Chapter Twenty-One

Dear Allie,

The only words on the sheet of paper in front of Danny had been alone for sometime now, but as the pencil he held between his index and middle fingers tapped back and forth across the hard surface of the table, he was finding it harder and harder to put into words what he really wanted to say.

She had been gone a month now, long enough for him to have sent at least ten letters and he hadn't sent one. He knew from Rafe that she was well, miserable still, but according to Rafe, her words become more cheerful with each letter. The time away was obviously doing her a world of good just as everyone had said, but he couldn't suppress that deep, dark aching thought that maybe it was the time away from him that was making the difference.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a voice that sounded vaguely like Rafe's told him to shut up and to quit being a donkey's behind, and though it helped, it didn't make any words appear on the paper before him.

He wanted to tell her he missed her, how miserable he was without her here. He missed talking with her, holding her, scraping his knees as he climbed through her bedroom window. God, he would give anything to have her here right now, but how did he say that. Writing was something he had always done well, words always came so easy to him and transferred to the paper just as fluidly, but now he was hardly able to rhyme 'cat' and 'mat'.

He was falling for her, hard too. Yes, he had known for a good while how much he cared for her, but love was something that just hadn't crossed his mind. Now, with her gone and so much time to think about her, he realized just how much he felt for her. He didn't dare tell Rafe, he still hadn't even told him about knowing about Dean, some friend he was. If it were Rafe, he would have talked without a moment's hesitation, but not him, no he was a coward, a bad one at that. He was keeping two things from his best friend, his brother, two very important things, but was far too afraid of the reaction to say anything about either one.

He sighed, and pressed the pencil to the paper again.

I miss you.

"At this rate I'll be finished by Christmas." He muttered under his breath.

Heavy footsteps coming from the front hall broke his concentration and he turned to meet his father as he came into the kitchen, dirty and worn looking.

"Finish your chores, boy?"

"Yes sir." He responded, turning the sheet of paper over. There was no way he wanted his dad to see what he was doing.

"Did you get that truck runnin?" he was at the sink, pumping water into a glass as he spoke.

"Yes sir."

He nodded and turned from the sink, taking a large gulp from the glass. "What are you doing there? Homework, you said you were done with that."

"No, just…just a letter."

"To who?"

Danny sighed, not knowing which answer was going to be the right one…the truth or the lie. Being Danny he took the more noble way.

"Allie. She's visiting her aunt and Rafe is making me write."

Well it was nearly the whole truth.

A look of apathy fell over Cole Walker's face, a strange expression that Danny rarely saw and he set his glass aside.

"She back on her feet yet?"

Danny shook his head.

"Horrible thing, that accident was. She's a smart girl, pretty too."

Agreeing whole heartedly, Danny nodded at his father's remark.

"That's that then." He then said and rose from the table, taking the empty glass to the cluttered sink. "I'm turning in early tonight. Don't forget to clean before you head up yourself."

"Yes, sir."

His father nodded and slowly started out of the kitchen, when he came to a sudden stop and without turning Danny could feel his eyes on him. A strong hand came down on his shoulder and gave it a firm, comforting pat. Surprised with the offer of affection, Danny turned back to look at his father, only to find him pulling his hand back and contining out of the room.

Danny turned back to the letter not sure of what to make of what just happened. He was sure it was nothing, but it felt, at least for a moment, that his father knew exactly what was going on and let the truth remain under wraps.

"All right, Alice, tell me if you feel anything."

From her place on the examination table Allie nodded at Dr. Reynolds, not expecting the sharp poke of the needle he delivered to her foot to be felt.

"Ouch!" she nearly screamed and immediately her entire leg flinched in pain.

She pushed herself up on her elbows to see both Dr. Reynolds and Aunt Millie beaming in approval.

"I would say her reflexes are damn near perfect." Dr. Reynolds said with a slight chuckle. "You were right, Millie. Are you sure you don't have medical degree hidden in that handbag of yours?"

Millie laughed and shook her head, "The moment I saw that she had begun to shift in bed at night, I knew it was something." She turned to Allie. "Darling, isn't this wonderful? It shouldn't be long now, not long at all."

"Now, now Millie, don't put the wagon before the horse. Alice has a lot of work ahead of her. Those legs need to get their strength back…one step at a time."

Allie considered his words and nodded. It was true there was a long road ahead of her, but not as long as it had once been. She felt she had made real progress in the past weeks. She didn't feel nearly as depressed as she had when she arrived. She had begun to care for herself without throwing a tantrum worthy of a child Dixie's age, and though Aunt Millie had done plenty, it was Will that she was secretly thankful for.

He reminded her so much of Shawn it actually scared her at times. He was easy to talk to, and never raised his voice to her, even when she was being unreasonable, which she was ashamed to say was quite often in the beginning. He was a good listener and she was able to talk quite freely to him. He knew all about Danny, her life before the accident, her family and yes, even Dean. He was there to talk sense into her the following week when the lack of letters from Danny had begun to get to her. He reminded her to think of the person Danny was and how hard it would probably be for him to sit down and put all of those feelings into a letter,

"It would be hard for even the strongest person." He had said and she agreed.

She knew that Danny cared and knew that he missed her, there was no point in worry about it otherwise, instead she made him her focus to get better. There was now a light at the end of the tunnel and it was Danny. The sooner she got better the sooner she would be able to see him again.

Dr. Reynolds helped Allie up to a sitting position on the table and gave her a moment to straighten herself before he called for Will to come into the room. It was now time for her rehabilitation exercises of which Dr. Reynolds entrusted his son to supervise. Dr. Reynolds bid Allie and Aunt Millie goodbye and went off to see another patient while Aunt Millie pulled a magazine from her bag and settled in a nearby chair, letting Allie have her space.

"How's it going?" Will asked as he helped her stretch her left leg.

She winced in discomfort for only a moment, but took a breath and put her focus on the conversation. "Fine." She answered.

"Dad said you're starting to move on your own."

"In my sleep, that's good right?"

He smiled. "Of course" he answered and moved to the other leg. He bent it back and forth slowly, allowing Allie to adjust to each movement. They continued working for the next hour, chatting about this and that, keeping Allie's mind off of the discomfort her body was experiencing, however gratifying it felt.

When they were done, Aunt Millie shut her magazine and came over to the two of them.

"William Reynolds I do declare, you have a way with your patients. After all that work Alice doesn't look a bit worn."

"I think we should give Allie the credit for that. She's come a long way." He said and gave Allie an encouraging grin. She smiled back because she felt the exact same way. She could hardly contain her excitement over her progress.

"That she has." Aunt Millie nodded with approval. "We'll write your family tonight and tell them, won't we?"

"Yes, I want to tell my folks about this and Danny, of course," she couldn't help but grin when she thought of seeing Danny's face when she told him how she was coming along.

"Let's get you home then," Aunt Millie said but Will cleared his throat.

"Well, I was hoping Allie would let me take her out for a sundae to celebrate."

"I suppose that's up to Allie," she turned to her.

Will helped her into her chair and Aunt Millie opened the door for them. "Now don't have her out too late, Will. She still needs her rest."

"Don't worry, Millie I'll have her home safe and sound."

Allie waved to her aunt as she disappeared down the hallway of the small hospital.