"Shit," Bon said. Malcolm and Angus finally made it back to the house where their band mates were pacing and checking their watches. After explaining what held them up, the men didn't know what to say except, "That's fucked."

"I know," Malcolm said. Angus sat in a chair by the wall, tuning his guitar. Malcolm stood next to him while the other three stood on the other side of the room. The house looked exactly like you think it would with five men living together. "Ang an' I are seein' her tomorrow." Angus quickly looked up at Malcolm ready to say something. "I wish we knew what happened."

"Ya' can't ask her?" Mark asked. 

"She won't talk," Malcolm said. "Or maybe she can't, I don't know."

"An' she didn't have any identification?" Bon asked. "No wallet with an ID...?"

"I didn't check too close but I don't think her dress had any pockets," Malcolm said. "After we visit we're gonna run by the police station an' tell 'em what's up."

"Great," Bon smiled. "When are we goin'?"

Malcolm and Angus exchanged looks. "Ya' wanna come with us?" Angus asked. 

"Sure," Bon shrugged. "Why not? You two sound like you had an adventure this afternoon an' I've been bored stiff sittin' 'round 'ere with this lot."

"Hey, I offered you a round at cards," Phil said. 

"You always cheat, don't ya'?"

"I don't cheat," Phil said. Bon looked at Mark. 

"Are you the one who cheats?"

"I cheated once when I was five an' it was 'cause I didn't know the rules very well," Mark explained. "All those poker games you lost were fair an' square." Bon nodded and crossed his arms in thought.

"Who is it that always cheats at cards?" Bon asked. "I'm usually too drunk to remember."

"Maybe they don't cheat," Mark said. "Maybe someone can't play." Bon smiled and laughed.

"Maybe," he mused. "Fair enough. Anyway, let's practice somethin'. Wanna get up bright an' early tomorrow to meet your new friend, like."

**********

"They're not here," Angus said, looking around the hospital room. Not only was the woman's bed empty, but the man named Brian was gone too.

"Come on," Malcolm said, leading Angus out of the room. They met their band mates standing in the hall. "She's gone."

"Ain't in there?" Bon asked, catching a tiny rubber ball he bounced on the floor. 

"Her bed wasn't made," Angus said. "Maybe she went out for a bit."

"Well, let's have a look for her." Bon started his trek down the hall while the others lagged behind. "Full speed, men."

"Ya' don't think they discharged her, do ya'?" Mark whispered.

"They can't have, she was too sick," Malcolm said, letting an elderly lady pass. "Doctors were puttin' her on a feeding tube today."

"Think somethin' happened?" Phil asked. "I don't mean to get too morbid or anything but if she was as sick as ya' say..."

"Quiet, all of you," Angus muttered, hurrying to catch up with Bon. 

"What's with him?" Mark asked. Malcolm sighed. 

"Dunno. Been actin' funny since this started, ya' know?" Bon helped himself to sneaking peeks in the rooms they passed. Bon didn't know what the woman looked like so Malcolm wasn't sure how he'd help them find her. But he let him lead the way just the same. Crowds just seemed to part for Bon, which helped when you were only 5'3.

"Mr. Young? Mr. Young!" Both Malcolm and Angus stopped walking and looked around. Through the sea of nurses and visitors they found the doctor from yesterday hurrying to meet them. Hiding behind them was the woman. "Glad I caught you," the doctor said, approaching them. "Seems she still can't speak but she can write."

"That's great, uh, oi, Bon!" Bon pulled himself out of a doorway and Malcolm gestured him over.

"Find her?" he asked. 

"Oh, are these your friends?" The doctor looked down at the men, making note of how small they all were. Bon held his hand out and the doctor shook it. 

"They wanted to come," Malcolm said. "You were sayin'?" 

"Oh! Right." The doctor pulled out a sheet of paper. "We got her to write some things down for us. Thought this would be helpful in finding out who she is." Malcolm took the sheet and he and Angus skimmed over it.

𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚒---𝔫𝔞𝔪𝔢

𝙽𝚘---𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔥𝔲𝔯𝔱 𝔬𝔯 𝔫𝔬𝔱

𝚈𝚎𝚜---𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔯𝔢𝔪𝔢𝔪𝔟𝔢𝔯

𝙽𝚘---𝔰𝔩𝔢𝔢𝔭𝔦𝔫𝔤

𝚈𝚎𝚜---𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔥𝔬𝔪𝔢

𝙽𝚘---𝔩𝔦𝔳𝔢𝔰 𝔦𝔫 𝔰𝔞𝔦𝔡 𝔥𝔬𝔪𝔢

𝚈𝚎𝚜---𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔣𝔞𝔪𝔦𝔩𝔶

𝙽𝚘---𝔦𝔫 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔠𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔣𝔞𝔪𝔦𝔩𝔶

5---𝔭𝔞𝔦𝔫 𝔩𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔩

"Her answers are on the left, I scribbled down what I was asking on the right," the doctor explained. "When she's ready she can tell us the full story."

"How is she?" Malcolm asked. 

"Come on over, dear," the doctor called behind him. "Your friends are here to see you." The woman cautiously came forward, balancing on a pair of crutches that hooked around her arms. Her hospital gown was way too big and pinned shut in the back, Her eyes were clearer and it looked like she got a full night of sleep. "She's doing pretty well in light of the circumstances," the doctor said. "Unfortunately the use of her legs has been compromised. By what, we don't know. She'll need to have these crutches for the rest of her life."

Upon seeing Malcolm, the woman gave a shy smile. Malcolm smiled back. "Good to see ya', Stevi," he said. "Nice to finally put a name to your face. An' it's easy to remember."

"Glad to meet ya', Miss Stevi," Bon said, offering her his hand and a friendly smile. Phil laughed to himself, not at all surprised at Bon's behavior. "Malcolm here wouldn't shut up about you." Stevi pulled her hand away and flushed a deep shade of red. 

"Very funny, Bon," Malcolm said. "That's Bon for ya'. Or Ronald, he's known by both names."

"And by others," Mark snickered. "I'm Mark, this is Phil." Stevi nodded at each man's name, hoping she would remember them all.

"I'm Malcolm," said Mal. "And this is my brother Angus." Angus willed himself to look her in the eye. She looked a lot better today and he took a steady breath. 

"Hi," he said. 

"Stevi here is getting some exercise around the hospital before she goes back to the feeding tube," the doctor said. "If the weather gets nice we can take a stroll across the grounds. How does that sound?" Stevi smiled. "Excellent."

"Should we come back?" Malcolm asked.

"Come back anytime, it will be good for the young lady to have some company. Come on, then."

"Wait!" The doctor ceased leading Stevi down the hall and turned to see Angus. "There was a man in her room," Angus said. "What happened to him?"

"Oh, Mr. Johnson was discharged this morning," the doctor said. "But we have his appendix here in a jar if you'd like to see."

Angus swallowed and shook his head. "No thanks. Never mind." Phil and Bon both raised their hands.

"I'll look," they said.