☆

TALIA STRANGE APPEARED IN A flash of purple. Stumbling, Talia lost her footing in the high heels she was wearing as she fell to the wet ground. The rain pounded, soaking Talia as the mud pressed deep beneath her nails.

"Stephen?" Talia whispered, confused.

Pushing the wet strands of hair away from her face, Talia's eyes squinted in the dark, following the trail of dotted lights. How Talia had gotten here, she did not know; the last she remembered was that she was in the car with Stephen. The car had swerved, but...

Talia's eyes fell on the docks close by, seeing a vehicle upright in the stream. Her heart dropped, hands trembling with fright rather than the cold.

"Stephen?"

It came out as another whisper as Talia stepped closer to the destruction, finding her rain-drenched coat heavy as it clung to her body. The closer she got — the quicker her eyes adjusted — Talia found herself shaking her head in denial, refusing to believe it was their car. There was no mistaking it, though: the crushed-up, upright car facing downwards in the lake was Stephen's car.

"Stephen!" Talia screamed his name, panicking.

Now, she ran towards the scene, praying for a miracle that he had not been in the car. Somehow, Talia had been free from the disaster, but Talia did not know if her husband was spared or not.

Talia could not see him.

And with that, her heart thundered like the clouds above them.

The front of the car was submerged in water, but the water was too murky in the dark night for Talia to see if Stephen was in the car or not. As the rain poured, Talia's lungs ached as she cried out for her husband, desperate to find him.

Reaching into her coat pockets, Talia tried searching for her phone to call for her help.

"No, no, no," Talia whispered, horrified with the realisation that her phone was in her bag that was most likely still in the car.

To Talia's relief, though, sirens wailed in the distance with Talia praying it was help coming for them.

With the first emergency services to arrive, they had rushed to help Talia first, who refused any assistance until she knew Stephen was unharmed — because he would be. A blanket was wrapped around Talia as the fire services worked on the recovery, leaving Talia standing helplessly on the sidelines.

Talia felt like her heart was stuck in her throat with her stomach knotting, terrified of what they would find. It was a struggle to breathe as Talia shivered, eyes hooded, stuck on the recovery.

The night was long — the chill creeping beneath Talia's skin.

When word echoed that Stephen was inside the car, Talia felt her knees weaken with a paramedic catching her before she fell. Of course, Stephen was in the vehicle, but Talia had wished for a miracle still.

Though, when Stephen had finally been pulled from the wreckage, Talia found herself breaking all over again. Rushing to her husband, Talia's eyes widened at the bloody, broken mess of the man she loved. Already, his hands were covered with with the blood soaking through, causing Talia's breathing to hitch — what mattered was that Stephen was still breathing.

There was no wasting time: Stephen had to be airlifted to the hospital with Talia kicking up a storm, refusing to leave him. No one wanted to argue with the wife, insisting that if she came, then she would be checked out too.

"Stephen..." Talia sat close to him in the helicopter, fingers twitching to touch him, but afraid that she might cause him more pain. "Honey, I don't know if you can hear me?"

There was no response, but the heart monitor beeped.

"I love you," said Talia, still crying. "I love you so much. Please don't leave me, Stephen. You hear me? I can't lose you. I can't."

His face remained expressionless, though Talia could not see the face she loved with all the blood and swelling. There was no more time, though; the helicopter was taking off with Talia being given headphones and being told to strap in.

At the hospital, a team was already there to meet Stephen — of course, it was a code red with the patient's name having spread. There were numerous doctors hurrying toward Stephen, wheeling him into the hospital with Talia following behind, wide-eyed and trembling.

Stephen was taken into surgery on arrival with Talia hopelessly staring after him, trying not to think of the worst. Already, Stephen's hands were a disaster with Talia being spared the sight, though the crimson blood had already been seeping through the bandages.

"Talia," said Christine, offering the wife a sympathetic smile with her kind eyes glistening too. "Stephen's in the best hands."

Talia was silent, fearing that if she opened her mouth, then she would end up sobbing again. Then, Christine was placing a hand on Talia's back, uncaring that she was soaking wet and muddy.

Even now, Talia looked down at her red dress. The night was supposed to have gone so differently: the love between them should have sparked again. Never would Talia have imagined that the night would have spiralled into this.

"Talia, we should get you checked," Christine told her, starting to guide Talia towards a treatment room, treating her delicately as if she might crumble apart. "Do you know if you were injured during the crash?"

"What?" Talia questioned, not really listening.

"Were you injured?" Christine repeated. "Do you remember what happened?"

