Heather woke up in a cold sweat, feeling like her legs had gone all pins and needles. She tried to move them and panicked just for a moment, until memory returned. It was pitch black. She reached for her phone remembering she'd placed it by the bed. 2:00am, the display said. There was a glass of water sitting there and also the remote for the bed. Heather raised it to a sitting position and took hold of the glass in a hand still shaking. The nightmares were still there, and she was glad she couldn't remember this one, except the last moment when she was certain that her legs were being eaten by carnivorous insects.<br/><br/>She drank deeply, considered pulling the red alarm cord but figured her daughter needed her sleep as much as anyone. Instead she eased herself into the wheelchair, this time making sure the brake was on. Once there she headed for the bathroom. Then found that she had the same problem as before. She managed to solve it by lifting her backside off the chair and lowering it onto the edge, then sliding herself back up. The elasticated waistband of the penguin PJs slid obediently down over her hips. "Going to have to wear skirts and go commando..." She muttered to herself as she managed the awkward acrobatic transfer to the toilet.<br/><br/>She decided not to bother pulling the trousers back up when she was done, instead leaving them bunched around her knees. Back in bed, the side she'd been sleeping on was slightly clammy, but it was a warm night so she just clambered awkwardly back into bed.<br/><br/>Something woke her. She wasn't sure what. Maybe it was the slight squeak of the bedroom door, or the soft barely audible creak of a floorboard? Or.. wasn't the floor all smooth concrete now and covered with that anti-slip traction stuff? Must have been the door then. She didn't want to move, though. She was comfortable, and her daughter's soft enquiry didn't demand an answer. But she was awake now. Just. "No, I'm still asleep. Go away. Do you have any idea how wonderful it is not to be woken up at four am by the woman in the next bed needing a wee, and then again at six when they come and take your temperature, and again at seven when they serve breakfast... So no I'm not up, I'm enjoying a well earned lie-in, for the first time in six months. Now be a good girl and go put the coffee machine on!"