Fiona looked over at the young man resting in the passenger seat. She had tried to take him into to town but he had such a severe panic attack about it that she
agreed to just take him home with her. Shaking her head and turning back to look at the road she wondered exactly what she had gotten herself into. She pulled
the jeep under the lean-to shelter beside the cabin and undid her seat belt. After gazing at the man's gentle face and almost white blond hair, she sighed and gently
woke him up.
"We're here. Hey, hey it's okay! Remember me, Fiona? We've arrived at my cabin. Let's go in and get you cleaned up and more comfortable."
He snapped awake and after a few moments of fearful disorientation her voice penetrated his thoughts. He allowed her to help him from the car and into the cabin.
He blinked in the brightness of the house and looked at her questioningly.
"Oh, I have solar panels up on the roof. Much safer than oil lamps and better than batteries." she laughed.
He gave her a tired smile and, after sitting down in a chair, proceeded to look around while she went and got the first aid kit. Coming back into the room she
stepped around behind him to check his head.
"Now let's see what we can do about getting you cleaned up." She gently cleaned up the rather large bump on the back of his head. "Well this certainly explains the
amnesia. We'll have to be careful when trying to get the blood out of your hair."
She frowned before moving to clean the scratches on his face and hands, noticing for the first time the abrasions that encircled his wrists. "Oh! How could anyone do
this to another human being?" she looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
He looked at her with such sadness she had to look away in order to regain control of her emotions. "Well I guess me not taking you to town is for the best now. I
mean we don't know who did this to you and we don't want them getting you again. Now let's get that shirt off and make sure you haven't got any more injuries
that need tending."
She gently helped him remove the shirt and gasped once more at the colorful array of bruises and scratches she saw on his chest, stomach, and back. As she tented
to what she could he watched her in fascination. Her dark auburn hair fell just past her shoulders and while most of it was held back by a band, little ringlets fell
softly about her face. Her face was almost pixie like, making her look younger than her 22 years. Her hands were soft and she had long fingers, almost like someone
who played the piano. The piano….he jerked as a memory of someone softly playing the piano forced it's way to the surface. She glanced up sharply at him.
"Did I hurt you? What wrong, what is it?" Placing her hands on both sides of his face she looked into his deep blue eyes. "Hey, look at me. What is it?"
He had been starring off into space trying to grasp the quickly fading memory. "I…don't…know. Piano…someone playing the piano. I…almost had it…" He closed his
eyes in frustration and groaned.
She reached up and hugged him, placing her arms gently about his shoulders. "It's okay. It's just going to take some time is all. It's a good thing if you're already
remembering something right?"
He pulled away and nodded his head wearily. "I guess."
She smiled and laughed lightly. "That's better. Now I have to find you a shirt and probably some pants. And we have to figure out what I'm going to call you. I can't
go around saying 'hey you' all the time."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "What did you have in mind? Something dignified I hope."
She laughed and he felt his heart quicken at the lilting note in it and at the sparkle that shined in her eyes. "Of course, I know how about Galahad? I mean you look
a little like the description of him. Oh fine, how about John, as in John Doe? That seems sensible doesn't it? Besides I like the name John." She looked at him smiling.
He almost fell out of the chair at the first suggestion but at the mention of the name John he felt another tug at his memory, a man's voice calling out to him. He
opened eyes to find her kneeling in front of him again, he hadn't even realized he had closed them.
She gazed worriedly into his eyes. "Are you okay?"
He smiled taking one of her hands into his and covering it with his other one. "The name John is perfect. I like it a lot too."
