---
The first thing Alice heard was the distant hum of fluorescent lights, like electricity murmuring above her. Then the beeping. A monitor. A pulse. Too steady to feel real.
Her body felt leaden. Her breath wouldn’t come right — shallow, sharp. Panic set in fast.
Her eyes flew open.
The room was white. Unfamiliar. Tubes. Wires. A machine ticking next to her like a countdown.
She bolted upright with a gasp, heart racing.
A man was at her side instantly.
“Woah—Alice, you’re okay. You’re safe. You’re at the hospital. Don’t move too quickly—”
“Don’t touch me!” she cried, eyes wide, trembling as she recoiled from the man’s hand.
He froze.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said softly. “I’m Tim. Tim Bradford. I’m… I’m your—”
She pressed back into the pillows, hands gripping the blanket. “Who the hell are you?! Where am I?!”
“You’re in Los Angeles. You’ve been hurt. You were in a coma, but you’re awake now. Just breathe.”
Her lungs wouldn’t obey. Everything was a blur of sterile walls, beeping machines, and unfamiliar faces. Her hands trembled violently.
“My name…” she said slowly, voice cracking. “My name is Alice.”
“Yes.”
“I live at…” Her brow furrowed in deep concentration. “2109 Flower Street. Apartment 2C. L.A. That’s home. That’s…”
Tim’s heart clenched. That was her apartment. At least that much hadn’t been erased.
“And…” Her breathing hitched again. “Maddie. Where’s Maddie?”
Tim blinked. “Maddie?”
“I don’t know who she is—I just remember her name. Maddie. She’s important. I think. I think she’s in danger.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Tim sat still, every fiber of him aching to hold her — but he didn’t move. Not when she didn’t know him. Not when she was looking at him like he was the monster in a dream.
“It’s okay,” he whispered. “You’re safe now. We’ll figure it out.”
But in her mind, everything felt wrong. Like puzzle pieces crammed into the wrong box. Like time had rewound — and left her behind.
---
6:20 AM – Just Outside ICU Room 4
Angela, Lucy, Aaron, and Celina huddled around the glass window, watching the chaos unfold inside.
“She doesn’t know any of us,” Tim said, stepping out, hands shaking. “Just her name, her address… and someone named Maddie.”
Celina frowned. “There’s no Maddie in her files or contacts.”
Angela’s eyes narrowed. “Could it be something buried in the spiral case?”
Aaron said, “Or someone she met during her hallucinations while in a coma. Sometimes the brain locks onto images it can’t process.”
“She looked right at me,” Tim said quietly. “And had no idea who I was.”
Lucy placed a gentle hand on his arm. “She will. Just give it time.”
Tim didn’t answer.
---
7:00 AM – L.A. General, Hallway
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Rabbit Hearts & Bulletproof Vests || Tim Bradford??
FanfictionAlice Hartwell never wanted to be a hero - just someone who could run toward the chaos and still feel the world's poetry through it. But when she joins the LAPD as a rookie and is paired with the infamously hard-edged Tim Bradford, she finds herself...
