still crying.

"What do you mean? You have already been paid for." She said. She kept looking at the papers very confused.

"By who? I didn't." I asked. I definitely didn't have the money to pay it, and I wasn't in touch with any relatives to help me.

"Hold on. Let me go check the records." She said and disappeared.

She walked out and to the nurse's station. Who would have paid my bill? I can't imagine it was cheap. The nurse walked back in and had a few pieces of paper in her hands.

"The records show it was paid by someone named Johnny Castle." She told me while still looking down at the papers.

"Johnny…" I mumbled. How could he have done that? He's too good to be true.

"Hmm?" the nurse said.

"Nothing. Thank you." I replied. With that and a quick check of my stats she left and I fell into a calm sleep waiting for them to return.

…

When they returned I was still fast asleep. Tristen was the one who woke me.

"Mommy, we're back." He said very in my face. I opened my eyes and was looking into the prettiest eyes ever, except his fathers. Johnny's eyes I could fall into and never come out.

"Hey honey." I said groggily. I sat up to greet everyone. I looked around and I only saw Johnny and Tristen. Johnny was holding Lilly who was fast asleep.

"Hey. Thanks for taking him again." I looked into his eyes. They looked so calm and concerned. But he couldn't care that much for me could he? I had his child and never told him about him for 6 years. I looked away before I got lost. "Listen, Johnny…" I started to say.

"No, don't say anything. You're welcome, for everything." He said and smiled a bit at me. I realized he was talking not just about dinner, but the hospital bill too. His generosity was killing me. I wanted to be with him again. To know just how much he cared, but that would never happen. We had been over for 6 years. I started to cry.

Johnny's face changed from sweet to, confused and worried. He looked at Tristen who was looking at me very worried.

"Tristen, here. Go get me a coke will you?" Johnny asked and handed him a dollar. Tristen grabbed the dollar and ran out.

"Why don't you believe me?" Johnny said. "I still care for you. I've never stopped." He looked directly into my eyes.

"But you can't. I was terrible to you. I kept your own son a secret from you. Then you come and save my life, and I can't do anything to repay you. I don't even have money to feed my own son. You knew that and you paid my bill. I want this to be true. I want to be with you, but we just can't." I said. By then I was crying even harder. I was sure I looked a hot mess.

That took him a minute to process. He looked down at his feet and thought some more. He shifted Lilly to his right side and walked over to me. "I guess if that's how it has to be, then I can't do anything more." He said and kissed my forehead. He looked into my eyes and said "But I do forgive you." and then turned away and walked out.

I sat there motionless. Had I really just made the love of my life walk away? That's the way it has to be I kept telling myself. I wasn't thinking about anything but the words that had just been said until Tristen came back through the door.

"Here Joh—" He started. "Where did he go?" he asked me.

"He had to get home. He said you could have it though." I told him. I wiped my face finally and got all the tears off.

"Mommy, why are you still crying? My daddy loves you and so do I." He said and came over and kissed my hand. Something about the way he could tell that Johnny loved me trigged something inside me. I simply smiled and grabbed him and put him in the hospital bed with me. After he told me all about the dinner with Johnny and about how Shelly and Lilly fell asleep in the car, he fell asleep. I ate the pizza Johnny had brought and climbed back into the bed. I cuddled with my baby till I was sound asleep. I wouldn't trade him for the world.