"Sarah?"

"Oh, that won't work on her. She's never been called Sarah. It's always been Lily."

"Ah, well... Lily? Lily, dear, can you hear my voice? Squeeze my fingers if you can..."

Lily's eyes flew open and she struggled to get herself upright and back against the wall, frightened. She took a few seconds to glance around her, before she took a breath and tried to focus on the two people standing by her bed. The room was too bright- she squinted and went to put a hand over her eyes, but noticed her wrist was strapped loosely to a rail along the mattress. Confused, the girl frowned down at her hands, before her eyes adjusted and she looked up at the people- a concerned looking man with his hand almost touching her shoulder, and a woman just behind him with a clipboard. They were dressed in scrubs, but she definitely wasn't in a hospital. They looked far too friendly for that.

Lily frowned at them for a moment, before trying to speak.

"Where am I?"

Her voice came out rough, unused, and her throat grated at the effort. She cleared it uncomfortably as the man smiled.

"You're somewhere safe, Dr Thomas' facility. We're looking after you."

"Who are you?"

"We're your nurses. We're here to make sure you wake up safe and healthy. We've run our checks, and you look fine." The man smiled. "So it's all good, really."

The nurse behind him nodded, scribbling something down then smiling at Lily.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Miss Carter," she said happily. Lily nodded a little, looking around the room again.

"How long have I been out?"

The two looked at each other then, and Lily saw the doubt in their faces. She felt her heart clench, suddenly aware that she didn't know anything about where she was and why. She felt fear well up in her stomach.

"Long enough. We'll come to that in a moment, though, alright? We need to see what you know, and what you can remember," the man said kindly. Lily couldn't understand why, but she felt like she knew him. Trusted him, even, despite herself. She nodded, and he smiled.

"Here..." He undid the cuffs around her wrists, and helped her spin so her legs were over the edge of the bed. "Don't move too quickly- you haven't quite healed just yet."

The mattress was high, so her feet dangled in mid air. Lily savoured the feeling, noticing she was wearing a plain grey cotton dress that she didn't remember owning. The male nurse took the clipboard from the female.

"Right, Lily, I want you to answer me honestly. Don't be afraid if you don't know something, this is just to see where you are. We want to help you."

Frightened, Lily just nodded, and watched him. His name badge said 'Dr Gale'. That seemed to trigger a memory. Subconsciously, she raised a hand to her neck, and closed her fingers around nothing. Why did she feel like something was missing?

"Okay. Can you tell me your full name, and your age please?"

Lily licked her lips.

"Sarah-Lily Carter. I'm... I'm fourteen," she said cautiously. Dr Gale nodded as he ticked something on the clipboard.

"Good. When were you born?"

"I think... first of March, 1946."

"Mmhm. And where?"

"Brooklyn, New York."

"Who is your mother?"

Lily shook her head a little as a familiar image popped into it, a fond memory of sorts.

"Peggy Carter. But her real name is Margaret."

The doctor smiled, nodded, and then he composed himself.

"So it is. Now, Lily, this might get a little difficult, but I want you to tell me the last thing you remember. Don't be afraid if you're not sure, we just want to see how well you've been preserved."

Lily started a little at the word 'preserved'. What on earth did that mean? The woman behind Dr Gale seemed a little startled too. Still, Lily frowned and tried to remember.

"I...oh, God... I think I got up for school, got ready, kissed my mum goodbye, and then..." She blinked as she noticed a blank spot. "I'm not sure."

Dr Gale watched her carefully, then set his pencil scribbling again. He looked a little wary all of a sudden.

"That's better than we thought. Well done, dear."

"Where is my necklace?"

The doctor seemed more startled.

"We...we've kept it safe. Don't you worry about that."

There was a pause as Lily digested this.

"Dr Gale, where am I really? Why did you call me 'preserved'?"

Dr Gale didn't answer for a moment, just looked at his assistant behind him. When she offered no answer, he looked back at Lily and smiled as kindly as possible.

"You're too clever for me," he chuckled. He turned and nodded once to the nurse, who walked out of the room. "We've got someone here who's been desperate to see you. We thought you'd rather speak to him than us."

"Him?" Lily questioned, baffled. The doctor said no more, simply smiled at her again.

"Just wait here," he promised, leaving the room. After but a minute or two, the door re opened and Lily's heart accelerated as she saw who had been waiting outside.