By the time I awoke again, I was lying in a very uncomfortable bed. As I tried to move, pain shot through my body. Looking around, I noticed something peculiar. Instead of pictures of human anatomy and information about human health, there were pictures of dogs and cats. This seemed very strange for an emergency room. There was a knock at the door, then a woman in doctors scrubs walked in.

            “So, you are finally awake. Those injuries you got were bad. I have to say you are the most unusual patient I have ever gotten.” The doctor said as she stood in front of me. As she leaned down, I could see the name embroidered on her shirt. So her name was Natalia. She then continued, “usually, my patients are a lot smaller and less….human-shaped.” I wondered what she meant. Then as I looked at her scrubs again, I saw it—the word Veterinarian. I had been taken to the vet.

            “Why am I in a veterinarian hospital?” I asked, slightly confused. Perhaps someone thought it was a joke. But I wasn’t laughing.

            She grabbed her stethoscope and placed it on my back without answering. She moved it as she listened. Then she looked at me and said, “well, my dear. In all technicality, you are an animal. Thus the hospital thought it best to have you looked at by someone specializing in animal care.” Her words stung a bit as she said animal. I mean, I knew that I was no longer human, but to have someone call me an animal was a different story.

            I noticed that my mom wasn’t in the room. Looking at the doctor, I asked, “where is my mom? She was with me in the ambulance.” The vet smiled as she indicated for me to lay on my back. She placed the stethoscope between my breast.

            “She is out in the waiting room. I couldn’t have her back here while we worked. Your mom is very protective of you.” she said, smiling. Then she reached for the ophthalmoscope and checked my eyes. The light was kind of annoying, but I knew she was just doing her job. When she was done, she looked at me and said, “well, everything looks good, other than your injuries, of course. You are going to have to take it easy for a few days, and your bandages will need to be changed at least once a day.”

            As she left the room, I could hear people chattering outside. My ears were both a blessing and a curse. I laid there for about five minutes before I heard someone turning the doorknob. When the door opened, it was my mom who walked in. She smiled as she came over and sat by me.

            “The vet says that other than your burns, your good to go. She is trying to see if someone can get you some crutches. You were lucky that your injuries weren’t that bad.” Mom said. I could hear the worry in her voice. I rolled over so that I could see her better.

            “I’m sorry, mom. I had to do something. Maddison would have died if she had to wait for the fire department,” I said, trying to comfort her. I know that she agreed to allow us to become the hero’s that Mr. Carver wanted us to be, but that still didn’t stop her from being my mom. Feeling a little sad at the look on her face, I reached over and grabbed her hand. “I will try to be more careful next time, I promise,” I said softly.

            We sat there in silence for a few minutes. I didn’t know what to say to mom, and I was sure she was thinking about everything that could have gone wrong. I was about to say something when there was another knock at the door. The doctor walked in, carrying in a pair of crutches.

            “It is lucky that one of my assistants had these lying around. Now, as I said before, Angel, you will need to stay off your feet for the next few days. Those burns were pretty bad.” Natalia said as she handed me the crutches. Shifting myself into a sitting position, I looked at her.

            “Where are my clothes? I was still wearing my clothes when I was in the ambulance.” I said as I looked around. Looking at my mom, I saw her frowning. That didn’t look good.

            “I am sorry, but some of the material had melted against your burns. We had to cut them off.” Natalia said with a sympathetic look on her face. Great I just barely break in the new clothes I had gotten, and they were already ruined. Eva wasn’t going to be happy.

            “Don’t worry, Angel, I brought you something to wear out of here,” mom said. Then she picked up her purse and handed me some clothes. It was a skirt and a tee shirt. Apparently, she also had gotten some panties though I would need to cut a hole in them before I could wear them.

            Once I had taken care of my clothes, with a lot of help from mom, Natalia discharged me, and I hobbled my way out into the parking lot with mom close behind. It was already dark. I had spent most of my birthday, either at school or at a vet’s office—what a wonderful birthday for me.

