Erin was officially sulking. She'd been stuck in hospital for a week and the doctor had told her that morning that she was staying another whole week. Her arm was still very sore and now there was a dull pain in her abdomen due to her morphine intake being decreased. Erin hated hospitals and all the doctors and nurses coming in to poke and prod her, the stench of disinfectant and the fact Leo had to leave her all alone at night. As far as she was concerned life could not get any worse.
"Good morning Erin" a doctor came into the room for his morning rounds "You're up early" he commented
Erin gave an inward sigh; it just had gotten so much worse
"I couldn't sleep" she mumbled
The doctor nodded, remembering that the nurses on the ward had told him the exact same thing "I'm going to prescribe you something that will make you go to sleep at night. It's important to get some sleep whilst your body is healing" he told her scribbling a note down in her file
Erin nodded but kept her gaze down on the bed as she traced a pattern on the covers
"How's your arm today?" he asked
"Sore" she said still not looking up
"It will be for a little while I'm afraid" the doctor said sympathetically "If it gets too bad then just tell one of the nurses and they can sort it out"
Erin nodded once more
"Can I look at your stitches now?" he asked her and she nodded lying back making sure the bed-covers were pulled up to her hips as the doctor examined the surgical incision "That's healing nicely" he told her with a smile
Erin was about to reply when a coughing fit overtook her and made her double up in pain as her ribs screamed in protest as the sudden movement
"Alright Erin" the doctor soothed helping her sit up straight as he pulled an oxygen mask over head "Just take deep breaths"
Erin knew she had no choice but to concentrate on what the doctor was telling her and soon the tight feeling in her chest subsided
"Better?" he asked and she nodded, lying back down on the pillows feeling thoroughly exhausted "Your lungs are still a little weak and it'll take a little while for them to get back to full strength. I want you to just take things easy for a bit and keep using the oxygen, it'll make breathing a little easier for you"
"Okay" Erin said weakly as she felt the exhaustion of the morning's events pulse through her body
"I'll come and check on you later" she heard the doctor say as she drifted off into a fitful sleep
When Leo entered the room later that morning he found Erin fast asleep in the bed and a doctor standing over her fiddling with the monitors
"How is she today?" Leo asked
"She's making progress" the doctor told him "But her lungs are a little weak so we're keeping a close eye on her"
"She's sleeping finally" Leo smiled as he watched Erin chest gently rise and fall as she slumbered
The doctor nodded "The police have been on my back again about talking to her" he told the pathologist
"I thought they might do soon" Leo admitted
"They can't come near her unless they have my permission" the medic said "I wanted to wait until she was stronger"
"She'll have to face the world sooner or later" Leo sighed
"Have the arrested the person that did this to her?"
Leo nodded "She's in custody and they're building a case against her as we speak"
"Good" the doctor said firmly "At least there's some amount of justice in the world"
When Erin finally woke up again the sunlight was streaming through the windows and she could hear the ward outside her room bustling with life
"Leo?" she mumbled sleepily
"Right here" he said squeezing her hand
She opened her eyes fully as Leo helped her sit up in bed, as she looked around the room she saw Nikki sitting on a chair by the other side of her bed holding a sleeping Alice in her lap
"I'd thought I'd pop in to see how you were doing" Nikki explained and Erin silently thanked her
"There's something we need to talk to you about" Leo said ominously "The police want to come and take a statement from you about what happened"
Erin nodded slowly as she absorbed what Leo was telling her "I don't remember everything" she said "Some things are hazy"
"I know" Leo said eyeing the nasty graze she had on the side of her head
"I don't want to go through it again" Erin said quietly
"The police need to now what happened so they can lock Nora away" Nikki said as Erin visibly flinched at Nora's name
"No one is blaming you for what happened" Leo said
"That's what Dan said when he came to visit me" Erin mumbled
"And he's right" Nikki assured her
"We'll stay with you if you want" Leo said and Erin seemed slightly more appeased
"It'll be over soon" Nikki told her as two police officers entered her room
"I don't think so" Erin said quietly to herself unaware that both Leo and Nikki ha caught her musings
An hour later and the police were gone; the interview had been harrowing for all of them. Erin had to relive the events that had nearly killed her and Leo and Nikki had to hear Erin's horrific account of what she had been through. She had been thoroughly shaken by her experience and it had taken the two pathologists a while to calm her down.
Now Erin was lying back in her bed feeling slightly deadened to the day's events, all day long people had tried to keep her spirits up but to no avail. The stream of sunlight that had lit up her room had now turned into night and she'd been left alone once more to try and get some rest. The nurse hadn't come round with her medication yet and so Erin was lying wide awake in the room which was darkening with each shadow that appeared on the walls.
Suddenly the door opened and she looked up to see Harry walking into the room. He sat down next to her bed and gave her hand a small squeeze as a greeting
"I thought visitors hours were over" she questioned
Harry shook his head "The nurse told me I can have a few minutes before she comes with a sleeping pill. Apparently you're a special case" he teased and Erin frowned
"I want to go home" she said finally knowing that she could speak openly to Harry "I want this just to be a bad dream"
"Of course you do" Harry told her "And the doctor will let you go home soon"
"Why do bad things happen to me?" she asked
"They don't!" Harry protested
"They do!" Erin whimpered "My dad died, and then mum…" Erin swallowed hard "I ran away and then this happens" she said and Harry could see the beginnings of tears in her eyes that were threatening to make themselves known
"What about the good things" he said "Meeting Leo, me and Nikki, having Leo foster and then adopt you, have books to read and your drawings"
"I can't do that anymore" she sighed motioning to her cast
"That's only temporary" Harry told her "It'll be off before you know it"
The door opened again and a nurse walked into the room gving both Erin and Harry a warm smile
"I've got your sleeping pills" she said to Erin
"I'll be going now" Harry said standing up and giving Erin a gentle kiss on the head
"Bye" Erin said sadly
"Keep remembering the good things" he told her as he left the room
The nurse poured her a glass of water and Erin took a sip as she swallowed the small pills. Almost immediately she felt the effects and was soon drifting off into a sleep she wasn't sure if she really wanted.
