After Taylor fainted, Nurse Freckles immediately began to try and revive him.
"Gosh, I've heard from Nurse Starlight that Taylor has had several episodes of fainting, but has this ever been the case back on Earth?"
James shrugged. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know. I never saw Taylor faint myself, but I did hear from some of the other guys in Blue Squadron that he did from time to time."
"If that was the case though, was it due to a medical condition?"
"Like I said before Miss Freckles, I honestly don't know. It could be, or it might not be, only Taylor could tell us that."
Moments after James said this, Taylor woke up again.
"Taylor, seriously, you really need to stop fainting like that. It cannot be good for your health."
"Well, maybe if Life didn't keep throwing bricks at me like that, maybe I wouldn't keep fainting! Well, that, and those epiphanies that I had a few days ago didn't help me much either."
James sighed. "No, wait, what? What epiphanies?"
Taylor told him about the past couple of times where he'd had a great epiphany, and either been in a state of shock, or lost consciousnesses.
Both James's eyes, as well as Nurse Freckles eyes, got very wide when they heard Taylor's story.
"Wow, that's that's pretty incredible. I mean, the Pacific War was one thing, but that many epiphanies in such a short time? How are you not dead from a heart attack or something?"
"Well, it might have had something to do with the fact that I had Nurse Redheart around me, and......" Taylor sighed, and seemed very sad. "Redheart....." He whispered. "The mare I lost."
James looked at Nurse Freckles. Nurse Freckles looked at him and nodded, indicating that both of them were thinking the exact same thing. Wordlessly, Nurse Freckles left the room for a moment, and paged a certain nurse.
Once Taylor had fully composed himself again, he turned to James. "Hey James?"
"Yeah Taylor?"
"Don't you think that it's about time that I maybe got out of bed? You know, maybe tried to walk again?"
"Um, are you sure that that's such a good idea Taylor? I mean, you are still blind, and were just injured extremely severely."
Taylor sighed. "Yeah, but if I don't get out of this bed soon, I'm also going to have to learn how to walk again, on top of remembering how to use my eyes. So what do you say? Will you help me?"
"Umm....", James was still unsure. "Don't you think that we should ask Nurse Freckles about that first?"
"Ask me about what?" Nurse Freckles walked back into the room.
"Well, I've been in this bed for several days now, and I'm starting to get extremely cramped in my legs. I'm afraid that if I don't at least stretch my legs a bit, that I'm going to have to relearn how to walk. I asked James to help me, but he said that we should ask you first, since you are a medical professional."
Nurse Freckles wasn't sure what to say to that. "Well", she said at last, "You are blind Mr. Taylor, you arm is still broken, and you still have some pretty heavy bruising on your back. However, you are correct. You do need to move your legs to keep your muscles from stiffening. However, I don't think that I'm the one qualified to help you with that."
Taylor looked at her curiously. "Huh? What do you mean by that Nurse Freckles? And if you're not qualified to help me, then who is?"
"I think that we might be able to help you with that Taylor!" Came a voice from the doorway.
Taylor turned towards the voice. It sounded new, yet, so oddly familiar. He couldn't see, yet, he knew who said that.
"N-Nurse Starlight? Is that really you?"
"Yep! I'm right here Taylor."
Taylor smiled, but then he frowned slightly. "Yeah, but wait a minute. You said 'we'. Did you bring another nurse with you? And if so, who?"
"She brought me, Taylor. I came to help you too."
When Taylor heard that voice, he immediately froze up. He knew that voice. He had heard it every day since he arrived in Equestria. He also knew that the mare that it belonged to was not only the same one that he had cheated on, but also the one that had kicked him in the head for lying to her about it.
"R-Redheart? I-is that r-really you???"
He heard the sounds of hooves on the hospital floor, and then felt a warm, furry something pull him into a hug.
"Yes, it's me Taylor, I'm right here. Even though you are blind, just know that I really am right here."
