First of all; I want to apologise. I know this whole situation is incredibly, incredibly unrealistic but in the words of my favorite English teacher from years ago, we have to suspend our disbelief! I did a little research into amnesia before writing this and I was going to make it so that Kirsten didn't wake up for longer in the hopes that it would maybe slightly increase the reality factor but I suppose I'm a bit of an impatient writer... And I'm not a doctor-I'm not even studying medicine-so I'll probably just gloss over that side of things a little. I mean, if you wanted me to write about what I know I could do a story about Kirsten constructing a balance sheet, being sued/suing someone for negligence or drafting a contract but really, would you want that? Really want it? Thought so. And anyway, I can't think of a possible scenario where you can marry a balance sheet and romance. But maybe that's just because I hate balance sheets so much.

So, let's suspend our disbelief and (try to) enjoy!

Kirsten was more than relieved when she saw a doctor walking into her room. The fright from waking up to that strange man next to her was almost enough to make her forget how groggy she was. It had certainly stopped her from remembering why she was in the hospital for awhile-but not long enough. She knew that abortions were meant to be a straightforward procedure, not a wake up in the Intensive Care Unit with tubes and prongs coming out of you procedure. Something must have gone wrong and Kirsten was too afraid to ask about it; too afraid of finding out that her parents had been told and were now on their way. It was bad enough having an abortion in the first place-she couldn't cope if her parents found out. Her dad…oh God. Kirsten closed her eyes for a moment at the thought of he father's reaction, forgetting momentarily about the doctor.

"Kirsten?" a voice asked, jerking her back to reality.

She opened her eyes and looked up at the doctor who was smiling down at her.

"Welcome back," he declared. "I must say, we thought you probably wouldn't wake up for a bit longer so it was a nice surprise to hear you were awake. I'm Doctor Parker, by the way."

Kirsten forced a polite smile and tried to lift her arm to shake his hand but was startled to discover it was like a dead weight. She looked down in surprise and found her arm encased in a cast that she did not have the strength to lift.

"What…what happened?" Kirsten asked, looking up at Dr Parker in fright.

"You were in an accident, but you're going to be fine," Dr Parker said gently.

"No," Kirsten protested. "I wasn't in an accident. I came in here to have…to have an abortion."

"Kirsten," Dr Parker said carefully, "can you tell me what year it is?"

"1984," Kirsten answered.

Dr Parker slowly nodded his head and shot Kirsten a small smile. "I'll be right back."

If she had the strength to scream, she would. It was all so frustrating, so confusing that it made her head ache and her eyes too heavy to keep open. It must be a dream, Kirsten decided. Maybe she was having a bad reaction to the anaesthetic. Kirsten happily allowed the wave of tiredness to take her under, knowing that when she woke up, she'd feel better and everything would be as it should be.

Sandy sighed-it seemed that one problem was just giving birth to another at the moment and he was powerless to stop it. Here he was, sitting outside his wife's hospital room while she was in there with Dr Parker, refusing to let him in. He didn't want to think about all the moments they had shared that no longer existed in her memory. Nor did he want to think about how far away it might be before she got her memory back. They were too painful, too raw to be allowed into his thoughts at this stage. So Sandy decided to focus on the boys.

He had to tell them. He knew that but he was trouble bringing himself to act upon his knowledge. How could he tell the boys that Kirsten didn't seem to be able to remember her own family? Seth had always relied on his mother just to be there; to listen to his ramblings, even just to attempt to hug him or run a hand through his hair. Sandy remembered how Kirsten's stint in rehab was harder on Seth than he had let on and shuddered-how would Seth deal with a mother who was there but couldn't remember him? And Ryan-it had taken Ryan years to even begin to believe that he was a vital part of the family; to feel accepted. Was this just going to take him back to the Ryan of the past, who struggled to realise that he was a son to Sandy and Kirsten?

It was going to be hard telling them but the longer he put it off, the harder it would become. Sandy glanced at his watch-8am. He should probably call one of their cells in case they'd already left. He'd have to tell them in person so he'd ask them to come to the hospital-he didn't want to leave on the off chance that Kirsten decided she would see him.

Sandy got up and reached for his cell phone but there was no point-at that moment, he saw the boys walking towards him.

"Dad," Seth said when he reached Sandy. "Any news?"

"I was just about to call you, actually," Sandy said carefully.

Ryan and Seth looked at him for a moment with a combination of fear and hope, before Sandy took a deep breath and continued.

"She woke up two and a half hours ago."

The boys started to make a dash for the door to Kirsten's room and Sandy had to hold out his arm to restrain them.

"Wait. She's talking to the doctor and she'll probably go back to sleep after that. But there is something I have to tell you. She-well, the doctors are pretty certain she has amnesia."

"What, so Mom can't remember the past few days or months or…what?" Seth asked

"It's not quite like that," Sandy said softly. "At this stage, she's…she's not recognizing me."

Seth stared at his father for once speechless as he realised his mom wouldn't remember the artwork he used to make for her as a kid, the bedtime stories she once read him or Chrismukkah.

Sandy saw the reactions of both of his sons and noticed the curtain that seemed to be drawn over Ryan's face, erasing any hints of what he might be feeling.

"What do we do?" Ryan asked flatly, his arms crossed in front of him, not meeting Sandy's gaze.

"Well," Sandy started, knowing this was going to sound harsh no matter how he said it, "I think it's probably best if you go home. Take it easy. Your mom's going to have a lot to deal with and she's probably not ready for visitors quite yet."

Ryan nodded, resigning himself to the situation while Seth took a step towards his dad.

"Are you telling me you don't want us to see Mom?" Seth asked quietly, looking more menacing than Sandy or Ryan had ever seen him before.