"No," Talia realised. "I don't remember anything."

Christine was not happy with that response, instantly switching to her doctor mode with the suspicion that Talia was concussed. Though, Talia refused to be seen — not until she knew what was happening with her husband. But Christine made a valid argument: Stephen would be furious with them all if Talia was not cared for, especially since she had been involved in the crash as well.

Yet, Talia had Christine stumped come to the end of her check-over.

"So, you were not in the car?" Christine questioned.

"No, I was on the bank."

"But you were in the car?"

Talia nodded, having not had a moment to think about what had happened.

Christine's eyebrows furrowed, thinking. "If you were thrown from the car, there would at least be bruising," she murmured to herself. "You can't remember anything, but there are no signs of a concussion."

Talia frowned, easily agitated at the moment. "Did you want me to be injured?"

"No, of course not," said Christine. "But, quite honestly, it's a miracle that you've walked away without a scratch."

Talia pressed her lips together, thinking back to when she was a child. Like tonight, Talia had survived a fatal car crash as a child; when she should have been crushed, Talia had been found at the side of the road. Now, this time, Talia had miraculously appeared at the side of the disaster again rather than in the devastating mess of the crash.

Finally dismissed with the doctors scratching their heads over Talia, the woman made her way to a pay phone, finally contacting Nicole. Talia's friend was probably worried about it being past the time they had been due home.

"Hello?"

"Nicole, it's Talia."

"Hey," said Nicole, sounding tense as if she knew something was wrong. "You and Stephen running late?"

Hearing Stephen's name, Talia burst into tears again.

"Talia?" Nicole panicked. "What is it? Has something happened?"

Talia barely found the words to explain what was happening, finding it harder with Nicole's echoing silence from the shock. Already, Stephen had been in surgery for longer than an hour, and it had felt like an eternity.

"Oh, honey," Nicole said after. "Christ, I'm so relieved to hear that you are not hurt. Listen to me, okay? Stephen will get through this. He has the best there is performing his surgery, so just hold on. Please don't worry about Sienna. I'll stay here tonight. Do you need anything?"

"Thank you," Talia told her. "I don't need anything. If Sienna wakes, can you hold off telling her what's going on? I don't want Sienna knowing until Stephen's out of surgery and we know what's happening."

"Of course," Nicole agreed. "I'll give her a kiss from you both. If you need anything, then please call, Talia — I mean it, don't shut us away."

"Thank you, Nicole," Talia said quietly down the phone, grateful for her.

Unknowing what to do, Talia managed a quick wash before she had changed into scrubs, being given access to Stephen's office as she had found a jumper of his to wear. Alone for a moment, Talia had broken down, clutching onto the jumper.

And then Talia waited, sitting numbly as she watched the clock tick by, clueless to what was happening with her husband down in the theatre room.

☆

As daylight broke, the thunder clouds had vanished with the sun returning, though Talia felt far too detached from the new day. Talia had not slept, but the felt the low buzz of coffee, aided by her never-ending fear.

But now, Stephen was out of surgery with the news being bittersweet: Talia's husband would live, but it had cost him his hands. Stephen would have a long road ahead of him with his recovery — worst of all for Stephen, there would likely be no more surgery. Somehow, Talia had to share the news with Stephen when he woke up.

Exhausted and emotional, Talia sat staring at her husband's hands, each metal rod sticking through his skin causing her heart to ache. Keeping close to him, Talia's eyes fell on his face, still seeing her husband despite the cuts and bruises. An eye was swelled shut, but Talia was comforted by the fact that Stephen was alive — they would get through this.

Outside, Sienna had crashed on Nicole. The two had come by in the morning as Sienna had cried upon seeing Nicole when she had woken up, knowing something was wrong. Talia had held her daughter, soothing her as best as she could until Stephen had come out of surgery.

Then, Stephen's eyes crinkled as he started to stir. Talia's breathing hitched, finding the nerve to move closer to Stephen, desperate to touch him, yet afraid to hurt him too.

"Stephen, honey?" Talia said, voice soothing. "Hey, it's okay. You are okay."

"Talia...?" Stephen murmured; barely audible.

"I'm right here," Talia promised.

One eye started to open with the other struggling. Those blueish-green eyes looked so lost and broken, somehow knowing what was going on, but confused too.

With her face close to him, Talia tried to smile. "You gave me such a fright, Stephen."

"You are alive?" Stephen whispered.

"And so are you," Talia replied.

Stephen's head turned, finally seeing his hands as he gasped with the hysteria rising. His reaction caused Talia's eyes to water again as her hand fell onto his chest, wanting to comfort him as best as she could.

