The first thing he noticed was the dull ache at the base of his skull.
Small enough to be insignificant if it wasn't followed by the occasional searing agony that made his world spin momentarily.
Next came the coughs. The now socially embarrassing expulsions of breath that made his stomach cramp and forced another spin of his office even if he sat perfectly still. This would all be okay, just another blasted cold in the making, if he hadn't started coughing up blood in the middle of his daily power bar break. Something wasn't right and it wasn't like him to take risks with his health, so he called Aradia in and had her lead the museum in his stead.
The train ride home left him wondering if people understood just how loud they actually were. Did you really have to shout in people's ears about the next football game? Was the outcome really that life changing? Still he mustered on, unsure of how his legs managed to keep going one after the other until he was fumbling around looking for his keys.
With a loud sigh, one very tired Eridan Ampora sat against the armrest of a very stiff new couch and waited for his girlfriend to come home. Gritting his teeth and reading a book to stay awake, he was out like a light in five minutes flat.
"Eridan?" came a soft voice by his head, bringing him out of a very peculiar dream involving a horse and two rather odd young ladies. He peered out of the corner of his eyes and caught a glimpse of Kanaya kneeling beside him before he decided that light was the enemy and closed his eyes. "nugh" was his only reply.
Feeling a brush of delicate fingernails push back his hair and a palm pressed firmly to his forehead, he winced at the frosted touch. He was unbearably warm, yet shivering.
Kanaya felt the kindling of anxiety in the pit of her stomach but managed to bite it down long enough to search their kitchen for a cold compress and some medicine. Kneeling back down beside Eridan she gently prodded him awake. "Eridan…Honey wake up, you need to rest in a proper bed." She spoke softly, figuring he would have a headache. He grunted, begrudgingly opening one eye to see her concerned face. Not the face, he thought to himself, knowing he could do nothing but give in to its desires.
With one deep breath he hulled himself up and leaned against Kanaya as they very slowly marched up the stairs to the bedroom. Once situated and cozy, Kanaya pressed the cold moist towel to Eridan's forehead and forced him to swallow the pills. She left him to rest with promises to come back up in an hour to check on him. He'd fallen asleep halfway through her promise.
Within the hour exactly, Kanaya gently opened the door and poked her head in. "Eridan?" She called out softly, easing her way in and toward him. He looked rather peaceful through his deep even breathing and let a small worried smile run across her face. Setting the pills she'd brought with her on the table next to a glass of water, she sat down beside him and tried to gently wake him. "Eridan…wake up sweetheart, its time to take another pill." She allowed herself a small giggle, knowing how much he hated swallowing them. He lay still, not waking. She rolled her eyes, figuring he was playing a fool, so she leaned in and pushed herself up, legs straddling his middle, she kissed his cheeks softly to rile him up. After a few kisses and light touches, he remained motionless. Leaning back Kanaya felt the anxiety pooling in her stomach double. "Eridan…Eridan seriously this is not funny." She pushed against his chest, her fear bubbling. "Eridan so help me if this is a joke I will end you!" She pushed once more, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him with vigor. Still he did not respond.
She froze, feeling her stomach tighten.
She tore down the stairs, not caring as one heel flew off her foot in an effort to find her cell phone. Kneeling down, she ransacked her purse, throwing things off to the sides till she found it. In a flurry of panic she dialed the only person she felt could help.
"Hi this is Feferi Peixes speaking how may I-" "Feferi I need you to come over right now." Kanaya cradled her phone on her shoulder while her hands searched for her journal. "What?! Kanaya is that you?" "Feferi I don't have time for this I just need you to come over this instant!" She was slowly raising her voice out of anxiety. "Kanaya I can't! Vriska and I are making soufflé-" "Feferi Eridan is lying motionless on our bed, forget about your damned soufflé and come over!" She yelled into the phone, her eyes ready to overflow. "…I'm on my way." With a click Feferi hung up and Kanaya was dialing another number, this time it was Equius.
Kanaya watched silently beside Vriska as Feferi ran vitals on Eridan, her teeth working a number on her manicure. Feferi had Eridan attached to a heart monitor; the occasional beep of his heart beat kept Kanaya at ease.
