Chapter 38: Visiting Hours

Jack rapped on the glass of the Intensive Care Unit and was immediately buzzed in by Nathan.

"Thanks for coming," Nathan said

"No problem," Jack replied "So she is conscious?" he asked quickly. Nathan had given him the briefest of account on the phone before Jack had hurried on down to the hospital, hardly daring to believe what he'd just been told.

Molly had finally, against all the odds, opened her eyes.

Nathan half nodded "Her brain activity suggests so, but she won't respond to any of us. We don't know if this is due to her injuries or that she been traumatised by the whole thing or maybe a mix of both. But I know that you bonded with her and I thought that out of anyone she might respond to a familiar face," Nathan said

"That is if she can respond. We're still assessing the extent of her head injury. We know there is damage there, but until we get a clearer picture of her ability to respond to things then we can't know for sure,"

"What should I say to her?" Jack asked

"Try anything," Nathan said "Try to say something that will get her to respond. Tell her that she's safe and sound or something,"

Jack nodded and walked slowly over to the bed. The sight was now horribly familiar to him: the young woman lying in the bed looking so gaunt and frail. Her head and one eye were still covered over in thick bandages and Jack could see her injured arm was still heavily strapped up. She was still covered with wires and hooked up to monitors but the tube down her throat had been removed and replaced by an oxygen mask.

Molly lay silent and still on the bed and made no response as Jack approached. Her eyes were open but she made no indication she was even aware of his presence.

"Hi," Jack said softly as he shrugged off his jacket and took a seat next to her bed. He leaned over to her and gently touched her uninjured hand in his.

The beeping on one of the machines increased slightly and Jack glanced across at Nathan who was standing at the end of the bed.

"That happens when we talk to her," Nathan explained "It's one of the things that makes us think she in some way knows that we're here. That at the very least implies some brain activity and a level of consciousness,"

"You can do better than that though, can't you?" Jack said turning back to the young woman "Because I know how strong you are. I know how clever you are and I know how brave you are. So don't give up now. There's so much for you to live for and if you give up then whose going to discover whether the aliens are visiting the cows and stealing their milk to prevent rickets?"

Nathan gave Jack a puzzled look but the Irishman continued nonetheless.

"You're safe now. We're both safe. The plan worked and we got out of there. No one is going to hurt you anymore. He can't hurt you anymore. So come on, just fight a little harder for me. I know you believed in me and so it's my turn. I believe in you and I believe that you are going to recover and have so many things to look forward to. You just have to fight that little bit longer, but you're not alone. I'm here with you with you every step of the way,"

Jack finished his speech and turned to Nathan and they watched as Molly continued to make no response.

"I'm sorry Jack," Nathan sighed "Maybe we were wrong. She might be conscious and there is brain activity but the head injury was devastating. We knew if she did regain consciousness then it would be life-changing. I just hoped that…"

"Shit!" Jack swore loudly "She just squeezed my hand,"

"Are you sure?" Nathan said moving closer to Jack

"I'm pretty sure," Jack said "It was only very gentle, but it was there," he wiggled his fingers in her small hand and waited for a response.

Very slowly the smaller hand tensed slightly and squeezed Jack's fingers.

"She just responded," Nathan said with a grin as he watched her flex her fingers "Keep talking to her,"

"Do you know who I am?" Jack said leaning in towards her so she could see his face

Molly remained silent but slowly squeezed Jack's fingers once more

"I know you're here," Jack said "We're not giving up on you…"

With one final gentle squeeze of his fingers Molly stopped moving once more. Jack and Nathan waited with baited breath for the next response.

"J…" the faintest whisper came, muffled by the sound of the oxygen mask "Ja…". She fell silent again and squeezed his fingers.

"Good girl," Jack encouraged noticing the exhaustion spreading across her face.

"J…Ja..ck…" Molly slurred in the tiniest of voices and Jack could see the effort it took to speak.

"Excellent!" Nathan encouraged "She recognises you," he said turning to Jack "That's a good sign. Can you tell me your name?" the nurse asked Molly

There was silence for a moment "M…Mmo..Mol…" she slurred heavily and fell silent once more. She squeezed Jack's hand again "J…Ja…k"

"I'm here," Jack reassured her "You're doing so well,"

"Do you know where you are?" Nathan asked

"J...Mmmo…Hop…Still…" Molly slurred heavily "Hos…." She squeezed Jack's fingers again and fell silent, breathing heavily.