"What...what did they do?" Stephen questioned, his voice croaky.

"Baby, please listen to me," Talia tried, knowing this was going to be hard for Talia to share, but harder for Stephen to hear. "You were rushed into a chopper; it took them a while to find you."

"What did they do?" Stephen demanded.

Talia fell silent for a second, trying to pull herself together.

"Christine explained it to me," said Talia, knowing she should get a doctor, but she owed it to Stephen to let him have a moment of privacy without his colleagues. "You had eleven stainless steel pins in your bones. There were multiple torn ligaments with severe nerve damage in both hands. Stephen, you were in surgery for eleven hours."

"Look at those fixators," Stephen cried.

Talia's eyes fell on the steel again, hating to see Stephen struggling like this.

"Stephen, no one could have done better," Talia tried to tell him.

Then, as Stephen's head turned to look at her, Talia met his shattered gaze. "I could have done better."

The response did not ease how Talia was feeling, yet it confirmed that what came next was going to be hell for her husband to get through. If Stephen did not have his hands back to normal again, then he would never be able to move on.

With Stephen awake, the doctors came in to check on her husband as Stephen became silent, having not much more to say. Talia clung to every word the doctors shared, nodding along and asking questions when things didn't make sense.

Yet, afterwards, Talia found her body starting to crash with exhaustion — though, Stephen still needed her. The man was still quiet as Talia remained with him, trying to find the right time to bring Sienna in to see him.

"What happened?" Stephen eventually asked.

Talia's heart pounded, fearing that Stephen's concussion was worse than they thought. "Honey, you were in a car crash."

"I know I was," said Stephen, looking at his wife with Talia seeing his eyes glisten again with tears, irises thick with grief. "I thought I lost you."

The crack in his voice caused Talia's heart to tear, causing Talia to place her hand on his chest again. "I'm still here."

"You... you were..."

"What, Stephen?" Talia asked, softly.

"I thought you were dead," Stephen confessed. "And then... you were gone."

Talia was speechless, unknowing what to say: the theory had been that Talia had been thrown from the car, but there was no evidence or even an injury of that. Somehow, Talia had survived — just like she had as a child. But what Stephen was saying, was crazy.

"Honey, you hit your head," Talia told him. "You have a concussion."

"I thought I lost you," Stephen repeated himself, still shaken up.

"I'm still here," said Talia again, trying to make it easier for him.

Being gentle, Talia's body rose as she pressed a ghost of a kiss on her husband's better cheek. Whatever had happened in that car, was the furthest from Talia's mind; all she cared about was getting Stephen home.

"Stephen," said Talia after, catching his attention. "Sienna's waiting in the hallway to see you."

"Sienna can't see me like this," Stephen stated, voice breaking at the very thought of it.

"Whether she sees you now or tomorrow, we can't hide her from this, Stephen," Talia informed him. "Sienna's terrified as it is."

Stephen remained silent, knowing it was something he couldn't avoid. But, watching him, Talia knew that he would avoid seeing their daughter if he had a choice. It was upsetting for Talia, but she had to be the strong one now for their family.

Outside in the hallway, Nicole was still sitting with Sienna, soothing her with a hand that was running through her hair as she read a book to the child. Sensing Talia, Sienna's head turned towards her mother, jumping down from the seat as she rushed into her mom's arms.

"Is Daddy okay?" Sienna asked.

"Daddy's awake," Talia told their daughter.

Sienna looked just as happy as she was afraid. "Can I see him?"

"Yeah, you can only see him for a little bit though, okay?" Talia explained. "Daddy needs to rest."

"Okay," Sienna agreed, obliviously.

"Honey, when you see him, it's going to be a little scary," said Talia, trying to prepare their small child, who should not be going through anything like this. Talia knew what it was like as she had gone through it as a child too — though, her mother had died. "Daddy's face has cuts and bruises."

"Like my knee when I fell over?"

Talia nodded her head. "Yes, kind of like that, but it's going to look worse for Daddy," she carried on, unknowing how Sienna was going to respond. "Sweetheart, he's hurt his hands too."

"Oh, no," Sienna reacted, sounding too innocent. "Did he break them?"

"Yes," Talia answered, thinking it was easier. "But Daddy has to have pins to fix his hands, so it's going to be scary to see. You can't touch his hands, Sweetheart."

"Can I hug him?" Sienna asked.

"Not at the moment," Talia told her.

Sienna looked disappointed, struggling to understand.

