56. Cloudy skies

Some curse words

Saturday January 13th, Pat agreed to open the restaurant. I had prepared him a denver scramble and had his coffee ready when he emerged from the shower. "Thanks, doll. Eating breakfast from work isn't the same any more. Your food is so much better. And less greasy," he chuckled. I smiled at him as I stole a bite.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're working. But you refuse money more often than not. With how many hours you're taking on, especially since you're working practically 40 plus hours a week while I'm in school," I started. Pat held my hand and squeezed it gently.

"Linda is paying me if that's what you're concerned about, doll," he murmured. I smiled.

"That's good news. I know you get an allowance per say through the VA as well, but I was concerned about us spending more than we're saving. I was curious are they short staffed?" I inquired as I looked at the clock. 5:23. He would have to leave soon.

"Not really. It's winter. Technically, I'm working your hours. Or making up for the hours you lost, since you were only at like what 25 a week?" He asked as he finished his breakfast. I nodded. In the summer, I was up to 37, but I didn't want full time hours so Linda kept me just below that mark. During school though, I was just under 22 hours. He smiled and rubbed my cheek. "Besides Bertie, no one likes to wake up to open the restaurant. Which is hard for scheduling for Linda. You've been healing remarkably, still taking slow. You successfully cooked breakfast and your crutches are nowhere in sight. You don't go overboard when you use that room across the hall," he stated. 

"I love it by the way. Have I told you that? I'd hate to go to a gym to work on muscle strength," I giggled. He smiled. I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "So since you were already awake, you offered to work," I concluded for him. He nodded. He pulled me into his arms and stroked my hair. I smiled and looked up at him. "I appreciate you making sure that I still get my hours, but I don't want to go back to work there," I whispered. He smiled.

"No one is forcing you. You graduate in May, then come September, if you wanted, you head off to college to pursue whatever you want to do. So you would be leaving this job behind anyways," he replied. "Until you're certain, you have time to think it over and I'll provide the income, darling," he whispered. He sighed and kissed the top of my head. "Take it easy, doll. Josh is off until three. Call him if you need anything. Don't overdo it. I love you."

"Love you too, Benji. I'll join you for lunch. Have a progressive day!" I replied as I kissed his lips. He smiled and returned the kiss. I pushed him away as I sat down with a smirk. "Go. Or you'll run out of coffee for the guests," I teased. He chuckled as he stood up, kissed my head, and gathered his items for work. I stood up and gestured towards the door. "I'll lock it behind you, dear." He grabbed my hand and walked with me to the door. He looked down at me tenderly as he pushed me against the wall and rubbed my neck.

"I love you, Sarah. I'll come home to you later," he promised. He kissed my lips delicately. "You'll always be my girl," he whispered. I looked up and grinned. I pushed his shoulder gently.

"If you're me, I always got things ready starting at 5:30. You're late," I teased. He chuckled and kissed me one more time. "Love you!" I hollered as he got into his warmed up truck. He blew me a kiss as he backed out of his driveway. I smiled and waved until he turned off his road. Then I closed the door and locked it. I made my way back to the kitchen and started to clean up. When that was done, I made my way down the hallway and entered Pat's spare bedroom, now my sanctuary. I giggled I walked across the foam floor. I looked at workout equipment attached to the wall. The resistance bands caught my eye but I decided working out alone would not be ideal. The karaoke machine in the corner was great when we had guests over and I wasn't the only one singing on the microphone; otherwise it was never used. I moved over to the ceiling high bookshelf and looked over my selection. I grinned and selected something then made my way back to my room. I threw the book on the bed and headed back to the workout room, grabbing one of the stability balls and a smaller stress ball. These were simple enough that I wouldn't hurt myself if I used them. 

I sat on the ball and began to take off my boot. I rubbed my leg and scowled; the hair growth was still unsatisfactory. I stood up again and hopped towards the bathroom for a shower, using the dresser to steady myself. I undressed quickly, put my clothes in the hamper, and moved to the shower. After a quick cleanse, I sat down on the ground, braced both legs up on the wall, and grabbed my razor. I quickly shaved my left leg then moved to my right. I tucked the showerhead in between my side and elbow, pointing the water directly on my leg. I figured the wetter it was, the better I could run the razor across it since it was still so touchy. Carefully, I shaved my leg. My leg was still deathly pale, sensitive, and weak. I nicked my it a few times with the razor. 75% of the way done, I sighed, took the shower head, and rinsed my leg again. I pursed my lips as I looked at my leg and applied pressure to the latest wound; it just wouldn't stop bleeding. "It's hideous! Ugh," I exclaimed as I pressed on the calf carefully with my other hand. There was no muscle definition on my leg at all, and I had been doing my exercises regularly. I then traced both scars on my leg, one on the inside, the other on top. I moved my ankle up and down painfully then side to side. "This is enough for now," I whispered as the bleeding finally subsided. I stood up carefully, bracing against the wall. I cleaned my leg again and rinsed my body. My leg didn't appreciate the hot water like the rest of my body, so my shower felt cold. Finally, I turned off water and grabbed a towel of the rack. I wrapped it around my body. I looked around the floor. Sitting on the floor was a mistake. The whole floor was covered in moisture, but the puddle wasn't very big. Walking around wasn't an option since my foot had a tendency of not supporting me; I was afraid of slipping. I pursed my lips. "Way to go, 'Nettie," I mumbled. My crutches were in the closet in my room and my boot was by my dresser; I was stranded. "You're a genius," I muttered. I took a deep breath and held onto the wall. More towels were in the linen closet in the wall in front of the toilet, too many hops away. I could just as easily get to my closet in the same amount of hops. I bit my lip and looked down. I sighed as I removed the towel from around my body and laid it on the floor. Bracing against the wall, I hopped precariously onto it. Instead of grabbing another towel, I moved my way out of the bathroom and to grab my robe out of the closet. I wavered as I hopped so I immediately spread both arms out and put my right foot down for balance. It wasn't enough. The pain from my right leg caused me to overcompensate and lean forward, losing my balance completely. My head collided with the dresser. "Stay awake," I slurred as I curled on the ground. "Fight." I pulled myself up, bracing against the dresser. I pressed my hand against my head. My eyes were starting to cloud, I could feel my head getting heavier. "Josh," I recalled Pat's instructions, trying to remember where I left my phone. I leaned towards the closet and tugged on my bathrobe. The crutches fell too. I threaded the robe on backwards and looked at my hand. It was red. Red? What was red? Why? I played with my white robe as I tried to figure it out. "Phone, 'Nettie," I mumbled trying to keep my thoughts flowing. I put my hand back on my head as I thought; it was becoming exceptionally difficult to think clearly. "THE DRESSER!" I looked over my shoulder. My phone was plugged in and resting on the middle of the dresser, out of reach. I grabbed a crutch, used it over my right shoulder, and tried to pull my phone to me, using both hands. I could tell I was losing motor functions. My vision was going black. My phone finally fell by my feet. I picked it up with my left hand and opened it with my right. Unable to see, I wiped both eyes with my right hand and tried to focus. I wasn't going to search for Josh's number. I could speed dial Pat, but he was working. If I speed dialed Jess, Noah, or Tyler, I couldn't guarantee they would be awake, and if they were, it would be half an hour before they would make it here. I couldn't remember if I programed any other numbers. I was fading too fast. I switched the phone to my right hand and put pressure on my head with my left hand. That gave me a little bit of help to focus. 9-1-1 was my best bet. I pressed the nine key, moved to press the one, but the phone slipped and I dropped my phone. "NO!" I blindly felt the floor for my phone. "Need it. Help," I mumbled.

"Net?" I heard. I must have called someone. Who? I couldn't place the voice with a name. And I hit the speaker? I closed my eyes and leaned against the dresser again.

"Hearing things. Voices. Who? No," I slurred.

"Annette!" I sat up and tried to look around. I couldn't see.

"Who?" 

"It's Josh, Net. Talk to me and I'll forgive you for waking me up at this ungodly hour," he ordered. 

"Hit head," I managed. I searched with my hand for the phone again. I fell to the floor and sighed. I wrapped both arms around my chest. "Done."

"D****t. Annette, I'm on my way. Keep talking. Did you black out? Are you about to? Where's Pat?" Josh asked. Too many questions. I focused on the last one. Pat? Pat was... Where was he? 

"Ow. He's. Mine. Hours. Uh. Work," I replied as I tried to clear my head, causing me to press against it again.

