-Community General Hospital; December 20-
Mandy sat up, and immediately wished she hadn't. Searing pain shot up her spine and through her head. She looked blearily around her. She could tell she was in a hospital. An oxygen mask was held firmly to her face by an elastic strap. She put her hand to her head and tried to make the dizziness subside. The door opened. A tall young man with blonde hair walked in.
"Good morning, Mandy." He said. "My name is Andrew. I'm your doctor."
Mandy shook her head. "My doctor?"
Andrew smiled. "You were unconscious last night when they brought you in, so you wouldn't know. This is the first anyone here has see you awake."
Mandy stared at him. "What happened?"
Andrew looked at her apprehensively. "That's what I need you to tell me. I need to know exactly what you remember."
Mandy looked at her sheet. "The house. The fire. The beams were falling. There was a child. I heard her crying. I got into her room. I found her under the bed. I held her in my arms. She asked me where her Mommy was..."
-Flashback-
Mandy heard the crack from the board what seemed like only seconds before it hit them. A searing flash of pain ripped through her body. She heard the little girl cry out in pain and fear. Mandy pulled her helmet off and hit the "pager" on her belt to signal to the truck outside that she needed help. She held the little girl tighter. She could see that the little girl was starting to fall asleep.
"What's your name?" Mandy asked
"Faith. Where's Mommy?"
"Mommy can't come. So I'm going to take care of you until some doctors get here."
"I'm sleepy." Faith said drowsily.
"I know, Faith, but sweetie you can't go to sleep right now."
"How come?" she asked.
"We have to stay awake until those doctors get here." Mandy said
"So we can tell them where to put the Band-Aids?" Faith asked
Mandy bit her lip "Yes, Faith. That's exactly it."
Faith smiled. "Okay."
Another beam fell outside the room, followed by a roar of flames. Faith wrapped her arms around Mandy's shoulders.
"I'm scared!" she cried.
Mandy held Faith tightly to her.
"Its okay to be afraid, sweetie."
Faith laid her head on Mandy's shoulder, her thumb in her mouth.
Mandy looked up towards the sky as the wall just outside the door caved in.
"Please, God, help us." She whispered
Beside them, unseen, Andrew appeared, glowing softly. He put his hand on Mandy's shoulder.
"It's going to be okay, Mandy." He said, "God will protect you."
As one of the walls of the room caved in, two or three other firemen ran into the room.
"Mandy!" they yelled. They lifted the beam off Mandy and Faith.
The two girls were carried out into the cool night air and laid in the grass. Two gurneys were brought over. Mandy looked weakly at Faith as the gurneys were wheeled in opposite directions.
Mandy stared at the white ceiling of the ambulance. She closed her eyes.
-End flashback-
Mandy looked at Andrew and recounted the previous nights events as she remembered them. Andrew smiled.
"Okay, you don't seem to suffer any amnesia from the accident. That is a very good sign."
"Where is Faith?" Mandy asked
"She's upstairs, in the Pediatric Intensive Care Ward."
"How bad is she?" Mandy asked
"She's lucky." Andrew said. "If you hadn't found her when you did, chances are she wouldn't have made it."
"How bad is she?" Mandy asked
Andrew looked at her grimly. "I don't want to scare you, Mandy, but I'm not going to lie to you. She has severe damage to her spinal cord just above the waist. Chances are she'll never walk again. She inhaled a lot of smoke and ash, so she has a lot of damage to her lungs. She'll be on assistant respiration for a while. Other than that, we don't know very much of anything yet."
Mandy thought for a moment. "How bad am I?" she finally asked.
Andrew smiled. "You've got a few bruised ribs, some minor cuts and burns, and slight lung irritation from the smoke. But if all goes well, you can be released tomorrow."
Andrew took a pocket watch from his coat, which reminded Mandy of something.
"Andrew, in the left pocket of the jacket on my suite, there is a star. Where is it?"
Andrew reached into a bin beside her bed. He pulled out the charred, battered star. Mandy smiled.
"It was on the family's Christmas tree," she explained. "I removed it from the rubble when I first entered the house."
Andrew smiled. "I have to go check on some other patients. Get some rest, Mandy."
Andrew put his hand on her arm before turning and walking out.