The first time I open my eyes I know that I feel very different and I am not sure why. I can feel that I am wearing something smooth like I haven't worn in a very long time. My head hurts like I have never hurt before and the rest of my body just hurts. When I try to move my head I find that I am completely immobilized and I start to panic until I see Kaleb come into view.
"My Dear, please don't panic. You have had a few surgeries since we were in Yellowstone. Dr. Charles found out why you were having the blackouts, and that has been corrected. Also, your lungs have been taken care of, and they are both working fine now. Dr. Charles was quite surprised that you were even able to survive with your lungs as compromised as they were." I swallow and try to remember coming here, but I can't remember much after arriving at Yellowstone.
"Kaleb, why don't I remember Yellowstone?"
A guarded look comes over his face. "You don't remember Yellowstone at all?"
"No. Did we get to the Grand Tetons or did we forget that park? It seems like we were kinda tied up with other activities and kinda forgot that one."
"Yeah, we kinda forgot that one. We flew over it though." Kaleb reaches down and kisses me a quick kiss on the lips before he tells me that he had better go and get Dr. Charles and let him know that I am awake.
I can tell that something is bothering him so before he is able to walk away I ask him point blank what is going on. "Kaleb, something is wrong. What is it? Have the surgeries not gone well? Is that why I can't move? What is it you don't want to tell me? What is Dr. Charles going to tell me? Is he going to tell me that he has done everything he can for me, but now I can't walk? Is that it? Is that why I am immobilized?"
"Maria, that is not it." There is soothing tone in his voice that I must say I have heard too often in my life and usually when I am asking questions that the person doesn't want to answer. I look up at him and he can see in my eyes that I am not going to let this go. "Let me go and get Dr. Charles and he will explain everything." Leaning over one more time he kisses me, but this one has more passion. "I have missed you, My Dear." Missed me? How long have I been out of it?
While he is out of the room I look around and I am surprised to see not a glass box like I was in at the last lab, but more like an actual bedroom. There is an IV stand next to my bed with something dripping into me, and there are side rails on the bed. Otherwise this may have been a bedroom in any home. There is a huge closet, a couple of chests of drawers, and this bed that I am in is amazing. If anyone could picture an antique four poster bed, that is what this looks like. The carpet on the floor looks to be thick and fluffy; not the cold, sterile wood floor of the lab. To my surprise there is also a fireplace with a huge wooden mantle. I hear the door open and I turn my eyes over to it to see Dr. Charles come in.
"Well, well, well, it looks like you have finally come back to the land of the living! It is good to see your eyes open again. How do you feel?"
How do I feel? How does he think I would feel? "My head hurts and my whole body feels like it has been gone over with a potato peeler." At his raised eyebrows and his smile I get the feeling that he wasn't quite expecting that graphic of an answer. "One good thing, I can breathe better than I have in a long time. Kaleb said the surgery on my lungs went well."
"All of the surgeries that have been done have gone better than expected, except the last one." Uh oh, what went wrong? Is that why I can't move? "The last surgery in this round was to take care of some of the musculature issues that you have been dealing with since those villains had their way with you." Musculature issues? "We tried to replace some of your cut up muscles with donated tissue. Only part of it took though. One of your arms has been repaired, but the other one we are waiting on. We decided to let you heal up a bit before undergoing anything else. You will have to use a sling for a bit." A sling? Is that all? Why would Kaleb have an issue with that?
When Dr. Charles sits down on the edge of the bed and looks me in the eyes, I know that he is being extremely serious. "Now, Kaleb told me that you have no memory of what took place in Yellowstone. Is that correct?" I nod with my eyes. "I can understand why your brain would want to forget that." He shakes his head. "To be honest with you, I am pretty upset with you over that whole incident. Knowing that we were three days out from your first surgery, how could you have tried to commit suicide?" Suicide? What? I must have looked distressed because Dr. Charles tries to calm me down right away. "Obviously it didn't work, but it was close enough to give us all a scare. When Kaleb brought you in here and told me what happened I almost called everything off. I will not do anymore surgeries until you can assure me that suicide is no longer an option."
"Sir, I don't remember what happened, but I have always been against suicide. Something major must have happened to make me feel that desperate. I can assure you that it will not happen again." Suicide? Is that what Kaleb didn't want to tell me? What happened to make me do something that horrible? I see the door gently open and Kaleb comes in.
Dr. Charles looks up at him and assures him that I have agreed not to pull anything like I did in Yellowstone again. Immediately that smile that I have come to love comes on his face and relief shines out from his eyes like I have never seen before.
"Well, young man, now that you are here, maybe you can inform Maria what the agenda is for the rest of the week, seeing as how she has finally come back to us."
I have to interrupt here. "First of all, can I have some questions answered?" They look at each other and then nod. "How long have I been here?"
Sitting on the other side of my bed Kaleb answers that one. "You have been here for four months." Four months? How can that be? How can it be that I have lost four months of my life? Taking my hand in his, Kaleb raises it to his lips. "During that time, Dr. Charles did five surgeries on you and a plastic surgeon came in to work on your face. I think you will like the outcome of that one very much. In looking through your duffel bag I found an old driver's license from before your attack. Using that picture, the surgeon was able to reconstruct your face pretty well. You will never have to wear a scarf over your face again."
"Why can I not move my arms or hands?"
