Doctor Meer had sent them out of the room while he and another doctor conducted a number of tests on their newly-awakened patient. Jamie, Kirsty, Heather and Paul’s parents walked towards the canteen in a daze. Heather and Paul’s mother were both in tears. Jamie and Kirsty were silent. Paul’s father kept rubbing his beard, dragging the palm of his hand across his face. None of them wanted to cheer or whoop or celebrate. They were all too worried that something might still go wrong – that Paul would not be the same as he was before the accident. Although nobody spoke them aloud, two words featured prominently in all their minds: brain damage.

He might have lost the use of his limbs. He might be suffering from amnesia. He might not be able to speak properly, although that didn’t seem to be too much of a worry. Eventually, Paul’s waking sentence would become a thing of legend among those who knew him. I feel like shit. It was so classic, so quintessentially Paul. Jamie knew that Heather, though, would always remember that his first very word upon waking had actually been her name.

They bought tea and coffee and sat around a table in the centre of the canteen.

‘I knew he’d wake up,’ said Jamie. ‘I always knew it. We just had to give him time.’

‘It was our prayers that did it,’ said Paul’s mum. ‘Our prayers and our faith.’

‘It was time,’ Jamie repeated softly.

‘What did Doctor Meer say about keeping him in the hospital?’ Paul’s father asked Kirsty.

‘He said that first of all there was no guarantee that Paul would stay awake. But if he does, they’ll have to keep him in for a while for observation. His body’s undergone a severe trauma. His muscles have been unused for so quite a while, so he’s going to be ever so weak. He’ll have to have a lot of physio. It won’t be easy. Plus they have to check his brain, make sure there isn’t any lasting damage. Even assuming he’s all right, he’ll probably be disorientated and confused. We can’t expect him to be his normal self – not straight away, anyway.’

‘He’s back,’ said Paul’s mum. ‘For now, that’s all that matters.’

‘I’m going to ask him to marry me,’ said Heather.

All heads swivelled towards her.

‘We could make it a double wedding,’ said Jamie. Attention turned to him. ‘Kirsty and I decided last night that we’re going to get married. And we’ve got some other news.’

Kirsty shot him a look. Shit. He’d forgotten, in his excitement, that he was supposed to wait till she was twelve weeks. Before he could think of some other news to share – we’re buying a new sofa, for example – Kirsty said, ‘I’m pregnant.’