Chapter 14 – Wait for Me to Come Home

"Loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes
But it's the only thing that I know
When it gets hard, you know it can get hard sometimes
It is the only thing that makes us feel alive

We keep this love in a photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts are never broken
And time's forever frozen still

So you can keep me
Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans
Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet
You won't ever be alone, wait for me to come home

Loving can heal, loving can mend your soul
And it's the only thing that I know
I swear it will get easier,
Remember that with every piece of you
And it's the only thing we take with us when we die

We keep this love in this photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts were never broken
And time's forever frozen still

So you can keep me
Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans
Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet
You won't ever be alone

And if you hurt me
That's okay baby, only words bleed
Inside these pages you just hold me
And I won't ever let you go
Wait for me to come home
Wait for me to come home
Wait for me to come home
Wait for me to come home

You can fit me
Inside the necklace you got when you were sixteen
Next to your heartbeat where I should be
Keep it deep within your soul

And if you hurt me
Well, that's okay baby, only words bleed
Inside these pages you just hold me
And I won't ever let you go

When I'm away, I will remember how you kissed me
Under the lamppost back on Sixth Street
Hearing you whisper through the phone,
'Wait for me to come home'."

-Ed Sheeran & Johnny McDaid-

A few days later, Uncas and Alice sat at a window table in the hospital's cafeteria, finishing lunch while surrounded by their families and Magua, who had driven down to visit them and return their backpacks. Uncas was able to sit beside Alice in a regular chair since all he had to contend with was the complicated-looking immobilizer sling on his right arm, but Alice remained in her wheelchair with the support for her leg, and her chest tube unit sitting in the back basket. Her oxygen cannula was gone now, since she had progressed to holding an adequate oxygen saturation on room air, and the nurse had been able to start disconnecting her IV and capping the line now that she was off her PCA pump and most of the other medications, just receiving doses of IV or oral pain medications every four hours. Uncas, too, was able to go most of the time without his IV pole, which made physical therapy a lot easier for him, especially walking practice since his ataxia still made that hard enough. Yvette had been bringing them both probiotic and omega-3 supplements and all kinds of medicinal herb concoctions. Uncas got things like ginkgo-biloba, chamomile, and vincristine to boost brain function and circulation, and for Alice she brought comfrey, horsetail and fenugreek tea to aid in bone and tissue healing. She often brought them healthy meals from home that contained all the essential nutrients that would help their injuries heal, too. The doctors and nurses had been supportive of Yvette's efforts and did not stand in her way; though even if they had, Alice knew that much like her sons, Yvette would find a way to do what she knew was best anyway.

"It's been so good to see you two," Magua said, looking at Uncas and Alice with sincerity. "I know we don't know each other well, but… I mean, after what happened I was really worried about how you were doing."

"Are you kidding?" Uncas replied. "You pretty much saved our lives by calling for help, so I'd say that puts you up pretty high in the 'friend for life' category."

"Seriously, I think you can stick around at this point." Alice laughed.

"Well, I don't know about saving any lives, I think you all took care of all that pretty well," Magua said to Nathaniel and Cora. He had been amazed to discover on his arrival that the rescue crew had been comprised of the very siblings and friends Uncas and Alice had been telling him all about during the course of their hike.

"We wouldn't have been able to get there as fast as we did without you being there," Cora said adamantly, placing a hand over his. "And I'm so glad you got in touch and came down, because we've all wanted so much to thank you properly for everything you did to help them."

Magua looked a little choked up for a moment. "I'm just glad everything turned out as well as it could. The injuries aren't the best thing, I know, and that's regrettable, but I was pretty scared for you, and I'll tell you it's just a huge relief to see you guys alive and on the road to recovery."

"It is for us too," Nathaniel said gruffly. "We owe a lot to you, Magua, and I'm grateful that you were all on the trail at the same time, or things might have been… a whole lot different."

"Fate is a funny thing, for sure," Magua said with a small smile. "When my son got sick and couldn't make the trip with me, I came so close to postponing it. I'm awfully glad now that I didn't do that." Suddenly an alarm went off on Nathaniel's phone, and he pulled it out to switch it off.

"That's the afternoon physical therapy alarm," he said to Uncas, who groaned and rolled his eyes as Nathaniel stood up to help him back into a waiting wheelchair. He was still too unsteady to walk on his own without the help of a therapist, so the wheelchair was the approved mode of travel until PT showed up with a gait belt to help him walk. His blurry vision was much improved with the further decrease in swelling, though, so at least there was that.

"We better get going too, you're due for afternoon rounds with your docs, and it's almost time for your meds. You know Florence will get jumpy if you're gone too long," Cora said to Alice.

"Magua, are you staying in Albany overnight?" Yvette asked as they all stood from the table.

"Yeah, I was going to get a motel room, maybe pop in for a short visit tomorrow before I head home if that's all right with everyone."

"A motel? Bullshit!" Ed proclaimed. "Why don't you stay with me? I've got two extra bedrooms, and I'd love the company. And while we're at it, let me take you out to dinner this evening, it's the least I can do after all you've done for the kids."

"Well, if you really don't mind…"

"Of course not!" Sidney chimed in. "As a matter of fact, we'd love to join you, Ed."

"The more, the merrier, I always say." Ed clapped Magua on the back. "What do you say, Renard?"

"Well, all right then!" Magua grinned, changing his craggy features quite pleasantly. After the round of hugs and goodbyes that followed, he left with the parents. Nathaniel and Cora went the opposite direction pushing Uncas and Alice, who held hands as their siblings pushed their wheelchairs back to the elevators. After separating to return to their respective units, Cora helped Florence get Alice settled back in her freshly made bed, after which the nurse gave Alice her pain medication.

