~~~~~*~~~~~

Naturally everyone had been over the moon to hear about Libby's progress.

After several more hours she was able to sit upright—providing that she was supported by her pillows—and although she seemed to flow between moments of full comprehension and absent minded deliriousness, Libby slowly began to show signs of what the nurses called 'purposeful movement and attempts to speak'. Plainly speaking, she'd overcome all the odds against her and had fought her way back to consciousness.

Whilst all of this was happening, Justin seemed to veer between moments of euphoria and fear that Libby was going to slip back into her coma once again. It didn't matter how reassuring the nurses and doctors were, he still felt as though he was holding his breath just in case Libby suddenly began to deteriorate.

Although she wasn't yet able to speak, the nurses continued to ask Libby whether she had any recollections of her accident. She seemed to understand the question, and had nodded in agreement that she had. According to the doctors, there had been a chance that Libby might have woken with partial or full amnesia, and so everyone had been very relieved to find that her memory seemed unscathed.

Libby had felt very confused and upset to find herself in the hospital. Especially when she’d found out that she'd been in a coma for six weeks. The nurses had broken the news to her gently, and explained that she'd suffered from a brain trauma as well as some other less serious injuries.

As it happened, Libby hadn't noticed her broken arm until the nurses had told her that she could have the sling and cast removed now that she was conscious and no longer connected to the ventilator. She’d cried when she'd seen her arm wrapped in plaster, and had been unable to stop for some time as her shock and fear found itself an outlet. Clare had been confused as to why Libby was able to have her cast off so suddenly, but then she’d remembered that Libby had been in a coma for the same amount of time that it usually took for a fracture to heal sufficiently. It was a sobering thought.

As the hours passed, Libby became more aware of her surroundings, and she even started to try to ask Clare and Justin questions. However she tired quickly, and was still unable to form coherent words.

Feeling concerned, Justin had asked the nurses for advice, but they had told him exactly what he already knew—that the tracheostomy had affected Libby's throat, and her ability to speak. The only thing they were able to assure him was that there seemed to be no permanent damage to the areas of Libby's brain that controlled her ability to form words. It seemed that she'd been very lucky indeed.

A few hours after, it was decided that Libby could safely be removed her from all the machines that had been supporting her—barring a few essential ones that were still monitoring her brain waves and heart rate. Only her catheter was left connected as her body was still so weak that it would be impossible for her to make her way to the bathroom by herself. Everyone agreed that it was best not to put her body through too much on the very first day.

Libby quickly became impatient and frustrated with her inability to speak. She'd waited nearly six weeks for the chance to see her friends again, and it upset her that she wasn't able to say the things that she needed to say to them.

It was Clare who came up with a solution, and she'd quickly excused herself to go and buy a notepad and pen from the hospital gift shop. As Catherine had also gone to call Libby's father and brothers back home, Libby was left alone with Justin for the first time.

Now that he was finally alone with her, Justin found himself unsure and uneasy about what to say or do. Part of him wanted to spill out all of his feelings and the turmoil that he'd been through whilst waiting for her to recover, but he knew that Libby would be unable to absorb it all in her fragile and emotional state. Instead he hovered at the bottom of the bed, and tried not to stare at her as she watched him with wide, frightened eyes.

"Gid' bought in your picture," he said eventually after several minutes of silence, and he gestured awkwardly at the photo by Libby's bedside. Libby slowly turned her head to look at the photo before turning back and smiling weakly.

Really, Justin? he chided himself mentally as he scuffed the toe of his sneaker on the linoleum floor. You've waited six weeks to talk to her, and that's what you come up with?

Justin glanced around the room, hoping to find a trigger to start a conversation. He'd never felt so uncomfortable around Libby before, and he didn't want to dwell on the fact that he'd found it easier to be natural and relaxed with her when she'd been unconscious. He didn't even want to go there.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak again, Libby reached her hand out, and with effort knocked her knuckles against her metal bed frame to catch his attention. Justin turned to her quickly, and realised that she was trying to mouth something at him. He leaned forward and tried to follow the shapes she was making with her lips.

