Part 3
"How long now?"
"She's been out for about twelve hours"
"I think it's time you woke her"
~~~~~~
Voices, distant and jumbled broke into the warm dark place that cradled her mind.
Reluctantly, Buffy lifted her heavy eyelids and with the first whiff of disinfectant, she realised what she'd thought was a nightmare had started all over again.
"Hello Elizabeth"
"I'd rather you call me Buffy," She replied without even looking up.
When Buffy finally did pull herself up, she was greeted with almost navy blue eyes.
"Of course, Buffy it is," Adam Walsh smiled warmly at his patient. His handsome young face and light blonde hair immediately putting her at ease.
"I'm Dr Walsh and I've been overseeing your treatment for the last few days." Adam added as he turned and picked up her chart from the clipboard at the foot of her bed. After scanning the results of the last few tests, and being pleased with their readings, he turned his full attention back to his patient.
"So, Buffy, how are you feeling now?" He asked, replacing her notes and removing a small penlight from his coat pocket.
"I think the word *confused* sums it up perfectly." Buffy replied as she sat up and adjusted her ill-fitting hospital gown.
"That's understandable" Adam murmured. Leaning forward, he shone a tiny beam of the light first in to her left eye and after watching the pupil's response, transferred it to the right.
"And are you still having difficulty remembering?"
Buffy blinked as the bright beam of light hit her eyes.
"Yes"
"From what I've been told you were a very lucky woman. Considering the injuries of the other victims, you seem to have escaped lightly," Adam switched off the light and returned it to his top pocket.
"Escaped?" Buffy's voice was barely a whisper.
Cold fear started creeping through her veins. As much as she needed to hear this information, the unknown that was once her past, terrified her.
Adam Walsh watched the frightened young woman's face and hoped she was strong enough to learn the truth about the accident. In normal circumstances he would have waited for her husband to be present, but these were far from normal circumstances.
" You were involved in an accident, Buffy. We've been having some real freak weather here in New York this last month. Some of the worst storms in twenty years. It seems the bus you were travelling on lost control in the heavy rain, and it crashed. There were a lot of other vehicles involved. It's been chaos here the last few days; there were so many fatalities. Sadly, only three of the bus passengers survived, two of them, an elderly couple, are in intensive care and the third, well, that's you."
Buffy felt the air sucked out of her lungs as the doctor's words entered her head.
"Oh God!"
Her pretty face lost all colour as the blood drained away in shock.
"The paramedic who brought you in said you were thrown clear before the bus burst into flames. Apart from a badly sprained ankle, a few nasty cuts and bruises and of course the knock to your head, you came out of it pretty unscathed"
"I think I'm going to be sick" Buffy threw her head forward and wrenched, but her stomach was too empty to comply.
Rubbing his hand over her back in support, the doctor gently persuaded her to lay back against the pillow.
"You will need to keep off that foot for a few days, but apart from that, you'll be fine"
Raising her fingers to her face, Buffy gingerly traced the row of butterfly stitches that snaked across her cheek. She knew from the pain that it was only one of many cuts and bruises covering her body.
"The cuts to your face are only superficial, they'll heal without scaring," The doctor added softly on seeing the fear in her eyes.
Buffy bit into her bottom lip as hot salty tears started to burn.
"After hearing about the other passengers I guess my pathetic worries make me look pretty superficial" Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks as she lowered her hand.
"Of course not, you are a beautiful young woman, it's only natural you would be concerned. Try not to worry too much, just rest and let time do the healing"
Buffy sniffed back the last of her tears, she was thankful for the kind words but they failed to make her feel any better. She couldn't help feeling ashamed of her reaction. People had burned to death and here she was worrying about her face. A few scars should be the least of her problems.
On reflection they were.
"And what about my memory, or the lack of it?" She asked, finally pulling herself back together.
Adam knew this question was coming and he replied with the only answer he could.... The truth.
"As I've already discussed with your husband, these things are quite common. A knock to the head or a traumatic experience can often lead to these problems. It's just like your other injuries, Buffy. We just have to give them time."
**Time**
Buffy laid back and closed her eyes.
At least she was alive, and unlike most of the other passengers on that bus, she did still have *time* on her side.
She also had something else
A Husband she couldn't remember and now survivor's guilt she would never forget
**Would the nightmare ever end?**
****
"I would kill for a shower" Buffy sighed running her fingers through her lank and greasy hair. Now she was fully awake, she longed to stand beneath a jet spray of hot water and wash away, not only the sweat and dirt of the last few days, but also all the confusion and pain that invisibly coated her body. Even though she still couldn't remember the accident, the smell of death seemed to linger on her skin. Her greatest fear was that mere soap and water would never be enough to remove its stench from her soul.
