"Uncle Alek?" Christina pleaded. "Where are we? What happened to me?" Her thoughts, which had been sluggish and unfocused, were now racing in her mind as they processed the darkness and the intense pain.

Alek placed his hand on his niece's head and stroked her hair. "Tina," he said softly. "Tina," he repeated, this time commanding the girl's attention. "You are in the hospital. You have had an accident." Alek was fairly certain that "accident" was not the correct term, but that wasn't important right now. "You had an accident but you will be alright."

Christina nodded slowly. She felt completely disoriented and untethered to the world except for the feeling of her uncle's hand on her head. "It hurts," she winced.

"I know Sweetheart," Alek said as he reached for a plastic bulb hanging from a wire on the wall. He felt the button on its tip and pressed it, summoning the nurse.

by Admiral Krunch

---

 
Chapter 50

        Alek burst through the doors of the hospital with his wife and daughter in tow. He did not wait for them to catch up as he strode across the lobby to the woman sitting behind a curved desk that protruded as though it were a mahogany soap bubble that had attached itself to the wall. The man had a look of fear crossed with frustration, and he descended upon the receptionist as though he was a large boulder that had been launched down a hillside in an avalanche.

        Hearing the man huffing long before he reached the desk, the woman called out, "May I help you?"

        Alek deposited a thick finger on the table as he demanded, "I am here to see my niece. I am here to see Christina Chase."

        "She's a patient here, Sir?" the woman asked. Most people would have been intimidated by the large man, especially in his apparent state of mind, but the receptionist dealt with people who were in Alek's position's every day.

        "Of course she's a patient!" Alek boomed. "Is this not a hospital? Do you not have patients?"

        Misha placed her hand in the bend of Alek's elbow, wordlessly signaling to him that he should get his temper under control.

        "She was brought in to the E.R." Nina explained, somewhat more reserved than her father.

        The woman typed the name into the computer terminal in front of her. "Christina Chase?" she asked as she scanned the results of her search.

        "Yes," Alek repeated as though he could not understand how the receptionist was not following the conversation. "C-H-A-S-E," he said with a loud thwack of his pointer finger against the desk in time for each letter. "Christina."

        The woman shook her head as she ran the name again. "I don't see any Christina Chase in the system. Are you sure that's the right name?"

        "Am I sure-" Alek said as in disbelief as he turned to his wife. "Yes! I am certain," he said forcefully as he looked back at the receptionist.

        "Can you try again?" Misha said calmly.

        After searching a third time, the woman concluded, "I'm sorry, there's no Christina Chase listed. Are you sure she was brought to this hospital?"

        "This is the only hospital in Dover, is it not?" Alek boomed as he raised his arms as if to address a crowd that was not there. His voice bounced off the walls and could be heard in every corner of the lobby.

        "Yes sir, that is correct," the woman confirmed.

        A faint electric chirp caused Nina to take her cell phone out of the pocket of her jeans. Reading the screen, she announced, "It's Steph. She says they're on the fourth floor ... 'Frank'?"

        "Frank?" Alek barked angrily.

        "The Franklin wing," the receptionist clarified. She stood and pointed at the wide entranceway on the other side of the lobby. "Follow the hallway past the first bank of elevators. The second bank, the ones across from the gift shop, those go to the Franklin wing. You can take them to the fourth floor, then go straight to the Nurses' Station."

        "Thank you," Misha said warmly, though her husband had a disdainful look that indicated he thought that the receptionist had wasted their time.

         Taking the lead, Nina led her parents down the hallway. Seeing a large plush giraffe in the hallway in front of two glass doors, which she took as evidence that they'd found the gift shop, Nina turned the corner to the left, finding two elevators with green stripes on the door that read "Franklin" in bold white typeface. "I think this is it," she announced as she stepped in and held the doors open. After her parents had caught up, she pressed the button for the fourth floor and waited.

        Alek gritted his teeth as he waited for the doors to close and the elevator to engage. He mood was tempered only slightly by the squeeze Misha gave him as she threaded her arm through his.

        When the elevator doors opened, Nina stepped into the all white hallway, scanning for the Nurses' Station. She saw a large desk down the hallway and motioned with her hand for her parents to follow. Halfway down the hallway Nina stopped. She saw Andrei and Steph sitting next to each other on an unembellished couch in a glass walled waiting room. Andrei was staring in his lap while Steph was rubbing his slouched back between his shoulder blades. As the Nina went in, she noticed that Doctor Stone was sitting in a chair against the far wall.

