When she was brought back in, she was as pale as the sheets around her, her eyes still squeezed tightly shut. They had laid her on her front for the procedure, and her hands were curled up tightly under her chin. He could see from her stillness that this was the numb sleep that chloroform brings; she never stirred, and her breaths were shallow, slow things. As the night passed however, she began to twitch and stir in her sleep- a sign, Roy knew, that she now slept free from the influence of the drugs. Eventually, as he watched her in the moonlit room, she opened her eyes. They glinted dully in the gloom, not really focussing on anything. After a few slow blinks, they closed again, and she slept once more.

Sunlight was now pouring through the windows, and the shouts and crashes of the front courtyard could be heard through the window, along with the soft footsteps of the nurses and the hushed whisperings of the doctors. Across the room, another patient sat, reading a newspaper, the rustling of the pages the only noise originating from within the room itself. Eve opened her eyes, still lying stiffly on her front. She moved her fingers, which were still clasped under her chin, and sticky with sweat from being clutched together all night in the hazy heat of the summer. Waking up a little more, she looked across at Roy, who was sitting up in his bed, he eyes closed, and his head leant back, as he often sat in the morning.

"Roy?" she said, her voice husky and rough. His eyes opened swiftly, and he sat up a little to look at her.

"Good morning… how are you feeling?" he asked, concern obvious in his eyes.

"Terrible" she replied with a tiny smile. Roy returned it with warmth, only now realising how worried he had been for her about the surgery. However, their conversation was interrupted, as a group of grim faced doctors strode into the wardroom.

"Miss? May we talk to you for a moment?"

"Of course, doctor" she said, and with that they pulled the curtain around her, blocking his view. As Roy turned away from their hushed voices, the nurse came to dress him and to change his bed covers, which meant he was moved into a wheelchair by a orderly. Roy still resented his disability. It made him feel both useless and helpless, and served as a constant reminder of past happenings he would much rather forget. As he waited for the doctors to finish their consultation with Eve, he opened his bedside cupboard, and fished out the drawing Alexandria had given him. He considered it for a while with a wry smile on his face, only putting it away when he heard the swish of the curtain as the doctors left Eve's bedside. As he pulled himself over to sit next to her bed, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, he looked up at her, and saw that tears were falling from her eyes. Grabbing her hand, he looked at her pleadingly, knowing what must have happened, but at the same time hoping he was wrong.

"Eve?"

"It didn't work." She croaked, the tears falling in floods as she refused to look at him. "They couldn't do anything" Roy felt a tear leave his own eye, and brought her hand to his lips.

"I'm so sorry" he murmured, he voice cracking as he said it. He had wanted so badly for this to go well for her.

"It… It was all for nothing" She had begun to tremble now, the pillow soaked through with her tears. Red dots of bloods began to appear and spread down the back of her white hospital gown as her shuddering sobs caused the operation wound to open again. Roy, tears falling, laid his head next to hers on the pillow, holding her hand against his cheek. They were so close their noses were almost touching, and she looked at him with eyes brimming with disappointment and frustration.

"Why did this happen to us Roy? What did we do to end up here?" She said angrily. "I don't know," he murmured in reply." I don't know."

Days passed, but little was said on the ward. Every day Roy sat in his chair next to Eve's bed, holding her hand in his, and they would stay like that for the whole day, lost in their own thoughts. Occasionally Roy would pause to play absentmindedly with her fingers, or her with his, but it wasn't until a week or so later Eve spoke properly to him. It was night again, and Roy was woken by Eve, who was sat up in her bed, the bedside lamp casting a dim yellow light across the room. "What is it?" He said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Will you… I mean can you come over here?" Her face was turned away from the lamp, shadowed, which meant Roy could not see her expression

"Why?" He said cautiously, one hand kneading the back of his neck.

"Its nothing vital, just, will you please?" Somehow Roy managed to wrestle his way into the wheelchair the nurse had left next to his bed, and wearily pulled himself across to her cot.

" What?" He said, still looking at her as he leant over and adjusted the lamp so he could see her face more clearly.

" Will you pull out my stitches for me?"

"Shouldn't the doctor do that?" he said cautiously, leaning his head on one side to look questioningly at her.

