John was so engrossed in his book that he hadn’t noticed Melissa’s blue eyes staring at him, patiently waiting for him to look up and notice her. He casually glanced over the top of his Kindle and laid it on the small table. “Missy?”
Melissa followed him with her eyes.
John took her hand. “Welcome back, sweetheart.”
Melissa looked up at him; her pupils dilated. She didn’t think she would ever see his face again. She didn’t think she would ever see anyone’s face again. When Liu whispered he was giving her something to end her pain, Melissa never expected to wake up. She desperately wanted to say something to John, but couldn’t.
John unlocked his cell phone. “Sam, she’s awake!”
“What?”
“Missy is awake,” he choked and pushed the hair back from her forehead. “I’m staring at a pair of the most beautiful blue eyes in the World.”
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“I’ll tell Donna. We’ll be there shortly.” Sam locked his cell phone, grabbed Donna’s hand and led her to the front. “That was John. Missy is awake.”
“Richard. Gary. Are you coming?”
Gary gave Donna a half-way smile. “I’ll be down later.”
“Are you sure you won’t come with us to the carnival tonight?”
“No, D, but thanks for the offer. I think I’d like to be alone tonight. I need to decide what to do about Tina. I know her people favour cremation, but I’d kind of like to bury her instead. That way, if we ever find out who her family are, I can at least point them at the grave.”
Donna nodded. “OK. I’ll see you later, then.”
Richard grabbed his tablet computer and followed Sam and Donna to the private lift.
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Sam tapped on the door and eased it open. John looked up. “Look sweetheart. You’ve got visitors.”
Sam, Donna, and Richard entered the room. Richard closed the door behind them. John attempted to move. Melissa tightened her grip on his hand. “I’m not leaving, honey. I’m just moving so they can examine you.” Melissa gradually released his hand.
“G’day, Miss Hart,” Sam said in a strong Australian accent.
Donna stepped closer. “Hi, Missy. I want you to blink for me. OK? Once for yes. Twice for no.”
Melissa blinked.
“Do you remember me?”
Melissa blinked.
Donna smiled. “Good. Are you in any pain?”
Melissa blinked twice.
“Do you know who you are?”
Melissa blinked.
“Do you know where you are?”
Melissa blinked twice.
“Well, that’s understandable. You were unconscious when you got here.” Donna motioned to John. “Do you know who that is?”
Melissa’s pupils dilated. She blinked, smiling with her eyes.
Sam softly smiled. “Since you’re blinking, I won’t shine my light in those beautiful blue eyes. I do need to test your reflexes, though.” Sam pricked her finger with a probe.
Melissa winced and pulled her finger back.
“That’s good. Now for the other end.” Sam scraped the probe across the bottom of her foot. Melissa moved her foot and clenched her toes. “Good. Now comes the hard part.” He picked Melissa’s leg up and cupped her heel in his hand. “All right, sweetheart. I want you to push my hand as hard as you can.”
Melissa concentrated and strained. Sam felt a slight resistance. “That won’t win marathons, but it’s a start.”
Sam jotted down some orders on her chart and tucked it under his arm. He unlocked his cell phone. “Sir Richard, it’s Sam. You might want to break out the Champagne. Missy’s awake and she’s responding to physical and verbal stimuli.”
“I’ll be there shortly….”
Richard stepped forward, bent his head and kissed her forehead. “Welcome back, Beautiful.” He placed his tablet computer near her hand. “You might find this more useful than imitating a Christmas light. I’ve loaded a text to speech program for you. All you have to do is type out a response and press enter. Can you manage that OK?”
“Yes,” a synthesised voice responded. “Thank you, Ricky. Where is your father?”
“Sir Richard is on his way, Missy,” Donna interjected.
Sam walked next to Donna. He wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her out of earshot. “I’m impressed,” he said in a quiet voice. “At this rate, I expect nothing short of a full recovery.”
Donna rested her head against his shoulder. “I told you the EHG worked fast. We should probably take her casts off. That way she won’t have to waste so much energy typing out her responses. I’m sure it’s exhausting to her.”
Sam did an ultrasound to assess the healing stage of Melissa’s broken bones. The small temperature change caused by the ultrasound produced a surprising effect with the EHG. Sam’s mouth gaped. He pointed to the screen. “Is the EHG doing this?”
Donna smiled. “Yes.” She, Sam, and Richard literally watched the broken bones in Melissa’s jaw knitting back together. The other broken bones were healing at the same accelerated rate. All that was left of the cuts on her face were thin red lines. Melissa wouldn’t have to deal with the emotional trauma of permanent scarring.
There was a tap on the door, and Sir Richard stepped inside. Sam and Donna were in the process of removing the cast from Melissa’s neck and chin. They’d already removed the cast from her arm. “Mind if I join the party?” Sir Richard asked and stepped closer. He waited until Sam had unwired Melissa’s jaw. Sam and Donna stepped toward the foot of the bed. “Hi Missy. Welcome back. I thought I’d lost you this time.”
“I thought you had too, Sir,” Melissa slightly smiled. “Where am I?” she asked, her voice weak.
“You’re in the infirmary at the Centre in Newcastle.”
