Sometimes…

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye!

Chapter Three

"She's starting to come around," whispered a sweet, female voice near her as her eyelids began to flutter and she groaned. The lights were far too bright and her head was killing her.

"Where am I?" she croaked, her throat dry as her green eyes finally acquiesced and opened fully, allowing her to slowly adjust to the world. She did not recognize the busy hallway with its pale green tile and white walls nor the two people standing around her. It was completely unfamiliar.

"Ma'am, you're in the hospital. Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, to be exact. Can you tell us your name?" asked the nurse, quietly and calmly, as if people woke up in strange hospitals every day. Then again, they probably did.

"My name…my name is… I don't know…" she whispered, thinking hard. It seemed to have fled her mind. How could she have forgotten her own name? What had happened to her?

"Most likely amnesia," the nurse in the light blue scrubs with the sweet voice told the middle age doctor in the white lab coat beside her. "We'll need more tests to confirm though."

The doctor nodded his head, sandy blond hair shifting slightly. "Run the tests in a little bit, after she gets a chance to calm down."

"What happened to me?" she questioned. "What happened?"

"Sweetie," the nurse said, smiling widely at her. "You were found in downtown Miami, in the middle of the street. You're wounded for sure—cuts, bruises, and burns—besides just your head. No one knows for sure. Witnesses say that you were running and then just fell down."

"Fell?"

"Collapsed—in the middle of the street. There was no apparent reason for it."

She frowned. What could have caused her to be injured and to fall down in the middle of a street in downtown Miami? What had she done to herself? Or had had someone else…?

"Did someone do that to you?"

She shook her head, trying to clear it. It was a bad decision on her part. She moaned as she reached up to touch her sore head. She could feel a bandage wrapped around it. She must have hit it rather hard on the street to lose her memory.

"Well, I'll leave it to you," the doctor said to the kind nurse as the tell-tale sirens of an ambulance filled the air.

"Sure, Dr. Nagey," the nurse called, as the doctor jogged towards the ambulance entrance. "Oh, my name's Shirley."

"Nice to meet you, Shirley," she smiled, shaking the nurse's offered hand.

"What do you say we move you to a room? It's not going to be a private room because we're pretty booked up at the moment, but your new roommate isn't much of a talker," Shirley said, taking a hold on the bed and unlocking the wheels.

"I can walk," she said. "Please."

"If you think you can handle it…"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Shirley locked the wheels and helped her sit up.

A young man with dark hair falling into his face and covering his eyes, wearing a pair of green scrubs was slowly walking past. He froze and craned his head towards her, allowing her to catch a glimpse of his crystal blue eyes. He seemed confused to see her there.

"Easy does it, that's it," said Shirley as she helped the stranger from the bed. For the first time, Shirley got a good look at the hospital's Jane Doe. She was five foot something—Shirley was unsure due to the heels that were on the woman's feet. Very young and thin. Way too thin, judging by the way her clothes hung on her body. Yet she appeared to be in good shape.

The man quickly shook his head and kept walking. There was no way…nah; he would not even waste time thinking about it.

She stared after him, until Shirley's voice broke into her thoughts.

"Honey, are you ready to get going?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah," she smiled. "I'm just a little…"

"Distracted? It happens to everyone in this place. Something's always happening…it really keeps you on your toes."

"I bet."

The two women carefully made their way through the crowded hallways, the new patient leaning heavily on the cheerful nurse. Shirley did not seem to mind and was animatedly chatting about the hospital and various patients. Finally, the pair came to a stop in front of a room and Shirley opened the wooden door.

"Welcome to your home for the time being," Shirley smiled as she led the young woman into the room. The room was bare, no flowers, balloons, or anything indicating that he had even once had a visitor. There was a small stack of books and magazines stacked on a table, but that was the only sign that anyone even lived in the room.

"It's…um…" she was unable to find words to describe it.

"It's kind of dull, but I'm sure that we can find some way to liven it up. Your roommate is a bit of a loner I'm afraid and keeps to himself. He's been here for a while due to long term injuries. He's a really nice man though."

The Jane Doe nodded in understandment. "Thanks Shirley."

"Don't thank me yet. We still need to find out your name…"

"What the hell?" came a new voice from the hallway and the two turned to face the dark-haired man that she had noticed staring at her in the busy hospital hallway earlier. This was her roommate?

"Oh, Mr. Rippner, this is just perfect timing!" gushed Shirley, hurrying over to help pull him into the room. He looked annoyed but seemed too tired to put up a fight.

"It is?" he questioned.

"Hi," she said, sticking out her hand to shake his. "I'm…actually I don't know who I am."

"You look awfully familiar," Rippner said, craning his head to look at her, blue eyes taking in every detail. "Do you remember me?"

"No," she shook her head, then winced and reached up to rub it softly. "Ah, I keep forgetting."

"I'll leave you two alone to get acquainted," Shirley said, before slipping out of the room with a smile on her face. It was smile that a friend gave you after hooking you up with someone they deemed 'worthy' or 'good' for you.

She wanted to protest, but she was held captive by this man's charming smile and good looks. Now the smile was a smirk, as if he knew a secret. She knew he knew a secret…he had recognized her.

Who was she? And how did he know her?

Author's Notes:

And the plot thickens! Yeah, the 'she' is Lisa. She'll get a name in the next chapter, just not her own. Jackson's going to have a lot of fun messing with her mind. Thanks for all the kind reviews! Next chapter tomorrow, I hope! Enjoy!