*Krystal’s POV*

I froze up. I didn’t know what to do with myself. Shit. Move Krystal, move damnit!

“Krystal? Oh God what have I done? Look, I am not going to hurt you! I’m not a creep. Krystal, you got to believe me, I know you think I am a pervert or something and I am going to hurt you because you’ve frozen up again. I need to know you are okay. If you can hear me, do anything in your power to squeeze my hand.” I tried squeezing Ethan’s hand so much. “Ok, I think I felt that, was that you?” I squeeze again. “Okay. Thank God. I am so sorry. It’s just this connection... Let me explain.”

“Yes. Please fucking do.” Ashley, shit! He was awake! “Get the fuck away from her and start explaining.”

Ethan left my bedside and was soon replaced by an angry Ashley. I started mumbling something. I was trying to tell Ashley to calm down, and it was as if he knew exactly what I was trying to say as he looked at me and then at Ethan. “Ok, so what’s this ‘connection’ you think you have with Krystal?”

“Ok, right. You need to know that this has never happened before. It’s all new to me too, hence why I haven’t been able to contain my feelings much.” I was starting to move about a little again.

“Feelings? What feelings?” Oh, Ash was getting really agitated.

“Ashley?” I murmured. He spun round to face me and his tone changed to the soft, loving one that I know and love.

“Hey sweetness, just stay still.”

“I’m ok. Just please stop shouting at Ethan.”

“But-“

“No Ash... Just hear him out. It’s my fault I froze up. I freaked out a little, so what? Ethan, carry on please.” He looked at Ashley and got a nod. After an alomst confirmation that he could continue, Ethan told us his story.

“It was about 9 years ago. My Kayla would have been 30 years old now. It was the weekend after her 21st birthday. She had spent it with her friends away on holiday, so we agreed that when she came back we would go out together; just me and her.
You see, her mother died of cancer when Kayla was 3, so all we had was each other. We went out for a meal, she had veggie burger with a side order of onion rings and I had the usual; farmhouse steak with chunky chips. We shared a hot fudge cake sundae and then I told her that she had to put this blindfold on to go to the next place. She hated surprises, but she played along, I had bought her a new car. It was only a little thing, but it was better than what she had. Her old one was practically falling apart, hardly safe. It was one of those ones with the inset engine that was deemed ‘unsafe’ because it was too close under the hood to the driver. She loved the new car, she got so excited. I will always remember her face the moment I pulled the bandana off of her eyes and she laid eyes on it.
She asked me to drive her new car back to our house while she drove her old one, so we set off back home to play some guitar together.
We got onto the highway and from what the investigators have said, they believe that the old car she was in had a failure in one of the pistons for the engine, and it cut off. The whole thing just cut off. She began declining in speed and the driver in the car behind her couldn’t have been paying much attention to the road, because he collided with her car at the back. That’s when I heard the crunch of metal. I looked in the mirror to see my little girl... My Kayla- That could have been me instead! Why wasn't it me? I just-” Ethan choked back tears and Ashley’s face was one of sorrow and guilt. I could tell he felt awful for assuming Ethan was acting inappropriately towards me. “Sorry. I haven’t really talked to anyone about Kayla, so this is... New.”

“It’s okay, Ethan. You don’t have to carry on...” I didn’t want him to be upset!

“No- I want to explain... Her car was thrown forward by the force of the car behind her and the brakes locked; the car skidded across the road straight into the railings in the middle of the highway. That must’ve been when I hit a car in front of me. I hadn’t peeled my eyes away from my mirror the whole time this was happening and the car in front had heard the impact from the crash Kayla was in, so the woman in front of me slowed down, but I didn’t. I was too fixated on what was happening to my daughter.
I was sent forcefully forwards in my seat and the car somehow toppled, rolled and bounced for what seemed like an eternity, continuously throwing me from side to side, despite the fact that I was trapped by the seatbelt.
It eventually came to a loud thud and stopped upturned in the road. I had closed my eyes and didn’t want to open them to see the sight before me. I couldn’t hear anything; just loud buzzing. I felt liquid run down my face, over my forehead, my eyes, my cheeks and onto my clothes. I didn’t know if it was tears or blood. I slowly opened one eye as much as I could; it hurt, and then looked at my hand which I had raised to my cheek. My hand was covered in blood; there was blood everywhere! I cautiously tried to touch my leg; I couldn’t feel anything, not a single thing. I was trapped in the wreck and I couldn’t move; I was terrified so I screamed at the top of my lungs.
The pain was everywhere, I couldn’t feel any sensation in my bones but I could feel pain, so much pain. I wanted out. I wanted to see my Kayla. The pain reached a crescendo and then everything around me began to fade. I shouldn’t have let it fade, fading was bad and I knew it! I shouldn’t have let that happen but I was powerless to prevent it, I was so weak and so scared. It wasn’t long before I felt a wave of nausea overcome me and then the darkness engulfed me.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital bed, being told I was ‘lucky to be alive.’ I wasn’t lucky. Not in the slightest. I lost Kayla. What’s lucky about that? I was informed that she was pronounced dead at the scene. That there was nothing they could do. Everything they told me after that didn’t matter. I lost my leg in the accident, they amputated. But I was still lucky according to them. I wanted to be in Kayla’s place.”

Ethan had lifted up his left trouser leg to reveal a prosthtetic leg. I didn't know what to do with myself.

“I am so sorry.”

“Don’t be. You remind me of Kayla. It’s been nice and refreshing seeing someone so alike to her. I am not replacing her with you; don’t feel like that. It is just nice seeing so much of Kayla in someone else. Your infectious laugh, your heart, your love for music, your passion and drive to get what you want in life...” Ethan was crying.

“Oh Dr Brennan! Come here!” I held out my arms and hugged him. Even Ashley joined in. We just sat there in each others embraces. “Kayla would be so proud of you Ethan... I know I am.”