"I can't wait till I'm healed enough to get off this stuff," Alice said with a grimace. "I know I need it right now, but I hate the prospect of being on narcotics for so long. Especially because I'll be due for internal fixation surgery soon, and that'll start this whole deal over again."

"You'll be all right, honey," Florence assured her. "Once you've got a plate in there instead of that external fixator, you might find you're more comfortable than you are now, and you'll be able to take less and less of this stuff after that." She pulled up Alice's chart on the wall computer to record the dose of medication, and then left to see her next patient, passing a youngish, brown-haired man in a white coat on her way out. He came into the room, glancing at the clipboard in his hand.

"Alice Munro?" he questioned for confirmation, his pale blue eyes fixing on her.

"That would be me," Alice replied. "And you are?"

"Chip Peterson. I'm a senior ortho resident here, I work with Dr. Coleman."

Cora eyed him reticently. She was familiar with him, and she wasn't a fan. He was a mouthy jerk with zero bedside manner, and most of the nurses who dealt with him wanted to knock him out and leave him locked in the supply closet. She didn't like the idea of him laying a finger on Alice for any reason, but it was just rounds and a brief exam, so she tried to settle herself.

"Oh," Alice replied, a little disappointed. "I thought I'd be seeing Dr. Coleman. We were going to discuss internal fixation and a rehab plan."

"Well, he's held up in the OR on an emergency case, so he asked me to round on his patients this afternoon. He may want to come talk to you later, but I'm who you've got for now." He smirked a little, no warmth in his soulless eyes at all, and Cora already wanted to punch him.

Alice narrowed her eyes a little. "Yeah, okay, fine," she replied, exchanging a wary look with Cora, but allowing him to begin examining her leg around the external fixator after a brief general assessment.

"Quite a number you did on this leg," he said after he'd finished, making a few notes on his clipboard and pointedly raising a brow at Alice. "That'll keep you off the hiking trails for a while, at any rate."

Alice glared at him with an expression that screamed thank you, Captain Obvious. "Well, I know it will take some time to heal, but I'm hoping that within a couple months I'll at least be able to get back into a regular yoga routine."

"Yeah, I wouldn't get my hopes up about a two-month time frame," Chip interrupted with a careless wave of his hand. "You'll be lucky to be out of inpatient rehab by then, and you sure won't be bearing much weight on that leg even after that."

Cora bristled in her chair as she watched Alice's face fall. Who the hell did this little puke think he was? Dr. Coleman had barely discussed any of this with Alice yet because he wanted to see how things were going before he told her anything concrete, yet this narcissistic punk thought he had the right to speak decisively about Alice's recovery when he wasn't even her attending?

"I'm aware of the weight-bearing issues," Alice said a little shakily, "but Dr. Coleman - "

"Then you know how much tissue damage a fracture like this causes? Because it's not just your bones. It's your muscles and everything that are a mess. You've got a lot of therapy ahead of you, I hope you know that."

Alice frowned, her hazel eyes blazing. Cora could tell she was getting upset, and while she wanted to run to her sister's defense and choke-slam the arrogant jerk, she also knew Alice was the patient and she could hold her own without needing Cora to cape for her. Still, it took all her resolve to keep her mouth shut. She was so busy keeping herself in check while simultaneously hating Chip Peterson's face that she didn't notice Nathaniel standing outside the doorframe in the hall.

"Of course I know that," Alice retorted. "I'm not an idiot. All I'm saying is that I'd like to try to get back to some low-key exercising that makes me feel normal again as soon as possible."

Chip sniffed, smirking again as he made more notes on his clipboard. "Well, you probably should have considered that before you went down a cliff after your boyfriend."

Alice's jaw dropped and her eyes filled with tears, too aghast and angry to even say anything back to such an appallingly insensitive comment. Making her sister cry was the last straw for Cora. Buckle up, Chipper, because you just flipped the Munro bitch switch. She sprang out of her chair and marched right up to him.

"Just who the fucking hell do you think you are, exactly?" she asked him. She didn't yell, and somehow that was more fear-inducing than if she had; her brand as a nurse and commanding officer was a little different than Ed's as a drill instructor.

"Excuse me?" Chip replied, looking annoyed.

"I think you heard me the first time. I just want to know what or who the fuck exactly makes you think you can speak to a patient like that. Because the last time I checked, you are still a resident. A subordinate. Yet you come in here with your superior goddamn attitude like you have the right to say anything definitive about Alice's recovery, let alone spout that kind of utter horseshit to her."

Cora's voice was still calm and icy, and she was still oblivious to Nathaniel, who stood watching the entire exchange from the corner of the doorway. Part of him wanted to walk in there and smash his fist into that smug little bastard's teeth, especially after his heartless comment to Alice about following Uncas off a cliff. But Cora seemed to have it under control, and watching her dress the son of a bitch down was a beautiful thing, indeed. He remained out of view for the moment.

"Who are you to question what I do?" the resident's mouth twisted wryly. Nathaniel sighed inwardly. Some fools never learn to quit talking back, he thought.

"Well, for starters, I'm Alice's sister, so I'll be damned if you get to talk to her like that in my presence on any given day. But the part you need to be concerned about is that I am a nurse, and an employee at this hospital, you pompous little prick, and if you had shit for common sense you'd try a little harder to do your fucking job like a decent human being, especially around people like me."

The resident looked at her almost as if she had amused him. "Huh. I thought you looked familiar. I'm not exactly sure why I should care about you working here, but has anyone ever told you that your language is really unprofessional? You cuss too much."

