Lili very slowly opened her eyes. She had trouble focusing. It was dark with a few small lights on. She tried to sit up, but couldn't move. She momentarily panicked, thinking she were paralyzed. She flexed her fingers. No, she could move. Then what was keeping her from moving her neck? She reached up and felt a neck brace. She managed to look around the room a little. She was back in the hospital, in a different room this time.
"Ah, I see you're awake finally. You've been out a while. How are you feeling?"
It was a nurse. She was in intensive care.
Lili considered a snappy response, then decided that was what got her into this in the first place. "I'm in an awful lot of pain..."
"What is the last thing you remember? Before you woke up just now."
"I... I got careless, and I ended up falling down a flight of stairs in my wheelchair." It was a half truth anyway. She did get careless, even if it was verbally, and she did fall down the stairs, even if she was pushed. She deserved it and she knew it.
"mm-hmm. I see you'd been discharged just a few days prior to being readmitted... broken ribs, cracked sternum... and then we found you bleeding from the face one night. How did that happen?"
"If I told you what happened, you would ship me off to the looney bin. I'll just keep that to myself, if it's all the same. Can I ask what that fall did to me?"
The nurse flipped through some charts on her clipboard. "Well, let's see here... your total injury list is this... seven broken ribs, a cracked sternum, a broken left arm, a concussion, lacerations on the left side of your face and head, and various bruising in multiple spots."
Lili hadn't even noticed her arm, but now that she did, she noticed it was in a cast, bent at the elbow and draped on her stomach. "I'm lucky that trip down the stairs didn't break my neck."
The nurse said "Miraculously, your neck is okay. We can remove the neck brace if you want. It was a precautionary thing while you were unconscious."
"Please do. Hey, um... how long has it been? What time is it? What day is it?"
"It's 4:26 AM, Thursday morning."
"What's the date?"
"October 22nd."
Lili's eyes widened. "I've been unconscious for two weeks?"
"We couldn't wake you. You arrived to the hospital bleeding pretty bad from the head. Frankly, I am surprised you're awake now. I'll let you get some rest. The call button is on the left side of your bed, and the button on the right administers a dose of morphine. It works once every eight hours to prevent overdosing. Press it if the pain gets to be too much for you."
"Thanks for your help." Lili said.
I've been in a coma for two weeks... Lili thought. Damn it, Lili, haven't you learned your lesson yet? Your big mouth gets you into trouble! How many more times do you need to get your ass beaten before you understand?
Lili closed her eyes and sleep overtook her.
________
Lili woke up the next morning. She yawned, and instinctively stretched, but whimpered slightly and cringed when her broken ribs jabbed her. She lay back down.
"Good morning, Lili. Would you like some breakfast?"
Urgh, hospital food. What a joy. "Yes please."
"Someone wants to visit with you if you'll see them while you wait for your food."
A visitor? Lili's mind raced. The only person that came to mind would be Fletcher. She couldn't think of anyone else who would want to see her. Not that she could blame anyone. She'd only alienated everyone.
"Send them in."
Lili got the shock of her life when Asuka Kazama came stepping through the door.
