Jaime’s POV

It’s been five days. Five whole days in Arizona.

Willow, Autumn, the ATL boys, our band and I were all supposed to be going back home for a little bit. We were supposed to make it back in time for Mike to challenge Rena in a new skee-ball game. They were going to save up enough tickets together to get a pair of stuffed pugs, just like Willow’s.

But now, that might not happen.

It was a warm summer day in Arizona. It wasn’t too hot. It wasn’t too cold. The sun was shining through the room and spread the rays like butter on warm toast. The tiles were stark white in Willow’s room. The rest of the guys were outside, shopping around for more food. I don’t really eat much now a days.

I’m working on getting Willow better.

Every day, I go in and sit on the left bedside, right by the window towards downtown. I hold her hand and tell her what’s going on. I whisper that she has to get better so that she can make her mom happy again. I explain that Jake and JJ really miss her and she needs to go make sure her dogs aren’t running into too many walls.

“Willow, the doctors are going to take you off of life support this afternoon. Your body needs to respond to the medicine, okay, dear?” I asked her politely. I tucked my blue blanket closer around her body. She always liked that blanket. I would buy her a million more if it meant she would wake up.

As I said those words, I felt a little guilty. I kind of lied to her. I told her she was going off life support this afternoon, but actually, it was going to be in the next few hours. A twist in my gut made me want to cry and sob into the hospital bed sheets, but I regained my composure.

I might lose her.

So all I did was encourage her.

That’s when there was a knock on the door.

No, it can’t be this early!

A nurse came in. She smiled at me. Her name was Anna. She always came in to wheel Willow away for her brain scans.

“Hello there, Mr. Preciado. Would you like some water?” She asked me. I shook my head, but thanked her for it anyways. She smiled as I let go of Willow’s hand. The nurse wheeled Willow away for her last scan.

I only hoped that the results would be better. I hoped that her body was reacting to the medicine. I hoped that she would wake up. I needed her to wake up.

As the silent room swallowed me into its depths, I stared out the window. Cars were ants that crawled lazily on the black roads. The people were invisible brains in the machines that crept along. I stood four stories over them all with a heavy heart and the weight of the world on my shoulders.

And to all of them, I was just as invisible as the drivers.

Thirty minutes later, four nurses rushed into the room. I stood up, biting my lip in anticipation. They looked concerned, happy, slightly annoyed, and bitchy. Yeah, the blonde looked like a weirdo.

“What’s happening?” I asked. Anna looked to me hopefully.

“Well, she’s made an improvement, a large improvement actually….” She murmured and took records of the heart rate monitor and other things. The blonde ushered me out. As much as I argued, she pushed harder until I was locked out.

I went to go wait in the lobby. It was all a waiting game now.



Willow’s POV

I was there.

But I wasn’t.

I was forty two.

But I was forty three.

I groggily opened my eyes, or I tried to at least. I saw dim shadows. I think I must still be asleep. I chuckled slightly, thinking about the number forty two. It was the answer to the universe, after all! I mean, seriously, how could I NOT be forty two?

“Oh good, I see you’re awake.” A voice came from the left side of me. I moved and twitched a little. I felt the warm sunlight on my skin. The blinds must’ve been pulled back from the window.

My mind wandered and I struggled to reel it back in. Just thinking made my head hurt. Everything made my head hurt. I felt each pump of my heartbeat blaring in my skull, just like I was side stage at one of the PTV concerts with Autumn screaming next to me.

“Ugh…my head.” I grumbled and then stopped.

What.

Did.

I.

Just.

Say.

“Well, you did take a nasty blow.” The doctor chuckled. I tried opening my eyes. It seemed like they were open, but I couldn’t see anything…

“My…voice…” I croaked out.

“That does seem like a big improvement.” The doctor laughed again. It was too perky for my taste. I was just tired and confused. I wanted Jaime. I wanted the band and the boys. I wanted to sleep and I wanted Autumn to make me play chess with her.

My voice…this must be a dream.

“So you seemed to have a great knack for picking the right times to wake up. We were about to take you off life support when Anna, your nurse, noticed something in the normal brain scan. It seems that your brain has healed itself!” The doctor exclaimed. I reached up to rub my head. It certainly was painful.

“Ow.” I muttered in annoyance. Why can’t I just fix myself with hot glue…or duct tape? Yeah! Duct tape fixes everything!

“Careful! So it seems that you have a unique gift. Your brain can do something that not many others can do and that is heal signal connection. These signal connections are between your brain and the rest of your body. Your brain tells your heart to beat, your feet to move, and your vocal chords to vibrate and produce words. When a floor was dropped on your head, the signal connection that bridged speaking to your brain was severed. For most people, this is too big of a connection to ‘self-repair’ in their brains. However, your brain seems to have the capability to repair itself.” The doctor exclaimed. I must be their medical child miracle of the day…

“Why can I…talk…so…suddenly?” I asked, slightly tripping up on my words. They were foreign, but they weren’t. It was weird. I had been mouthing them, writing them, trying to utter them for years…and now they pop out. I’d never used them, but I had, in a weird way.

“Isn’t that the question of the day? When Anna showed me the scans, I noticed something. In the part of the brain that controls your language and speaking abilities, a new growth had appeared. It had disappeared as soon as the floor had fallen on your head. We assume that the floor had completely squashed it and during the surgery, they took that out. Well, it seemed to have….grown back. Your brain literally grew back the ability to speak.” He sighed. I don’t know if he shrugged or not. I still wanted the light on.

“That sounds…futuristic.” I muttered.

“Well, there kind of has been a tradeoff.”

“Now I feel like Iron Man.” I groaned. The doctor froze.

“How so?”

“Well, Iron Man got awesome super powers and a new suit, but he had to have a new ARC reactor in his body so he had to give up his freedom of having to have a functioning heart in exchange for awesome suits. Fancy.” I explained. The doctor started a real laugh that lasted what seemed like forever. I would’ve tapped my foot in impatience if I could.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Well, the trade-off is…” He started out. I paused him a second.

“Wait, before we continue, can you turn the lights on? I mean, I like knowing that I can self-repair and all, but I’d actually like to see you.” I smiled.

“That’s the thing. That’s the trade-off. In exchange for getting your voice back, you’re blind.”

Notes