Normal. The word seemed to haunt her each and every time people told her that her normal would return to her. What was normal for this kind of situation? Christina had finally finished her last therapy appointment, physical therapy that was. The months had come and gone and to her it felt like she had sat on the sidelines of life as each and every person around her carried on. Christina knew herself she had a longer ride ahead of her, yes she could run, jog and stand on one leg for the required amount of time. Each test longer than the last and the same four white washed walls became home for so long she could barely remember what the outside world looked like.

The nightmares those were different. Usually she would end up screaming before realising that it was just that, a nightmare. There were times in the day she felt she had seen Smiley's face, she could feel that knife against her skin again and the bullet wounds still ached from time to time if she thought about it. The physical side was much easier than the mental side, she knew that much but her appointments for a shrink were few and far between now. In her own mind she felt ready for the outside world again, rehab had done its job and she had sat in that single bedroom long enough.

Lady Penelope had insisted on it, state care was fine and well but no she had been shoved into to a white washed room to battle on instead of being at home and fighting with Bill and Cookie. Even visitors were put off by the sterile environment but she still managed to have a few and through the wonders of technology she saw a few familiar faces on her laptop screen now and again. Those she found were the good kind of visitors; the ones where she only had to show a happy smiley face for while. No one looked anywhere else and she could get away with the 'I'm fine' most of the time.

Christina felt as if she had taken up residence inside the rehab centre, the constant talking and therapy followed by a healthy eat this and run to that. One foot in front of the other like a robot and for all Christina knew it was the very thing she had turned into. It had been three months since the Gala, since the night that John said he loved her and she returned the sentiment. Her last appointment, her last day in prison as she called it and now all she wanted to do was go home and try to put together whatever pieces of her life were left for her.

Even with her stay in the facility Christina had visitors much to her dislike when they appeared in person, it wasn't that she disliked people to talk to. The update from family and friends was welcome but she never wanted them to see her struggling or anything less than put together. It was why she had told no one about her freedom day, the one day when she could walk out of the front door on her own with no walking stick, no nurse hovering with a chair and no need to stop walking after ten minutes. No she was now under her own steam. It took less than five minutes to gather her things from her room and even the walk to the front door was faster than normal.

Christina could feel her hand start to sweat as she pushed the cold metal button to open the door. The shrill beep pierced her ears followed by the streams of sunlight that shone just a few inches inside the doorway. Christina put one foot in front of the other until she stood on the sidewalk, her bag in hand as she gasped for breath. For the first time there was nothing wrong, no need to be out of breath other than the reality she had finally made it back into the outside world as she turned back to look at that simple door. Was it strange to feel the sudden wave of emotion that hit her, the simple things in life seemed so much sweeter now as she felt the sting of tears roll down her cheeks.

The tears followed by her own laugh that sent shivers through her. A laugh she hadn't heard for a long time as she wiped the emotion from her face leaving just a wide smile behind while she took a few steps along the sidewalk. She would have kept moving had it not been for the familiar voice that called out from behind her. Christina stopped for a moment, her feet about to turn when she realised that the one moment in life she wanted someone to be there. That one moment she wanted John to be there she hadn't told anyone at all. Shaking the voice from her mind she started to walk off again.

"So is that how it's going to be now?" John called out casually.

He had been sat outside the building for the last two hours waiting for Christina; he had asked her over and over again when her last day there was. Each and every time he had the same answer that she had no idea or the doctor wanted to keep her for an unknown number of days. John had no other choice than to do the next best thing, he had Brains do some digging to find him a date and time. John watched Christina turn around, the shocked face that turned to him as he smiled right back at her. He had been working at the farm on and off splitting his time between that and Thunderbird Five.