        Doctor Stone began to stand as Nina, Alek, and Misha joined the group. He hadn't slept, and it took him even longer than usual to rise to his feet.

        "Where is Tina?" Alek demanded of the old man.

        Andrei did not stop tapping his foot nervously as he took notice that his family had arrived. His eyes jumped between his mother and father before they darted to Doctor Stone.

        Doctor Stone raised his hand, insisting, "You may as well have a seat." Nina and Misha sat on a second unoccupied couch with its back to the glass wall, while Alek reluctantly went to a chair next to Doctor Stone's. He did not sit until the Doctor made it clear that it was a prerequisite for him to continue. Once they were all seated, Doctor Stone painfully steadied himself on the arms of his chair as he lowered himself back down.

        "Where is Tina?" Alek asked again, though this time it was more of a plea than an order.

        "Alek," the old man started, "Misha," he said including his wife, "Your niece has a ruptured appendix. She's in surgery now, havin' it taken out. Now, I want to stress, this is not an uncommon operation. The surgeon has had plenty of experience and I don't see no cause to get too alarmed."

        "Alarmed?" Alek barked. He pointed his stocky finger at the door, exclaiming, "You tell me that my Tina is on some table being cut open- and that I should not be alarmed?"

        Andrei again raised his head when he heard the phrase "cut open".

        "I think," Nina started, trying to ease the tension, "that they just make a tiny hole and go in with a camera or something, right?"

        Doctor Stone put his hand over his mouth and felt his beard. "Well," he said has his hand dropped to his armrest, "they can do that in some circumstances, but in this case the surgeon is goin' to perform an 'open' operation. When we found her, she had quite a fever and her abdomen was all ... pressed out." He held his hand in front of his stomach to illustrate as he explained. "A larger incision will give them a better look at what it is they're up against."

        All the anger drained from Alek's face and was replaced only by worry. Andrei again focused on his lap, unable to be part of the conversation any longer, even as a spectator.

        "This is not all that unusual," Doctor Stone stressed. "Lots of people get appendicitis and most every one of them is fine, just fine."

        "How long will she be in surgery, Doctor?" Misha asked.

        "These sorts of affairs don't generally take very long," he bluffed.

        "Doc," Steph said as she checked the time on her cell phone. "She went in over two hours ago. That's normal?"

        Doctor Stone let out a tired sigh. "No ... No it's not. Most likely there's some sort of ... complication. But there's no cause for anyone gettin' worked up over something until we know hard facts, understand? Operations take as long as they take. You'd feel worse if they were rushing, wouldn't you?"

        Andrei bent over, resting his forehead in the palm of his left hand. Steph stopped her massage and draped her arm around him.

        "... Right," Nina eventually agreed, though she was no more convinced than anyone else in the room that things were going according to some plan.

        Alek rose slowly from his chair. Speaking in a measured tone, he asked, "Doctor Stone, may I speak to you in private?"

        "Of course," the old man said as he slowly pushed himself out of his seat. Uneasily he took the cane that rested against his chair and followed Alek to the hallway.

        Not wanting to be left out, Nina rose from her spot on the couch, but stopped when her mother touched her arm.

        Alek made sure the door was closed before he spoke. "She was on the floor, yes? Christina was on the floor of the grocery."

        Doctor Stone answered honestly and plainly, "Yes."

        "How long?" he demanded. "How long was she lying on the floor ... All alone."

        "I don't know," Doctor stone choked. The look the old man had in his eyes suggested that the words inflicted as much pain on himself as it did on the man he was trying to reassure. "I can't say how long she was there, but I can promise you that we got her here faster than thunder can catch up to lightning. You've got my word."

        "It's ..." Alek started. "If she was there a long time ... it's worse? The longer she was there?"

        "Yes," Doctor Stone answered truthfully. He shook a bit as he steadied himself on the cane and asked, "She's a strong girl, Alek, ain't she?"

        Alek straightened his posture. "Yes," he said with pride. "There is no one more strong than my Tina."

        "Then I'd say her chances are far better than most," the old man concluded as he patted Alek on the side of the arm with his free hand. Doctor Stone rubbed his palm down the side of his face, apologizing as he stifled a yawn, "I know this is not the time to leave you and your kin on your own, but I haven't had a lick of sleep. Would you mind if I-"

        "Of course not," Alek answered. He held out his large hand and said, "Thank you."

        The old man shook Alek's hand and strongly as his old and tired body could muster, insisting, "You can save the thank-yous for when your niece is back home where she belongs."