Cora's eyes narrowed. "Yeah? Well, you breathe too much, asshole! Now I suggest you get the hell out of my sister's room before you give me anything else to add to that formal complaint I'll be filing against you."

That's my girl. Damn, I love her. Nathaniel grinned with devilish pride as the color drained from the cocky resident's face in the wake of realizing that he'd royally screwed up.

"That would be why you should care that she works here, and as the offended patient, I can make your professional life hell even more than she can," Alice added, angrily swiping at her wet cheeks. "I'll second the 'get the hell out' part, too."

"Now hold on, Miss Munro." Chip laughed nervously, reaching out a hand to place it on Cora's arm. "I don't think - "

"I'll tell you what I do think," Nathaniel said as he calmly stepped into the room, the former cop rising to life in him. He knew Cora had it handled, but he just couldn't resist scaring the guy a little more, especially since Uncas wasn't here to kill him for what he'd said to Alice. "I think they both told you to get out, and I think you'd better do that, or you and I are gonna have a serious disagreement." His eyes flicked down to where the little worm's hand rested on Cora's arm. "I also think you had better get your hand off her, or I'll be mailing it back to you." Chip gulped and snatched his hand back as if he'd been burned. Without another word, he turned to leave the room.

"Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out," Alice called after him.

"So, Cora told me that Dr. Coleman asked for Chip Peterson to be removed from his service until he can treat patients with more sensitivity," Ashley snickered. She stood behind Uncas while he sat on a chair in his room, her electric clippers in hand. Now that his head didn't need to be bandaged, she had promised to even out the half-shaved underside of his hair for him, so she'd come up after the end of her night shift in the ER to make good on it.

"Yeah," Alice confirmed. "Dr. Coleman told us that himself when he came to see me the next morning. I guess Cora didn't even wait for the paper report to get to administration, she paged Dr. Coleman too. Whatever, at least I never have to deal with that Peterson dickhead again."

Uncas grunted, tipping his head forward so Ashley could clip the rest of his long hair on top of his head. "Fortunate for you, and for him, that weasely little fucker. He's lucky I was in physical therapy that day, because even without my hands working at full capacity right now, being off Coleman's service isn't the worst thing he'd be facing if I'd been in that room." Uncas had calmed down quite a bit by now, but he'd been livid when Alice had told him how the resident had spoken to her, and the guilt he felt over not having been there to support her had made him even angrier.

Alice tittered. "I can't even imagine how much more awesome that would have been. You should have seen his face already, between Cora ripping him a new one and Nathaniel coming in with his smart Super-Cop mouth at the end. I thought Peterson was going to piss himself, it was absolutely glorious."

Uncas chuckled. "I always did tell Nathaniel when he was a cop that he was wasting his verbal talent flying a ghetto bird instead of staying on patrol."

"No shit," Brian replied with a laugh from the couch, rising to hand Alice the water bottle she was reaching for on the counter so she wouldn't hurt her ribs. "I'd have loved to be a fly on the wall in that room right then."

"Where are Nathaniel and Cora and your folks, anyway?" Ashley asked, going to work on Uncas' hair.

"The folks are out having breakfast together," Alice replied. "Nathaniel and Cora will be here in a while I'm sure, they slept at Cora's last night, and they'll probably stop at my apartment on the way back like they usually do." She sighed, wishing she could go home for just a little while. She missed her own bed, and most of all she missed Sweet Potato and Mrs. Nesbit, and even the silent fish. Mostly she just missed life before all this. It felt like they'd been in the hospital for months already, even though it hadn't even been two weeks yet. The stress and worry about the future was looming bigger every day, too. Uncas was doing really well considering his injuries, and Dr. Navelli was already talking about discharging him to a skilled rehab facility in the very near future. He didn't really need to be here in the hospital for much longer, but he wasn't doing quite well enough to go home yet. There was a medical rehab hospital in Schenectady where Dr. Navelli often sent his patients after a hospital stay, and he felt that this would be best for Uncas so that he could continue to work on physical and occupational therapy for his left-sided weakness, and could also begin to work with a therapist for his shoulder once he was healed enough from the surgery.

Alice, on the other hand, would not be able to go anywhere until her lung had healed enough to get her chest tube out. Dr. Coleman hadn't discussed an exact therapy plan yet, but they were supposed to have a meeting with him and Dr. Joshi this afternoon, because in a few more days she would likely be going back to the OR for Dr. Coleman to trade her ex-fix for a plate and screws, and she was hoping for good news from Dr. Joshi too. She wanted a little more freedom from tubes. She wanted a real shower. She wanted alone time with Uncas, something they hadn't had at all thus far and weren't likely to get. Nothing felt normal, and they tried to make the best of it, but she still hated it. She envied Cora, being able to leave and sleep at home with Nathaniel sometimes. She loved her sister for sticking by her so faithfully and for keeping her from going nuts here, but it bugged her that she and Uncas had to prod Cora and Nathaniel so hard to get them to take time away, when they would both sell their souls at this point for a night alone together outside the hospital. Especially since even after the hospital neither of them would be going home very soon. How much worse would this all get before it got better?

"All done!" Ashley proclaimed proudly, brushing the stray hairs from Uncas' neck and removing the towel around his shoulders. "Check it out, Alice! I gave him a fancy undercut complete with a special design!"

"You didn't shave 'Kick Me' into my hair, did you?" Uncas joked as Ashley helped him stand up and turn so Alice could see. "Nathaniel and Brian would be all over that one, and I need that about as much as I need these holes in my head."

Alice grinned excitedly as she saw what Ashley had done. "Oh my gosh, that looks amazing, Ashley!"