Today was just a day he had to be there and right then, seeing her smile John knew he had made the right choice. Even when he saw her drop her bag with the look of shock on her face, even as he watched her run those few steps toward him. Yeah, he could take any amount of upset for just that one sight. John slid his arms around her, holding her close to him in that moment he knew yet again that she was the best thing that ever happened to him. He couldn't help but slide his hands over her sides, the sides that were different now. He knew that she had told him not to expect the person she had been before but John could still feel her ribs under his fingers.

Those first weeks he knew she had practically been a skeleton of herself; he thought it might have changed more though the doctors he had spoken to warned him not to expect miracles. It took time to regain muscle and tissue, time to regain what had been lost and time was the one thing John wanted back. Even knowing what the doctors told him, John had no clue what to expect but as his hands slid over her sides and her back he could feel the improvements. Was it as far as he thought, no but then it was hardly a week off work she had been taken. Between the coma and now, it was over six months. A long time and a lot of work but John knew he had the easy side of it all. All he had to do was just wait and see and what he saw took his breath away.

The curvy, athletic figure from before was still there in a bare bones sort of way though time had almost demolished it. A few months ago John didn't even think that he would have seen Christina run or smile again let alone anything else. Christina wrapped herself around John, arms, legs she didn't much care right then because he was right there with her. The man who had stood by her through the mood swings, the craziness that had gone on in her life and he was still standing at the end of it. Standing and looking just as he used to, not the tired John she had seen at the Gala or the days after that. No this John, this was the John she had fallen in love with she thought as her lips sought his. His cheek, his lips again before she buried her head in his neck.

"How did you know?" Christina whispered lightly, holding onto John.

"Oh you know me, I have my ways." John replied grinning as he kissed every inch of her he could reach. The look of pride and admiration clear on his face. "Looks like it was a good job or you'd be walking home right now."

Christina just laughed and nodded, she had never thought about what she was going to do once she escaped the rehab centre. Her one aim was just to get out, to get out and walk wherever she could. Beyond that she hardly cared as she smiled up at the blonde haired Tracey. She was glad he was there with her, the one face she wanted to see more than ever because she could see how much it meant to him.

"So are you going to take me home or do we have other plans?" Chris asked as she smirked at John.

The two had talked a lot, phone, email and visiting hours but to finally get five minutes in the outside world with him. It felt like that first kiss or the first glance as her heart felt like it was flying. Talking could be overrated when all she wanted to do was feel his hand around hers. The warmth of his embrace or even the whispers words that she could carry on with everything. A screen image was great but nothing could compare to the person stood there with her.

"We can go home; I know there are a few people there who want to see you." John offered finding it hard not to smile at the beautiful woman in his arms.

With that John made sure to pick her up princess style as he carried her back to get her bag before grabbing it with ease. John made sure once they got back to the truck that he placed her firmly in the seat. He disregarded the slight protest about walking as he shut the door and jogged around to the driver's side. Even then John made sure to check her seat belt as if she was a five years old. He could already feel the glare he got for the move but it was her first day on the outside. He didn't want to be responsible for putting her back any steps.

"You know I can fasten my own belt right?" Christina said a little sharply, "There was a class on that in there, I can lift a ten pound weight and I can punch a bag filled with sand. I can even walk over a thousand yards now without getting tired or worn out. You don't need to baby me."

"Chris, I..." John began before seeing the look on her face. "Yeah okay, check your own belt."

As John reached to start the truck, Christina made sure to shut the engine off for a moment before she started to fuss with John's seatbelt. She avoided his hands that tried to bat her own away as she tugged at it and sure it was in working order before she gave him a thoughtful look for a moment.

"Now you're good to go too." She added smirking as she settled back into the seat. "So feel free to remember your highway code and get going."

For a moment all John could do was gaze at her, the way she laughed and smiled never got old at all. Even if she was teasing him or driving him mad about something he would never swap that sight or sound for anything else. The drive was a relatively quiet one, mixed with talk and silence though John felt relaxed even in those silent moments. There was little need to talk over it and even the glances between the two on the drive home said most of what needed to be talked over.