He’d never been particularly good at lip reading, and after two failed attempts, Justin read the frustration on Libby's face and was filled with feelings of remorse. As her eyes filled with tears he forgot all of his previous awkwardness and rushed forward to sit beside her, reaching out to encase her hand in his.

"I'm so sorry, Libs,” he said. “I don't understand what you're saying.”

Libby looked at him through watery eyes and let out a deep sigh. She dropped his hand and raised an index finger before pointing slowly at the Donald Duck plushie that was sitting beside the vase of flowers that her mother had placed on her bedside table. Justin followed her finger as it pointed at the plushie and then as it pointed at his chest.

"Donald Duck... for you... from me?" he said slowly as he tried to spell out her question action by action. A light bulb went off in his head. "Did I bring you in the duck?" he asked, chuckling in relief.

Libby nodded enthusiastically before raising her eyes skyward. Thank God...

Justin couldn't help but smile at the sight of her sarcastic wit beginning to return. He'd missed her teasing and poking fun at him. "Err... yeah. That was me."

Libby nodded and pointed slowly at the yellow comforter that had been carefully folded and draped across the bottom of her bed. This time Justin caught her meaning straight away.

"Yes, that was also me. You like yellow, right?"

Libby pointed to the posters above her head and then back at him.

"Um... yeah...” Justin said as a blush coloured his cheeks.

Libby let her hand drop to her side and let out a longer, sadder sigh. Justin watched as her chin began to tremble and she began to fight back tears. He felt himself choke up at the expression on her face, and he cleared his throat to help himself get a grip on his emotions. Stop crying, stop crying…

Tentatively Libby reached her hand out to him once again, and wiggled her fingers to wordlessly ask him to give her his hand. Justin obeyed silently, and once their fingers were entwined he felt his heart begin to hammer away in his chest. Feeling her hand once again in his was everything that he'd been waiting for and more.

Once Libby had a grip on his fingers she pulled as hard her weak body would let her, and looked at Justin with wide, searching eyes. Unable at this point to deny her anything, Justin leaned forward and allowed her to place a soft kiss at the side of his mouth.

It took everything that he had not to take her face in his hands and kiss her properly, but Justin knew that now wasn't the right time. He could feel the trembles in her body and realised how much effort it was taking her just to do that simple action. He didn’t want to tire her out, or worse, hurt her.

Libby was exhausted just by the emotion of realising what he'd done for her during her time in the hospital, and the simple act of giving him a kiss—something she'd laid there for weeks and wondered if she would ever be able to do again—reduced her to a sobbing mess.

"Lib... please... don't," Justin pleaded as he heard her begin to cry. He pulled away, and this time did cup her face between his hands. Libby looked at him with her sad green eyes as more tears flowed down her pale cheeks. "Please...”

Realising that she wasn't about to stop crying any time soon, Justin pulled her gently back into his arms and placed his cheek on the top of her head whilst uttering soothing sounds to try to comfort her. He hated to see her cry at the best of times, but under the circumstances it was even harder to watch. Words couldn't express how he was feeling, and so he simply let his body do the talking and held her tight.

Libby squeezed her eyes shut and revelled in the feel of his arms around her. At last she'd found a way back into his arms, and she hoped that she would never again have to endure such a painful separation from him.

Naturally it was at this moment that Clare burst back into the room, before freezing abruptly when she saw Justin and Libby hugging. Realising that she might be interrupting something important, Clare quickly backtracked and tried to silently leave the room before either of them noticed her.

She didn't get far. Libby heard the sound of the door opening and lifted her head to peep around Justin just as Clare prepared to turn away. Justin felt Libby reach a hand past his side and he glanced over his shoulder at Clare just as she was about to leave.

"I can come back...” Clare said sheepishly as she met both Libby and Justin's eyes. Justin wasn’t thrilled about it, but he reluctantly removed his arms from around Libby and climbed off the bed.

"No, it's fine," he muttered, but his voice was far from convincing. As he spoke Libby stretched out her arm to Clare and pointed at the notepad that she was holding in her hands. She nodded enthusiastically as Clare crossed the room and held it out to her.