"That's pretty spectacular, baby," Brian agreed. "I think you'll like it, bro!"

"Okay, now I have to see this," Uncas said. "At least I can see well enough to get a good look now. Help me over to the bathroom mirror, would you?" Ashley held onto his waist to steady him as he went slowly into the bathroom, holding up the hand mirror she had brought with her so he could see. Careful to steer clear of the healing sutures around the burr-holes, she had buzzed down the whole underside of his hair to match what had been taken off the right side, and had then shaved a spider web design into the undercut. The top she had left long, so that it covered most of the underside when it hung loose, or could be pulled back to show off the web design.

"Now you have Spider-Man hair!" Alice exclaimed gleefully from outside the door.

"Dude, that looks great, Ashley. Thank you so much for salvaging my hair ego," Uncas smiled and gave her the best hug he could manage.

"What's this about Spider-Man hair?" Nathaniel's voice sounded from the main doorway to the room. "And here's Mary Jane, too. Perfect, this is perfect." He walked in wearing a mischievous grin and a navy-blue t-shirt that proclaimed 'Good morning, world! Your little ray of sarcastic sunshine has arrived.' After high-fiving Brian and dropping a brotherly kiss on top of Alice's head, he peered into the bathroom. "Damn, look at you! That's definitely some Spider-Man hair. Nice job, Ash! It goes great with the pants." He gestured at the Marvel comic-print lounge pants Uncas was sporting with the black t-shirt Nathaniel had bought him that said, 'It's ok – I'm on 500mg of Fukitol'.

"Heh. I could have used some web-shooting Spider-Man powers when I fell off a cliff," Uncas smiled wryly, slowly making his way back out with Ashley to sit down on the edge of the bed near Alice's wheelchair.

Cora walked in a second later, her eyes sparkling and her cheeks a little pink. "Thirty seconds," she said to Nathaniel, leaning over to give him a kiss and a sappy grin.

"Thirty seconds what?" Alice asked, confused.

"You'll find out in - " Nathaniel looked at his watch and smiled again. "Eighteenish seconds." It was more like ten, but it finally became clear what was going on when a group of very well-costumed superheroes filed in the door, filling the small room to capacity.

"I hear there's a big fan of mine in this room!" Spider-Man proclaimed, raising his arms. "So naturally we had to come and say hello."

"Holy crap!" Alice started laughing, bracing her injured side. "And Batman, too! Uncas loves you, Spider-Man, but I love Batman more, sorry!"

"Ah, music to my ears!" Batman guffawed, shaking Alice's hand.

"Leave it to you to orchestrate something like this," Uncas said to Nathaniel, shaking his head with amusement. "What did he do, bribe you?" he asked Spider-Man.

"Eh, we were already here to make rounds on the pediatric unit, so we figured we might as well come and see you guys, too," he replied.

"We ran into them in the elevator on the way up," Cora explained. "Nathaniel asked if they'd be willing to make a big-kid visit, too."

"We don't usually get asked to visit adults, so we took a detour before we hit peds," Wonder Woman said with a wink.

"Well, between stuffed foxes and superheroes, I think we can safely say you have a pretty kickass brother," Alice said with a giggle, leaning over to kiss Uncas on the cheek.

He grinned and patted Nathaniel's hand that rested affectionately on his uninjured shoulder. "Yeah, I guess I do. You didn't fare too bad in the sister department, either." No matter how shitty things got, their families and friends definitely knew how to throw in a good pick-me-up, and that made them both feel lucky – and really happy – for the first time since all this had happened.

The good mood from the fun of Ashley's haircut and the superhero visit carried them all into the afternoon, when it was time for the meeting with Alice's doctors to discuss a plan for her future. Nathaniel brought Uncas to the family meeting room in a wheelchair after he was done with physical therapy so that he wouldn't miss it; Alice wanted him there, and he wanted to be there for her and know firsthand what was being decided. They sat at the conference table along with Alice, Cora, and Ed to wait for the doctors. Ed was telling them that he and the Greatsnakes had run into Cora's charge nurse Kate that morning on their way out for breakfast, as she was getting off night shift.

"Ah, she's a real pistol, that one," Ed chuckled. "No wonder you get along so well with her, lining out your old man like she did," he said to Cora, who laughed. Dr. Joshi came in then, dressed in neat slacks, shirt and white coat as usual. Dr. Coleman followed a short while later, dressed in his OR scrubs and apologizing for the late-running case that had contributed to his tardiness to the meeting.

"So I will start today, Alice," Dr. Joshi said, adjusting his glasses. "Overall, your lung is doing well as far as the puncture healing, and I think we can still plan to remove your chest tube in a few days when you are scheduled to go back to the operating room with Dr. Coleman. What I am not happy with is your deep-breathing ability. Your nurses are still reporting barely satisfactory spirometry scores and diminished lower lobe sounds in your lungs, and I feel that this is due to the pain you tell me that you are still experiencing from the fractured ribs. My concern is that you will develop pneumonia if this doesn't get better soon enough."

"Yeah. It's really hard to take deep breaths, and coughing just about kills me," Alice agreed. "I want to do better too, but what can be done except just waiting for the ribs to heal?"

"That is something I've been discussing with Dr. Coleman. Your rib fractures were quite bad and displaced, and they may not heal very well or very quickly left on their own. That won't do well for getting you mobile or using crutches later. He and I have agreed that you might be a good candidate for a newer type of fixation surgery. This could help diminish the pain almost immediately, and help the fractures heal faster as well."

Alice sat straighter. "Sign me up. What exactly will you do?"

