Chapter 53

The light faded and Leigh opened her eyes. She was in the hospital room again, or was it still? She lifted her hands to look; they were bandaged. The sheets were tented over her feet and she felt a numb pain in one leg. Jim sat in the chair snoring.

The voices were quiet. They weren't gone, they'd always be there close to the surface, but she could live with quiet. Leigh thought about waking Jim, but his snoring was so comforting she just lay and listened until she fell back to sleep.

She woke again and felt Jim's hand on her arm. She smiled up at him.

"My hero," Leigh said.

"It was Joe that saved you." Jim didn't let go of her. "Ryley who fought for you."

"Silly." Leigh put her hand on his. "You've always been my hero."

Jim smiled.

"It's good to have heroes." He brushed her hair away from her face. "You're my hero. You get up and smile, and go teach your class to make the world a better place. I catch the bad guys. You're the one who stops them from becoming bad guys."