Monika knew Rob was feeling a little bit better when they presented him with his cane. It was a simple black one that had a four-pronged tip on the bottom for better balance.

"This is my cane?" Rob asked. "This has no character."

"What are you talking about?" Kate asked with a combination of amusement and exasperation.

"I want something cool. One of those canes with like a metal eagle's head on top."

"Jeez," Kate sighed.

"You'll have to get that at a store," the doctor said. "Why don't you use this one for the time being?"

It was a long trip down the hospital hallway to the elevator as Rob tried to adjust to using the cane. When they left the hospital, he flinched and covered his eyes with his arm. Monika had expected this. After they got home the previous night, she had been reading about his injuries on the internet and learned that sensitivity to light was a common symptom of a concussion.

It took some research on Kate's smartphone, but the three of them did manage to find a store where a suitable cane could be purchased. Just as he said, Rob picked one out with a silver chrome-painted eagle's head on the top. He looked like a child who had just gotten a new toy.

The next stop was the car repair place where the ruined vehicle had been towed. The three of them approached the mangled car in somber silence. In the light of day, the damage was even more striking. It was amazing that Rob had walked away (well, maybe that was the wrong word) from this alive.

He must have been thinking something similar. "I know I'm banged up pretty bad, but this car did its job. The airbags and the seat belt probably saved my life."
Rob rested his hand briefly on the bent front hood of the car, almost like he was saying goodbye to a pet about to be euthanized.

"So what happens now?" Monika asked.

"Well, this car won't be doing any more driving so the insurance company will go over everything and decide what we get for it. It won't be enough for a new car, but it will be something. For now, we're just here to grab a few things that are still inside."

Rob leaned forward, clearly planning to bend over and reach inside the car. Kate stopped him immediately and he sighed lightly at the reminder of his limited mobility. A few minutes later, the documents from the glove department, a few stray papers and trinkets and of course his beloved Ipod (which had thankfully survived the impact) were extracted.

Back at the house, Kate went out in the back to start some spring cleaning. Rob had mentioned her gardens in the past and now that winter finally seemed to be over, Kate would put in a healthy amount of hours pulling weeds and putting down new dirt. Rob sat on the couch with the cane resting next to him on the cushion. He stared out the window without saying anything for some time.

"Everything okay?" Monika asked, sitting down next to him.

"Yeah. I was just thinking about your future."

"My future?" Monika asked, slightly incredulous. "After everything that's happened, you're worried about me?"

"Why would I think about my future? This is my future for the time being," he replied, holding up the cane.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's okay. There are advantages if you think about it. This happened right before lawn mowing season and now I won't be able to do that. Lots of chores I can't do, actually. Plus, nobody will be on my ass about getting a better job for a few months."

She laughed and learned her head on his shoulder. "You're so lazy!"

"It's not lazy if I have a good excuse," he said mischievously, before getting to the point. "You've been able to live here without much trouble, but as far as the bureaucracy is concerned, you don't exist. If you ever want your own place or your own car or even to travel somewhere on a plane, we're going to have to figure that out."

"What do I need?"

"A birth certificate and a social security card are the big ones," he answered. "If you have those, then it's not so hard to get stuff like a driver's license or a passport."

"But I wasn't really born," Monika said. "Not in the typical way. What would we do?"

"That's what I'm thinking about," Rob said. "If there is a solution, it's probably back inside the game."

Monika felt a small twinge of panic. She had devoted so much energy to escaping her old life and wasn't in a hurry to go back, but he might have been right. There was someone who might have a better idea.

Sayori,
Rob came home this morning. He will need to use a cane for a few months and an ankle brace (that was actually from falling out of a tree, not the car accident). He's on a lot of painkillers for his left knee and the concussion. At least the cuts on his face don't look so bad anymore now that he's cleaned up. I still feel really upset about the whole thing but I'm so releived he's safe and I know you all will be too. The boys came from school and were so cute when they saw him. I think they knew something was really wrong even if they didn't know what.