"You're slurring bad, Annette. I'm coming right over. After I take care of you, I'll relieve him. I know he'd rather take care of you, but with how bad you're slurring, I don't have time to stop and explain this to him. Where are you?" Josh asked. I opened my eyes and tried to focus. "Annette, where are you?" I blinked and looked around. Where was I?

"Room," I slurred. I tried to sit up again and just rolled to my back. I put my arm by my side as my eyes closed. "Red room. Sleep next," I begged.

"No. Annette I'm almost there. You can't give in. I know you know this," Josh remarked. I looked around again. 

"Locks," I mumbled as I closed my eyes. 

"I have a key, Net. Keep talking," Josh ordered. I didn't want to. "Annette, talk! Let me know you're still with me."

"Fine," I mumbled.

"Stop lying," Josh ordered. "I'm coming in right now. How's your head?" I nodded and moved my hand to my head again, I felt sluggish and the words were starting to not make sense in my own mind. "You got walking," he accused. I pressed my lips. That was wrong. Focus! What did he just say? Walking? No, I wasn't walking. Not talking! I gasped. Wrong words. I moved my mouth to say something but I couldn't. I heard a click as footsteps approached quickly. "D****t, Annette!" I heard clearly. My hand was pulled and I relaxed. "Let go. You've lost a lot of blood. Let me see," he ordered pulling on my hand that was pressing against my forehead. I let him move it. He made me push back against the wound. "F**k! Keep pressure on it. You're doing good. Stay with me, Net." I heard water running and I furrowed my brow. "So you flood the bathroom and take a spill so you can bathe in your own blood?" That didn't sound right.

"Wrong," I mumbled trying to put the puzzle together. "Puzzles," I murmured. Josh chuckled. 

"No puzzles, Net. So the bathroom wasn't actually flooded, but your hair is all red now, so is half your bathrobe. You at least covered up. How do you feel?" He asked as he moved my hand again. Pressure was immediately applied. It was wet and cold. 

"Wrong," I stated trying to push it away. 

"Whoa, Annette! No. Stop. Let me help you. I have to get the bleeding to stop," he stated. "Don't move, Annette. I'm calling your sister." Something clicked in my mind amongst all the fog.

"Four," I told him.

"So she can walk me through this. Keep talking, you're doing great," Josh praised. He was lying. I opened my eyes and tried to meet his. It was too bright in this room, so I blinked rapidly before letting them close again. I held up my hand with four fingers. "Number four? Like speed dial?" I gave him the thumb and closed my eyes again as he wrapped his hand around mine and lowered my hand to my stomach. "Thanks, Net. This explains why you didn't answer right away. Your phone is three feet away. Net, don't move. No. Sto- Jess! I'm glad you're awake. Shut up and just listen. No. I don't care. Shut up! I need you to listen," Josh was speaking quickly. I rolled my head and shivered. Josh pushed my head upright again. "Annette, no! Just stop; you can't move right now. Jess, I need you here now. Annette took a nasty spill. She's fighting consciousness and has gash above her left eyebrow, it's spurting. I have pressure on it right now. She's slurring her words and doesn't seem to be able to open her eyes very well... Hang on. I don't have enough hands." Something was placed on my stomach. "Alright. Can you still hear me?"

"Yes." The voice seemed to bounce around the room, but nobody else was here. I furrowed my brow again.

"Good. Annette, open your eyes," Josh begged. I pursed my lips.

"Bright," I mumbled. 

"Sarah Annette Gibson," Jess screamed from the phone on my stomach. "You listen and do everything you're told. Tyler and I are on our way. My brother isn't moving out apparently until Serenity shows up. Now listen up, sister! Let him look! Open your eyes."

"Brother? No. Not hers. Um. This. Go," I confirmed. Noah wasn't here! This is my house.

"Do hurry. You lose service in about fifteen miles," Josh warned at the same time. "Okay. I'm forcing her eyes open." I sighed and tried to open my eyes but Josh pried them open. "Left is bigger, but not by much," he noted.

"Bigger?" I whispered. "Sleep."

"No. You can't sleep, Annette. You know this," Josh stated.

"Not happening, Annette!" Jess screamed at the same time.  

"Who? Done. Shh," I slurred as I relaxed completely relaxed my body and tried to turn my head to the side.

"F**k! No, Annette. Head up. You can't go to sleep yet. Jess!" Josh panicked. 

"It's okay, Josh. Keep her awake and talking if you can. Bare with her; I can tell she's out of it, but she's responding so that's good. No matter what, don't move her. I'll do what I can from this side. Do you see any other signs of injury?" Jess inquired.

"Nothing serious that I can see. She has a few fresh cuts on her right leg but the blood is clotted there," Josh confirmed.

"Okay. Good. Annette, does anything else hurt?" Jess asked. 

"Hurt?" That's not the word. They couldn't mean that. I furrowed my brow and winced as I tried to make sense of it. "Hurt?" I repeated. 

"Pain, Net. Besides your head? Where do you feel pain?" Josh asked.  

"Pain? As in hahaha? No. Wrong," I mumbled. Things weren't adding up. You get pain from tickling? No. That wasn't right. I just wanted to go to sleep! Why were there so many questions? 

"Let's try something else, 'Nettie. When's your birthday?" Jess asked.

"Yesterday," I mumbled. It sounded right; it had to have been the proper response.

"How old are you?" Josh asked. I pursed my lips and flexed my fingers. "Count," he ordered. 

"One. Two. Red. Stop. Cold. No red," I mumbled. Things were fuzzy. Focusing hurt. "Done," I repeated with a sigh. "Just let me sleep," I begged internally.

"Three," Josh stated. "Third time she's said that. She remembered you were speed dial number four, but other than that, she's very confused. Guys, it's not good. I'm barely holding it together," he explained. I couldn't place who he was talking to. The conversation didn't make sense any more. His voice echoed in my head and it hurt. "I got to go. She's relaxing and her head's rolling to the side again... I know. I will. Hurry up," he ordered. My cheek was patted. "Come on, Net. Stay with me. Tell me about Pat."

"Pa-Pat." I mumbled. "I know him."

"Yes you do. Tell me about him. Tell me about Pat," Josh ordered. I opened my eyes and tried to focus. Warm brown eyes gazed back at me. It was wrong. Why?

"Not blue. Ow. Bright. Date him. Him. Pat. Blue. Blue eyes," I whispered as I closed my eyes again. Josh chuckled. He grabbed my hand.

"Squeeze it, Net. Anytime you remember," he ordered. I nodded and squeezed his hand. I took a deep breath and squeezed again. "Sing or hum," he ordered. I tried to follow directions. The only song that came to mind was Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Josh laughed and I squeezed his hand again. I tried another song, Stand in the rain - Barlow Girl. I pursed my lips as I tried to focus. It hurt. I sighed and released his hand and ran my fingers through my hair. "Talk to me, Net. Don't you dare give up."

"It's wet?" I asked in a confused tone.

"It's wet," Josh confirmed. "Tell me about Pat."

"He says I'm doll. Only doll. Also diamond in the sky. He's wrong," I remarked. Josh laughed. "Shh. Loud. Need quiet. Head hurts," I whispered. Josh grabbed my hand and moved it towards my head. "Hold?"

"Please hold your head, yes. It sounds like you're thoughts are a little more coherent. Thank you, Annette. I'm going to check out the rest of your limbs. Don't worry, you can stay covered," he remarked. "Pat would kill me."

"Nope. Me first," I replied. Josh laughed. "Head's fuzzy. I 'member. You were talking about walking. No. 'Bout talking and black. No. No blackout."

"Good. That's great news. I'm glad you called for help, Net. There's blood everywhere. Do you know how Pat would have reacted towards coming home to this?" Josh asked as he applied pressure down my arms. Then he moved to my legs, taking them one at time.

"Poorly. Freak. Lots of blood? Ankle's stiff," I explained as I heard a sharp gasp as two more footsteps came into the room. I thought about it for a moment. "Nelsons? Not No-No."

"Yeah. You're right. Noah will be here later. Jess and I are here, sister dear," Tyler remarked softly.

"I had her squeeze my hand and hum. She did that for twenty minutes, I couldn't place the song. Songs. I think she tried the same one three times before she gave up. She said her head's fuzzy. I just got a moment to squeeze her arms and legs. I couldn't tell if there was anything wrong. She's still talking as ordered," Josh explained.

