By the third day of him being gone she was a nervous wreck. Annaleigh was worried about Bane. She was scared to death that something may have happened to him. What if he was hurt or worse? She tried to breathe. She missed him more than she had ever missed another soul. She had never felt this way before about anyone or anything. She hoped the next time he had to go off and do this it would be easier for her to handle. 

               She loved him more than anything in the world and she hated not knowing if he was alright or when he would return. She had read every book she had acquired, even borrowed a few from friends and neighbors. She had started a garden, even went to see aerostat to occupy her time while bane was gone. It did not seem to help. She would just pace back and forth, no matter how much she tried to relax or take her mind off of bane; she just physically could not do it. 

                  When her shift at the medical hut had ended just before sunset, she sprinted home as fast as she could. She knew at some point this evening Bane should return. She felt as if she could not take being without him much longer. When she returned to her own hut she stood outside staring at the moon. She saw it was no longer full and she smiled at the star filled sky.

She went inside her small hut and paced back and forth, hoping to see bane walk through the door anytime now. She could not wait to see him, sure he would stop to see her whenever he returned. She sat on the bed and waited with a desperate sense of hope. She needed to know he was home and that nothing had hurt him out there. She got up and began pacing again. Annaleigh felt as if any moment she was going to burst from having to be without him for this long. She began to straighten up and re- organize a few things.

After what seemed an eternity, there was a solid loud thud of a knock on the door. She leaped up and ran to open the door. Her heart did a back flip of excitement when she swung the door open bane was standing there waiting to see her after his little stay in the woods. He had missed her more than he had ever known possible. After she flung the door open, she leaped into his arms practically knocking him off balance.

"Come in dear. I'm so relieved you have returned to me unharmed", she admitted to him.

"Don't you worry about me I will be just fine." Bane replied to her, if only to ease her worries. 

                 The two of them got settled and comfortable. They were snuggled together making up for the last few nights of longing for the other person. They were with each other right here and now. Nothing else mattered to either one of them. Bane had told her of his friend Bernard and how if he needed it Bernard was always out there during the change. He stayed there with her for as long as he could manage before leaving her hut and going to his own for some well due sleep in his bed not the rock hard forest ground.

The next morning she was still filled with joy over his return from his full moon transformation. She worked through her shift at the medical hut with little to no disasters. It was so uneventful it started to bore her. That was rare, she never got bored. Today was a different story. Her mind tried to focus on the job, but her thoughts kept on shifting back to Bane no matter what she did. 

               She could not help it she wanted to spend as much time with bane as she possibly could. She had spent the last three nights terrified he had been hurt or shot or a worse fate, what if he didn't return? Those were the thoughts that had nearly given her a 72 hour insomnia fest. She shook it off. It no longer mattered he was back and just as fine as he ever could be. She would see him when her shift was over with, she could not wait to go. She was just waiting to get done so she could go to him, spend the evening with only bane she needed nothing more than that.

After what seemed an eternity her shift at the medical hut thank the gods it had ended. She walked as fast as she could without running to get from the medical hut to banes. She could not wait to see him, to be able to spend the rest of the evening with him. She had been walking through the forest not that long when she heard a faint cry in the distance.

        She followed the faint sound until she could figure out where it was coming from,she felt compelled to investigate but she followed her instinct. Whoever it was might need medical attention, and she was the only person out here that could help. She hoped that she would be able to help in some way. It didn't take her long to find out who was yelling for help way out here. She found a young girl, possibly thirteen, on the ground. The girl had a very swollen foot.

"Are you alright?" she asked the young girl who did not look like she was alright. Annaleigh did not recognize the girl but she saw a lot of young girls at the medical hut during the day.

"I could use some help." The young girl replied with a look of thankfulness in her eyes.

"I'm Annaleigh, I've got medical training." She told the young girl who then looked at her in confusion.

"I can help". She told the young girl.

"Thank you so much." Responded the girl.

"You are welcome; now tell me what happened here?" She asked her curious as to how the girl had injured herself.

"I like to run, however while I was out here I tripped over a branch and when I fell my foot hit a large tree trunk." The girl explained to her rescuer.

"I see and what is your name dear?" Annaleigh asked soothing the girl.

"Kadessa my name is Kadessa. " The young girl replied. She thought the girl was adorable she had jet black raven hair and an almost white complexion with the most beautiful iced blue eyes she had ever seen on anyone.

"Okay now relax dear and tell me where are your parents ?" she asked so that she might take the girl home; make sure she got back alright.

"They are home in our hut" Kadessa explained.

"Okay, good how do I get there?" She asked Kadessa. The young girl looked as if she were not only confused but lost as well. Annaleigh knew she was getting nowhere this way. The nurse stopped and thought for a moment.

"Kadessa do you know the name of your closest neighbor?" She asked the girl hoping it would help her figure it out.

"Oh yes that would be Mister Jenson." Kadessa answered her quickly with confidence.

"Do you mean farmer Jenson?" She asked the girl, hoping this would get them somewhere.

"Yes that's him very nice old man." Kadessa assured her.

"Good, now relax I am going to carry you. When we get there I will have a closer look, but I think you have probably sprained your ankle." Annaleigh told her in a soothing gentle voice.

"Okay thank you. I have been out here all alone for hours. Don't tell anyone but I was really scared." Kadessa admitted.

"I won't tell a soul", Annaleigh promised her. She paused for a moment before letting the girl know what to do.

"On a count of three I'm going to lift you off the ground so we can get you home." Annaleigh instructed the girl. Kadessa nodded in agreement.

"Okay, one two three!" She lifted Kadessa off of the ground.

 She then carried the girl a good five miles back to her parents hut. It was a long journey. With every step she took the girl felt heavier, but she never stopped to rest. She knew the girl needed to be home with her foot elevated resting the injury.

"It's not much further from here, were almost to my parents hut." She told the nurse who saved her.

She then added "How am I going to ever repay you?" The girl asked.

"It is not necessary; dear it is my job to help injured people." She informed the girl.

"Are you a witch doctor?" Kadessa asked curiously.

"No, I am a nurse; it is like the doctor's helper." Annaleigh explained to her as she carried the girl through the village.

"Oh good, do you like your job?" Kadessa asked her.

"Yes I would have to say that I do." She answered the girl, and then she smiled at her. She smiled back.

"So were you born here?" Annaleigh asked the girl to keep her talking.

"Yes, I mean I think I was born here." Kadessa answered her as honestly as she could.

"What about you, were you born here?" She asked the nurse wondering about her.

"I was from the other world and I stumbled on the portal and then fell through it. The other world seems like a distant fragment of memories now." She admitted to the girl.

"Wow, how exciting! That must have been quite an adventure." Commented the girl.

"There's the farmers hut right there. Mine is the one next to it." She informed her rescuer.

When Kadessa finished her sentence her mother burst through the door of their family's hut worried sick over the girl.

"Jesus Mary and Joseph what the hell happened?" Margo shouted in a panic.

"Mom it'll be okay, I fell in the woods and this woman she is the doctors helper she carried me home from the woods." Kadessa explained to her mother, before Margo had the chance to get any more hysterical than she already was.

"Are you okay dear?" Margo asked her only daughter.

"She may have sprained her foot." Annaleigh explained to the girl's worried mother.

"Thank you so much for bringing her home, but I did not get your name miss?" Margo asked her politely.

"I am Annaleigh I am the nurse at the medical hut." She introduced herself to the girl's mother who was by now, calmed down quite a bit.