After a quick visit from the nurse, she set my broken toe and I continued on with my physical therapy. It was just as brutal as I thought it was going to be, too. Over the next week, I was constantly monitored and checked by Astra in the afternoons and survived my physical therapy sessions in the evenings. No matter what I did or tried, however; both of my new limbs were too different and a lot more awkward than my old ones.

My walk had an uneven gait, just as the nurse had predicted; and when I tried to compensate for it, all that managed to do was enhance the difference. I was to the point that I nearly hopped around constantly, almost as if the synthetic leg was an actual crutch; and then the therapist stepped in and knocked some sense into me.

Quite literally.

I woke up in bed the next morning with a bruise on my face and a lump on the back of my head. I was about to curse the old lady to high heaven until I found out that I was being discharged.

“You're taking up a bed unnecessarily.” The nurse said.

“Are you sure?” I asked. “I mean, I am walking around a lot better now; but...”

“I've been looking forward to having most of my days off and still getting paid, Sir.” The nurse said and smiled. “So, I pushed your release through.”

I laughed. “Okay, okay. I guess you're right.”

“You bet I am.” The nurse said.

She helped me sit in the wheelchair she had brought and picked up a bag of supplies that I assumed I was going to need back at the apartment. She pushed me out of the ward and we went to the floor Sandra was on, and met her parents in the hallway outside the ward she was in.

“They're finally kicking me out.” I blurted as soon as I saw them, and Noreen ran over and hugged me.

“That's great!” Noreen said happily, then she saw my face. “Jack! What happened?”

“My therapy is over, and she wanted me to remember her for a while.” I joked, and Noreen shook her head.

“I don't know why you let her do things like that to you.” Noreen said and let me go.

“Ha! Let her.”

“You should complain about it.”

“To who?” I asked. “She did it for free, and it really did help me get my act together.”

“Jack...” Noreen frowed.

I took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “It's over now, and I'm going home.”

“Oh! That reminds me.” Noreen said. “Sandra's getting out herself tomorrow.”

“Really?” I asked, and she nodded. “What's she doing now?”

“Sleeping.” Noreen said. “The poor thing is exhausted, so we were just about to head home for a few hours to let her rest.”

“Then that's great timing on my part, assuming you already moved in next door.” I said, and Noreen and Nathan nodded. “We can share a Tube car and go home together.”

The four of us left General Medic in high spirits, piled into a Tube car after a short wait, then made the half an hour trip in relative silence. We made it back to my living section without incident.

“You never said you lived here.” The nurse said, because she was a bit surprised at the location of my living section.

“I don't like to brag.” I said, and Noreen chuckled.

“That's true, even though he could.”

We all left the Tube car and went into the lobby, down the elevator, and over to my apartment. “I'd like to go in alone first.” I said when we arrived at my door.

“I need to help you get settled.” The nurse said. “I need to confirm the maintenance upgrades for your apartment, too.”

“Please.” I pleaded. She sighed and nodded, and I looked at Noreen and Nathan. “Just ignore any shouting you might hear.”

“Jack, she's been with you a long time.” She pat my shoulder. “She'll understand.”

“If she ever talks to me again, you mean.”

Noreen laughed, then her and her husband went into the apartment next door.

“Are you sure you want me to wait here for this?” The nurse asked. “If I come in, maybe she won't be so angry.”

It was my turn to laugh. “No, I've been without Amanda for too long now. If I show up with someone else, she'll never forgive me.”

“Well, good luck.” The nurse said.

I stood up from the wheelchair and stepped to my front door. It opened for me and I went inside my apartment, only to be greeted by complete darkness as the door shut behind me... and everything was silent. I didn't move, because I was pretty sure she would have moved things around on me, just because it would annoy me.

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“Amanda?”

Silence was the response, and I sighed dramatically.

“I'd like to explain about what happened.” I said. “I can't stand here in the dark and do that, though.”

The lights in the apartment came on, and I had been right. Everything had been moved around and I never would have made it over to the bed to sit down. I walked over and sat down, then told her exactly what happened from beginning to end. I was still met by silence, and I stood up.

“I know you aren't going to forgive me for doing this to you.” I said and stood up a little shakily, then walked over to the front door. “Even though it wasn't my fault, I still broke my promise to always stay in contact with you.” I hit the button and let the nurse in.

“That took a while.” The nurse said and carried in the bag and the folded up wheelchair. “Where's your bathroom?”

I pointed to the door on the left and she disappeared in there. I leaned against the wall and waited for her to come out, and when she did, she shook her head.

“Get in bed, Sir!” The nurse commanded, and I didn't feel like arguing. I wasn't really tired physically; but emotionally, I was kind of wrung out. Hearing the whole story from my own lips made me depressed, and since Amanda wasn't talking to me, I didn't really have a reason to stay up. I laid down on the bed and pulled the blanket up to cover myself, then noticed the nurse as she putted around the apartment and emptied out her bag of supplies and stashed things away.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Preparing for a rainy day.” The nurse said, and then chuckled. “What an odd saying that is, considering it doesn't rain underground.”

“It does in the farm domes.” I said. “It's really just a set of intricately woven water pipes and sprinklers; but with the AIs running the dispersal, it's as close to actual rain as anyone can get.”