"It's okay Molly," Nathan said sensing her frustration "Take things slowly. You're doing very well. Can you tell me who the prime minister is?" he said trying to gauge her orientation

"Hop…Ahh…Mm…" Molly slurred incoherently "Ah…Id..t….Idiot…"

Jack snorted with laughter and gave her hand a squeeze "I think you're going to be just fine Molly "See your cognitive faculties are working just fine,"

"I'll page the consultant now," Nathan said "He'll want to know about her progress," the nurse said as he hurried off, beaming at the events that had just occurred.

"See, you're on the mend. I knew you could do it," Jack said smiling down at Molly

"J…Ja…ck…" Molly slurred heavily

"Try not to overdo it," Jack softly chastised her

"Tha…than..k…y..yyy…tha…n…k…yooo"

"You're very welcome Molly, you're very welcome,"

…

When Jack visited her the next time, he was pleased to find she'd been transferred to a normal ward. Her condition had improved so much that she was no longer in need of intensive care. He found she's been put in a side room away from the busy ward and Jack assumed this was probably because she couldn't deal with such a sensory overload whilst still early on in recovering from her head injury.

He knocked on the door and entered the room. Molly was lying in the bed and Nathan was leaning over her adjusting the bandages on her head. She was still looking very frail and had lots of wires attached to her still but Jack was pleased to see that she was able to meet his gaze when he walked in the room. The fact her brain was able to process such things was a good sign.

"Look who's here Molly," Nathan said softly as he finished changing the dressing.

"How do you swing your shifts so easily?" Jack said amazed at how Nathan had managed to stick with Molly

"I have my charms," Nathan shrugged "And they think it will help her having a familiar face. We don't want to freak her out by overloading her with strangers,"

"Ja…k…Ja..ah…ck…" Molly slurred "Jac..k"

"Hi Molly," Jack said taking a seat next to her "You speech is improving,"

Over the course of his visits Jack had noticed a remarkable improvement in Molly's speech. At first she had slurred mostly incomprehensible sounds, but now she was almost able to say complete words. He knew she had a long way to go, but it showed signs she was improving

"Mm…Mooo…Ml…Mol…" she pointed to herself with her uninjured arm "Mo…l…." she tried again but fell silent, clearly out of breath from the exertion.

Nathan leant over and gently placed an oxygen mask over her face "Good," he encouraged as Molly took some deep breaths into the oxygen mask.

"Na…t…Nay….th…Nay…n," she gestured to Nathan "Nay…ahn…"

"Excellent Molly. You're doing so well," the nurse smiled

"Hoo…hoh..me?" she asked hopefully

Nathan frowned slightly as he interpreted her slurred speech before finally answering "No sweetheart, you can't go home yet. You're still poorly"

"Hop…hosp.. …ho…pee.t…ahl..," she slurred slowly "Sta…y.." she said and Jack caught the note of sadness in her voice.

"Yeah, you need to stay in hospital until you get better. But Jack's going to visit you lots aren't you Jack?" Nathan said turning to Jack asked he adjusted the mask on Molly's face, gesturing for her to take some breaths into it.

"Sure am," he smiled at the young woman who squeezed his hand weakly in response "So what's the doctor saying?" Jack asked Nathan as Molly fell back to breathing heavily into the oxygen mask.

"The fact she's responding is good. She seems reasonably orientated. I mean she knows who she is and she can name a few of the staff. However, her speech is still slurred and she get a little confused in her responses, but I remember when first treated her she had a rather unique way of looking at the world so this might be completely normal,"

"But no discharge immanent?"

Nathan shook his head "She's got a long road ahead of her," he said softly glancing across at the woman. "Anyway we've got no one to discharge her to. Parents are dead and I can't seem to track down any immediate extended family,"

"I think they're estranged," Jack said remembering what Molly had told him "Grandparents didn't approve of the marriage,"

"The course of true love and all that," Nathan said and Jack nodded

"She's still very weak," Jack noted Molly's pale complexion

Nathan nodded "The surgeons need to perform some more surgery on her but they're waiting until she's stronger,"

"S-sti…ll," Molly wheezed "H-he…ere,"

"Yeah you're still here," Nathan smiled "Against all the odds you pulled through. So let's keep it like that okay?"

...

The next time Jack visited the ward, on entering Molly's room he was met by a scene of chaos. Nathan was standing by Molly's bed with another nurse trying to soothe the distressed occupant down.

Molly wasn't having any of it and was thrashing around pulling wires and bandages off her body with her one uninjured arm. The fortunate thing was that she was still physically weak and was easily restrained by the nursing staff before she could do any real damage.

