Lady and the Wolf [Book One, Lady and the Wolf Series] -Published-

Chapter Three: Weakness and Strength

"Mrs. Volkov?"

Emma, who was in the middle of reading out a paragraph from Peter Rabbit to a still-sleeping Aira, looked up to see who was calling her. She recognised the person standing at her door as a night nurse and smiled. "Hmm?"

"There's someone here for Aira," she whispered, looking a little panicked as her eyes shifted from the room to outside in the corridor.

By this time, the staff in the trauma ward had come to learn the name of the child brought in three days prior and adhered to Emma's wish that whenever they addressed the girl, sleeping or otherwise, to use her name. It was now commonplace and the nurses enjoyed speaking to her as she slept, finally having a name to a face.

Emma nodded and quietly sat the large children's book beside Aira. She gently brushed her hand against the sleeping child's cheek and whispered, "I'll be right back," before following the nurse outside. As she was lead to the waiting area, she immediately spotted a rather young woman with pale skin and dark hair. Despite Aira being slightly tanned, this woman resembled her.

Emma's stomach dropped.

"You're here for Aira...?" Emma asked slowly. She was hesitant, scared, and felt sick to her stomach all at once.

The moment the woman noticed Emma she stood up and smiled. Her mouth was opened slightly, as if wondering what to say, and instead, poked her hand out. "Y-Yes! I-I was Aira's pre-school teacher from a couple of years back. My name's Loretta."

Emma instantly let out a sigh of relief. Although thrilled that maybe, perhaps, a family member had come to take her to a home she was familiar with, she couldn't help but feel saddened. She was by the little girl's bedside every day, for almost every second she was asleep, and couldn't imagine what she would do if those days by the child's side were gone.

Her smile was radiant as she gently took the younger girls hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Emma, I've been with Aira since... the accident."

The woman looked visibly nervous, but that nervousness quickly turned to turmoil as she clutched a large duffle bag to her torso. "She hasn't woken up yet? Oh, that's terrible. They were such a lovely family..."

Emma's lips formed a straight line as she watched sadness wash over the girl's face. "You were close to her family, I take it?" Her mouth was moving before she had a chance to think over what she was asking.

The girl's big brown eyes seemed to brighten, as if recalling a sudden memory. "Oh yes! I, um, used to go over to their house a lot. My mother and Vivian- uh, I mean, Mrs. Blight, ran the school PTA meetings, and when I got a job at the local pre-school; they sent her to my classes. She was a daddy's girl, so she only ever stayed for an hour or so before Mr. Blight came and picked her up," she explained.

Emma smiled, nodding as Loretta explained. Drake had told her Aira's comatose state was probably brought on by extreme shock, and from what she had just learned, the shock of Aira's parent's sudden death must have hit the child harder then they had originally expected.

"Oh!" Loretta gasped as she dug her hand into the duffle bag she had been clutching. "I have pictures that Mrs. Blight gave to me for the school Easter banner two years ago. I thought you could stick them up for her, so she sees her family when she wakes up."

Emma let out a light laugh as she took the pictures and looked them over. Most of the pictures consisted of Aira, all smiles, with her pre-school friends. The rest of them were of Aira and her family at home. A sad smile graced Emma's face as she looked at them carefully, placing Aira's features to her parents. She hadn't even heard the girl's voice, but could imagine her as a light, bubbly child. She just hoped that light hadn't faded from all this horribleness.