A Miracle At Christmas

"Summer," he said weakly.

At first there was no response, then Summer sighed again and murmured something Eden could not understand.

"Easy, Eden." The doctor's voice sounded harsh and unwelcome, cutting into what had felt like such an intimate moment and he almost glared at him. "Give him a chance," the doctor continued. "It won't happen all at once and after all this time we don't know how much capacity he has retained. Don't expect too much."

"But he is waking up?" Eden asked anxiously.

"It seems so," the doctor replied with a smile.

Oblivious to the arms around his shoulders he sank weakly onto the chair, holding on to Summer's hand for dear life.

"Summer, baby can you hear me? It'd Eden. I've been here with you all along. You've been asleep for such a long time, please wake up now."

"It may not happen today," the doctor intervened. "It takes a lot of energy and he doesn't have many reserves. Don't expect too much all at once."

But he did, he did expect it because suddenly a voice rang out so clearly that Eden glanced up to see if anyone else had heard it. 'Summer will come again; sooner than you think'. He HAD been right; she HAD been talking about Summer.

"Summer, I know you're there. I know you can hear me. I know you're coming back. I trust you; I've always trusted you and you're so close now." His words were cut off in a strangled croak as Summer gripped his hand more tightly, sighed again and murmured something.

"Babe, I can't hear you. What did you say?"

"Star," he whispered so softly that Eden had to bend really close to hear. "Where?"

"I don't understand," Eden said urgently. "What do you mean?"

"Where... Where... star?"

Again it was murmured very softly, so slurred it was almost impossible to make out the words.

"What is he saying? "his mother asked anxiously.

"I don't know," Eden replied. "Something about a star."

Hearing the word 'star' Summer groaned and frowned, shaking his head.

"Summer baby, please... You're not making any sense."

"Star," he repeated more clearly.

"What about a star?" Eden almost snapped in frustration. "I just don't..." Again his words choked in his throat when he found himself staring at two chips of emerald. Summer's eyes were glazed and seemed to look right through him.

Summer frowned again, more deeply and smacked his lips trying to moisten them but failing as they were too dry. He grimaced and tried again then gave up. "Where's the bloody star?" He said quite clearly with an edge of irritation in his voice; then he blinked hard and looked at Eden with much clearer eyes. "Oh," he said with surprise. "I'm here." Then he closed his eyes with a smile on his lips and his hand released Eden's, falling back onto the bed.

"Summer," Eden called, alarmed.

"It's alright," the doctor said, comfortingly. "I told you it would be slow at first. It's quite remarkable that he was able to be so focussed.

"So, is he going to be alright now?" Mrs Worthington asked anxiously.

"It's a little early to say for sure but the fact that he was so lucid so quickly is a very good sign, very good indeed."

Mrs Worthington dissolved into tears and buried her head in her husband's shoulder. Mr Worthington had tears in his eyes too, but Eden didn't. "I knew you would find me," he said softly and kissed Summer gently. Summer gave a small appreciative moan and settled back into sleep with a sigh and a smile on his face.

Over the next few days Summer recovered remarkably quickly. At first he was very weak and slept most of the time. Although his muscles had been kept toned they were stiff and unused to bearing his weight so at first he found it difficult to move and impossible to sit or stand unaided, but his strength returned quickly.

On the third day he was sitting up in bed supported by a mound of pillows, opening Christmas presents with Eden and Suzi. He had insisted on opening the old ones so they could have new ones for this Christmas.

"I can't believe you kept these all this time," he remarked.

"What did you expect me to do with them?"

"Open them, you idiot. That's what they were for."

"I wanted you to be here when I did." Summer stopped opening the present he had balanced on his knee and looked at Eden.

"Well," he said thoughtfully, "I did say I'd be back by Christmas." He shrugged and grinned. "I just didn't say which Christmas."

"No, you didn't," Eden agreed in a subdued voice.

"I wouldn't have blamed you if you had moved on and left me behind. I wouldn't have expected you to wait this long."

"What kind of stupid thing is that to say? Of course I waited; I knew you would come back."

"I did try," Summer said seriously. "I remembered the promise, but I got lost. I didn't realise how long I was lost though."

"What do you mean 'lost'?"

This was the first time that Summer had spoken of the time when he had been asleep. He'd been shocked to find it had been three years, but was very philosophical about it.

"Well – at first there wasn't really anything; just kind of voices in darkness. I was – not really there, if you know what I mean." Eden didn't but said nothing, not wanting to disturb the flow and desperate to hear the full story. "Then there was kind of a – place. It wasn't real. I knew it wasn't real but I also knew that I needed to find a way through it; to find a way to get back to you. I didn't want to break my promise so I wandered around for ages but I couldn't find anything to lead me back.

"I think I went around in circles a lot and I got very tired. In the end I sat down and I didn't want to get up again. The longer I sat the more tired I got and the less I wanted to get up. I think that eventually I would have lain down and gone to sleep and I don't think I would ever have woken up. I think I would have died." Summer was speaking very matter of factly, but at that point he stopped and shivered.

"What happened?" Suzi asked, eagerly. Eden was beyond speech.

"The star," Summer said firmly.

"Star?" Eden asked sharply, sitting up straighter. "That's what you said when you were waking up. You know most people would have said something like 'Where am I?' or 'What happened?' but you said 'Where's the bloody star?'"