The machines she was hooked up to were beeping loudly and erratically, there coloured lines filling up the screen in rapid succession. Molly was wheezing heavily in between small shrieks. She was attempting to talk but her speech was too slurred to be comprehensible.

But Jack managed to get the gist of it and could see that something had deeply upset her.

"Sir if you could just wait outside," a nurse began as she caught sight of Jack standing in the doorway

"Wait," Nathan told her "He's a friend. He might be able to help," he said as he gestured for Jack to come in

"What happened?" Jack asked

"She just found out that he's dead," Nathan said shaking his head and Jack internally winced as he remembered his similar reaction to the news that their captor had been found dead

"I thought that was being kept from her until she was stronger. Who told her?"

"Bloody tabloids ran the story this morning," Nathan said gesturing to a newspaper that lay crumpled on the floor "Someone left it for her in attempt to see if she was able to read and understand things. Given her reaction I think that's an affirmative,"

"How did they find out?" Jack asked said glancing at the crumpled front page

"Someone leaked it I think," Nathan shrugged turning his attention back to the distressed girl "Come on Molly, it's okay…." He said gently grabbing her arm to stop her pulling at the dressing on her head

"I think we're going to have to get the doctor to sedate her," the other nurse sighed "She's going to hurt herself,"

"I really don't want to do that," Nathan said "Only as a last resort

Jack took one last look at the newspaper pushed that information out of his mind and stepped closer to Molly "Molly," he said firmly "You need to calm down,"

"N-no…" Molly slurred and Jack could see the wild fear in her eye

"Molly," Jack tried again "Breathe." The command was simple and Molly suddenly fixed her gaze upon him. The word had struck a chord with her and she remembered being in the police interview room after her father's death.

The command had worked then, and as the machines slowed their beeping, it was clear it had worked now as well

"Okay," Nathan nodded "Good," as he watched her slow her breathing

"Nice and calm," Jack soothed as Nathan slowly pulled back from the woman cautiously watching to see if she would stay settled. Molly watched Jack closely as she wheezed heavily on the bed

"Deep breaths" Jack said slowly "Stay nice and calm for me,"

"I need to get you sorted out," Nathan said as he looked at the dishevelled patient in front of him "Can you get me some fresh dressings and a cannula," he called to the other nurse who nodded as Nathan picked up the discarded dressings before turning to her head "This is going to need re-dressing," he sighed softly

Jack watched carefully as Nathan removed the remaining bandages from Molly's head and face. As the final layer came off Jack winced as he saw the damage that had occurred. A proportion of Molly's hair had been shaven in preparation for surgery and Jack could see the large surgical incision across her head. Her face was still very swollen and mottled with bruises.

The other nurse came back with the requested items and Nathan took them gratefully.

"I'm just going to replace these bandages now," Nathan told Molly as he began to wrap the reams of bandages over Molly's head and eye once more "You just stay nice and calm for me,"

Molly lay back on the bed, too tired and weak and to protest at what Nathan was doing.

Nathan worked quickly taking advantage of his patient's passiveness and soon the wound had been covered up by the white linen once more. He reattached Molly's cannula and hooked her back up to the monitors. He propped her arm up on a pillow and gave her a dose of morphine.

Stepping back he looked at her with a soft smile on his face "Good as new," he said, adding "Thanks," as he turned to Jack

"No problem," Jack murmured

"How do you feel now Molly?" Nathan asked her

Molly said nothing but stared blankly ahead at the wall in front of her. Her bulbous eyes were glazed over and she didn't seem to have heard what Nathan said

"Molly," Jack prompted and gently grasped her hand

She jumped slightly and turned her gaze towards him "He's d-dea..d," Molly said softly and Jack sighed

"I know," he nodded "I'm so sorry. I know seeing him locked up would have helped or at least knowing why he did those thing,"

Molly shook her head and groaned in pain at the movement "Tru—th…not all-ways the an—swer you're looking for," she said slowly and Jack nodded

"Of course," he said with a smile "How could I forget,"

"Not angr-y about th..ere bee..ing no just..ice…" Molly said "He was the l-last connection t..to my M-mother…"

Jack closed his eyes for a moment and suddenly realised why she had been so upset. She had known their captor better than anyone and had probably known he would do something like this. But time and again when they were held captive, Molly had stressed that their captor was the one link back to her mother. The one constant in what had been a very chaotic life for the young woman and now even that had been taken away.

