"Abigail? Was that you?? I heard a scrape of a stool on the floor and felt my hand being taken. It was pitch dark, the darkness of Healer's Sleep. There was no disorientation this time, but instead the comfortable peace of knowing I was safe.
"Oh, Abigail!? Susie's voice was so lost and sad that my heart thudded at her grief. She laid her head down on my chest and wept. I wanted so much to tell her that I knew she was here. Trying to disconnect myself, I drifted off onto tangent after tangent after tangent of thought. Then, without thinking, I squeezed her hand briefly.
She gasped and lifted her head. I felt a tear splash on my cheek, and I cried quietly myself, unable to control myself, nor wanting to. She pressed her warm hand against my cheek and wiped away the tear.
She kissed me on the cheek and held me tight. I felt her body shudder as she cried. I was home where I belonged.