True to her word, Adrian returned within the hour and a half she said he would. Delivering uncomfortable news early may be a bad habit of his, but returning at the time he says he will was one of his best traits.

The first order of business upon his return was removing the bandages around Bryce's head to examine his wound. There was a vertical patch of fur missing where the gash was located. Fortunately the wound was not too deep before the bandaging and it was already beginning to heal up. The force that was applied to his head that rattled his mind was what had caused his amnesia. Adrian even informed him that the missing fur would even begin to grow back over time.

The second day in the hospital was going better then Bryce thought it would. Not only was he able to remember more forgotten memories, but he also found out that his injury wasn't as physically severe enough to leave a scar. He still had to take a few medications afterwards, but he didn't mind since he'd have to take them after getting some food in his belly. He wasn't going to forgo some medicine if he was getting a nice meal beforehand.

Adrian left not long after disposing of the old bandages to get him some food while Aliana attended to her other duties in the hospital. She'd be returning to her desk just outside Bryce's room after said duties were taken care of. About ten minutes passed and Adrian had returned with a tray of food to be given to Bryce.

Aliana had only just returned to her desk only for her to be handed the tray. Adrian had other tasks of his own in the hospital to take care of. She walked into the room and greeted him with a grin. “Here you go Bryce.”

The Norvondire hospital had very good tasting food prepared for their patients and staff. To keep said patients happy and healthy, they made sure all the food they served was well prepared and appetizing. Eating such food made the young fox feel the most alive he had felt in the past two days.

“Oh man,” he said before swallowing the last bit of food in his mouth. “That was delicious.” He then slumped in his bed and sighed with satisfaction of a good meal and full stomach. “Thanks. I really needed that Mrs. Asola.”

“You're very welcome.” She took the tray away to dispose of its contents. “I'll go ahead and get your medicine ready. I'll get you something to wash them down with as well.”

“Oh,” he said curiously, “Do they taste bad?”

“Nope,” she said, “Well, if you chew them yes. But I meant that you just have to swallow them.” She left to retrieve the medicine which didn't take her long, since it was right behind the counter. Coming back with a glass of water and a small paper cup with the medicine within it, Bryce sat up in his bed to make it easier to swallow them down. He only had to take two different pills which were of different colors but the same size. Drinking them down, he handed the now empty glass to Aliana. “There you go sweetheart, all done. You can relax for the rest of the day now.”

As he saw her about to leave the room, he stopped her. “Actually...” Bryce's tone almost sounded heartbroken, which made her feel a little anxious and hoped that nothing was wrong. “I was wondering if maybe...you and I could talk some more?”

“About what?” She pulled her chair back over to the bedside and sat down.

Bryce rubbed at the back of his head. “Just, you know, anything?” He was trying his best not to sound too abnormal or make her feel uncomfortable as he continued to speak. “I kinda like talking with you Mrs. Asola. Since my mom can't and that I don't have anyone else to talk to...I feel that I can just have nice conversations with you instead you know?”

Aliana felt a little embarrassed that she was thought of this way by someone who has only known her for a couple of days. The best idea to what Bryce was getting at is that he simply just wanted to make conversation as a way of distracting himself from all that's happened. Combined with the amnesia and that there was no one else in Anduruna close to him, Aliana believed that she and her husband were the only people who knew him. Even if this was the first time he had officially met them while they themselves had only known him as a baby for a few days after his birth.

Even though her duties needed to come first, she still didn't want to disappoint him and make him feel alone in any way. “How about this; I have quite a few things that need to be done first, but when I find the time we can talk about anything you want for a little while. Okay?”

“Yeah,” Bryce said with a joyous grin. “That sound good.”

Aliana got up made her way to the doorway with the tray in her hands “I'll be back as soon as I can.” Once she was out of the room and out of Bryce's sight, she leaned up against the wall and spoke quietly to herself. “Poor thing. I can't stand to see someone so young feel so alone and confused.” Aliana was behaving as if a wave of emotion had suddenly washed over her that she was holding back. Being someone with a very compassionate heart, she cares greatly for others. However, she cared more for younger Dreamkeepers above all else.

