Morning light flickered into the room as its only occupant slowly opened her eyes. The sun brightened their bluish gray color. The woman groaned slightly as she rolled over. Her entire body hurt, and she grimaced more as she slowly sat up. Hospital beds had to be the least comfortable thing she had slept on, and this was including floors. She clutched her head in pain as she tried to remember what lead her here. A flicker of images flashed through her mind. Fireworks bursting in various colors, gunshots ricocheting off brick walls, blood streaming down her face, a man in a red suit. Her eyes opened wide as realization hit. She was about to bolt out from her bed when someone gently knocked on the door of her room. She looked up and saw that it was a doctor.
“Good morning, Ms. Jamison. My name is Dr. Monica Rappaccini. How are you?”
The doctor had short dark hair, blue eyes, and olive skin. Her white jacket looked pristine against her dark green blouse and black skirt. She gave a soft smile to the patient as she walked over to the hospital bed with her clipboard.
“Um…fine. I guess.” The young woman said in a confused tone. She stared down at her body. She was wearing a hospital gown, and she had multiple bandages wrapped around her limbs. “Where am I? How did I get here?”
Dr. Rappaccini chuckled. “I understand that you have a lot of questions. I was hoping that my colleague would have told you this before I came into the room. However, it looks like he is still sleeping.”
“Colleague?” The female patient looked around the room and saw a familiar face snoring softly in a recliner in the corner of the room. His dirty blonde hair was messy. He wore a white jacket just like the doctor’s but his was disheveled.
“Tom!” She shouted. The man woke up, startled, and turned towards her.
“Lydia!” The man exclaimed as he rushed over to her side. He grabbed her hands. “ You’re awake! How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. Tom, what’s going on? How did I get here?”
The male doctor looked longingly into the woman’s eyes and he brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “I’m sorry. I was hoping to explain everything before Dr. Rappaccini arrived, but you have been asleep this whole time.”
Lydia raised an eyebrow. “How long has that been?”
“A few months,” Dr. Rappaccini interjected, “We didn’t know how effective the procedure would be. The gunshot wounds that you had suffered from caused some severe internal damage. Luckily, it seems that with the help of nanotechnology that you are fully recovered.”
Lydia felt a mix of emotions instantly. Shock, joy, relief, confusion. The female doctor quickly added. “It’s no cure but with some rehabilitation you should be back to normal in a few weeks.” Dr. Rappaccini paused before adding, “Although, you should be careful with any exercise that you do. You were lucky that Dr. Moore brought you into my care as quickly as he did.”
Lydia looked back at her male companion. “Does anyone else know what happened to me? My mother? My friends? The NYPD?”
Dr. Moore cleared his throat. “Like Dr. Rappaccini mentioned, we weren’t sure if you were going to recover from the surgery. Hell, Lydia, I thought that I was going to lose the love of my life. NYPD contacted me the night that you were shot. They had officers and paramedics on the scene when I arrived. I won’t lie to you-you looked like you were on Death’s doorstep. I rushed you to Manhattan Medical and demanded help from my coworkers.” He paused and looked up. “Monica was the first in line to assist. With her biochemistry knowledge and expertise in nanotechnology, she was able to rush you to surgery and stop the internal damage from progressing.”
Lydia stared in wonder at her doctor. “Nanotechnology? This sounds like something out of a sci fi movie.” She thought.
“I was able to get in contact with your boss at the station to inform him that you were in a medically induced coma and needed to be on leave for an unknown period. As far as your mother, I told her the same thing. She has come by a few times to visit but returned back to Boston to manage some things.”
Lydia nodded solemnly. “Right. The wedding. I’m sure she had a blast trying to cancel everything.”
“Hey,” Dr. Moore lifted Lydia’s chin, “It will be okay. Once you get better, we can call the church to reschedule our date. Heck, why even bother them? I will marry you right here and now.”
Now, it was Lydia’s turn to laugh. “While I appreciate the romantic gesture, I am sure my mom would kill you and me if we tied the knot without her present. What about my friends? Karen? Foggy?” She didn’t dare mention Matt.
Her fiancé shook his head and calmly responded. “I didn’t want too many people bothering you while you tried to recover. Also, I didn’t want to get their hopes up in the event if you didn’t.”
She blinked her eyes a few times. “And, none of them tried to contact you?”
“I tried to explain, but it’s complicated, Lydia. This whole process is going into unknown territory. You hadn’t made any progress in waking up. Honestly, they are probably waiting for me to call them with funeral arrangements. Do you remember what happened that night?”
Lydia frowned. She knew that Matt or rather Daredevil was the last one to see her on New Years Eve. She cannot recall what they said to each other before she lost consciousness. And, she cannot risk uncovering his identity by telling Thomas that. She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember.”
Thomas patted her hand gently. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter now that you are awake and alive.”
Lydia turned away and asked Dr. Rappaccini calmly, “Does this mean I can go back to work?” The female doctor nodded.
“Yes, but you have to take it easy and remember to rehabilitate your body. The life of a police officer isn’t easy.” Dr. Rappaccini chose her words carefully so that Lydia would get the message. A lot of patients that she had dealt with usually ignored her advice as soon as they left the hospital. Lydia nodded.
“Will do.” She said softly. “Am I discharged?”
“Yes, I believe that your fiancé has everything set for your departure.”
Lydia thanked her. Dr. Monica Rappaccini left the room so her patient could get changed. Slowly, she swung her legs off her hospital bed. She stood up only for her legs to buckle underneath her. Thomas caught her before she hit the floor. Lydia slumped against his body.
“Thanks, Tom.” She muttered as she attempted to stand up again. This time was a little more successful.
“Not a problem.” He replied with a smile plastered on his face. “There is a small bag in the bathroom with some of your belongings. It’s not much, but I figured that you wouldn’t want to walk out of here in a flimsy hospital gown.” Lydia smiled and thanked him again as she made her way to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she came out wearing a cobalt blue blouse, jeans, and white slip on shoes. She sat next to Thomas on her bed as she applied the finishing touches to her makeup.
“I don’t understand all the trouble you go through to look prettier than you are.” He teased her as she swiped on some lipstick.
“Aww. You’re sweet.” Lydia said sarcastically.
“Come on, Freckles. I mean it. You could stop traffic in a potato sack.” Thomas drawled.
“I think anyone wearing a potato sack would cause a scene regardless of their physical appearance.”
Thomas grabbed her chin affectionately. “Just take the compliment.” He kissed her deeply. Lydia closed her eyes and relaxed as she kissed him back. Their romantic reunion was quickly interrupted by a gentle knock on the door. Dr. Rappaccini entered the room with another young woman.
“Sorry to disturb you, Ms. Jamison, but I wanted to introduce you to someone before you leave. This is Mallory Brickman.” The doctor gestured to the tanned, blonde woman beside her. “Mallory is one of my associates in my nanotechnology program. She will be assisting you in your recovery process.”
Mallory’s green eyes sparkled. “I am honored to meet you, Ms. Jamison. I look forward to helping you these next few weeks.”
Lydia nodded. “Thank you. Nice to meet you too.”
Thomas stood up and extended his hand to her.
“Come on, Lydia. It’s time to go.”
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