Two nurses came in, and one of them woke her up. "You have to go back to your bed, Linda. Time to go home."

Linda was taken apart from Ben and brought to her own bed gently by the male nurse, and she was not even sufficiently awake to react. "What - What?"

"Calm down," the nurse said, as she was rolled away. "You will be leaving the hospital in a few minutes."

Instinctively, Linda tried to resist and looked around. "No, please. Ben. Where is Benny?"

"We will take good care of him for you", explained the nurse patiently. "Now let's take care of you."

Linda's eyes filled with tears as she was taken to her room, where the nurse cleaned her and dressed her with the clothes given by social services.

When Inspector Thatcher came inside, Linda was sitting in her chair, clean, refreshed and devastated. Meg's heart broke at the sight. "Oh, Linda..."

She tried to wipe her tears and compose herself. "I am sorry, Meg. I promised I would not give you any trouble. I am ready to go."

"I am so sorry, Linda".

"I was hoping he would wake up. I wished... I could...say goodbye...."

"I will tell him you were with him all the time."

Linda cocked her head. "Aren't you coming?"

"No, not now. I told you a social worker would take you."

"Yes, but I assumed you would be with me, too." Linda paled a little. "I will be alone?"

"Of course not. The social worker will be with you all the time, and she will meet you at the airport. A car is coming to pick you up now."

Linda seemed to be having hard time keeping the blood on her face. "Oh God. I have... never been on plane."

Thatcher raised her eyes and cast a glance at the nurse. Linda missed what they could be communicating in that look. "Be sure to tell the social worker that. And don't worry. It is quite safe, and you will get a few planes till you get to Chicago. There will be plenty of new things for you to see."

"Of course. When will you get to Chicago?"

"In a few days. I will try to reach you when I get there."

Linda was blushing when she said. "Meg, would you do me a favour? Please?"

Meg caught Linda's hand in hers and reassured softly. "I know what you will ask. I will be happy to tell Fraser that you wanted to say goodbye."

Linda smiled. "And that I love him."

"I am sure he knows that."

"Can you keep an eye at Ray, too?"

"I will do what I can Linda. Detective Vecchio is no longer a concern for the RCMP. The Home Office is taking care of his case. But I am following his case closely and I will keep the Vecchios posted."

"I appreciate it."

There was a polite knock on the door and the guard came in, grabbing everyone else's attention. He nodded at Thatcher, who apparently had been waiting for that. She turned to Linda. "The car is here".

Linda's heart sped. "OK."

The nurse took hold of her wheelchair and said, "I will go with you to the airport, OK?"

Linda just nodded and looked at Thatcher. She raised her arms, silently making a request, and Meg complied. They hugged, and Linda tried very hard to hid her tears, her fear.

"Everything will be fine", whispered Meg. "You will see."

"Thanks for everything. You have been a real friend."

Linda was taken out of Mercy Hospital and brought to Yellowknife's airport in a van. There she met Louise, the middle-aged red-haired social worker that would go with her until Chicago. The nurse asked Louise a few questions about her medical training, should there be any emergency, and handed her a bag with some sort of medical kit, too.

Everything happened at the airport's lobby, and Linda had half a ear to both women. Her heart was there, at Yellowknife, and though she had promised Inspector Thatcher to go without causing trouble, she had not promised to go with a smile.

"Are you ready, Linda?", asked Louise with a smile, bringing Linda back to the present. "The plane leaves in half an hour."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Please, call me Louise."

"Yes, Ma'am.. I mean, Louise."

The nurse said, "Goodbye, Linda, and have a safe trip."

"Thank you, nurse. Thanks for everything you did for me and Ben at the hospital."

"I will take good care of him for you."

"I know you will. Thanks again."

Louise wheeled Linda to the waiting area, and said, "Well, now we basically wait. We will be doing a lot of that, with so many planes until we reach Chicago. Is this really the first time you will travel by plane?"

"Yes, Ma - Louise. This is quite new for me. I grew up in a hospital."

"I read about the way you came up here. I am sorry for everything you went through."

"Thank you. That is very kind of you."