        Alek waited until Doctor Stone had disappeared around the corner of the hallway before rejoining the family. Nina was so engrossed with giving James status updates via text messages that she barely noticed her father reentering the waiting room. "Doctor Stone said there is nothing to worry about," he announced. Now he was the one who was bluffing.

        Andrei looked up at his father, his face filled with fear and worry.

        "Do you hear that, Nina?" Alek asked as he draped his large hand over his daughter's shoulder. "Everything is going to be fine."

        Nina stopped texting, responding, "I know, Dad."

        He gave the girl a reassuring pat then took his seat in front of the group. "Andrei," he asked, "How did Christina look when you got here?"

        It took Andrei a moment to process the fact that someone was asking him a question. "I ... I didn't see her."

        "What do you mean you did not see her?" Alek interrogated testily. "What were you doing?"

        "I ..." Andrei started to explain nervously. "I was-"

        "Doc Stone already hit the road by the time we got the call, Mr. Levchenko," Steph said on her boyfriend's behalf. "We got here as soon as we could, but we had to stop by the store and get Boris. We dropped him off at my folk's place. Then we came straight here."

        Andrei resumed staring at the floor. He couldn't handle talking about anything. All he could focus on was that Christina was in some operating room and he was gripped by paralyzing distress at the thought that he might never see her again.

        "By the time we got to the hospital," Steph continued, "She was already being prepped for surgery." Seeing the state that Andrei was in, she resumed her failing effort to soothe her boyfriend by rubbing his back.

        Alek was more disappointed than irked that there was no information to share. He felt the overwhelming need to do something; anything. However, all he could do was sit and wait, the same as everyone else. He had to fight the impulse to return to the lobby to argue with the receptionist. Arguing at least had made him feel as though he was doing something.

 

        The family spent the next two hours wallowing in uncertainty and silence. There wasn't anything to say to diffuse the collective concern they felt for Christina and for each other. Misha at one point had enlisted Nina to venture with her to the hospital's cafeteria to retrieve coffee, water, and some stale sandwiches that had been cut into unappealing triangles with rough edges where bits of bread had crumbled off. The food was less about satisfying anyone's hunger than keeping people busy. Though Alek had managed to eat half of what looked like a tuna salad sandwich and the others had at least had something to drink, Andrei did not consume anything, nor did he utter a word.

        The silence, though not the tension, was broken when a nurse opened the door to the waiting room. "Mr. Levchencko?" she asked as she looked at the large man that sat on the other side of the room.

        "Yes," Alek answered as the others in the room stirred. He stood, confirming, "I am Alek Levchenko."

        "Your ... niece," she said as she double checked her clipboard, "... Christina? She's come out of surgery."

        "How is she?" Alek demanded.

        The nurse flipped some papers over the clipboard, answering, "You'll have to ask the doctor for details, but they were able to remove her ruptured appendix and she's in recovery."

         Alek commanded, "I will see her now."

        "Mr. Levchenko," the nurse insisted. "Your niece is still in PACU, she can't have visitors yet."

        "Why does no one speak English in this place?" the man growled.

        "She's in post anesthesia. You can see her once she's moved to secondary recovery."

        "I will see her now," Alek said, raising his voice.

        "Sir," the nurse countered, not backing down, "Only hospital staff is allowed in the post anesthesia care unit. You'll have to wait until she can be safely moved to secondary recovery."

        Before Alek could take out all his frustrations on the nurse Misha rose, saying, "Thank you. How long will it be until we may see her?"

        "It could be quite some time," the nurse answered."

        Enraged to be told to begin waiting all over again, Alek commanded, "I will see the doctor."

        "Mr. Levchenko, I will send the doctor in as soon as he is available."

        Alek grimaced though he held his tongue. He would have liked nothing more than to unleash a torrent of vitriol upon the woman, but it would have done nothing to alter the situation, and in truth it would not have made him feel any better. Resigned, he nodded and retook his seat.

        The nurse gave everyone in the room a final look to see if there were any other questions before leaving.

        Breaking the silence, Nina offered, "I guess that's good news, right?"

        "Of course it is," Misha added. "Andrei," she called to her son who looked like he was on the edge of a breakdown. "This is very good news."

        "Yeah," Andrei agreed weekly, though he knew the sickness in his stomach would not be quelled until he could see his cousin with his own eyes.

