Ellie

I heard a knock at the door, and it was accompanied by a familiar voice that brought a smile to my lips. "Miss Francis?"

"Alice, you can call me Ellie, you know that!" I laughed, swinging my legs over the side of the bed.

"Sorry, Ellie," the friendly, plump nurse chuckled. "I know, it's just we don't get many patients like you…"

"Patients like me?" I asked, surprised by her almost reverential tone.

"Yeah. I shouldn't tell you this really…" Alice trailed off.

I shot her a piercing glare. "Come on, you can't start a sentence like that and not finish it!"

The nurse leaned in close, almost conspiratorially and spoke quietly. "We're not really supposed to tell patients while they're in rehab, because it can mess with the motivation to keep going, but a recovery like yours… It's almost unheard of. But I guess, with you, nothing's impossible."

"What do you mean, with me?" I repeated, at a loss to know what she was talking about. "I just woke up, is that so unusual?"

"From a coma like that? After all those months?" Alice cried, her voice rising and falling in a crescendo of excitement. It was almost as if she was recounting a miracle. "And besides, it wasn't the waking –."

"The waking what?" I pressed. I'd endured weeks of coddling, and every single nurse and doctor in this joint seemed to be afraid to startle me, as if they might say something that would set my recovery back.

I wanted to scream, I'm a big girl! But I figured I shouldn't. Whatever was going on today, I guessed I was about to get some answers. I hope so, at any rate.

Alice's eyes were wide open, with the proverbial stare of a rabbit caught in the headlights. She couldn't have looked any guiltier if she'd actually tried. "No, it's definitely not my place to say. Doctor Mullen will go through everything."

I cocked my head and stared at her, trying to figure out why the hell she was being so obtuse, and then shrugged. Whatever it was, I'd find out in due course. Being in hospital was a lot like being in the Army, I thought. There was a whole lot of hurry up and wait…

"Ready?" Alice said, offering me her arm.

"Um, do you mind if I, I dunno, have a crack at doing it myself?" I asked, stumbling over my tongue. "I've been practicing in my room, and I think I'll be okay…"

"Ellie," Alice chided. "You know the physio told you not to overdo it!"

"No," I said. "Honestly, it's fine. I've felt so much stronger this week."

"Well," Alice said, looking me up and down doubtfully. "If you think you can handle it…"

I lent over and squeezed her tight.

It's crazy, I thought. A few months ago I was an investigative journalist for the Herald, now I'm happy just to be allowed to walk down the corridor…

"Hey!" Alice exclaimed. "That was pretty strong!"

I stuck out my tongue cheekily. "Told you…"

"I guess with you, Eleanor Francis, I should get used to expecting miracles." Alice said obscurely.

Again with this miracle talk.

Every nurse on the ward waved and smiled at me as I walked, unassisted, down the corridor. I'd been doing it in my room every night for days now, pacing up and down, but this was a whole new ballgame. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice hovering a stone's throw from my arm, ready to catch me if I fell. "Alice," I whispered. "Why's everyone staring at me?"

The nurse who I'd come to see as my friend over the past few weeks, ever since I woke up from a nine-month coma, looked at me like she was holding something back from me. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough," she said secretively.

"You know, Alice," I said, turning to face her. "Sometimes I feel like kicking you, you know that?"

The middle-aged nurse held her hands up and frowned with mock irritation. "Hey, I'm just the messenger, all right?"

"A messenger without a message," I grumped. "What good is that?" I sidled up to her. "Come on," I pleaded, "you can trust me, can't you?"

Alice smiled warmly, pushing the treatment room door open and gesturing me inside. "Of course I can, dear. But honestly, it's really not my place to say. I'll have to leave that up to the doctor."

"Fine," I muttered, a sullen look on my face. “But this better be good…”

“Oh,” Alice grinned, “it will be. I’ll be around, once you’re done. I’ve got a feeling you’ll want to talk. The doctor will be along soon.”

I wish, I grumbled in the peace and quiet of my own head as the door swung closed. That people would stop treating me like a damn child.

If I’d known what I was asking for, I might have reconsidered that thought…