Tommy rose from what was far from the most peaceful sleep of his life, lying on the couch in the arrivals area of Reefside Hospital. His bloodshot eyes betrayed his sleepless, tearful night, while his crumpled, dishevelled clothing stood as testament to the fact he had not left the hospital that night. The doctors had told him they wanted to keep Kira under observation until the afternoon. He knew she would need him.
Checking his watch, he saw that it was almost 7 am, and knew that he needed to begin making arrangements for Kira's release. He began by phoning Principal Randall to clear his absence.
"What can I do for you?" Principal Randall asked, thinking it was odd for Tommy to be phoning so early.
"A friend of mine was in a bad car accident last night." He stated. "I'll need a substitute to take my classes for the foreseeable future."
"I'm sorry to hear about your friend Dr Oliver." She replied, "But I don't know if…"
"It's Kira." Tommy interrupted. "Both her parents were killed. I'll need to help her with the arrangements."
"O-o-of course Dr Oliver." She replied, her voice cracking with the shock. "Mr White can take your classes until I get a substitute. After that, we'll see what we can do."
"Thank you Principal Randall." He sighed, hanging up the phone. He next phoned Hayley.
"If this isn't a rich, handsome man calling to marry me and take me away I'm hanging up." Hayley yawned into the mouthpiece. She never was a morning person; Tommy remembered that from when they dated briefly in college.
"Hayley, it's Tommy." He began. He let out a long sigh.
"What's happening Tommy?" She asked, suddenly awake and alert. Tommy didn't phone this early for nothing.
"Kira was in an accident." He began. "Her parents never made it."
"My God!" She exclaimed out loud. "Tommy, is there anything I can do?"
"Could you have the guys go to her house and collect some of her things?" Tommy asked, wiping a tear from his eye. "Kira signed the release forms, so I have access to her possessions and the house key. Have the guys pick up the key from me at the Hospital and take some of her stuff to my place."
"Of course Tommy." Hayley replied, the shock still apparent in her voice. "Anything."
Hanging up the phone, he made his way into the examination room, where Kira was sitting on the bed. Dr Armstrong was shining a torch into her eyes to check responsiveness. For obvious reasons, she had not slept well.
"Are you sure you want to do this now?" Tommy asked softly. "It can always wait."
Kira looked at him, her eyes bloodshot from the same combination of sleeplessness and tears as Tommy's. "I'm sure." Were the only words she could force through the lump in her throat.
Tommy moved over beside her, placing his right arm around her shoulders, and taking her hand in his free hand, helping her off the bed. "Which way Dr Armstrong?" Tommy asked.
"Follow me." He responded, leading them out the examination room and down the hall. Kira's eyes never left the floor as they mad their way past the assorted throng of doctors and patients littering the hall. Tommy noted the reaction from the other doctors as they made their way down the hall. Each looking at the three heading down the hall, noticing their direction, and then quickly turning away when they realise where they're headed. No one envied a doctor walking that route.
Arriving at the coroner's lab, Dr Armstrong led them over to a side room, where two tables stood. The distinctive shape of a human body, covered by a heavy white sheet rested on each of the heavy steel tables. Dr Armstrong showed the first sign of sensitivity Tommy could remember since he had met him as he turned to look Kira in the eye.
"The injuries were quite severe." He warned her, his voice low and soothing. "This is never a pleasant moment. Are you sure?"
Kira nodded wordlessly, before looking up at Tommy.
"I'm here." Tommy reassured her. Heading into the room, they stopped before the two tables. Dr Armstrong gripped the white sheet covering the first body, then looked to Kira for confirmation. At her nod, he pulled back the sheet, revealing the face beneath. Kira nodded and pulled closer to Tommy. Dr Armstrong confirmed the nod, before replacing the sheet. Lifting the second, Kira nodded, then turned to hug Tommy, burying her face in his chest..
"You've been very brave Kira." The doctor stated gently, touching her shoulder. "I'll sort out the appropriate paperwork." He scribbled something on a pad, tearing off the page and handing it to Kira. "Give that to the nurse, I've prescribed you a mild sedative. It's best you get some rest. You'll be released this afternoon."
