Mia sat in her wheelchair, waiting for Dr. Clarkson to walk in the room. Blake sat next to her, holding her hand lightly. It was a friendly gesture which she appreciated greatly.

The room was dark and the air conditioning was a nice contrast from the heat outside. It was small and she felt slightly cramped but that was normal to her. The window behind her shed light on the room and seemed to brighten the otherwise sad and gloomy room.

Mia sat up straighter when the door creaked open. She turned to the sound and saw Dr. Clarkson walk into the room.

"Hello, Mia," she greeted brightly.

"Hey, Dr. Clarkson." Mia smiled lightly.

"So, as you know, today we are going to see if you are ready for crutches. We are going to start with standing up. Do you think you can do it? I know you had some issues last time."

Mia took a deep breath, something she had been doing a lot lately, and nodded. "I can do it," she stated, confident in her answer.

"Okay then. Why don't we go to the gym?" she suggested. Yes, the hospital had a gym. It was incredible.

Blake gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before letting go and standing up. She followed him, Dr. Clarkson, and her dad, to the gym.

Mia's heart raced at the prospect of walking again, even if just with crutches. Right in that second, Mia made a mental promise. I will stand!

Mia was so caught up in her thoughts that she had failed to notice that they had already reached their destination. Dr. Clarkson led her to the far corner.

"Are you ready?" she asked, sounding serious even with a wide grin spread across her face.

"I am," she told them. Mia turned to Blake. "Can you help me, though?" she asked, feeling slightly awkward now that her dad was in the room.

"Of course," he responded. "You are going to need all the help you can get," he joked.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?" Mia had tried to sound firm but the smile on her face surely gave her away.

Instead of responding, Blake just playfully rolled his eyes and walked over to her. He held out his hand to her. She gratefully grabbed it and, getting a brief nod from Dr. Clarkson, used it to get up.

Sadly, it was unsuccessful as the pain of her burns caused her to grimace and fall back in her seat.

Mia, with a determination she didn't know she had, grabbed Blake's arm and prepared herself for the pain before standing up quickly.

For the first time in weeks, Mia was standing! "Oh my gosh!" she yelled. "I'm doing it!"

Blake laughed. "That's awesome, Mia."

Suddenly, Mia jolted sideways ever so slightly. The movement caused a surge of pain spread through her body like lightning. (Get it? Lol, I'm so funny.)

She collapsed into her chair again. Her smile had been replaced with a grimace but she switched it back when she saw everyone looking at her.

"Let's try that again," Mia offered. "Slower this time."

Blake looked at Dr. Clarkson—annoying Mia—who gave him a reassuring nod before putting his hand in front of Mia. She clutched his hand tightly as she used it to pull herself up. She made sure to slow down her pace which increased her pain.

She created an invisible mask, stopping others from seeing her pain. With pain coursing through her, Mia stood up fully. She could tell that she had better stability this time and smiled again, not that she had ever stopped.

Mia saw Dr. Clarkson jotting things down on her clipboard. "Are you ready to try and walk?" Dr. Clarkson asked. "With the help of Blake, of course."

"Yes!" Her determination seemed to not only shock (more puns) her, but also her friends and family. Ignoring the dumbfounded looks, Mia held tightly onto Blake's arm and, slowly but surely, walked a few steps across the floor. It was strange walking after such a long time sitting. Her legs were unimaginably stiff putting all of her weight on her feet was tiring.

Mia hadn't realized how much of a toll it would take after she got out of the wheelchair. Mia couldn't walk far. She just didn't have enough energy in her body and hoped that what she had shown Dr. Clarkson had been good enough.

Blake seemed to notice her sudden fatigue because he led her back to the wheelchair and set her back down gently.

When she finished, Dr. Clarkson announced that they should return to her office. The group made their way through the wide hallways until they reached the familiar creaky door.

Blake sat next to her again and, although she was tempted, she refrained from holding his hand.

Mia looked over at Dr. Clarkson and felt worry spread through her body like a wildfire as she looked at her clipboard.

"Well, I have some good news and some bad news," Dr. Clarkson stated.

Mia, needing something to hold onto, grabbed Blake's hand and held it tight, waiting for whatever she was about to say. "The good news is that you can use crutches!" she said excitedly, the same warm smile on her kind face.

Although extremely happy about the news, she still had to hear whatever the bad news was. "Under further inspection, it has come to our attention that these burns are unlike any other. I have known this for a while and recently told the head Doctor. Sadly, because of the strangeness and intensity of the burn, you will also have to be on your crutches for at least three more weeks. Along with lengthening the time, we would like to ask you, and your parents permission, to do some tests on the burns."

Mia saw her dad looking appalled as she thought it over. "What... What kind of tests?" she asked.

Her dad's face contorted into a look of shock and unbelief. "Absolutely not! In no way are you going to experiment on my daughter!"

"Dad," Mia said, her voice clear and steady as she looked into his eyes. "If I have a chance to help people and repay them for my mistakes, I'm going to take it."

