I awoke in a stiff hospital bed as bright sunlight came in through an opened window and blinded me for a moment. There was a pleasant breeze blowing about and it tousled my hair, which, to my embarrassment, had some of my drool on. Quickly, I wiped it away and glanced around the room.

There was the low murmur of hospital voices out in the hallway, which I was unable to see who those voice belonged to, due to a curtain being in my way. Unfortunately, my arms weren't quite long enough to push it out of the way, and I was too tired to get out of bed and move it.

So, I let it stay there.

I was still in my dress from the night before, and I wasn't even under the starched hospital blankets. There was a drip I.V. above my head and a bright tube of blood drained into my arm-but it wasn't from a blood bag.

Dad, asleep, rested in a chair beside me, letting his blood flow into me. His head was leaned back with mouth opened wide. There was a slight shadow of facial hair on him and the blond mop on his head was as messy as could be.

With stiff fingers, I clamped the blood tube off so that the flow would stop and reached over to wake up Dad. It took three tries of shaking his knee before he grunted and let his eyelids flutter open.

"Well, good morning to you too," I said to him.

"It was only a nap," he argued.

"For how long?"

"At the most, twenty minutes."

"I see."

"Moment of weakness," he said as if that was the answer that I had been looking for.

I rolled my eyes and pulled the blood transfusion needle out of my arm. Did I dare to ask it? There was one question rolling around in my mind that both panicked and excited me. I just had to hope that the answer I wanted would be a good one.

"You ok?" Dad asked me as he too, removed the bloody connection between us.

"As well as could be. Just a headache."

"You want some pills?"

"Huh?"

"The nurse…whatever her name was…gave them to me. Said that you might need them."

"What are they?"

He twisted around in his chair and picked up a tiny measuring cup that they usually put liquids in and give to patients. But inside mine was a couple of tiny red and yellow pills. Dad shook the cup so that the pills rolled around inside of it.

"Looks like Tylenol," he commented. "But I can't be sure. I thought that company went out of business. You still want 'em?"

"Hand them over." He gave me the cup.

"Let me get some water."

I, by the time he had risen from his chair to retrieve the water so that I could swallow the pills with ease, had already gulped down the pills dry.

"Ok, then, don't let me get some water," he commented sarcastically and sat back down in the chair, crossing his arms.

Using some under-stuffed pillows, I managed to prop myself up against the weak headboard as I faced Dad. There was a trivial moment of silence before he spoke up again.

"Max and Case were here a little bit ago, looking for you."

"How'd they know I was here?" I asked.

"Something about James and you in a gang accident…he must've called them."

"Crap," I muttered, remembering that I hadn't told Dad about that.

"Gang accident? I'm assuming that you were attacked in the streets. James tried to defend you, but was knocked unconscious. Therefore, you, seeing that he wouldn't be able to find out about you, took care of business, and drove him to the hospital. Correct?"

I nodded weakly.

"Not that hard to figure out. Logical thinking; that's all a problem usually takes."

"I see."

"You want me to go and get them, then?"

"Who?"

"Case and Max."

"Oh. No." I glanced out the window where a couple of fat birds had landed on the tree branch outside. "Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"How-how's Mom?"

He observed me carefully as if questioning whether or not I was ready for the truth. Then, he rose to his feet and walked to the end of the bed.

"Dad?" I questioned again.

Then, he grabbed onto the edge of the curtain that split the room in half. "See for yourself," he told me and, with a dramatic flick of his wrists, caused the curtain to open.

There, on the other side of the bed, Mom laid on her back with her head tilt towards me. Her eyes were open despite the tubes up her nose, I.V. and blood bag attachment. She smiled as we met eyes.

"Alanza…" she whispered.

I burst into tears right then and there. Yanking my own I.V. needle out of my hand, I scrambled over to her on my knees.

She wrapped her arms around me and kissed the top of my forehead. My tears were wetting her bed sheets, but hers were falling on my hair like heaven's rain. "You," I began and wiped away the tears as my throat clenched and unclenched from the heavy emotions. "You came back."

Mom pulled me away and held me at arm's length so that we looked straight into each other's dripping eyes. I had never been so happy in all of my life and the warm tears falling down my cheeks felt soothing to my worn skin. "Alanza," she said to me before she broke down into joyous sobs, "I never left you."