Hours probably passed, but they did so numbly and I didn't bother keeping track. Eventually, I felt someone at my shoulder and I started, glancing from staring at Jill's shallow breathing to find that the lady had returned. She smiled kindly and I shook off the daze I'd been in, managing to return at least a small smile.
"Bathe."
I glanced at Jill but knew my sitting here wouldn't actually do any good, so I pried my stiff fingers from around hers and let the lady help me back to my own room where a steaming tub of water and soap waited. Before she left, she pushed a small jar into my hand.
"Salve for thy wounds."
I nodded and she smiled before she left. As I shed my clothes, it registered that they weren't the ones I had been wearing while stumbling through the desert. That made sense; if I was going to tuck some wretched stranger into one of my beds I wouldn't want them completely covered in salt water, sweat, and sand. Still, I was still wearing my underclothes, which I was grateful for, and clearly they had only really washed my wounds. The rest of me was still peeling skin from sunburn and crusted with sand stuck to me from how much I had sweat. I struggled to untie my hair but it was so matted together that I couldn't even get the elastic out and I gave up. Looking around for the mirror I had spotted earlier, I pulled myself over using the furniture and my eyes widened. I looked awful and barely recognized myself; a couple of the deep scores across my cheeks and shoulder even looked like they'd broken open sometime in the last few hours. Apparently they didn't do stitches here. I had never needed a bath more in my life.

An involuntary whimper escaped as I slipped into the water. My wounds stung so much that my eyes began to water, but after a moment the pain began to settle to a dull throb. Relaxing a bit, I lowered my arms into the tub and had to grit my teeth again as tears rolled down my cheeks The water made my sunburn feel on fire; it was agony. Still, I gingerly washed and kept my head and arms out of the water as much as possible; getting clean would be worth it. I realized as warmth began to prickle through it that my left leg had been nearly devoid of feeling so far. Further investigation revealed a large chunk missing above my knee; my stomach threatened to reintroduce my breakfast for a few moments but I gripped the sides of the bath and forced the nausea away. I also discovered that my right arm was still of almost no use, meaning I needed to do everything with my non-dominant hand, which made me clumsy. Or, more accurately, more clumsy than I normally was. I dried off lightly, rubbed in the salve, and pulled on the new clothes that were laid out for me. I picked up a comb, wondering if I could fix my hair with only one hand, but before I needed to try, the old lady came back, pushed me gently into a chair and took the comb from me. Smiling, I let her work through the knots and barely paid attention until she was finished. My head had begun to hurt; honestly something I had been expecting all day after so much sun exposure. When I looked in the mirror again, my jaw dropped; the intricate twisted braids were amazing. The scars were still red and swollen but overall I looked much better. I smiled at her in the mirror.
"Thank you."
She nodded, a warm smile coming to her face. Suddenly, I wished that she would hug me; something about her reminded me of my grandmother.
"What is your name?"
"Magdalena. Thou art Susan."
I smiled, nodding. I stood and she helped me stumble down the hallway to Jill's room again, where there was food laid out for me. I smiled gratefully and sat down. As she left, Magdalena laid a hand on my shoulder.
"All will come right, Susan, fear not."
I felt tears threaten to come to my eyes, but I just smiled gratefully and nodded, not trusting my voice. Letting myself be distracted by the food, I ate every bit this time, all as good as the last meal. When I was finished, I leaned back in the chair, feeling full and clean and warm and slightly less sore. And, as anyone knows, that's never a good formula for staying awake.

