"Oops." She giggled bashfully as she realised her over excitement was too much for him and for dropping her wand.

Mike stared at the little girl as she looked to where her wand fell. She obviously decided it wasn't worth picking up as she climbed into his lap and looked at him expectantly.

"I think you have the wrong room." he told her.

"Nuh Uh, I'm yours. They said that you might have bumped your heart and forgot me. But I think you know me, I'm too cute to forget." she told him not upset in the least at him. If anything she looked amused like this was game.

"I'm hallucinating. You're a hallucination." He said as he realised this was just an extension of the weird day he was having. The little girl frowned at him.

"What's Halla-Hallucy-" She tried to say the word but kept tripping up.

"Hallicination, you're not real, my brain is making you up and I'm explaining to a hallucination what she is." Mike said as he shook his head.

"I am real Daddy, though I don't think the baby is real. You and Mommy says it's real but if I can't see it, then it must be a hallas-"

"Hallucination, do you have a name?" he asked her, ignoring the cute ramble as it was real. It couldn't be real and he wasn't going to get trapped into it.

"I'm Alicia, you and Mummy named me after Aunty Alisha cause if it wasn't for her then I wouldn't exist." She said with such an innocent smile.

"I don't want to know the story." Mike told her as he closed his eyes and groaned at the oddity he was experiencing.

"Well, I don't know either, cause Mommy says I'm not old enough to know." Alicia told him in a matter of fact tone. Mike opened his eyes and saw Alicia's youthful ignorance.

"So you're the Ghost of my Future?" He asked her wryly.

"I'm not a ghost, I'm just visiting here until it's time to go." She said scratching her head as she was confused by the question but somehow still found an answer.

"Great, what message do you have for me? Going to tell me I need to let go and be a happier person? That I gotta stop being a such a sad as- as eeyore?" He asked, he inwardly groaned that he was correcting his language for a kid that didn't exist. She frowned thoughtfully.

"Aren't you happy?" she asked him.

"You're in my head. What do you think?" Mike asked her. She made a face like she didn't believe him.

"No I'm not in your head. Your head is there. I'm sitting here." She gestured to his head and where she was sitting as she took his question literally. "But I do want to tell you something. It's a secret." She told him, he gave a nod and she climbed up until she was right by his ear.

"Everything is going to be ok." She whispered in his ear. He didn't know why but the simple words said by the little girl brought tears to his eyes. But it wasn't sadness of anger he felt, but just relief; relief that maybe she was right.

He turned to her and she smiled. "That's it?" he asked her, she nodded but then stopped as the sound of footfalls sounded in the hallway. They both looked to the doorway, to see Andrea appear. She looked worried, but upon seeing him awake; relief washed through her features.

"Mommy!" Alicia squealed with pure joy as Andrea moved to his bedside.

"Huh?" Mike said in disbelief as he looked between Alicia and Andrea seeing the familial similarities between the two. His brain making connection he wasn't sure he was ready for.

"She looks upset, you should tell her she looks pretty and you love her heaps. She likes that." Alicia told him as she hopped off the bed.

"Where?" Mike started to ask where Alicia was going but Andrea answered the question assuming it was for her.

"You're in the hospital, but you're going to be ok." Andrea told him, but Mike was watching Alicia as she picked up her wand from the floor and grinned at him.

"I gotta go Daddy, it's fairy time and I gots to save the kingdom from the baddies. " Alicia said and she ducked under the bed. Mike tried to lean over to see where she'd gone but Andrea gently pushed him back.

"Whoa, you're not going anywhere until the docs clear you." Andrea told him.

"Did you see a kid in here?" Mike asked Andrea.

"No, are you ok?" Andrea asked him with a frown.

"Yeah, I will be." He said even though he was largely unsure, he looked to Andrea for some reason he felt a sense of contentment wash through him. This was real, he wasn't dead and the pain he'd felt at the cemetery was gone for most part. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"I'm your next of kin, remember?" she asked him.

"Yeah, sorry, just feeling a little off balance." Mike said as he scrubbed a hand down his face.

"The doctors assure me you have the healthiest heart they've ever seen in a man of your age." Andrea said teasingly. Mike frowned.

"What is it with everyone and my age? I'm not that old." Mike grouched. Andrea laughed.

##################################################

The End.