The next thing John registered was bright light burning through his closed eyes like morning sunlight coming through a closed shade. A second later the pain slammed him. He arched his back against it, but his arms and legs resisted his attempts to move. He heard a groan escape his parched lips.
“Thank God,” he heard a voice say. “I think he’s waking up.”
His eyelids were crusted shut. It took a moment to open them and focus. In the first seconds he thought the woman looking down at him was Julie. He tried to raise his hand toward her face, but again he could not move. The woman reached for him, gently touching his shoulder.
“Dad, be careful. You’ve pulled out your IVs once already.” It was Sarah’s voice, his daughter, not Julie. “They’ve got you restrained,” she went on. “Just relax.