“I know you want to debrief me, Sir Richard, but I’m afraid I’ll have to let you down. I can’t remember anything that happened after they took me to Forrest’s penthouse. One of them held me down while the other one gave me some kind of injection, and it made my head feel fuzzy. I tried to fight it, but in the end…” she swallowed hard. “They beat me. The pain became so unbearable, I just gave in and let them do whatever they wanted to me. The last thing I remember was a man’s voice, whispering in my ear that he was going to end my pain. Kevin Wilson sold me out. He told me to go back to my desk and act as if nothing had happened. Forrest had been acting really strange, lately. He must have intercepted my phone calls with you.”
John’s face reddened with rage. “I’ll make that son of a bitch pay, honey.”
Melissa’s eyes glossed. “I’m so sorry, John. I tried to fight them off, but they….”
“It’s OK, Missy,” Sir Richard interjected. “We know what they did to you. You don’t have to go through this again.” He glanced up at the others. “Whatever happened wasn’t your fault.”
“How did I get here?”
“When Mildred couldn’t reach you on your cell phone, and Gary couldn’t locate you with VICi’s satellite system, I sent… someone in. When they got you back to the UK, we didn’t expect you to live.”
“Sam and Donna said I have broken bones. They just feel itchy and sore.”
Donna softly smiled. “It will be that way for a while, but you shouldn’t feel any pain. If you do tell us, and we’ll give you something for it.”
“Is she ready to travel, then?” John asked. “I want to get her home as soon as possible.”
Donna reached into her pocket. “Oh! That reminds me. Here’s the list you asked for, Sir Richard.”
Sir Richard scanned through the items. “OK, petal. I mean Donna. I’m sorry. I have to keep reminding myself that you don’t want to be called petal anymore.” He folded the list and put it in his jacket pocket. “I’ll give this to Mildred.”
“So, how about it Sam. Can I take her home?”
Sam rested his chin on the top of Donna’s head. “As far as I can tell, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t, John. In my expert opinion, Donna was right. This is nothing short of a medical miracle. Triplet International could market this stuff and make billions.”
Donna frowned. “This is not about personal gain, Sam.”
Sir Richard arched an eyebrow. “This will never go on market, Sam. Nor will its discovery ever be published.”
Sam grinned. “You can’t blame a guy for dreaming.”
“Can I get dressed?” Melissa asked. “This thing you call a gown is a little draughty in the back.”
Donna laughed. “In that case…” Sam spoke up, “… why don’t we get out of here and give Missy a little privacy. I’ll go make my final report – at least as far as the official infirmary is concerned – and sign her release papers.”
Melissa held out her hand to Donna. “Thank you for giving me my life back.”
Donna squeezed her hand and smiled. “You’re welcome, Missy, but I’m not the one you should be thanking. Jared got you out. If you do get a chance to thank him personally, thank him for me, too.”
“I heard, Donna. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s OK, Missy. I’m surviving. In fact, my boyfriend, over there…” she said, motioning with her head to Sam, “…is taking me to a carnival tonight at Whitley Bay.”
Melissa frowned and glanced at Richard. She turned her attention back to Donna, confused. “You’re with Sam?” She crooked her finger. Donna leaned closer. “Is it serious?”
Donna grinned. “We’re together, but I’m still deciding. I’ll see you later, Missy.” Sam and Donna left.
Richard followed them out into the corridor. “We’re taking my car to Whitley Bay – right?”
Sam groaned. “I guess so. Unless you want to ride in the boot. My car wasn’t geared for families.”
Richard glanced at Donna; remembering what Ruth had told him in the cafeteria. “So I’ve noticed.”
Donna softly smiled. “Who’s your date?”
“With so many flowers in the field to pick from it’s hard to choose. With the prettiest one already spoken for,” Richard grinned, “I’m taking Joyce.”
Sam swallowed hard and scratched the back of his neck. “This should be interesting,” he muttered and led Donna to the private lift.
Richard shook his head and followed them. “That it will, Sam,” he chuckled.
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“Missy, I have something to tell you before you find out the hard way. Forrest and Wilson are in the UK. In fact, Kevin and Linda are in my guest house.”
“But, don’t worry, Love,” John spoke up, coming to her side. “Forrest won’t get anywhere near you. Him or that traitorous bastard.”
“No, they won’t,” Sir Richard agreed. “I’ll set my private watchdog on them.”
Melissa swallowed hard. “You must mean Jared,” she made it a statement.
Sir Richard frowned. “I thought you said you didn’t remember.”
“I didn’t want to say anything in front of Donna. Jared and I talked for a while before we left. I was in and out, so I’m not sure of everything. I would remember his smile anywhere. He’s not… completely normal, Sir Richard. Does Donna know that?”
Sir Richard glanced at John. “What do you mean, Missy?”
“It may have been the drug playing tricks on my mind, and I don’t want you to think I’m crazy, but…” she broke off, glancing from Sir Richard, to John and back to Sir Richard. “…I could have sworn that Jared’s eyes were… red. Glowing red – in fact,” she added, unsure of her own words. “He’s the only one who came in to rescue me, wasn’t he?”