Three days flew by in a blur.


    Mavis''s condition had stabilized, but the troubling truth was that she still hadn''t


    woken up.


    All the doctors were crowded into her room, their expressions grave and heavy with worry. Everyone could sense that something wasn''t right. Calliope''s surgery had gone wlessly-by all ounts, it was a textbook sess. Yet the fact that Mavis remained unconscious made one thing perfectly clear: something more was at y here. If this dragged on, she could end up in a permanent vegetative state.


    The team exchanged uneasy nces, all sharing the unspoken consensus that Calliope''s work had been beyond reproach. Since there was no fault in the medical procedure, their attention—and their questions—-naturally fell on her.


    "Ms. Jewell, do you have any idea why she hasn''t woken up?"


    "The surgery was perfect-there wasn''t a single misstep as far as we can tell!"


    "Could it be that her original condition was just too severe for her to recover so quickly?"


    "Her vital signs are strong and steady. But she just won''t wake up."


    "What could possibly be wrong?"


    "To be honest, the longer this goes on, the slimmer her chances of recovery get," one doctor murmured, breaking the tense silence.


    A low hum of medical debate filled the room.


    Calliope frowned. For three long days, she''d tried everything she could think of to rouse Mavis, but nothing worked. She felt a deep unease gnawing at her-there was a real possibility Mavis might never open her eyes again. To have fought so hard to save her, only to leave her trapped in this limbo, was almost too much to bear.


    "Callie, what''s really going on?" Uriah sounded desperate. He looked at


    Calliope as if she had all the


    answers


    he wanted and needed.


    Why after such a sessful operation, was Mavis still notwaking up? Why did she seem so lost, so unreachable?


    Would she evere back to them? Or was it possible she simply didn''t want to? Would she remain asleep forever?


    "Callie, you can wake her, right? You know how, don''t you?" His pleading gaze met hers, searching for the smallest ray of hope. He longed for Calliope to assure him that Mavis would wake up any second now.


    Calliope shook her head. "I wish I could give you a clear answer. Right now, I don''t have any better solution. The best thing we can do is have the people she loves most talk to her, try to trigger her memories."


    She nced at the team. "That doctor was right-the longer she stays like this, the smaller her chances of waking be."


    "We have to do everything we can, and do it quickly, to reach her."


    "There''s something else," Calliope added, "I think the hospital is making things harder for her. She''d be morefortable somewhere familiar, Her condition is stable now you should take her back to Capitalton."


    "Let Portia and the others keep herpany," she urged gently. "The more loved ones she has around her, the better her chances."


    Uriah stared at Calliope, speechless, hope and fear warring in his eyes. "Really?"


    "She isn''t going to stay like this forever, right?"


    "Callie, you won''t let that happen, will you?"


    "Mavis is your best friend-there''s no way you''d let anything bad happen to her, right?” The desperation in Uriah''s voice was unmistakable as he searched for reassurance.


    Calliope met his gaze, steady and unwavering. "For Mavis, all I can do is promise you give it everything I have I fight for her with everything in me. But I can''t promise she''ll wake up right away."