It was late that night when Dana went back next door, she sat quietly in alices comfy chair looking through the photo albums and cried herself to sleep.

Early the following morning, she was woken by a furious knocking on the door, it was David Mrs. Murray’s son

David – Dana are you awake he yelled through the letterbox.

Dana got up and ran to the front door.

David – mums found her, she’s at st Thomas’s hospital

Dana – thank god how do I get there

David – come on I’ll give you a lift

Dana – how did she find her?

David – mum sat up all night phoning round all the hospitals asking if they’d had a crazy beautiful American with a foul mouth brought in – he said laughing

Dana – I don’t know how to thank her

David – you don’t have to, we all think the world of Alice and Jake

They made their way to the hospital, there were people everywhere. The hospital was so busy people dashing in and out of rooms, people happy and people crying. They finally made their way to the right floor and Dana raced along to the nurses station.

Dana – do you have an Alice Pieszecki here

Nurse – Pieszecki ummm let me see

Dana – she’s blonde beautiful American, with a foul mouth

Nurse – ahh Alice, she’s a feisty one that one follow me.

They walked down the corridor and stopped just outside a room.

Nurse – now I don’t want you to worry about the tubes and wires, it always looks worse than it is.  She has inhaled an awful lot of smoke and needs help breathing so that’s why she has the mask on.  Alice did sustain some quite bad burns to the left side of her chest, stomach and top of her left leg, she is in a lot of pain, the burns are dressed but please don’t be alarmed by what you see, she’s a fighter and doing really well.

Dana slowly took a step into the room, Alice was laying flat on the bed surrounded by machines bleeping and flashing.  She had dressings down her left side. The room still smelt of smoke and burning.  Tears started to form in Danas eyes, as she walked over and took a seat next to the bed.  Dana took alices hand and gently kissed it, as she did alices eyes flickered open and she looked over to where Dana was sat, with her other hand Alice moved her mask away from her face.

Alice – whispered – what took you so long

Dana – oh Alice , ive been so worried, put your mask back on baby

Dana gently placed the mask back on alices face and wiped away the single tear that fell from alices eyes.

Dana leant forward and kissed alices forehead.

Dana – sleep baby, don’t worry I’m here, I’m not going anywhere, I’ll be here when you wake up, I promise.

Alice closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Dana – I love you

Dana sat next to the bed holding alices hand, and that’s where she stayed for the rest of the day and night.

tbc