Part 2

For the next month, Chris, Jill, Claire, Leon, and Helena would continue visiting Piers, though none of them were sure whether it did any good. Chris was beginning to lose hope that Piers was ever going to come out of the coma, that this had only happened to drudge up bad memories all over again before Piers was lost again. He wanted to hold out hope, but the longer it went on, the more difficult it was to stay positive. One day, Chris got a call from the hospital saying that Piers may be waking up. Chris, Jill with him, rushed to the hospital and to the room Piers was in. Claire, Leon, Ada, and Helena were there when Chris and Jill got there. They approached the bed, just as his eyes opened, looking up at them with an almost disbelieving look on his face.

"Captain?" he said, almost as if questioning what he was seeing.

"Piers." Chris said. Though relieved that Piers remembered him, he wasn't sure how Piers would react. Chris couldn't blame him if he had any resentment or blame towards him. Chris had even blamed himself, though everyone else had tried to tell him that it wasn't his fault. Piers' grey eyes went from being on each person in the room, then, eventually settling on Helena. He remembered her. They had met before, a few times, him being in the military, and her being in the Secret Service. The first time he saw her, this woman had made an impression on him. She was so bold, but beautiful, and her intense blue eyes seemed to pierce you with their gaze.

"I remember you. Helena, wasn't it? You're with the Secret Service." he said. Helena nodded.

"Yes. Helena Harper." she said. He looked back at Chris again.

"Captain, where am I? What's going on?" he asked.

"You're in a hospital, Piers. You've been here for a month. You've been in a coma. Do you remember anything?" Chris said.

"And, you've been presumed dead for a year." Leon said. It was then that the doctor walked into the room.

"His injuries have healed extraordinarily quickly, but, he'll probably always have scarring on that arm. He's in good condition. I don't see why we can't release him today. But, he'll still be weak. Someone should keep an eye on him and stay with him."

"He can stay with me, at my apartment. If that's alright with him." Helena said. She thought that would be the best choice, with Chris and Jill living together, and Leon and Claire living together. Leon and Claire had been living together, but Ada had been coming around, visiting him a lot recently. Helena was sure that Leon had feelings for both of the women, but his love life really wasn't her business. Though, as a friend, she couldn't help but be concerned about it. But, he would have to sort it out on his own. All Helena had done for a year was sit in her apartment, alone, except for her dog, Delta, and grieve for Deborah, feel guilty, and feel sorry for herself, and dwell on that letter Deborah had written to her after she was infected with the C Virus, shortly before her death. It was a letter that Helena still held onto and probably always would, her sister's last words to her:

Helena,

I'm writing you this because I probably won't get the chance to see you again. I'm sorry about our differences in the past, but even though we see things differently, I want you to know, you're my older sister and I love you. I know it will be hard for you, but you need to go on with your life, and I hope you will find somebody to love. Since being injected with the C Virus, my memories of us are fading away, and I think I should stop writing here. I will always love you, Helena.

your sister,

Deborah

Helena was willing to try anything to get her mind on something else. Leon would check up on her from time to time, but, it might be nice to have someone around all the time, to give her something else to think about.

"Are you sure?" Piers asked her. Helena nodded.

"Yes." she said.

"Alright, then. Thank you, Helena." he said. Helena shook her head.

Leon looked at her quizzically, as if wondering why she would volunteer to let a man she didn't know very well stay with her. But, then, he wondered if maybe she just got lonely living by herself, with only memories of her past. Leon and Helena had become close after all they had been through together during the C Virus incident. Though Helena did have a bit of a crush on Leon at first, she quickly realized that his heart lay elsewhere. They developed a deep friendship, where she thought of him more like a brother or as a best friend. He risked a lot for her, and she truly appreciated that.

Helena took Piers to her apartment. As they stood outside her apartment door, he began feeling a little dizzy. He tried to keep his balance, but he started to collapse. He thought he would end up laying on the floor, but, he felt someone catch him on the way down. He looked over to see Helena. She had caught him before he hit the ground. Her blue eyes were focused on him.

"Don't overdo it. Just take it easy, alright?" she said. Piers nodded, and Helena took him into her apartment, laying him on the couch.

"Just get some rest. If you need anything, just let me know." she said, sitting on the end of the couch. There was a clicking noise coming down the hall, across the floor. Around the side of the couch walked a German Shepherd dog.

"Delta, be nice. He's our guest." Helena said, petting the dog on the head.

"A dog?" Piers said, looking at the dog.

"Is that a problem? I'm sorry. I should have told you before I brought you here." Helena said. She didn't purposely keep it from him. She was just so used to keeping things secret from people, it had just become habit.

"No, it's not a problem. I like dogs." Piers said. Piers actually wouldn't have minded having a dog, but, he lived alone, and a lot of the time, with his job, he was too busy to take care of a dog. He smiled, reaching his hand out and petting the dog, Delta, and Delta licked his hand.

"Wow. She doesn't usually like strangers." Helena said, watching him pet the dog.

"She's a nice looking dog." he said as the dog walked away. What Piers would have liked to have said after that was 'And her master is, too.', but he just thought it, keeping his mouth shut, not sure if she would have been offended at hearing this from a man that she barely knew. Helena smiled. This was the first time he had seen the woman smile, and she was even prettier than usual when she did.

"Like I said, she doesn't usually like strangers. I was half expecting you to get bit." she said. He propped himself up on the couch, looking around the room. It was a nice apartment. The couch was black leather, and there was a black leather chair to match it, there was a glass coffee table, and of course, there was a television. The living room and the kitchen were one big shared room with a wooden floor. The kitchen cabinets were wood with blue marble countertops. On one wall of the living room, there was a big glass window. Against the wall with the glass window, there was a desk, office chair, and a laptop computer on the desk. There was a hallway near that that most likely led to the other rooms. Throughout the living room, on shelves and such, there were various photographs, a couple of them of Helena and another young woman who Piers assumed to be a family member of Helena's of some kind, as the young woman very much resembled Helena. Both Helena and the other woman looked happy in the pictures, and he wondered what could have changed. There was a sadness in her eyes, something he noticed about her, even if she tried to hide it. He could see it in her eyes.

"You looked really happy." he said, regretting it almost as soon as he'd said it. She followed his gaze with her eyes.

That's me with my younger sister, Deborah." she said.

"You have a sister?" Piers asked.

"I did. She died a year ago, during the C Virus incident." Helena said.

"I'm sorry." Piers said, feeling like a jerk. No wonder she looked so sad all the time. It was clear from the pictures that she and her sister had been close.

"It's alright. You didn't know." she said.

"Why are you letting me stay here? You barely know me." Piers said. Helena looked into his grey eyes for a moment.

"I can respect anyone who did what you did. It was a selfless act." she said, then, looking away for a moment, "Maybe, it's because I lost my sister to the C Virus. I don't know... I don't want to talk about it..." He wondered if he had said something wrong again.

"Well, thanks." he said.

"Yeah. You're welcome." Helena said, standing and looking back at Piers before walking away.