Alex was walking home from work when she heard the loud argument going on in the multi-storey.

She was trying to work out where it was coming from when she heard the scream…

A woman was falling from the second floor.

Without a thought for herself, Alex raced over and threw herself under the woman, jumping up to try and catch her and break her fall.

They both fell heavily.

There was a crack and a blinding flash of pain, then everything went black…

Alex awoke in a hospital bed and looked around, slowly, still disoriented and in pain.

To her surprise, her mother was sitting in the chair by her bed. She hadn’t seen her mum for ages; since she left home after a row, almost five years ago. Her mum had obviously been crying.

“Hi, you…!”, she croaked.

Her mum’s eyes flew open.

“Sweetie, you’re awake! We thought you’d never wake up…!”

She hit the nurse button on the bed.

“You’ve been unconscious for weeks!”

Alex gasped. Then…

“Mum, why can’t I feel my legs…!”

The doctor came in. Her mother held Alex’s hand.

“The doctor’s got something to tell you…”, she said…

“I’m sorry to tell you this, Ms. James”, the doctor said, “but you’re paralysed from the waist down, due to spinal damage. There is a chance you can get the use of your legs back, but I’m afraid it’s only a small one in cases like yours.”

Alex went very quiet. She then turned to her mother.

“Do you and the Doctor mind leaving me alone for a minute…?”

Alone, Alex sobbed into her sheets. She’d been training to run a marathon; she was at the peak of physical fitness. At least, she had been…

Now, she was a wreck. Paralysed from the waist down, needing a wheelchair for the rest of her life, and, as far as she was concerned, nothing to look forward to.

There was a quiet knock on the door.

“I said I wanted to be alone!”, she said, crossly.

The door still opened. A small, leggy, blonde, also dressed in a hospital gown, peered in.

“I just wanted to thank you for saving my life…”, the surprisingly soft voice said.

When Alex didn’t shout at her to leave again, the woman came in.

“Hi. I’m Tiffany.”

“Alex.”

Tiffany slowly walked round and sat in the chair Alex’s mum had vacated.

“I heard you’d woken up. I never lost consciousness, but I broke my wrist. They kept me in, however, as I’ve got a compromised immune system. It’s what we were arguing about in the car park, my boyfriend and I. He wanted sex, rough sex without protection, and I wasn’t prepared to take the risk. He then tried to rape me; it was his pushing me backwards that sent me over the railing.”

“I’ve never been so afraid in my life…”

Alex managed to sit up; she reached over and hugged Tiffany.

“You don’t need to be afraid anymore”, she said. “You’ve got me. You’re not alone anymore.”

Tiffany, unable to stop herself, kissed Alex. Alex returned the kiss…

Tiffany didn’t realise it, but she’d turned up at just the right time. She’d given Alex something to fight for…

She was there when Alex managed to move her toes for the first time. She was with Alex at every physiotherapy session, cheering her on. It was during these that the pair realised they were falling in love…

Back in Alex’s room, Tiffany asked a highly personal question…

“I wonder if this bit still works?”, she said, putting her hand between Alex’s legs. “After all, you’re supposed to be paralysed from the waist down…”

“Well, I can still go to the loo ok, so…”

Alex gasped. Tiffany was proving to be very expert at arousing her…

“Damn, stop it! You’re turning me on…!”

“I thought that was the idea…!”, said Tiffany, working harder, moving and sitting on the bed…

A nurse walked in to check on Alex and shot out again, blushing furiously.

“I thought this was a private room”, said Tiffany, with a giggle, kissing Alex…

Now Tiffany had proved Alex had a real reason to live and fight, she improved in leaps and bounds. By the end of the month, she was walking again, albeit with difficulty and using sticks, and was allowed to go home.

After all, she wasn’t living on her own anymore.

Her mother was hanging around to help her settle in. Her, that was, and her new girlfriend, who was moving in with her…

Alex made sure to thank Tiffany properly the first night back at home, in her own bed, her mother asleep in the spare room on a folding cot.

They weren’t as ‘discreet’ as they thought, however. Especially as Tiffany was a bit of a ‘screamer’.

“Oi! You’re supposed to be resting!”, came the cry from the other room…

Both Alex and Tiffany laughed out loud at that…

Alex’s mother was overjoyed.

She’d never seen her daughter so happy.

That made the incident the next day really enrage her.

Tiffany’s ex Brian came charging up to Alex, threatening her.

“Think you can replace me, you bitch?”, he said, hitting her.

He didn’t realise that the woman coming out of the flat behind Alex was her mother.

“Something up, Alex?”, her mum asked, deliberately stepping between the man and Alex.

“Yes. This dickhead seems to think Tiffany is his personal property”, Alex said. “It’s her ex.”

“Oh, really. This is the arsole who caused you three months in hospital…?”

“Yep.”

“Oh, good”, her mum said.

 Alex never saw her mum’s hand move. Brian did, he was on the receiving end. He ended up on the deck, dazed.

“That’s for hitting my daughter.”

She then kicked him hard in the side, then stomped on his genitals.

“That’s for putting her in the hospital and trying to kill Tiffany.”

“You’ve only got her word for what happened!”, Brian wailed.

“The whole incident is on YouTube!”, Alex cried. “Some passerby started videoing as soon as she heard the argument. The police have a copy of the recording.”

“That reminds me”, Alex’s mum said. “As you’ve breached the conditions of your parole by contacting my daughter, they want a word with you…”

She’d phoned the police as soon as she saw Brian arguing with Alex. Tiffany had given her a very good description of her ex, and Brian matched it exactly…

Brian was jailed for breaching parole.

Things definitely settled down after that.

Alex’s mum went back home; she was very happy with the way that Tiffany was ‘looking after’ her daughter…

“Alexandra, I shall expect an invite to the wedding.”, she called over her shoulder as she left, making both Alex and Tiffany giggle.

She got one…