Louise parked the wheelchair by a group of seats, than sat down and smiled. "You are very polite, and not at all like the Americans portrayed. Up here in Canada, we here these stories, and now I find they are not true."

Linda just blushed, embarrassed, as Louise kept talking about planes. But half her words were lost to Linda when she spotted the automatic doors opening and three men walking in. One of them she would recognise anywhere in the world. Her heart raced. "Ray..."

They were walking in the other direction, and Linda called, "Ray!"

Louise turned around as Ray disappeared through a door with his escorts. "Who?"

"My friend Ray! There he is!"

"Could he be taking the same plane?", asked Louise. "I was told they would be extraditing a criminal in the same trip, but - "

Linda never let her finish, her heart racing. "Can I go with him? Please?"

Green eyes filled with tears pierced Louise's heart. The old lady looked at Linda, intrigued, and never had a chance to answer, because she heard a call from the loudspeakers. "Our flight is being called. We have to embark first."

Linda insisted. "Louise, please."

Louise had already stood up and was pushing the chair. "First we go on board, dear. Then we will see what we can do, OK? "

The girl looked up at her, and smiled. "OK."

Linda was pushed through doors, a labyrinth of new faces, people in uniforms, and her eyes were wide at so many new things. Louise got help from several nice people, many in uniforms, and Linda was greeted as a very welcomed guest. Then she reached the lanes; and it was very noisy. Her wheelchair was put inside a van with ramps very near the planes, and the vehicle took her to one of the biggest of them. There she was taken on the arms of a strong and nice Canadian flight attendant, who carried her up inside the plane.

To Linda, the aeroplane was much smaller than she thought at first. She was transfixed, everything so new and fascinating. It was empty, except for a few seats at the very end, from where she heard voices, and...

"Ray!"

A voice back there answered, "Linda?"

"Ray!"

There was some noise in the back, and Linda thought Ray could be in trouble. But she had no time to think about it, for Louise was staring at her, unbelieving. "That man is here again. He will go with us to Winnipeg."

Linda was so nervous. "Can you take me to him, please?"

The old lady did not understand. "Is that man your friend?"

"A very, very, very dear fried. His name is Ray Vecchio, and he is actually a policeman from Chicago. Please, Louise."

"Isn't he the one who kidnapped you?"

"No, that is a lie! I've known him for years. He saved my life countless times, Louise. Please believe me."

She admonished the girl. "Don't get too excited, Linda. It is not good for your condition."

"I am fine, all I need is Ray!", Linda was getting impatient and frustrated. "Please, please. All I want is to travel with him. You can be with us."

"OK, all right." She said, taking off her seat belt. "I will talk to them before the other passengers arrive. But don't get your hopes up too much."

Louise took off in the tiny corridor and Linda craned her neck, trying to see what was going on, heart still racing. Without help, she could hardly see a thing from where she was.

But Linda saw people coming and going through the tiny corridor, some of them staring at her. Two of them wore uniforms she had never seen before and they smiled at her, so she knew they were flight attendants. There was a man in a dark suit and shades that stared at her without smiling, and it scared her a lot.

It was taking a lot more time than Linda imagined. She was beginning to fear they would not let her near Ray. She started to shake, and she felt her legs shaking, too. Finally, Louise went back to their seat, and she was smiling. "It wasn't easy, Linda, but I guess it worked out."

"So, can I go?"

"Yes, on two conditions: first, you take a pill. The nurse from the hospital recommended that you take it before we took off. Second, you will never be alone with your friend, and there will be guards around."

"Will you be around, too?"

"I am afraid I have to be."

Linda smiled. "I don't mind you being with us. You are a good person." Linda took the lady's hand. "Thank you. It means a lot to me."

Louise seemed surprised with the gesture, and almost embarrassed. "Ah, well, you'd better take your pill now. The flight attendant will take you to the back of the plane so all the other passengers may come in."

Linda took the pill and then she was taken to the last row of seats, where there was at least four men, and Ray was by the window. The flight attendant placed her near Ray and she wrapped her arms around her friend. A few tears slipped from Linda's eyes, and Ray wiped them. "Hey, ragazza... Aren't you glad to see me?"