John felt that since they had reconnected at the Gala, talking was all they had done. About what things were going on in life, family, the relationship they had and wanted. Even about John's visits to the hospital came up though John found it a little too painful at times which usually meant the subject was changed pretty quickly. The one thing they never talked about was the missing time when Alan and Christina had been taken. The time when John knew Mr. Smiley had Christina and Alan, which was something John, had tried to ask her about but as soon as he did. He had his answer that talking about that time wasn't going to happen at all.

They both had their sticking points about talking; John could barely admit to the conversations he had while she was unconscious. Christina dare not talk about her time with Alan in that room or any time after that. Even when she thought that John must have has questions or something to say, she could barely bring herself to voice any of it. It took her long enough to get a full night's sleep and there were still days she would wake screaming or worse she managed to fall silent because she had no idea why she was doing what she was doing. Her brain would heal, she had been told that a thousand times but Christina wanted it healed already. The nightmares and forgetting how or why, it frustrated her and now she was outside in the open world again. She only hoped she could cover those signs from anyone who might see them.

Christina was too lost in her own mind to notice John pull the truck up outside the farm house where Cookie and Bill were waiting, the equally warm reception from the two of them and a practical hero's welcome home for both parties. John felt like he had lost his home the minute Christina was left in that hospital, no work on the farm, no Thunderbirds; it didn't make anything right but now. Slowly things were starting to get back to normal, to feel like they used to do when had his home away from home in space. He could stand to be aboard Thunderbird Five now, he lost little sleep when he knew he could call Christina or see her on a screen. It was easier than knowing the world was falling apart beneath him.

With the welcome underway, John made himself busy. The past few months he had learned more about working on the ranch than he had known his entire life, which helped when he could just step back into the role again. This time it wasn't Bill telling him to go home or to leave, no he was okay to be there, to visit the person he loved and bring her home to the place he knew she loved. John spent the afternoon mending a few fences around the yard, sticking close to the farm house to watch over Christina. He saw Bill and Cookie go about their day as normal once again leaving Christina sat on the sofa in the living room.

John watched as she appeared to lay down to rest, as much as she protested she was fighting fit he knew that wasn't the entire truth. He had asked the doctors what to expect and yes she could go further than she had before, her strength had returned in spades but she wasn't back to the hundred percent she wanted to be. He could see a seventy percent which showed as he watched her rest for a few minutes before turning back to the fencing. John was unsure how long he had been working for when he took another look through the window. The causal glance expecting to see Christina resting right where she had been though instead, he was greeted with an empty sofa.

Deciding it was about time to take a break and check on her John entered the house finding it entirely empty. He managed to catch one of the other guys working on the farm who told him Bill and Cookie were in town and he had seen Christina heading to the barn. John almost kicked himself for letting her out of his sight for a second as he made the sprint across the yard to the barn where he knew he had danced with her that first time. He remembered how many times he had stood outside that barn, imagining that moment over again but knowing she was lying still in a hospital bed. The thought caused a lump to build in his throat as he knew Bill would kill him if Christina was hurt. There was no chance he was letting anything to happen to her as he pulled open the barn door hearing the sounds of the familiar radio in there.

The horse stalls ran along the length of the building with the concrete floor that separated each side of the barn. The beat from the small radio that rested on the partition about half way down and the tractor and trailer that was half filled with bedding. John quietly made his way toward where the music was coming from as he saw Christina poke her head above the stall wall. The pitchfork being lifted into the trailer as it dropped off the load of used bedding before he heard the audible gasp for breath. It wasn't until he saw Chris turn around that he could see how much effort it took from her. Her face was red and flushed and her breathing seemed similar to someone who had just done a half marathon.

"Christina, take a break." John said softly as he walked over to her, his hand reached out for the pitchfork only to receive a glare from her.

"I am fine; let me do something that I'm used to." Christina asked, she would have pleaded too if she felt that would do any good.

