Jessie's POV

My senses came back to me slowly, one by one. The first to return to me was feeling. I could feel a warm hand on my shoulder, even through my coat. Then my hearing came back.

"Hey...Hey...can you hear me?" I tried to answer, but my mobility hadn't returned yet. I could feel warm breath in my ear. "OY!" I still couldn't move quite yet. "Dang it. I thought that would work."

"Ow." My voice came out croaky and weak. "Did you have to mutilate my ear drums?"

"Ah, welcome back to consciousness." It was Wally who had yelled in my ear...figures.

"Hell of a welcome." I cleaned out my ears to try to get the ringing sound to stop.

"You're welcome."

"That wasn't a thank you, idiot." The redhead just shrugged.

"So...how do you feel?"

"Blind. You really shouldn't have the lights so bright in here. You'll have patients thinking they're dead...moving towards the light and all that." I rubbed at my eyes.

"Good to know you've got a sense of humour." When my eyes refocused, I noticed how beaten up Wally looked.

"Dude, you look terrible."

"That's what happens when you almost get turned into an ice cube!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that."

"You numbed my legs!" He snapped

"Ooh, that's harsh." I knew what it was like. I'd been completely unable to move during my 'episode'.

"I know!"

"Well if it's any consolation...it made a difference."

"What?"

"You managed to break up some of the ice crystals."

"I'm glad to know Rob was right. Otherwise, I might have been frozen for no reason."

"Hmm right." We sat in silence for a moment.

"Jess." Wally said quietly. Only my sister really called me Jess.

"Hmm."

"Your friend, the one on the footage, you were close? Weren't you?"

"Yes." Wally was being quite blunt, but I appreciated it. It's a certain type of person who will give it to you straight.

"How close?"

"Very."

"It's more than that. One word answers won't cut it, Jess." I was thinking of saying he didn't need that information, until he'd said 'Jess'.

"He...was more of a teacher, than a friend. Older than me."

"A parent almost."

"Yeah." Wally, for all he was a joker, was being very perceptive.

"How old was he?"

"Nineteen." My hands curled into fists. "Only a year or two out of high school...He was studying...said he wanted to be a teacher. I always thought it was stupid, cause he kinda already was one." I exhaled. Wally chuckled slightly.

"Sounds like a nice guy."

"He was. His name was Kieran." I paused for a moment. "I don't expect your team to fight for us. We like doing things ourselves. It's just...we don't exactly know how. Some of us can fight, but not all. The enemy we face is just too big. We need all hands."

"Your group needs training?"

"Yes, and we've got less than a month, but we also need to find a new leader first."

"How do the Fantails decide who their leader is going to be?"

"Kieran...left me some stuff. This was in it." I pulled out Kieran's note to me and passed it to Wally. I watched in silence while he read.