" I asked, but they said they wouldn't for another week"

"Well then, you should leave them in" Roy reasoned, taking her hand in his, and wrapping it up in his large palm.

"No. They itch and stop me from sleeping. Please Roy, I promise not to tell them you helped me." Roy looked up at her, considering for a moment, idly intertwining his fingers with hers. Although nothing was yet to be said outright, there was an unspoken affection between them, and she looked at him with real trust in her eyes. "Undo the back of your gown," he said, at last. She turned her back to him and did. For the first time Roy saw the long line of black stitches running down her spine from the top of her neck to the small of her back. The stitches looked angry and red, but the incision itself was obviously healing well. However, it was still so huge a cut that Roy had to suppress a gasp of surprise: he was glad she was turned and could not see his expression. She silently passed him a pair of tweezers, and he gingerly reached up, laying his warm left hand alongside the line of stitches between her shoulder blades, before gently pulling at one protruding knotted end of a stitch with the tweezers in his right hand. Roy could feel her back tense under his fingers as he did so, and as the stitches gradually pulled away from the skin he felt her flinch away from the pain. Releasing the piece of thread to fall to the floor, he moved his hand on her back slightly, adjusted his grip on the tweezers, and set to the long, delicate task of removing the stitches one by one.

As the dim light of morning filled the room Eve still sat up on her bed, her back still bare, but now free of the stitches, which lay scattered on the floor around her. The incision was still closed, and although a couple of the holes from the stitches leaked blood in trails down her back, she felt much better. Roy was asleep in his chair next to her, his head on his chest, and her hand still clutched in his. As she heard the nurses beginning their rounds she gently lay down on her bed, tucked her gown around her to cover her back and turned to face Roy. She looked at him for a while with her grey eyes, before closing them softly and drifting into sleep to the sounds of the hospital waking up around them.

For the next few days Eve gradually recovered from her operation. As the swelling reduced and the pain receded she eventually could stand and take a few small, halting steps, but she still limped from the curved spine that the operation had failed to fix. Roy watched her encouragingly as the nurses helped her hobble from one end of the ward to the other, but it was clear that the pain that came with it was still just as much there as it had been before the operation. She hid it well, too proud and too stubborn to let the pain walking and standing caused her show, but when she sat back onto her bed afterwards she was always paler and looked strained by the effort. As the summer carried on the weather grew hotter, and soon the temperature in the wards was stifling, enough so that the nurses decided to take some of the patients out into the neighbouring orange plantations for the morning and afternoons, although in the heat of the midday sun it was decided best for the patients to stay inside. The nurse would push Roy out in his chair, and Eve would walk more slowly behind, aided by another nurse as she took tentative steps away from the hospital and own the groves. On this particular occasion the nurse decided that it would be okay to leave them by themselves for a while, a little way off from the others, although she told Roy strictly to make sure Eve stayed in the shade of the parasol she gave them. Although Roy and Eve didn't know, they were a subject of much gossip among the nurses, who for nuns had an intense interest in the various relationships about the hospital. In Roy and Eves case there was much speculation about the pair, and constant debate about their possible futures. However, at this moment, and probably to their happy advantage, Roy and Eve were unaware of this. In the bright midday sun Eve stretched out a sheet she had brought with her on the dry grass, and exhausted, sat down on it, leaning the large white parasol on her shoulder. Feeling cheered by the outside air, Roy half lifted himself, half fell, from his chair on to the sheet to sit next to her, and they sat there squinting at each other in the sun. To anyone who walked in on them they would have looked like any normal couple that had stopped in the orange orchard for a picnic. "Would you mind pulling my shoes off?" Roy asked, and Eve did so for him, carefully unlacing them and easing them off, even though she knew Roy couldn't feel his feet and legs. She held the shoes in her lap for a moment, before gently setting them down of the grass next to her. Sighing, Eve let the parasol fall back and tilted her freckled face up to the sun; her wavy brown hair straying out from underneath the straw hat the nurse had forced her to wear. Her dress, which was white with tiny red flowers on it, rippled slightly in the breeze, revealing her long white socks and the schoolgirl-like brown shoes she wore. Roy, looking at her and smiling, gently reached around her and pulled the parasol up to shade her face, which was already going red from the sun. She opened her eyes and frowned as him, before gingerly lying back onto the sheet, holding the parasol high above her so she could still see Roy, who then leant back to lie next to her. Eve then leant the parasol on the ground behind their heads, so they were left in a little private tent of half shade together. Looking up at the patterns embroidered on the parasol that could be seen as the sun shone through the white cotton, she said " Is it true you tell good stories, Roy?"

