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Chapter 11


Joyce woke with a start, she raised her head from her arm, she was holding Buffy’s hand, and had felt a definite movement.

She looked at her daughter’s face, and saw her eyelids flicker

“Buffy…honey? – Can you hear me?”

Buffy’s eyes briefly opened, closed again, Joyce could see the movement of her eyeballs beneath her closed lids

“Honey – baby wake up, I’m here”

Joyce looked above the bed and hit the call button for the nurse.

Ten seconds later, the nurse came in to see Joyce standing over her daughter.

“She’s trying to wake up, she opened her eyes for a fleeting second”

“Okay Mrs Summers, can I just…”

Joyce stood back while the nurse swung into action. Going to the foot of the bed she depressed a bar and the bed lowered, but the top part rose so Buffy was at an angle. Next the nurse took off the oxygen max, and gently pulled the fine tube from her throat, which made Buffy cough.

Reaching for the ‘sippy’ cup of water, the nurse said

“Come on Buffy, take a sip…and another…there”

Buffy swallowed and rested back, then she opened her eyes fully and croaked something

“You’re in hospital, there was an accident, but don’t worry, everything will be fine”

Joyce came to the side of the bed and said,

“Honey?”

“Mom?”

The nurse smiled and said to Joyce – there you go, no brain damage then, she knows who you are!”

Joyce gave a little gasp and covered her mouth, she couldn’t help the tears falling again – happy tears – that her daughter had got over the first hurdle and wasn’t brain damaged, and she held Buffy’s hand while the nurse said she’d go and fetch the doctor.



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Dr Travers came into the room smiling and did various tests, and putting his pen-torch back in his pocket after checking Buffy’s pupils dilated when he shone the torch into them he said,

“Well, I think that’s about it!”

“How do you feel, my dear, hmm?”

“What’s wrong with my foot?”


“Ah, that, well, you had it trapped and you had to be cut out of your seat, but initial x-rays shows no serious damage, just a couple of broken bones”

“It’s not all cut and mangled?”

“I promise you, bruised and swollen, not cut and mangled, and we have a specialist flying in - he’s the best in the world, so you’ll be in safe hands”

Buffy nodded and laid her head back against the pillows.

“Well, I shall leave you to chat with your mother – ladies” Dr Travers smiled and left, the nurse followed him.

“Did you stay all night?”

“Course! I wanted to be here when you woke up, I promised”

“What happened?”

There was a soft knock at the door and a lady with a trolley came in, offering newspapers, drinks and candy. Joyce bought a newspaper

“Well, there you go, you were cut out of that!”

Joyce opened the newspaper to show her daughter the double page of the picture of the plane crash

“OH MY GOD!”

“Oh my god indeed – it says here the Captain and his co-pilot were hero’s, it was a miracle that it wasn’t hundreds of dea - ………um, oh god – I’m sorry” Joyce had to sit and reach for tissues, the enormity of what had happened hit her.

Buffy picked up the paper and read that there were only four people dead from the plane, two airhostesses, and two passengers who had the misfortune to be sitting where the plane broke in half………

She went onto read that the crash happened due to an accident on the highway, where vehicles had crashed through the barriers and rolled down an embankment and onto the runway, and out of those, 17 people had been killed, 14 of them from a tour bus full of a school football team, coaches, and parents.

Buffy lay back and closed her eyes………she couldn’t remember a thing.

**********************


“I’m trying to locate a Hank Summers…yes, S.U.M.M.E.R.S………yes, Jacobs, Jacobs and Donaldson…thankyou” Joyce was put on hold while they tried to locate her ex-husband.

Double doors opened down the corridor and Joyce saw Willow and Bernice Rosenberg coming towards her, beaming smiles, carrying flowers, a fruit basket and a helium balloon.

“She’s in there, go in, she’s awake, I won’t be a moment, I’m trying to contact Hank to tell him – Oh hello….he isn’t?…They’re not – but I thought…well okay then, thankyou for your trouble, bye”

Joyce went back into Buffy’s room

“Look mom, aren’t they beautiful!” Buffy grinned as she showed her mother the flowers

“I’ll go to the nurses station and see where I can get a vase for them”

“So, how are you feeling?” Bernice asked

“Like I’ve been in a plane crash! – No seriously, not too bad, got a bit of a headache, and my foot’s achy, but I’m glad I don’t remember anything! – ‘Specially not THAT – look at it!” Buffy held up the morning paper.

“I know, we’ve been watching it on TV, it’s been about nothing else! They’ve had the pilot and co-pilot interviewing them, they’re going to get bravery awards, and your picture was shown, saying you were injured, and that other girl skater, what’s-her-name?” Willow clicked her fingers trying to think

“Who, Faith Hamilton – she hurt too?”

“Couple of broken ribs, your mom and I saw her wheeled from surgery, we asked” Bernice said

“I didn’t think, I wonder how Illyria and O’Connor is?”

“Ah, now I can help you again, Illyria came to the nurses station to see how you were, she got a broken wrist and slight concussion, and a limp…and I think she said something about the guy got cuts and bruises and a burnt hand – but they’re both okay”

“Right, thanks” Buffy said. Joyce came back without the flowers or vase, saying one of the orderlies would put them in water and bring them to the room.

“Did you get through to daddy?”

“No honey, he um, I don’t know if he’s messing Maureen about like he used to me, but he’s not at the conference – the woman on the phone told me his company aren’t there this week”

“Have you tried to phone her?”

“I did, but there was no answer, Hank told me she goes to stay at her mother’s when he goes off to conference”

Buffy tutted, said ‘typical’ and turned to her friend.

“So, you can’t remember anything at all?” Willow asked

“No…the last thing I remember is………leaving Lake Geneva – I remember the last thing I put in my case was Mr Gordo, I always put him on top so he doesn’t get squashed…what? (Buffy felt slightly embarrassed at her grinning friend) – I know, I know, silly n’all but then I shut the case, and Illyria knocked the door and asked if my luggage was ready to put on the trolley so it could be taken down to the coach”

“And that’s it?”

“Yeah, that’s it, I don’t remember getting on the coach or the airport or anything”


A knock at her room door bought in the orderly with Buffy’s flowers, and he also bought in another fruit basket, and a list of people who had phoned in asking after her welfare, and put them on the table over her bed.

“Who’s that from?”

Buffy fished out the card and said,

“Let me see…oh, it’s from Illyria, Coach O’Connor and staff at the academy”

“That’s nice of them”

“Don’t want you eating chocolate I suppose!” Willow said, and everyone laughed. Buffy picked up the list

“And Fred’s phoned wanting to know how I am – she’s in…she’s in…(Buffy looked puzzled) I forget, but she wasn’t on our plane”

“Boston, Illyria told me, I asked” Joyce said

“Yeah, that’s it, Boston…who else…oh Xander Harris, that was nice of him – he did well in the finals………I can’t think of who half of these people are” Buffy said frowning

“Don’t worry, there probably people who saw your picture on the news, fans – “

“Yeah – aww listen, Mrs Keogh – I’ll HAVE to ring her later mom” Joyce nodded.

There was another knock on the door and it was time for Buffy to go through some medical procedures, have her dressings changed, medication, and a bed-bath, so Willow, Joyce and Bernice said they’d go for coffee while this was done.




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