Litanya: Hi again. I'm sorry for the slow update, but as you may know things down here in Victoria are hectic at the moment due to the horrific bush fires. I live in the "bush" and the fires have come within 15kms of my house, so I've been a little preoccupied. But so far my family and my house is okay, but there are still fires burning and a community fifteen minutes away from my house has been put on alert, so who knows what will happen. Hopefully the fires will stop soon, but even as I look out of my window right now, I can see a large area of smoke rising up in the hills...

My heart goes out to anyone affected by the fires, no matter how. It has been a very tragic time. Please donate if you are able to, to help the thousands of people who have lost everything.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and/or read this fic. It means a lot to me that people like it =).

This chapter is again dedicated to Steph, because I really don't know what I'd have done without her.

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Chapter 4

"Daddy, daddy, look, look! The sign over there has funny squiggles on it!" Taichi hid a smile as his daughter referred to kanji as squiggles. Tami was used to reading English words, and although she spoke fluent Japanese (well, fluent if you didn't count the English she sometimes slipped into her speech) but she had never been taught to read kanji. Taichi had never really believed that she would ever need to.

"Those squiggles are words Tami. In Japan they write things differently to in Australia," he explained patiently, his eyes firmly on the road ahead. Tami was strapped into her child's seat in the back seat. Soon she would be old enough to ride without a special seat, but Taichi couldn't stand the thought of anything ever happening to her, so he was overly cautious with her safety.

"They have McDonalds over here!" she squealed excitedly. She couldn't read the name of the restaurant as it was in kanji, but she recognised the symbol. Taichi inwardly groaned. Tami had had an obsession with McDonalds for just over a year. He had hoped that she would think that the restaurant didn't exist in Japan, at least for a little while. She really needed to eat healthier...

It all went black after that. He wasn't really sure what had happened, but judging by the way his head felt like it had exploded, he assumed that it was something bad. As his senses slowly started to return to him, he realised that he could smell antiseptic and some other smell that he couldn't identify, but knew only existed in hospitals. He was in a hospital. The thought sunk in slowly, his head hurting too much to be efficient. Him being in the hospital meant that he was injured. If he was injured, that meant that there was a great chance that Tami was also injured, and if she wasn't injured, then that meant that she was alone somewhere, probably needing him to wake up.

With that thought in mind, he tried to open his eyes. His left eye stuck a little bit, but opened easily enough. His right eye was a little more stubborn, and only really opened halfway without him putting in more effort.

His effort was rewarded as he found himself staring at a plain white wall. He wanted to turn his head, but from what he could tell, there was some sort of machine or equipment attached to his skull, and he didn't really want to pull it out if it was important. There was sunlight coming in through the window, so he assumed that it was morning.

'Then again,' he reasoned with himself 'It could be afternoon... or it could be the morning of a day that is weeks away from whatever happened to me.' It seemed obvious to him now that he had a head injury, and he knew that he could possibly have been unconscious for days.

"Oh hello, it's good to see you're awake. I'll go grab the doctor," a cheery voice chirped from his left, where the door to his room was. The nurse who had spoken was already gone before he could ask her anything. That was more than slightly frustrating. He needed to know where Tami was and if she was okay. She was his priority.

"Good morning, I'm Dr. Ito and I'll be in charge of your care for the duration of your stay here. Now, firstly, would you be able to tell me your name?" Taichi didn't really want to tell him his name- he thought that the entire exercise was pointless as the doctor probably already knew it- but he supposed that it would help them determine if anything was wrong with him.

"T...chi..." he inwardly panicked as he realised that he couldn't actually say his name properly. He had been able to say his name since he had been two years old. What was wrong with him that he couldn't say a name he had said for twenty three years? It felt as though his mouth was uncoordinated. It seemed to move out of sync with his voice chords, turning the rest of his name into unintelligible babble. He must have looked panicked because the doctor put a hand on his shoulder, as if to reassure him.

