I want to hold your hands—is that okay?’ She slipped her fingers round his. They felt stiff and cold. ‘That’s excellent, Harry. Now squeeze as tight as you can, sweetheart. Squeeze as if I’ve just pinched your MP3 player and all your favourite tunes.’
The minutes passed and still Harry continued to stare at her. Colleen willed him with every fibre of her being to respond. Please, Harry, come on, you can do it, darling. Squeeze, squeeze.
She hadn’t realised she’d been holding her breath until she felt the slightest of pressure from Harry’s fingers. His eyes locked on hers, only for a moment, but long enough for her to see the fear in his eyes. She held the boy’s hand until he relaxed and the fear gradually receded. She already knew there was no way she could walk away from this child.
‘That’s excellent, Harry. Well done. We’re going to be great pals, I just know it. In a few days we’re going to take you home with us.’
Harry’s eyes shifted until he was looking over Colleen’s shoulders. She was aware that Daniel had come to stand behind her.
‘Go!’ Harry said clearly.
‘What is it, Harry? Do you want me to go?’ Colleen asked.
With an enormous effort Harry raised his hand until he was pointing at Daniel. It was obvious that he wanted his father to leave the room.
Colleen turned around. Daniel looked shaken. ‘Why don’t you wait for us outside?’ she said.
Daniel hesitated. ‘Go on,’ Colleen said. ‘I’ll only be a moment.’
When Daniel left she turned to face Harry again.
‘What is it, Harry? Don’t you want to go home and be with your father? I’ll be there, too.’
Harry looked at her. A tear slipped from his eye and Colleen brushed it away.
‘Mum,’ he said. ‘Want Mum.’
‘Oh, Harry, I’m so sorry your mum isn’t here. But your dad wants you at home with him. Together we’re going to do everything we can to make you better. You can speak a little now, so there’s no reason your speech won’t come on. And you can move your arm, so with a bit of work we should be able to get much more movement back. It’ll mean hard work, but your dad and I will be there to help you every step of the way. C’mon, what do you say? Shall we give it a go?’
Green eyes studied her for a moment. ‘‘kay,’ Harry said finally, before turning away and closing his eyes.
Outside Daniel was pacing up and down, looking as if he wanted to find something to kick.
‘Maybe he should stay here,’ he said. ‘He clearly doesn’t feel comfortable with me.’ It was the first time Colleen had seen Daniel look anything less than certain and her heart went out to him.
‘The brain injury could be causing confusion, or it could be that he simply doesn’t recognise you. Patients with head injuries often suffer from memory loss on and off for quite some time. When we get him home and he has his familiar belongings around him, I’m sure he’ll settle down.’
A look of relief crossed Daniel’s face. ‘You said “we”. Does that mean you’ll take the job?’
‘It does. I think I can help.’
Daniel pulled a hand through his hair and studied her. It was a few minutes before he spoke. ‘At least I got one thing right. I found you. Thank you for agreeing to stay. Harry needs you.’
And something tells me you do, too, boyo.
‘Okay,’ she said, ‘let’s make plans to get your son home.’
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