Sensing Justin slinking away from her as Clare approached, Libby whipped out her hand and grasped at his hoodie sleeve, preventing him from going any further. Justin turned around and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

No, Libby mouthed at him and pointed forcefully at the visitor's chair by her side. Clare couldn't help but grin as she recognised signs of Libby's stubbornness returning. Already it was beginning to feel as though she'd never been gone, even though the memories were still so fresh and raw.

Justin pulled a face. "I dunno, Libs. You're really only meant to have one visitor at a time..."

Libby pointed once again at the chair and raised an eyebrow, challenging him. Although she could tell that he was trying not to, Justin flashed her a crooked grin and obediently sat in the chair. He rolled his eyes and let out a petulant sigh as though he hated being told what to do. Clare could tell that he was only playing, and she smiled fondly at the sudden brightness that had appeared in his eyes. Clare could tell that it was all down to Libby.

Once she was sure that Justin wasn't going to go anywhere, Libby once again reached eagerly for the notepad in Clare’s hands. Clare handed it to her with a smile and watched as Libby went about scribbling something onto the empty page as fast as her trembling hand would allow her.

Once she’d finished writing, Clare peered over the top of the pad and sucked in a shocked breath as she saw Libby's illegible writing for the first time. She tried to keep her face composed as best she could so that she wouldn't upset her, but what Clare had seen had alarmed her.

Libby stared at the page for a moment before a confused frown crossed her face. In a panic she held the pad up to Justin and showed him what she'd written. Where the words were meant to be were scribbles, random numbers and upside down letters. It didn't make any sense at all, and it was an indication that despite her almost miraculous recovery, Libby’s brain still had a way to go before it was completely healed.

Justin also tried to compose his face, although he quickly glanced at Clare to gauge her reaction. Clare shrugged helplessly back at him and wondered if her plan had been a little too optimistic.

Hearing her let out another sigh, Justin turned his eyes back to Libby and found her holding her hand out to him once again. He got up from his seat and leant over the bed, but Libby wasn't satisfied with that. She shuffled across to make a space beside her and patted the mattress before raising her eyebrows at him pointedly. The instruction was clear. She wanted him to sit beside her.

"I don't know, Lib...” Justin said hesitantly as he shot a glance over at Clare. "I've already been told off once or twice for sitting on your bed. We're really not supposed to..."

Libby ignored him and reached out to grip the waist of his hoodie. She pulled on the fabric causing Justin to wobble slightly on his feet. It was clear that Libby's strength was slowly returning to her, even though Justin’s loss of balance probably had more to do with him stumbling over his feet than anything else.

"I'd forgotten how stubborn you are, Lib," Clare chuckled as Justin reluctantly hopped up onto the bed beside Libby. Inside his heart was pounding and he couldn't shake off the happy grin that was plastered across his face.

Justin could hardly believe the way that Libby seemed to want him as close to her as possible, but he wasn't going to knock it. After six weeks of waiting for her to wake up he wanted to be as close to her as possible, and he certainly wasn't going to argue with her. Although he hadn't wanted to get his hopes up too much, Justin couldn't help but think that maybe— maybe—Libby might have feelings for him after all.

He sat awkwardly beside her on the bed, but still Libby wasn't satisfied. She shuffled towards him and leaned her body into his until he was supporting her and keeping her upright. Once she was comfortable, Libby let out a sigh which once again sent Justin's heart racing. He flashed Clare a look of euphoric delight which Clare couldn't help but snigger at. His facade was completely blown. There was no way that Libby wouldn't be able to guess his feelings for her. He was like a defenceless puppy dog staring at its owner with a look of devotion.

Taking up the notepad once again, Libby handed it to Justin, and he held it out in front of her so that she could write more easily. Slowly she lifted the pen once again, but this time she drew rather than wrote what she was trying to say. It took a little more time, but neither Clare nor Justin minded her taking her time. They still couldn’t believe that she was conscious.

Libby first drew a big arrow that pointed towards where Clare was standing at the bottom of the bed, and quickly followed it with a question mark. Justin waited until Libby had finished drawing before holding the pad up so that Clare could see.

"How are you?" he asked, and Libby nodded encouragingly at Clare.

Clare smiled fondly at her friend and moved to go and sit in the now vacant visitor's seat. Justin and Libby both followed her with their eyes.