The news of the accident had been a real shock, but Buffy knew it wasn't the only ghost that haunted her past. Something even darker lurked behind the black hole that had replaced her memory, something even harder to accept than the fact she had almost been killed.
"Sorry, you can't visit the shower room yet, it's too soon, you really don't want to get your stitches wet"
Buffy looked up.
"You also need to rest that foot for a few more days" The nurse replied apologetically as she straightened her patient's bedding.
"What about a bath then, anything, just so i can feel human again" Buffy continued to plead her case and tried to leave the dark thoughts that had swamped her to one side. She seriously needed a distraction, even if it was only for an hour, she needed desperately to relax.. Because if she could relax, then maybe, just maybe she could remember.
"You're missing the point, honey, you're not allowed out of bed. If you fell on that ankle you could seriously hurt yourself."
Buffy almost laughed
"Didn't you hear? I'm invincible"
The sarcastic reply was ignored.
On Buffy's defeated expression the nurse softened.
"How about I wash your hair for you, a blanket bath maybe?" she offered, feeling a new wave of sympathy for the younger woman's plight.
At the offer, Buffy's large hazel eyes lit up and smiled back warmly at the kindness. For a split second, she seemed to remember the face of her mother; it was no particular memory, just a warm caring face. It wasn't much, but it was a start and in that second, the picture brought her real hope.
"Besides, we can't have you looking all grubby when that handsome husband of your arrives."
"Thank you" Buffy replied, but suddenly the happiness she was feeling slipped away. Just the thought of Liam filled her with trepidation. She certainly wasn't looking forward to seeing him again.
**Not looking like this anyway**
Buffy didn't like where that thought came from and quickly closed it off. There was something odd about the way Liam's cold dark eyes washed over her. He was incredibly good looking and as sexy as hell, but, no matter how hard she tried, Buffy couldn't shake the feeling that something bad had passed between them.
As the nurse wrapped a towel around her shoulders and poured warm water from a jug over her head, Buffy frowned
Without a doubt, Liam was one of her ghosts..
TBC...
"How long now?"
"She's been out for about twelve hours"
"I think it's time you woke her"
~~~~~~
Voices, distant and jumbled broke into the warm dark place that cradled her mind.
Reluctantly, Buffy lifted her heavy eyelids and with the first whiff of disinfectant, she realised what she'd thought was a nightmare had started all over again.
"Hello Elizabeth"
"I'd rather you call me Buffy," She replied without even looking up.
When Buffy finally did pull herself up, she was greeted with almost navy blue eyes.
"Of course, Buffy it is," Adam Walsh smiled warmly at his patient. His handsome young face and light blonde hair immediately putting her at ease.
"I'm Dr Walsh and I've been overseeing your treatment for the last few days." Adam added as he turned and picked up her chart from the clipboard at the foot of her bed. After scanning the results of the last few tests, and being pleased with their readings, he turned his full attention back to his patient.
"So, Buffy, how are you feeling now?" He asked, replacing her notes and removing a small penlight from his coat pocket.
"I think the word *confused* sums it up perfectly." Buffy replied as she sat up and adjusted her ill-fitting hospital gown.
"That's understandable" Adam murmured. Leaning forward, he shone a tiny beam of the light first in to her left eye and after watching the pupil's response, transferred it to the right.
"And are you still having difficulty remembering?"
Buffy blinked as the bright beam of light hit her eyes.
"Yes"
"From what I've been told you were a very lucky woman. Considering the injuries of the other victims, you seem to have escaped lightly," Adam switched off the light and returned it to his top pocket.
"Escaped?" Buffy's voice was barely a whisper.
Cold fear started creeping through her veins. As much as she needed to hear this information, the unknown that was once her past, terrified her.
Adam Walsh watched the frightened young woman's face and hoped she was strong enough to learn the truth about the accident. In normal circumstances he would have waited for her husband to be present, but these were far from normal circumstances.
" You were involved in an accident, Buffy. We've been having some real freak weather here in New York this last month. Some of the worst storms in twenty years. It seems the bus you were travelling on lost control in the heavy rain, and it crashed. There were a lot of other vehicles involved. It's been chaos here the last few days; there were so many fatalities. Sadly, only three of the bus passengers survived, two of them, an elderly couple, are in intensive care and the third, well, that's you."
