Alice chuckled softly. Has she said anything I should know about?

Howie shook his head. All she says is that she wants to go home to her own bed and snuggle up with Mr. P.

Alice gasped. *****, Mr. P! Ill be right back, Howie. Im going to have to run over to your sisters and feed him!

*********************************************

Several days passed. Howie stayed in the room with Dana, along with Alice, who simply refused to leave. Everyday, Howie and Alice would fight with one another over who got to go get certain things for Dana or help her with something, and everyday Dana would referee from her bed.

Dana would lay awake each night, unable to sleep, listening to the bustling sounds from the hallway and the gentle snores of her brother and best friend. Shed lay there and watch them both, thinking to herself how lucky she was to have her Howie and her friends, all the while still thinking she was the most unlucky person in the world. Shed watch as Howie would struggle to find a comfortable position in his too-short foldout chair as his feet hung off the end. He also snored, a fact he denied every morning.

Then Dana would watch Alice, who slept much like she functioned every day: recklessly and without care. She slept on her chair, limbs flung about in positions that Dana couldnt fathom ever being comfortable. Alice also talked in her sleep, a fact that she denied, as well. Through her nighttime observations, Dana had learned that Alice seemed to have a bizarre crush on Michael Bolton, and had once stolen a candy bar as a kid. Of course, both of these things Alice also denied.

The nights were when Dana would lay there, alone, feeling sorry for herself but thanking her lucky stars to be alive and to have people to support her. She wondered what she was going to do now that she couldnt walk. It was a thought she had a hard time wrapping her mind around, and the whole concept of being paralyzed still seemed unreal to her. Dana would often doze off in the early morning hours and suddenly wake up, forgetting where she was and why she was there. It was the most heart-breaking disappointment shed ever felt when she would wake up and remember.