Taylor was still in a state of shock, and Starlight just looked at the two of them, smiling to herself. It was another story with James and Nurse Freckles however.
"Wow", James whispered softly, "It looks like they may finally forgive each other.......MWMHPH!!!!!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Nurse Freckles clamped a hoof over his mouth. "Shh, quiet! I want to see where this is going."
Now James was slightly ticked. "Hey, I wasn't doing anything bad, and why'd you stuff your hoof over my mouth?"
"Because I was trying to shut you up. You were breaking my concentration."
"Well, don't do it again. I mean it!"
Nurse Freckles turned to him, with a strange look on her face. "Well, if you don't zip it, I might just have to find another way to shut you up."
James rolled his eyes. "Ok, I think that this conversation has gone on long enough. I think that it's time that we acted like adults, and.....MWMPH!?!?!?!"
Once again, James had no chance at finishing his sentence. This time though, before he got the chance to, Nurse Freckles grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulled him close to her, and actually kissed him on the mouth!
"Augh! What was that?!?!"
"It's called 'a kiss' dummy!" She replied giggling, "And there's another one coming if you don't shut up!"
James was still recoiling. "You.....cannot....be seriou.....MWMPH!!!!!"
"I'm just gonna keep kissing you until you shut up."
This unstable situation was about to come to a climax. Just as James was probably about to say something else, (possibly something along the lines of asking for help!) Nurse Starlight heard the noises going on behind her, and when she turned to look, to her utter shock, there was Nurse Freckles, and she was kissing James!"
"What the......?!?!?! WHAT IN SWEET CELESTIA'S NAME ARE YOU DOING TO HIM FRECKLES?!?!?!?!"
Freckles immediately let go of James, and he fell to the floor.
"Medic!"
"Did she hurt you Mr. James?" Starlight was geniunely concerned for James's well being.
"Well, aside from hitting my head on the floor just now, as well as maybe needing a test for any number of animal-related illnesses, I think I'm fine."
Starlight then once again turned her full attention to Nurse Freckles. "Once again, before I have security come in and haul your ass out, I have to ask, WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU DOING TO HIM?!?!?!"
Nurse Freckles hung her head low. "I was trying to watch Taylor and Starlight possibly make up, but he wouldn't stop talking. I first put my hoof over his mouth, but he protested that. Then, in the spur of the moment, I told him that if he wasn't going to shut up, then I would have to find another way to make him. He didn't believe me, and so, again in the spur of the moment, as well as a moment of not thinking straight, I kissed him.
Long story short, he recoiled, and asked me what I did. I gave him a sarcastic reply, and told him that if he was going to keep talking, that I was going to keep kissing him until he shut up. It was then that you turned around and saw us. And it might also just be me, but I kinda get this odd feeling that I really just messed up. Like big-time!"
"No shit!" James muttered. Out loud, he said, "And please don't do that ever again! (without asking me first anyway!) If you just wanted a kiss, all you had to so was ask!"
Nurse Freckles sighed. "Yeah, and that was really stupid of me. I'm really sorry Mr. James. I-I um, gosh, I really don't know what to say, aside from asking for your forgiveness of course."
James nodded. "And you have it. And also, you should feel at least a bit of pride."
"For what?"
"Well, because of what just happened, now you can claim to be the third mare to ever kiss a human!"
Freckles thought about that. "Yeah, I guess that you're right Mr. James. And, I do really want this behind us."
James nodded. "So do I Miss Freckles. So yes, I can forgive you."
"And does this mean that we can still be friends too?"
"Well, if that's what you want, then I guess that that could be arranged as well."
"*Squee!*" Nurse Freckles then hugged James as the two of them made up.
By this point, Taylor and Redheart were finished hugging, although before they could really talk to each other, Redheart turned at Starlight's outburst, and she stared in shock at what she was seeing.
"Hey, what's going on over there Redheart? What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing Taylor. It's just Nurse Freckles showing some really poor judgement."
