Tom jolted awake. He had dozed off in the dining room chair and now his neck ached. Ellie sat upright in the bed watching him, her half-melted glasses askew.

"You almost fell," she said.

Tom smiled. "I'm glad to see you awake. I thought I lost you there."

Ellie shrugged, or at least that was what Tom thought it was. The thick sloppy bandages at her shoulders moved a little up and down which was kind of like a shrug. The towel still covered her ...