 

        It was over another hour before someone else came to the waiting room. A tall man wearing a white lab coat went to the middle of the room to where Alek was sitting. He acknowledged all the occupants of the room, though it was clear that he regarded Alek as the head of the assembly. The man had overly bushy eyebrows and his grey speckled hair was brushed back, exposing a receding hair line and a sharp widow's peak. He held out his hand to Alek as he said, "Mr. Levchenko, my name is Jerrold Redinger. I performed the procedure on your niece."

        Alek rose and shook the man's hand. Not bothering with any pleasantries, Alek again demanded, "I wish to see Christina."

        "Of course," he answered. "She's in recovery but she's still not conscious yet. You can see her, but it will have to be a short visit."

        Agreeing to the terms, Alek nodded.

        The doctor held the door of the waiting room open and waited until all of the family members were in the hallway. "I know you've had a long night and I appreciate your patience," he said as he started down the hallway. He knew from experience that there was nothing he could say to erase the frustrations of people that had been waiting for so long, but he found it was always best to acknowledge their discomfort. In truth, he too was exhausted from the unexpectedly long and delicate operation he'd just performed, though he regarded tending to his patient's loved ones as part of every treatment, and he approached that task with the same dedication that he expended on caring for the ill.

        The family followed Doctor Redinger down the hallway and past the Nurses' Station. When they came to a set of closed doors the doctor pressed a large button on the wall that caused a buzzing sound on the other side. The twin doors opened and the group passed through.

        A male nurse that was waiting on the other side complained, "Doctor, you know we only allow two visitors at a time."

        "It's alright Martin," the man dismissed with a gentle wave of his hand as the group continued. They entered a dimly lit room with a series of partitions along the perimeter. While each area was separated by a real wall, the entrances were blocked only by curtains that were hanging from serpentine tracks on the ceiling. Light leaked from underneath the drapes of some partitions while others were entirely dark. The doctor stopped in front of one of the dimly lit ones then pulled back the curtain.

        Christina was lying in a half upright position on a hospital bed. Her head was turned, resting on her right cheek, and an oxygen cannula was in her nose, hooked over her ears. Her eyes were closed and her face looked completely drained of all color. The dim florescent lighting only exacerbated the unnatural paleness of her skin and the large yellow brown marks on her arm where an IV had been inserted.

        Andrei swallowed as he saw the collection of tubes and wires that were strung between Christina and various pieces of equipment. She was surrounded by a sea of digital numbers and graphs. The instruments made constant noise, none of which made any sense to him. He thought he'd feel better when he finally saw his cousin, but if anything he felt worse. His breathing quickened when an alarm went off on one of the monitors, and he was shocked when the doctor fiddled with what looked like a plastic clothespin on Christina's limp finger to make it stop. He was sure that the alarm was important and he wanted desperately for someone to do something about it other than ignoring it.

        "Christina's appendix had already ruptured before she reached the hospital. When we operated, we saw that her peritoneum was inflamed." He took a pen out of the pocket of his lab coat and traced the area over Christina's abdomen and chest in the air. Normally we'd just have removed the inflamed appendix, but since it had broken open, we had to do our best to remove the fluids from the rupture. Right now we're treating her with large doses of antibiotics to treat the infection and we're monitoring her for sepsis."

        "What does that mean?" Alek asked.

        The doctor put his pen back into his pocket and explained, "It means we're not out of the woods yet. We'll continue treating the infection and inflammation and see how she responds. I've already put in orders to get her moved to a private room, but it will take a while to get everything ready."

        "When will we know if the treatment is working?" Misha asked.

        "We'll just have to wait and see," the doctor answered, "But she's getting the best treatment possible and we're watching for any signs of change in her condition. The best thing you can do now is to get some food, some rest, and check back tomorrow."

        Misha walked past Doctor Redinger into the curtain framed alcove and stood by her niece. "Oh Tina," she whispered as she moved a stray lock of blonde hair from the unconscious girl's face.

        "We will wait until her room is ready," Alek announced.

        "Mr. Levchenko..." the doctor started, but he gave in almost as soon as he had started. Doctor Redinger was already exhausted from the surgery, especially considering that he had not been on call this evening, and it was already well past midnight. "Okay," he agreed. "Brenda," he called to a passing nurse.

        The woman looked up from a clipboard, still half engaged in processing its contents.

        "Brenda, can you take the Levchenkos to a waiting room?"

        The nurse gave the man a look that said she didn't have time to spare.