Sometimes she felt as though she was too nice and caring for her own good. Even if she's only known them for such a short period of time, seeing them suffer in any way made her heart heavy. Bryce's case made her feel even more so, even though she hasn't shown it till now. She had been feeling such things ever since he remembered his mother. All she could see was a scared and lonely boy who had forgotten his life just a couple days ago, who simply wanted that life back. To have no one else there to comfort him was such a saddening thing to see.

She could feel tears begin to well up in her eyes. She inhaled and exhaled to make herself feel more serene and relaxed. “If he wants to talk to help himself feel better in any way, then I'll talk with him as long as I can.” Whatever the case for why she suddenly felt the way she did, she was determined to help her young patient not only medically but spiritually.“Hang in there sweetheart. I'll make sure things get better for you. I promise.”

***

Over the course of the two weeks, Aliana, Bryce, and even Adrian a few times, talked about a lot of things with each other. Whether they be about things they've done themselves or things within current events happening in Anduruna. One conversation in particular was Bryce's favorite.

Aliana had told him about how she and Adrian first met. How she was the victim of a groundcar accident at the age of fifteen that had injured her and a few others. She was treated at this very hospital where she met Adrian, a young apprentice working with his father at sixteen to become a doctor. Three years after they met, and after many dates, they became engaged. A year after that, their son Silas was born. Aliana said that he was a panther just like his father but white hair and her eyes.

The part of this story that Bryce enjoyed the most was that Aliana giving birth was what awakened her power. The doctor and nurses in the room were surprised to see her turn invisible not long after Silas born, and that seeing her crying son in the doctor's arms was what calmed her enough to deactivate her power. It seemed that the rush of emotion she felt at the time awakened it, but it was the calming emotion that became its key to activating from then on whenever she would use it. A strange mirror effect that no record was found of on Dreamkeeper powers.

Since childbirth was a common catalyst for female Dreamkeepers to awaken their powers if they hadn't before, she was never punished by the law in any way. Bryce had the fun idea of thinking that maybe his own mother, Naylene, had awakened her own power when she gave birth to him. Yet another memory he wished to remember if it had happened.

This little thought however gave him another fun idea to help him pass the time. He would keep track of everything he wished to ask his mother when she woke up to help him remember more about himself. Adrian had given him a little notebook to do this and he had already filled the first page with future questions to be answered.

As the days went by, more and more fun conversations were shared between Bryce and the Asolas. He was also given his old clothes back, fully cleaned and folded to be worn in the future. He was even freed from his IV and allowed to go outside in his wheelchair so long as Aliana or Adrian were his chaperone. Getting fresh air for a little while every other day was another fun activity he enjoyed doing. However, the final day of the two weeks neared, his mother had still yet to awaken out of her coma. Bryce did not allow himself to be rattled by this as he convinced himself that she would still wake up soon. He also believed that perhaps by some coincidental fate, she would come out of it on the final day.

***

Said day had now come. Bryce, still feeling confident in his mother's recovery, was waiting in his room as he was putting on his old clothes for the first time since his accident. His gray hoddie and brown shorts felt comfortably familiar to him as he began to remember them as his quintessential and favorite outfit.

Meanwhile, in Naylene's room, Adrian was busy checking up on her condition. Reading the charts at the end of her bed and the data on the machines she was hooked up to. As he placed the chart back, an apprehensive sigh soon followed. Before he had time to ponder how to deal with what was in front of him, he heard a gentle knock on the doorway. He turned to see a couple of male police officers. “Excuse me, are you Mr. Asola?”

Back in Bryce's room, the young fox was looking through his little notebook of the questions he had written down over the last two weeks. He was acting cheerful but was in fact in complete denial. Trying to push negative thoughts out of his head with a distraction. “Well, even if mom doesn't wake up today, I'm sure she'll be up in the next few days or so. I'll have plenty of time to think about what I should ask her first.” He closed the notebook and set it on the table next to his bed. “I'll probably have to stay with a foster family or something if she's not woken up today.” He didn't want the foster home plan to be what would happen at first, but he was gradually accepting it. His mind then began to drift.“I don't want to go another day not fully remembering my life...but...” He gripped his hands into fists. “This is all their fault.” He was referring to the mysterious Dreamkeeper who caused his accident. “Not my mom's, not the knossus, THEIR'S.” He felt a rush of anger start to build up in him. This was quickly extinguished when he heard a knock at his door.