He looked confused for a second before shrugging it off. "Honey, you can't do this," he told her, his eyes pleading. Mia was not going to give up. She had done too much to innocent people to let this opportunity go to waste. Seeing this, her dad changed positions. "You are not allowed to participate in these tests." His voice was sharp.

Mia could tell that it would be hard to get him to allow her to be a part of the tests. She turned to her kind doctor. "Dr. Clarkson, what are these tests?"

Sighing, she responded. "The tests include a blood sample as well as a sample of some of the burned skin. We would also like to see how it reacts to certain things. As a thanks, you and your family would be compensated with five hundred dollars a visit."

Everyone's eyes widened and Mia looked to her dad. Sadly, although he looked shocked, he still looked unwilling, stricken, and slightly confused. It wasn't a great expression but it was better than the angry and stubborn expression earlier. "You see? It's not going to be life threatening. I'm not even going to be in danger," she told him. "Please, dad," she begged. "Let me do something to help these people."

She could see that her dad was siding with her and had to repress a grin. He had never been very stubborn.

"She will only need to come twice a week for three weeks. That's all that we are asking," Dr. Clarkson informed him.

With a sigh, Mia's father nodded. "Fine. But I want you to be the head doctor on this. I don't trust anyone else." Mia felt happiness spread through her whole body.

She realized that she had been clutching Blake's hand tightly and loosened her grip. She was about to let him go entirely, but he stopped her, clutching her hand in his.

"Thank you, dad," she told him.

"Is there anything else?" he asked after giving her a small smile.

"Well, other than getting the crutches, you should be free to go." As always, the smile on her face was kind, bright, and very, very happy.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Clarkson," Mia said with a bright smile of her own.

"It's no problem, my dear," she told her. Mia felt her insides twist at the name. It was such a motherly thing to call someone. It was something Mia hadn't been called in years and it nearly brought tears to her eyes.

Mia knew it could be considered weak or pitiful but her heart still lurched. Thankfully, she came to her senses and cursed herself for feeling that way. She knew her mom would be disappointed, and she deserved it. Mia hadn't been thinking of her own mother and instead of the one she wished she had. I don't wish that Dr. Clarkson was my mom! she told herself firmly. The only mother I need is the one I was given.

Mia looked up when she felt her hand getting squeezed. All eyes were on her. Again.

"We should probably get going. Right, dad?" she said, doing her best to avert the attention off of her.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Where do we go to pick up the crutches?" he asked, his gaze moving to Dr. Clarkson.

"I have some here," she told him, walking over to a small closet. When she opened it, Mia saw a few pairs of crutches and some other things. Some gauze tape, a few slings, a small lockbox, and a first aid kit. Something about it seemed strange to her but she shrugged it off.

Dr. Clarkson grabbed a pair of crutches and handed it to Mia. She adjusted the height on it so it would fit her and smiled. Her dad would surely have to pay for it but with the new source of income, she was sure it would be okay. Mia knew that she wouldn't keep much of it. She just couldn't.

"It looks like we're ready to go," her dad said.

Mia couldn't stop a large smile from creeping onto her face as she clutched the crutches and started walking towards the door. She was walking! After a month of being unable to, it made her want to jump for gladness.

"You seem happy," Blake stated.

"Well, duh! I am literally walking! Do you see me? I'm walking!" she exclaimed, trying her best to calm the surge of adrenaline caused by her happiness.

Blake laughed. Mia almost stopped when she heard it. She had never really thought about it before but the sound was beautiful. She realized that she loved his laugh. How was it possible for her to not notice it before? How could she not realize the beauty?

Blake seemed to notice her hesitation. "You okay?" he asked, his voice switching from playful to serious in a matter of milliseconds.

This time, it was Mia's turn to laugh although her voice was far less angelic. "I'm incredible," she told him truthfully.

"That's good. You worried me there for a second," he confessed.

"Aww, was Blakey boo worried about me?" she mocked.

In response, Blake just rolled his eyes.

"You kiddo's coming?" her dad asked.

"Yep!" Blake called back. Mia looked over at her dad, who had just finished returning the old wheelchair. Mia felt a pang in her chest at the thought of leaving Blake but quickly reminded herself that she would see him tomorrow and that she only wanted to hang out with him because he was a great friend.

"Hey, Mr. Patterson?" Blake asked, trying to catch her dad's attention. He looked at Blake. "Do you think Mia could ride with us? We would just drop her off at your house."

Mia's dad considered this. "Alright," he gave in.

"Okay," he told her dad.

Mia and Blake started walking over to Blake's car. She got into the front seat, careful not to aggravate her burns. She was glad to be sitting again because, as awesome as it was, she was exhausted from the walking and her legs seemed to be burning all over again. Thankfully, in the past few weeks, Mia had gotten relatively good at hiding her pain from those around her.

"So," Blake started when he got into the car. "I wanted to let you know that we are going to start training you again."

Mia was confused. "How? I might not be in a wheelchair but I'm still on crutches."

"We are going to start training your invisibility."