The last chapter. I think this is called a Epilogue. A bit cheesy.
"Goodnight Doctor," said Frank as he left, sighing. He'd lost so many friends over the years, but others had paid much heavier prices than him.
A full two weeks later, Dan joined his registration class again, with his new plaster cast. Zoe gave him her usual sunny smile and he got quick grins from Aneisha and Tom. They'd visited him in hospital and at home and their company had helped him get through the boredom and the pain. The long hours of lying in hospital reminded him too much of his recovery from the accident which had killed his parents and his little sister. He'd spent months in hospital then, knowing that nobody was coming to visit him. He knew what it was like to feel completely alone in the world. His connection with Zoe was one of deep understanding.
Taking his seat, Dan wondered what Mr. McNab would have to say about the latest 'incident'. There was no pretending that he'd had another skateboarding accident. Frank hadn't said what the school accident report had eventually explained about the killer shelving. With a wry smile on his face, Dan wondered whether Mr. McNab had eventually worked out how to explain Dan's injuries.
After registration he got his answer. Mr. McNab sidled up to him as he gathered his bags for his first class. "Daniel, I'm glad to see you well again," began Mr. McNab. "We were all very shocked about the faulty shelving falling on to you in the library," said Mr. McNab, giving Dan a meaningful look.
"Er, yes," said Dan. "Hopefully it won't happen again," he added, nodding meaningfully to Mr. McNab.
"Oh my God No !" said Mr. McNab, sounding horrified. "I'll never forget it."
"You were pretty handy with a chair Sir," said Dan quietly, smiling.
"Was I ? I was wasn't I ?" said Mr. McNab with a rare smile. "Nobody will ever believe it though."
"Probably for the best Sir," said Dan. "Bye Sir."
"Goodbye Daniel," said Mr. McNab.
Later that day they were called down to their base. Dan wasn't at all keen on getting into the lift with the others.
"Dan, it's OK," assured Aneisha. "Frank's worked on the system and he says it shouldn't give you any more problems. Come on !" Reluctantly Dan got in with the others, but closed his eyes as the lift descended. Satisfied they had come to a halt, he opened one eye and looked down at what he was wearing. Result ! Everything was in the right place once again. He looked up and found Frank and the team standing outside the lift, grinning at him.
"You didn't believe me did you ?" asked Aneisha. Sheepishly, Dan shook his head and stepped out of the lift.
"Welcome back Dan !" said Frank. They all stood in a circle and had a group hug. It was good to be back amongst friends.
Frank told Dan that while he'd been away there had been three more attempted Odysseus attacks on MI9 agents, but they had all been equipped with deactivators which made the devices useless. It looked like KORPS had now abandoned them.
Frank got a call about a broken photo-copier and had to leave. Tom dragged Aneisha away to torture her with his latest online gaming find. Dan found himself alone with Zoe.
They looked at each other, wondering what to say. Finally Zoe spoke. "Do you think you can tell me what happened ?" she asked. Immediately, Dan felt tense and his shoulders stiffened. Zoe must have realised he was uncomfortable and said, "It's alright. You don't have to tell me if you can't do it."
Dan thought for a second. Why couldn't he just tell her ? He just had to say the words. Dan took a deep breath, but he still couldn't look her in the eye as he told her what had happened. "We were on holiday, Mum, Dad, me and Lottie, my little sister. I was ten and she was eight. The car came to a steep hill and it wouldn't stop. Dad was trying to stop the car and Mum was shouting. Finally Dad tried to run it into a field to stop it, but it ran straight into a wall at the end. There was a huge bang, I woke up lying in the field. I couldn't move. Everything hurt. I looked up and the car was on fire. I could hear Lottie screaming, but I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything to help."
Dan stopped and wiped a tear off his face. He was glad he'd got it over with. She knew. He looked up and realised they all knew. Tom and Aneisha were standing staring at him with looks of shock on their faces. "Oh Dan !" said Zoe. She pulled him up into a hug and Tom and Aneisha joined her. Nobody knew what to say, so they said nothing.
At the end of the school day, Dan was once again walking out of the school yard, but this time it felt like some of the burden had been lifted. He didn't feel like he had to keep busy, just to get through the day. He felt someone come along beside him and smiled on seeing Zoe. This time he slipped his arm round her waist. "We'd better make good time if you're going to be back by 4 o'clock," he said. They walked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.
"Zoe, I was wondering, if, well not today obviously, and probably not for a few days really, since I can't do an awful lot at the moment, but I was wondering if, if you weren't doing anything else, " he bumbled along.
"Ooh, can we go on a date then ?" asked Zoe.
"Yes, that was it, a date. Oh, you mean yes ?" said Dan, surprised.
"Yes, of course. I've never been to the cinema. Shall we go to see a film ?" asked Zoe.
"Okay. Yes, that would be great," said Dan, all smiles.
"Saturday ?" asked Zoe.
"Yes, Saturday," agreed Dan. That was easy. This time he walked her all the way home. Zoe got lots of kisses.