Buffy felt the air sucked out of her lungs as the doctor's words entered her head.
"Oh God!"
Her pretty face lost all colour as the blood drained away in shock.
"The paramedic who brought you in said you were thrown clear before the bus burst into flames. Apart from a badly sprained ankle, a few nasty cuts and bruises and of course the knock to your head, you came out of it pretty unscathed"
"I think I'm going to be sick" Buffy threw her head forward and wrenched, but her stomach was too empty to comply.
Rubbing his hand over her back in support, the doctor gently persuaded her to lay back against the pillow.
"You will need to keep off that foot for a few days, but apart from that, you'll be fine"
Raising her fingers to her face, Buffy gingerly traced the row of butterfly stitches that snaked across her cheek. She knew from the pain that it was only one of many cuts and bruises covering her body.
"The cuts to your face are only superficial, they'll heal without scaring," The doctor added softly on seeing the fear in her eyes.
Buffy bit into her bottom lip as hot salty tears started to burn.
"After hearing about the other passengers I guess my pathetic worries make me look pretty superficial" Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks as she lowered her hand.
"Of course not, you are a beautiful young woman, it's only natural you would be concerned. Try not to worry too much, just rest and let time do the healing"
Buffy sniffed back the last of her tears, she was thankful for the kind words but they failed to make her feel any better. She couldn't help feeling ashamed of her reaction. People had burned to death and here she was worrying about her face. A few scars should be the least of her problems.
On reflection they were.
"And what about my memory, or the lack of it?" She asked, finally pulling herself back together.
Adam knew this question was coming and he replied with the only answer he could.... The truth.
"As I've already discussed with your husband, these things are quite common. A knock to the head or a traumatic experience can often lead to these problems. It's just like your other injuries, Buffy. We just have to give them time."
**Time**
Buffy laid back and closed her eyes.
At least she was alive, and unlike most of the other passengers on that bus, she did still have *time* on her side.
She also had something else
A Husband she couldn't remember and now survivor's guilt she would never forget
**Would the nightmare ever end?**
****
"I would kill for a shower" Buffy sighed running her fingers through her lank and greasy hair. Now she was fully awake, she longed to stand beneath a jet spray of hot water and wash away, not only the sweat and dirt of the last few days, but also all the confusion and pain that invisibly coated her body. Even though she still couldn't remember the accident, the smell of death seemed to linger on her skin. Her greatest fear was that mere soap and water would never be enough to remove its stench from her soul.
The news of the accident had been a real shock, but Buffy knew it wasn't the only ghost that haunted her past. Something even darker lurked behind the black hole that had replaced her memory, something even harder to accept than the fact she had almost been killed.
"Sorry, you can't visit the shower room yet, it's too soon, you really don't want to get your stitches wet"
Buffy looked up.
"You also need to rest that foot for a few more days" The nurse replied apologetically as she straightened her patient's bedding.
"What about a bath then, anything, just so i can feel human again" Buffy continued to plead her case and tried to leave the dark thoughts that had swamped her to one side. She seriously needed a distraction, even if it was only for an hour, she needed desperately to relax.. Because if she could relax, then maybe, just maybe she could remember.
"You're missing the point, honey, you're not allowed out of bed. If you fell on that ankle you could seriously hurt yourself."
Buffy almost laughed
"Didn't you hear? I'm invincible"
The sarcastic reply was ignored.
On Buffy's defeated expression the nurse softened.
"How about I wash your hair for you, a blanket bath maybe?" she offered, feeling a new wave of sympathy for the younger woman's plight.
At the offer, Buffy's large hazel eyes lit up and smiled back warmly at the kindness. For a split second, she seemed to remember the face of her mother; it was no particular memory, just a warm caring face. It wasn't much, but it was a start and in that second, the picture brought her real hope.
"Besides, we can't have you looking all grubby when that handsome husband of your arrives."
"Thank you" Buffy replied, but suddenly the happiness she was feeling slipped away. Just the thought of Liam filled her with trepidation. She certainly wasn't looking forward to seeing him again.
**Not looking like this anyway**
Buffy didn't like where that thought came from and quickly closed it off. There was something odd about the way Liam's cold dark eyes washed over her. He was incredibly good looking and as sexy as hell, but, no matter how hard she tried, Buffy couldn't shake the feeling that something bad had passed between them.
As the nurse wrapped a towel around her shoulders and poured warm water from a jug over her head, Buffy frowned
Without a doubt, Liam was one of her ghosts..
TBC...
