More muffled voices, sharper this time. I hear her name repeated, then footsteps, the sound of a door closing.
"Hello?" Her voice hits me like a fist to the chest, making the monitors beside my bed beep faster.
"It's me," I say, because what else is there?
"Legion? Oh my God, Legion!" Savannah's voice breaks through the line, breathless, happy, loves me. "Thank God. I've been praying so hard. The doctors wouldn't tell me anything after I left. Just that you were stable. That's the only reason we left. How are you? Are you okay? When did you wake up?"
I can't get a single word in, but I start to smile despite myself. Despite everything. Her voice sounds like the only real thing in this sterile room.
"I'm alive," I manage to say when she pauses for breath.
"Barely," she says, and I can hear the worry beneath her relief. "But don't worry, they're gonna release you into my team's care in three days. Just hold tight."
My smile fades. "What?"
"My team. The medical team I hired. They've been coordinating with your doctors."
I don't know what that means. My brain feels like it's working through mud, trying to make sense of her words.
"Savannah, what are you talking about? What team?"
"The only way they'll discharge you is if you have somewhere to go where you can receive IV antibiotics around the clock, or you'll relapse and the infection will get worse," she explains, her voice taking on that tone she gets when she's already decided something. "You will die without treatment, Legion. The doctors were very clear about that. You are not better. Only stable."
The monitors beside my bed beep faster again as my heart rate climbs. "OK. Now tell me what you haven't said yet."
"Well..." Her voice brightens, like she's delivering good news. "You're moving into the Ashby Mansion, of course. It's the only place equipped. And anyway, I'm here. Mercy's here. So you should be here too."