"Much better now that you're back with us," Clare replied honestly as the tears once again pricked at the back of her eyes. She fluttered her eyelashes to blink them away, and attempted a brave smile. Clare still hated thinking about herself and how she was feeling. Every time she did, JC's face popped up in her mind and she'd have to swallow back the lump in her throat.

Satisfied with Clare's answer, Libby raised the pen once again and Justin held the notepad out for her to write.

Libby drew five stick men and placed an initial under each one until she'd carefully spelled out the word 'NSYNC'. On one of the stick men Libby drew some long flowing hair, which Justin realised was meant to be dreadlocks and he laughed as he recognised Chris.

Justin held the notepad up to Clare once again, and Libby steered his hand so that he pointed at each stick man in turn. Her fingers lingered on Justin’s warm skin, but she looked at Clare as she awaited her answers.

"Justin can tell you his own news, obviously," Clare said with a smile and she watched as Libby turned her head to meet Justin's eyes before grinning up at him. Neither of them could hide the glimmer in their eyes as they looked at each other, and Clare almost wanted to get up and bang their heads together. It was so obvious to everyone else that they were in love with each other, and yet neither of them seemed to be doing anything about it. Clare made a mental note to talk to Justin about it later.

"Chris?" Clare asked as Libby moved Justin's hand over to the stick man with dreadlocks. "He and Jamie are dating officially now. It's kinda strange to get used to, but they seem to be really happy together. They're a surprisingly good match, actually."

Next Justin pointed at the stick man with the giant 'S' on his chest.

"Joey is the same 'ol Joey. Lisa still hasn't answered his proposal, but it doesn't seem to be bothering Joey..." Clare trailed off, realising that she shouldn't probably be talking about Joey like that in front of Justin.

Justin shrugged and grinned as he met her eyes. Clearly he felt the same way she did.

"Lisa's been feeling unwell lately," Clare continued. "She's had some tests done at the hospital but they haven't been able to find what’s wrong."

Libby frowned in concern before moving Justin's hand to the next drawing.

"Lance and Jenny are finally dating now, thanks to you," Clare said with a laugh. There'd been a time when Clare had thought that Lance would never get his act together and ask Jenny out, but it had turned out that she'd been wrong after all. It was happening a lot lately.

Libby let out a muffled snigger and pointed to herself with a frown.

"Yeah, it's your fault," Justin agreed as he nudged Libby. "Lance finally worked up the courage to ask her out because he realised that life was short and Jenny probably wouldn't wait forever."

Libby turned her head and looked deeply into his eyes as he spoke. She listened intently before letting her gaze linger momentarily on his lips. When he'd finished, Libby gave him a sweet smile that set his heart pounding and his legs to jelly.

Clare watched the exchange between the pair of them and tried not to feel melancholy. Ever since her fall out with JC, Clare couldn't bear to be around lovey–dovey couples. Seeing people so happy and in love only made her miss JC even more than she already did, and made her regret what had happened between them even more.

"Jenny's gone back home temporarily as her mother isn't well," Clare continued quietly and both Libby and Justin's heads snapped back around to face her. Clare tried not to smirk at their identical expressions. They'd clearly both been so caught up in each other that they'd completely forgotten that Clare was even there.

Justin sniggered. "You should see how miserable he is," he told Libby. "He's like a dog without a bone."

You can talk, Clare thought to herself with a giggle.

Finally, Libby steered Justin's finger to the last stick man, and she looked directly at Clare and gave her an encouraging wink. At once Clare's face fell, and she looked down at the floor, trying to regain her composure so as not to frighten Libby.

The last Libby would have remembered was that night on the beach when the group had all been together having fun splashing in the surf. Naturally, she'd have no idea of what had gone down since then, and Clare felt sorry for her for it. Libby had missed so much, and it would be a huge shock to her when she discovered all that had happened since that night.

"JC?" Justin said aloud as he glanced sheepishly at Clare. Libby noticed this and frowned at him, wordlessly demanding an explanation.

"Perhaps now isn't the time..." Justin suggested quietly. Clare glanced up and thanked him with her eyes.

Justin was right. Now wasn't the time, and Clare was grateful that he seemed to understand. Today was a day to celebrate Libby's recovery, and not to dwell on sad memories. She'd break the news gently to Libby on another day. For now, she'd simply enjoy having her best friend back with them where she belonged.