"Huh? What did she do?"
"It's kind of a weird story Taylor", James said from across the room, "I'll tell you about it later."
Taylor however, based on the various conversations that he was hearing, already had a pretty good idea of what had happened. "So, now James becomes the second human to ever kiss a mare." He thought to himself, "And like me, his first kiss was with a nurse. I don't know what it is with nurses around here, but is this always how they treat patients? Or do we 'new species' get special treatment?"
Taylor wasn't sure, but he didn't think that it was his place to ask, so he didn't. Instead, he turned back to Redheart. "So, um Miss Redheart? Do you think that you could help me stand up now? That was the main reason that you came here, wasn't it?"
Redheart nodded. "Yes, well, that was one of the reasons anyway. However, this is the focus right now, so let's figure out how to do this. As I'm sure that you already know, you are blind, at least for the time being, so this is really going to complicate things a bit."
In the end, they decided to do it just like they had done when Taylor got up to walk the first time. With Redheart standing next to the bed, Taylor slowly pulled his blankets off of himself. Then, as carefully as he could, with help from both Starlight and James, he sat on the side of the bed, and swung first one leg, and then the other over the side. Then, once he had both feet on the floor, and with his left arm wrapped around Redheart's back, Taylor slowly stood up again.
At first, because he wasn't quite used to standing yet, he did prove to be rather unstable.
"Whoa, whoa! I kinda feel a little shaky here Redheart! I feel like I could fall down!"
"Well, that's why you're leaning on me. I'm not only your support, but also your eyes as well. For the time being at least."
Taylor nodded, and once he'd fully regained his footing, with Redheart by his side, he carefully moved one foot, and then the other. Pretty soon, Taylor was taking his first steps post-accident.
"It was so weird", Taylor recalled later. "It was like walking through a dark room, but yet, there did seem to be some dim light. I was so afraid that I was going to run into something. Silly me though. Redheart was by my side. I knew that she wasn't going to let anything happen to me."
As they continued to walk along slowly, Taylor turned his head to Redheart. "Um, Miss Redheart?"
"Yes Mr. Taylor?"
"Um, I have a question. Earlier when i asked, you said that coming to help me walk was only part of the reason that you came to me. Um, what was the other reason?"
Redheart stopped cold. She had spent a long time with Starlight beforehand preparing for this, but now that it was upon her, Redheart didn't know what to say. For a few moments, she tried and failed to say anything. However, she was able to get a grip on herself, and she finally let it all out.
"The other reason, was so that I could finally get another chance to talk to you again Taylor. After the night that I wounded you, I felt so much guilt over what I had done that I couldn't bear to see you, so that's why I left for Ponyville on that earlier train. After arriving back here though, I felt so guilty, that I decided that I was going to come back and find you, but before I could, you and the others had your accident."
"B-but why? Why, if you cared about me so much, did you not come to see me while I was here?"
Redheart seemed like she was going to cry. "B-because, I c-couldn't. I tried to, but when I saw you lying there, fighting for your life, I couldn't stand it. You were in so much pain that I had a breakdown. For the longest time, I sat on a bench outside of your room, crying. Eventually, I left the Trauma Ward, and was later found by Nurse Starlight.
This was last night. She and I had a long talk about everything, and eventually, she convinced me to come back and finally talk to you."
Taylor nodded, tears beginning to form in his own eyes. "And I'm......glad that you did. I was really missing you, missing hearing your voice, missing laughing with you, spending time with you, etc. I wanted you to come, but given everything that had happened, I knew that you probably hated me, and never wanted to see me again."
"That couldn't be farther from the truth Taylor. You're very special to me. We shared a connection since the first time that we met. We may have hit some serious rough spots with the events of the past couple of days, but I'm willing to work through it if you are."
Taylor turned to her. "So, does this mean that we're, um, c-close friends again?"
Redheart paused for a moment, then she let go of Taylor for a moment, before rearing up onto her hind legs to hug him.
