Chapter 2: Ami Finally Awakens -
Slowly, Ami's eyes began to open. It was dark. She was lying in a bed. There didn't seem to be anything else in the room. As she sat up, she looked around the empty room. She opened her mouth about to speak when a quivering feeling flowed through her chest, making her voice shake.
"Hello?" she called out with a weak voice. She took a breath and tried again stronger.
"Hello?!"
Nothing made any response. Ami slowly turned to get on her feet and noticed a wristband she wore.
'Wait, this means I'm in a hospital?' she thought to herself. She tried to get on her feet, but fell down on the floor. Her legs felt so weak that they collapsed under her weight. She dragged herself to the door and pushed herself against the wall to stand. Her famished hand opened the door and she peered out into the bright hall.
"Is anyone here?!" she called out again. A woman down the hall stopped what she was doing and quickly got to her feet, running down the hall. The woman held her hand to her mouth.
"You're... awake?!"
Ami, still confused, decided to ask the most simple of questions first.
"Uh, where am I?"
"I can't believe you're actually awake! I have to contact Rhet! Okay, you stay right here and wait for me. I'll be right back. No going back to sleep!" she called out as she ran back down the hall. In the room she was previously in, she took a phone from the desk and dialed a number.
"Hello? Doctor Rhet? You need to come over here right away! Miss Mizuno is awake! You know, the girl with the blue hair! Yeah, she's waiting in the hall now. Okay, I'll watch her till you get here. Bye-"
Her last word, bye, stopped about halfway as he had obviously already hung up. A sigh later and she rushed back over to Ami who still leaned on the wall in the hallway.
"Okay, I contacted your doctor. He'll be here soon."
"Wait, doctor? So this is a hospital?"
"Oh boy. Uh, yeah. But... you know what? Nevermind. Let's go back inside and we'll wait till he gets here."
She wrapped her arm around Ami and helped her as they made their way back to the bed. Ami sat down calmly and noticed a tag on the woman's shirt.
"Doctor... Hallow?"
"Oh, it's Halo. Ashley Halo. You can call me Ashley."
"You're from America?"
"Yeah, your first doctor was Dr. Hamashito, but he retired and Dr. Rhet became your doctor. Rhet hired me when he visited America and I've been his assistant ever since."
"How long have I been here? I feel like I've been asleep for years."
"Well then, you're feeling exactly how you should! I'm not sure if I should tell you this now though... I was told not to tell you some things because they might freak you out. Don't worry, Rhet'll tell you everything you need to know."
Ashley sat next to her on the bed and there was a silence between them. Ami thought to herself, trying to remember how she got there. More than that though, she wondered about the room. After a while, the door opened.
"Well, I am happy. Do you know why I'm happy?"
Ami looked up at the man that walked in. He appeared to be young, maybe mid to late 20's. Or maybe even younger! Did he just graduate?
"I'm happy because I get to meet my patient for the first time!"
He did seem to be pretty happy. Almost excited even.
"Okay, my name is Rhet. I'm going to ask you a series of basic questions and you just answer what you can, okay?"
"I understand."
"Good, now. Let's start with your senses. How's your eyesight? Can you see me?"
"Yeah, it's a little blurry, but I can see you clearly when you're up close."
"How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Four."
"How's your nose? Clear? Stuffed up?"
"Clear."
"Alright, how would you say is your hearing? Any ringing in your ears or muffled voices?"
"No, I think I can hear clearly."
"Good. Any numbness? Pain?"
"My legs feel weak. And my arms..."
"Well, that's sort of to be expected. Now, on to memory. Tell me your first and last names."
"Ami Mizuno."
"How old are you?"
"I'm 16."
"What is the last thing you remember before waking up here?"
"... I remember it was about three days before Tanabata. I know because I was with my friends and we were looking forward to it. I went to sleep that night and the next thing I know, I'm waking up here."
He jotted down on a sheet of paper and looked back up.
"So you don't remember the incident? The day before Tanabata? You remember nothing about that?"
Ami just shook her head.
'An incident? Day before Tanabata? What happened the day before Tanabata?'
He looked over at Ashley.
"Ash, have you called her parents yet?"
"Ah, no. You want me to call them now?"
"Yeah. Let them know their daughter is awake."
Ashley walked out. Ami decided to ask what was really on her mind.
"Can you tell me why this hospital room has nothing but a bed in it? No machines, no medicine cabinets."
"Do you know what kind of hospital you're in?"
Ami shook her head.
"Ami, you've been comatose for four years. You think your 16, but you're actually 20."
"You mean I'm in a psychiatric hospital?"
"Right. You're parents should be on their way now. I want to warn you of a few things first."
"Warn me? Of what?"
"Well, things have certainly changed after four years. I read a file that your parents were divorced when you were first admitted here, but they're not anymore. They re-married and have been waiting for the day you finally wake up."
"My mother and father re-married?"
"Yeah, they're both gonna show up soon. Aside from that, other things have changed. Your friends' lives. You'll get a free phone call to your friends, but after that the hospital rules kicks in, okay?"
Ashley walked back into the room.
"Okay, I called them. Told them they're gonna be really happy to hear this!"
"Are they coming?"
"Of course! They said they were leaving home right away. They'll be here as soon as possible."
"Alright, I need to speak with Ashley for a moment. We'll be right back."
The two doctors left the room leaving Ami going over everything again and again. Questions still unanswered. In the hall, Rhet lowered his voice to make sure Ami didn't hear.
"You remember the list of things not to mention?"
"Yes, everything that could freak her out and cause her to go back to a comatose state. I remember, we definitely don't want her getting traumatized again."
"Good. Story for now is an incident occured, she was admitted here, her friends who have actually died just moved away, her parents got re-married, and she can hear nothing that specifically reminds her of the incident or she might slip back. Got it?"