The first thing I became aware of the next day was a raging headache. Groaning a little, I opened my eyes and found that I was back in my own bed, although I couldn't tell the time of day from the light in the room. My body told me it was morning, but I had no idea if it was correct; it had been through a lot. I stretched gingerly and winced; my skin was stiffer today, probably an effect of yesterday's scrubbing. Still, none of the wounds had re-opened so I assumed they were alright. I wondered if I could even stand without the fire-flower drink today. I didn't particularly feel like I could, but after a few minutes I decided to try; I needed to see Jill. Pushing myself up carefully, I managed to stand, even if I was pretty shaky and my head swam, and took a couple of steps. My knee buckled but I caught myself on the edge of the bed and narrowed my eyes as I gauged the distance to the door.
"I can make it."
I couldn't. I fell halfway there and I punched the ground in frustration before gripping my pounding head tight; I felt trapped in a body that wasn't letting me use it. To my embarrassment, the door opened, admitting a woman about my mother's age. I felt my face heat up but she smiled kindly and bent to help me up.
"Thank you."
She nodded, smiling, and apparently guessed where I was going because she supported me down the hall. She opened the door and I peered in. My heart sank; I suppose I had been expecting to find her awake. I had certainly been hoping to. But she wasn't. I sank into the chair again and gripped her hand. For a panicked moment, I thought she wasn't breathing, but as I leaned forward I saw her chest moving and I let out something like a sob, taking deep breaths and trying to settle my heart rate back down. I lay my head on the blankets by her hand and sighed shakily. Her hand was cold, almost icy, against my cheek, even though her skin was as viciously sunburned as mine.
"Please, Jill. Come on, me having adventures on my own was never part of the deal."
She didn't respond. The lady came back with the same drink from yesterday, which subdued the headache, and I spent long hours there again, drifting in and out of uneasy sleep, before I heard the door creak and turned to see Reatha and Dinsoth peeking around the doorframe. I smiled and they crept in. Reatha climbed into my lap, which my aches protested, and pulled on my hair while Dinsoth settled on my feet. In spite of my mood, I chuckled; he wasn't a very comfortable foot-warmer, but he grinned up at me with such an endearing look I couldn't tell him to move. Soon the two of them struck up a conversation that I suspected included me, although I couldn't understand enough to answer. Reatha seemed to have turned my braids into puppets and once in a while reached up to move my chin as if I were joining in the play. Dinsoth didn't say much but chortled happily from his perch on my feet. Eventually, Magdalena brought me food again. It seemed she had decided they were the best way to coax me out of my dark thoughts because she let them be with a smile. Reatha helped herself to the food in front of us, setting a bowl of greens on the floor that Dinsoth chomped away on happily. With a stern look that mimicked Magdalena, Reatha pushed a bowl of fruit into my hands and shook a finger at me until I began to eat with a chuckle.
"Yes, alright, I'll eat. Just for you though, I don't have much of an appetite today, you know."
She nodded happily, not caring that she couldn't understand me. They stuck to me that day and I was grateful because the alternative was staring at my friend and giving in to the dark thoughts that were for now kept swirled in the back of my head.

Eventually, Magdalena came back to collect me and shoo the children away. Like the day before, I bathed, which was less painful this time, and she braided my hair. When she finished, I made to return to Jill's room but instead she tucked me into bed and I found I couldn't refuse. She stroked my cheek affectionately and gave me one of her warm smiles before turning down the gas lamp beside me and leaving me in the dark room. I closed my eyes and burrowed into the soft blankets, willing myself to fall asleep so I wouldn't dwell on my thoughts.

"Susan!"
The terror in Jill's voice rose in my chest as another wave crashed into me. My mouth filled with water and I choked, going under the waves. When I managed to get back to the surface, I couldn't hear her anymore, couldn't see her anymore. I began to panic. Angry black clouds overhead poured down rain and wave after wave slammed into me; it took all of my energy to stay afloat.
"Jill! Jill!"
Frantically, I swam in the direction I desperately hoped was where I had last seen her, but it was no use; I could not see her at all. I began to cry.
"Jill!"
I jolted awake in my chair gasping for breath from the fear and the pain of my protesting skin - I had scrubbed a little harder than I should have at the peeling skin the night before. Gripping the arms of the chair, I gritted my teeth and forced my breathing to steady again. I slapped my face, not wanting to doze off again. The nightmares had started the night before, us drowning or our battle going differently. I rubbed my eyes and leaned forward to take her hand again, wincing as my skin protested again.

I watched and waited. Not even the children could draw me out today, although they tried. I felt like Sam waiting at Frodo's bedside in Rivendell, wondering if he would ever wake up and hoping and praying that he would. Jill lay perfectly still; the only movement was her slight breathing. I had catalogued the wounds I could see; her neck looked alright other than a long scar down one side. Surely it wasn't broken. My brain couldn't even form full thoughts; it completely refused to sort through any of this new experience until Jill woke up. I just watched her breathing, because if she stopped I wasn't sure I could last long wherever here was. And I waited.