"I heard. I had to use the bathroom first. Tyler was waiting so he could go through the medicine cabinet. It looks like we'll need the whole cupboard. Josh, give me your hand. Tyler stay in the hallway, I may need you to round things up around the house. Stay out of the blood. She's still slurring pretty bad and I'm just hearing fragments, no full sentences. You said your ankle, 'Nettie?" Jess asked. I nodded and bit my lip. 

"Ow," I mumbled. "Hand?"

"In a minute. How can I help?" Josh stated. I felt pressure go down my right leg. I bit my lip.

"Tender," I warned. My arm was getting heavy, so I moved my elbow down and sighed. 

"Christ! Alright, Net. Just lower your hand all the way; I'm going to keep pressure on your head," Josh stated. 

"Everything looks fine," Jess stated. "Tell us what happened, Annette. You said you remember?"

"Shaving legs. No towel. Here, dresser. Phone. Pat's work. Not you. Busy. Call Josh. Couldn't. 9-1-1. Dropped," I tried to explain. "Sleep please? Cold."

"Not yet. Tyler," Jess demanded. Tyler? What did he have to do with sleeping? I couldn't comprehend and just wanted to sleep. Footsteps came closer, each one sounding like a bass drum. I scrunched my eyes tighter trying to drown out the sound. "Open your eyes, 'Nettie," Jess ordered. I furrowed my brow but followed orders. Tyler was kneeling by my head, holding his jacket out, Josh helped with his extra hand. The room wasn't as bright now. I sighed in relief and relaxed my face again. Moving any muscles in my face was just strenuous. Jess was kneeling by my side. She looked at my face and smiled. "Your pupils are the same size. Now go ahead and close your eyes again. Tyler, go and get me one of the chairs from the porch. It needs to go in the shower. I need to rinse all this blood off of her before I bandage her head, get her dressed, and you two move her to the bed. Josh, let go. Let me look. The bleeding's stopped, but she needs some stitches. Go get me some ice, a candle - lit, and my bag. It's on the couch," she ordered and I heard shuffling around. I bit my lip again.

"Sorry, guys," I whispered. My hand was squeezed.

"We'd be more upset at you if you didn't try calling for help. I'm proud of you, 'Nettie," Jess murmured. "How do you feel? You're still slurring."

"Head hurts," I confessed. She giggled. "Shh. Tired. Cold." 

"I know, 'Nettie. I can't cover you with a blanket right now. You feeling cold is helping you stay awake. Soon, you can sleep, just not right now," she promised. Feet shuffled back in the room. I tuned out the noise as Jess ordered them around again. I felt like my head was braced between two knees. My eye was starting to get cold, a cold drop trickled towards my ear and I gasped, trying to rub it away in a panic. A shiver convulsed my body. "Stop, Annette," Jess ordered from above me. A cloth was placed by my ear. "I need you to calm down and stay still. No. 'Nettie! Stop. It's not working! Boys, hands." I pursed my lips and my hands were grabbed. I really was trying to stop. What was I doing wrong? 

"Annette," Tyler stated on my right. I squeezed his hand. "I know your head hurts and you don't want to relapse. I hate to ask this of you, but I need you to go back to complex. You never let Ronnie and Lionel see your weakness or let them know the pain was bugging you." I sighed and relaxed my lips. I drummed my fingers on both hands and began to hum. The first song that came to mind was my brother's favorite. "Dirty Little Secrets, great choice, 'Nettie," Tyler chuckled rubbing my hand. I focused on the lyrics of the song as the melody lingered in my mind. "Well done, sister dear. You didn't move. Jess is done," he praised. "You're done with the complex, express how you're feeling now." I dug my nails into his hand. 

"B*****d. You promised. Never going back. Dad would've sufficed," I rebuked as I let go. I was weak and didn't have the strength to argue. "Done. No more," I whispered, pulling my hand to my chest, looking for my necklace. "Pat," I whispered. Josh laughed as he squeezed my left hand. My neck was tickled slightly and my fingers finally wrapped around the charm by my neck. 

"You never have to go back, Net. You're done being hurt by people," Josh remarked. I heard what sounded like a soft clap, Tyler grunt, and Jess giggle. "There. I hit him for you. It was very unthoughtful of him. So, speaking of Pat, he calls you his diamond in the sky. Why do you think he's wrong?" Josh asked. I rolled my head his direction and furrowed my brow. 

"Ow," I stated as I relaxed my face again, pulling my right hand up to rub my forehead; it was pulled away before I could touch my face. "Right. So um. Question?"

"Diamond in the sky. Pat. Try to keep your thoughts flowing. No more fragments, 'Nettie," Tyler replied softly.

"Diamond in the sky is a star, right? Yep. Pat. He says that. Why does he need a personal star in the sky? Unreachable? Why would he compare me to something like that?" I asked pausing often, it was hard to make sure my thoughts stayed consistent.

"What do you see when you look at the stars?" Josh murmured. 

"Hope," I answered quickly.

"That's why you're his diamond in the sky, 'Nettie," Tyler whispered. 

"You give him hope and so much more," Jess added. "Okay, guys, enough time has passed. It's time to sit her up. Gently. 'Nettie, let us know if you feel nauseated." I nodded. "Sing for me," she ordered. "Let's see. Uh. Oh! God Bless the Broken Road. Know it? I can assess how bad you are with that; I actually know that song." I nodded again and began to sing. Slowly I was sat up. I took a deep breath as I paused and swayed. "Annette, how do you feel?" Jess whispered. I shook my head and kept singing where I had left off. "Both of you. Together. Straight to the chair. Then I need help up." A blanket was placed over my back as I was carried into the bathroom. I opened my eyes and looked at what was behind me. 

"Towel, Net. We wouldn't ruin the blankets with your blood. If you got blood on your blankets, I would use one of them instead. Surprisingly, you only got blood on the edge of your yellow throw rug; your blankets and clothes are good," Josh stated as I was sat down in the chair. "I'm going to hold onto you. Don't try and move." I nodded as I squinted at him and gasped. His jeans were soaked in blood and his hands were red up to his elbows. His white shirt had blood splattered across the front, with a few hand prints like I tried to grab him, and there was blood on his face. I reached out to stroked his shirt and gasped again when I noticed how red my hand was too. Tears filled in my eyes as I tried to blink them back as I looked at my hands in shock. I began to shake. Josh grabbed my hand; I looked up at him.

"So much blood. I shouldn't. You. How? Blood," I cried. He smiled weakly at me and rubbed my cheek.

"Shh. Can't have you pass out again. Pat would kill me. Just breathe," he ordered softly. 

"Head wounds gush, sweetie. Everyone knows this. It looks bad, but really you haven't lost that much," Jess stated as she waddled in. Tyler was right behind her. They had almost as much blood on their pants as Josh did. I leaned into Josh and cried, gasping for air. "Josh!" Jess exclaimed, extending her arms and moving towards me. Tyler pulled her back and looked at me in concern. Why were they freaking out?

"I'm on it; I got her. Shh. You're fine, Annette. I'm sure our clothes will be just fine. Breathe. Deep, even breaths. Your room will clean easily. Tyler and I didn't make a mess through the house, we kicked our shoes off. Tyler also took the mats apart from the workout room, creating a path that can be cleaned. Don't worry, Net. The carpet in the house is still light colored. Jess, you should get this done quick. She's going to fall over again," Josh remarked as he rubbed my back. I didn't care about the house; that much blood shouldn't be possible. I knew this! I needed answers. How? Why wasn't I sprawled on the ground? Did I need more? Before I could say anything, Jess nodded and switched spots with Josh. He ducked out of the bathroom as she turned the shower on and closed the curtain.

"Blood. So much. Haven't. Long time. No. Can't," I gasped, looking up at her. She held my shoulders. 

"Deep breaths, 'Nettie. Guys, take your clothes off and borrow some of Pat's. The dresser is right there. Take this wet towel on the ground and mop up most of that blood," she ordered as she began to spray me down again. She took my robe off and threw it out of the curtain. She took off her clothes too and threw them out, remaining in her underwear. "Wrap all those clothes in something so that the blood won't drip through the house. Then put all of these bloody clothes into cold water right now." I slouched in the chair and closed my eyes. "Up, Annette," Jess barked. I opened my eyes and looked at her as she ran the water through my hair. She pulled on my arm and I pushed myself up again. She rinsed her hand and wiped my face. I closed my eyes as she repeated the process several times. "Blood's gone. I need a towel and two dresses." A green towel was handed through the curtain. I looked at it curiously.

"How green? Shopping?" I mumbled as I studied it closely. I couldn't recall ever using a green towel before. I shook my head and leaned back again. "New towels," I mumbled. Jess pursed her lips as she dabbed my body dry then reached out of the curtain again. She pulled two dresses, one went over her head then she helped me into the other one. 