“Hey sweetheart. Everything alright?”

Bryce unclenched his fists and relaxed his body and mind. “Yeah, everything's fine. Just a little anxious about today is all.”

“I can believe it.” She closed the door behind her and made her way to his bedside.

It didn't take much thought to figure out that her closing the door to prevent others from listening wasn't a sign of good news. He felt a rush of anxiety come over him but did his best to remain stoic. “I think I already know what you're going to say.”

Aliana placed her hand on top of his. This repeated gesture was something that always relaxed Bryce, and he continued to welcome it. “Bryce...Naylene she...” She took in a quick breath and exhaled it gently. “She's still comatose.”

Bryce nodded his head a little. “Any idea when or if she's going to come out of it?”

Aliana massaged the top of Bryce's hand. “Her breathing is still normal, nothing irregular there. She isn't responding to any physical interactions. Nothing seems to have really changed for better or worse. There's really no telling how bad her condition truly is or how long it will keep her in the coma. We can continue to monitor her and keep her well, but I'm afraid that's really all we can do.”

Bryce's ears began to droop. The dam holding back his sorrow was beginning to break. He steadied his breathing and gripped Aliana's hand firmly try and keep the flood of emotions at bay. He became hesitant with his words. “So...I guess that means...” Before he could say another word, there came another knock at the door.

“Mrs. Asola? Can we come in please?”

“Yes, you can come in.”

The door opened and two police officers came in to the room. A dark purple crow and light brown dog stood at the corner of the bed as Bryce and Aliana turned to face them. The dog was the first to talk. “Hello there young man. I take it that you're Bryce Ranvir?”

Bryce responded with a polite tone. “Yes officer.”

“I'm Officer Bradley, and this is Officer Mason.” The crow bowed his head to the fox. “I'm sure Mrs. Asola has already told you of your mother.” Bryce nodded his head while keeping a straight face. “Well,” the dog said as he scratched at his head, “Today is the last day that the hospital can keep you admitted here. I'm also aware that you still suffer from amnesia and still cannot remember where you and your mother lived, correct?”

Again Bryce nodded. “Yes sir. I've tried but nothing comes to mind.” His hand gripped back into a fist briefly. “I wish it was the one thing that I could remember, but I can't.”

“I see.” The dog scoffed to himself quietly. “Well, we tried searching to see if there was any record of where you and your mother lived but for some reason nothing turned up. Why your mother wanted to keep where you two lived is odd but it's not like we can ask her why. The home of your grandparents was bought and sold by the bank a few years back after your grandfather passed away. As far as we know you have no other relatives living in the city that we can take you to. I don't suppose you know if your father is still around and where he might be?”

Bryce shook his head. He felt uncomfortable talking about the father he either never knew or couldn't remember, but he wasn't going to be rood to the officer. “If he was I can't remember him. I don't know whether or not he died when I was little and I never knew him, or that mom never told me about him, or that I knew him but can't remember him.” He scratched at his head. “My amnesia makes it very difficult to figure it out.”

Bradley nodded. “I can understand that. I'm sorry you're having a hard time with this. I can change the subject if you want.”

“I'm okay,” Bryce said patiently, “I'm sure I'll remember the exact truth eventually.”

“Well,” said Bradley, “Until then, I think it'd be best for you to stay with a foster family until you either remember your home or your mother wakes up.”

Bryce nodded again. “I figured that was going to be the case. I'm fully prepared to accept it.”

“Good,” said Bradley, “We can give you a list of places that you can choose from that will look after you in the meantime. We can also give you some alone time to think if you want.”

“I'd like that.” Bryce may have given the officers a grin, but Aliana could tell that he was forcing it. She felt what could have been guilt come over her as she released her hold on his hand.

“We'll give you that alone time sweetheart. We'll be just outside the room if you need anything or come to a conclusion.” Aliana led the two officers out of the room to give him his privacy to think. Before she fully closed it however, she caught a quick glimpse of Bryce and saw pure sorrow on his face. Closing the door behind her she stayed strong to not let what she saw discourage her. She could then see her husband coming down the hall, once again appealing to his ability to arrive at the right time. He didn't waste any time asking the obvious question. “Hey hun. How'd he take it?”

