Close Your Eyes, Remember Me (TBF Book 1)

Elijah

After another syringe of pain relief brought a slight tinge of colour back to Lucia's face Dr Farris was ready to examine her properly although her eyelids were still drooping.

"Don't you doze off on me again, young lady." Dr Farris chuckled as he pulled the blue curtains back and set up his items for the examination.

"No, sir." Lucia replied with what was a very sweetly honest attempt at chirpiness.

Elijah could tell she was still exhausted though, his respect for her rising even more.

She glanced at him with a nervous look when Dr Farris' back was turned and his hand shot out reflexively for hers, hesitating right before making contact, allowing her to close the last little gap between their fingers and take his hand. The small smile she flashed him was filled with gratitude.

Sariyah was grinning like a fool from her plastic chair, watching the pair like a soap opera with endless plot twists and turns. She loved a trashy soap opera.

"Let's start with the tests that don't require you to get out of that bed." Said Dr Farris.

Lucia smiled weakly and replied, "It's like you read my mind."

Dr Farris spun a thin torch between his fingers before clicking the button on the back and shining it into her eyes.

"Look up for me, now down, straight ahead, straight into the light, and now over my shoulder into your handsome fiancés face."

She followed every instruction easily until flicking her eyes to Elijah's with a light blush and suddenly she couldn't seem to hold her lashes up for more than a second at a time. He gave her hand a squeeze and tried to smile through his own awkwardness. She managed to hold her eyes open long enough for Dr Farris to mumble something that sounded positive and switch the light off.

"How far can you twist your head for me?"

Lucia lifted her head half an inch from the pillow and managed to turn it barely two degrees each way even with her eyes screwed shut and her bottom lip trembling.

"It'll do for now." Dr Farris muttered, "Let's try that again later."

He tapped his fingers over her face, "Can you feel my fingers on both sides?"

"Yes."

"Now I hate to do this to you but I will need you to find the strength to pry your hand from your beaux's."

Lucia released Elijah's hand with a sheepish expression.

Dr Farris took both her hands in his and began his next reel of instructions, "Squeeze my left hand, now my right, now both at the same time as hard as you can, now pull both."

Elijah couldn't judge how well she was performing in this line of testing and Dr Farris' face revealed nothing of his thoughts.

"Can you feel me squeezing your hands?"

"Yes, sir."

"Can you feel me tapping your inner wrists?"

"Yes, sir."

"Close your eyes, good girl, which hand am I squeezing?"

"Left."

"Good, which finger am I pinching?"

"Pinkie."

"On which hand?"

"Right."

"Fantastic." He said dully.

He pulled a reflex hammer from his tray and tapped above her elbows, both arms jerked just a little and Dr Farris stepped back.

"Why don't we sit you up for the rest? Legs dangling over the edge of the bed, please."