        Doctor Redinger, sighed as he took the clipboard from her and read it over. "I'll take care of number four and I'll sign his admittance form so you don't have to chase down Samya. I'm sure she has quite a backlog tonight."

        "Alright Doctor," she ceded.

        Turing his attention back to the group, he finished, "Brenda will take you to somewhere you can relax. I'll make sure we send word as soon as Christina is moved upstairs. Does that sound good?"

        "Yes," Alek answered, though he was reluctant to leave Christina alone in such a place. The thought that it was only a temporary location was all that made it possible for him to agree to the terms.

        Doctor Redinger motioned to Brenda who then took charge as the group's escort.

        "If you would follow me," she beckoned as she led them back through the restricted area. The group started after her except for Andrei. He looked back at Christina and wished that he'd never come to see her. He'd been worried before, but now he was scared to death. Andrei looked to his side as he felt a smaller hand hold his.

        "Hey," Nina said as she looked up at her older brother. "We gotta go."

        "I know," he said as his voice cracked. He saw that Steph was waiting a few steps away with a concerned look on her face. "I know," he repeated more steadily as though he wasn't half a moment away from completely freaking out. Still holding his sister's hand, he followed along as he, Nina, and Steph caught up with his parents.

         The group came back to the Nurses' Station, then proceeded down a different hallway than they'd originally come from. The nurse stopped at a plain door that had a generic white faceplate that read "Family Room 12". There were no similar doors marked "Family Room" along the hallway, but it seemed reasonable to Nina that there could very well be at least eleven peers stashed away in the labyrinthine health complex.

        "Here we are," Nurse Brenda announced as she led the group into the room. It was smaller than the first waiting room, but it did have the benefit that it was not composed of glass, which would afford the family more privacy.

        "How long does it take to move someone to a room?" Misha asked, cutting off any opportunity for her husband to interrogate yet another innocent staff member.

        "I can't say for sure," Brenda said truthfully. "But we will send word as soon as your daughter is settled." She gave Misha a reassuring smile and left the family to process everything that had occurred.

        The word "daughter" swam around Andrei's head. It was just a small mistake - an assumption. What about the noises Christina's equipment was making that all the nurses were ignoring? How many small mistakes or oversights did it take before someone made a serious error?

        "I guess it's ... not so good," Nina said.

        Alek sat on the end of a plain white couch, which was hardly new, but given its clean state, had seen far less traffic than the furniture in the previous room. He patted the spot next to him, and Nina sat down, joined by her mother on the other side.

        "It has been a long day," the man said as though it were a decree rather than an observation. "I know you are scared for your cousin," he said to his daughter, "But there is no need to be afraid. Christina will have the finest doctors caring for her. I will see to that."

        Nina nodded, then leaned against her father. She was no longer a little girl and long ago stopped believing that her father had control over the world, but it was still reassuring to hear the man speak as though he did.

        Andrei, for his part, took no comfort from the display on the couch; if anything it had the opposite effect. He wandered to the corner of the room awash in his anxieties.

        "Hey," a voice came, distracting him from his thoughts. "Hey," Steph repeated as he focused on her face. "What's going on up there?" she asked.

        "Nothing," he lied.

        "It's me," Steph said through a worried frown. "You can talk to me."

        Andrei shook his head like he didn't know what she was talking about. "I don't have anything to talk about."

        Steph opened her arms to comfort her boyfriend, but Andrei stiffly put his hands up and shimmied out mid-hug.

        "I'm going for a walk," he announced as he went to the door.

        Starting after him, Steph offered, "Maybe you could use some company-" but she was cut off by a single raised hand.

        "I'll be back in a little while," Andrei said before exiting.

 

        It was nearly an hour and thirty five minutes later when there was a knock at the door. An unfamiliar person, whom everyone assumed to be another nurse based on the aquamarine scrubs the person was wearing entered the room. She looked down at some paperwork, asking, "Is this the Levcenko family?" She'd pronounced the "c" as though it were an "s".

        "Levchenko," Alek said as though he were gnawing on the name in his mouth. He was a moment from berating this person if she were going to waste their time.

        "Excuse me," she apologized. "I have a note here for you ... Your niece Christina has been moved to room twenty-three on Jefferson Seven."

        "Jefferson Seven?"

        "The Jefferson wing, Daddy," Nina clarified as she wiped the sleep out of her eyes. "I think that means the seventh floor."

        Alek stood from the couch and straightened his shirt. He demanded, "How do we get there?"

