One Week Later

Ruby lay in the hospital bed staring at the ceiling. It was about the only thing she could do lying on her back. Every now and again a nurse would come in and help to turn her on her side so she wouldn't develope bed sores or blood clotting. It was a routine that occured every two hours. Rachel had explained that it was necessary, but it just made Ruby feel even more hopeless.

"So Aden suggested that we go for a walk along the beach, which started off great until some summer holiday kids came up and soaked us with water ballons", Nicole rambled on.

Charlie sat the other side of the bed and laughed at Nicole's story. It had been a while since she could remember laughing. Too long. She sat up and flicked a strand of hair behind her shoulder and looked at Ruby, who was still staring at the ceiling. She grabbed a hold of her hand and gave it gentle squeeze.

"Hey, are alright? Your awful quiet", she said. It was a stupid question to ask someone who had just been told that they may never walk again, but she knew she had to keep Ruby's spirits up.

Feeling the squeeze in her hand Ruby snapped out of her trance like state and looked down at Charlie. She wanted to tell her that she was fine. That everyting was fine, but it would be a lie. So she did what she though was necessary. She twisted the truth.

"Yeah I'm just nervous about this rehabilitation session is all", Ruby said, trying to convince both her mother and Nicole that she was fine.

A nurse walked into the room, carrying an insulin kit with her. She placed it down on the nurses worktop at the end of the room and then turned back towards the patient.

"Alright, why don't we get you changed into some workout gear for your rehab session today", the nurse said in her enthusiastic nurses tone.

Nicole looked at the nurse and then back at Ruby, realising that this was probably not something her friend would want her to see. She picked up the juice bottle she had brought in with her and her handbag and stood up.

"Ok, no offence Rubes, I love you and all but seeing you naked, not something I wanna see anytime soon", Nicole said sarcastically. Both girls laughed at the joke and Nicole bent down and gave Ruby a kiss on the cheek, waved goodbye to Charlie and left the room.

The nurse walked over to the far side of the bed and took the bed controls in her hand, pressing one of the buttons to shift Ruby into an upright position. Charlie stood up and walked over to where she had left Ruby's bag earlier that day and pulled clothes she thought were appropriate for a strenuous session. She made her back over to the bed and placed the clothing on the side railing next to Ruby. The nurse picked up the t-shirt and looked at Ruby.

"So do you want mum here to give you a hand?", she asked.

"Yeah..." Charlie begun.

"....No...!", Ruby said cutting her off.

Charlie looked down at Ruby when she heard her answer. She didn't understand the problem. Ruby never had a problem changing in front of Charlie before. They used to do it the whole tme when they were sisters and they tried on clothes. Maybe that was the problem, Charlie thought to herself. Maybe Ruby wasn't comfortable doing that kind of thing in front of her now that they were no longer sisters. Or was it something else.

"Alright, well what if mum waited outside until you're ready?", the nurse said trying to make the situation feel a little less uncomfortable.

Ruby didn't say anything, she just nodded her head at the nurse. She turned to Charlie who had a look of rejection on her face. She grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze to show her that it wasn't her that was the problem. In a way Charlie felt relieved when Ruby did it. But she hated that Ruby was pushing her away when all she wanted to do was help. She squeezed Ruby's had back and gave it a quick kiss.

"Ok, I'll be outside", she said smiling at Ruby and then leaving them to it.

Charlie walked outside and closed the door behind her. She let out a sigh and rubbed her hand across her forehead in a frustrated manner. She was trying to be supportive for Ruby but she just didn't know what exactly to do or what she could do. Sometimes it felt more like Ruby was helping her through this rather than it being the other way around. She tried to be a mother to her but at times, she felt more like a failure. Charlie waked across the corridor and sat on one of the empty chairs. She sat back and leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Hey", a quiet familiar voice said.

Charlie's eyes sprung open to find Angelo standing in front of her. He was actually out of uniform which was strange. Charlie looked down and swallowed hard. She remembered waht she had said to him the last time they spke and she knew that she had been harsh. But she couldn't help it. She was angry with him and the feeling just wouldn't go away.

"What do you want?", she said, looking him straight in the eye with a face that was expressionless.

"How's Ruby?", he asked hoping to soften the conversation. Talking about Ruby usually softened any other conversation they had ever had.

"How's Ruby?", Charlie repeated, her voice getting high pitched. At that moment a patient wheeled past in a wheelchair and stopped at the nurses station. "Do you see that", Charlie said pointing at the patient, "That is Ruby's life from this point on, right there. No more running around the bay with her mates or attempting to go surfing with Geoff even though she can't surf. That's it for her and all because you wanted to play the knight in shining armour", she yelled at him. Grabbing the attention of the nurses standing at their station.

"Charlie, please. I was just trying to protect you and Ruby, I never thought this would happen", Angelo pleaded looking his girlfriend in the eye and trying to take hold of her hand. But Charlie backed away.

"Yeah well a lot of good that's done", Charlie lowered her head held her hand up wiping away a stray tear. She brushed past him and walked towards Ruby's room door. She stopped and turned back to look at Angelo who looked at her with hurt expression. "I will never forgive you for this Angelo", she said. With that she opened the door and entered.

Angelo stood there stunned. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. The one person left in the bay who didn't treat him like dirt now hated him. How could this have happened. One minute they were blissfully happy and now she couldn't bear to look at him. Angelo stood looking into the room. He watched as Charlie helped the nurse lift Ruby from the bed and into the wheelchair. The nurse grabbed the pillow off the bed and placed behind Ruby's back for comfort. Angelo couldn't bear to watch anymore. With one last glance at Charlie he walked down the corridor and left.

Charlie positioned the pillow in a way that felt right to Ruby. When it was okay, she crouched down to Ruby's level and place a comforting hand on her daughter's arm. Ruby looked down at the wheelchair. It was the first time she had ever sat in it and she felt very strange. She could feel herself getting emotional and the tears welled up in her eyes as she realised that this was real. Charlie looked up at her daughter and noticed the tear run down her cheek.

"Hey, it's going to be ok. I'll be right here every step of the way", she said. Charlie leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her daughter. Ruby latched onto her as if for dear life and let out the tears she had been holding back. She was about to realise how much of an adjustment her life was going to need.