One of a Kind

Chapter 1: The Accident

Alex slowly opened his eyes. The hazy mist started to clear and the pain suddenly shot through his arm. He groaned and tried to sit up but a gentle hand pushed him down again. A shadow fell over his face but he couldn't see what had made it, then a face came through the hazy mist that filled his head. He saw her lips move but he didn't hear the sound that escaped through them. Then almost like a whisper he heard 'Alex? Alex can you hear me?' He turned his head towards the woman's voice, 'yes' he croaked. He heard the clicking of heels on the polished hospital tiles and gingerly eased himself up. 'Jennifer?' 'No Alex, its Dr Kell' Alex turned to face her. 'What happened Simone? Why am I in hospital?' She shifted uncomfortably 'well, there was a... bit of an accident' Alex looked at her, horrified 'wha... What?' proceeding carefully, she continued 'you were in a car crash yesterday, a van collided with your car and...' Alex stared at her 'what? What else?' he asked hysterically. 'Jennifer, she, she's in a coma but she's going to be fine, I promise.'

Reality started to sink in as Alex discovered that Jennifer had been seriously injured in the accident; he felt a mix of sickness and guilt in the pit of his stomach like he'd never experienced before. After a few days to allow himself to recover Alex begged Dr Kell to let him see Jennifer. 'Please Simone, I need to see her, it's killing me'. She agreed and took Alex to the ward where Jennifer was and led him to her bedside. He took one look at his wife and broke down; she had long scars on her head, some were quite small but one was much longer than the rest and ran from her hairline right down to her cheek. 'Its all my fault Sim!' he sobbed into her jacket, 'no Alex' she reassured him 'you did nothing wrong at all, nothing was your fault.'

He was discharged within a few days along with the twins (who had luckily suffered no injuries whatsoever) but he still visited her every day, usually all day, and sometimes their eldest daughter, 11 year old Charlotte, would bring her little sisters, Elsie (5) and Rachele (2), to see their mum. At first, Alex hated them being there and seeing her so... vulnerable. He grew to enjoy their company though; they were his children after all.

The girls were very upset at first and cried every time they saw her, but soon learned that she was getting better every day and the doctors were looking after her well. Simone pulled Alex aside one day, 'Alex, we're planning to wake her up today, are you ready?' Alex stood dumbfounded for a moment and nodded his head. He went back out to his daughters and took their hands in his trembling ones and said 'the doctors are going to wake mummy up today girls'. Charlotte stared at her dad, 'really? Is she better now?' Alex nodded and smiled at them 'yes, I think she's much better' Simone came out of the main office and held her closed fist out to Alex, who cupped his hands underneath. Simone dropped something tiny into his hands and he smiled when he saw it. He picked up Jennifer's hand and slid the ring gently onto her finger...

Holding hands, they waited eagerly for Jennifer to wake from her coma and after a few minutes she started to come around. She opened her eyes wincing at the bright lights above her. She sat up and stared wide eyed at Alex and her children around her bed 'What's going on? Where am I?' 'You're in hospital Jennifer' said Dr Kell 'how are you feeling?' 'My, my head hurts' she stuttered gently running her elegant finger down the long scar 'what happened?'

'There was an accident' Alex replied; it worried him the way she just stared at him like he was a stranger. Simone was worried and decided to see how Jennifer's brain had been affected. 'Jennifer, can you name all the people here?' Jennifer looked at all the people surrounding her bed, 'No' she said as if almost questioning herself 'you don't know who I am Jennifer?' Alex asked, distraught, she looked at him for a long time and gently shook her head. Alex stood up abruptly and left the room, Charlotte ran after him while Simone sat where Alex had been, 'Jennifer, can you tell me how old you are?' She closed her eyes, '17'. 'Oh dear God' Simone leant forward and looked Jennifer in the eye, 'you're 30 Jennifer, your 30 years old' Jennifer shook her head 'no' she said with a laugh 'I'm 17, I've just left school.' She stopped dead 'haven't I?'