"Oh, Ray," whispered Linda. "I am so glad." Then she noticed he was cuffed. She turned around to the men looking at them. "Can't these come off?"

He shrugged. "They want it this way. Don't worry. It is fine."

She snuggled against him. "Yes, it is fine. Being with you is fine, Ray."

"Did you see Benny? They told me he was shot."

"I was with him. He did not wake up, but the doctors say he will be okay. He will be taken to another hospital when he gets better."

Ray used his fingers to lift her chin and looked inside those huge green eyes. "You wanted to stay with him, didn't you?"

Linda's eyes watered instantly. "Yes, I did. I wanted it so much, Ray."

More tears escaped them and she lowered her head. He put her head in his chest and kissed her hair gently. "Everything will be fine, Linda. I promise you."

"I know it will be fine, Ray."

Trying to dispel such emotional moment, Ray asked, "Is it true this is your fist time on a plane?"

"You know it is, Ray. I have never left Chicago, even by train."

"Then there will be so many new things to see. Do you know what are these?" He pointed to a small button at the back of the seat in front of them. "This turns into a table, so we can eat."

Linda was awed. "No way!"

Ray opened the tray and showed her. "See? When the food comes, we open that, then we can eat."

"I have never seen it before." Then she stared at him, still amazed. "There is food coming?"

"This flight is kinda long," explained Ray. "There is a meal included."

"Really? So this is a restaurant, too."

"Afraid not. You cannot choose what to eat. But the food is very basic, so there is no trouble. You know, turkey sandwich, BLT, this sort of thing. But the best thing is when it takes off. We can see everything down there, I am sure you will love it."

Linda was like the ultimate child taken to an amusement park. Her eyes were wide and she looked intensely at everything Ray was pointing to her. For a short time, she was just a girl, discovering new things, laughing freely and unaware of all iniquities of her life. Everything was new to her: the coming and going of travellers, even the emergency instructions from the flight attendants, and then the take-off.

She put on the seat belt, and held Ray's hand hard when the plane flew up. Then she leaned down to see all the beauty of the northern Canadian landscape, with all the snow, mountains, pine trees and rivers. Linda pointed at the houses that seemed so small from afar. Ray felt happy to see the amusement in her face. He kissed her hair, and she smiled at him.

The agents that escorted Ray had the decency to stand back. Some reacted to Linda's innocent questions to Ray, believing it was all an act. But nobody could be that good on an act, and they realised she was not pretending. Louise always asked if they were good, or hot, or thirsty, and was kind enough to include Ray in her concern. Linda was grateful for that.

The meal was also a source of great delight, despite the fact that Ray had his hands cuffed. Linda was outraged, but managed to calm down when Ray told her it was better to let it go. The girl was unconvinced. "It is not fair, Ray. You are innocent, and you only came here to prove it."

"I broke the law."

"On my account. It was my fault."

"There is nothing we can do now, so let's just eat. Could you, uh, help me?" He held his cuffed hands up. "I am in a bit of a jam here."

"Oh, sure." She tried to cut his beef, then noticed. "You don't have a knife."

Ray turned a shade redder. "I am not supposed to have one, Linda."

"You're not? How come? I have one."

"You know, a knife can be used as a weapon." He shrugged.

Linda had to take a deep breath to calm down. This was getting ridiculous. She gave the men behind them a sharp look, but said nothing. Then she turned back to cut his meat and mumbled, "Good thing you escaped when you did."

"Why?"

"If that is how they were treating you, you had nothing to do there."

Ray laughed quietly, because Linda rarely was so hostile towards anyone. She must be really pissed, Ray observed, amused. Then Ray felt green eyes staring directly at his own, and there was so much need and love in the eyes, that he felt his heart clenching. "We will be all right, won't we, Ray?"

Oh, God. Ray tried his best smile. "Of course, Linda." He took her hand to his lips and kissed it reassuringly. "Count on that."