~~~~~*~~~~~

The hours seemed to pass like minutes, and soon visiting hours were over for the day. Although neither of them felt ready to go, the hospital staff politely reminded Clare and Justin that it was time to leave so that Libby could get some rest.

However, no one was prepared for Libby's reaction.

"Mmmnn... nnnooo," she gasped hoarsely as she struggled against the numb and dry feeling in her throat. Her eyes shot between Justin and Clare's faces as she desperately tried to get them to stay. Naively she'd thought that they'd be able to stay with her as long as she wanted, and even though she felt the weight of sleep pressing on her eyes, she still didn't want to be left alone. She'd had enough of being solitary to last her a lifetime. The thought alone filled her with panic.

Clare glanced at the tortured expression on Justin's face as he gathered his coat, and she realised that she'd have to be the strong one to ensure that they followed the nurses' instructions. There was no way that Justin would simply be able to walk away if Libby was so upset about him leaving, but neither did Clare want to get in trouble with the hospital staff. They'd done so much, and she was so grateful to them.

"Mmmn...nooo," Libby moaned once again and reached out a trembling arm to snatch at Clare's hands and Justin's coat as they hovered by her bedside preparing their goodbyes. She missed getting contact with either, and her hands grasped at the air as she struggled to reach something that she could hold onto to prevent them from leaving.

The nurse—who had initially only popped her head around the door to check that they were leaving—came forward and reached out to click a few buttons on Libby's drip, increasing the flow of painkillers into her bloodstream.

"It's okay," she said reassuringly as she turned to face Clare and Justin. "She's not in pain. Sometimes head injuries can trigger extreme responses in a patient. I promise you that once you've gone she'll go right to sleep."

Clare nodded but felt extremely torn as she watched Libby struggling in the bed, her desperate eyes filling with tears as she glanced from Justin's face to hers and back again. It was painful to watch, and Clare knew that once she was home these images would play on her mind during the night.

It had been a pretty emotional day, and Clare was mentally as well as physically exhausted. Life had once again flipped 360° in only a matter of a few hours, and she realised that it would take time to adjust to these changes. Clare had become so used to Libby being in a coma that she realised that she hadn't even thought about how it would be if Libby were to regain consciousness. It didn't seem to matter. All that was important was that Libby was back, and Clare knew that she'd be forever grateful.

"She doesn't want us to go," Justin said suddenly, and he took a determined step towards the bed. Libby nodded and smiled encouragingly at him, her face flooding with relief, but Clare was quick to reach out a hand and haul him back by his shoulder.

"You heard the nurse, Justin," Clare told him firmly. "Libby needs to get some sleep. We can come back first thing in the morning."

Clare turned to Libby and saw a fleeting look of hurt in her eyes. Clare knew that Libby wouldn't understand why she was submitting so easily to the nurse's instructions—Clare wasn't always so willing to comply with rules, especially when she didn't agree with them—but she was trying to do what was best for Libby, even if it went against her own wishes to be with her friend.

"We'll come back in the morning," Clare assured her and flashed her a winning smile. "I promise. You get some sleep and we'll see you first thing, okay?"

Libby gave a small nod and glanced at Justin.

"We'll be back," he repeated, his voice thick with emotion. "Sleep well, sweetie. We'll see you tomorrow."

~~~~~*~~~~~