Title: Yesterday to Tomorrow: Chapter Eighteen, Not a Girl's Best Friend
Rating: R [violence, swearing]

Summary: The cause of Alyssa's sustained injury is found.

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Muddled voice out in the hallway woke Alyssa. She didn't remember falling asleep, but one glance at the clock told her she had been sleeping for hours. It felt like a week. And she was still stuck in a hospital bed. Alone.

Not so alone. It was Chris's voice out in the hall that woke her. Chris speaking with Tom. From the bits and pieces of the conversation she could hear, apparently Brad and Tim had left with something in mind to cheer Alyssa up. Tom stayed at her bedside, waiting for Chris to come back, not wanting Alyssa to be left alone, even after she drifted asleep. Her eyes flicked to the doorway, a crooked smile coming to her lips as Chris gave Tom one of those manly hugs where they start shaking hands then pat each other's back with the free hand.

Looking over at the balloons Brad had brought in, Alyssa chuckled. Mixed in with the 'Get Well' balloons was a single 'It's a Girl!' balloon. She'd have to harass him about that whenever she saw him again.

"Love?" Chris's soft voice interrupted her thoughts.

"You smell better," she replied with a smile as he leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"Gee thanks. I love you too."

"Good. Or I would have to take off my...." her fingers went to her left hand. "Chris? Where's my ring?"

He frowned, "You can't wear it until we're done with all of the scans and stuff."

"Oh," she mimicked his frown, looking away.

Chris picked up her hand, caressing it, "But I have it in a safe place. So when we leave, I'll slip it back on your finger."

Her eyes flitted back to his, "You sure about that? That you really want to marry someone who's half a person?"

Anger flashed in his eyes, "Don't you dare say such a thing. I want to marry you. Plain and simple. Regardless of the outcome of this. I love you for you. Not because you can walk or anything like that. You for you, Alyssa. Don't doubt that. Ever."

She nodded, though she still held doubt in her heart. What would she do if she were in his position? Would she leave Chris?

No. Never. Not in a million years.

"Chris? Does Daddy know? How am I to take care of Daddy like this?" she quickly asked.

"I called him a few days ago. Talked with him and his therapist. He seems to understand and is worried. But I assured him that I'm doing everything possible and that we'll have him down here as soon as we can. Your doctor also spoke with his, just so that he could answer more questions should your father ask any," Chris replied. "Don't worry about a thing, baby. Everything is going to be all right."


Finally deciding that Alyssa was stable enough for surgery, the surgeons opened up her back to search for the cause of the swelling. Six hours Alyssa was laying on her stomach in ICU, coming out of a drug-induced haze and staring pretty much at a reflection of herself in a mirror. No one had come to talk to her. She didn't know if the surgery had done any good or not.

Not even Chris had spoken to her. And in her current state, she couldn't tell if he was even in the room or not. She didn't really feel him, so where was he?

The sound of the door opening and the waft of a familiar scent made her smile. There he was. Her prince. Her love. Her man who apparently couldn't find a pair of socks that matched.

"Baby?" he said softly, not sure if she was awake or not.

"Did.... did....?" her scratchy voice asked.

"Actually," he chuckled, looking down at the mirror to meet her eyes, "you're not going to believe what was causing the swelling."

"I'm better?" she asked, focusing more on that.

"As far as they can tell, you should make a full recovery. But it's early to say for certain," he responded. "They did remove the irritant, but you're still very swollen."

"What was it?"

"A tiny diamond, apparently from the trunk of them in the safe. A little jewel worth a few million was irritating your spine," Chris claimed.

"Then I think it's safe to say diamonds are NOT a girl's best friend."