She smiled and contained the tears, turning her attention to the fascinating meal and helping Ray eat his.

Linda watched everything carefully, curiosity brightening her eyes. "I hope we can sit together in the next plane. Louise said we will be taking quite a few until we get home."

Ray decided to ask, and the cop that was escorting him gave the bad news. "We won't be getting the next plane together. We are going to Toronto, and the little miss is going to Ottawa."

Linda blanched. "W-what? Why?"

The man shrugged. "Extradition procedures. The young lady here needs to clear her situation with the Home Office before leaving the country. Just bureaucracy, anyhow."

She turned, and her voice almost was failing. "Louise, is that true?"

The social worker was surprised. "Oh, yes. I thought you knew." She explained. "We will be going to Ottawa, and there is someone from the Foreign Ministry meeting us at the airport to help us settle all the paperwork."

"And Ray is going to Toronto?"

"I suppose so." Louise saw how much hurt there was in Linda's eyes. "I am sorry."

Linda lowered her head. "It is not your fault, Louise. You have been nice enough already. Thanks for everything."

The middle-aged woman smiled sadly, and Ray took his tied hands to lift Linda's chin using a finger. "Hey, kid." She met his eyes and tried to smile. "We have until this plane lands in Winnipeg. We will be together till then, and after that, I want you to wait for me in Chicago."

Linda nodded, sniffling, and thrust herself so Ray could hold her. They sat together, holding each other, oblivious to all stares from officials in suits and social workers. Linda tried to relax and enjoy those last precious moments with one of her dearest people in the whole planet, talking about things to come, and what she would do to wait for Ray. Talking about the impending separation seemed to help her a little bit.

When the plane arrived at Winnipeg, they still had sometime together. As special passengers, they had to wait until everybody else disembarked. Then the guards took Ray. He kissed Linda's forehead deeply and said, "I will be seeing you soon, kid."

Linda tried to smile back at him, but she could not, the tears blurring her eyes. Then he was taken away, and she saw when the guards put him in a car and they went out of her field of vision. Then it was Linda's turn to be taken to a van and head back to the airport area.

From then on, a few things impressed Linda. She smiled politely at the Foreign Ministry man who greeted them in Ottawa, and all novelty of travelling by plane was gone. She became sad and withdrawn, and no matter how much Louise tried to cheer her up, she just didn't respond. And there was no flight direct to Chicago - they had to change planes in Detroit.

Alarmed by the state the girl was in, the social worker decided to medicate her, and as a result, Linda was almost unconscious when she finally arrived at Chicago's O'Hare airport. Louise took her to the airport's infirmary and they called an ambulance and Dr. Lennyard.

However, what they never counted on was the arrival of Ma Vecchio, in full Italian mother mode. Warned by Inspector Thatcher, the Vecchio family formed a small party to pick up Linda at O'Hare and was quite upset when the girl never showed up on the arrival gate. So, they inquired and easily found out what happened. They headed straight to O'Hare's medical facilities.

"Bambina!"

Sleepily, Linda raised her head from the bed they had put her and tried to smile. "Hi, Ma. I don't feel so good."

Linda heard a fine voice behind her, and realised Frannie was blaming Louise for her current state. The youngest of the Vecchio was laying hard on her, and Ma was equally strong in voicing her disagreement. Linda knew it was not Louise's fault, and quickly tried to dispel the confusion. But she could not. Only then, when she tried to protest, she realised she was really sick. The airport was spinning, and Linda could feel her senses slipping away. "Please", she whispered and raised her arm. "Please help me."

The voices stopped screaming, and Linda waited until Ma took her hand into hers. "What is it, bambina? What are you trying to say?"

Linda put in a great deal of effort to utter, "This is Louise. Louise has helped me see Ray. She treated him well. Please treat her well."

Then there were questions, more questions, and Linda was so exhausted, she could not say she was making any sense. She tried to answer some of those questions.

Linda could also hear Louise telling Mrs. Vecchio they have been travelling for the past 30 hours. Then Dr. Lennyard arrived, and Linda could feel his hand on her head, but could not say anything to him, just moaned. She wanted to rest, and he kept calling her. He also said something about over-sedation, something Linda did not register well. But she remembered to say. "My legs..."

