David walked into the exam room to see his one and only patient. On his return to hospital after his abduction he had been given light duties only. He didn't mind. His one patient was very important indeed.

He found Bianca sat despondently in a hospital gown, her brace by the side of the bed.

"I'm here as promised." said she.

"Good." said David, picking up her notes. "Marissa and the kids aren't here with you?

"They dropped me off… but I didn't want them to sit through this. Marissa has taken them down to meet Jackson and see's AJ's new boat. They'll be back when it is all over."

"Okay." said David, with a nod, "Shall we start the exam?"

"Go ahead." she said, gesturing to her left leg.

David's smile turned apologetic.

"This will be a head to toe exam. We need to see what's changed since your kidnap."

Bianca's face fell.

"We'll make it as painless as possible." assured David. "If we can start taking a few bloods… your weight… and then we'll take a closer look at your injuries. Okay?"

"It's going to have to be." said Bianca resignedly.

…

As the bloods were sent down to the labs David started the rest of the exam. He was pleased at Bianca's rate of healing; her neck wound had knit so well that he didn't replace the dressing.

David then got her to turn over so he could examine her back. The numerous incision and puncture marks were also healing well and little bruising remained.

"How does it feel?" he asked feeling for inflammation round the more recent injection sites.

"Its much better than it was." said Bianca, but her back did tense up when he pressed a little lower.

"But there is still some tenderness?"

"Some." she replied.

"It will take some time for the bruising to heal completely." he explained. "Give it a week."

David redressed the wound and then move on to Bianca's leg. This was more of a concern. The injury site was as extensive as he remembered and, knowing how deep Dr Norrell's cruel device had been imbedded inside her leg, there was sure to be an effect on her already underdeveloped muscles.

If he was dealing with an injury like this usually, he could ask the patient where there was pain or reduction of movement. With Bianca's anaphia or numbness and partial paralysis, he had to use his own judgement. He was therefore a little rougher than he would usually be with patients while pressing around the injury site in search of swelling or deformation.

There was a spasm in Bianca's leg as he explored.

David pressed again. There was another leg twitch and Bianca looked back over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I was just checking your leg." David said, but his suspicion was aroused. He pressed harder at that same spot and Bianca tried to pull her leg away.

"Can you feel that?" he asked.

"I feel something." said Bianca looking surprisingly alarmed. "How can I feel something?"

"You could feel me touching your leg?"

"No." said Bianca wearing a frown. "It was like before." She held her hand far out to the side. "I feel it here."

"Can you describe the sensation?" David asked.

"It hurts." said Bianca, her teeth clenched.

David loosened his grasp on her leg.

"Sorry."

"But how..?"

David scratched his head for a moment.

"This is fascinating. When you received that injection of Orpheus formula...?"

"…Directly into my spine, like before when it went wrong."

"Maybe this time it went right." said David. He moved down Bianca leg and flexed her ankle, noting that there wasn't much resistance.

"Can you feel that?" he asked, pressing her foot back.

"No." said Bianca, still coming to terms that these alien sensations were supposedly coming from her leg.

"You can't feel anything?" he asked flexing her ankle again.

Bianca concentrated for a moment, even closed her eyes, but then she could only shake her head.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." David said, although he was disappointed in the answer. He wasn't giving up though.

He pushed the foot further forward again, further than he should.

"That!" Bianca gasped, "I feel that."

David released her.

"Is it still outside your body?"

"Yeah."

"And it hurt?"

Bianca nodded.

David made a note, the anaphia was still pronounced but she was experiencing a disassociated sensation to pain.

Moving on with the exam, David got Bianca to roll back onto her back and then grasped her ankle again.

"Can we see what your movement is like? Can you flex your foot for me?"

"Not usually." joked Bianca. She looked down and concentrated. She felt hopeful that maybe something would happen this time. It usually took a lot of effort to get her messed up nerves to do what she wanted and even then the results were usually less than spectacular.

As Bianca willed her foot to flex, her toes twitched slightly and her knee moved but her foot didn't.

"That's different." she said growing frustrated. Her foot was usually more responsive than that.

David put a hand on the sole of her foot.

"Try pressing against me." he said.

Bianca had no idea if she was pressing or not, she couldn't feel it. She just did what she normally did and commanded her toe to point. He toes twitched but this time her knee didn't move either. But she let out a gasp instead, the pain was back.

"I can't do it." she said.

David felt the back of her calf with his other hand.

"Just once more."

Bianca frowned and pushed for her foot to move and the pain came back again.

"It hurts." she said.

"But it doesn't feel like your leg?"

"No."

"Well the tensing of your muscles is clearly aggravating your leg wound. So can definitely feel pain now. You've actually lost some movement as well as a result." said David, wearing a frown. "But most of that should be recovered through physio."

"Should?"

"We'll have to see how your leg heals. The surgery you… received… was extensive and it may have effected muscles and tendons, which will effect movement. Prolonged inactivity won't have helped your muscles either… they were already very underdeveloped."

"So good news and bad news." said Bianca a little sourly.

David met her eyes and smiled.

"I think the possibilities that you are regaining sensation will make treating the paralysis much easier."

To prove his point David pinched her just below the knee and her leg twitched again.

"If can feel pain then you feel something." he said. "If you approve, Orpheus might the answer after all!"

…