Sandy shot Seth a tired look, knowing he didn't have the energy to fight with his son or anyone else but this just seemed to spur Seth on.

"Just because she doesn't remember you, it doesn't mean she won't remember us!" Seth declared, his voice rising with every word.

"Seth," Ryan said firmly, pulling him back.

"Maybe she chose not to remember you, Dad! Did you ever think about that?" Seth yelled.

Ryan pulled Seth back further as he noticed a nurse walking up to them.

"I'm going to have to ask you to keep your voice down or leave the ward," the nurse told Seth in a low, firm voice.

Sandy's heart broke as Seth shot him an anguished look before Ryan escorted him away. He'd frightened Kirsten, upset his sons-he didn't seem to be able to do anything right at the moment. He didn't know if he should have let the boys see Kirsten or if he was right to make them wait. It seemed like there was no right answer in this situation or if there was, no one had bothered to tell him yet.

After Dr Parker and a psychiatrist had left her room, Kirsten slept through to the afternoon. Sandy stayed put outside her room, leaving only to buy a late lunch he practically force-fed himself after realising he hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday. The doctors gave Sandy updates he paid little attention to, focusing on the one or two catchwords and ignoring the rest. Not that there was much to update him on while she was sleeping.

Shortly after she woke up, Sandy was given an update that he paid total and utter attention to: "Kirsten wants to see you now."

He walked hesitantly into her room. The instant he saw her, he wanted to run over and comfort her in any way he could but he restrained himself, not wanting to have to leave the room-leave her. He hung back several feet from her, as she looked him over with an expression Sandy was not used to seeing in Kirsten's viewings of him. She looked at him with uncertainty, unfamiliarity.

"They said you've been outside all this time," Kirsten finally said, her tone polite, maybe even a little reserved.

She met his eyes briefly while waiting for a response and Sandy couldn't help but notice the dark circles under her eyes and how frighteningly pale she was. He wanted to sit down on her bed, cup her face in his hand and make her laugh until she forgot that she was in hospital. But instead, he just nodded.

"Could you do me a favor, please?" she asked him. "Could you call my parents and let them know what's happened?"

Sandy knew his jaw dropped slightly and his eyes filled with surprise at that request but he couldn't correct his expression. Kirsten's parents hadn't even crossed his mind all day. It hadn't occurred to him that she could have forgotten their deaths.

"I-I can't," Sandy stammered. "I can't get in contact with them."

"Well…well, what about Jimmy?" Kirsten asked. "Jimmy Cooper?"

"He's moved," Sandy said softly, giving a silent sigh of relief that she hadn't pressed more about her parents.

"My sister?" Kirsten asked hopefully, her face growing more and more forlorn.

"Hailey's working overseas," Sandy told her. "I'll give her a call and let her know what happened."

Kirsten regarded him suspiciously for a moment.

"And you're sure you can't get onto my parents?" she persisted.

"I really can't," Sandy said, praying that Kirsten would let the subject be just for another day or two. "I'm sorry."

"Why not?" Kirsten asked firmly as a look of determination settled in her eyes, making her look more like the Kirsten he knew.

"I think we should talk about this more another day," Sandy said. "Now, why don't I call Hail-"

"No!" Kirsten interrupted. "Tell me what's going on."

"They're…not here," Sandy said lamely.

"Would you stop being so ambiguous and just tell me?" Kirsten snapped.

He didn't know what to do. He could see Kirsten getting worked up, her face paling even more, her breathing becoming shorter and shallower. If he didn't tell her, she'd work herself up into more of a state. And if he did tell her? He didn't think a bigger catch-22 existed.

Sandy looked at her with such sympathy and pity that everything about Kirsten just seemed to stop for a moment as she caught on. Not a part of her moved and she seemed to be holding her breath, whether consciously or unconsciously.

"What happened?" she managed to whisper.

"Cancer and a heart attack," Sandy finally admitted.

Kirsten had been raised with a good awareness of stranger danger. One of the most important aspects of that was never to trust the unknown. And she was pretty certain that included a man with wild eyebrows telling you your parents were dead. She wanted not to trust what he had told her more than anything in the world but there was something in his eyes that intrinsically made her believe what he was saying.

For a moment, Kirsten felt quite detached from the whole situation. She was used to being alone-her whole life, she'd hidden whatever pains she could from her family while learning at an early age that many of her classmates had been instructed by their parents to befriend Caleb Nichol's daughter. She was accustomed to not having anyone to confide in.

But then the reality of the situation hit her. She may not have been able to cry on her mother's shoulder or complain about a fight with a friend to her father, but they had always been there and loved her. She'd always had the familiarity of her family, the comfort of her friends or the distraction of Newport's social scene. And now, all her security had been whisked away from her and she was far more alone than she'd ever been before. A deep ache rose in Kirsten, so deep she forgot about the man in the room as tears she couldn't fight cascaded down her cheeks.

It took Sandy a second to realise she needed help. Kirsten's body was shaking uncontrollably and she sobbed in a way he'd never heard from her before. He rushed to tell the closest nurse he could find before returning to Kirsten, forgetting all cautions he'd had before and taking her in his arms. She thrashed against him as she continued screaming and after her hand collided with his nose, he released her, drawing back in pain.

He didn't pay attention to who gave her the sedative, he just waited anxiously to see her released from the suffering he had caused. As Kirsten drifted away, Sandy watched her with an overwhelming sense of guilt, wondering if he'd ever be able to stop inadvertently pushing her away from him.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and please don't stop them coming in! I also realised last chapter I'd disabled anonymous reviews so they've been enabled now.

Anyhow, I'm off to the beach with friends for the rest of the week so let's hope I have a nice surprise of an inbox fat with reviews when I return!