Bill had left instructions to rest and sit and do nothing all day, which was fine but Christina wasn't the sit and do nothing type. If others were working then she would too and that was the final say of the day. It was why she had taken the job of mucking out the stalls, she had missed it. It sounded crazy but she missed the alone time, the head space and the simple task of cleaning something she had done a thousand times before. It was just taking a little longer than expected this time but she wasn't giving up easily.

"Chris please, just listen to me." John pleaded, batting those crisp blue eyes as best he could as he decided to give up on taking the pitchfork and simply perched himself on the edge of the trailer. "Just five minutes please Chris, just five minutes."

Christina knew she wasn't going to get out of this and please, oh he was killing her inside with that tone and those eyes. The tone of a sad puppy dog who wanted a five minute play break as she sighed and gave in. She needed five minutes but at least this wasn't her giving up right? She was asked to and for John, oh she could get over this love thing pretty fast if this is what it turned out to be.

"Fine you win just quit with the voice and eyes." She stated trying to look annoyed though she couldn't help the smile that turned her mouth.

Seeing the victory grin on John's face she rolled her eyes as she struggled onto the edge of the trailer. Fighting off John's offered hand and hands to lift her up, no if she was going up there she was doing it under her own power. She was tired of people holding her hand and waiting for that inevitable fall, she was out of rehab and therapy no she was capable of working her own body herself now. Even if that meant wiping her brow for the thousandth time that afternoon.

"You really should take things show Chris; give yourself time to come around to it all again." John suggested though as soon as he opened his mouth he knew he'd messed it up.

"Come around? Come around to what, the fact that I feel useless right now? That you look at me as if I'm broken?"Christina snapped as she looked away from him. "I can do this John, the way you looked at me when I ran to you today, I want that. The feeling that I can be me again, the feeling that you're not worried or concerned or treating me like I'm made of glass."

This was the conversation she never wanted to have, the words she never wanted to say but as much as she wanted to keep it all to herself. It felt like she had to tell him, that feeling of freedom when she left the rehab centre. The way he seemed so happy to see her take those steps and now she could see it all over his face, the worry he had over her doing a simple thing. A job she had done in her sleep that now had people so worried about her. She pretty much felt useless, for months she couldn't do more than be angry and curse when she couldn't lift a small pan of water onto a stove. A brief trip around some shops wiped her out to the point she needed to nap or sleep for several hours before coming around again.

A big day was walking down a street or taking a run, even climbing a training rope or lifting a weight. All she wanted to do was be herself, be that person people turned to again. The person who could do a simple job without an audience to watch over her to see she didn't fall down or crack under pressure.

"You're not useless or broken Chris, you know that." John said feeling like he had just been gut punched, "I'm insanely proud of how far you've come, what you've accomplished and I look at you each day and see you like that. Ten steps or two Chris it doesn't matter to me. I almost lost the woman I love without getting to tell her that, yeah I'm sorry but I have a right to worry and be concerned. I can't stop that."

John was trying to understand but he was worried, worried about each and every breath she took because he didn't want to be in the position where he visited and brought flowers each and every day. Waiting for a sign or a smile or a wave of a finger, even a higher heart beat on a monitor. It had killed him slowly but surely, each day he went to see her brought further heartache and pain. Sure he could see it now, he could see how each visit seemed to take a little more from him, each day she didn't wake up seemed to chip away at the hope he had clung to until he had to go home. He felt guilty that he had left her, guilty that he wasn't there when she woke up. So he had turned a little protective over her, was that really so bad?

"I feel broken John and I don't know how to fix it." Chris admitted trying not to look his way at all as she hopped down from the trailer. So much for the five minute break when she had given it one minute at most. "I feel like a two steps back person all the time and you didn't lose me. I'm right here John, I know you love me but... I don't want to put you through worrying. I want you to be happy and worry free."