"Okay. We're decent," she remarked. The curtain pulled back and Tyler and Josh were standing there waiting for further instructions. "Take her to the bed but don't let her lay down. Don't jostle her. I need to use the bathroom then I need my medical kit," she ordered.  She moved aside so both men could pick me up at the same time and carried me to the bed. I lowered my head to my chest.

***

"I'm solvy," Annette repeated yet again. Tyler and Josh exchanged looks; she wouldn't be able to stay up much longer.

"You're sounding like a broken record," Josh teased as they put her in bed. He sat behind her to prop her up. Her head leaned back and rested on his shoulder. He reached around her back and held onto her right hip. Tyler sat by her knees and held both hands with one of his.

"How?" She mumbled. She was trying; that was encouraging to all. Tyler caught some blood that trickled down her temple. He grabbed one of the socks laying on the bed and pressed it to her head.

"Wrong. Done. Bright. Sleep. Sorry," Josh continued, meeting Tyler's eye and taking the sock away. Annette smiled.

"There it is, 'Nettie! Still smiling," Tyler beamed. She opened her eyes and looked at him wearily. "We have to mop, with bleach, but we got all the blood cleaned up. You really like scaring us don't you?" He inquired, teasing just a little. Annette blinked her eyes, furrowed her brow, and tried to shake her head. Josh caught more blood with the sock as it trickled down her face. Then he held the sock in place. She yawned, leaned into him, and closed her eyes again as Jess opened the bathroom door.

"You can sleep in just a little bit, Annette. Did you eat today?" Jess asked as she made her way over. Annette nodded, her head flopping around on Josh's shoulder. He shifted her head so it was more secure by his neck.

"Yeth. 'Ggs n ham," she confessed. Jess moved to the side of the bed and lifted Josh's hand holding the sock. She pressed her lips and dug out her bag, making Josh put the sock back on her head. Annette opened her eyes again and looked at Tyler who was still holding her hands with one of his. He squeezed them gently; it didn't register in her facial expression that it was happening. Taking guidance from Jess, Tyler looked at Annette's eyes; they were glazed over. He reported his findings as Annette spoke up again. "Pehn meth?" 

"Sorry, Net. No pain pills for a few hours," he whispered softly after Jess shook her head no. Then she moved back to bathroom and grabbed Annette's brush and a ponytail. "Talk to me, sister," he ordered. Annette sat up, looked around, and her brow furrowed again. "She can't hold on much longer. Jess, what do we do?"

"I have to keep her hair away from the wound. Once I get this braid in, I'm wrapping her head and you can lay her down," Jess replied as Josh gently pushed Annette back to his shoulder. Jess met Tyler's eye as she climbed behind Annette and mouthed, "I'm worried." Tyler pursed his lips, nodded in agreement, and looked back at Annette. Jess pulled all of her hair over Josh's shoulder and quickly worked on getting it braided. "We've been here fifty minutes, Annette. If you can stay awake for another five minutes, I would appreciate it," she stated. Annette sat up, looked over her left shoulder at Josh, and seemed surprised again. She reached over and squeezed his knee as he smiled warmly at her. Both Josh and Jess moved with Annette, trying to fix her hair and keep the blood contained; both were feeling flustered, knowing Annette shouldn't be this active after the spill she took. "Crying out loud!" Jess mumbled as Annette leaned forward some.

"No sweep for you. My bad. Solvy," she mumbled as she closed her eyes and snuggled into his shoulder again.

"Josh, you gotta distract her. I'll do my best to keep her in place, but I gotta keep the braid semi-loose," Jess whispered. Josh nodded and Tyler pushed on Annette's shoulder to keep her from rolling into Josh or curling up.

"Net, I'm so glad you programed my number into a speed dial. Only the number six and the speaker had any blood on it. I can't imagine the scene Pat would have walked into had you not gotten a hold of someone right away. You were close to passing out, and with the amount of blood you were losing, he would've been thinking the worse," Josh confessed, holding her snuggly. "Truthfully, I was thinking the worst; that you might be dead even though you were talking to me." He shuddered at the memory of the scene he walked into; it wouldn't have been a hard assumption. Annette pursed her lips. He squeezed her hand on his knee as Jess wrapped some gauze around her wound. "Again. I'm glad you called me. Thank you. So I put your phone on silent; it's here by the lamp. I'm going to talk to Pat. He'd rather know now rather than later," Josh remarked. Annette tried to bolt up as her eyes shot open again, Josh held her in places and Tyler scooted closer to Annette, trying to limit her movements as he now had her legs pinned. "Shhh. Stop, Annette. Stop," Josh begged. She stopped fighting and closed her eyes. Josh relaxed some, but Tyler remained on high alert and tense. "Thank you. Pat needs to know, Annette," Josh whispered as he looked at Tyler in concern.

"Jug don't yell 'at. Not 'em," she mumbled. 

"Okay. She patched up. Lay her back. She'd be less likely to hurt herself that way. Now. Before she tries to jerk forward again," Jess ordered as she moved off the bed. Josh and Tyler worked to lay Annette back gently and cover her with the blanket as they moved off the bed themselves, watching her carefully. Everyone was pleased she didn't move again and that she she seemed to melt into the middle of the bed. 

"I slip nah?" Annette slurred.

"Yeah. You can sleep," Jess whispered as she stroked Annette's cheek. "Tyler and I will be here until Pat comes home. I'm waking you every hour," she warned. Annette smirked.

"Fair. Not tells Noza or 'at. Gray skies mine. Slub in my veins," she mumbled, surrendering to sleep. 

Jess, Josh, and Tyler all exchanged looks as Annette slurred her last sentence. "Does that make sense to anyone?" Josh asked. Jess and Tyler shook their heads. "But you heard gray skies and sunny veins, right?" He asked. The Nelson siblings nodded. "How bad is she? Do we need to take her to the hospital?"

"They won't do much more than I did for her, aside from hooking her up to a heart monitoring machine. Her pulse is strong. She's doing better than other concussion patients I've had. She could tell us what happened, follow a conversation, and she was more concerned about us when she noticed the blood on our clothes. Not to mention, she couldn't sit still. I guess it's normal, but I don't like it. Now aside from the obvious head wound, the only problem is she's seeing things with a blue hue. She thought her yellow towel was green. That they went shopping and bought new towels, but she couldn't remember. I hope it temporary, but we can't find out until she can keep her eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time. Tomorrow I'll have better luck with that bridge. I'm glad she was still able to think logically. I've never seen a head wound that bad," Jess confessed. Both men looked at her in surprise, but let out a soft sigh of relief. "So much blood. How?"

"You said everyone knows head wounds gush," Tyler reminded her.

"Yes, but not like that! She lost a lot of blood! I lied to keep her calm. She lost too much blood. I've never seen wounds gush like that. How?" Jess repeated.

"Every time her hand moved, it spurted out. She held onto it pretty well but she seemed relieved when she didn't have to hold it any more. It's like it just couldn't clot. She must have hit it directly on the corner of the dresser. I don't know. The odds of that happening are not good. I have to go tell Pat. I know she doesn't want me to," Josh stated as he stood up and paced the room with his hands above his head. He ducked into the bathroom and retched. He flushed the toilet, washed his hands, and came back out, looking at Annette in pity.

"Are you okay, Josh?" Jess asked softly. He nodded. 

"I f*****g hate blood. Describing what was going on is like seeing it all over again. I could control my gag reflex then because I had to take care of her. What a way to wake up. Okay so we're going to have to Annette proof this house. I thought she was joking when she said she was clumsy," he mused to himself as he began pacing again. He paused by the dresser and rubbed it. "S**t! She seriously took the corner off. Was there any wood in her wound?"

"I didn't see any. Now you look like you need a cup of coffee or more sleep," Jess noted. Josh looked back at her and nodded. 

"I'm not up before seven very often. I prefer 9/10 or later. I just happened to be using the bathroom when my phone lit up. I teased her at first but then I didn't hear anything. Now that she's stable and in good hands, I'm heading home. Quick shower then I've gotta go to work. Pat won't like not being told about this immediately," he whispered. 

"Sit," Jess demanded, pointing towards the exercise ball. "Josh, you've lost a lot of color and are pretty worked up. Even if you feel fine, you did just throw up. Let me check you out too." Josh shook his head but sat down. 

