“What the f*** did they do to my room!?”  Kyuhyun was understandably pissed when he found that his room had been rumaged through and the mess that was left behind.

            All the 11^th floor members were busy surveying the damage the checking to see if anything was missing.  They were tired and depressedd and besides Kyuhyun no one really wanted to say much, especially not in front of April.  Maintanence had come and left, the locks were replaced and additional security measures had been taken.

            They were still banking on the fact that Aprl didn’t know who they were, didn’t know they were the reason she was like this.  They were right about that, April was just as confused as ever, only now she was more aware of her bizare surroundings.

            April knew they were bizare, but yet she had very little memory of her own life.  Six months completely gone, but before that only bits and pieces and nothing of her childhood before the age of nine.  She had a sense of what normalcy should mean but she didn’t know why, she had no reference point. 

            She sat on her bed and stared at her crutches leaning against the end of it.  They had been all but forgotten in the chaos of the last night.  Before she knew what she was doing she was reaching for them.

            April never really knew what she was doing, her actions were more of a primal instinctual thing.  Perhaps they had meaning but they were never really thought out, the connection in her brain just wasn’t there. 

            Sungmin was the only one who noticed her struggling.  The idea made him nervous, he wasn’t sure if she was ready for this but if she showed the desire to use them, he couldn’t say no.  He moved the crutches closer to see what she would do.  Once in her hands she struggled to get up from the bed, got about two or three inches, and fell backwards back onto it.  Her good leg was weak.

            ‘Baby steps,’ Sungmin thought to himself.  ‘You need to learn to walk before you run so you need to learn to stand before you can walk.’  He put the crutches back against the side of the bed and April looked dejected.

            Sungmin stood over her.  “Give me your hands,” he said gently.  She didn’t move immediately but after a few moments she reached up just the slightest bit with her right hand.  She looked up at him with big vulnerable eyes, fearful and hopeful.

            Sungmin took both her hands in his.  “Are you ready?”  It didn’t take much to pull her up, she still weighed almost nothing.  He put her hands on his shoulders.  “Lean on me.”

            She was standing.

            …And she was dizzy.  It had been a long time since she was verticle and the blood drained from her head.

            April swayed and Sungmin felt it.  “Whoa, maybe that’s enough for today, we can try again tomorrow.”

            He carefully helped her sit back down.  It was a big milestone but it was just as well that the others didn’t see it.  They would have made a big deal clapping and whatnot.  Sungmin didn’t want April to feel embarassed. 

            Sungmin tried to mention it casually over dinner that night.  April was met with a chorus of praise, “Hey, Awesome!  Well done!” 

            Donghae said, “Good work, kid,” and ruffled her hair.

            They celebrated with ice cream, because, why not?  (Although Kyu really would have preferred wine.)  The mood in the dorm took an upward turn from where it had been less than 24 hours ago in the aftermath of the break-in.

            Zhou Mi had been quiet all day, still shaken from the break-in and feeling a little bit guilty though he couldn’t reason with himself why.  He started to smile again a bit over the ice cream.

            The members were not angry with him.  In fact they were all truly grateful for the effor Zhou Mi gave to protect April.  It was only Zhou MI torturing himself convinced that there must have been something that he could have done different; something that could have stopped the girls from getting in in the first place.

            18 Years Ago

            “Are you truly sure you want to adopt this child?”  The social worked asked a young hispanic woman.  “I mean the child is deaf, she hears nothing.”

            “Yes.  I am well aware that this beautiful little girl cannot hear but that doesn’t mean that I’ll love her any less or that there’s no hope for her.”

            “Suit yourself,” said the surely social worker.

            Mrs. Torres was a strong woman and although they weren’t particularly well off at the time, her and her husband desperately wanted another child and something about this timid little girl with big eyes just called to her. 

            15 Years Ago

            The little girl with big eyes woke up groggy in a hospital bed and heard her name for the first time.

            “April, you’re awake.”  Mrs. Torres was smiling over her.  “Can you hear me sweetie?”

            April did hear and nodded.  It was the first time she heard anything in 6 years but for all she remembered it was the first time she heard anything at all.  It wasn’t until some years later that she realized that she must have had her hearing before losing it, lest she would not have understood her mother day. 

A/N: Okay so do you guys see where I'm going with all the flashbacks?  If you think you know April's backstory leave it in the comments below.  I know lately I've been writing more about April than about Suju but I think I need to flesh out her character a bit before moving on with the story.  In the long run it will all come together...not that I know precisely where it is going.  Like I've mentioned to some of you before my process is a little more like discovery than planned writing.  I like to think of it as the story exists in some alternate dimension and I'm just the one putting it down on paper.  Or maybe I'm crazy.  Probably both.  Anyway, ciao chingus! Happy reading!!