All three of us exchanged looks and raced to Nell's room. Curious to see if the cure worked a crowd had formed outside the door and a couple of nurses were hollering at everyone to back off.

We attempted to push our way through but the huge throng of people standing closely packed together made our attempt unsuccessful.

I knew it wasn't fair but I wanted to push every single person out of my just so I could get to Nell. It had been months since I had heard her talk or seen her move and all these inquisitive bystanders standing in my way were making me furious.

The nurse who had come to fetch us managed to part the way for us.

"Get out of the way, please. The cure might not work and you could be bitten. It's not safe."

I knew she wasn't being completely truthful for if that was the case, she wouldn't have come to fetch us. Nell must already be awake. My heart thundered at the realisation. I knew that if the cure worked for sure, it would mean wonders for every person who had been bitten and had been stabilized but I couldn't bring myself to care for that now. I didn't know if it made me a horrible person- I just wanted to be with Nell for some time before I even thought about anyone else.

We finally managed to step inside the room. I was dimly aware of Nell's parents sitting beside her bed as I noticed who was hugging them. She was paler and skinnier than she ever had been, she looked vulnerable and exhausted with dark circles under her eyes but she was smiling all the while tears dripped down her face.

"Nell!" said Ana softly and then she was crying too while she stepped forward and hugged her best friend. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," whispered Nell. I was too shocked to believe that I was hearing her voice again after so long. I was standing behind Cali so Nell noticed her first.

"Cali?" she asked sounding surprised. "What-"

"It's a long story," said Cali gruffly which was her way of showing affection to the people she loved. "But you scared us kiddo."

Nell laughed and held out her arms. Cali rolled her eyes but hugged her briefly all the while shocking the hell out of me. Cali did not hug people.

"Is Zeno here too?"

Cali nodded.

"He'll come to meet you soon," She promised.

The she stepped aside to let me through and Nell saw me for the first time. She was as beautiful as ever and her unruly hair was a mess as always. This was the Nell I knew and loved and she was finally back.

I couldn't stop the grin that spread across my face as she smiled shyly at me. She didn't say anything to me and neither did I. Both of us had so much to say to each other but it couldn't be expressed here in front of everyone. I gave her a small smile as a promise and she blushed. I wanted to kiss her right there and then but I held myself back as the nurse ushered us out, saying Nell needed to rest. As I walked out of the door, I could feel her eyes on me all the way through.