"She's waking up"
The voice sounded far away and quiet to a seventeen year old Erin as her eyes flickered open. She turned her head to try and locate the source of the voice but immediately regretted it when a shooting pain shot through her skull. She let out a small moan and immediately closed her eyes again.
"Erin?" the voice came again and she felt a small amount of pressure on her hand "Can you squeeze my hand?"
Erin grasped the speakers fingers that were in her hand and gave the a gentle squeeze, mustering up all the strength she can manage
"Good girl" the voice said in an encouraging manner "Now can you open your eyes for me"
Erin wrenched her eyes open and blearily tried to focus on her surroundings. Her mind was a fog of emotions and thoughts all jumbled together but she could just make out she was in a starch white room which smelt heavily of disinfectant. In front of her was a doctor shining a light in her eyes and asking her more questions than she could keep up with. Her stomach lurched as she realised where she was and she started to panic
"Stay calm for me" the doctor said gently noticing the girl's rapidly increasing heart rate
"Leo…" Erin managed to blurt out in between trying to get mouthfuls of air into her lungs
The doctor called to a nurse who exited the room before turning back to the young girl and placing an oxygen mask over her face. Erin batted the mask away and scrunched up her eyes again
"Erin…" a new voice had entered the room and she knew immediately who it was. Erin wrenched open her eyes and saw Leo standing in front of her with a concerned look in his eyes. She held out her arms like a small child waiting for a hug would do and Leo can over and sat next to her on the bed, holding her close to him in his arms
"It's okay I've got this" Erin heard him tell the doctor and soon they were left alone again
A wave of emotion washed over Erin and before she knew it she had part of Leo's shirt bunched up in her fist and was making his shoulder wet with her hot tears
"It's alright" he soothed her, gently rocking her backwards and forwards in a gentle motion "You're going to be fine"
Eventually Erin's tears subsided and she regained the power of speech "I don't like hospitals" she blurted out
"I know you don't" Leo said gently, helping her lay back down and then tucking the sheets around her like one would do to a small child
"I want to go home" she said grasping his hand tightly
"I know you do" he said sitting down on a chair next to the bed "But you cant just yet"
"Why not?" Erin said as some fresh tears formed in her eyes
"Erin, do you remember what happened?" Leo asked
Erin shook her head and winced as a bolt of pain flashed through her skull
"You had a fall" Leo said but Erin just looked at him blankly
She was about to ask another question when the door opened and the doctor she had seen earlier re-entered the room
"How are we feeling?" he asked her checking the monitor she was hooked up to
"My head hurts" she said reaching up to touch it but she was soon swiftly stopped by Leo
"I'm not surprised" the doctor smiled at her "You took a nasty fall"
"Can't remember" Erin said looking worried
"That can happen with a head injury" the doctor said explaining it to her "It will come back to you eventually"
"I want to go home" she said to Leo again
"We want to keep you in for a bit longer to make sure you're okay, I wouldn't be doing my job properly otherwise"
"I won't tell anyone" Erin protested
"Sorry" the doctor said apologetically "You're going to have to stay with us for a couple of days"
Erin looked across at Leo, hoping he would tell the doctor to discharge her immediately but he gave her an apologetic shrug "Get some rest now" he told her
"Don't go" she said feeling the fatigue flow through her body
"I'll be here when you wake up"
Erin mumbled something and soon fell into a deep sleep
A few hours later the door clicked open again, Leo looked up and smiled as he saw Nikki and Harry enter the room
"How is she?" Nikki asked quietly so not to disturb Erin who was fast asleep in the bed or Alice who was fast asleep in the baby car seat that was hooked onto Harry's arm
Leo sighed "She's okay, not very happy about being in hospital though. When she first woke up and realised where she was she had a panic attack"
"It's hardly surprising given what she's been through and you know she's had a lot of bad experiences with hospitals in the past" Harry said setting the baby carrier down
"Hello, little one" Leo smiled down at the young baby who was just beginning to wake up
"She's teething" Nikki told him and Leo pulled a face
"How long are they keeping her in for?" Harry asked gesturing to the sleeping girl
"A couple of days, they just want to make sure there's no long term damage"
Harry nodded "Have they found out what happened?"
Leo shook his head "One of the teachers just found her unconscious at the bottom of a flight of stairs. She might have just passed out or tripped"
"Or she was pushed…" Harry said but was soon reprimanded with a stern look from Nikki
"I'm sure she'll tell us when she's good and ready, Leo you know Erin's not one to keep secrets like that" Nikki said and Leo nodded
Alice let out a small shriek as she started to wake up properly and Erin stirred in the bed at the noise
"Alice…" Harry said tickling the young girl
Erin mumbled and opened her eyes as Leo helped her sit up in the bed
"How are you feeling?" Nikki asked with concern
"My head hurts" Erin replied for the third time that day earning a sympathetic look from both Harry and Nikki
"Had it come back to you what happened?" Leo asked
"A bit" Erin said scrunching up her eyes "I remember Mr Peter's repeatedly calling my name"
"He was the one that found you" Leo told her and she nodded
"Do you remember anything before you fell?" Harry asked her
"I didn't feel well this morning" Erin finally admitted
"Why didn't you tell me?" Leo asked looking extremely concerned
"You would only have worried and then you would have made me stay off school and I would have missed art" she reasoned
"You're going to miss more art now than you would have done if you'd stayed at home" Harry told her but Erin just scowled in reply
"You should have told me" Leo said frowning slightly
"I'm sorry" Erin said sounding genuinely apologetic
"I'm just glad you're alright" Leo said giving her hand a gentle squeeze
"We all are" Harry added and Erin gave a weak smile "You gave us quite a scare when we heard you'd been taken to hospital"
"Can I go home yet?" she asked
"Erin!" Leo sighed but the smile on his face betrayed his tone
Erin gave a weak smile and tried to stifle a yawn
"We'll leave you to get some rest" Nikki said noticing the signs of tiredness Erin was presenting "We'll come back and see you tomorrow"
Erin nodded and turned to Leo "Will you stay?"
"Of course I will" Leo told her "For as long as you want"
Erin smiled sleepily and soon was drifting off back into a peaceful slumber safe in the knowledge that Harry, Nikki and Leo would always be there to pick up the pieces even if they couldn't catch her when she fell.