Katie opened her eyes slowly only to be met with a sharp pain in the side of her skull. Her vision was blurred, but she could hear something. “You’re awake?” came the sound of a voice. She tried to search for the source, but the pain struck from both sides. “Just relax, would ya?” the voice continued. “If you move, the pain will only get worse.” A thumb grazed the palm of her hand. The tips of her fingers pressed against his thumb and squeezed weakly and relaxed to his touch. “Will she make it?” the voice continued. Katie kept her eyes closed. She recognized the voice the more it spoke.

  “She’ll be fine, but she’ll need surgery. The crash has caused some cranial damage.” came the voice of the EMT. “We’ll be at the ER momentarily, Mr. Nolan.”

  “Good!” he replied, shifting his gaze down to Katie. ”You’re lucky to be alive. Your car on the other hand took some pretty bad damage. It looks like it took a pretty bad roll. The top of the car was caved in pretty badly. I was barely able to find you in the wreckage. ”Katie tried to respond, but her mind was too focused on the pain to summon the words. “My name is Daniel, Daniel Nolan, but you can call me Dan.”

  “Katie. .” She whispered in a soft, weakened tone. Her arm lifted ever so slightly offering a handshake. “Thank you . . “ she said, taking a breath between words. “Thank you for getting me. . out.”

  The Ambulance pulled into the drop off zone of the hospital. The doors swung open and Dan hopped out. Offering a shoulder to help the ginger haired beauty into the wheelchair. The nurse fastened the seatbelt and propped up Katie’s legs on the foot rest. “Before I forget, I managed to rescue this from the wreckage of your car.” Dan said, taking a bag from the pocket of his coat and setting it down on her lap.

  Katie recognized the faint sound of jingling from within the bag. A jingle that could only be from a bottle of pills. She plunged her fingers into the bag that felt an awful lot like the purse that she had when she was only 26 years old. She could make out the leather surface of the bag as she wiggled her fingers, searching for the bottle. “Thanks. . “ she said with a smile. Her eyes were averted from Dan’s. “Could you . .?” She asked, gesturing toward the bottle. Dan smiled and nodded, reaching into her purse and grabbing the bottle.

  “Are these your meds or something?” Dan asked, placing the bottle in her scarred and bloodied hands.

  “It’s one of my prescriptions.” She replied lifting the bottle a little trying to get a clear look at it. Her vision was still a little blurred, but she could make out the faint rainbow-like color. The faint sound of ticking echoed through her brain. The sound caused her to flinch, shaking the bottle a little as she dropped her arm back to the wheelchair. She closed her eyes for a second as the pain throbbed. The scene around her had dissolved like sand blowing in a fierce gale of wind.

  Realm of Time

  “Thank you for your help again, Chris.”Aeryn said, watching as the sand began to pile up along the marble strewn Path of the realm of time. “Here she is now. I’m afraid this chapter in her life isn’t exactly ideal. If I understand this correctly, your presence in her life at this time will be crucial to her survival.” Dr, Love said with a reverent bow of his head.

  “Of course!” Chris replied, smiling over at the doctor. The fabric of his robes shuffled drifting into the palm of the ginger haired beauty. Her fingers, having formed from the gliding sand, curled around Chris’s robes. “Did Kronos inform you that my assistance can only last for a short time? The healing will not be permanent. She’s not meant to recover for a few more months.” Chris replied, smiling down at the mortal woman.

  Aeryn only replied with a nod, gesturing politely to Chris. “That’s all I need, Creator. I only need a little time to explain what’s going on.” He continued, watching carefully as Katie’s wounds began to shrink and disappear. Aeryn fell to one knee, shifting his gaze toward the girl. “Please don’t let go of the bottle. “What you hold in your hand is time itself. An anchor that you mustn’t let go if you wish to retain your mortal body.” Dr. Love said, cupping his hand over the bottle. “The only things that can exist in this realm are things that are considered timeless. As long as you hold time in a bottle, You can remain timeless.” Aeryn offered a hand to Katie to help her up.