He turned and looked at her, slightly startled by the question, before taking her hand again and replying with a slow, drawn out "Yes…" He then paused, before adding-"well, at least, I told one once."

"What was it?" He smiled, looking down at the lines of trees they could see from under the edge of the parasol, his long eyelashes brushing his cheeks.

" I'm not going to tell the same story twice."

"Will you tell me a different one then?" She asked, looking across at him again.

"I'll think about it" He replied, looking up to meet her gaze. In his hand he held a daisy he had picked from nearby, and he tucked it behind her ear, his fingers lingering in her hair. Eve grinned at him as he gently tugged at one curl.

"Always so mysterious" She said, before turning her head to gaze up at the white roof of the parasol again. Roy was still preoccupied with her stray curl, tucking it behind her ear and then untucking it again. She looked at his face, as he focussed on her hair, before saying to him "I've never been so happy to be outside in the sun."

Roy's eyes looked up to meet hers, and he said " It's been a long time since I've been outside… and since I've been as happy as I am here- with you." Eve looked back and him seriously, her hand reaching across to touch his forearm. They lay there for a long while, simply looking at each other, the sounds of the hospital children playing and the nurses giggling seeming distant to them, and for a beautiful moment they found they both could forget about their illnesses. It was as though, out here in the sun, they no longer mattered. Eventually, Roy brought his hand up and pulled off Eve's hat, setting it down on his legs before returning his hand to the back of her head, his fingers gently entwining in her hair, his eyes never leaving hers. Carefully, he pulled her head close to his and, closing his eyes, planted a soft kiss on her forehead. She leant against him, wrapping her arm around him and, feeling safer than ever in the soft white light under the parasol, gave a small kiss on the line of his jaw in return. He tucked her head under his chin, while his arms came around to hold her to him, and together they closed their eyes and took a short, restful and content nap, safe in each other's arms for the first time.

The next day, the sun was even hotter. Inside the gloom of the ward a fly buzzed dully against the window as the nurses came to collect Roy and Eve to take them down to the plantations. It was about three o'clock in the afternoon, and the front yard was quiet for once as it was a Sunday. As they made there way through the orange trees, following the bunch of other patients and nurses ahead of them, Eve found she was able to keep up with the nurse pushing Roy's wheelchair for once, although it was tiring walking for everyone in the heat of the sun that day. Eventually the nurse left them, alone together as the day before, but this time with a jug of lemonade and some glasses and the stern warning to remember to drink, and again to Roy to make sure Eve stayed under the parasol. When she had gone Roy, this time with Eve's help, pulled himself out of the chair to sit with her on the sheet. He sat up; leaning with his arms behind him, and looked around them. They were just far enough into the trees that they could not see the hospital, just the long lines of trees, hung with oranges that gleamed like Christmas decorations. Eve, also eyeing the oranges, pulled herself up to stand, and, as Roy watched her with a slightly worried expression, tottered over to the neighbouring tree. She turned to look at him, and, dropping the parasol to the floor, asked "would you like an orange?"

"Technically, I think that counts as stealing" he said wryly, holding his hand up at his brow to shield the sun from his eyes. Eve smiled at him in return.

"Well, would you like one?"

Giving in, Roy replied with a "yes", although he shook his head as he said it. Eve often acted like this, playful and almost childish- especially outside in the summer sun. However, as she reached above her head for the oranges, Roy saw and heard her back click. Eve froze, her fingers curling into a tight fist, the only indication that she was in pain. Panicked, his eyes wide, Roy wished he could go to her, but of course he could not stand. "Eve? Are you okay?" he asked, the worry plain to hear in her voice.

"Yes." was her shaky but determined reply, and slowly, every so slowly, she began to move, bringing her arm back down to her side, and gradually stepping back towards the blanket, keeping her back as straight as possible. Beads of perspiration had appeared on her forehead, and, as she looked at Roy, he could see in her eyes that she too was beginning to panic. Pulling himself closer to where she stood stiffly, he reached his strong arms up to her.