"It'll be okay Molly," Jack said softly

"N-no it w-wont," Molly shook her head

"Hey," he said "You trusted me before, trust me now,"

Molly glanced over at him sadly and slowly nodded her head "I..t-tr…st y…oo..u. B-but th—ings w-won…t be o-kay…"

"Why not?" Jack asked

"L-legs…" she said "Can't f-feeel… my..l-l-legs,"

Nathan frowned at this comment and walked to the end of the bed. Grabbing a pen from the pocket of his scrubs, he lifted up the cover slightly and ran his pen over the sole of her foot

"Can you feel that?" he asked

"N-no," and the response was the same as he moved up her legs, testing them.

"Can you wiggle your toes or move your legs at all?"

Molly looked down at her legs but they stayed still. Jack was sure he saw the faintest flicker of fear pass across her face.

"Molly sweetheart, I need you to stay calm," Nathan told her "Remember that the doctor said that its early days and we don't know what the long term outcomes will be yet,"

"What's happening?" Jack asked looking concerned

"We thought this might happen. We've noticed she's not been moving her legs. It was hard to tell a first, because she's been so weak, we weren't sure if she was injured or just fatigued. But we knew it was a possibility, the consultant said the damage to her brain was extensive and could have affected her ability to walk. Head traumas can be so unpredictable. This could be permanent or she could regain some movement with physiotherapy. Either way, we always knew the injuries would be life-changing. That she pulled through at all, is in itself miraculous,"

"What about her arm?" Jack asked

"Surgeons are still working on that," Nathan said "She needs a few more operations, so we don't know how that will turn out at all. We just have to hope for the best"

"H-hop…e," Molly slurred softly. Jack couldn't tell whether she was making her own statement or just absent minded repeating Nathan's word.

Jack was surprised at how calmly she seemed to be taking things. He wasn't sure if it was her head injury preventing her from fully taking things in or whether she'd just given up and accepted.

He wondered whether all the fight that had been in her had been used up in recent events. She'd been through so much at a young age. She'd lost both parents, been accused of murder and narrowly avoided losing her own life. He wondered if she'd just passively accepted what fate would throw at her; too tired to swim against the tide anymore.

"Yeah we have to hope," Nathan agreed "We just have to hope,"

Molly gazed down at her unfeeling legs before her gaze drifted off somewhere else again. To someone who didn't know Molly they would have thought she appeared to be relaxing finally but the fact she was gripping Jack's hand slightly told him otherwise.

…

"Jah…k," Molly greeted him the next time he saw her. She was sitting in the patient outdoor area with Nathan at her side.

"We wanted some fresh air, didn't well Molly?" Nathan informed Jack who took a seat on the bench next to Molly's wheelchair

"Y..Yea..h," Molly said slowly

"It's nice to get out in the open for a while, instead of being cooped up inside all day," Nathan said chatting softly to Molly

"How are you Molly?" Jack asked

"Fh…eye.." she mumbled "Fi…ne" she tried again, battling through her slurred speech.

"How's she doing?" Jack asked Nathan

"Okay," Nathan told him "She's getting stronger. The surgeons operated on her arm yesterday and the procedure went successfully although it's still early days yet,"

"She looks a bit better," Jack said glancing across at Molly "Bit more colour in her cheeks,"

"Yeah," Nathan agreed smiling softly "She's getting there slowly..."

"Nathan?" another nurse called and gestured to him

"I'll be just a moment," Nathan made his apologies and moved away from the pair

"Yo..oo…col..d?" Molly asked Jack as she glanced across at him, taking in his clothing.

"Not really," Jack shrugged. The day was cool but a watery sun had emerged from the clouds taking the bite out of the worst of the weather "I bet you're nice and warm,"

Jack noted that Molly was well wrapped up. Thick blankets were wrapped around her legs and body and a beanie hat had been pulled over her bandaged head, presumably to stop the stares from passers-by.

"War..m," Molly agreed

"I heard you had another operation on your arm?" Jack said glancing down at her arm which was tucked beneath the blankets

"Y-yea…h," Molly said "Op..oper…tion…n-number f-four," she said and Jack winced as he contemplated this

"Not much fun I bet?" he said and Molly murmured in agreement

"Ja…ck…" she said after a moment's silence

"Yeah?"

"Sor..ry,"

"For what?" Jack asked looking surprised

"M..y…mess," she said slowly "My…prob…lem…no..t…you..rs,"

"I told you before that we're in this together,"

Molly nodded slowly "Fee…feet,"

Jack frowned and looked at what Molly was referring to. It was the smallest movement but he realised that Molly had just wiggled her toes.

…

The wheelchair had an annoying squeaked as it passed across the lino floor but the noise was soon drowned out by other hospital sounds that buzzed and mumbled away, filling the endless corridors of the building.