"Maybe I should have explained your injuries first," Dr. Ito sounded a little irritated with himself, "You hit your head rather hard on the steering wheel during the accident. We believe that this caused swelling in your brain, which in turn has caused some damage to your brain. We believe that you may have a disorder called Broca's Aphasia, which is characterised by speaking difficulties and weakness down the right side of your body. This is probably why you are finding it difficult to speak." Taichi couldn't stop himself from panicking at what he heard.

"I can't... t-t... talk...right?" he inwardly winced at how long it took him to get that small sentence out. As he was speaking it had felt as though his mouth was struggling to move to form the words he wanted, and then sometimes it felt as though his voice just wasn't working. It was incredibly frustrating. Dr. Ito looked at him with something akin to pity, which annoyed him even further.

"Broca's Aphasia can be overcome- as in many patients have difficulties speaking and moving at first, but after a few weeks or months they learn to speak and move as they did before their brain injury occurred. You will need special support, but you will probably regain the skills you have lost. But we need to figure out firstly how severe your injury is. I know that this will be tough, but I'll need you to be as calm as possible whilst we do these tests so that we can figure out the level of therapy you will need. Is it alright if we commence the tests now? The sooner we finish the tests, the sooner we can start to help rehabilitate you," Taichi could only shrug helplessly. It didn't really matter what he said- or tried to say anyway- they would still do the tests.

"...Fine," he really didn't feel like exploring his new inability to form words, but he didn't have a choice.

"Alright," Dr. Ito said, before carefully reaching out to grab a hold of both of Taichi's hands. He held one of Taichi's hands in his left and another in his right, "Could you please squeeze my hands as hard as possible?" Taichi, relieved that his first test had nothing to do with speaking, promptly squeezed both hands as hard as he could. Dr. Ito winced and quickly released Taichi's left hand, but frowned at Taichi's right hand. Taichi himself was frowning at that hand too. Although he was trying his hardest to move his hand, it wasn't really responding. In fact, it had hardly moved at all, despite all the energy Taichi was putting into trying to move it.

"Why... not... working?" his frustration with the situation was now doubling. It was slowly becoming apparent to him that not only was he not able to speak properly, but now his movement was extremely impaired. When Dr. Ito performed a similar sort of test to test the strength of Taichi's legs, the same result occurred as with Taichi's hands- his right leg was simply not cooperating.

"You have suffered a serious injury. The area called Broca's area- the area of the brain that usually produces Broca's Aphasia when damaged- is right next to the area that controls the movements on the right side of the body. Thus most patients with Broca's Aphasia also show signs of weakness down their right hand sides. You seem to have significant damage to the area controlling your limbs. With physical therapy you should be able to regain the strength that you have lost in your limbs," Taichi was sure that Dr. Ito was trying to be reassuring, but he didn't really find anything the doctor had to say very comforting. Dr. Ito performed a series of tests after the physical strength tests, and these tests were aimed to find speech problems. Taichi found himself growing more and more frustrated as he failed to accurately describe the pictures that the doctor placed in front of him. The final straw came when Dr. Ito placed two pictures in front of him- one of a cow kicking a horse and the other of a horse kicking a cow.

"The cow kicked the horse. Can you point to the picture that describes the sentence I just said?" Taichi froze. He knew that this was supposed to be a simple exercise. He knew that a preschooler could probably answer this question and get it correct, or even a toddler. But he had no idea. In his mind, either of the pictures could probably describe the sentence. And really, what did it matter? Did it really matter that a cow or a horse was getting kicked? He didn't understand what this test was supposed to show.

"Don't," he was going to try to continue his sentence, but the struggle to say that one word had killed all of his enthusiasm to speak. What was the point of struggling to say a word they knew you were going to say anyway? Dr. Ito knew what he was going to say, so what was the point in trying to say it? The doctor, noticing his frustration, wisely put the pictures away.

