Surgical Silver

[Bold text are his thoughts]

Ten hours earlier they had planned their anniversary dinner. Now she was planning a funeral.

Well, okay, not quite. He wasn't dead yet. At least, that's what the doctors told her. But that's the thing. Kotoko spent quite a bit of time in a hospital, she knew when someone had odds of making it or not, and at the moment - there were no odds for Naoki. No, they continued to get more grim by the minute.

They promised her that they were doing everything they could. Without their top surgeon, there wasn't much they could do in the way of helping to alleviate the pain. The person staring back at her was just a fragment of the one she left behind that morning.

Where did it all go so horribly wrong?

"Kotoko, I know mom already reserved the hotel, you don't have to remind me. I'll be there, I swear on my life." Irie murmured, looking at his watch for the fifth time before stepping off the subway.

The obedient ginger followed beside her loving husband, hands folded neatly behind her back. She was dressed in her scrubs, ready to meet the day head on, knowing she'd get a dinner date with him afterwards. And perhaps she could tell him her news - if he hadn't already desciphered it himself. "Okay, I'll stop reminding you, but you have to do your best to be there."

"It's fine," He smirked his famous grin and started across the street, he turned to look at her with a smile. "You can count on it."

Kotoko smiled and waved back, but the look quickly turned into one of anguish. No. She watched it happen and was powerless to stop it! As soon as the car skidded to a halt, she ran across the street to find her husband's tangled mess of a body laying in the middle of his own blood. She fell to her knees and touched a hand to his cheek. "Irie-kun, stay with me. Stay with me!"

"Ko...to...ko?" His eyes were wide, shock was setting in. This wasn't good. Normally he would walk her through the procedure, knowing she had the ability to do so, but today he couldn't. It was increasingly difficult to find the words to speak. His head was swimming and darkness was pushing forward. No. Fight it, Naoki. No! Stay conscious. If you have a concussion, you could go into a coma. Fight the darkness.

"Hey!" Kotoko smiled and started to touch his body, checking for any other wounds that weren't visible. "Hey, Naoki." That would get his attention - she never used his first name. "Hey, what were we going to name our baby? Do you remember? What were we going to name it?"

He smiled, but it was half-hearted. Something about it seemed tepid and broken. "Ko...tomi." His breath hitched. His hand moved to reach for hers, but the searing pain kept him from doing so. Broken arm, likely fractured several bones. He did go flying over the car. Self diagnose, Noaki. Help her out, she can't do this alone. "Con...cussion."

"Yes, I know. Stay with me. Don't go to sleep, Naoki. I know how much you must want to, but don't. Please. Kotomi is due in how many weeks? Come on, you know this." She urged him to answer, hoping he would keep talking long enough for the paramedics to get there.

"Thirty-four," Came the breathy answer. "Thirty-four weeks."

The paramedics arrived on scene and began to assess the situation, pushing Kotoko out of the way to do damage control. The police had long since arrived to direct traffic. She moved with the paramedics, knowing what to do and what to say. "His pulse is low - roughly 40 - sporadic at best, changing every five minutes. Fracture to the right femur, broken left arm. At least two broken ribs that I can tell." Her breath caught and she looked at him cautiously. "Left pupil is dialated. Risk for concussion."

That's my girl.

"We'll take it from here. Thank you."

"Wait! I'm going with. He's my husband." Kotoko knew better than to get in the way, she would stand back, waiting while she held his hand. Ask him questions. Maybe she could keep him awake. "Hey, Naoki. How long have we been married?"

Silence.

"Irie-kun?"

Low blood pressure, falling fast. Tacky at best. The paramedics moved her aside and started to do an IV drip on him, wiping blood off and moving on. "Is he a DNR?"

Kotoko froze, thinking back. How would she know what his wishes were? He'd never discussed it. Usually he was on the other side of the table! The paramedic asked again and she winced. "No! He's not a DNR!"

They began to do chest compressions while she backed away idly. She couldn't get in the way. Not now. No, it was too severe. "Naoki...please stay with me. I can't go on without you."

In an instant. It was hard to believe how much could change in a matter of mere moments. Normally he wasn't that negligent in anything, but he was so...off that day, she hadn't even noticed the change in his behavior.

Now he was in a coma.

Lying across from her, his body limp and pale, tubes tacked everywhere. He wasn't breathing on his own, thinking on his own, or even moving. Could he still move? Her hand rested on her stomach and she frowned. He'd make it through, he had to. It was his promise.

She leaned over and took his hand, smiling ever so gently. "Happy anniversary, Naoki Kun."

More to come. =) Patience is a virtue. Don't worry, other stories will be updated as inspired.