"I'm fine. I'm hungry even. I don't feel faint any more now that there's no more blood gushing out," he insisted as Jess began taking his blood pressure. Josh looked at Annette and sighed. "I thought she was dead. I swear I'll be just fine. I'm concerned about her though. She's going to be okay, right?"

"BP is fine, your pulse is steady. Eat before you talk to Pat. I think Annette will be just fine, thanks to you, Josh. You did well. Thank you," Jess replied. Josh nodded and stood up. He gave Jess a hug, looked at Annette again, and sighed.

"I can't stay here. I care about her, but I need to tell Pat. I'll be at the restaurant all day. I'm pulling a double today. I gotta go," he murmured as he ducked out the door and down the hallway.

"What time is the shift change? You can't wear yourself out," Tyler remarked. Josh looked back towards Annette's room. 

"That doesn't matter. Because it's more important for Pat to be here. I can't let my best friend lose her; it would devastate him. She's so good for him and he needs to be here now. I'll be fine. It's January. It's slower. Chances are I'll be out of there by 7:30-8ish tonight. Ten and a half hours tops. It'll be a piece of cake. Let me know if she gets worse," he ordered as he ran out the house. Tyler nodded as he shut the door with a sigh.

"Hey, Jess?" He called as he made his way down the hallway. She came out of the room and looked at him, lingering in Annette's doorway. "You and Serenity need to take it easy. Go rest in the spare bedroom. You know 'Nettie's good about changing the sheets and keeping the rooms clean; Pat's even better. You don't need to stress out any more. I'll go sit in her room with her. Plus, I need to disinfect the room with bleach and you shouldn't be around that." Jess nodded.

"We need to add baking soda to the blood on the clothes. Drain the water, make a paste and smear it on. Half an hour. Then soak them again in cold water," she ordered. Tyler nodded. "We've seen a lot of injuries, none have come close to 'Nettie's," she whispered as tears began to fill her eyes. Tyler pulled her in for a hug as he looked in Annette's room.

"She's strong. She'll pull through," he promised. Jess nodded again. She headed to the front room, grabbed several of Annette's bears, and came back to where Tyler was standing. Tyler looked at the collection of other bears and grinned. He grabbed the only one that was holding a heart -made from candy canes- and brought it to Annette. She hadn't moved and looked tranquil. Tyler wrapped her arm around the bear. "I hope it gives you strength, sister dear," he whispered. Her lips twitched but otherwise she didn't move. Tyler sighed and looked around the room again. He dug out his knife and created a new edge for the rug on the ground. He held the bloody edge as he sighed and moved back out to the kitchen. He threw it away then found the cleaning chemicals he needed in the laundry closet. He peeked in the spare bedroom, Jess was curled up with Annette's bear from the hospital that Noah gave her. Then Tyler moved to Annette's room and filled a bucket in the bathroom with a little bleach, a few drops of dish soap, and hot water. He mopped the bathroom and the bedroom quickly, then he moved across the hallway and mopped the foam mats that they pieced back together. He brought the bucket back into her room, setting it on the floor by her dresser. He walked over to the bed and checked on Annette. She wasn't bleeding through her bandage which was good. Her breathing was steady and her face relaxed. Tyler sighed and rubbed her hand tenderly before going back to work. He stood on the throw rug by the foot of her bed and grinned as he studied it. He definitely had goofed his cut. So he flipped her rug around so the goofy side was under the bed. Then he looked in the closet to see if any blood had gotten on the clothes in there, just to be certain. The closet appeared to be fine and blood free. He looked at her crutches leaning in the corner between the window and bathroom and sighed. They had forgotten to clean those. He took them into the bathroom and dumped his bucket of bleach water over them, letting them stay in the shower to drip dry. He heard shuffling in the room and made his way back in there, making sure Annette wasn't flopping around. Pat was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at her and holding her hand. Tyler came up behind him and squeezed his shoulders. "I don't know when you look more distraught: now or the first time you saw her in the hospital," he murmured. Pat looked up at him and nodded. "Annette didn't want to tell you."

"Of course she didn't," Pat chuckled as he looked back at Annette and tucked the bear under her arm again. "She's still in there. She's alright," he whispered. Tyler smiled as he sat on the exercise ball and looked over at him.

"Well yeah, she's still in there. She's Annette. Strong. Powerful. Determined. She asked for help. She didn't try to do it by herself," Tyler remarked with pride. "That's huge with her. You do her a lot of good." Pat smiled as he rubbed her lips. "Don't feel guilty. It was an accident." Tyler looked at the time on his phone. 9:37. "She's been out for like 35-40 minutes already. Josh wouldn't leave until she was stable. She was spouting off some weird phrases. So between the three of us, we kept her awake about two hours," he explained. Pat looked over at him. 

"What type of weird phrases?" 

"When asked about her birthday, she said it was yesterday. She couldn't tell us how old she was. She had trouble focusing to count. Nor could she remember the definition of pain. She also said you're going to kill her before you murder Josh. Her yellow towel was green and her words were highly jumbled. She lost a lot of blood, it spurted out when we released the pressure. Annette didn't seem to notice. Once we were able to stem the flow, we convinced her to hum and that helped. Jess stitched her up. She went off on you calling her your diamond in the sky and how it's improbable and distant - not in those exact words. Then before she fell asleep she mumbled something about gray skies and sunshine veins. At least I think that's what she said," Tyler explained. Pat chuckled.

"Aside from the first part, it sounds like my Sarah. She's my diamond in the sky because in a life of misery and darkness, she shines bright. I can always count on her to sparkle and shimmer and it brings me happiness. She's is unreachable because she so pure and perfect, I don't feel worthy of her, but I'm going to shoot for the stars anyways. The morning she was discharged, she accidently called me as she was watching the sunrise. She told me without seeing the sun in a week was years in her world so I teased her, asking if her secret to her happiness was the sunshine acting like a caffeine drip," Pat explained as he looked back over at Annette. "I think it is," he murmured.

"It makes sense. That would also explain the gray skies," Tyler agreed. "She never drinks caffeine. It's not right. Speaking of, I need a cup right now. You?" Pat shook his head. Tyler smiled and stood up. He made his way to the kitchen to brew some coffee. He smacked his head with his hand as he remembered Jess' instructions about the baking soda. He got the coffee going then made his way back to the guest bathroom with the baking soda. He drained the water in the tub and began spreading the baking soda over the stains, rubbing it in. Then he washed his hands and made his way back to the kitchen. He filled up a cup of coffee and headed back to Annette's room. He paused at the door as he looked in. Pat had changed his clothes and was laying next to Annette on the left gently tracing her face. He looked up and beckoned Tyler in. "I don't want to intrude," Tyler stated as he sipped on his coffee.

"You're not ready to wake up yet, and Jess is in the only other bed I have to offer, unless we rearrange the gym over there to pull out the Murphy bed. I'm not leaving her side to help you with that. You're as concerned over her as I am. Catch some z's. The bed is big enough," Pat offered as he gestured toward the third of the bed that was untouched. Tyler looked at it, pressed his lips, and shook his head.

"I appreciate the offer, but I think I'll sleep on the couch. Plus, until she wakes up, I doubt I'll do much sleeping. Jess said we'd stick around until you showed up. If it's alright, we'll stick around for a while," Tyler replied. Pat nodded. "Thanks. I won't sleep next to her - that's your job. I'm just supposed to help protect her. Besides, I'm fairly certain I messed up. She doesn't need to get mad at me," Tyler confessed.

"Because you told her to go back to the complex so she wouldn't move so Jess could sew?" Pat asked. Tyler looked shocked. "Josh told me. Not everything I'm sure, but enough. I understand why you said that. She'll be fine. I'm with her on this road through every bump, twist, and turn. You promised the same thing that day, or something close to it. Plus, I'd rather have someone here that saw how she was acting after she hit her head to help give me a baseline for when I wake her up in," Pat looked at his watch, "about twelve minutes."

"I'll come back and help then. I know you really want to-"

"but I won't. I won't pick her up, move her head, or turn her body so it's easier to cuddle with her. I've seen my share of head injuries too. This is the first one that truly worries me though," Pat interrupted. Tyler smiled, walked over to the bed and picked up the book Annette was reading.

"You think she was reading when she fell?" 

"Based on the amount of blood Josh said she lost, where she put the book and the fact that there's no blood on it, no. I don't think she was reading, but I wouldn't put it past her to read and walk around the house. Hide that. No books, no puzzles, no homework. If she was that confused with counting earlier, she doesn't get any mental stimulation for a while," Pat instructed. Tyler nodded and sat on the bed. He squeezed Annette's leg tenderly before squeezing Pat's arm.