"All right that's all for now. I'll go over your tests with some specialists and they will come visit you once they have a good idea of what your situation is. I know that it is hard, but I highly recommend that you try to speak as much as possible. The more you speak, the easier it will become. But a speech therapist will come by later to give you some advice. I'll go speak to the specialists. Try to get some rest. Visiting hours start in an hour, and I know that you have some family that is eager to see you awake," he was about to leave the room but Taichi stopped him by holding up his left hand.

"Wait... daughter... okay?" Taichi couldn't believe he had forgotten to ask about Tami. Dr. Ito frowned for a moment before realising what he was asking.

"Oh yes. She was released the night of the accident. You strapped her into her seat properly, and so she only had minor injuries from the crash. I believe she is staying with your sister. They'll be very pleased to see that you're awake. They have been very anxious these past few days," Taichi sighed in relief before interpreting the last sentence.

"F...F-Few days?" he was very proud of the fact that although it took a while to form the first word, the second word wasn't too far behind.

"Oh, yes I forgot. Your accident was the day before yesterday. We were expecting you to regain consciousness yesterday, but the brain is a mysterious organ and we were wrong. But your family will be very pleased to see you awake. They should be here within an hour," and with that Dr. Ito left Taichi to ponder on what he had just said.

He had been unconscious for over twenty-four hours. That meant that Tami had been without her father for at least a day. Taichi could not recall the accident, so he had no idea what time of day it had occurred in. He shuddered at the thought of her being without him for days. Tami was usually okay being without her father if she was in the presence of family friends or other people she knew. But if she was in a position where she didn't know anyone, then she would withdraw into herself. Taichi had only really ever seen that happen a couple of times and he had managed to talk her around both of those times.

Tami knew Hikari and Takeru, but Taichi feared that she didn't know them well enough. Also the trauma of the situation could have gotten to her and she might have withdrawn into herself for protection. Anything could have happened, and he had not been there. He felt horrible about it all. He needed to know that Tami was alright. He trusted his sister with his life and more, but she didn't know Tami's habits and her personality as well as he did. Hikari was good with kids, so that worked in her favour, but... he just worried.

He sighed and closed his eyes, hoping that his daughter and family would hurry up and visit.

Tami was quiet as they approached the hospital, and Hikari had to admit that she was a little worried. When they had arrived at the hospital the day before, Tami had been jumping around excitedly, happy that she was about to see her dad. But Taichi had not woken up yet. They had been allowed to sit in his room for a little while, but because Tami was so young the nurses didn't want her to stay. They knew how traumatised young kids could get just by seeing their parents hooked up to all sorts of machines.

Tami had been in the room with Taichi for around ten minutes, and during that time she had barely moved. Her eyes had gone wide when she had seen the machines, and for the duration of the time she had been in the room, she had sat quietly on the edge of the bed, holding her dad's hand. She had been quiet for the rest of the day too, and hadn't eaten much. Hikari was hoping that today's visit would go much better.

"Hi guys. My name is Tatsuki and I'm Taichi's nurse for the day. Before you go in to visit him, there are a few things that I have to tell you. The first thing is that he woke up this morning and I think that he should still be awake as I know he really wanted to talk to you guys. Now, although he is awake he is having difficulties speaking. He may omit words in his speech and he probably won't speak in whole sentences. It could also take him a while to finish the words that he is saying. Due to muscle weakness due to his injury, his speech also sounds a little different- a bit more like he's mumbling I imagine. Our advice to the families of patients with Broca's Aphasia is to be patient. If he's having trouble finding a word, or if he skips a word, please don't fill the words in aloud, or verbally help him find the word. It's best to just let him finish speaking and answer him as though he has said everything correctly. If he says something and you don't understand, don't stress, just ask him to repeat it. He's probably going to be feeling very frustrated with his speech and also with his movements. From the notes Dr. Ito has given us, it seems as though Taichi has severe weakness in his right side, which is restricting his movement. So it would be best to pass him things to his left side if you need to. If you have any questions, just let me know. I've worked on the neurological ward for ten years now, and this isn't the first case of Broca's that I have seen. It is pretty rare, but with time the symptoms will fade and it is quite possible that he will return to his old self within a few months. Do you have any questions?" Hikari was amazed that the nurse managed to find time to breathe during her speech.

