Beeping. All I heard was beeping. You know, that really annoying sound of medical equipment. Had to mean I was in the hospital. On the plus side, the aggravating noise wasn't urgent. That meant I was alive.

Listening intently, I could hear the soft squeak of tennis shoes on shiny floors and quieted voices. The customary hustle and bustle of a hospital floor was absent. I was either in the ICU or it was nighttime... or both.

Deduction by sound was all well and good but observation by sight would have been preferable. However, my eyelids would not cooperate. That was when I noticed the rest of my body was not interested in moving either. A spark of fear began to grow in my stomach. What if I was paralyzed? Being trapped this way would be a new flavor of hell. Fear turned to panic as my thoughts began to race. Just as I heard the beeping increase with my heart rate, there was movement on my left.

"She's awake," I heard a warm, masculine voice say softly but with authority.

Squeaky footsteps came quickly and the man's voice whispered in my ear, "You're going to be ok."

For some reason, the soothing tone calmed me immediately. Another voice, this one female, asked me if I was in pain. I tried to answer her but was unable. The nurse, in her best "there, there" voice informed me that I was badly injured and was being given medication so I could not move.

That was a relief. At least it wasn't permanent. The nurse voice then told me she was giving me something to help me relax. I desperately wanted to hurl a million questions at the voice. Where was I? How did I get here? Who was the man next to me?

The effects of the medication were dragging me back to unconsciousness. I did my best to fight but it was useless. I decided to go with the undertow for the time being and rest. I heard myself sigh and started to drift.

The waves were about to take me when I realized two things. One, I had absolutely no clue who I was and two, I knew the voice of the man next to me. I'd known it for years. I'd fallen asleep to it more times than I could count.

My last thought before the darkness took me was... How is a fictional character in my hospital room?