John slid down from the trailer, he knew he was worrying too much but he wasn't sure how to stop. The sinking feeling that he might wake up one day and she wouldn't be there ate at him despite the happy moments and smiles. He guessed they should have talked that all out too but John didn't see the point in it weeks ago. John was about to make his counter argument when he felt Christina wrap her arms around his waist. The single gesture even when they were worried or upset, Chris somehow had a way to make him feel like he was flying. John placed his arms around her holding her to him as he felt her head rest against his chest. He could feel each breath she took, deeper than normal and a little ragged though he knew that was exertion and probably too much of it.

"I'm right here John." She whispered as she felt his arms tighten around her, pulling her into a crushing hug. "Think I can come back to this in an hour or two?"

John heard the question as he chuckled and nodded. An hour or two, it was a good idea though why Christina had asked he was unsure. She never gave up that easily, at least not as far as he had seen as he tried to think of fifty reasons he might be missing for the question.

"Sure you can." John replied.

Chris knew that trying to fight him on it would lead to an argument and the one thing she knew, she hated to argue especially now. If it made him worry less she could take the compromise of an hour or two. She never said she wouldn't come back to it which she knew she would but then maybe when John could be distracted with Bill for a while. Take his mind of worrying and she could show them all she could at least complete one job for the day.

"Can I ask you a favour John?" Chris asked deciding just to go on ahead anyway, "Would you sit with me a while?"

John paused for a moment, did she really think she had to ask that question he wondered. Being with her was all he wanted to do so sitting with her; he would do that whenever she wanted him to.

"Sure I can do that." John said as he followed Christina back to the house.

John sat on the sofa as Christina pulled her boots off by the door before curling up at his side. It didn't take long before he heard those rhythmic breaths, the steady pace that spoke of sleep as he sat there with her for a while. John was pained to move away though he knew he needed to finish his work and finish the job Christina had left before she could get back to it. With that in mind he made sure to leave a blanket over Chris as he moved slowly, not disturbing her as he headed back out. It didn't take long to finish the fencing and he was almost done with the barn when he heard Bill's voice. It was mid evening as he could see the dusk setting in through the open barn doors.

"So how was her first day?" Bill asked, having taken a trip into town to avoid it.

Bill loved Chris like a daughter but he had no strength left to argue with her over what she could and couldn't do. He figured he would leave that to John and given the fact he had seen Chris asleep on the sofa he guessed she had tried to do something more than just rest. The woman was a force when she wanted to be, just out of a coma or months later Bill knew when a battle was better fought by someone else.

"It was good; she got half the barn done before..." John said with a sigh as he glanced at Bill for a moment, "How do I stop worrying? Thinking that she won't be here tomorrow?"

John wasn't sure he wanted the answer to that but then he wanted to fix what he knew was wrong. He couldn't just let it go, the feeling of loss, fear and worry that came with staring at the lifeless body of a loved one for weeks before finally taking a break only to find that she had come back to life in a way. The sleepless nights, the falling apart and even hating work which was something John had never done. Even when his mother passed, school was the one thing he wanted to help him work through it all. To get good grades, make his mother proud but almost losing Christina had shaken him in a way he never thought possible.

"You don't, I guess you just get better at masking the feelings but with Chris... you'd need to be a world class liar." Bill said with a grin, "Was it that bad today?"

"Not bad, she just said a few things and I know I worry but I can't go through that again. Losing her a second time, I... I have no idea how this all happened." John explained not sure what he was trying to say at all. "I guess I just need to let go or something. Chris just won't stop trying to do things around here."

John couldn't help but grin as he saw the grit in Bill's eyes to try and make that sentence go any other way. Bill knew Chris and her stubborn bull headed self made for a difficult time in telling her to rest up. He knew exactly what John meant and yet he had no answer for the man, he had almost lost a daughter. The daughter he never had and a daughter whose mother he had made a promise to protect her. In the space of a day it had been taken out of his hands and then watching her in that hospital. It was as if he was saying goodbye to her mother all over again.

