Slava slept as the world spun on without her. Her husband sat beside her. He wanted an answer but so far no one had it. The machine that kept track of the beats of her heart with its insesent beeps that nearly drove him insane. It was the only thing that kept her tethered to the world.

Hans lifted her lifeless hand and pressed her palm against his cheek. He closed his eyes and felt tears rolling from his eyes.

He remembered how blue his eyes were. They were as blue and to Hans they were as precious as the Hope Diamond. Now they seemed to be lost forever.
He remembered her voice and how she would chastise his scruff just last year .

He remembered sitting in the lounge chair by the roaring fire; the Christmas Tree lights reflected in the glass. He felt Slava's delicate hand on his cheek.

"You need to shave."

Hans gave a slight smile, "Am I getting too scruffy?"

Slava smiled and handed him a beer, "Just a little."

Hans twisted the cap off the bottle and took a swig of beer.

"It'll be okay."

"Still believe in miracles, I see."

"Of course. It's Christmas-" She moved sat in his lap, "It's the time for miracles." She kissed him.

"I love you, Slava." He held her close.

Lost in his memory, he jumped when he heard the door open.

"Oh, Hello..."The young doctor smiled. He wrote on his clipboard in the crook of his arm.

Quickly, Hans wiped this eyes and cheeks free of tears.

"How are you feeling today?"

I'm going crazy just sitting here." Hans said lacing his fingers with hers.

"I can tell you really love her."

Hans looked down at Slava, "She is my wife, I want to do what I can to take care of her."

"I probably shouldn't tell you this but..." The doctor let the sentence drop as he wrote something down.

"But what?"

"There is a treatment that she could respond to." Hans couldn't believe his ears, "You mean, Slava could wake up?"

"Yes in theory."

Hope dangled in front of his face like a carrot, whatever the theory this doctor presented he would take it.

"But Mr. Grubber the treatment is really expensive."

"I don't care, I'll pay whatever the price." Hans was serious about that.

"Can you pay this?" He asked as he scrawled his pen across the bottom corner of the clipboard and tore a piece of paper off the bigger sheet of paper and handed it to him.

Hope deflated from his face when he saw the extravagant price of this theory. It would take a miracle for him to get that sorta money.

Hans looked down at his sleeping wife. he knew exactly what Slava would have said had she been awake, "It's Christmas," He told the doctor, "It's the time for miracles."

With that he set about to get the money...