Dani followed closely behind and quickly sat down, placing Alex's head in her lap. She ran her fingers through her hair, attempting to calm the clearly distraught woman as Nikki tried to massage the cramp from her leg.
Alex nearly screamed when Nikki rubbed her thigh. She pushed her hands away, slapping them when they returned. "Oh Dio, brucia." Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she struggled to remove her pants, still muttering in Italian.
Dani looked over at a stunned Pia and Sera. "Translate, please." She captured one of Alex's flailing hands, and held it against her chest.
Sera stood beside Pia, clasped her hand tightly and said, "She said it burns." She squeezed Pia's hand as Alex yelled out. "She wants to take her pants off."
"Get me a couple bags of ice," Nikki called out as she began to remove Alex's shoes.
"I'll get it." Pia quickly headed for the kitchen, Rachel on her heels. They returned moments later to find Sera's eyes wide with shock as she stared at Alex's bared legs. Pia handed Nikki the bags of ice and stepped back.
"Wait," Alex croaked, stopping Nikki. She took a deep breath. "I need my purse." The words came out slowly as she fought to speak clearly. Rachel dug through Alex's purse and pulled out a bottle of pills, handing it to Nikki.
She looked at the label on the bottle, and looked down at Alex with a frown. "Is this what you wanted?" Her frown deepened when she received a nod in response. She opened the bottle and shook it into the palm of her hand. The first thing she noticed was that all of the pills inside had been cut into quarters. "How many?" she asked.
"Two," Alex ground out through clenched teeth as her entire body began to shake. Beads of sweat broke out along her brow and upper lip.
Nikki placed two pieces of a small white tablet on Alex's tongue and watched as they began to dissolve. A couple of minutes later she saw her slowly begin to relax into the cushions. "Are you ready for this?" she asked as she lifted the first bag of ice.
Alex slowly turned her head and looked at Nikki with a lazy smile and a big blink. "Sure." Her response was slow, the word drawn out as if it contained several extra letters. As the weight of the icepack on her leg registered, her muscles immediately tensed back up, and all of the air in her lungs rushed out in a long low groan as she fought not to scream. She finally collapsed back on to the cushions and Dani's lap, her eyes closed.
Dani ran her fingers through Alex's hair, gently massaging her scalp. "I think she passed out. Nikki, what the hell was that?"
Nikki sat down on the floor, leaning against the coffee table as she looked at her sister. She shook her head and shrugged. "I'm not sure."
Alex slowly opened her eyes and peered up at Dani. "Apparently I have some nerve damage in my thigh and knee." She saw the concerned look on Dani's face and smiled at her. "I'm okay, Dani. The doctors don't know if it is permanent or not. They think these episodes are my nerves trying to regrow, or it could just be my nerves firing off. Either way doesn't really matter. It was worth it."
A tear ran slowly down Dani's cheek. "How can you say that?" Alex frowned and tried to sit up. She held her down and shook her head. "Stay right where you are."
She dropped back down and sighed. "I wouldn't go back and change it even if I could, Dani."
"I would," Dani replied. "If it meant having you whole again, I would. I would make sure I had a firm grip on Madison's hand so that the accident never would have happened."
She shook her head. "But I still wouldn't be whole, Dani. Without the accident, I wouldn't have Nikki, you, Rachel, or Maddy in my life." Her head rolled to the side as she looked at Nikki. "Without Nikki, I would still be stuck, terrified of everything, lonely, and forever a victim. Instead I have overcome so much, I've grown, and changed. I'm happy." She gave her a wink before looking back up at Dani. "It was worth it, honey. I promise." She reached up and carefully wiped Dani's cheek.
Dani captured her hand and kissed the palm. "I am eternally grateful you were there that day. I love you, Alex."
"I love you, too." She looked over at Rachel and winked. "What about you, Ray? Do you love me?"
Rachel looked over at Nikki. "What the hell was that you gave her?" she asked.
"Xanax."
Rachel chuckled. "You are high as a kite, Alex."
Alex frowned at Rachel. "Maybe, but at least my nerves are no longer on fire." She slowly sat up, placing her feet on the floor, and watched as the two ice packs slid off her leg. "And I'm no longer crawling out of my skin."
"Are you ready to put your pants back on?" Nikki asked. "Or is the leg still too sensitive?"
Alex frowned. "Can we give it a few more minutes? There's still some tingling."
"Of course we can, but you should put the ice back on it." She handed over one of the bags and watched as she placed it on her thigh with a grimace.
Alex quietly hissed as the cold bag settled against her leg. She looked up and saw the wide-eyed look of concern on Sera and Pia's faces. "It's okay, guys. I'm not contagious, and I'm not going to fall apart either." She waved towards the empty loveseat directly across the coffee table. "Please come sit down." She smiled as they made their way closer.
Sera sat on the edge of the loveseat, her hands clasped in her lap. She looked over at Alex, her brow furrowed and her eyes full of questions, before looking down at her hands. Alex waited patiently for her to find her