"Is it alright if Tami stays with him for a while? I think that she's struggling with being away from him for this long with these circumstances," Takeru asked, and Hikari was glad he had thought to, because all she could think about was seeing her brother. Tatsuki hesitated for a second.

"It should be fine, but just watch her reaction. If she seems distressed or overwhelmed by it all, just let us know and we'll come and get her, or you can bring her out. It's always difficult with young children because it can be stressful to them both if we let them stay with their injured parent or if we keep them away from them. We have no problem letting her stay as long as she is alright," Tami, sensing that she was being discussed, wiggled slightly in Hikari's arms.

"Can we go see Daddy now? I want to see him," she pleaded, sticking her lower lip out. Hikari nodded.

"We can, but your Daddy is hurt so we have to be really careful not to hurt him. He is awake so he can talk to us, but he might not talk right. If he talks wrong, just smile and pretend that he didn't okay? Answer all his questions, but wait for him to finish them before you do, okay?" Tami looked confused, but she nodded anyway.

"Alright," she said, a hint of impatience in her tone, "So can we see him now?" Takeru chuckled softly and patted her head.

"Okay Tam-Tam, we can go in now. Just remember to be careful okay?" the little girl nodded and squirmed so that Hikari would put her down. She skipped over to the door she knew led to her father's room and opened it. Takeru only just managed to catch up to her as she hurried into the room, eager to see her father awake.

"Daddy!" Tami exclaimed happily, albeit a little quieter than she probably normally would, "Are you awake?" Hikari walked cautiously into the room, the nurse's instructions still running through her mind. When she saw her brother, his eyes were open and he was smiling- or at least attempting to- at his daughter. The right side of his mouth didn't move, but the left side was curled up into his usual grin. It had been so long since Hikari had seen any variation of her brother's infamous grin that seeing it made her almost want to laugh with relief.

"Hey... T-T... Tami... You... okay?" Hikari's urge to laugh immediately disappeared. Her brother's struggle to speak was hard to watch. It was obvious that he was annoyed at himself for being unable to speak properly. Tami stared at her father for a second before tilting her head to the side.

"Aunty 'Kari and Uncle 'Keru are making me eat vegetables and go to sleep at bedtime," she announced in a serious voice, "And Frankie has been having nightmares coz he misses you and he wants you to be okay." Hikari and Takeru exchanged puzzled glances. Who was Frankie? As far as they knew, Tami hadn't ever mentioned a Frankie to them at all. But Taichi seemed to understand what she was going on about. He seemed to hesitate before reaching out for his daughter with his left arm. It took her a moment to realise that his hesitation had actually been his attempt to reach out to Tami with his right arm.

"I...have...talk...them," Taichi tried not to wince as he recognised the almost incomprehensible sentence, "Vegetables...important. Frankie... not... worry. I'm okay." Tami again considered the words before smiling.

"I told him he was being silly, but he wouldn't listen. He's been hiding in my bag because he was too scared to come out. I told him Aunty 'Kari and Uncle 'Keru were nice, but he wanted you. But I'm sure he'll come out when I tell him you're okay. Maybe he'll come visit with us next time!" Tami carefully climbed up onto the bed on Taichi's left side, making sure she didn't touch any of the machines. Taichi moved slowly- it was his strong side, but he was still feeling extremely exhausted from the accident and he didn't want to dislodge any machinery. Tami now sat on the edge of his bed, and his arm was around her shoulders, hugging her to his side. Hikari wished she had a camera because they looked so content lying there together.

"Sounds... nice. I like... Frankie," Tami beamed at her father's comment and Takeru almost let his jaw drop. Tami had smiled before in their presence and she had a very nice smile, but that paled in comparison to her grin. Like her father she had an unforgettable grin. There was no doubt in his mind that whenever she gave that grin, she was truly happy.

