Dr Roberts had been right. Even though, the taste of fresh water felt heavenly smooth and cool in his mouth, the swallowing made him regret it immediately. It took three days until the pain went down to bearable. Rebecca looked after him as much as she could, and the more he was told about the disaster which had brought him into the hospital, the more grateful he was for every single second.

The cause of the tragedy was still unknown, only that there had been a big explosion that triggered a chain reaction and had set half the city on fire. There were speculations about a terrorist attack since many casualties had been found in uniforms buried down in the sewers. The government kept denying the rumors about a secret military exercise but nobody believed in a simple accident. Search and Rescue supported by international forces heroically kept up their efforts but they barely found survivors anymore. The hospital went quieter by the day, as the scale of the horrifying disaster settled in. The expressions of the doctors were grim and the nurses had dark shadows under their eyes. At first, he had sometimes caught a glimpse of someone from the stuff crying but as the death toll went up by the hour, nobody seemed to have the energy anymore to anything else but work in resigned silence.

52,577 deaths. 142,584 injured. The property damage hadn't estimated yet. Even the news reporters seemed often lost for words. Support flew in from all over the world – resources, staff, financial aid. The rebuild of the city would take decades, not to speak of processing the trauma that had left Australia in a state of shock. Sometimes it felt too him, as like the world had gone silent and wept with Darwin. Somehow, he felt terribly responsible.

"Survivor's guilt," Rebecca called it with a sad sigh after communicating his state of mind through the spelling sign. He still couldn't speak and the few noises, he produced felt like razors in his throat, so he gave them up quickly. Sometimes he wondered why fight at all. With his memory still wiped clean, there was no one to call and nowhere to go. It was Rebecca who kept him from resigning his efforts. "The DNA sequencers work night and day to find matches for everyone we couldn't identify so far," Rebecca promised. "The process order is randomized but I'll let you know as soon as it's your turn. And you heard Dr. Roberts: your memory could come back any time."

"Why fight for me? Stranger."

Rebecca smiled when she read what he had spelled her. "Because you're still here. I saw many die from lesser injuries but seeing you pull through …. It gives me hope. You are my miracle. And if I were in your place, I know my husband would go rampage to find me. So, I keep fighting for you, until your family takes over. Because I am sure they are out there, going crazy."

"Think me dead."

Rebecca shook her head. "I don't think so. As long as they keep finding survivors and people leave this hospital alive, they won't give up. I wouldn't."

A few times, the young doctor who had called Dr Roberts away, passed through the hall, her white-blonde hair tied up, a constant frown on her round face. Even though, he only caught glimpses of her, it felt like an electrical surge. His headache got worse the more he tried to figure out who that doctor was to him.

"She is a pretty one, isn't she?" Rebecca said with a smile than she caught him staring at the doctor again. "But I think, she is taken. And you're not her type."

He knew that. Somehow, he knew. He wiggled his head slightly which he hoped would Rebecca would interpret as shaking his head.

"Does she trigger something?"

One blink.

Before Rebecca could ask to the young doctor to join them, she got called away. "I will try to get her to see you," Rebecca promised. "But it's gonna be difficult. She is one of the external jumpers who were called in to help, so she is running around the hospital all day wherever she is needed. As far as I know she's from Melbourne. She was in Darwin for a vacation and volunteered after …"

Of course, she did. Lena must feel just as responsible as he did. She could never walk away from a situation if she felt needed.

A jolt went through him.

Lena.

He repeated the name in his head, frightened it would go away he stopped. There was still no connection, just her name. But maybe she could figure it out. As wildly as he could he gestured towards the spell board.

"Yes, that is her name," Rebecca acknowledged, who seemed torn between excitement and skepticism. "Lena Hellegren. Are you sure it's a memory? You could have just got it from a conversation or her name tag."

Yes, just her name would not be enough. He searched his mind for a clue, a tiny flash, anything. A face appeared. The young woman he had seen before. Golden hair, blue eyes, a gentle smile. A frown which told of the weight she had to carry but also a laughter of pure innocent joy. Barefoot. A sunset on a beach. A humpback whale in the distance.

Charly? No, that was not her name. The whale? Why would a whale have a name?

There was another word, a strange one. Was it her name? A location? Just a desperate made up guess by his frustrated mind to make sense of it all?

Out from the corner of his eyes, he noted that Lena had reappeared at the nurse's station. She had changed now wearing a emergency jacket instead of a white cloak, carrying a big orange case with a biohazard sign.

"N-Neri?" Rebecca read with a deep frown. "Are you sure?"

He squeezed her hand and nodded to Lena. He knew it was a great risk. If the word wasn't right, he might lose the only chance to get her attention. Rebecca hesitated but finally nodded and left his room.

"Excuse me, Dr Hellegren," he heard Rebecca say, "I have this patient –"

"I'm sorry," Lena cut her off. "There is an emergency at the Franklin Hospital and they need these blood reserves. I have to go."

"When you come back, could you please check –"

"You have to get another doctor, Rebecca. I asked me to assist at Franklin since the situation calmed down here."

"You're transferring?"

"Yes, they told me ten minutes ago. I have to finish this paperwork and go."

"Please, he thinks he knows you," Rebecca tried again. "He knows your name."

Lena sighed. "This happens a lot. It's a short name and easy to remember. He might have just picked it up." She put down the paperwork. "Rebecca, I have to go. I'm sorry."

No, don't go, he wanted to shout. Don't go, Lena. Don't leave, he screamed at her as she turned away. Rebecca, give her the other name. Rebecca!

Rebecca gave him a short glance and must have picked up some of his desperate attempts to communicate. She looked at the note with the name in her hand and quickly took Lena's arm. "What about that?" She held up the note. "He wanted me to show you this."

He held his breath and heard her sharp intake of air at the same time. The case fell onto the floor with a loud bang, right before Lena's face appeared above him.

"Jason?" she asked breathlessly, her eyes wide and desperately hopeful. "Jason Bates?"

Neri, Mera, Brett, Mum, O.R.C.A. …

There was no sudden flash, no rushing through pictures, scents and emotions like a movie. The memories were back, just like they had never been gone.

"Jason, please, it that you?"

He blinked once.