"Got it!"
They waited a moment in the hall, thinking how they should tell her of the more bigger issue at hand. It wasn't long until Ami's parents showed up. Her mother rushed in with her father right behind.
"Where is she?!"
"Quiet, calm down. It's okay. She's right in here."
He opened the door and let them in, following after. Ami turned her head towards them and her mother gasped. She rushed over and wrapped her arms around her daughter.
"Oh, Ami! I've been waiting for this day!"
Her dad stood next to them, smiling. He was questioning in his mind whether to stand there calmly or rush in and hug his daughter too.
"Mom! Dad!"
Ami caught sight of a little girl standing behind them quietly.
"Huh? Who is that?"
Her mother looked over to the small child.
"Uh, this is Rika. She's your little sister."
Ami's eyes opened wide.
"After you came here, your dad and I started seeing each other and re-married. Soon after, we had another baby."
"She looks like she could be three years old already."
"Well, she actually is. Things did happen pretty fast."
The little girl walked up to Ami with a curious look. Ami couldn't help but feel a strong connection to her. As if this Rika was extra special.
"Well, this is most certainly a very good day. I'm sure you want to start seeing her everyday now."
"She's not able to come home yet?"
"Oh, no. She needs more tests. She has to go through some physical therapy. And we need to make sure she doesn't slip back into her comatose state. You understand if we let her go now that she might see or hear something she shouldn't and end up going back to sleep, if you know what I mean."
"We understand. How long do you think she must stay?"
"Her tests will be regularly given to her while she's here. We're going to give her some medicine to keep her from freaking out or anything and see what works for her. As for the physical therapy, that could actually last anywhere from three to six months."
Rhet walked over to Ami with some kind of card which he handed over to her.
"Here, this is your point card. Hospital rules are simple. You do therapy and group sessions and get points. Break rules, you lose points. More points you get, the more and better privileges you get. You get one free phone call now, but you'll need to get more points if you wanna make a second call to someone. Also, only family and hospital staff is allowed to see you. Friends seeing you is a privilege you need to earn too. You get how it works?"
"Yeah. It seems the ways to get points are on here along with all the privileges I can earn and how many points earns what. I get a free phone call though. Does that mean I can call one of my friends?!"
"Yes, though you must remember that things change after four years. Don't expect too much."
Ami slowly stood up and tried to walk to the door. After stumbling a bit, her father came to her side and helped her. She made her way to the phone in the room where Ashley was previously working. A phone book at her hand, she opened it and called her friends. Meanwhile, the phone in an apartment started ringing. Mako got up from her bed and made her way tiredly to the phone.
"Hold on! Who in the world could be calling this late!"
She picked up the phone.
"Yes?"
On the other end, Ami smiled happily.
"Hey! Mako?"
"Who is this?"
"It's me, Ami!"
Hearing the name put shock onto her face.
"Ami?! You're awake?!"
"Yeah, I just woke up tonight. The doctors have told me some stuff and my parents came over. They said things had changed, but I didn't expect not to be able to find Usagi's and Rei's phone numbers in the phone book. Did they move or something?"
Mako hesitated.
'She probably doesn't know what happened. She thinks they're still alive!'
"Wait, I know. Just wait a second."
"I can't call for much longer."
"Just a sec!"
Mako ran out and over to the apartment next to hers. With a key, she made her way in and called out.
"Minako! Get up! You gotta hear this! Hurry up!"
She took a cord and plugged it into her cell phone and the other end into a speaker that sat on a table.
"You still there?"
"Yes."
Minako walked in rubbing her eyes and yawning.
"What are you doing this late at night?"
"You'll never guess who just called me."
"Hey, Minako? You there?"
Minako's eyes opened wide with as much shock as Mako had.
"Ami?! Wait, she's awake?!"
"So, uh, how are you holdin' up?"
"I'm doing okay. I woke up a little while ago. Doctors told me hospital rules. I won't be able to call or see you for a while. I'm glad to hear you're doing good."
"Well, we'll go see you as soon as we can."
"Oh, do you remember what happened?!"
Minako blurted it out and Mako quietly snapped at her.
"No, I told them the last thing I remember is three days before Tanabata. They said something happened the day before Tanabata, but they didn't say what. They're worried if I hear something I shouldn't, I might go comatose again."
"Oh, okay..."
Rhet walked over to Ami.
"Time's almost up."
"Okay, I don't have much longer so I'll just say this. Let the others know I'm awake and wait for my next call. I should be able to call you again in a week or two. We're just gonna have to do this gradually, okay?"
"Yeah. We'll be waiting."
"Alright, I'll talk to you later. Bye!"
"Yeah, bye."
Ami hung up the phone, leaving Mako and Minako wondering.
"How do you think she'll react when she finds out she killed them?"
"I'm wondering if she'll remember at all. Maybe I should go down and talk to the doctors. I need to find out what they're telling her and what she shouldn't hear."
Artemis and Luna sat nearby.
"I can't believe she finally woke up after four years! I thought she was just gonna stay comatose the rest of her life!"
After hanging up the phone, Ami followed her doctor back to the bedroom to rest. Rhet told her a more extensive list of hospital rules and pointed to another door in the room. This one lead to her bathroom and told her she should shower and get ready for bed. Tomorrow would be a restless day. She did so and went in the bathroom. It only had a shower, a sink, a toilet, and a mirror. She took her clothes off and reached to turn the water on. Suddenly, there was a scream inside. Rhet and Ashley rushed over to find her looking down at her stomach. A long scar stretched across her abdomen.
"W-what is this?! Is this a-a-a c section?!"
"This chapter is a bit longer than I thought it would be, but it should be okay. I know it was kind of slow, but it will connect well with the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and is looking forward to the next. :)