"Sorry but who is Frankie? I don't think that I've met him," Hikari couldn't stop herself from asking. Both Taichi and Tami jumped a little at her voice and she couldn't help but think that they had forgotten she was there.

"Frankie is the bestest! He's awesome and purple and he goes everywhere with me!" Hikari blinked. Taichi laughed at her expression.

"Teddy...bear," he gasped out between his laughs.

"Ah. I was thinking that there was a purple kid running around somewhere," she said, laughing with the father-daughter team.

"That would be so cool! I wish that Frankie talked... I mean he talks to me, but he is too shy to talk to everyone else, even Daddy! Well, he sometimes talks to Daddy, like when he wants me to eat vegetables or go to sleep or when he wants me to colour with him sometimes, but other than that he doesn't talk to him and I think that that is really stupid because I love talking to Daddy and coz Frankie is my bestest friend in the whole wide world then he should love talking to Daddy too, right? But he's too shy and so he's so quiet unless he's talking to me. Isn't that right Daddy?" Taichi smiled and ruffled her hair lightly, causing her to make a face.

"Right," he agreed, the word rolling from his mouth quickly without too much trouble, "He likes you eating... fruits." Tami nodded eagerly and continued the conversation with her father enthusiastically. Hikari and Takeru found themselves too moved to talk.

Takeru had never seen this side of Taichi before. Sure, he had seen Taichi's overprotective side when Hikari had started dating, but that had been more frightening than anything. Taichi had scared off all of the suitors he had deemed 'unsuitable' for his little sister, and even when he had deemed Takeru 'acceptable', there had still been a look in his eyes that warned Takeru to not do anything to hurt Hikari. (Not that Takeru ever would, but Taichi was seriously overprotective of her and didn't want to take chances, so he had made sure to instil fear into anyone who attempted to court Hikari, even if he approved of them... just in case.)

That overprotective streak Taichi had was a lot different to his normal out-going approach to life that he had had for most of the time Takeru had known him. He had dropped that carefree attitude a little just before he moved away from Japan, but for the most part Taichi had accepted everyone for who they were and what they did. He was protective of his friends, sure, but never to the extent he was with Hikari.

But when Taichi was with Tami, it just seemed... peaceful. Takeru didn't really know how to describe it, but they just looked... right together. Taichi was patient with her, listening and paying attention as she chatted happily, and she was patient and waited for him to finish speaking before she would answer him. It was as if they knew exactly what each other needed, and had vowed somewhere to do whatever the other needed. Takeru was awed by how close they were.

Hikari had seen this side of Taichi before, but it had been a little different. Taichi had always been the best older brother a girl could ask for whilst they had been growing up. Okay, he had made a few mistakes- like taking her outside once when she was very sick with the flu- but he had always tried to keep her happy and she had adored him for as long as she could remember. He would tell her stories to help her sleep, play games with her during the day and give her help whenever she needed it. As they grew older he was always there to give her advice and listen when she had needed to talk.

His relationship with Tami appeared to be similar to the one they had shared during childhood, but with important differences. Of course she couldn't see all of the differences now, but it was obvious that they existed. They had a closer bond of course- a father/daughter bond was a lot stronger than the bond shared between siblings. And as Taichi was the only one Tami had to depend on, that made them even closer. Hikari could tell, as Tami had brightened up so much once she had come into Taichi's presence that it was almost unbelievable.

She wished so much that she had brought a camera to record these moments. But instead she only had her memory to rely on. She looked down as Takeru grabbed her hand and entwined their fingers together. She leant her head on his shoulder and together they settled down to watch the small family try to heal each other...

To be continued...

Litanya: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know that it's a bit repetitive but I tend to do that at times. The fires are much better here today than they were when I started writing this chapter (it's been a work in progress for the past few days). There is still smoke everywhere (and I mean literally everywhere) but the fires are mostly contained... or so they say. Hopefully they are fully contained soon. Anyway, please drop a review if you want and I hope you enjoyed reading. Thank you for reading and have a good day/night =).