Missed Moments
She could see her life flashing before her eyes. Except, she did not see the life she was about to leave behind. She saw the life that had left her behind.
Hazel drew in a shuddering breath as an image of the love of her life flared behind her weak eyelids.
Augustus.
It wasn't as if she had forgotten about him, in fact, there wasn't a moment when she didn't remember him. He was the first thing she thought of when she woke up and the last thing she thought of before she went to sleep. She frequently dreamed about him, sometimes pleasant memories, sometimes terrible nightmares.
But this was different, she was seeing moments of her life that would have happened if Augustus hadn't slipped through her fingers so soon.
Missed moments.
She saw him excitedly proclaiming that he was no longer a slave to the disease he had carried around with him for years.
She saw herself walking around without handy, dandy Phillip.
A vision of Augustus throwing a pack of cigarettes away because he hadn't given the killing thing the power to kill him made her heart warm.
Bright, technicolor visions of her and Gus reading An Imperial Affliction and cursing Peter Van Houten to hell and back danced across her vision.
A scene with her in a simple white dress and him in a dashing tuxedo left her breathless and nostalgic for something she never had.
A repeat of the hotel room.
Competitively playing The Price of Dawn in their own home with Isaac.
A flash of a bloody hospital room, the air being pierced by the sharp wails of a crying infant.
Augustus with his arms around her as she cradled a green eyed baby
. Beautiful brunette children running around in the yard, playing on the swing set that Gus had built to teach them an important lesson.
Another scene of a wedding, but this time, one of the kids on the swing set was the groom.
Augustus making an insightful comment to his grandchildren commenting on his graying hair.
And finally, a vision of them, late at night, her back pressed to his chest as he held her close.
As she struggled for breath, Hazel realized that she had lived ten years without his wonderful in her life. She was ready to see it again and feel his vice like arms wrap around her for real.
And so, she stopped holding on because she was ready for the bigger infinity. As she took her final breath and the roller coaster of Hazel Grace Lancaster came to an end, all she could think about through the numbing pain was that her wish would finally be granted, a lifetime with Augustus Waters.
A short one shot in honor of breast cancer month. I know neither of them actually have breast cancer, but they are both victims of cancer. God bless all the pink angels in the sky.