"I'm not sure I can sit," She said quietly.

"Its okay, I've got you" Roy replied, trying to sound encouragingly. Eve was petite, small and short, and as Roy stretched his arms and body up towards her his hands were high enough to reach her waist. "I'll help you"

"Okay" Eve replied, her lashes becoming wet as she bent her legs a little to sit. It was clear all this was causing her great pain. Suddenly she collapsed down into Roy's arms and onto his lap, her back and legs finally giving out under the strain of standing. Her tears were flowing fast now and she tried to hide them by nuzzling into Roy's shirt, but he could still feel the wetness through the fabric, and could feel her tremble against him as he cradled her.

"Shh, its okay now" He said quietly, bringing up his hand to gently touch her back. She flinched away from the slightest touch, indicating just how delicate it had become. This kind of thing had happened often before; just as Eve seemed to be getting better her back would go again and she would come tumbling down. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked, looking down at her. Eve didn't meet his eyes.

"Just… give it a minute or two" Now, as she calmed slightly, it became clear that the tremors weren't only her crying but also her back. A slight shudder was constant in her as the muscles tensed and untensed again, and they sat in silence and felt them together, Eve clutching Roy's shirt front tightly each time a particularly violent one occurred. Gradually however they subsided, until Eve was still in his arms, her breaths less shuddering as she listened to Roy's own slow breathing. After what seemed like an age, she gingerly tilted her head back to look up at him. "Thank you, Roy."

"Its fine. Are you okay?"

"I'm… a little better now. It still hurts but… I'm okay." Roy gave a small sigh of relief, unconsciously tightening his grip on her a little.

"If you sit forward a little I'll rub your shoulders" This was something they did quite often after such an episode, as it left her muscles tightly tensed and knotted. She scooted forward, freeing her back so that Roy could reach it. As his large warm hands came to rest on her shoulders she herself sighed a little, and attempted to untense her back a little herself. Roy paused for a moment, and his hands left her shoulders to grab the discarded parasol, which he then gave to Eve. She wedged it so that her hands were free, and leant back a little into Roy's hands, which were quickly and easily relieving the lingering pain of her back like no-one else's could. When he was done they swapped places, and Eve was surprised to find the usually relaxed Roy also tensed.

"What's wrong?" She asked, as her small hands worked away at his broad shoulders.

"Its nothing. I'm just worried about you. You should be more careful"

"You know how much I hate being told that" Eve said, but he could hear from her voice that she wasn't upset with him. In fact, a small smile was playing on her lips at his concern.

"I know. But I mean it" He turned to look at her, his eyes serious. Eve returned his gaze.

"I know you do." Roy turned around fully, and took Eves hands in his.

"Neither of us are getting better," He said to her, looking back up to meet her eyes.

"No. But neither of us are getting worse either" She said in reply, which gained her a wry smile from Roy. She was always more positive than Roy, who had a tendency to let his situation get him down. Eve knew vaguely from the nurse's gossip that he had once been in a very dark frame of mind, and attempted the unthinkable. Remembering this made her worry, and she leant towards her to catch his eye. " Listen to me Roy. If these terrible things hadn't happened to both of us we never would have met. And although I will never be glad of my predicament, I wouldn't change a thing if it meant losing you." Roy's eyes met hers with surprise, and she continued. "In fact, if the devil came to me now and asked me to choose between good health and you, There is no doubt in my mind what I would choose. It might not be the same for you, but I wanted you to know that… if anything were ever to happen to you… I'm not sure I would survive it." Roy's eyes still met her unwavering gaze, and he reached up slowly to cup her face in his hand.