"Don..t you haaa…ve work?" Molly asked Jack as he wheeled her down the corridor during one of his visits.

"I'm on sick leave," he told her "So I'm really bored,"

"Are…yo…u still hurt?" Molly asked

"No," Jack shook his head "Just stupid red tape that's all. Nothing for you to worry about. I heard you did good in physiotherapy today?" he said changing the subject

"To..ok….a step by m..mysel…f," Molly said slowly "Kinda…"

Jack nodded as Molly slowly recalled how she'd managed to stand upright, flanked by two physiotherapists, and shuffle slightly forwards.

"Good work!" Jack praised "You'll be out of here in no time at all,"

"Wan..t to go h..home now," Molly sighed

"You've got to play the long game I'm afraid. Stick with all this treatment, the speech therapy and physiotherapy and you'll get better and stronger. Then you can go home and won't have to worry about being ill again,"

"Feel..l..like…a mummy" Molly said gesturing to the bandages that were still adorning her body

Jack chuckled softly "Well you don't look like a dead person. You are very much alive and kicking," he said, adding "both literally and metaphorically," as she wiggled her toes

They passed through another set of door and entered the ward. Jack wheeled Molly up to the nurse's station where Nathan was typing away at a computer

"Moonlighting as a porter now are we?" Nathan asked Jack with a grin "Don't give up the day job mate,"

"Just keeping Molly here company,"

"Poor girl," Nathan quipped "Seeing as you love hanging round here so much I don't suppose you want to do my paperwork?"

"No chance," Jack said "I'll leave that particular delight to you,"

"You are kind," Nathan said sarcastically "And how are you today Molly?" he said turning to the girl who was listening to their conversation with a hint of amusement on her face

"G..good," she said slowly "Ti..tired,"

"Yeah I can imagine," Nathan nodded sympathetically "Let's get you back to your bed and you can have a rest,"

"W..walk?" Molly asked hopefully

Nathan shook his head "We don't want you to overdo it too soon. You're still quite weak. Remember what the doctor said about taking baby steps,"

"Ba..babies…ar….are…ay..aliens…" Molly slurred sincerely, nodding her head and then wincing slightly in pain

"I'll see you soon Molly," Jack said as he zipped up his jacket "Take it easy,"

"Come on let's get you comfortable," Nathan said as he took over from Jack "The doctor's doing his rounds soon and he'll want to hear about what you've done in physiotherapy today," he said as they moved off back to Molly's bed area.

…

"D..do…you wan..t…to know….w…what h-happened?" Molly said slowly "Aft-er you l-left Devil's c-cott,"

Jack shifted his position in the chair and gazed at the girl in the bed "Can you even remember?" he asked looking sceptical. He was aware of the damage to her brain and was unsure how good her memory would be post-injury.

"Bits," she said quietly "P..pain m-mostly. He w-was angry. So very v-very angry…"

"I'm sorry Molly," Jack shook his head "I should have gotten help sooner. I lost my way in those woods,"

"B..but you d-did get h-help," Molly corrected

"Not soon enough," Jack said

"I trusted y-you," Molly told him "T-that's why I s..stayed be..hind," she told him

Jack nodded silently and Molly leant forward and squeezed his hand with her uninjured one

"S-still here," she said softly "Both of u-us,"

Jack nodded with a smile and turned back to the crossword they had been working on "So six letters beginning with 'a'. The clue is the word for extra-terrestrial beings,"

"A-aliens," Molly said "It's always a..aliens,"

…

…

"I best be off," Jack said glancing at the clock "Visiting hours will be over soon,"

"Than-k y..yo-ou," Molly nodded. She was in bed but Jack was pleased to see she was able to sit up by herself. Many of the wires had been removed from her now and an oxygen mask lay loose around her neck for the sporadic occasions she needed it.

"No problem kiddo," Jack said with grin "Oh I almost forgot," he said pulling something out of his bag "Now you're getting a bit better I thought you might getting really bored just sitting around all day doing nothing,"

Molly nodded slowly as Jack passed her small rectangular package. She attempted to peel the tape away with one hand but grunted in frustration. Jack leant forward to help and soon the package was open.

"DVD?" Molly said looking at the box

"I thought you might want something to watch when you're in here," Jack shrugged "I think you'll like it,"

Molly turned over the case and stared at the title taking it in slowly. A small smile played across her face as understood.

A bright full moon covered the centre of the case and white writing adorned the cover underneath.

E.T the Extra-Terrestrial.

Author's Note: Thanks for the Reviews