Krystal wasn't sure what she expected to find when she raced to Pine Valley Hospital. Could Babe really still be alive? Could David have been keeping her from her all these years?

When she got to the hospital she marched passed reception to the elevator. Jake had said the mystery patient was in a private room, which meant the 6th floor. She wasn't alone the elevator and Krystal found in a struggle to hold in her impatience as the lift seemed to stop at almost every floor on the journey up letting people on and off.

When she arrived on the 6th floor Krystal was the only person to step out. The corridor was empty apart from a young doctor at the nurse's station. Krystal took a deep breath and marched towards him.

"I need to speak to Dr Haywood." said Krystal firmly, making it clear 'no' was not an option.

The young man started at her aggressive approach.

"Um… he's in with a patient, perhaps you could wait." he stammered.

As he spoke the young man's eyes darted towards the room at the end of the corridor.

"No I need to see him now." said Krystal and she marched towards the door the doctor had glanced to.

"You can't go in there." The young doctor called, running after her but Krystal wasn't stopping for anyone.

She marched towards the room, it was only when she gripped the door handle that she paused. Babe could be at the other side of this door!

She turned the handle gently and slowly pushed open the door. The room was dark. David had his back to the her leaning over the patient. All Krystal could see was a pale hand and a bracelet she didn't recognise with the letters B, A, B hanging from the chain.

"Babe…" Krystal gasped.

David turned at the sound of Krystal's words.

The young doctor had caught up with her as well and gripped her arm.

"I'm sorry Doctor Hayward I told her she couldn't disturb you."

"It's okay." said David, seemingly ashamed at getting caught. "Let her in."

Krystal's heart was pounding in her chest as she stepped closer to the bed; but her elation turned to disappointment, it wasn't Babe.

It wasn't a woman at all but a young girl with long pale hair. She couldn't have been more than ten or eleven.

Krystal looked to David, tears in her eyes.

"She's not Babe…"

"No," said David quietly, "This is my daughter Leora."

…

The child was lying in bed, staring into space.

Krystal took a step closer toward the bed. The girl didn't even seem to register her presence.

"What's wrong with her." asked Krystal.

"She suffered brain damage. Her brain was starved of oxygen for too long."

David reached out and touched his daughter's cheek. A tiny smile appeared briefly and a surprising deep giggle escaped from her lips in reaction to the contact.

"But you've been treating her all this time?" asked Krystal, "Ten years, she died ten years ago."

"I created Orpheus for her." explained David, "It helped, she regained a degree of consciousness but I can't repair the damage to her brain. I was so close with Dixie's treatment, she was catatonic when I first revived her and then suffered a dissociative episode before she regained her full metal faculties. I thought I had made the breakthrough, but Leora still doesn't respond. I sometimes think it would have been better if I had left her to die."

Krystal was horrified by his words.

"How can you say something so terrible in front of her?"

She looked at the girl who still starred seemingly unknowingly at empty air, her smile now gone.

Krystal took the child's hand in her own.

"It's okay, he didn't mean it." said Krystal.

The child's smile returned at the contact. Closer now she could see that the bracelet around the girl's wrist spelt the word Baby and there was a fifth charm in the shape of a little girl.

"I bought it for her when she was born." explained David, "My baby girl."

Krystal smiled at the sentiment from a usually unsentimental man.

"This is why you were so determined to be by Marissa's side when she was in the comma. This is why you told me to expect the worse."

"Yes." said David.

Krystal looked at David's young daughter, she had her father's chin and her blonde hair was so like Babe's when she was little.

"She's beautiful." said Krystal, "Why have you kept her hidden away for so long?"

"I need to heal her." said David, "I need to fix her. I'm running out of ideas, but there must be a way to save her."

"But you have saved her." said Krystal, "She's alive."

"But what kind of life is this." said David.

"Well if you plan to use her as a lab rat for the rest of her life then then I would say not much of one at all. Have you ever even taken her outside, has she ever seen a tree or a bird? Felt the sun on her face? If I hadn't stormed in here you would have kept her hidden away indefinitely wouldn't you. Are you ashamed of her?"

David looked at Krystal, wondering why he had invited her in. Maybe he felt it time someone other than him knew of his daughter's existance. Leora was still smiling at the contact of Krystal holding her hand. Was Krystal right had he been neglecting his daughter? David thought back over all the oaths he had sworn at the foot of his new born son's bed just hours ago, did Leora deserve any less. He had worked so hard being her doctor over the last ten years, maybe it was time to be her father.

"I've been so busy trying to keep her alive…" he said softly.

"Well now, don't you think you owe it to her to help her enjoy the life you've given her."

David sighed and stroked his daughter's cheek once more.

"Yes." he said and planted a kiss on his little girl's cheek. "She deserves everything."

Leora giggled.

…