Free Heroes (Hollywood Heartthrobs #1) by Kate Rivers

large, florid man with huge hands that
were surprisingly gentle. The neurologist, on the other hand, was a friendly,
petite thirty-something woman with a pixie cut and large red glasses that made
her eyes appear gigantic. Jane liked her immediately.
    “Good
morning, I’m Dr. Frobisher,” she said, peering at Jane with her buggy but not
unpleasant eyes.
    “Nice
to meet you, doctor. I’m Jane. At least for now,” Jane replied.
    Jane
was glad to see that get a smile from the doctor. “So, the report from the
nurse says you awoke last night with memory loss. Anything to add to that?” she
asked.
    Jane
shook her head. “That’s about the long and short of it. I woke up last night
here in this bed, I can remember taking to the nurse and one visitor, and since
then I’ve learned a great deal about late night TV, but everything before that
is a bit of a blank.”
    “Interesting,”
Dr. Frobisher said. She asked Jane several more questions, mostly ascertaining
her ability to recall things since the accident. Sitting down in the chair Dean
had slept in, she passed Jane a clipboard. She had Jane read a sample of text
as well as write out a few sentences and perform some simple math problems.
Finally she asked Jane to make a series of gestures with her right hand, and at
one point, to wiggle her toes. The assessment took no more than ten minutes.
    “Right.
The good news is your faculties and abilities appear undiminished, so it’s just
memory we need to address. The scans taken yesterday indicate a concussion, but
I’m ordering some new ones for today now that you’re conscious. I’ll be back at
the end of the day to speak with you again. I should have more information by
then.”
    Dr.
Frobisher’s efficient and friendly manner comforted Jane, but not so much that
Jane couldn’t spot her slightly evasive tactics. Jane decided to make her
stand.
    “Doctor,
I need to ask you something.”
    Dr.
Frobisher looked a little hesitant, both of them aware she had been caught. She
sighed, not unkindly. “Go ahead, Jane.”
    “Am
I going to get my memory back?” No point holding back, cards on the table now,
she thought to herself.
    Dr.
Frobisher tilted her head before answering. “Honestly, it’s too soon to know.
You could get all your memory back, none of it back, or anything in between.
This is a very rare condition with a great deal of variation so it’s difficult
to put numbers on.” She paused. “But, I would say you are likely to recover at
least some memories, if not all.”
    “So
what do I do?”
    “Unfortunately,
you don’t really do anything.” Dr. Frobisher could read the frustration in
Jane’s eyes, even as she tried to put on a brave face. “I know how difficult
this is to hear, but there is not much you can do to try to hurry things. Just
relax, heal, and your memories will come or not come. For now, focus on today.
Try to talk to people, watch some TV, read a book or two. Our volunteers keep a
little library to read to some of the patients, if you feel up to it I can have
someone take you there. Anything seems to jog a memory, say something. I know
it’s like being told to hold the ocean back with a broom, but the important
thing is to stay positive and not be discouraged.” Dr. Frobisher smiled at
Jane. “You’re doing great so far.”
    It
was better than nothing, she thought. “Thanks, doctor.” Jane replied. “And yes,
I would very much like to peruse the library.”
    “You
got it. And I’ll be back this afternoon to talk more.”
    As
Dr. Frobisher left, Jane took to heart her advice to stay positive. She was
obviously in excellent hands here at the hospital, and she would focus on
moving forward. She knew she had a trip to the hospital library to look forward
to, which filled her with much more excitement than the suggestion to watch TV.
She wondered philosophically if that counted as something she knew about
herself. Also, she didn’t want to admit it, because it seemed she had