"You know, it's about every hour. Not on the dot," he murmured as he took another sip of coffee. Truthfully, he was just as curious and wanted to make sure she was okay. Pat grinned and looked back at Annette. He squeezed her hand. She didn't move. 

"Doll," Pat crooned as he rubbed her cheeks. She didn't flinch. Pat looked over at Tyler in concern. He looked back at Annette and shook her shoulder gently. "Annette, wake up, doll," he begged. Nothing. Tyler opened his phone and began playing one of his ringtones. Nothing. "Tickle her toes," Pat ordered. Tyler nodded and flipped up the blanket and began to tickle Annette's feet. They got a nose scrunch. "Sarah," Pat voiced loudly. Her eyes fluttered but she still didn't open them. The men exchanged looks and Tyler shrugged his shoulders and tickled her feet again. "Doll," Pat whispered in her ear at the same time. "You've missed the sunrise."

"Who's fault is that?" Came the weary and garbled reply. Annette shifted and rolled to her left side, curling up in a ball and pulling the bear to her chest. Pat stroked her cheek.

"Three questions, doll," he pleaded.

"Fine," she replied. Pat looked at Tyler. 

"Where are you, 'Nettie?" Tyler asked. Her eyes opened and she looked at him.

"Why are you in my bed? Last time you asked me that I was in the hospital," she stated as she bolted upright. Pat held onto her as she swayed and held onto her head with her eyes scrunched shut. "Ow. Am I dreaming? No. Wrong side hurts," she mumbled as she allowed Pat to lay her back down on her right side. She immediately curled her legs and arms, snuggling with the bear. Pat and Tyler exchanged another concerned look. 

"When's your birthday, doll?" Pat asked. Annette pursed her lips. 

"What's today?" She asked.

"When's your birthday?" Pat repeated.

"Wednesday," Annette mumbled as she bunched a pillow up under her head. Pat and Tyler sighed. "My next birthday is Wednesday. In April. First Wednesday." Tyler pulled out his phone and looked in the calendar. He started to laugh and showed Pat. Pat chuckled as well. She was correct; April 4th, 2007 was on a Wednesday this year. She looked over her shoulder and put a hand up. "Shh. Head hurts." Pat kissed her hand as she closed her eyes again. 

"That's fine, doll. What are the numbers for your birthday? Not the day, the numbers," Pat begged.

"4/4/89. Concussion?"

"Yeah, doll. You can go back to sleep in just a minute," Pat whispered. He looked at Tyler and grinned. "Third question, doll. Do you want me to stay?"

"I love you but won't confine you to bed with me, unless it's bedtime. Just let me sleep," she begged. Pat leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Okay, doll. Love you too. Don't roll off the bed," he pleaded.

"Pool noodles."

"What?" Tyler asked. 

"Pool noodles. Under the sheet. Barrier," Annette offered, her voice muffled by the pillow under her head. "Now shhhh!" Pat smiled as he tucked a pillow behind and a pillow in front of Annette. 

"Okay, doll. Get some rest. Love you," he whispered. He stroked her arm until she went back to sleep as Tyler made his way back out to the living room. When Annette's breathing evened out and she didn't move again, Pat stood up and headed toward the living room. He looked at Tyler and they both started laughing as the front door opened. "Hey, Noah. Welcome," Pat said sincerely as he looked back at Tyler. "Pool noodles," he whispered, causing another fit of laughter from both of them.

"What's so funny?" Noah demanded "Is 'Nettie alright?"

"She's a wild card," Tyler chuckled. "Her sense of humor is still in tact. Do you think she'll remember this conversation?"

"Unlikely," Noah remarked. "I take it you guys just checked on her?" Tyler nodded.

"Yep. She's got a headache. Our voices were too loud. She thought she was dreaming. Pool noodles. Oh! And her birthday is Wednesday," Tyler chuckled, causing Pat to laugh too.

"This is good? It doesn't sound promising," Noah scowled. Pat looked up and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"She asked why Tyler was in her bed because last time he asked where she was, they were in the hotel, after the hospital. She remembered they were separate events. When asked when her birthday was, she tried to redirect asking what today was. So we asked again and she said Wednesday. We thought it was another fail, but then she said her birthday this year is on a Wednesday. She gave us the correct month, said the first Wednesday, and we looked it up. She was correct; her birthday will be on a Wednesday this year. Then she gave us the correct numbers and all that fun stuff. I asked her not to roll out of bed so she offered up pool noodles to tuck under the sheet," Pat explained. Noah grinned.

"That sounds like normal concussion talk for her," he confirmed. "Where's Jess?"

"Sleeping. First door on the left," Tyler stated. Noah nodded and headed down the hall. Tyler looked at Pat and grinned. "I need to go soak the bloody clothes again. Excuse me. Then I'll head on down to the restaurant and bring back food for everyone. She cracks me up." 

"I'm good. I don't need anything, but thanks," Pat replied with a nod. Tyler offered a small smile and ducked down the hall again. Pat sighed and pulled out his phone. Quickly, he sent Josh a message, "appreciate your help earlier. She's goofy and still spreading joy. She answered every question correctly. Thanks for letting me know." He looked at the picture of Annette smiling over her latest bear and grinned. "I'm glad you're alright, doll," he whispered as he turned his one hour timer. He found a tv show while the time clicked down. She definitely had a way of keeping him on his toes. His right leg bounced nervously as Noah made his way back out to the front room. Tyler wasn't far behind. "Josh gave me the two minute version, I'm sure you would like the run down too, Noah," Pat stated as he looked at Tyler. "From the beginning please." Tyler nodded.

"Jess would probably like something to eat too. I'll wait until she's up to go the restaurant. So anyways, this morning Jess was hungry but couldn't reach the can of olives so she woke me up around 6:30 or so. I don't know. This kid though is going to have a healthy appetite. Anyways, Jess received a call from Annette's phone at 6:58. Jess started rambling about the foods she wanted Annette to make when she suddenly stopped talking. Her face paled as she looked at me and put the phone on speaker as she moved to the door and put on her shoes. Josh was on the other side. I heard 'she's fighting consciousness and has a gash above her left eyebrow'. And I jumped up from the table to put my shoes on too. I carried Jess out to the car and got it started. I ran back inside to grab her medical bag and sent a text Noah. I sped all the way here. Jess was yelling, leaving her phone on speaker. Net was slurring bad. She couldn't count or tell us when her birthday was or how old she was. Jess asked what else was hurt and Annette just repeated the last word. Josh jumped in and changed the word to pain, again, Annette couldn't place it. 'Like hahaha. No. Wrong' is what she said. Josh hung up on us after that because Annette was going to sleep and he couldn't focus on the conversation and her. When we got here, Jess had to use the bathroom. We didn't hear any frantic pleading from Josh. It sounded like Annette was humming, so we didn't rush in. I figured cleaning up pregnant pee wouldn't be fun. Any-hoo, I sat on the couch and pulled out the equipment Jess needed. When she emerged from the bathroom, I assisted her to Annette's room. Josh told us she was gushing, but we weren't prepared for the amount of blood. It was pooled by her head, further than her extended hand. Jess gasped and looked at Josh. He had gotten her to speak; we know exactly how Annette will sound when she's drunk if she ever chooses to drink excessively. He was asking her to hold her head as he was going to look over her body see if she hurt anything else. She said you would kill her, react poorly to coming home to her covered in blood, that her ankle hurt, and she picked up that Jess and I were there. Jess had me stay in the hallway in case we needed something. I watched for a moment. Jess looked at Annette's ankle, Annette moved her arm, blood shot around her fingers and Josh let her put her hand down as he took over. I grabbed the antiseptic, cotton balls, and a few other things from the medicine cabinet in the guest bathroom as well as some towels. Then I slid everything over on the dresser. Annette barely opened her eyes. Everything was covered in blood, and anytime pressure was released, blood shot out. So I moved to the exercise room and ripped up the foam puzzle pieces so I could create a path through your biege carpet that we wouldn't stain it, knowing we would probably be running around gathering stuff; I wasn't wrong. I leaned against the door as Jess asked what happened. Net's version was very vague, but from what I understand she took a shower, shaved her legs, flooded the bathroom, and was unable to leave safely," he explained. 

"So she hit her head in the bathroom?" Noah interrupted.

"No. She said the dresser," Tyler told them. "She was covered in the bath robe, I don't know if that was before or after Josh showed up."