"We'll make small incisions by the fractures and affix a small, low-profile plate across the breaks to stabilize the ribs," Dr. Coleman said, holding up a sample of the plate he was talking about and passing it around for them to look at. "As you can see, it follows the natural curve of the rib, and the procedure itself is minimally invasive. Surveys have shown almost immediate pain relief and respiratory improvement, and much faster and more effective healing in patients who've had this done."

"It's a good idea, Al," Cora said, meeting her eyes. "You'll be able to cut down on pain meds like you wanted, too."

"I want to do it," Alice said, looking at Uncas and squeezing his hand. "I want to get better as fast as I can."

Dr. Coleman nodded, pleased with her answer. "I don't think you'll be sorry."

"What about her leg, then, Doc? And everything that comes along with that?" Ed interjected.

"So that's where we really need to buckle down and have a serious talk," Dr. Coleman said, passing a hand over his face. "The plan is to get that ex-fix off of you and replace it with internal plates and screws, or a tibia rod if I get in there and feel that's the better option. The challenge after that is healing and rehab. You know, of course, that you have damage to muscle and surrounding tissue in addition to the fracture, and that's going to keep you non-weight bearing for a while until the bones heal. You can work with a therapist in the meantime on passive and active exercises to help those soft tissues get where they need to be for when you're ready to bear weight again. You have some choices about that, but either way I want you discharged to an inpatient rehab hospital for intensive daily therapy, because this type of trauma requires that for the best outcome – which is, of course, what we all want for you, Alice."

"Okay, so what kind of options are we talking? Like as far as where I go? Can I go to the same place as Uncas?"

"Unfortunately, no. Sunnyview is geared toward neurological issues like brain and spinal cord injuries, strokes and the like. There are one or two facilities around Albany that deal with ortho rehab that I feel would be satisfactory, but if I had to suggest the best thing for you, the place that can get you where you need and want to be to get back to your normal activities like teaching yoga and aerial acrobatics… that place isn't here. In that case, I'd send you over to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston."

"Boston? As in Massachusetts?" Alice raised her brows.

"Yes. I've sent a lot of patients over there. They have one of the top-rated trauma rehab programs in the nation, and they work in conjunction with Harvard University's Physical Medicine and Rehab department as a teaching hospital. That means they're at the forefront of all the latest technology and treatment – ultrasound therapy to heal bones and tissues more quickly, the best PT equipment and therapists, among many other things. You can get care quality there that you just can't get around here, and in the long run you'll be likely to get back to normal faster and better than you would if I sent you somewhere local."

"Like how much of a difference are we talking?" Her voice shook a little. She wanted to do what would ultimately get her home faster, but this was freaking her out.

"Weeks, at least, if not months. It could mean functioning at full capacity earlier – say, the difference between being able to hike in nine to twelve months instead of eighteen or more. Less chance of long-term complications like chronic swelling. None of it is a hundred percent guarantee, but I like the Spaulding odds best. All my patients who get to go there have superior results in recovery. I'd like that for you, if we can get you there. We have case managers who can work it all out with your insurance company."

Alice laid a hand over her eyes, her head reeling. There were too many things to think about. Not just going a hundred and fifty miles away for a while, but things she hadn't even begun to think about. Insurance coverage. Copays for two weeks in the hospital here, and then what the hell would it cost to go somewhere like this Spaulding place, and for how long? Weeks? Months? She looked at Uncas helplessly, whose return gaze was equally overwhelmed.

"I… I don't…" She looked around the table at Cora, and then Ed, shaking her head. What the hell am I going to do?

Cora reached over and touched her hand. "Al, you don't have to decide right this minute. Take some time to think about it and talk about it, and then make a decision."

"Cora's right," Ed said gently, looking to Dr. Coleman. "She's got some time to think, doesn't she?"

"Of course," the surgeon replied. "I'll arrange for the case manager to visit with you tomorrow, and she can discuss the ins and outs a little better with you. I know this is a big deal, and I'm sorry it can't be easier for all of you." He continued to discuss the details of Spaulding versus a local rehab hospital, answering the family's questions as they came up so that Alice could make an informed decision. She felt mildly better by the time the meeting concluded, but she was full of a sinking sadness, too. Nathaniel took Uncas back to his room after they said a brief goodbye, while Cora went with her back to med-surg. Ed ran home for a little while to wash some laundry for Alice and peek in on her animals, and she was grateful for a little quiet time with Cora. She wanted to talk to Uncas more, but she didn't know what to say yet, and that made her feel even worse. Settled back on her bed, she rested against the elevated head of the bed for a few minutes, holding the stuffed fox from Nathaniel on her lap and worrying one of its ears.

"This is a lot to think about," she said wanly to Cora, who pulled up the chair to the bedside and sat down, leaning her arms on the mattress and resting her chin on top of them.

"Yeah. This is about when shit gets pretty real – when you start having to look at time frames and therapy and stuff. It hits you like a freight train. I understand." Of course she does, Alice thought. This had been her once upon a time, too. And she hadn't had a boyfriend and a gaggle of friends and parents to help her. Just a little sister who was barely an adult, and a father who still had a responsibility to the Marine Corps.

"I don't know what to do, Cora. I mean, I know what's best for me, and that sounds like this Spaulding place, and I want what they can offer, but… it's so scary. I don't know how I'm going to do any of this financially, let alone the time it's going to take for all this therapy…"

"Al, don't worry about that part. We'll figure out finances. I make good money, more than I need, and I can help you. I want what's best for you. The rest… well, it's just one day at a time. You know that, you did this with me."

"It's not only the whole prospect of mountains of bills and weeks or months in another city, it's just… Uncas has to go somewhere else, and I don't know when he'll be out, or when I'll be out, and I swear he feels farther away sometimes already. He barely said anything after that meeting just now, and I'm scared for us. I know that's stupid to say. We survived this horrible accident, but I wonder if our relationship can survive what it will take to recover from it."