“I think I'd like to see that.” The nurse said absently and hung the empty bag on the wheelchair, then stashed the folded wheelchair in the closet.

“Sure.” I said. “Amanda? Can you book a visit to the Agricultural Sector?” I asked, and looked at the nurse. “When would you like to go?”

“Wh-what?”

“I'm sure you've got a lot to do today, considering it's your first day off.” I said, and then sighed. “Oh, I almost forgot. Amanda? Please submit a Leave of Absence form to General Medic for nurse... what was your name again?”

“Deloris.” The nurse said.

“Submit the form, and then hire her as a Temporary Care Facilitator for me, with a standard pay of Points.”

The nurse's communication pad beeped at her, and she blinked her eyes at the information she had received. “I... it's true.” She said, her voice filled with disbelief. “I'm now on official leave from the hospital, and I've been hired privately.” She said and scrolled down. “I also have an appointment tomorrow afternoon to take a private tour of Agricultural Dome Three.” She shook her head. “How did you do that?”

“It wasn't me.” I said. “It's all thanks to Amanda.”

The nurse turned and looked at the big vidwall, since there wasn't anything else in the apartment to address. “Thank you, Amanda.”

You're welcome, Deloris

“I'm not going to defend him or his actions before the accident.” Deloris said. “That's not my place to do that.” She said. “But, I can attest to things I personally saw. It really isn't his fault for not contacting you right away. His communication pad was melted into his chest, and he hasn't been issued a new one since.”

...

“No one was allowed to send messages on his behalf, either.” Deloris said. “Noreen and... Norman?”

Nathan.

“They were warned not to say anything until he was allowed to leave.” Deloris said. “I would have sent something myself, especially after he woke up from the accident; mainly because right away he asked about using a communication pad to contact you.”

There was no response on the vidwall.

“He missed you a lot while he was away.” Deloris said. “It was always 'Amanda this', and 'Amanda that'.” She said. “I thought you were his wife for about a week, which made me wonder why he was allowed to have a girlfriend... and then he told me you were an AI.” She laughed. “It didn't really clear things up, especially considering the way he talks about you; but, at least I wasn't confused about who he was talking about anymore.”

There was still no response on the wall, and Deloris walked over to me.

“I'll be back this evening to check on you, to make sure you aren't falling apart.”

“Thanks, Deloris.”

“That's 'Nurse Deloris' to you, Sir.”

I laughed. “See you tonight, Nurse Deloris.”

Deloris pat my normal shoulder and walked over to the front door, then left the apartment. The door between the two apartments opened, and Noreen came in.

“I heard some of that.” Noreen said and came over to the bed. “I'd like to apologize as well, Amanda.” She said and sat down on the edge of the bed. “The nurse is right. We were warned not to let anyone else know how Jack was doing.”

Why?

“It was some garbage about an ongoing investigation.” Noreen said and started to open my hospital unitard. “Why would we have to keep information about you being alive a secret?”

I couldn't actually tell her why, since how I had gotten hurt was a secret as well; so, I kept my mouth shut and just shook my head.

“Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter now.” Noreen said and moved the thin cloth out of the way and rubbed her hand on my chest. “You're back home now, and we are all happy about that.”

“Anyone up for lunch?” Nathan asked as he came through the open door with a small tray.

“Blah.” I said, and he laughed.

“Sorry, Jack.” Nathan said and handed me a brown algenate disc. “Doctor's orders.”

I sighed as I took the disc and ate it, then thought about going into the immersion chamber to hack into the food processing plant to alter the recipe. After being out of it for so long, I wasn't sure if it would even accept me anymore.

“The doctor said you should go in right away.” Noreen said, when she saw where I was looking.

“Well, damn.” I said. “If he thinks it's a good idea to go right in, then I'm staying out for at least a few more days.”

Noreen laughed. “I agree.”

“I could say that I'm outvoted, but I agree as well.” Nathan said. “You just got out of the hospital and you're recovering from extensive surgery.” He said. “You should forget about trying to push yourself, Jack.”

“I'd like to get back to work at least.” I said as I sat up.

“Do you have a display here?” Noreen asked. I nodded and pointed to the edge of the vidwall, and she walked over to it and pulled out a smaller version of the display that Crush had carried around for me during the battle. “There we are.” She said and brought it over to me.

I took it from her and set it on my lap as it started up, and I used the hand print scanner to confirm my identity. I used my real hand of course, and it asked for a password. A digital keyboard appeared and I positioned my fingers over the keyboard, then I froze.

“What's wrong?” Noreen asked.

“I can't remember my password.” I said. “I've used it so often that it was automatic; but, I can't remember it.” I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths. “Oh, god.” I said and reached up to wipe my eyes automatically, even though they were still dry. “I can't remember my password.”

Noreen took the display from my lap and set it aside, then climbed onto the bed. She sat on my normal side and pat her chest, and I rested my head there as she wrapped her arms around me.

“Jack, I'm so sorry.” Noreen said as she held me, and my dry sobs made the normal side of my body tremble.

The synthetic parts didn't move at all, almost as if they didn't care; and I hated them for that.