Aliana exhaled out the nose and grabbed Adrian by the arm. She lead him into the small break room behind the counter to talk with him quietly. “Adrian.” She wanted to say what was on her mind but also knew how her husband would respond. But for right now, she didn't care. “I can't let them take him to a foster family. I refuse to leave him with people he doesn't know.”

“Ali-” Adrian started but was quickly cut off.

“Don't 'Ali' me.” Her tone was direct as she held up her index finger close to his face. “You didn't see the look on his face. I could tell that he doesn't want this anymore than I do.”

Adrian gently moved her raised hand away from his face. “Naylene isn't waking up any time soon Ali. We can't keep him here at the hospital. This is the best thing that can be done for him right now.” He paused and looked out the doorway at the officers. “The last thing those two want to do is make his situation even worse. They'll put him in a nice foster home until his mother wakes up.” He paused again and held his palms up towards Aliana defensibly. “So please don't say what I think you're going to say.”

“Adrian.” Her tone sounded much calmer. “As far as anyone knows, the only people he knows of who are able to comfort him and make him feel happy...are us.”

Adrian sighed and rubbed at his forehead. “He's just another patient Ali. Besides, we've only known him for two weeks. That doesn't make us his family.”

“But it does make us his friends. His ONLY friends.”

“You're going to say it aren't you? Even though I asked you not to.”

“I think WE should look after him. At least until Naylene recovers.” Now rubbing the bridge between his eyes, Adrian exhaled and looked up at the ceiling. “Our house is big enough and we can set up a guest bed for him. He could even bunk with Silas.”

Adrian knew that his wife was a very compassionate woman. But this was the first time he saw her act so seriously with her compassion. Caring for a young patient was something not unnatural for her to do, but to want to take care of him until he and his mother could fully recover was something new altogether. He could see that she was not going to budge until he gave in. “You're really serious about this aren't you?”

Aliana reached down and gently grasped his hand. “I am. I can't explain it, but I just can't let that poor boy go through this. He's forgotten his life and has developed a friendship with us which is his only comfort.” She gripped his hand a little tighter. “I'm not taking 'no' for an answer.”

As he looked into her eyes, a strange yet warm sensation came over Adrian. It was like his wife's very spirit had just changed what he believed to be right. He raised his hand which was still being held by Aliana's and held it in front of them. “Okay.”

Aliana smiled and embraced him. “Thank you.”

Outside Bryce's room, the two officers were talking quietly among themselves as Adrian and Aliana came up to them. “Ah,” said Bradley, “You guys ready to see if he's made a decision?”

“Actually,” said Aliana, “We made a decision for him ourselves.”

“Oh? What do you mean?”

Inside his room, Bryce was still distressingly looking through the options of foster homes he was given. Most places sounded promising but he still felt the strong desire to not live with someone he didn't know. “I only remember half of my life and I'm scared to live with people I don't know. Why couldn't this stupid amnesia have worn off by now?” The knock on his door made him regain his composure as he put his brave face back on. “Hey Mrs. Asola.”

“Hey sweetheart.”

“I haven't made a decision yet. It's hard to decide who to stay with until I can remember where I lived before all of this.” He chuckled but she could tell it was fake.

“There's no need for you to worry about that Bryce. Me and Adrian talked it over while we gave you some time to yourself, and we've come to a decision.” Bryce looked at her with curiosity but he also felt a sudden and odd wave of relief come over him. “WE'LL look after you. As long as it takes until your mother gets better.”

Her words made him feel happy. When they left him alone he had a thought to ask them if he could stay with them instead but did not believe it to be a possibility. Being able to talk to them about anything and comfort him made them feel like the only people he could feel safe and happy with. By some bizarre twist of fate, his desire had become a reality. “You mean...I'll get to stay with you guys?”

“Yes.” She reached out and grabbed hold of his hand once more and Bryce felt a warm and comforting sensation come over him. The same thing Adrian had experienced that moved him enough to change his mind. Whatever it was about this woman, Aliana had a way of making those around her feel happy and see what she believed to be the right thing.