"You know your dad said that it might be an idea for you to take her on holiday." Bill explained having spoken to each and every doctor she had along with the eldest Tracey. "Take her to your place where she can't do anything but relax."

Bill knew he wanted his 'daughter' of sort's back home, back at the ranch where he could happily believe that the past few months had been nothing but a really bad nightmare. The one thing he knew he would struggle with was trying to keep her from doing more damage to herself with her determination to get a job done.

"He did?" John said a little surprised given their family activities. "Well yeah I mean, great but what about here and you guys?"

"Here will still go on, Duke is working for us now and again you know. We have worked out how to hire people too so this place will run as it has done previously." Bill said with a wry smile, "Why don't you take her on holiday and get her to relax. She will listen to you... mostly. I hope."

John laughed and shrugged, Christina listening to him. Yeah that would be the day he though she had listened about taking a break? He still had no idea what that was about but he would take the victory even if fighting her on rest was starting to look more like a war than a single battle.

"Well if you're sure, I can try and convince her tomorrow to go with me?" John said wondering just how well that conversation would go over.

Bill just nodded when he heard the scream from across the yard. John took off running as Bill tried to limp on behind though John was already half way toward the farm house when he saw Christina come running out. The look of terror on her face as she was as white as a sheet, a look that Bill knew all too well from those first weeks she had tried to spend at home before Lady Penelope whisked her off to the rehab centre.

John tried to reach out for Chris but his hands were pushed away violently as he watched Chris pull up the jumper and shirt she had on. High enough for him to see the scars left by Mr. Smiley as he saw her run her hand across them, even the sound of her ragged breathing in the yard scared him.

"Chris, look at me. It's John." He said softly, trying to keep his head.

"I know who you are." Came her curt reply despite the fear she felt racing within her.

"It's safe okay, just relax, and take a deep breath." John added remembering what the doctors had said.

Nightmares, terrors, reliving moments, it was all possible though John didn't know what had happened this time though he could see the fear in her face and eyes. There was no denying that look, he had seen enough fear on people's faces through the Thunderbirds followed by the joy and relief that came knowing a steel rocket was there to save them.

"Don't shrink me John." Chris almost sobbed as she stepped away from them, turning her back as she tried not to cry.

She could see Smiley as clear as day, the cold callous face and the look Alan had given her when he had taken off to run into the tree line that day. She felt sick to her stomach as she tried to gather herself from her nightmare, focusing on deeper breaths though it didn't seem to be working.

"I saw him... he was right there." Chris said pointing toward the living room window.

Her entire body was shaking as John moved around to face her; he reached out for her hands though this time there was no protest. He felt how tight Chris held them as she stared at him. Caught between fear and embarrassment Christina had no idea where to turn or who to look at. In her room at the centre at least it was only her and the four walls that knew, her shrink sure and maybe a nurse or two but not family and certainly not John Tracey.

"John..." She gasped though her sobs, "I'm sorry... you shouldn't see it."

"Shhhs, it's okay. I've seen worse." John said with a slight grin.

Christina barely managed a laugh through her sobs though her eyes turned a little brighter. She wondered how he could joke or even grin when this was the mess he saw. This was the reason she shunned rest, she had no time to rest at all when all she could do was dream of the one man she wanted to forget forever.

"Worse?" She asked wanting to know what could be worse right then.

"Bill yelled at me, which was worse." John announced smirking.

Christina outright laughed as she nodded, "Yeah that is worse."

"Told you." John added as Bill grumbled something about all Tracey's being jackasses.

"He yelled at you about what?" Chris asked wanting a distraction as John frowned.

Her mind was catching up slowly but surely to the present and Bill shouting at John, that was news to her ears. Bill was a grouch at times; he snarled and snapped but under the hardened shell was a man who was as good as gold. Yelling at John however was a new thing she had never really seen before.

"Urm... it was... private okay." John added as he saw Chris look toward Bill.

"What did you yell at him for?" Chris asked.