"Before," Pat confirmed. "Josh said he was surprised that she was covered with how much blood there was." 

Tyler nodded and continued, "Jess called me in and I took off my coat. 'Nettie was complaining about the brightness. So I held it over her head, Josh helped as Jess convinced her to open her eyes. It took forever for the blood to clot. Jess needed to stitch it up. I left that in her purse on the couch, so I headed back out, being the one with the least amount of blood on my clothes. Josh lit a candle as Jess started to numb Annette's head with ice. Net flipped and almost knocked over the candle, Josh and I held her hands. I asked her to go back to the complex where she never showed anyone that the pain was bothering her. Her pursed lips relaxed and she began to hum again. She chose Dirty Little Secrets." Noah chuckled softly. Pat and Tyler looked at him and he shook his head. Tyler continued, "Jess heated her needle after threading it, she quickly stitched up 'Nettie's head. Annette didn't move. I don't know if she felt it; she was pretty out of it. After ten minutes or so, Jess allowed us to sit her up. Blood still trickled from her wound, but it was better. We carried her to the bathroom where Jess rinsed her off. We borrowed some of your clothes as we threw our blood soaked clothing onto the blood. We took off our shoes and socks and cleaned up. All of the clothes are in the tub, including the girls'. We put the mats back in the room too. Jess was still rinsing Annette off as she barked orders at us randomly. When she asked for a towel and two dresses is when we came back into the bathroom. We carried her to bed and Jess bandaged her up as one spot still bled slightly and we tucked her in. The end. Pat came back after I mopped the floors with bleach." Pat and Noah nodded. Just then, Pat's phone chirped.

"Let's go wake Sleeping Beauty," he sighed. All three men stood up and headed back to Annette's room. Jess was just coming out of the bathroom. She looked at all of them and nodded. She led the way, sitting beside Annette on the bed; Annette didn't move, the bed cover was still flat and even. Pat walked around and sat behind Annette, removing the pillows surrounding her her. Noah and Tyler leaned against the dresser, Noah looking down at the corner and rubbing it while he bit his lip. "Jess are you checking the bandage first?" Pat asked as he rubbed Annette's back softly. She nodded and pressed around it before gently pressing on the bandage.

"I'm not seeing anything bleed through. I'm keeping the bandage on until dinner unless it needs to come off," she stated. "How do you want to wake her up?" Pat kissed Annette's cheek. She didn't move. Gently he shook her arm. Nothing.

"I got this," Noah stated with a grin. He belted out a song, "wake up! You think you're having fun. Wake up!"

"See what you've done," Annette finished as she rolled to her back. Everyone chuckled softly. Pat gestured to Noah to continue.

"Who am I, 'Nettie?"

"Who built the ark? Brother Noah built the ark," Annette sang sleepily. Pat smiled as he rubbed her cheek. 

"How are you feeling, doll?" He asked.

"I'm in-right, out right, upright, downright happy all the time," she continued to sing but didn't open her eyes. Tyler was grinning as he recorded this on his phone.

"Can you open your eyes?" Jess asked.

"Honk, honk. Rattle, rattle. Beep, beep, Crash. Keep your eyes on the road," Annette sang as she opened her eyes slowly. Jess leaned over and looked quickly. Jess closed Annette's eyes, looked back at Pat, and smiled.

"One more question, Annette. What's the name of the man who loves you?" Jess asked as she pushed Pat's shoulder lightly. "Maybe we'll get a real answer," she teased in a whisper.

"B-I-N-G-O. And Benji was his name-o," she sung wearily. Pat grinned, but Annette wasn't done. She yawned and sang another song. "Pat-a-cake. Pat-a-cake. Baker's man."

"Benji or Bingo? Which is it, Pat?" Tyler teased. Pat looked over at him with raised eyebrows. "You smiled when she said that. If it was wrong, you would have scowled." 

"Benjamin is my middle name. She gave us a form of that; she wasn't wrong. I don't know many songs with either of my names, so I'll take it. Then she fixed it, knowing Benjamin isn't right and went to Pat. She got it," he confirmed. Tyler chuckled and left the room.

"Things look normal. It's the first time I've had a patient sing her responses to me. Why are they all kids songs? With the exception of the one you woke her up with of course. Who was that from?" Jess asked Noah.

"Petra. We stumbled upon it once. I love to use it against her since she seems to only like one or two of their songs. This is usually when. Since I woke her up with a song, and she sang it back to me, she's in a musical state of mind. She can only think in song lyrics, she spends so much time around kids, it's not a surprise that those are the songs she knows best. Good night, 'Nettie," Noah chuckled. 

"Lullaby and good-night," she sang in a whisper. Pat lay beside her and kissed her cheek. She sat up and looked around, but her eyes didn't focus. "I need to open the daycare! The kids are waiting. I'm late," she blurted out. Pat pulled her back and let her rest on his arm as he rubbed her right arm.

"Maybe later, doll," he whispered with a smile. He rubbed her eyes as they shut and she turned her head to face Pat. He looked over at Noah. "How often does that happen?"

"That was the clearest thing she's said today," Jess noted at the same time.

"I don't know," Noah confessed. "Have you seen it before?"

"Just once. After she was slapped hard enough to bruise, but she didn't say anything. Just looked around in a panic then crashed again. Snores followed as well. Kinda like this, but I don't know," Pat paused and looked at her. "I can see her opening a daycare and loving it. She told me this morning she didn't want to go back to work at the restaurant. Glad to see that's what she's thinking about when she's checked out."

"She seems to be doing just fine. You can probably let her sleep for another hour and a half or two hours. Then we should really try getting her up. Bathroom, food, and what not," Jess stated. Pat nodded and rolled to his side into Annette. "I'm glad she's alright. Or will be. Come on, Noah. Serenity says it's lunchtime." Pat smiled as husband and wife left hand in hand. 

"I love you too, Sarah. You're right. Benji's here, darling," he whispered, kissing her nose. Every so often over the next hour, Pat kissed Annette's cheek again. This last one, he noticed her eyes moving rapidly beneath her eyelids. "What am I going to do with you, doll?" He whispered. She shifted closer to him with a small smile. He rubbed her lips and grinned. "I know. Love you for you, just the way you are. I do, darling. I was hopeful you would never hurt yourself. I didn't want to believe the klutz part," he whispered. "I'm a fool." Her eyes fluttered open as she tried to focus.

"Only in your own eyes," she whispered. Pat grinned. "I won't lie to you." Annette yawned and buried her nose on his shoulder, closing her eyes again. "You smell good."

"And you tried to add color to your wardrobe again," he teased. 

"Not with sleep."

"Hush, doll. You don't have to talk right now. I'm here," he whispered. He refrained from kissing her head.

"Me too. Can I have pain medication now?" She asked she rolled her head back slowly and opened her eyes. "Tyler said no." Pat smiled.

"When?" He asked as he rubbed her jaw. Annette looked confused. "You can have some with lunch. You need to sleep a bit longer," he whispered. 

"Okay," she mumbled.

"Come here, doll," he coaxed. 

"I don't like this side," she whispered as she touched her head. "Ow." Pat smiled. 

"Hang on, doll," he replied. "I'm going to move my arm out from behind you. Keep your head still." She pressed her lips together and relaxed into the bed as he pulled his hand out. Pat stood up, walked around the bed, and snuggled back into her. "Can I hold you, doll?" She smiled as she turned her head towards him.

"Okay. Then I sleep," she stated as she closed her eyes again. Pat tucked his arm under her neck.

"Then you sleep," he confirmed. She rolled into him and Pat pulled her close. He kissed the top of her head. "You amaze me every day. You shouldn't be having this conversation with me right now. I'm glad you're okay, doll. Love you, 'Nettie." She made a small kissy face but didn't move. Pat smiled. "I'll take it," he whispered as he rubbed her back until she went to sleep again. Even breaths, totally relaxed. Pat fingered the bandage over her eye and sighed. "Sweet Annette, rest. Heal. I'll be here when you wake up," he promised. He grabbed her hand and pressed it to his lips. "Sealed. Just come back to me whole," he pleaded. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He sighed and picked it up, looking at the caller ID before answering. "Yeah, Josh?"

"I'm taking a break. Linda granted me an hour. Can I bring you lunch?"

"Only if you want to. I doubt I'll eat. I know that's not why you're calling. Come on by and check on her. She's doing fine," Pat replied. "She just had a semi-normal conversation. Josh, based on what I was told, you saved her life. Thank you."