"I feel the same. And I promise that… as far as I can control, nothing will happen to me"

It was now nighttime, and the only noise in the hospital was the sound of the rain falling outside, the drips and drops as it rolled off the roof sounding almost like murmuring voices in the otherwise still night. Roy twitched a little in his sleep, his fingers curling and uncurling against the sheets, before, sensing that something wasn't quite right; he opened his eyes in the gloom. He looked around, seeing the sleeping forms of his roommates under their covers. All were there except for Eve- her bed lay empty, the sheets twisted as though she had been sleeping uneasily. Sitting up in his cot, Roy deliberated for a moment before pulling the wheelchair to him. As he eased himself out of the bed and into the chair he paused for a moment, thinking that he heard voices outside of the room. After a moment sitting with his head cocked he could hear no further noise except from the pitter-patter of the rain, and so he moved across the room and edged through to the doorway. There he could see Eve leaning on the doorframe, facing the sheet of rainwater that fell in front of her. The night was humid, and the light of the stars and moon was bright, casting a silvery glow over the rows of orange trees. Stopping there, Roy observed her as she stood, unaware of his presence, gazing across the plantation she'd come to know the past few weeks. Eventually however she felt his eyes on her, and turned to look at him, a sad smile on her face. He returned it, his expression pensive in the dim moonlight. He opened his arms invitingly, and Eve turned away from the doorway and came to sit sideways across his lap, her head resting on his chest as he absentmindedly stroked her hair, still gazing across the dark plantation.

"Something wrong?" he asked quietly.

"No, just…missing home I guess… Although I kind of like it here now too." Eve sounded a little confused. She didn't live all that far from here, but she felt disconnected from the outside world here. However, she also felt safe here, and more importantly, Roy was here with her.

"I miss home too, sometimes" said Roy. "Eve?"

"Yes Roy?"

"Yesterday evening the doctor came to speak to me about a X-ray I had yesterday" The hesitancy in Roy's voice made Eve pull away slightly to look at him. He looked down to meet her questioning gaze.

"What did they say?" Roy paused and turned his head away.

"They said… there are signs of, well… They said I might be getting better. They're coming to do some more tests in the morning." After he had said all of this, he finally turned his eyes back to meet hers, startled to find her on the verge of tears. "Eve?"

"Oh my… Roy… I'm so happy" A grin broke out on her face as the tears began to fall in earnest. She reached up to cup his face in her small hands, and felt a small tear fall from his eyes. "Can you feel your legs again yet?"

"Just about. At least, I can sort of feel you sitting on them." Roy said shakily. Suddenly however he realised what this must be like for Eve- hearing his good news when she had none for herself. He put his hands on her shoulders, leaning back a little. "I'm sorry Eve"

"For what?" she said, not understanding.

"For getting better when you're not, especially after everything you said yesterday. I wish I could swap places so you could get better instead" It all came out in a rush, and Eve just carried on smiling up at him.

"There's no reason to be sorry! I'm just so happy for you. Will you…be able to walk again?" she wiped her eyes a little, still looking up at Roy.

"The Doctor said that I'll probably make a full recovery. He said that it was only the swelling as I healed that was causing it, and that's going down, and the bones' healing too." He paused again, his hand resting on the back of her neck now. "So… yes, I'll walk again." Eve shook her head in disbelief, watching happily as a crooked smile broke across Roy's face as he finally seemed to realise that he was going to stand again. She buried her face in his shirtfront again, and when he pulled her closer she felt him chuckle quietly into the night, wondering at this new miracle.

The next day Roy waited nervously for the doctors, Eve sitting next to him anxiously. When they came they asked her to return to her bed, but they did so with a friendly smile; she was becoming a fast favourite among all at the hospital, and Roy gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as she turned to limp back to her cot. She watched as they poked and prodded his back, and felt her mouth drop with amazement when one of them poked Roy's toe with a pin and it twitched away. A tiny movement, but any movement was amazing after the month he'd spent totally immobile from the hips down. She watched Roy's face with joy as she saw her amazement reflected in him- he stared at the toe in question, eyes filled with disbelief. He had been so sure he was paralysed for life they continued on testing and prodding, and as Roy felt more and more he looked across to Eve, a fresh smile being shared between the happy pair. The doctors finally allowed Eve over while they continued deliberating and discussing, all seeming amazed by this recovery. Eve meanwhile simply fell into Roy's arms, laughing with happiness, after a moment however he pushed her away a little, his hands on her shoulders. "Look!" he exclaimed, turning her around to look down the bed. There, she saw as he slowly wriggled his toes at her. She turned back to him, fresh happy tears falling. They both laughed happily and hugged again, their muffled laughter sounding odd and out of place on the usually quiet ward. The doctors hearing this paused on their way out of the room, and turned to see the pair laughing away like schoolchildren. The head doctor smiled, and called across the room-

"Roy Walker, I expect to see you out of that bed by tomorrow!"