"See what you did?" Bill snapped glaring at John, "So yeah he got yelled at but he's a better man for it."

"What did you two do?" Chris asked again looking between the two guilty faces in the dim light of the house. "You know what... I don't know and I don't have brain power for this."

She felt like she had no rest at all and even her back and shoulders were starting to protest at her earlier venture in the barn. It was one thing to swing a weight around; entirely another to do some manual work when mucking out a stable had been a dream rather than a reality.

"Good." Both men replied as they grinned glad for the change of direction.

"I need to finish the barn." Chris said as she still held her grip on John.

"Missy, it's done." Bill announced, "Your boy there did it."

"You what?" Chris said as John watched Bill limp into the house. "That was my job, you stole it from me?"

Chris was too tired to glare at John, even when she saw that concern and worry in his eyes and face. She was too tired to even fight him or call him on it, so much for her very normal day. If this was normal she wanted her original normal back right there and then.

"I didn't steal anything I Just... finished it for you." John said as he tried to smile.

Christina was trying to be mad but she couldn't find the strength to be. John could clearly see as much as he pressed his lips to her forehead, damp with sweat he figured from fear as he tried to hold her close to calm her down. John wished he could take her place, take away the fear and nightmares. He had heard about them, the doctors told him about them but never had he imagined how real it might be for her.

"I'm sorry John." She muttered once again averting her gaze. "I wanted to finish it; I didn't want you to see this."

"Hey, nothing to be sorry for." John replied, "I know you would have done it but I figured I'd give you some more time to rest and you think this is my first nightmare I've seen? You've not seen my brothers have nightmares."

Chris tried to smile or laugh but all she could do was lean into John and hold onto his hand tightly. She could still feel herself shaking against him but there was something about having him there. As much as she was loathed to admit it, John just being there made things easier in a way. She knew she could trust him without trying to force it.

"Thank you." Chris whispered. "I should go and..."

She stopped there having no idea what she was supposed to be doing as she glanced around for a moment.

"I should..." She tried again, "Make coffee."

Chris tried to cover the sudden lapse though she could see John saw right through it. Even the way he held onto her hands still as she tried to pull back she could see he knew what she was doing.

"Well Bill said you should come home with me tomorrow." John added deciding it wasn't a question or a choice. "I know my dad and brothers would love to see you for a week."

"But I can't..." Chris stated. "I've things to do here."

Was it a surprise, yes Christina had no idea but then that was how most of everything felt to her right then. She had no idea what was being talked about when she was on a good day, mostly she could follow orders but leaving home. Leaving for John's home, there was too much to do just to go tomorrow.

"Yes you can, tomorrow you come home with me. Then you can get the full Tracey treatment, just don't start Scott talking about umbrella drinks or you'll be stuck with him teaching you how to tend bar all day." John teased for a moment.

"I... John I can't." Chris said again a little more stunned than before.

"Can and will, trust me you need to relax and get away for a little while." John said as he smiled, "Did I tell you we live on an island?"

Chris gasped as she stared at John. This was like a dream she would wake up from, a dream and she would wake right back inside those four whitewashed walls.

"Island... you're teasing me." Chris said standing there dumbfounded.

"Nope, it's an Island. Tracey Island to be specific and we all live there." John added smiling seeing how stunned Chris looked.

"An island?" Chris questioned again before she felt a sudden wave of tiredness.

John could see in her eyes she was struggling to stay awake, it had been a long day he figured and his talking about an island seemed to be just about all she was going to have of it. John wrapped his arm around her as he felt her knees buckle; he managed to keep a hold on Chris as he felt her go limp in his arms. He picked her up and carried her back inside though he could see the same peaceful look he had seen on her face in the hospital. The look that he both adored and loathed as it reminded him too much of those hospital visits. John carried Chris to the sofa again, wrapping her in the blanket as this time he was determined not to leave her side. Nightmares or not, this time he was going to be there for her no matter what happened.