- So, answer! Steve commands to the nurse. How is Stella?

His tone is pressed and unpleasant. His blue eyes are wide open and he struggles to catch his breath. I understand that he is stressed out and upset about what happened to his sister, but there are still ways to ask people things.

"As I was about to tell these people," she begins by pointing out Gallagher and I, "Miss Atkins is suffering from hypothermia. We managed to raise her body temperature, but we don't know how long she was in that state before this young man found her."

At that moment, Steve's piercing gaze lands on me and details me from head to toe. I can't tell if he's full of curiosity or disdain. When his eyes reach my face, they seem to recede. Then he turns his attention to the nurse.

"What does that mean?" he asks, sighing.

I don't like his attitude towards the hospital worker.

- If she's been in the frozen water too long, we're not sure she'll wake up one day, she reveals. We don't know the damage to her organs. We have to test her several times.

I do not feel well, as if the ground were slipping under my feet. My heart is racing, faster than usual, and I almost faint. The nurse leaves, after this devastating news. I go back to one of the seats to sit down. Dr Gallagher turns to me, worried, before facing Steve. The latter rubs his face with a hand, before passing it through his hair. He approaches him, his voice full of compassion.

"I am truly sorry, Mr Atkins," says the director of the institute.

When Steve turns to him, I can clearly see flashes in his eyes. Something tells me good old Doctor G. is going to have a hard time.

- Sorry? You're sorry? You let my sister escape your facility in the middle of the night to commit suicide... and you're sorry? I pay you a fortune every month to prevent this kind of thing from happening!

Even though it hasn't been all right with Gallagher in the past, I can't let him get dragged through the mud like that, when he has nothing to do with it. I rise to intervene.

"It is not his fault," I say while approaching them.

The blond wrinkles his eyes as he looks at me. This time, I clearly see disdain in the blue of his irises.

"And you are?"

His tone is contemptuous. If he thinks he's impressing me, he's wrong. Even though he's Stella's brother, I won't let him step on my toes. It doesn't take me much to get mad right now...

"I'm the guy who saved your sister, so change your tone, okay?"

I stop less than a metre from him. Gallagher, feeling that the tension is rising, grabs my arm to try to restrain a future retaliation. Steve is measuring me. I'm watching for his reaction. It's not waiting. Neither one nor two, he rushes towards me and, against all odds, hugs me. I thought I was entitled to a confrontation... not a hug. Gallagher lets go of my arm, also surprised by the turn of events. This family is really unpredictable!

He stops, letting me go after a few seconds and walks away from me.

"I'm sorry," he exclaims, "when I heard about Stella, I was so scared. Anyway, thank you. I should have started by saying that."

He is now confused and embarrassed, which is understandable. Perhaps I judged him too quickly... I must also admit that all the emotions that swirl in me are very distressing.

"My name is Hero," I say.

He smiles and shakes my hand.

"You don't wear your name for nothing," he jokes.

I am content to laugh at his joke. Usually, when I hear this kind of very original jokes, I am exasperated. But now, given the circumstances, I'm holding back.

"Yeah... well... if I arrived in time", I sigh.

I feel bad about letting Stella go after she told me how she felt about me. I feel bad about avoiding her the week after. If I hadn't acted so selfishly, she would never have come to...

"I'm going to go around and try to find out," says Gallagher, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I nod and watch the head of GoldenBay House disappear into the hallway. Steve beckons me to sit next to him.

"Stella is a fighter," says her brother. "She has gone through many challenges and emerged stronger than ever."

Tell me somthing I dont know ! Even though I have not known her for a very long time, I have seen her overcome more than one obstacle, even if it cost her. I look at Steve, and I can't help but laugh at the ridicule of the situation.

"You're here, trying to cheer me up, when it's your sister", I notice. "When it should be the opposite."

"Maybe, but I'm glad you're here, even though I don't know you," he says, gratifying me with a friendly pat on the shoulder.

We exchange a few banalities until the infirmary returns in the waiting room. Steve and I get up and move towards her. I fear the worst.

"Miss Atkins has just been transferred to a private room," she says.

"Has she regained consciousness?" I ask.

"Not yet," she says, shaking her head.

- Can I see her? asks Steve.

- Of course, follow me.

The employee is ahead of Steve in the hallway. I'm not following them. I'd like to, but I know I don't belong there. I am joined by Dr. Gallagher. I inform her that Stella is out of intensive care and in a room.

"And... you're not going to see her?" he asks me.

"Her brother is here. That's all she needs", I shrug. "We should go back to the institute."

He pricks himself in front of me to face me. He looks at me with an exasperated look.

"Hero, sometimes you despair me," he sighs." When it comes to defying prohibitions for someone you care about, you do not hesitate. You thought I didn't know about your little night getaway? I saw the surveillance cameras, and Dr Graham told me about your 'project'. I didn't tell you because I think you're right, but it's not your decision to make. I wish you'd come and talk to me about it. Anyway... all this to say that you know better than anyone what she needs, and you know as well as I do that it's not her brother."

I take his words into consideration. Should I go and see her? I want to, but certainly only family members are allowed to visit her.

"And you would have agreed? If I had asked you for permission to bring Stella, you would have said yes?" I ask, circumspect.

- Probably not, but I might have taken your suggestion into consideration, not to mention the permission of the family, he replies.

"You're going to tell him... to tell Steve?"

"No. It's not in anyone's interest for him to know," he says with a little smile. "Now, go and see your friend!"

I give him a smile as a thank you and, without being asked, turn around and rush into the corridor in search of Stella...

******