Aero *Completed Story*

Chapter 11

You can't expect a bit of hope
And while you're outside looking in
Describing what you see
Remember what you're staring at is me
'Cause I'm looking at you through the glass
Don't know how much time has passed
All I know is that it feels like forever
When no one ever tells you that forever feels like home
Sitting all alone inside your head

"Careful, Careful." Wally held onto Preston's hand and placed his other hand on her back to steady her. "We aren't in a hurry you know."

Preston let out a small snort and gave Wally a knowing look. "You are always in a hurry."

"I know. But we can't rush this."

Preston took another step forward and winced in pain. Her words came out with a grunt. "I know but I just want to go home already." She sighed, feeling a bit defeated. Her arm shook as she held on to the rail of the hospital bed. Wally noticed her hand trembling against his own. His brow furrowed in worry. She seemed to sense his concern. "I'm ok. My body is just adjusting to everything, I think." Her body was in shock and she knew it. Part of her spine had just been replaced a little over a week ago and before that her body had undergone an unspeakable trauma.

Try as she might, she wasn't able to rid her mind of the feelings she experienced as she lay on the cold floor of the laboratory, dying. She could still feel the warmth of the blood that surrounded her. Her wings, which lay a few feet away from her, called to her. They haunted her dreams. Sleep eluded her these days. She was ready to get past this. To do this she made a promise to herself to push as hard as she needed, to do whatever she needed, to get back out there. To help people again. It was her hope that doing that would make the nightmares disappear.

Wally noticed the firm look of determination on Preston's face. He knew what that look meant too. And it made him nervous. Preston was someone who wanted to help everyone and everything that needed it. Even though she had been through a horrible ordeal, he knew that part of her would never change. But he wasn't sure now how far she would take that desire. He was worried about her emotional state. So far, he had seen no visible evidence that she was working through everything. And that scared him.

Since the night of her surgery, while she was unconscious, Wally promised her that he would look after her and take care of her no matter what. He lost her once and he refused to again. After seeing the look of determination on her face, he knew it was going to be a hard road ahead, for both of them.

"So, I have been hiding something from you." Wally moved to hold her around the waist, noticing her balance was becoming more unstable with each step she took.

Preston's breath caught in her throat at feeling Wally's arm tighten around her. The warmth of his touch reminded her of how much she had missed him. In Africa she had spent much of her time imagining moments like this. They kept her going. But every time she imagined spending time with Wally she couldn't help but have a sneaking suspicion that she was in love with an illusion, an idealized memory of him. A dream.

But now, as he held onto her, Preston felt all that apprehension melt away. The feelings she had were real. In fact, being with him now made her realize they were stronger then she had remembered.

"Bruce told me there isn't any reason you need to stay here. They ran all the tests they needed and are continuing to research other options..." He struggled to find the words to complete his thought.

"To keep me alive?"

Wally looked down at her, his expression one of melancholy. He squeezed her hand. "Don't worry. You have the best minds in the universe working on it."

She smiled at him sympathetically. While she knew that what he said was true, and she believed that Ray Palmer, J'onn and Bruce would do everything in their power to help her, she wasn't sure this was something that could be fixed. Her doubt wasn't in their abilities. It was in her own.

"So, let's get you changed then I can take you home."

"Oh did Dinah bring me a change of clothes?"

"Yeah while you were getting some bloodwork done." Wally made sure she was stable holding on to the bar on the side of the bed before rushing over to the bag that Dinah had brought. He rifled through it until he found exactly what he was looking for. "I think she packed too many options. But there is always this." He held a t-shirt up for her to see. It was her Flash shirt. They both blushed at the sight of it.

"That's perfect."

Wally laid it on the bed alongside a pair of sweatpants. "Are you going to be ok? Or do you need help with this?"

As Preston slowly made her way over to where the clothes lay, for half a second she considered getting help to get dressed. But the idea was quickly and stubbornly dismissed. "I think I will be fine." With her back to him, she started to remove the gown, giving Wally a glimpse of her back.

His mouth gaped open and he flinched as if in pain when he saw it. A scar ran the entire length of her spine. It was bright pink in color and was over two centimeters wide. Either side of her spine was swollen and heavily bruised.

After letting out a deep breath, trying to take it all in, he noticed something missing on both her shoulder blades. He unknowingly reached out and ran his finger across them.