Three weeks after Tipstaff's arrest, Ezra woke up. One moment she was as she had been for the past five or so months, the next her blue eyes were open wide and she was gasping for air, gagging on the tube that was in her throat. She was alone, in the clinical white room. Needles and tubes and cables were in her mouth, her nose, her skin. Her heart racing, she didn't know where she was or how she got there. She couldn't move, everything was so weak and sore. She made a noise, a panicked whine, trying to lift her heavy hands. She heard footsteps approaching and held her breath, her eyes scanning for a weapon, as if she could actually pick anything up. Where were her friends? Oh god, were they here too? Then the door opened and Reverie Synechode strode in, holding a clipboard. Ezra visibly calmed down, seeing the brunette look up and gasp.

"You're awake. Oh my gosh you're awake!" Synechode exclaimed, rushing over to take quick vitals before she started taking the various equipment out of Ezra. She held a bucket up to Ezra as she gently eased the tube out of her throat, out of her mouth and sure enough Ezra vomited as it upset her gag reflex.

"Wh-" Ezra tried to speak but she once again threw up into the bucket. Ezra blushed but Reverie didn't seem to notice.

"Try not to speak, Ezra. I'll explain everything soon but first we need to run some tests and call your brother." Reverie said softly. After the test, Reverie excused herself to phone Skulduggery and he was there within 15 minutes, Valkyrie and Dexter at his side. Ezra smiled as the three bounded into her room. She was still confused and a little scared and in pain, but it didn't seem to matter. Skulduggery was dressed as well as always, pinstripes and a wide brimmed hat. Valkyrie was wearing all black and grinning like mad, her wild dark hair tousled. Dexter looked so relieved that Ezra second hand felt it, but he didn't look good. He was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt and black boots but he had clearly lost weight, his face slightly sunken in, his collar bones sticking out. That's when Ezra's smile fell.

"How long have I... How long has it been?" She asked, her voice quiet and deep and hoarse from being dormant for so long. Everyone shared a look and Ezra wanted to scream.

"Tell me!" She insisted, her heart was starting to pound and her palms were sweaty.

"Nearly five months." Skulduggery said quietly. Dexter came and sat down next to Ezra on the bed, wrapping an arm her and pulling her towards his chest. She let him, her eyes wide and glassy. Valkyrie sat down on the chair next to the bed. Skulduggery stayed standing.

"I... I don't understand. I don't know what happened, I don't, I can't, remember-" Ezra was rambling.

"What do you remember?" Dexter asked lowly. Ezra shook her head, frowning, sifting through memories and trying to place them in order. Some were so faint and so distant and she wasn't sure where they came from.

"I remember... I remember being with Dexter, at home. We were watching some stupid movie. And then Anton came over, but he hadn't said he was coming, but it was alright and then... Then I woke up here." She said slowly.

Everyone was in on the story. They made one, created one, made sure that everyone knew it.

"Anton was being pursued. He went to the closest, safest place, which was your's. But they followed him there-" Valkyrie explained, but Ezra interrupted.

"Who followed?"

"Warlocks. You had ran upstairs, and one followed you, and they pushed you and you fell out of a window." Skulduggery explained. Ezra stared at him, then Valkyrie, then Dexter.

"It's a two story house." She pointed out.

"You landed... You were all bent and... It was bad." Dexter whispered, the only true part of the story.

The next two weeks were agonizing as Ezra was bed bound. She was rarely alone, which she preferred, because being alone meant she had to think about all the lost time. The Dead Men visited whenever they could, which was often, and they joked and talked and played card games. Even China visited a few times, bringing lavish flowers and an air of calm urgency. But the two weeks were up, and while she wasn't aloud to work or do much of everything, she could go home. Sleep in her own bed, snuggled up Dexter. Her walking was lumbering and odd, but Reverie assured her that would pass soon. Having broken them both then lying still for almost six months was not great for the healing process, so her legs were stiff as boards. But she waddled to the car, holding Dexter's hand tightly. It was so good to be outside, for the rain to fall on her, for the air to touch her skin, to hear other sounds that didn't consist of beeps. It was so nice, so lovely. Dexter rolled down all the windows in the car as he drove, the wind creating a tiny tornado in their little box, whipping Ezra's hair around and getting under their clothes, biting their skin. Ezra stuck her hand out the window and made shapes in the oncoming wind as they sped down roads and Ezra was laughing and Dexter was smiling because she was here and awake and okay. Ezra turned the music up as loud as it would go and it felt like their own little piece of perfection. When they got home, Ezra took the longest, hottest shower she had ever taken, washing her hair thoroughly and shaving and exfoliating, washing away all the things she didn't remember, all the pain she had felt, all her friends had went through. Once she got out and dried herself off and put on the jammies that Dexter had laid out for her, fresh from the dryer. She wrapped her robe around her and wandered downstairs, following the scent of food. Dexter was standing in the kitchen, taking something out of a the oven. Ezra went up behind him and wrapped her arms him, watching as he put the garlic bread on the plates, next to the spaghetti and meatballs.

"Smells so good." She murmured against his neck, breathing in his familial smell.

"First night home, figured I should make one of your favorites." He replied, and she could hear the smile in his voice. Once he finished plating up, he turned and faced her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. He kissed her and she kissed him back and she just felt so incredibly happy.

They ate at a candle lit table and drank wine and Dexter filled her in on what she had missed. Ezra listened intently but couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't telling her everything. She brushed it off for the moment being, not wanting to spoil the night.

They went to bed, holding each other, whispering and giggling under the covers. Dexter, for the first night in months, fell asleep happy and slept the whole night through.