The clock ticked away the seconds. The smell of ssterility stung Jayme Lockhart's nose.
"Mommy." she said quietly. "It smells so weird here."
"I know, honey." Jesse cooed. "Just try and ignore it." The mother and daughter walking into the hospital room too see Kira still tucked into the covers. Mrs. Lockhart let out a small sob at the sight of her unconscious daughter. The heart monitor was like a metronome as its steady beats echoed throughout the room. Jayme stared silently at her sister's limp body; Mrs. Lockhart let the tears flow down her face. Everything seemed so fragile and breakable; the two jumped slightly when a doctor knocked lightly against the doorframe.
"Mrs. Lockhart?" he asked. "May I speak to you outside?" Mrs. Lockhart gave a curt nod and got up to follow the doctor.
"What's going on? Is she going to be okay?" Mrs. Lockhart asked. He voice quivered as she tried to hold back a sob.
"I'm not sure." the doctor confessed. "It's been a week, Mrs. Lockhart. That head on collison caused Kira to fracture her spine in three different places. There's even a blood clot in her head." Jesse Lockhart's eyes widened with every word, and the tears were flowing more freely. The doctor was trying to be sypathetic, but he ended coming off as awkward. He wanted to be able to do something, he truely did. He just didn't know what to do.
"It's a wonder that girl is still alive."
Kira was sitting quietly up in her bunk reading. She thought it would be a good idea to learn more about Atmos, so she borrowed one of Piper's navigation books. A sneeze interrupted her reading.
"Huh." she said aloud. "I guess someone is talking about me."