Pathline (30 page)

"Oh!  Malik?  He stepped out to grab something to eat from the cafeteria.  We usually have to force him
out;
he never stays away for long.  He should be back soon." 

She smiles
,
her
eye
s
studying me
.

"You
are
making your way back aren't you?  He never doubted you would." 

As the nurse gathers her samples and prepares to leave I feel exhaustion taking over me once more and I try to fight it, but it's no use, I'm out again before she even leaves the room.

"Any change?  Has she woken again?"

"Not since the last time you were here.  What about her tests?  Are they back yet?"

"Her neuro scans do show increased activity.  I'm cautiously optimistic, but it's still wait and see.  It's up to her to fight, to force those connections to work again."

I feel disoriented, not sure of where I am.  This isn't the usual haze.  I try to open my eyes, but my lids feel too heavy.  I finally give up and try to listen.  I hear a door open.

"Doctor, you're here, I've been looking for you
.
"

It's the nurse again.

"I was coming to speak with Malik, I didn't have time earlier
,
now I can tell you both at the same time.
"

"Tell us what?"

The doctor sounds a bit annoyed.

"She woke again today, while I was drawing blood work -- you were out getting food Malik -- and she tried to speak!"

"She tried to speak?"

"What do you mean she tried to speak?"

"Like I said, I was drawing blood work and she woke up.  I spoke to her,
and then
she made this raspy sound.  I wasn't sure what to make of it at first, but then she seemed to focus more and I was sure she was trying to speak.  She couldn't get much out, but I'm pretty sure she was asking for you Malik
.
"

"How can you be so sure?"

I could hear the
doctor’s
skepticism in his voice.

"Well she distinctly glanced at the empty seat next to her, and she seemed to be attempting to say his name but she couldn't quite get it out.  I think the attempt itself exhausted her, she was out again right after that."

"If she was indeed attempting to speak then this is a good sign, it means she
is
fighting.  Hopefully her effort will help her brain learn to reboot itself and regain more function."

The conversation continued but
I
lost track of it after that.

She opened her
eyes;
this was
the first time she'd done it without effort.  She looked
around;
he was standing by the window
looking out.  She opened her mouth, but then hesitated.  She swallowed, focused all her energy into this one thing.

"Mar..." 
Damn it
.  But it was enough to get his attention. 

He was immediately back at her side.  "Laura?"  He looked into her eyes, trying to read her through them.  "Is that still you in there?"

He looked so tired, so worn, but there was still hope in his eyes.  He had her left hand held tightly between both of his.  She tried to curl her fingers around his, but only managed a weak touch.  He noticed though, he used one of his hands to curl her fingers around his other hand completing her attempt for her.

"I'll take that as a yes"
h
e said, a smile lighting up his face.  "You've been away for a while, too long, you really had me scared.  I kept speaking to you, hoping you'd be able to hear it and make your way back to me."

She smiled at him and closed her eyes, this time it was sleep that she felt wash over her.  The next morning she felt the warmth of the sunlight from the window and woke early.  She could hear the bustling noises outside her room.  Marcus was asleep in the chair next to her. 
That can't be comfortable
.  She heard the door open and turned to see who'd entered.  It was the nurse, probably doing her morning rounds.

Rune smiled at her.
"
H
i
.
"

The nurse startled.
"
H
i"
s
he said
.
"
G
ood morning!" 

They both glanced over to
Malik
, who had shifted at the sound but hadn't woken. 

"Poor thing"
t
he nurse said, in a softer tone.  "Stubborn.  We keep tying to convince him to go home and get some proper rest for a few hour
s but the most he
does
is run
home to get a change of clothes then he's right back here.
"  The nurse looked at her then.
"
Y
ou're understanding all this, aren't you?"

"Yes
.
"

She smiled.
"
W
e'll have you back to normal in no time, you'll see.  I have to finish my rounds, but the doctor will be in to see you later this morning."

Well, at least I seem to have single syllable words down, that's something
.  She turned to watch Marcus again.  He woke about an hour
later;
he smiled when he
discovered
she'd been watching him.

"Hi there, you beat me this morning."  He stood and stretched, then leaned over and kissed her forehead.

She felt something inside her click.  Without thinking she reached out her hand and stroked the side of his face. 

"Marcus
.
"
T
he second she said it she realized what had changed, the difference in him that she'd been unable to identify when she'd first regained consciousness. 

He held her
hand to his cheek and chuckled.
"
Y
es, I know, not quite the face you were used to is it?"

No, it wasn't.  Malik, the military's poster boy, kept his hair cropped short and face clean shaven.  The man standing in front of her looked like he hadn't shaved in some time, and his hair was long enough to have gotten tousled in his sleep. 