"What? Linda, repeat, please."

"My legs... I can... feel the heat..." Then it was total oblivion falling upon her.

Linda woke up in a familiar place: a hospital. She felt sleepy, although in mild pain, her senses and consciousness dulled somehow. She turned her head, ands he saw Francesca standing near the bed, her big brown eyes expectantly looking down at her. "Linda?"

Trying to answer, the only noise Linda could produce was a croak, her throat dry. Frannie took a glass of water, put a straw in it and helped Linda sip a few times. Linda sighed when she was done. Frannie smiled. "Feel better?"

Linda smiled weakly, her speech was still slurred. "Yes. What happened?"

"Doc says you were given the wrong medicine. Bad reaction turned to worse because you were overmedicated. That poor lady said she was feeling awful, but those were the instructions she received."

"Louise... Not her fault. Is she here?"

"She could not stay. Had to get back to Canada. Left you all good wishes. She is nice."

"She let me see Ray." Linda looked around. "How long am I here?"

"You have been under two days," said Frannie. "And everything looks great, Linda. The doctors have been doing some tests while you were resting. They find your condition improving." The youngest of the Vecchio's sounded excited. "Linda, they are talking about you going on crutches soon! Isn't that great?"

Not really listening, Linda tried to smile at Frannie's excitement, but she realised her senses going away again. "Yes, Frannie. And what about Ray?"

"He is free now. A few hours after he arrived in Chicago, the FBI undid the confusion. I still don't understand all of it, but in the end it seems the Feds were willing to let go Ray's escape, since that mobster guy was caught. He is working hard to get Fraser back." Frannie flashed her a grin. "Also, Inspector Thatcher has called."

That made Linda's heart race. "She did? From where?"

"From a Somewhere Knife town in Canada. She wanted you to know that Fraser is out of danger, and he is healing fine. I did not know he had been shot."

Linda closed her eyes and shuddered, remembering when she was lying on a pool of blood soaking the red serge. "He was very bad, Frannie. I was so scared."

"But now he is better, and so are you. I will tell Ma you are awake."

Sighing, Linda closed her eyes again, her speech slurred even more. "But I don't think I will be for long, Francesca."

"Oh, please, don't fall asleep." Frannie seemed desolated. "I want to know about all Canada and what happened there."

Linda's eyes wouldn't open for all the tea in China. "It is cold up there... Very cold..." Then she could not hear Frannie no more.

Linda woke up slowly, trying to reassess where she was. At the same time, it hit her.

Pain. At first it seemed excruciating, and she could hardly breathe. But after a few minutes, she was able to take hold of herself and realised the pain was coming from her legs. It was as if someone was hitting her bones with a hammer. Now it was only throbbing, and Linda thought she could stand it.

She tried to sit up, and this time she was successful. That brought a tired smiled to her face. She had not been able to sit alone since she became paralysed. Stretching herself a little more, she was able to bring about the glass of water and have a few sips.

A nurse came in as Linda was struggling to get the glass back to the tray without spilling it. "Well, Linda, you are awake."

Linda recognised the girl. "Patty, hello."

"Why didn't you call someone to get you the water? It is almost time for your medication anyway."

"I did not know that."

"How do you feel?"

"I am a little sore. My legs hurt a bit."

Patty looked at her and tried to hide the shock as Linda said that, then she adopted a casual tone. "Let's see what we can do about that. Now that you are awake, I will call Dr. Lennyard. He said he wanted to talk to you as soon as you were awake."

"OK."

Linda took her medication and waited for the doctor, realising the pain in the legs was subsiding fast. Maybe the pill was a painkiller. They usually get Linda drowsy, but now she was feeling quite alert.

"Welcome back, Linda." Dr. Lennyard greeted her with a warm smile and took her hands in his. "I am so glad to see you."

Linda blushed, for she had never seen the doctor so sentimental before. "I am glad to see you, too, doctor." He took the chair closer to her. "It seems that you have been through quite an adventure."

