The two of them had a dynamic together that I’ve never really tried to understand. They’re both fiercely independent people, so it’s not like they’re together all the time…but they seem to sort of feed off one another’s approval. I guess a lot of friends do that, but with the two of them, it’s a little uncanny how much the opinions of one affect the other. Always in a good way, but they seem to almost need each other’s support even if they’re not physically close to one another. I think a lot of that stems from the fact that Al was Helena’s first real, true friend. The rest of us were and are too, of course, but Alice was the first, and I think it still colors Helena’s perceptions of the world. She’s always been incredibly protective of Alice, and I think she was the first one aside from me who realized that Al is a lot more vulnerable than she lets people see. Of course, our initial breakup showed Helena that, and the aftermath that they got through together sort of cemented them as lifelong friends. It’s been good, though. Helena’s a great person, and I’m lucky that she and I became good friends too. Still, what she and Alice have in that department is special, and I’ve never come close to it.

So I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me that Helena wanted to stick around. I didn’t mind at all…I’d been going a little bit crazy being there by myself anyway. So I sat with her and watched TV in comfortable silence for an hour or so, just happy to have company.

Before too much time had passed, Dr. Hernandez stuck his head in. “I’m just checking up on Alice. The coma could break at any time, since we’re not keeping her under. She’ll be able to move a little more easily since we removed the blood clot, so don’t be surprised if you get response in that area. All in all she’s doing very well, her vital signs are perfect and her blood pressure and heart rate are good, so please don’t worry.”

“Thanks,” I replied, since there was really nothing left to say. I had a thousand questions, but none that really needed to be answered. Alice was okay…well, as okay as she could possibly be at that point, and that was enough for me.