"You can tell him that you love him," Talia offered.

Sienna nodded, happy with that. "Okay."

Though, Sienna wanted to be carried into the room with Talia knowing that was a sign that her daughter was afraid. Outside, Nicole had remained in the waiting area as she waited for them, having already done so much for the small family.

Sienna kept her head in the crook of Talia's neck, peeking at her dad, who could not bring himself to look at her. Talia understood, Sienna would not understand — the sight of Stephen already terrified her, where she was too young to truly process what had happened.

"Daddy, are you okay?" Sienna asked quietly.

Hearing her voice, Stephen finally looked at his daughter with his heart breaking all over again. Sienna's eyes were on the fixators, horrified by them.

"I'm fine, Sienna," said Stephen, though even the child could tell that was not true.

Sienna's eyes welled with tears. "Can you fix your hands, Daddy?"

Those words broke Stephen, causing him to look away before they could catch him crying.

"The doctors will help him," Talia answered Sienna's question.

Silence hung between the three, causing a storm of tension that Talia needed to avoid.

"Blow Daddy a kiss and then it's time to go," Talia decided.

Sienna blew Stephen a kiss with Talia relieved to see that it triggered a hint of a smile from her husband. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, kiddo," Stephen told her.

Even that perked Sienna up (Talia too, really) as the two headed back into the corridor with Nicole waiting for them again. Talia had gone over the childcare plan with Nicole, already stressed about how she was going to balance Stephen's care and her daughter, but Talia would find a way to figure everything out. So far, Nicole could spare one more night before she had to return to work again.

Returning to Stephen's room, her husband was staring out of the window, not even reacting when Talia had come through the door. Already, Talia knew she was losing her husband — this was going to end up straining their family.

"You should go home, Talia," Stephen told her.

"I'm staying, Stephen," Talia stated.

"Sienna needs you."

"I know she does," said Talia. "But you need me too."

Stephen fell into silence again, causing Talia's heart to ache as she sunk into the seat next to him, unknowing of what would come next.

☆

Time had ticked by far too quickly for Talia to keep up. Between the hospital and home, Talia was exhausted as she tried to balance being a mother, helping Stephen with his recovery, and even work too. Talia had enrolled Sienna into preschool, hating how sudden the change had been for her daughter, who had too much going on.

Talia spent her nights alone in their too large bed without Stephen, crying herself to sleep. But Talia loved her family enough to do anything for them.

So, when Stephen's fixtures had come off with his hands in white bandages, Stephen had not wasted any time with the doctor taking over. If anyone was going to fix his hands, it would be Stephen, and Talia had suspected that this would happen.

Though, Talia still tried to reach her husband. As she shaved his overgrown beard for him, Talia tried speaking to him about Sienna, wanting him to notice that he still had his family.

"Sienna drew you another picture," Talia told him.

"I saw it," said Stephen.

Talia pressed her lips together, hand raising with the shaver again.

A few days later and the day had finally come: Stephen's bandages were coming off. As the doctor unravelled the white gauze, Talia had kept her hands knotted together as she worked, silently wishing that it would not be as bad as they thought.

The skin was raw-red and scarred, where it would be permanent, but fade in time. The worst part was that Stephen's hands shook with her husband having no control over it. Stephen gasped in distraught with them all knowing what it meant. A tear slipped free, falling down Talia's cheek, hating what this was doing to Stephen more than anything.

"No," said Stephen.

"Give your body time to heal," Doctor West advised.

Stephen's eyes fell on the doctor, blaming him. "You've ruined me."

"Stephen, honey, please," Talia tried, hand reaching to rest against his arm to soothe him.

But Stephen recoiled from Talia's touch.

"We'll give you some privacy," Doctor West suggested.

The doctors left, leaving husband and wife alone.

Talia's hand had fallen from her husband's arm, finding herself silent as she did not know what to say or even do — not even his wife could bring him comfort. The only thing Stephen wanted was a cure for his hands, so he could go back to surgery.

"How did you do it?" Stephen eventually asked.

Trying to not fall apart, Talia's eyes fell on her husband. "Do what, Stephen?"

"Walk away without a scratch," Stephen said, almost bitterly, referring to the car crash.

"I told you," said Talia, feeling her heart crack. "I don't know what happened."

But it didn't matter what Talia said. Staring at her husband, Talia could see that he was battling with conflicted emotions: hate and relief.

And seeing that, Talia knew that their marriage would not survive.

☆

My heart hurts for them so much already. The next chapter is going to be tough, but I'm so excited for Talia to start discovering her powers more!