        "Well," the woman started, "If you walk down the hallway to the right, then take a right at the Nurses' Station, you'll eventually come to a bank of elevators ..." The nurse saw that everyone in the room was tired, and obviously had been at the hospital for a very long time. "You know what?" she offered, "How about I just take you there?"

        Alek nodded and made a gruff noise. It was the closest the man could manage to a proper thank you. "Come on," he commanded has he helped his wife up from the couch.

        Steph asked, "Shouldn't we wait for Andrei to get back Mr. L?"

        Not stopping, he answered, "I will not keep Tina waiting because Andrei has decided to go for a walk."

        Steph took her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans and sent her boyfriend another text message. As the group started down the hallway she tried making a call to see if that would get Andrei's attention. She heard the ring, which was coming from the other direction. She turned, seeing Andrei shuffling his large boot covered feet slowly down the poorly lit hospital hallway, his steps echoing. Lights five paces behind him automatically shut off, trailing him in darkness as he approached.

        Sprinting down the hallway, Steph called in as soft a tone as she could given that she was in a hospital, "What the Hell, Andrei? Why aren't you answering my texts?"

        "I told you I didn't want to talk," he growled.

        "Christina is finally out of ... whatever that awful place she was in. We're going to her room now."

        Andrei's head perked up as though he'd realized that he'd been sleeping in History class. "Oh," he said.

        "Oh," Steph repeated as she grabbed his enormous hand. "Come on. Let's catch up with everyone else before we get lost in here." She quickened their pace, and the two of them caught up with the others just as they were making their way into the elevators.

        Alek shot his son a cross look as he and his girlfriend joined them in the elevator.

        Though he had not seen it for a great while, Andrei knew that look all too well. That was the same look that asked what he was wasting all his time with in the barn; the look that demanded that Andrei grow up and take things more seriously.

        Nina, who had long ago deciphered the logic behind the layout of the hospital complex, was the first out of the elevator doors when they opened. She knew that they had to walk through a long corridor connecting the two wings. Since they were only on the fifth floor, Nina deduced that there would be another set of elevators once they crossed over. She walked confidently next to the nurse while her mother and father followed behind.

        Andrei hung back several paces. Steph was walking beside him with her arm around his. She was going to make every attempt to comfort her boyfriend, even if he didn't seem to welcome it at the moment.

        The group went through a long deserted corridor to the other wing. Normally the passageway would be filled with people going to and fro, but given the very late hour of the night, the only person they passed was a member of the custodial staff.

        After a short ride on a second set of elevators, the group entered the seventh floor of the Jefferson wing of the hospital. The floor was laid out as a large square with rooms on the outer edge and sandwiched in the middle. The nurse escorted the family to room twenty-three, which was a corner room on the outside of the square. Though the room was unlit, there was enough light coming in from the door to see that there was a single bed with a single occupant- Christina, who was still unconscious. Even though she was asleep, her face still somehow looked tired. It was almost as though she'd been through such a large trauma that she was merely not moving, rather than actually sleeping. While room was not very large, it was a private room, and there was window, through which one would have been able to see Castlerock Mountain, one of Dover's ski slopes, had the sun been up.

        "As you can see," the Nurse said, "She's all set here." Consulting her watch, the woman announced, "And given that it's two forty-seven in the morning, visiting hours have been over for quite some time. There's nothing you can do for her right now that we can't take care of. You should really get some rest and come back in the morning."

        Alek stared at the girl in the bed and slowly nodded. "When will she be awake?" the man asked.

        "I uh ..." the nurse started. The wall opposite the bed was covered by undistinguished wooden cabinets. They looked like the cheapest set that someone could buy from a large anonymous furniture store. One cabinet with a full size door had a small whiteboard mounted on it with a thin plastic bin on the side. The woman removed a manila folder from the bin and started looking through the pages. "Looks like she could be up in a couple of hours or so. It's tough to say, but I'm sure you'll have someone to talk to in the morning." She looked at the summary on the front cover. "Doctor Redinger," she read aloud. "She's in good hands ..." her voice trailed off as she reread the cover sheet. Looking back at the girl in the bed, the nurse added, "That can't be right."

        "What can not be right?" Alek demanded.

        The nurse looked at the girl then back at the papers. "It's says ... you know what, it's probably just a typo. You all should get some rest. I'll take this back to the nurse on duty to get straightened out." The nurse assembled the rest of the papers that were in the tray and headed for the door. "Take your time, but really, there's nothing else for you to do tonight."