"Thank you Doctor." Tommy said softly, outstretching his hand. Dr Armstrong responded with a handshake, before turning back to his paperwork. Tommy led Kira back to her room.
Later, Tommy found himself, once again, in the waiting area as Conner, Ethan and Trent approached him. Wordlessly, Conner, then Ethan followed by Trent all hugged Tommy in mutual support of their friend.
"Tell Kira we're thinking about her." Ethan croaked, visibly upset as he handed over a couple of items Kira had left at his place during a visit.
"Yeah, we're all sorry for what happened." Conner said sincerely. "Mr and Mrs F were always cool to us. They were good people."
Trent simply nodded wordlessly before turning away. Tommy couldn't blame him, he realised that as an adopted child this must have brought up some unpleasant memories for him.
"Thanks for coming guys." Tommy breathed gently as he pulled two house keys from his pocket. "This one's for Kira's place." He began, holding up one of the keys in his right hand. "Get some of her clothes and things into a bag and take them to my place."
He gestured to the desk clerk, who handed him a box. "This is what she was wearing on the night of the crash. Make sure it gets kept in a SAFE place." He put down sternly. The three guys just nodded with a wordless understanding at this. They knew it wasn't the clothes that concerned him, but the Dino Gem bracelet.
"You know it Dr O." Ethan replied, hugging him again.
"Ethan, it's been three years since you graduated." Tommy replied. "You can call me Tommy."
Later that afternoon, the cab pulled up outside Tommy's place, dropping Tommy and Kira at the end of the path. Tommy took Kira by the shoulders and looked into her eyes.
"We're here." He whispered to her. Kira looked at him wearily as she stood to her full 5'3" "You can stay in the guest room." With that, he led her into the living room, sitting her on the couch before heading upstairs to prepare her room.
Sitting on the couch, Kira noticed one of her guitars propped up in the corner of the room. Picking it up, she plucked a couple of strings, and began tuning it, before attempting to play. Finding it impossible to concentrate, she threw the guitar across the room, slamming it against the opposite wall.
"What happened?" Tommy barked, charging into the room. Finding Kira weeping uncontrollably, he embraced her warmly, stroking her hair reassuringly as he looked around to see what had happened. He noticed the guitar lying in the corner and immediately knew.
"These things take time." Tommy whispered, rocking her gently. "You'll feel better when the time's right." He looked into her eyes, before lifting up the splint on her right hand. "Besides, even I know enough about music to know it's not a good idea to try and play guitar with a fractured wrist."
Kira got up off the couch and looked at him. "Can I go to my room?"
Tommy led her up the stairs to the first door on the left, sitting Kira on the bed, he left her saying, "Just let me know if you need anything." As she curled up on the bed, Tommy pulled the covers over her, leaving her to her sleep.
In the dead of night, Kira thrashed wildly in her bed as the events of the previous night flashed before her in vivid detail. The screech of the tyres, the stench of ozone, the searing, burning light of the headlamps. She snapped into consciousness, snapping bolt upright in her bed and began screaming.
Tommy was wrenched from his peaceful sleep and simultaneously almost deafened by the penetrating screech of Kira's Ptera Scream. Rushing through to the guest room, he found her sitting upright, crying. The window and the mirror in the room had shattered under the abuse of the ultra-sonic vibrations. Tommy never even noticed the glass cutting his bare feet as he ran to Kira's side.
"I couldn't save them!" She wept loudly, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I've saved all those people, all those times, and I couldn't save them."
"No one can save everybody." Tommy replied, lifting her into his arms, and out of the guest room. "If you had had time to morph AND cut your parent's seat belts AND get them out of the car, your dad would have been able to steer out of the way." He looked down into her eyes. "Sometimes you just can't save everyone."
He set her down on his bed before moving to go to the couch downstairs.
"Don't leave." She shouted, turning to look him in the eyes with a panicked expression on her face. "I don't want to be alone."
"It's an emotional time for you." Tommy began. "You shouldn't…"
"I just want you to hold me." She replied, pulling him onto the bed, curling into him. "Just hold me."
As she drifted off, Tommy curled beside her, holding her in a warm embrace. Pulling the covers over them, he drifted off to sleep the first restful sleep either of them had had since the whole turn of events begun.