We had an interesting conversation about what I should be doing to prepare for living here permanently. I don't have a driver's license or social security or anything like that and without those, I might be living in Rob and Kate's basement forever. There are worse things, but I do sometimes think about traveling and I would need some identification to get anywhere beyond a reasonable driving distance.

Rob thinks we would need your help to pull this off. Even though it makes me a little nervous, I think he's right. Would you be willing to help? Rob would do most of the coordinating so you wouldn't have to keep talking to me.
I hope you all are okay, I miss you.
Monika

Monika,
Thank you for letting us know. Last night was hard on all of us but all of us cried with relief when we read your message. I wish we could come by with cupcakes and tea, but we're not at that point yet. For now, here's a get well card I made using some pictures of us. Please show him, okay?

About your other topic, I'm not super excited about it but I think we can come to an agreement. I'll help Rob try and piece together some personal documents for you, but in return I want you to help me. I want a detailed description of how exactly you got out of here. It's okay if it takes a while, I figure it was really complicated and might be hard to put into words. But I want to meet Rob. That's my price. I'm trusting you.

Take care,
Sayori

Sayori,
I accept your terms. You're right that it will be difficult to recall all the details of how I got here, but I can tell you the first step. Rob removed me from the characters folder and onto his computer's desktop and from there I had access to an incredible amount of information. So if you want to try it yourself, at some point Rob will need to move you as well. You'll have to find a way to explain that to Yuri and Natsuki.

He loved the card, especially how you used the costumes he gave you. I wish you wouldn't keep dressing up in that Princess Peach getup. Do you know who she is? If you did, you might not be so eager to dress like her. I'll put it this way. Even if Kate weren't in the picture, I'd still have to compete with her.

Rob's not feeling so great today. Even though it's been a few days since the accident, the whiplash is just starting to kick in and his shoulders are really sore. I was surprised it took so long but I did some reading and it turns out that's fairly common. His knee also bothers him sometimes when he has to walk around the house. He's putting on a strong front but I know he's having a difficult time. I hate to see him in pain. It must be hard for you too, being so far away. It's almost like his brother in New Zealand. When he's feeling better, he'll be in touch with you.
Monika

The whiplash only lasted for about a week and a half, but it will be much longer before Rob's knee and ankle recovered. Monika was fascinated by how he adapted to his injuries. Most people would likely be frustrated to be less mobile but Rob actually seemed to thrive. He looked perfectly content reading books on a variety of different subjects or catching up on movies he had planned to watch. He was an intellectual in a society that didn't seem to have much use for intellect and now he had a break from the constant pressure to pursue a path that wasn't necessarily right for him.

This peace was only during the day, however. For the first three nights after he came home from the hospital, Rob abruptly woke up in the middle of the night screaming. It was so loud that Monika could hear it from the basement. Finally Kate suggested he take his painkillers at night so that he would sleep heavier, something he had been reluctant to do out of fear of not being able to function the next morning. Kate pointed out that his injuries had already made him too slow to keep up with Andrew and Lucas during the typical busy mornings and that seemed to make him feel better.

Things settled into a quiet rhythm for the next few months. The remaining snow left over from the long winter melted and Kate's garden began growing in earnest. The two women spent a lot of time outside tending to it while Rob sat nearby in a lawn chair. Monika also had to make another trip to the clothing store as that heavy winter coat became more and more impractical.

On the first truly hot day of the spring, Monika came upstairs with a tank top and shorts. It wasn't sleazy or anything, but it was easily the least amount of clothing she had worn since arriving here. Upon seeing her, Rob seemed to be a little hot and bothered. Monika would be lying if she said it wasn't what she was hoping for. Part of her wanted to sit on his lap and kiss him, but Kate was in the other room and she wasn't sure if his injured leg was ready for something like that.

Rob and Sayori talked often, working out the details of how Monika could obtain the documents she would need for a real life. For her part, she was doing her best to recall the complicated investigating she had done while floating around the large world of Rob's computer, but it was slow going. Those memories were hazy and it was only through intense focus that she began to remember some details. Thankfully, Sayori had been patient as the weeks went by. During one private brainstorming session, Monika looked up at the calendar and released it was June 1.