        Alek nodded as the woman left. The family gathered around the mountainous man and looked upon Christina together. After a silent shared moment, Alek turned around and addressed the group. "Everything will be fine," he said with great certainty. Turning to his son, he said, "Andrei, come with me."

        Andrei gave a look at Steph, then followed his father out into the hallway. He trailed the older man until they were far enough down the dark hallway so that no one else would be close enough to hear them.

        "Andrei," the man started. "I will remain here with your cousin. I will not have her waking up alone in a strange place."

        "Okay," Andrei said as he started to wrap his mind around what his father was saying. "I'll stay too."

        "No," Alek commanded as he shook his head. "I need you to take care of your sister and your mother. Stephanie too."

        Andrei held his breath. He couldn't shake the feeling that they'd had this conversation before.

        Alek retrieved his wallet from his pocket and started shuffling through some bills. Eventually he exhaled as though nothing in his wallet mattered, and handed the entire thing to his son. "Check into a hotel and make sure everyone gets some rest."

        "But-"

        "Do this for me Andrei!" Alek insisted, "I need you to be in charge now."

        Andrei's heart sank at those words. His throat choked up a bit and he struggled for a gasp of air. "But ... how about," he looked his father in the eyes, pleading, "What if I stay? You can go with Mom, and I'll stay-"

        "Andrei," Alek interrupted, "Please do as I say. I need you to take charge tonight. And tomorrow I will need you take everyone home. You may visit Christina in the morning, but then I need your mother back home to run the store. I'm sure you have work to do for your business. For Christina's business."

        Andrei's hands began to shake a bit. He was overcome with terror though he wasn't sure why.

        "Andrei," Alek said in what he intended to be a reassuring way. "Do not fret. I will bring her back."

        With those words, Andrei's heart sank, "No," he pleaded, "Let me stay."

        "No," Alek barked, "And that is final. I know that it is not easy, but I need you to be a man. For the good of everyone."

        "Okay," Andrei surrendered as he looked at the ground. "I'll take care of it."

        Alek gave his son a pat on the side of his shoulder, adding. "Good."

        The two walked back to the hospital room. Andrei felt as though his stomach had dropped out of his body and was still lying at the other end of the hall. The men returned to find the women standing beside Christina's bedside. None of them were speaking though it was as if they were all engaged in a silent prayer.

        "It is late." Alek announced. "Andrei will take you to a hotel. I will remain here with Christina."

        "That is a very good idea," Misha agreed as she corralled Nina and Steph, guiding them towards the door. "Do not worry Nina," she added, "We will see your cousin in the morning." She gave Alek's hand a squeeze as she passed the man.

        "Do we have everything?" Andrei choked. A nod from Steph allowed him to conclude, "Good ... then uh ... let's go." He didn't inspire the same sort of confidence as his father, but then again, confidence was something Andrei certainly did not feel. Regardless, as he lead the women out of the room, he was going to do his best to fake it. "I think it's this way," he said, pointing down a dark hallway.

         "Actually, I think the elevator is that way," Nina said pointing in the other direction.

        "Right," he said, as he followed Nina in the other direction. "That's what I meant."

        The group followed Nina through the hospital from one elevator, to another, and finally back to the Emergency Room entrance on the ground floor. When they left the building, Andrei again took the lead. The women followed him through the parking lot until they reached Christina's old Saab.

        After unlocking the doors, Andrei pulled Steph aside as his mother and Nina crammed into the back seat. "I'm sorry," he said.

        Steph insisted, "You don't have to apologize."

        "Look," Andrei asked, "do you think you can find a hotel on your phone?" Not only was Steph's cell phone more advanced than Andrei's, she actually knew how to work hers.

        "Find a hotel- we live in the future. I can book a hotel."

        "Great," he said as he fumbled in his pocket for the car keys. The keys worked their way loose and fell on to the pavement. Grunting, Andrei bent down quickly, smacking his head on the side of the car as he dropped. When he rose, he was holding the keys in his fist. Something in his mind snapped and he punched his fist as hard as he could into the car door, leaving a dent.

        "Hey!" Steph shouted, "What is going on with you?"

        Andrei let out a long sigh as he opened his hand and saw the small, but bloody cuts the keys had left in his palm. "Steph," he said, his voice almost cracking, "I'm fine. Just figure out the hotel for me."

        "You got it," Steph said, though she really wished that Andrei would actually talk to her. She went to the other side of the car and got in. She was soon joined by Andrei who started the car.

