You reunite with Sarah

For the next few weeks, you worked as diligently as you could while, on the other end of things, the social worker made arrangements with Saunders and Kerry, Deborah at first was naturally hesitant to involve you again after your last exchange of words, but the evidence of her daughter's body failing in front of her for the second time was too much and she had green-lit the plan. Well, not so much a plan as it was simply "get your ass back here!" You didn't mind it at all, really, but the notion of having to deal with the changes in Sarah/Jessica since the last time you had spoken to her was not going to be pretty. In fact, the last time you HAD spoken to your once wife was before the accident, all contact since having been through third parties and nothing.

Not your finest moment, you admitted to Hayleigh, who nodded her head and laid down next to you, placing her hand on your chest as the two of you rested in the bedroom you two shared, overlooking the lakeshore. "You're going to have to make a choice about that girl, aren't you?"

You nodded and brushed her hair gently. "I'm not sure what to do, really. As far as I'm concerned, it's Jessica. There's no more Sarah."

She nodded slightly but adjusted so the two of you ended up spooning together. "As long as you remember that, honey, I'm going to be supporting you, regardless."

****

The trip back from the airport was done as quickly as possible and after you managed to park the rental at the hospital designated spot and got back out, you looked off to the left as Deborah, as part of your arrangement, was seated out under a bit of shade. She got to her feet as she spotted you and after a few moments, she walked over and looked at you. "I-I..."

"I'm not sure how much of a help I can be. You and I got thrown into the deep end on this one."

She accepted this and the two of you walked into the hospital quietly, moving past the check-in and to the elevators where a nurse gave you a badge and then ushered you down the hall to an observation room. A few windows were arrayed looking into the patient room and there, behind the glass, you saw her laying down, propped up in bed, her eyes not really focused on anything and a sort of gaze that you often heard referred to as "the thousand yard stare".

"What the...?"

Saunders looked back and nodded his head to you. "Welcome to our collective nightmare."