I open my eyes and it's still dark outside. Elliot is asleep in the chair beside my bed. At least he's quiet for once. I want to move and get up but am not sure if I'll be allowed. I try to shift and Elliot is awake in an instant.

'I'm sorry I didn't mean to disturb you' I say

'You didn't, I was just resting my eyes. Are you OK?' Elliot says.

'Yes, but I want to get out of bed.'

'No, not whilst I'm looking after you. Mom thinks I'm irresponsible as it is, if anything were to happen to you…'

'I'll be fine, mom doesn't need to know'

'Mom doesn't need to know what? What are you two planning?' Christian says as he enters the room.

'I want to get out of bed and Elliot won't let me. What are you doing here it's still dark outside?' I say grumpily.

'I couldn't sleep so thought I might as well let Elliot go home for a few hours before he has to work. Hannah will be here to take over from me before my breakfast meeting. Though if you're talking about getting out of bed perhaps we shouldn't leave you here alone with her as she will let you.'

'Are you angry with me?' I ask.

'Only because you're trying to do things before you're ready and we want you back home as soon as possible.'

'I'll go back to sleep then.' I say closing my eyes.

Elliot and Christian move to the other side of the room, they probably think because I've got my eyes shut that I can't hear them but I hear every word.

'I called Mia last night and told her that she was out of order not being here for him'

'What did she say?' Elliot asks

'That's one reason why I'm so angry and couldn't sleep' Christian hisses.

'But you never get angry with Mia, she can twist you round her little finger'

'Well she thought that it would be OK to hang out at the club with her friends because she didn't expect him to wake up just yet. I'm thinking of stopping her allowance then she might get in the real world if she has to work.' Christian says. I always wondered where Mia got her money from.

'I'll call her today and have a word with her, she might listen to me. Thanks for coming in to take over, I'm shattered so will go home for some sleep. I'll be back later this afternoon. Bye bro' Elliot says and gives Christian a hug.

Christian comes and sits in the chair next to me that Elliot was sleeping in. I open an eye and look at him. He's just watching me intently.

'Are you still angry with me?' I ask.

'No, I wasn't really angry with you but please Matt don't take any risks just yet.'

'OK. She doesn't like me.'

'Who?' Christian asks

'Mia' I reply.

'She does, she's just in a world of her own and needs to sort her priorities out.' he mutters. I turn the other way. 'Hey, don't sulk. You were supposed to have an appointment today with Dr Greene to talk about contraception.'

'How do you know about that?'

'I heard Hannah on the phone.'

'Oh, is there anything you don't know about? Hannah wanted me to go with her. I think she was a bit nervous.'

'Ana is going to take her for moral support and wait outside for her. Dr Greene wouldn't let you in anyway, she never lets me.' Christian says with a smile.

'Jeez, does the whole family know. I never have any privacy.' I say. 'You can go to work early if you want, I'm tired so am going back to sleep.'

'It's OK; I'll send some emails from here. If I go you'll do something stupid like try and get out of bed. I hadn't expected you to be awake anyway, but if you're still asleep when I do go then I'll be back to see you soon.'

'Thanks Christian.' I say and instantly fall asleep. I dream that I'm with Hannah. We're sailing, then running around on the playground. Sitting on the swing seat and standing at the Space Needle. Splashing our feet at the end of the jetty and lying on the grass. I become aware that I am slowly waking up but I keep my eyes shut. Christian is still here and he's with Mia.

'You took your time in coming to visit your baby brother' Christian hisses at Mia.

'Everyone else has been here for him.' Mia says and I can imagine her pouting.

'Are you jealous? He thinks you hate him, why would he think that?' Christian asks. I freeze, lying as still as I can. I know I shouldn't be doing this but I can't help myself.

'No I'm not jealous. Everyone just thinks he's such a goody goody. He can't do anything wrong. You weren't at school with him. It was so embarrassing always seeing mom or dad sat outside the principal's office because he'd been up to something. He hardly had any friends that sometimes at recess he would be sat under a tree on his own just staring into space and if Hannah was with her girlfriends he would end up most lunchtime sat by himself eating. Don't you think that he's a bit strange?'

'No Mia I don't. If you saw that he was on his own why the hell didn't you help him?' Christian shouts.

'I was with my friends.' Mia mutters.

'As always. How would you feel if the roles were reversed and you were on your own and he had a big social group?' Christian asks her.

'I don't know.'

'And should I tell you why you don't know, because he wouldn't have let it happen. He'd have included you with whatever he was doing so you wouldn't have felt left out.' Christian is seething with anger. 'I'm going to get a coffee, if he wakes up you've got some making up to do.' The door shuts loudly; not quite a slam but he obviously left the room angry.

I open my eyes and look at Mia. 'Can't you just pretend that you like me? It would make life easier.' I say.

'You heard everything?' Mia asks.

'Yes. He'll calm down eventually but he's thinking of stopping your allowance, I heard him telling Elliot earlier.'

'Are you just pretending to be ill just so that you can listen to other people's conversations?' she snaps.

'It's easier to keep my eyes closed, I don't mean to listen in but you all keep talking loudly next to my bed.' I say tiredly. 'You haven't been that bad, it's only been the last few weeks that you've shown that you don't like me.'

'I am jealous of you. Everything just seems to fall into place for you. Your job with Christian, your relationship with Hannah. I have all these friends but sometimes it all feels so empty and false.'

