"I'll pour you a glass of water then maybe we can try again, but only if you really want to," I left her on the bed. She had gained some healthy weight back, but she was still very thin.

I came back in and sat down next to her, handing her the glass. She was absolutely beautiful. I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to hurt her. I should ask her about that soon, I thought, but not just yet.

"Do you feel up to it?" 

She slowly shook her head and took a deep breath. "I still feel dizzy"

"Do you want to get back into the wheelchair?"

She shook her head again.

"Let's get you into a chair with a back then," I had gotten into the habit of picking her up when she needed help. She didn't seem to mind. I carried her to the living room and closed the blinds.

I searched the medicine cabinet, finding one last bandage for her shoulder. I knelt down beside her and delicately unwrapped the day-old bandage, replacing it with the new one. 

~~~

Mid-afternoon, she asked if I would help her up again. 

"If you're honest about what hurts, then yeah, but don't overdo it," I advised. 

"I know," She looked down at the ground.

Crouching down next to her again, but this time on the other side, I wrapped my arm around her, both of us standing at the same time. She placed her hand on my shoulder and tried not to lean over this time, but she had to. She clutched her stomach and groaned, leaning on me with half her weight.

"Do you need to sit down? Be honest,"

"A bit longer," She did look better, not quite so pale. 

"Okay," She stayed up for about ten more seconds before admitting her legs were shaking. 

She sat back into the armchair, looking pleased that she was improving. I was very proud of her.

"That was very good, Linda, and this is only the first day!"

She beamed.