"She called me. The right side of her head that wasn't soaked in the blood yet was wet from the shower - like soaked wet, not starting to dry. So that means she called me within 5-10 minutes of it happening. I'm outside. I'll talk to you in a minute," Josh replied. Pat put his phone back in his pocket and went back to holding Annette's hand. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," Pat stated. Josh walked around the bed and sat behind her. Pat met his eye. Josh had worry and concern written across his forehead as he looked at Annette. "Didn't know you cared so much," Pat teased. Josh met his eye and grinned.

"You know I do. She makes you happy and keeps you sane. While she's beautiful, I was surprisingly never curious to see if I could kiss her. Especially since you were into her. I would never do that to a friend. I figured if all the sibs came to lunch then she was better," he replied as he looked back at Annette. He reached over and rubbed her shoulder. "She's still so lifeless. So much blood was lost. Pat, I don't want her light to be extinguished. There was a chance. If I wasn't up. If my phone didn't ring. If she didn't think to get help. If I didn't rush over. If you never gave me a key," he choked as tears began to fall. "She would take all of us with her, and I would lose two friends," he confessed. Pat reached over and clapped his shoulder, rubbing it tenderly. 

"But you did answer. You did rush over. You kept her awake and tried to stop the blood flowing even though you are so opposed to it. I owe you, big time. I mean it. Your friendship is valuable and cherished. Thank you for rushing over here," Pat said sincerely. Josh smiled and patted Pat's shoulder. Annette gasped and rolled to her back. Both men looked at her.  She tried to sit up again, Pat kept his arms around her and pinned her down so she wouldn't hurt herself. "Doll?" Pat asked.

"No more," she whispered as she tugged on his arms. Pat chuckled and released her. "I need to get up."

"Why?" Pat asked. Her eyes fluttered open again. 

"Sunrise," she grinned and pressed her hand to her head. "Ow! I need a pain pill, darling," she begged. 

"Only if you can tell me what month we're in," Pat bargained. 

"January. Jess is my sister for real now. She got married to my brother. But that's not today. Uh? I think we're still in January. Haven't seen hearts," she replied wearily. Pat nodded. He gestured to Josh. Annette followed his gaze. "You're in charge?" She guessed. Josh chuckled.

"And you're staying put," he replied as Pat untangled himself and laid Annette back on the pillows. "How are you feeling, Net?"

"Sore. Tired. I have a tractor tire resting on my head," she replied. "How long have I been out?"

"Don't worry about it, doll," Pat ordered. Annette nodded and closed her eyes again. Pat moved to the kitchen and found her some Tylenol. He filled up half a glass of water and made her some toast. He walked back to the room and grinned when he heard Annette's musical laughter, but it was cut short from her pain. He looked in. Josh was telling her the story of Pat's attempt of keeping a pet behind his Mom's back. Pat smiled as Annette grinned and asked questions. 

"Pat was horrible. Always asking for random boxes and barrels from work. Joanna always complied. Then Pat tried to build this pet shelter. It was the worst thing you ever saw, and the stray cat never had a chance," Josh was saying.

"Poor Terminator," Pat added as he came back in the room. "I left him no room at all! That box was great for a clubhouse, but I left it full of nails and other pokey stuff, no one could go in or out. Animal or otherwise."

"You named a calico cat Terminator and expected him to live in an oily, box, filled with glass shards, and not to top it off, you stuck nails through it? No wonder he hated you," she teased with a soft giggle. Pat smiled. Annette turned her gaze towards Josh. "Please help me sit up," she begged. Josh looked over at Pat then back at Annette. Carefully he propped her up and braced himself behind her as Pat sat beside her. He gave her the plate of toast. "Thank you. You're a great friend, Josh. We love you," she murmured. Josh gave her a small hug as she took a bite. Pat looked in her eyes. They were hooded and hid some pain, but the spark that Pat loved was still there.

"Now you know why I don't have a furry companion," he stated as he rubbed Annette's cheek. She smiled softly. Pat met Josh's eye. "Do you believe she's alright?" Josh nodded and smiled.

"She's our Net again. She stills need to take it easy. If I wasn't right here behind you, Net, I'm sure you would fall," he remarked as he rubbed her shoulder. She nodded and took another bite. "I'm glad she woke up. She's still got a long road," he noted.

"I'm well aware," Pat remarked. He kept watching Annette. She was checked out mentally as she forced herself to eat the toast. "You aren't trying to steal my girl, are you now?" 

"Never," Josh remarked with a smirk. "Amanda and I are hooking up again. I need crazy, not domesticated," he teased. Pat grinned. When Annette reached for the water, Pat gave her the Tylenol as well. Josh gave Annette another hug as he let Pat take his place. "I've gotta go back to work. Take care, kiddo. See you, man. Check her ankle," he ordered as he left, taking the empty glass and plate with him. Pat kissed Annette's cheek as he lay her back again.

"Why did he ask that you check my ankle?" She asked as she yawned. Pat swept the crumbs off the bed and lifted the blanket so he could look at both of her ankles.

"Better safe than sorry. I'm going to look, take you to the bathroom, and tuck you back into my arms. Couch or bed?" Pat asked as he pressed on both ankles, moving them back and forth. Her right ankle was stiff and not moving much. He pursed his lips.

"Couch," Annette confirmed around another yawn. "There's an ace bandage on the dresser." Pat nodded and turned around. He quickly wrapped her ankle and took her to the bathroom, giving her a little privacy without actually leaving her side. Then he helped her wash her hands. "Pat," she whispered, meeting his eye in the mirror. "I've gone commando long enough. I don't want to wear this dress. Can I change?" He turned her around and looked in her eyes. She held his gaze and smiled. "Please," she whispered. Pat grinned.

"Okay. Can I pick out an outfit?" He asked. She nodded and leaned into him. He picked her up and carried her back to the bed, making her lay down again. She watched him with hooded lids, but she was tracking him just fine. He dug in her dresser and picked up a pink top and a yellow top, keeping them folded up so that she couldn't tell the difference from memory. If she was still seeing things in a blue hue, this was his chance to find out. "Which color, doll?" He asked showing her the options.

"Neither. Pink is too flirty, and yellow is too bright. Can I wear black? Long sleeve preferably," she begged. Pat grinned. There was nothing wrong with her besides a headache. He nodded and dug out the requested shirt, a pair of underwear, and some leggings. She insisted on trying to get dressed herself, but Pat wasn't going to let her hurt herself trying to pull up her pants. He kept his eyes on her face as he picked her up, pulling her pants on fully. She leaned into him as her dress fell to the ground. "Don't be getting any ideas," she teased as he ran his fingers up her bare back. He grinned and shook his head.

"Even if you asked right now, doll, I wouldn't. You would definitely pass out on me. Now put your shirt on," he ordered as he kissed her head.

"So bossy," she teased but followed directions. Pat helped her put it over her head, cradled her in his arms, and carried her out to the front room. He held her in his arms, in between his legs as he extended the leg rest out, and draped under a fleece blanket while they watched a show, turned down low. The volume was a little loud for Annette and Pat didn't mind just having a background noise as he watched her. Within ten minutes, she was sleeping again.

"You're going to be just fine, doll. If you still have a major headache tomorrow, you're staying home from school on Monday," he whispered. "You're amazing," he praised as he watched tv. Jess, Noah, and Tyler came back around three. Pat looked up at them and grinned. "Conversations, food, bathroom, new clothes, and request for a new scenery. She'll be just fine. She even picked out the difference between her yellow and pink shirts. I don't think the blue hue will be a problem," he told them. They grinned. Jess came and sat beside Pat, lifting Annette's bandage.

"Change this at least once a day. I'm glad she's okay," she replied. She leaned over and kissed Pat's cheek. "Thank you for taking care of my sister, mister." Pat chuckled and pulled her in for a side hug. 

"I'm glad she has you, Pat," Noah remarked as he closed the door and left with Jess. Pat smiled and kissed the top of her head. 

"They'll be back tomorrow. I'm going to be your extra hands tonight if you need them. She's lucky to have you. We're all glad she has you," Tyler remarked as he sat down in the armchair.

"I'm glad I have her. And thanks for sticking around," he replied softly. He tossed the remote to Tyler. "Today was a good day. You can't enjoy the sun if you never have the rain." Tyler smiled and nodded.

"She's rubbing off on you too," he teased. Pat grinned as he stroked Annette's jaw. "I look forward to what happens the future," Tyler stated honestly.

"A lifetime of happiness, I hope," Pat replied. "A life without her isn't one worth living."

*****