Cora nodded slowly, her eyes growing sad. "I think I know what you mean. And maybe you'll just have to see how things go before you make any hasty decisions about each other, you know?"

"I don't mean it like that! I don't want to break up with him," Alice said miserably, starting to cry. "I don't care if I have to go a thousand miles away, I don't want that. It's not me, I feel like it's him, like there's something he's not saying. I know he's so overwhelmed too, and he has been with all this brain injury stuff and worrying about when he can go back to work and, God, it's just so much, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Cora sighed. "Remember, I lost a career to crap like this."

Alice nodded. "Yeah. I was there with you for a lot of that, but even so, I don't really think I understood then the way I do now that I'm wearing the shoes. I guess I just hate how upside-down everything is right now, and I know it's not going to get better real soon. Everything was so good, you know? We were really, really happy, and I know we've really only been together five months, but I have no doubt he's the one I want to be with forever, and I know he feels the same way… at least he did. We were headed for that, and now I don't know what we're headed for anymore."

Cora's eyes filled with tears, and she sat down on the edge of the bed to put her arms around Alice. "Oh, Al. It's going to be all right. He loves you the same, he really does. It's just that you're right, you both have a lot to think about and work through. But we're all here for you both, whatever you need. If you want to stay here, we'll do that. If you want to go to Boston, you know I'll go with you. And you know he'll wait for you, and he'll still love you. This is awful, all of it, but it will never change who either of you are fundamentally. It won't change what you love about each other. Do you love Uncas any less because of any of this?"

"No," Alice sobbed. "I love him more. I think that's why I'm so scared. But I want to do what's best, too, and what's best is in Boston. I'd have to risk going away so that I can have a better shot at a faster normal… so I can come home and try to have this relationship at all. I want him, but I want myself, too. I want my life and the things I love to do, and I don't want to sell myself short any more than I want to damage things with Uncas."

"Yeah. This part is all different for me. When I had to recover I didn't have these choices to make. I didn't have a boyfriend who loved me, or any of that. It was just whatever the docs and the Navy decided was next for me, and that's what I did. You have a choice, and I think you and Uncas need to talk about this, too. Let him tell you how he really feels before you worry about it too much, and work this out between the two of you."

"Everything is so fucked up right now, Cora. I just want some kind of normal back, even for five minutes."

Cora held onto Alice, her heart breaking. She wished she didn't know about the stupid engagement ring. Telling Alice now wouldn't help, anyway, because that was then and this was now, and she already knew Uncas and Nathaniel had discussed it. It wasn't her place to tell Alice how he was feeling, it was Uncas'. She sighed and swallowed the lump in her throat. This was going to be a long, bumpy road for all of them. They'd all made it through in the past, but it seemed like there was so much more at stake now. Could they all make it one more time?

The following evening, Alice and Uncas requested that their families take respite and go home, leaving no one to stay overnight at the hospital with either of them. They wanted and needed the solitude, and even more than that they needed time alone together without being hovered over, especially with Alice's second surgery coming up the day after tomorrow, and Uncas' discharge looming. Dr. Navelli and Dr. Robinson had agreed he would be discharged to Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital the day after her fixation surgery, and as long as she did well enough, Alice would be discharged in the week following, possibly even just a few days later.

"I wrote my name legibly today in therapy," he told her, his left hand fumbling a little as he stroked her hair. After they had lovingly kicked out their families, Uncas' nurse Tom had brought him down to spend some uninterrupted time in Alice's room for the evening, and would be back to get him before change of shift at seven. He was currently sitting stretched out on her bed beside her, and they cuddled as best they could on the small mattress, around her chest tube and his shoulder sling. Even with all that it felt good just to be there together, all by themselves for once.

"Hey, that's a real accomplishment, considering you're having to do it left-handed for now until that sling is off." Alice laughed softly. "How is your right hand doing?"

"Okay. This little squeezy ball attached to the sling is actually helping me get some strength back, and the pins and needles from the nerve injury are starting to get a little better. Mostly I hate being immobilized. I just want to stretch my damn arm sometimes, even though it'll hurt like hell when I finally can."

"Yeah, Cora could tell you all about that. It drove her nuts, too, and her burns made it a lot worse."

They were both quiet for a bit. Talk was trivial right now, but their thoughts were not. Alice had met with the caseworker this morning to talk about her going to Boston or staying here, and she hadn't told Uncas what she'd decided to do yet – or if she had decided. He didn't know what to say but he had to say something.

"What are you going to do about your rehab deal?" He asked quietly. Her hand stilled on his chest.

"I don't know. I need to know, but I don't yet. It's not a cut and dry choice. I want what's best, but not just for me. For us. I feel like we were just getting started, and then this happened, and I don't want to leave you now. I'm afraid of ruining everything if I decide to go. So much is screwed up already."

Uncas sighed gently and looked down at her. She looked so sad and so scared, and he couldn't stand it. They hadn't had too much time to really talk about things, and he felt like he'd been withdrawn and her feeling this way was partially his fault. He couldn't help it, but neither did he like it much. Nobody could wave a wand and make this un-happen, and nobody knew with any certainty what the future would bring. But he'd be gone in a couple of days, and he didn't want to leave her like this. He couldn't, because looking at her now, in this moment, there was no hospital room, and the sounds in the hall outside the closed door ceased to exist. For now it was just them, her face filling his field of vision. Just her face. No chest tubes or broken legs or messed up shoulders or holes in the head. She wasn't a patient. She was nothing right now except what she always had been to him – his golden girl, everything he needed to remember, everything that he still loved about the world with her in it. And not a damn thing that happened could ever touch that, at least.