        Nina shuffled uncomfortably in the back of the car as Steph adjusted the seat in front of her. It was a miracle that Christina's old Saab still ran, but even when it was in top condition, the two door car was never a particularly comfortable ride for anyone who sat in the back. As Steph pulled her seat forward, something sparkled in the faint light that trickled in from the parking lot lamps.

        The girl leaned over and retrieved a small black box that was decorated with a sparkly silver bow. Nina was about to say something to her mother, but looking over she saw that the older woman had a concerned look, concentrating on her son in the front seat. Nina pulled at the end of the bow, but decided against opening the gift which was certainly not hers. Unsure what to make of it, she concealed the box by her side.

        "You're gonna want to turn left on the way outta here," Steph instructed, reading directions from her phone.

        Andrei did not respond but he did as he was told.

 

        Christina Chase opened her eyes. At least, she thought she did. She wasn't sure, because even though she'd felt her eyelids open, she couldn't see anything but darkness. Her mind felt sluggish, as though her thoughts were under water, struggling to move as quickly as they normally might. Her body felt cold, though she was sweating. Something was wrong.

        Eyes. Green eyes. Eyes that looked so much like hers. That was the last image in her mind. She should be terrified, and she was, but not because of the last thing she'd seen. She was alone and in the dark. Was she dead? That would have made sense she thought. She wasn't sure, but she thought the last thing she could remember was dying. Not panic attack dying, actual dying. Was this what being dead was like?

        Christina started to move. She moved her feet ever so slightly. Then her arms. She felt a pinch in the bend of the elbow on her left arm. She reached over with her right hand and felt a tube. There was a tube attached to her left arm.

        "What's going ..." she said as her brain finished with the word, "on?" She began to sit up but her body halted from the intense pain emanating from her right side.

        "Haaaaah", she shuddered. She tried to lower herself back down, but it seemed like any exertion of her muscles made the pain worse. Her hands tensed as they grabbed the rails of her bed, something that made the pain in her side and the tiny pinch where the tube entered her arm hurt more.

        That's when Christina saw a shape emerge from the darkness on her left side. Of all the frightening things she'd experienced that night, that should have been the most frightening of all, but there was something familiar about the shape that put her at ease. One hand supported the girl under her back while the other cradled her head as they lowered Christina gently back onto the bed.

        "Tina," Alek warned as his face came into his niece's view, "Do not strain yourself."

        "Uncle Alek?" Christina pleaded. "Where are we? What happened to me?" Her thoughts, which had been sluggish and unfocused, were now racing in her mind as they processed the darkness and the intense pain.

        Alek placed his hand on his niece's head and stroked her hair. "Tina," he said softly. "Tina," he repeated, this time commanding the girl's attention. "You are in the hospital. You have had an accident." Alek was fairly certain that "accident" was not the correct term, but that wasn't important right now. "You had an accident but you will be alright."

        Christina nodded slowly. She felt completely disoriented and untethered to the world except for the feeling of her uncle's hand on her head. "It hurts," she winced.

        "I know Sweetheart," Alek said as he reached for a plastic bulb hanging from a wire on the wall. He felt the button on its tip and pressed it, summoning the nurse. He would ensure that she had enough pain medication to allow her to rest until the sun came up. "I will make sure the pain goes away."

        "Where am I?" Christina asked again more out of confusion than fear.

        "You are in the hospital, Tina," Alek explained as he put his hand on her forehead. Having been a father for so many years, Alek did not need a thermometer to tell that his niece had a fever.

        "I think I had a really bad dream," she confessed. "I just ... I had a really bad dream ... and I don't understand what's going on."

        "It's alright Tina," Alek soothed. He knew that a nurse would soon arrive to administer pain killers and perhaps a sedative. "It was just a dream. You need rest, so you must go back to sleep."

        "But-"

        "All you need to know," Alek interrupted softly, "is that I am watching, and I will let no harm come to you."

        "You won't leave me?" the girl asked.

        "I will remain with you, and when you wake up I will still be here. I promise."

        Christina was lost in a haze of sharp pain and the heat that was radiating from her skin, but when her uncle promised her something, she believed it. She grasped the hand that Alek had placed on her brow, holding it by two of his large fingers. Pulling it down, she held it against her cheek and closed her eyes. She thought that if she held on to that hand, maybe she wouldn't get lost. Maybe she wouldn't get stuck in the cracks between this world and whatever comes next like the girl with the lonely green eyes.

---

Edited into coherence by Holly H. Hart.

Thanks to Sephrena Miller for taking an early read.