She nodded. "I was at Canada, doctor. I find it hard to believe."

"Now why don't you tell me everything about it? I am dying to hear everything you have to say."

It took almost three hours for Linda to tell the doctor everything that happened. Dr. Lennyard asked her a lot of questions, especially about the Inuit traditional healing treatment. Linda warned him she did not know much about it, but she answered all his questions to her best capacity.

Even though they had a pleasant conversation, the doctor sensed something wrong with Linda. She was twisting her arms and hands. Those were signs that she was distressed or afraid about something, though. Eventually, she would tell him. And she did.

"I did not do anything wrong, did I?"

"Why do you ask that, Linda?"

"I agreed with the treatment with the shaman, because I didn't know what else to do. I don't know if I was right or wrong in doing so."

"What do you think? So you think it was wrong?"

She shrugged. "I am not sure. All I know is that he had good intentions. Everyone in the tribe was good to me. They wanted to help, and they were Ben's friends. I did not feel it as being a wrong thing, but now... I am afraid you will get mad at me."

"Linda, I am sure you did the best you could. And I am willing to agree with anything you believe might be helpful to you. Do you believe that the treatment has helped you?"

"Yes, I do. I did not believe at first, but now that I can feel my legs again..."

"Oh, yes. Dr. Wilson was very optimistic when he heard about it. He would like you to talk to him, too. Can you still feel your legs? You told Nurse Patty they were hurting."

"Yes, there is some sort of pain. It was strong when I woke up, but now it feels better."

"Good. We have been running some exams while you were unconscious. It seems the results are promising. Somehow, the blood-flooded areas in your brain had been significantly reduced. That might explain the return of feeling to your legs. But Dr. Wilson will surely want you to run some tests."

Linda sighed. Dr. Lennyard eyed her clinically. "How do you feel about it, Linda? You may be able to walk again. It must be a thrill."

The doctor watched carefully as the girl fixed her eyes on her lap in bed. Yes, she surely was afraid. "It should be, I know. But... I feel funny. I am not as happy as I thought I would be. I don't know why."

"Could it be fear?"

Linda seemed puzzled. "Fear? Why would I fear anything? Walking again is such a dream, why would I fear it?"

"No, I expressed myself in a wrong way. I mean that you might be afraid to believe that you can walk again, and then it might not happen. So, you might be refusing to feel anything, or to be happy, so you won't suffer if this dream does not come true."

Linda was staring at him, his works soaking in. She was breathing fast, and then she nodded. "Ben."

"What?"

"I don't want to hurt Ben. I mean, if he believes I can walk again, and then I cannot... He would be devastated. I don't want to hurt him like that."

"It won't be your fault, Linda. He knows that. Besides, you keep focusing on him. This is your life, Linda. I know that Constable Fraser loves you, and you love him, too. But you cannot act differently just because of what he will do or say. We have talked about it before."

Linda smiled sadly. "Yes. I think I should work on that a bit more."

The doctor smiled. "Well, but not now. Tell me, are you still feeling sleepy?"

"Yes, but not much. I don't want to sleep so much. I want to see what is going on. Besides, I haven't seen Ray. Is he really out of jail?"

"Yes, but he is still involved in the investigation, and hasn't been around much."

"What about Ben, doctor?"

"The Inspector has called, and says he is recovering really fast. He is already in Ottawa, and after that he can come back to Chicago."

"Did she say when he would return?"

"Unfortunately, no. I can only assume that this decision is in his doctors' hands." Dr. Lennyard examined Linda's face and smiled. "Don't worry, Linda. I am sure he will be here in no time."

Linda smiled back at her doctor, who sighed and said, "Well, now I'd better let you eat something. Visiting hours will come shortly, and I am sure the Vecchios' will arrive in large numbers as usual. Rest up, because they have been quite anxious."

"Thank you, doctor."

"You take care."

Linda smiled as he went out and sighed looking at the empty wall. She tried very hard not to think how much she missed Ben, and concentrated on the fact that he was closer to Chicago, since he was in Ottawa.

On to part 8.