"Okay," he murmured. "All right. So what if the tables were turned? What if it was me who had to make this choice? What would you say, what would you want for me?"

She answered without hesitation. "I'd want you to go. I'd want you to go to the best possible place, and get better as soon as possible so you could come back to me and we could just get on with life."

"Then I think you know what you ought to do, don't you? Because you know that's what I want for you too, Alice." He cupped her cheek in the palm of his better hand, his thumb trembling a little as he wiped away the tear that fell against it.

"Are we okay? We're going to be okay, right?" She let out a little sob and closed her eyes, leaning into him with her face pressed to his neck.

"Yeah. We're gonna be okay. No matter how messed up this gets, I still love you, Alice, and I still want you, if you want me. I'm just feeling like shit because there's so much I can't do for you right now. I wasn't there when that asshole doctor laid into you, and it just makes me realize how much I'm missing. How much I'm not here for you now, how much I'm not going to be there for you in the next few months. I want to be with you, I really do, but I'm not much good for anything right now."

"Stop it. You're everything good for me, and I love you, too. You being hurt doesn't change that. Just because we can't always be there with each other, doesn't mean we can't be there for each other. Right?"

He nodded and smiled a little. "All right. So you go to Spaulding. We're stuck in separate places for a while anyway, whether it's here or there doesn't matter. Boston is the best place for you, and I want you to have the best, so we'll do this, and it'll be all right. Maybe it'll be good for us. Kind of like long-distance dating, right? It'll work out."

Alice felt hope spring to life a little. "Okay. It's not perfect, but it's what we've got. We'll talk every day, we'll have pictures and FaceTime, and maybe I can read you bedtime stories at night," she offered with a tiny giggle.

"I would let you. The sound of your voice is enough to get me through anything. That's the first thing I ever loved about you, remember?"

He drew her to him and kissed her then, soft and gentle. Taking his time, since they had a little time to take now. Before long they wouldn't. There was enough to be unsure of that he didn't always know what to say to her with words, but like this… like this, he could tell her how much he loved her and she would know without a doubt. Like this, she could tell him back, and he would know, too, and they could each hold onto that memory like a lifeline in the time ahead.

"I'll go," she whispered softly. "As long as you promise me you'll be here when I come home to you."

"I'll be here," he promised. "I waited for you before we ever met, and I'll wait for you again, as long as it takes."

Nathaniel lay next to Cora in her bed, the room beginning to grey with the light of the coming dawn. They were both awake, and had been for a little while now, unable to sleep any more. This would be the last morning she would wake with him for a while, and both felt the weight of it hanging over them. He drew her closer and she settled into him with a sigh, her breath warm on his neck and her bare skin soft against his with her lying along the length of him.

"You'll let me know where to meet you when she's ready to go?" he said softly.

"Yeah. I'm glad they were willing to let you take him for a while. It will make it easier for both of them, I think. If it's possible for any of this to be called easy."

"Mmm," he nodded in agreement, kissing her forehead. "I put all your bags by the door last night so you wouldn't forget anything."

"Thank you." She pressed her face against his shoulder, and he could feel her tears on his skin as they started to fall. He buried his face in her hair, breathing her, the scent of her making him ache with the knowledge that she'd be gone soon and he didn't know quite when she'd be back yet – and that made him want to cry, too.

Alice's fixation procedure had gone well, and the rib plates had done her a world of good already. Her chest tube was gone, and as soon as her ribs were healed a little more and she could tolerate it, she'd be able to start working on crutches. Uncas was settled in at Sunnyview, a name that had invoked at least a hundred sarcastic jokes between him and Nathaniel, but it was really a nice place, and the staff were specially trained to help patients like Uncas recover. Now the day had come for Alice to be discharged from Albany Medical Center. A special transport ambulance had been arranged by the hospital caseworker to take her to Spaulding in Boston, and Sunnyview had agreed to let Nathaniel take Uncas for a couple of hours this morning so he could come and see Alice off. Cora would go with her, having arranged to stay in the limited lodging the hospital had available for the family members of out-of-area patients. She had made arrangements through Kate and the ER director to utilize the significant amount of paid leave she had accumulated at the hospital since she had hardly ever taken any time off work. Her extended leave from both AMC and AirMedic would be covered under the Family Medical Leave Act for up to six months, so she was all set. Nathaniel and his parents would go back and forth to Schenectady while Uncas was at Sunnyview, and Nathaniel would stay here at Cora's most of the time to take care of things, alternating with Ed or Ashley and Brian when he needed to be with Uncas. Uncas wanted him to go back to work at least one day a week, and he could, but he hadn't done it yet. Maybe next week. The cabin was weird enough without Uncas there; Nathaniel wasn't quite ready to face work without him yet, even though Brian had said he'd switch shifts indefinitely with Ian to make it easier on him.

"Hey, it's okay," he whispered, his hand caressing Cora's back as he held her and let her cry. "You'll be back. Everything will be fine. We're losing time, but we aren't losing each other." He said this as much for himself as for her, so that he might believe it. And at least this time he could say it with confidence. Like Uncas had said, she wasn't like Judith. They could handle this together, and she would come back to him when it was all over.

"I know this is the best way, but it doesn't make me want to leave you. I've never had to do this before. There was no one when I deployed, no one after… I feel like I wasted so much time before, when I could have let myself love you sooner. I just never thought things would be like this, I didn't…"

"Ssshhh. Cora, we'll be fine. Alice and Uncas will be fine, too. You're not going away forever, and it's not like deployment. You can come home now and then, or I can try to drive out there for a couple of days when I can get away. We'll work it out. I love you, you know that I do."

