River
“She's awake again."
His mother's words echoed through his mind like a surreal dream, hitting him in the heart like a sledgehammer. He felt his breath stagger as he turned to look at her, not sure what he should say or do.
Ellie was finally awake? After all of these hours? He was glad she had woken up, but he also didn't know what to do about it now. He was sitting in a study across the hall from the bedroom where he'd had Ellie moved as soon as she was stable. He'd sat there all through the night, not wanting to intrude on her privacy by being in the room with her but unable to leave either. Michael had spent the night in the room, so he would know if there was a problem. River felt out of place being as close as he was, but he just couldn't seem to pull himself away.
“She seems