She smiled.
"I like it" s
he said
,
as she ran her fingers along his jaw line.

He laughed
,
lean
ing
down and kissing
her lightly on the lips.  "I missed you."  He look
ed into her face.
"
D
o you know what happened?  Do you remember?"

She thought about it, realized she hadn't really considered why she was in a hospital.  It didn't seem
surprising;
it made sense for her to be there, by why?  An image came to her mind, but she couldn't place it.  A room with pictures on a screen, people talking.  No, that wasn't why she was here, but was connected.  She frowned.

"The plant attack, the hostile Charger?"

Marcus stroked her hair back
.
"
Y
es.  The assault against him, you were on Serk's team, you were hit by a charge."

No, that's not right
.  She tried to bring up the memory, but it was hazy, and something was missing.  "Rook?"

Marcus nodded
.
"
Y
es, he was there.  He brought you back."

She frowned, shaking her head.  The door opened and they both turned to see the doctor walk in.  He smiled as he saw them.

"Well isn't that a pleasant surprise.  The nurse said you were having more luck with speech today, think you'd be up for
some cognitive tests?"  He walked up to her.

"Sure, I feel better today."

He
raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"I'd say so."  He proceeded to ask her to state her name, her birth date, her employer.  "I don't need to ask if you
kno
w this
man’s
name, since apparently it's the first thing you reco
gnized."  He put the chart down.
"
D
o you remember what happened to you?"

She frowned again
.
"I'm not sure, it's all hazy
.
"

He nodded.
"
T
hat's to be expected, memories tied to traumatic events tend to be the most difficult to recall.  There is a chance you might never remember.  What's the last thing you can think of?"

She concentrated and images came to her.  "Nave was hurt, Ash was heading to help him..."

The doctor smiled
.
"
T
hat's good, you didn't loose much then, that's very good
.
"
H
e wrote something on the chart.  "I'm ordering a few tests, nothing major, I just want to see how well you brain is doing with associations and recognition, and a few mild physical tests to see how your body has recovered.  Someone will be in to get you in a
bit;
I'll be back after the results come in.  Sound good?"

She nodded and Marcus thanked him. 

She turned back to him.
"
I
s Nave okay?  What happened after that?"

He sat ba
ck down in the seat next to her.
"
H
e's fine now, he was in here for a few days but they say he
's fully recovered."  He paused.
"I wasn't there but I heard the same story from Serk and Rook.  After the Charger took out Nave he tried to take out Ash, but only managed to wing him.  So he turned his focus on Serk.  Didn't want to make the same mistake he made with Ash I guess, so he went for a kill shot.  You must have realized what he was about to do because at the last moment you wandered right in front of Serk.  You took the
hit instead."  He looked at her.
"
I
f Rook hadn't been there..."
H
is voice caught.  He cleared his throat, picked up her hand and kissed it. 
"Helo says he saw
Rook running to you, you were on the ground in front of Serk.  Rook used his hands like
defibrillator
s, sent controlled charges into your chest trying to restart your heart, said it took a few times, but he finally got it going again.  Helo called in for med support for you, Nave and Ash.  Then command sent my team in to go after the Charger.  We didn't know what had happened, but we'd heard th
e 'multiple assets down'
call over the com.  I don't know what happened after that with Tac-II, Helo says that as soon as med got there Rook took off in the direction of the hostile Charger, and Serk followed.  By the time my team arrived to the
hostile’s
location he was already down."  He rubbed his face, he looked so tired then.

She squeezed his hand. 
That's wrong
.  She knew it, but couldn't quite figure out why.  "Where's Rook?"

He sighed.
"
T
hey wouldn't let him in
to see you
, said that while you remained in critical condition only immediate family was allowed.  He couldn't stand around just waiting, so he left.  But he calls in everyday to check on you in case there's been a change.  I told him I'd talk to the staff, get them to let him visit, but I think the thought of seeing you like that was too hard for him, plus the news that we were married caught him off guard.  I'll call him today, let him know you've found your way back."

She thought about what Marcus said. 
"Seeing you like that was too hard for him", well it's not the first time he's seen me like that, he probably didn't think I'd make it back this time
.  And that's when she remembered. 
I didn't get hit with the charge... I stopped it
.

The nurse came into the room accompanied by a medical assistant pushing a wheelchair.  "Do you feel
strong enough to move around?" S
he asked Rune.

Rune tried to sit up, but got dizzy on the first try.

"Let's take it slower" t
he nurse told her, coming over and pressing the button on the bed to put her into a seated position. 

Now that she was full upright with support behind her she felt better. 

"Let's not have you over exerting yourself, we don't want you to regress, you've made very good progress these past couple of days." 

She started to ask the medical assistant to help her with Rune but Malik stepped forward instead.