When Janey had heard Thomas had been trapped in the house under all that rubble, her heart had nearly stopped. A lightning strike had hit the mansion and, fragile and decrepit as the building had been, it had crumbled down entirely.

Nobody had been supposed to go into the building, but Thomas had anyway, to say goodbye, apparently. Janey could understand that – there were plenty of ghosts she would like to put to rest, if only she could muster the courage. However, she could not understand why anyone would have let a blind man go in that house alone. It wasn't safe and, as soon as she had arrived at the site of the collapse, she had scolded Alan for allowing Thomas to go by himself. She didn't trust the man... she hadn't liked the way he had looked at Thomas over breakfast and sneered at him. However, Alan had looked as shocked as anyone – maybe even more so – and had already been digging through the rubble, looking for survivors.

It had all happened a little after midday. Janey had felt sick to her stomach as she had heard the loud crash of thunder, which brought back vague memories of last night's nightmares. She had dreamt that Thomas had been hurt, and… something else… oh, why couldn't she remember? The sound outside had been so abrupt – she had known something was wrong. Lightening makes a different sound when it strikes something, and she could tell that this bolt had found a target.

However, it had not been until she had seen Pilot that fear had really grabbed hold of her heart. The dog had come back to the inn alone, running back and forth, barking like mad. Her heart had leapt into her throat, and she had dashed after the big dog, with a bewildered Edith in tow.

Although she hadn't seen Allerdale in years, as she ran up the hill, she could clearly see that something was wrong. The house had fallen in and there was smoke coming from the pile that was left. Some men were staring at the pile, others frantically moving about. She had spotted Alan, who immediately ran towards Edith, apologising to her.

"Thomas went into the house alone. I should have never let him go, but he wanted to say goodbye before it was torn down. He insisted no one went with him. And then out of nowhere, lightning... Oh god... I'm so sorry..."

Edith had looked at Janey with big eyes, but Janey had pushed her friend aside, wanting to know only one thing: "Where's Thomas!" He was hers. Nobody else's. Edith didn't care about him – Janey did. And she wanted answers.

No one knew what had happened to him, though, except that he had been inside as the building collapsed. They were searching but had had no luck so far. Janey had felt at a loss, wanting to cry, wanting to search, wanting it all to be untrue... She could not lose the only man she had ever loved.

And then Pilot had ran off into the mayhem. She had called him back but he had held his ground on top of the rubble and barked again. She had instantly understood that Thomas was there. Running up the mountain that once had been a house. she had pulled stone after stone away... and then, there he was. People had been yelling at her to come down, that it wasn't safe, but she didn't care. She had seen him – his eyes had fluttered a moment before opening fully and then... He had seen her. Not just looked at her, but seen her. The realisation needed time to sink in.

She still could not believe it now as he sat in his bed and stared at her with big eyes. She was actually in the hallway, as the doctors had told her he needed to rest, but that didn't keep him from staring at her through the window in the door. He had not taken his eyes off her since the accident. When she was in the room, he looked at her like a man possessed... drinking her in. So much so that the doctors had asked her to stay away to speed up his healing process. She had done what they had told her, staying mostly in the hall of the hospital as Thomas lay there, his eyes begging her to get closer. She felt like a monster, and all she wanted to do was be with him.

The doctors had no explanation for the sudden return of his sight – mystified, they were afraid that he would revert to his blind state. Although they said he needed rest, they kept doing test after test. What did they think they were going to achieve? Janey was feeling more and more aggravated by the minute. Thomas had his sight back – for now. If he lost it again, she doubted the doctors could do anything about it anyway, given they had not been able to fix it the first time around.

It was amazing how well he had come out of the wreckage of the mansion that once had been there. Even though the ceiling had collapsed on his head, he had no broken bones – just scratches and bruises. For once in his life, Thomas Sharpe had been lucky. And so had she. If she had lost him... she shuddered at the thought.

She needed to talk to him, even though she was afraid of his reaction. Now even more than before. After all, he had his sight back... why would he want to stay with her? She knew she wasn't beautiful, and the way he gawked at her probably meant he was wondering why he had fallen for her in the first place. She was, however, carrying his child.

Being in hospital, she had made full use of the opportunity to have her pregnancy confirmed with some simple tests. She was having a baby, just like she had thought. Edith knew... as did Alan. It seemed Edith had told him as soon as she had arrived at Allerdale, which had angered Janey immensely. Edith said she had done so for Janey's own good, as seeing Janey claw through the rubble had frightened her, but Janey didn't care much about Edith's excuses. It was bad enough that Edith had known before Thomas, but Alan? She didn't even like the guy and neither had Thomas, though they seemed to be getting along now.

She could see another doctor was attending to Thomas now. How much longer was this going to take? How long were they planning on keeping her away from Thomas? She just wanted to see him, to know where they stood. But how could she if she was condemned to wait endlessly in the hallway?

To hell with it. She barged into the room, determined not to let anyone stop her this time. The doctors looked at her. Thomas looked at her.

"Hello, beautiful," he said, smiling and looking straight at her. She blushed, feeling uncomfortable in his presence again. Would she ever get used to this? She hadn't realized how safe she had felt in his blindness, when she was not being judged for her appearance. Of course, his words just then were a positive sign, but still... She knew she wasn't pretty... not with that red hair, and limbs that were just too long. She wasn't like Edith, who was petite and dainty in a way that made grown men protective of her.

Of course, Janey could take care of herself – she had been doing so for years. But the way Thomas had taken care of her when she had hurt her ankle had been wonderful... beyond what she had ever imagined. His arms were safe... sheltering. It was a feeling that was so unfamiliar to her... she had fought the world for as long as she could remember but, with Thomas, she didn't need to. He was there for her... protected her... accepted her for who she was.

And that man was still in there, she reminded herself. Still, she couldn't help being terrified that it would all change now. What would a man like him ever see in a girl like her? Still, he was there… his hand stretched out to her... motioning for her to come nearer.

"Don't worry, I won't break," he assured her. In contrast, she felt like she might shatter into a thousand pieces at any minute. Still, she sat down on the bed next to him. If only all these doctors would go away so they could talk.

"What is wrong? You don't look yourself."

"And you know what that looks like?" She smiled a little.

With a soft chuckle, he grabbed her hand."No, I don't – you are right – but I know what you sound like. And you sound like there is something wrong."

"I..." She hesitated. There was no way she could tell him with all these people around. "I just want to go home."

"Me too." Thomas looked at his doctors. "When can I be released? It's been three days and I still have my sight. There is nothing wrong with me except from a few bruises."

"Well sir... we would need to deliberate..." one coughed.

At that point, the doors opened and Edith barged in. "Thomas, can we talk?" Edith asked. "In private." She threw a deliberate look at the doctors who all scampered. "You too, Janey. You can come back later."

Janey fell speechless, being reprimanded like that. She bit her lip, wanting to say something, but nothing came. Not knowing what else to do, she shuffled towards the door. And with that, Edith had managed to do what Janey had been trying to do for days.

Guest (and everyone else reading) : Sorry for the delay. My editor was very busy helping me with another project and she had a huge workload on top of that so things took slight longer than expected

Princess PrettyPants: Well, *whispers very softly*, I was hoping for a happy ending... But if you insist?

The Raven May Fall : No amputatition needed