Trials And Tribulations (Frankiana Version)

Chapter 10

For the next few minutes Diana repeated the dizzying cycle of informing Franki where she was and what had happened to her. For Franki's part, she continued with the forthright compliments of Diana's eyes and various other features, attempting on more than one occasion to kiss her again. Apart from the first attempt, which had caught Diana completely off guard, Franki had only managed to kiss her on one other occasion, when, awkwardly, she was asking Diana once more, if she were her doctor.

Otherwise, Diana's logic and reason had finally won out over her heart and she had managed to move her face out of the way, with, she'd admit, a great deal of selfcontrol and difficulty. Soon, the two of them had been joined by Ally and Maza after Franki's mom had obviously been able to assure the latter that Franki was fine and that she should see her. After they'd entered the room, Maza had rushed to Franki's bedside, embracing the smaller girl in a massive hug, her eyes moist with tears. Franki's mom watched the interaction from where she'd stood at the door, a sad smile on her face.

"What did we literally just talk about last week?" Maza asked Franki, her arms still

enveloped around her body tightly.

"I don't remember," Franki answered truthfully. Maza kissed her on the head softly and

laughed a little at her response.

"I told you I never wanted to sit by your hospital bed again," Maza replied, finally releasing Franki from her grip and wiping a tear from her cheek with her left hand.

"I'm in the hospital?" Franki asked her.

"Yeah Frances," Maza told her. "You had a seizure."

"Oh...." Franki replied. "Ok." Maza looked questioningly at both Diana and Franki's mom, raising her eyebrow in confusion.

"She's still postictal," Arlene told Maza in way of an explanation. "She'll be confused for a little bit whilst the irritation to her brain settles down."

"She's been like it the entire time I've been sitting with her," Diana explained to Maza. "She asks where she is so I tell her, then, a minute later she'll ask me the exact same question again like it's the first time."

"Oh," Maza said in response, a mischievous glint in her eye. "So we could tell her anything and she'd not remember it a minute from now?"

"Pretty much," Diana informed her. "Interesting." Maza said a small smile creeping onto her lips. "Very interesting." Maza gave Diana a knowing look and she couldn't help the blush that spread across her face as a result. For the next twenty minutes, Ally, Maza and Diana continued to sit with Franki and her mom in the small sterile hospital room, Arlene asking Diana whether Franki had given her any trouble whilst she'd been speaking to Maza downstairs.

"Nothing that I couldn't handle." Diana replied smiling at the recollection of how Franki's lips had felt on her own.

"I'd be grateful for that if I were you," Arlene laughed. "She was being a right pain before you arrived. She was trying to clamber out of the bed to get a pizza, of all things. I swear, my daughter is always thinking about her stomach." Diana glanced down at Franki who had fallen asleep on the bed, her face almost completely obscured by the pillow it was buried into.

The four remaining occupants of the room had continued to talk amongst themselves until Franki had woken up, pushing herself up from the bed slightly to look around at

them. She reached her left hand up to her eyes and rubbed them sleepily before placing it firmly against her forehead, closing her eyes as she did so. "Where am I?" she asked her eyes opening again to look around the room.