"Yes sir!" He replied over Eve's shoulder, before he pulled back and then lifted her up to sit beside him on the bed. Eve leant against his shoulder happily as he leant over and gave her his morning coffee. He began to shuffle a battered old pack of cards, still smiling happily, and she settled further into the bed, warming her hands on the coffee cup as he dealt her cards. The sun was streaming through the windows once more, and the nurses gave the pair extra smiles as they walked by on their rounds, as did the other patients in the ward- everyone was cheered by their good news.

That day when they took the pilgrimage to the orange trees Eve walked with a little more of a spring in her step, and for once Roy broke his usual reserved silence and chatted away with the nurse pushing him. His good mood was infectious, and the group of patients were a happier group than normal as they walked between the orange trees. When they reached their usual spot Eve found she had forgotten the blanket she normally brought to sit on, but Roy took off his jacket and she sat on that. He pulled himself down to sit on the grass next to her, and, smiling mischievously Eve scooted round to his feet, yet again leaving the parasol she was supposed to be under on the dry grass. Sighing, Roy picked it up and held it up so she was in the shade again, and watched as she prized off his shoes. Looking up at him devilishly, she stroked one finger down the sole of his left foot, which, as with any normal person, tickled and caused his leg to twitch away a little. They smiled at each other again, and for a while Eve simply played with his feet, marvelling at the new movement that had never been there before, as she'd known Roy. He wriggled his toes a little at her again, before reaching towards her.

"Come on now" She stopped pestering him, and came up to sit next to him under the parasol on his jacket. The heat was sweltering, and Eve pulled off the straw hat that was squashing her hair to her head. She pulled out her hairpins and messed her hair up a little with her hand, glad to have the breeze cool her. Roy leant over and further mussed her hair, with lead to her messing up his in return, although it was constantly dishevelled anyway. Eventually, giggling under the parasol, they leant back together, Eve resting her head on Roy's broad shoulder.

"Will you tell me that story now?" She asked, sounding drowsy in the summer heat.

"What kind of story do you like?" He asked, lazily undoing the top few buttons of his shirt to let the breeze cool under his shirt in the sweltering heat. Fiddling over them Eve undid the rest of them absentmindedly, thinking about what kind of story she wanted. She moved her hand to rest under his shirt on his now cool chest, before replying.

"I think I want a love story. Set a long time ago"

"Not princesses and knights and Dragons?" he said teasingly, bringing his hand up to rest on top of hers under his shirt. Eve could feel his slow, steady heartbeat under her hand.

"No! I want one with an Evil king."

"An evil king?" Roy said, frowning.

"Yes. But he's not really evil. He's just sad because of something he lost."

"Yeah?"

"Mmm."

"Okay. Well, close your eyes." Eve did so, growing ever more sleepy in the suns warmth. "Now, I want you to imagine a palace."

"What kind of a palace?"

"A huge one, covered in battlements and towers"

"Yes? Go on." Roy spoke for what seemed like hours, winding an intricate tale of love lost and love found, all full of fairytale and magic and quests and prophecy. Eve lost herself in the smooth sound of his voice, only speaking up occasionally to query something or to change a bit of the plot she didn't like. Gradually however her questions became father and father apart, until Roy could feel her breathing slowing as she fell asleep in his arms. He trailed off, watching her fingers twitch as she carried on the tale in her dreams. It was nearing dusk in the orange grove, the sun near to the horizon. Thoughtful, Roy wriggled his toes once more, smiling a little at the sight. Tentatively he found he could move his ankles a little, and he did so for a while, testing the new found sensation of the grass under his toes, his ability to movie and feel improving all the time. However, when the nurse came to bring them back up to the hospital she found them both asleep, and stood, smiling down happily at the pair for a moment, before gently leaning down to shake Roy a little by the shoulder. He opened his eyes blearily, woke up the tired Eve, before the nurse and her then helped him back to his chair and they set off back to the ward for the night, the setting sun behind them as they made there way back.