"You'd better believe it Taylor!" She whispered. "You seem to have this uncanny knack for needing medical attention, as well as guidance at times, so yes, I'm here for you once again."
"I just wish that I could see you right now Redheart. I'm so close to being able to do that, yet, so far. I still have another two days or so of eyedrop treatments before my blindfold can be removed."
"You'll see me soon Taylor. And I'm sure that you'll be happy to know that I've spoken to Dr. Stables, and as of now, until the day that you leave the hospital, I will be the nurse caring for you."
"That sounds nice, but what about Nurse Freckles?"
"Yeah, what about me?"
Redheart turned to look at her. "Well, I won't be tending to Taylor full time, but the doctor agreed that it would be for the best if we worked at it in shifts. You were wearing yourself out, and no other nurse, besides maybe Starlight, and of course you now, knows Taylor better than I do."
Taylor then felt unstable again. "Um, Redheart, could you please help me back to the bed? I need to sit down again."
"Certainly." With care, Redheart helped him back to the bed, and when he was next to it, he sat back down on the edge of it. While he was sitting there, Redheart sat behind him, and gently began to massage his back.
"Hmm", she sighed, "It must feel so nice to have me do this."
"Yeah, it feels like........Ow, OW, OW!!!!!! THE BRUISES!!!!!! OW OW OW OW OW OW!!!!!!!!!"
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I forgot all about them! Oh gosh!!!!" Redheart immediately recoiled. She then took some ointment, and began to rub that over the bruises on his back instead, albeit, MUCH more gently this time!
"Um, does that feel any better Taylor?"
"Yeah, it......sorta does. It feels cool, and whatever it is, it's making the pain seem to go away."
After Redheart was done rubbing the ointment in, Taylor lay on his stomach for a few minutes, so as to allow the ointment time to be absorbed.
As it was being absorbed, Taylor asked a question. "Um, Nurse Freckles?"
"Yes Mr. Taylor?"
"When was I scheduled to have my original arm cast removed, and replaced with a better one?"
"Um", she looked over her records. "According to what Dr. Stables wrote here, that's going to be done in the morning, close to when some of your final eyedrop treatments are being done as well."
"Ok, that sounds fine. It'll sure be nice to have it bent at a 90 degree angle at my elbow, instead of just being straight like it is now. And those treatments will put me more steps closer to being able to see again."
Nurse Freckles nodded. "Yes, now you'd better get some rest Mr. Taylor. It's starting to get late, and you have more treatments to have done tomorrow."
Taylor nodded. "Yes, I suppose you're right." He began to get settled back into his bed.
"And I'm going to head home for the night. Goodnight everypony!"
"Goodnight Nurse Starlight."
"And I think that I'll head back to my room as well. Goodnight Taylor, I'll see you tomorrow."
Taylor nodded. "Goodnight James."
"And I guess that now Nurse Redheart will be taking care of you, at least for a while, I'm going to take a break for the night. Goodbye for now Mr. Taylor."
"Goodbye Nurse Freckles."
Once the goodnights and goodbyes were over with, the lights in Taylor's room were turned off, with the exception of a lamp, and Taylor was trying to fall asleep.
"Um, Redheart?"
"Yes Taylor?"
"I'm just glad that we were able to work through that rough spot in our relationship. It feels so good to be past it now."
"Yeah, I know what you mean Taylor. The air is now clear, and we can start over with a clean slate. Maybe we weren't meant to be lovers, but doesn't mean that we can't still be friends, does it?"
Taylor shook his head. "Of course not. We can always still be friends. Goodnight Miss Redheart. I'll see you tomorrow."
Goodnight, Mr. Taylor."
With that, Taylor was finally able to fall asleep. He and Redheart had fully come to terms with what had happened, and where able to work through it. Their future looked bright, now the question remained; could the plane possibly be repaired for a trip back to Earth, and if so, how long would it take?