When she awoke, she was extremely disoriented. Someone had dressed her in a fresh set of pajamas, clean and soft. She was clean, too. She was in a large bed, no- a pull out couch. Where was she?

Then it all came flooding back to her. The accident. Her injuries. Otis. How sick he had been. The woman finding them in the woods.

She tried to sit up, and groaned in pain. Her body was stiff and sore, and she knew ribs were broken. Where was Otis? Was he alive?

She heard someone coming down the stairs. The woman. She was carrying a tray with food- eggs, toast with jelly, and orange juice. "Well, hello beautiful. Glad to see you're awake."

She smiled softly back at the woman.

"Here you go. I'll go up and make myself somethin' later. Er...I mean, if you don't like this I'll go make you something else."

"No, this is perfect. Thank you so much." Adoria took the tray offered to her into her lap and began to eat.

"You were out for two days, sweetie. You woke up here and there but not really. I was worried...but I figured your body was exhausted. You've been through a whole lot."

"W...what about my husband?"

She smiled kindly. "Abram's upstairs feedin' him right now."

"He...is he okay?"

"Yes, dear. He's gonna be just fine. We got him all cleaned up, too. I hope you don't mind. I cleaned you all up and put you in clean clothes. Abram did that for your husband. Showered him, gave him a shave."

Otis would have been humiliated, but she was extremely grateful. She wouldn't have wanted him sitting in his dirty clothes.

"He keeps callin' me Adoria. Is that your name, sweetie?"

She blushed. "Yes...what's he saying?"

"He keeps asking if its you. I just tell him yes. I figure it'll keep him calmer. He doesn't need to get himself all excited right now. He's runnin' a fever, still. And I'm sure that leg is pretty painful. So is that collarbone and that arm..." She shook her head. "You poor things..."

"Can...Can I go up and see him?"

The woman hesitated. "Well...I can't get you up the stairs by myself right now, but can you wait until Abram is done? I can get him to take you up."

"Yes. That's perfect. Thank you..."

"You're downstairs in the basement, sweetie. I have my grandkids over often, so I have a lot of guest rooms. I'm sorry. I just can't get you up there myself."

"No, no. I appreciate so much what you're doing...Thank you."

"Oh, sweetie. It's nothin'. The good lord is smilin' on me for bein' kind to you."

Ohhh boy. She was in the deep south.

When Abram came down stairs, he looked slightly disturbed.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" The older woman asked.

"He...seems real scared, Gramma. He keeps tellin' someone to stop hurtin' him. That he'll be a good boy...I...I don't know what to make of it."

They both looked at Adoria, who was suddenly sheepish.

"He...had a rough childhood." She admitted.

"Oh, that poor thing. Abram, why don't you carry her up there? See if she can calm him down some."

Abram scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the guest room where Otis was.

She broke down into tears when she saw him.

He was as white as the sheets beneath him, soaked with sweat and whimpering in pain or fear, she couldn't tell. They had dressed him in flannel shorts for easy access to his leg wound, which was expertly bandaged. She noticed a splint on his ankle. She hadn't known it was broken. His arm was wrapped just like hers, and his collarbone was inflated with bandages. The smell of infection was gone, replaced with the sterile smell of antiseptic. He had multiple IV's stuck in him; reading the bags of medicine, she saw that he was being pumped with a strong antibiotic and fluids.

She tried to compose herself. She didn't want to be crying when and if Otis opened his eyes.

Abram gently swiped a washcloth across Otis's face. He turned his head away, moaning. "N...no...Don't...hurt me...I...I'm sorry..."

"See...? He thinks everything I do is gonna hurt him..."

Adoria inched loser to the bed, stroking Otis's face. He turned again, trying to get away. "No, Otis...Otis...It's me. It's Adoria. It's me, baby. It's your babygirl."

"H...hnn? He opened his eyes, lucidity crossing those crimson pools for an instant. "A...Adi?"

"Yeah, it's me, baby. You're okay. We're safe..." She stroked his hair.

He closed his eyes, sighing. "We...we made it..."

"Yeah, baby. We did."