Summer giggled."Well I was pissed that it had suddenly disappeared. But when I realised I'd got back it didn't matter."

"So you followed a star?"

"Kind of...and I can tell you that if the three wise men travelled all that way following a star they were better navigators than I am. It's not easy to follow a star, especially when it keeps moving. It must have been frustrating for them when day came and the star disappeared. Mine didn't because it was always dark."

"So then what?" Suzi asked impatiently.

"I followed the star for a while and then I got tired again and lay down. I was almost asleep when an angel woke me up."

"An angel?" Suzi queried with scorn.

"Not exactly an angel. I mean she didn't have a halo or wings or anything like that, but she shone and her eyes were golden, like she had gold contact lenses in that swirled and flickered. She gave me her hand and it was unbelievably hard to lift mine and take it. But when I did I felt better and I followed her.

"I kept getting tired and wanting to sit down and she kept pulling me on. I'm sure I never would have made it to the maze without her."

"What maze?"

"I'm getting to it," he said impatiently. "I didn't know it was a maze, not at first. It was just a door, but when I went through the door I was in a maze. It was very confusing but the angel led me through until I got the hang of it, then she left. I was really scared at first but she told me to follow the star and it would bring me back to you; so I did and it did."

"Wow, that was some dream," Suzi laughed. "Although I suppose it would be, lasting three years."

Summer gave her a strange look. "A dream? I – yeah I suppose it was."

Two days later, on the 22nd December, Summer went home. His parents wanted him to go to their home but he point blank refused and insisted on going with Eden. Eden's parents, of course agreed. Summer was like a son to them but they were less overprotective than his own parents and, although they had had the room next to Eden's made up for him, they never expected him to stay there.

That night, lying in Summer's arms after lovemaking that was slow and gentle, Eden finally let go of the fear and started to smile a smile that began so deep within that by the time it got to the surface it was blinding.

"What are you smiling about?"

"What do you think? I've waited three years for this moment."

"It's nuts isn't it? Three years. Fuck, I still can't get my head around the fact that I slept for three years."

"You were my sleeping beauty." Eden smiled and gently stroked his cheek. Summer closed his eyes and sighed. "And I never got tired of looking into your beautiful face, not for a moment, not ever."

Summer opened his eyes and smiled. "I love you Eden. I never forgot that, not for a minute. I felt it all around me all the time, that love. If it hadn't been for that, for you, I would never have found my way back."

Eden frowned. "Yes you would have. You're strong Summer, the strongest person I know. You would have found your way back somehow."

"I'm not at all sure of that; but it doesn't matter, because, for whatever reason, I did find my way back and now I'm here where I belong – with you."

Snuggling in close Eden closed his eyes while Summer stroked his back and he fell asleep in utter contentment.

On Christmas Eve, Summer and Eden were Christmas shopping. Summer wasn't up to walking around town yet so Eden was pushing him in a chair. They had to stop every few minutes because it seemed that everyone wanted to say hello and find out how Summer was doing. The Worthingtons were a well known family and well liked too, and Summer was universally adored for his sunny nature and quiet manners.

The constant interruptions and busy shops very quickly had Summer on the point of exhaustion. As quick and complete as his recovery had been, it had left him weak and it would take time to build up his strength. By the time Eden pushed him back to the car he was barely able to keep his eyes open.

Stiffly he got out of the chair and leaned against the car while Eden stored it in the boot. Suddenly he cried out and Eden turned to see him flying across the snow. On the far side of the car park he saw a flash of red and blue and Eden was shocked to realise that Summer had thrown himself into the arms of a complete stranger.

Running across the snow filled space Eden skidded to a halt as he heard Summer say:

"Thank you. Thank you so much. You saved me. You brought me home. You sent me the star didn't you? You sent the star to me to guide me home and you helped me not give up. You're my angel."

"And what makes you think that?" a chillingly familiar female voice asked.

"Don't even try to pretend," Summer said, laughing. "I know you. I will never forget you.

The woman laughed. "It is such a pleasure to meet you and find that you are as beautiful on the outside as your soul is on the inside. It doesn't happen very often." The woman raised her hand to the side of his face and looked deep into his eyes, smiling. "You didn't need me, you never needed me; you had all the means and motivation to make it on your own." She glanced over at Eden, her blue eyes twinkling.

Summer blushed. "I tried. I tried to get back to him but..."

"You would have made it Summer. You have a good man there; kind and strong. He would have brought you home."

Summer looked over at Eden and his smile was blinding. "Eden, this is the angel. She came to me. She saved me."

"I know," Eden said quietly, "we've met."

"You have?" Summer remarked in surprise.

"Yes. She told me you were coming back to me and I believed her."

"You were kind to a helpless woman in distress, Eden. There is power in that; power that may not always be apparent but which never goes unnoticed or unrewarded. I didn't send the star, you did."

"I don't..."

With a smile that encompassed both of them the woman, who suddenly didn't seem to be very old after all, raised her arms and spun around in a swirl of red and blue skirts. A bright light seemed to burst from her and both boys turned away their heads, blinking in the glare. When they were able to look again the woman was gone. Lying on the floor where she had been was a small, brightly coloured piece of card. Eden picked it up and turned it over lying flat on the palm of his hand so that Summer could see it. There was no doubt now, the picture was most certainly Summer.

"The star," he said.