            When we finally arrived back at the tower, I was exhausted, even though I had spent most of the time after school passed out. Not to mention that weird dream. Although it didn’t feel like a dream. One of these days, I was going to have to tell mom about it, but tonight I just wanted to get inside so that I could rest.

            As we got to our floor, everyone was waiting for us. Everyone was staring at me. It felt a little awkward. Then Taylor ran up and hugged me, almost knocking me over. “You scared us half to death. Don’t ever do that again.” She said. I could feel her tears soaking into my fur. It was quite clear that she had been worried about me.

            “Ah, little miss hero has returned. And with some new accessories,” came a voice from behind me. Turning around, I saw Mr. Carver there with a smile on his face. His excitement was a little annoying considering what happened today.

            “Not now, Mr. Carver. She has been through enough today. Plus, she didn’t really get to celebrate her birthday,” mom said as she led me, with Taylor still attached, down the hallway toward our makeshift lounge. Entering the room, I almost fell over. It was entirely decorated, including a huge sign that read: Happy 18^th Birthday.

            “We spend a while trying to make your birthday memorable. It’s just too bad it had to wait this long.” Ashley said as she flew inside. Mom ushered me to the chair that was sitting at the center of the table. Everyone else piled in after.

            As everyone sat down, mom grabbed her phone and started taking pictures. She then had Mr. Carver take a picture of all of us before everyone sang happy birthday. For the first time since the night of the storm, I felt normal. It was odd that something like that would make me feel normal, but I needed what I needed after the week.

            As cake and ice cream were being passed out, Erin walked up and hugged me. “Happy Birthday, dufus,” she said before standing up and punching me in the arm. Next, Esme came over and hugged me. Although I still didn’t know a lot about her, she was kind and adorable. For the next few minutes, it felt like I was at a hugging booth.

            After about an hour, mom announced that it was time for everyone to get some rest. Erin had already called her mom and let her know that she would be staying the night. There wasn’t going to be school for a bit with the explosion from today.

            When I finally entered my and Taylors room, I was utterly exhausted. Sitting on my bed, which I’m guessing Mom and Mr. Carver had gone and got, I posed the crutches against the wall before laying in bed. Looking over, I noticed that the mattress that Taylor and I had slept in last night was still there. I guess they expected us to sleep in separate beds. Or perhaps they did it in case us sleeping in the same bed was awkward.

            As I lay there, I heard our door open. Looking up, I saw Taylor walk over before sitting on the bed. She was fumbling with her tail, and her ears were low.

            “Angel, could you…put your necklace on.” She asked. I could tell she was nervous as she spoke. Reaching in my purse, I pulled it out and put it on without saying a word. The usually feeling washed over me as my body shifted to my human glamour. The bandages were still there, along with the pain.

            “Is everything okay, Taylor?” I asked as I reached up and touched her cheek. I could still feel some moisture from her crying.

            Still holding her tail, Taylor looked down at me. Her eyes were still bloodshot from crying. Softly she said, “I really was scared. I thought I was going to lose you,” she said before laying beside me and burying her face in my side. This was something I never wanted to do. I never tried to make her cry.

            “I am sorry Taylor, I didn’t mean to make you cry, but I had to save Maddison. She would have died.” I said as I brushed my fingers through her hair. She stopped my hand and looked at me.

            “I know why you did it, but I still felt like I was going to lose you. And I don’t know if I could live with not seeing you every day. Not waking up with you like this. As hard as I tried not to, I fell in love with you,” she said as fresh tears streamed down her face. The shock of her words left me speechless. So, she really did feel the same way about me.

            Slowly I shifted myself so I was facing her. Cupping her face with my hands, I looked her in the eyes. Those beautiful eyes that made my heart flutter. My heart began to beat like a war drum as I gently moved closer to her. Before my fear could take over, I leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips before whispering softly, “I love you too.”