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  “The pain. . it’s gone. . but how?” Katie asked, opening her eyes slowly and grabbing the doctor’s hand. Using her recovered strength, she tugged on Chris’s robes relying on Aeryn’s assistance to pull herself up. Her fingers loosened the grip of his clothing, but as soon as they did, the pain came rushing back. Her legs weakened causing her to stumble forward. She winced in pain, but Chris caught her with his hand. ”Thank you. . “ She said, shifting her gaze to the person that caught her. “I’m afraid, I didn’t catch your name.”

  “Chris Goes by many names.” Aeryn interjected before Chris could say anything. ”It all depends on what you choose to believe.” Christ shot an annoyed look toward Aeryn.”When Kronos started this trial, he told us not to help you feed your ego.”

  “Is it my fault, that of all the people that believe they’re God, I just happen to be right?” Chris replied with a smirk. “Now let’s just get through this before one of the sisters gets after me for impeding on their territory.”

  “Yeah Kronos covered that rule.” Aeryn said, rolling his eyes. ”Chris goes by names like Bud, Chris, or Even Brahm for short. Just in some places.”

  “Okay so what's happening here? Where am I?” Katie paused for a second and glanced down at her hands. She hadn’t even noticed the scars from the accident had disappeared. Her scars and pain were gone in what seemed like an instant.” And what happened to my injuries from the accident?”

  “Well umm.” Aeryn shifted his gaze then leaned in and whispered to Katie’s ear. “Chris is sort of a miracle worker. As long as you hold on to him, He can make your pain disappear.”

  “I Heard that!” Chris Exclaimed. “Did you forget the whole “hear all and see all “thing?” He continued, flashing the pair a smirk.

  Aeryn shook his head and continued talking to Katie. “When you shook the pill bottle, you paused time. And when time pauses you travel to the realm of time. The space between realities. As you seem to have noticed, before you lef, You traveled back in time when you took one of the pills”

  That’s when it all started to make sense. Katie’s expression grew wide eyed. Her jaw dropped almost causing her to loosen her grip. “This was after I rolled my car down that hill. This was before I met Brent. That Cop spent hours at the hospital in the waiting room. When they finally finished My Surgery I didn’t let him in to see me.”

  “Wonderful!” Aeryn said with a delighted grin on his face. “Then you know what to do. Be Wary though. The moment you go back all the pain and scars from your accident will return.”

  

  Katie didn’t wake up for a few more hours. The pain from the wounds was still apparent, but the medications helped it subside mostly. Katie could feel the weight of the banding over her leg which was propped up on a pillow under the sheets of the hospital bed. The light was dimmed and the glow from the monitors was the only thing that showed through the darkness. The handle turned, followed by the knocking from the nurse. ”You’re finally up? Good!” She said, closing the door behind her. “Just so you know, the surgery went well. The Doctor will be in here soon to go over your prescription details with you. Meanwhile, there’s a gentleman out in the lobby that’s been asking about you. Should we go ahead and let him in?”

  Katie took a second to gather her thoughts. This was the moment where it had gone differently. She barely even remembered the man. Her brain was foggy back then, but this time she had the chance to change it. “Yeah go ahead and let him in. He’s a friend.,” Katie said with a sweet smile. The Nurse nodded and washed her hands before leaving the room. Katie took a deep breath and let her head drop back against the pillow. Her curiosity was piqued at this opportunity.

  Moments later The door opened and a man with short brown hair and broad shoulders stepped into the room. Katie recognized him instantly as the Officer that had been sitting in the Ambulance with her. ”Officer Nolan reporting for duty Ms. Benson.” He said, taking off his hat and holding it close to his chest.

  “Does that line work on all the patients you rescue from a burning car?” Katie asked with a giggle. ”Are you here to arrest me for being in possession of these?” She asked jokingly as she held up the pill bottles.

  He dropped his head and shook it with a hard chuckle. ”Only if you decide to go for a drive.” Dan retained his composure and continued. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll let it slide, just don’t tell my sergeant.”.