'Mia, you're smart. You could do anything you wanted to instead of hanging round the mall all day or at the spa or salon. Why don't you look into university courses even if it's here in Seattle? At least then you'd be doing something worthwhile and you might make some new friends. If you do it this week you might even be able to start next semester.'

'Thanks Matt, maybe I'll do that. I'm sorry if I've been horrible to you. I do love you really.' Mia says just as Christian walks back into the room.

'At least you two are talking. Are you friends again?' Christian asks.

'Yes Christian, we're friends again.' Mia says with her usual pout but stands to give him a hug.

'Why are you still here? I thought you were going to work.' I ask him.

He grins at me before replying in a teasing way. 'I have been to work. Hannah has sat with you all day and you didn't even have the decency to wake up and keep her company. Ana has just taken her for a break to get something to eat. Are you hungry?'

'No, my throat is still sore. I can't believe I missed Hannah.'

'You missed mom and dad as well and Elliot has been back. Shall I get you some ice cream?'

'No.' I say and close my eyes.

'Grouchy.'

'No. I just want to be on my own.' I mutter. He looks at Mia and she makes some excuse about going for a drink before kissing my cheek and leaving.

'Matt, what's the matter? It's not like you to be like this.' He asks gently. I shrug keeping my eyes closed. 'Matt, please talk to me.'

I open my eyes and look at him and whisper quietly 'I would like some ice cream.'

He gets out his phone and instantly barks an order 'Vanilla ice cream, as soon as possible.' When he clicks off he looks at me, his eyes softening before saying 'You thought I would tease you about this?' I nod. 'So you would have gone without and been hungry?' again I nod. 'Jeez Matt, I'm sorry. We shouldn't have been so cruel the other day.'

I smile weakly at him just as Taylor enters the room with a tub of ice cream. I grin at him, pleased to see him. 'Hi Taylor.'

'Hi Matthew. Good to see you awake and wanting food. Mrs Jones sends her love and is waiting for you to want some proper food so that she can cook for you.'

'Maybe she can send some tomorrow. Her tomato soup would be good. Thank you for the ice cream.'

'It's a pleasure and I'll let Mrs Jones know. Will there be anything else Sir?' Taylor asks Christian.

'No, that will be all.' Christian says and Taylor leaves.

'Hannah will be back soon. I'm going to leave you two alone for a couple of hours but will be back to pick her up later. Mom is staying with you tonight. I'm staying tomorrow night.' He tells me as I start on the ice cream.

I look at him horrified 'When will I be able to go home? I ask.

'Thursday morning if you're lucky. How do you feel about coming to Escala for a few days? That way Mrs Jones can look after you during the day whilst everyone is working. Don't worry Hannah can stay as well. At least you can have a bit of a normal life, everything you need is on one level or you use an elevator. There's a coffee shop almost outside so you can at least feel like you're going somewhere and there's the restaurant if you want dinner alone together. Plus you'll be closer to the hospital for checks and if we need to get you back for any reason. If you go back to Bellevue it's a drive anywhere….'

'OK, you've convinced me. Will Ana be OK with that and what about mom?'

'Ana will be delighted, her and Hannah are getting on really well. Mom will be happy. I've already checked with dad, he had planned to take her away this weekend and I think they should still go but she was having doubts.'

'I think they should go as well. If I'm with you she won't worry.' I say smiling at him and he grins back at me. Hannah and Ana arrive back; Ana goes straight to Christian and kisses him. He whispers something in her ear and she smiles at him lovingly before blushing. I look away, slightly jealous that I can't have alone time with Hannah. Hannah is stood holding back from me. I look at her worriedly, something has upset her. I go to hold her hand but she pulls away. I close my eyes again; I can't be hurt if I close them. I hear Christian and Ana say their goodbyes to Hannah, Christian warns her not to let me get out of bed, and then they are gone.

'Are you awake?' Hannah murmurs.

'Yes' I say opening one eye, she's looking at me warily. 'Has something happened that I don't know about?'

'No' she says almost sulkily.

'Have I upset you?' I ask thinking I haven't done anything but sleep.

'No, I'm just tired. I've been here all day and this is the first chance we've had to speak.'

'I'm sorry baby, I didn't know you were here, you should have woken me.'

'What? No, I've had it drummed into me how much you have to sleep to get better and how you can't get out of bed just yet. Jeez Matt they would all be so angry with me if I woke you.' She looks at me and smiles 'They're all being over protective as usual'

'Oh, sorry. I can just sleep but you have to deal with them'

'They've all been good to me though. Ana took me to see Dr Greene earlier, she was a bit scary. I had to do a pregnancy test and thought I was going to pass out waiting for the results.' I look at her, the horror must show on my face. 'Don't worry, it was negative. She's now given me a shot so you'll be good to go in seven days.'

'Pregnancy Test? That is scary Hannah'

'I know but we were lucky it was negative. No more risks now until we've finished university at least.'

'And we're married'

'Is that a proposal?'

'Not from a hospital bed.' I say grinning at her 'Surely you'd want something more romantic.'

'Too right, I want total hearts and flowers.' She says smiling and comes to give me a hug and kiss on the cheek.

'I've missed you baby, I need to get out of here on Thursday just so I can hold you and hug you properly.'

'Me too.' She sits in the chair, resting her head on the side of the bed next to me and I stroke her hair until she falls asleep. I watch her for a while before closing my own eyes.