She nodded and touched his shadowed jaw, his beautiful, sad eyes moss-colored in the half-light of the rising sun. There wasn't much they could be certain of now or even when things were normal, but the only thing she did know was that she loved Nathaniel with all her heart and soul. Was it enough to sustain them when all else fell away? She could see the same unspoken questions there in his gaze, but there was no answer for that except to move forward and find out. Her hands moved from his face, her fingers pushing into his hair to hold him there.

"I love you," she whispered adamantly, her dark eyes glittering in the dim light. "Wait for me to come home."

He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her, hands in each other's hair, skin against skin, the ardent caress of his lips chasing at the heels of her worry and sadness until she was too breathless to think of anything but him, and this last bit of precious time they would have together before they had to say goodbye.

Author's Note:

This update took longer than planned, but there was a lot going on. My grandmother passed away unexpectedly on December 5, so there was traveling and funerals and all that to deal with, and of course that's never easy. The happier news is that I am done with school, and now have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and another shiny set of letters to stick at the end of my name. That also means I'm going back to work soon, so I need to finish this story!

This chapter feels like an emotional roller coaster. There was so much that needed to happen, and so many feelings involved for all the characters. It was nice to see Magua for a bit and to have him loved by all for once. I'd have liked to extend his visit a little more, but it didn't feel necessary. The interaction between him and Ed and Sidney did make me chuckle, because it's so opposite of the film. Magua's all "Sure I'll stay with you, Ed… I promise not to cut your heart out while you're sleeping!" At any rate, we will likely see him again here and there, and it was more important to me to focus on Uncas and Alice, especially Alice and what's coming for both of them as far as recovery. And for some reason I felt compelled to have that section with the awful resident, because so far all the staff at AMC have been so nice, and we all know there has to be that one jerk. I've worked with a similar type, and there's a little of him inspiring Chip Peterson, so it was nice to let Cora tear him up, have Nathaniel finish him off, and Alice send him out the door with the last word. Patient self-advocacy at its finest, XD! It also presented some of the least pleasant aspects of Alice's leg injury. Compound fractures wreck soft tissues and take a long time to heal, and while Chip isn't very nice in the way he tells her, he also isn't wrong, so that gets the worry ball rolling. I mostly wanted Cora to tell him off, but even though Alice was shocked into muteness briefly I didn't want her completely helpless either, because she isn't. Nathaniel stepping in was just the cherry on top, because Nathaniel. No way in hell was he going to stand there and not make a smart-mouthed comment, am I right? Initially I almost had Uncas present for that, but I really wanted his absence at physical therapy during that incident to play into his worries about how much he isn't and won't be able to be there for Alice in the coming weeks/months due to his own injuries and needs.

I also totally love Ashley for giving Uncas Spider-Man hair to make him feel better about the shaving. I had planned for her to fix his hair and do a neat undercut, and it was MohawkWoman who suggested the spider web design, which is perfect for him as a Spider-Man fan! The visit from the pediatric superheroes was probably my favorite part of this chapter outside of Chip getting his ass handed to him by Cora. We have a group of people locally who dress up and visit hospitalized kids, and I just love it. That was a fun thing to include, and I think Uncas really needed that. Nathaniel really is a pretty kickass big brother. That was unfortunately followed by the saddest part of the chapter, which is facing the fact that Alice and Uncas are going to have to spend some time apart – as are Nathaniel and Cora – but it is necessary for their recovery and the best interest of both of them healing and regaining physical function so they can have a normal life again one day. Plus, where would the story drama be without stuff like this?! Cora and Alice were due for a good heart-to-heart, too, so they got that here, and I definitely wanted that alone time for Uncas and Alice. They've been watched over and poked and prodded for almost two weeks, and it was high time they kicked everyone out and had a little hospital date. All this stuff can feel like such a whirlwind, and it all happens so fast when you're in the middle of it all like these families are. There is a lot coming up for both couples before this story comes to an end. Fun facts: Both the rehab hospitals that Alice and Uncas are going to are real places, as is Albany Medical Center. Obviously I make up the rest of the details, and those don't speak for the facilities. The rib fixation that Alice ends up getting is a thing. There are a few different companies that deal in these, but the one I had in mind is DePuy's MatrixRIB system, which is what Dr. Coleman showed them in the meeting. When there is a long treatment road ahead for a patient, medical teams will often have those types of family meetings, so I wanted that to be realistic, as well as Alice's worries about the financial burden, because I think we can all understand that aspect of it to some degree.

The theme song for this chapter is "Photograph" by Ed Sheeran. It's kind of perfect for the situation, and it's a really great song. The only other song I heard in this chapter was when Uncas and Alice are talking, and then Cora and Nathaniel at the end, and that was the acoustic version of A-Ha's "Take on Me". Don't think of the original 1985 version, it sounds nothing like it. If you haven't heard the acoustic recording, stop what you are doing right now and go listen to it, because you won't be one bit sorry that you did. It is so achingly beautiful, and it was so perfect for that part of the chapter that I may or may not have cried a little (don't judge me, you know by now how much I love music in context).

That's all I have to say for now. Stay tuned for Chapter 15, I'll try to get that done as soon as I can! Thank you all so much for reading, PMing, following, and especially for reviewing so that I know how I'm doing. You all really help make writing even more fun for me, and I really love to hear from you. And speaking of that – NVMF, are you still out there? I realized recently that I haven't heard from you in forever, and it made me worry that something happened to you because you've always been so consistent. If you're all good can you just drop a quick comment?