The doorbell ringing made her jump, knocking her elbow against Vriska, who jumped on contact. Muttering a soft apology she went to answer the door.
Equius and Aradia, looking rather frantic and sweaty, gave Kanaya worried looks. She let them in and explained. She needed help moving Eridan, that's where Equius came in. He nodded, following her up the stairs to the bedroom where Feferi and Vriska waited.
Hearing the door open Feferi looked up, a serious expression across her face. "Kanaya…" She began, about to continue when a low beep came from the heart monitor she attached to Eridan. "His heart rates dropping!" She yelled, motioning for Equius to pick him up. "He needs to get to a hospital immediately!" Feferi yelled, running down the stairs to grab Kanaya's car keys, Equius and Aradia hot on her heels. Kanaya didn't move, shock rocked her, until Vriska grabbed her by the arm. "Didn't you hear her!? Move Kanaya!" She yelled, dragging Kanaya to meet up with the other in Kanaya's small prius.
Waiting rooms are absolutely, without a doubt, what hell is.
Kanaya sat against the stiff and cold plastic bench chairs, kntting as an order from Vriska to keep herself from chewing her nails down to stubs and bleeding. The yarn and needles were shoved into her hands moments after vriska returned from parking the car properly. Although they had drifted apart over time, Vriska still knew the little things that calmed Kanaya down. None more so than knitting, so she pulled a little money ad stopped by the store a few blocks down while she had the car to herself and bought green and purple yarn with two metallic gold needles.
Kanaya was puzzled at first. Feeling her hands work into routine motions helped ease her mind and with a resolute sigh she thanked Vriska for the relief.
Feferi spent her time in the corner of the room Eridan was placed in, unable to help her friend even though this was the hospital she worked in. Still she kept Aradia updated with frequent texts, which were hesitantly relayed to Kanaya, who absentmindedly nodded and knitted, not allowing herself to get worked up until there was a definitive answer to what happened.
"Feferi?" blinking up from her phone, Feferi faced a young intern. "What is it Porrim?" She felt a twitch of fear but brushed it off to maintain her professionalism. "Does the patient have a history of headaches mild to migraine?" Feferi nodded, clutching her phone tightly. Porrim had a pensive look on her face and fidgeted with the hem of her scrubs. Feferi blinked, waiting for a response, a diagnosis, anything. "Porrim!" She yelled without meaning to, the anxiety bubbling up. With a jump, Porrim quickly blurted out. "We think he may have blown a vein in his brain!" She looks mildly annoyed at being yelled at.
Feferi blinks bewildered. "Explain." She demands, walking toward Eridan. Porrim follows behind her. "There is severe bleeding occurring just under the skull, stress and trauma are usually the culprits for a busted vein but it means we need to operate immediately. Unfortunately we need permission since he has fallen into a comatose state-" Feferi turned to her abruptly. "Comatose?" She asks, her eyes wide. Porrim nods grimly, turning to Eridan, watching the other interns and residents hook Eridan to heart monitors and respirators and IV drips. "We need permission from his secondary signer. Feferi, that's you." Feferi sighs, thinking of Kanaya.
Porrim eyes between Feferi and Eridan; waiting patiently for a response from her. "I need to talk to his girlfriend. Can you give me a few minutes?" Porrim nods and rejoins the crowd.
Walking the familiar halls, Feferi wonders how to break the news to Kanaya. Ruptured veins in the brain are no big deal if treated immediately. Left untreated however, especially with the patient going comatose, the ratio of the patient pulling through is great just…She mustered a long hard sigh while in the elevator. Reaching the ground floor, she joined the small huddle in the waiting room. Her eyes immediately find Vriska's, nodding gently for her to break Kanaya from her knitting induced stupor. "Alright fussy fangs." She says gently, breaking kanaya's stride, half of a scarf pooling on her lap. Kanaya blinks a bit, looking up to find Feferi and jumps up almost immediately. Vriska moved quickly to catch the yarn and knit before it hit the floor.
"Feferi." Kanaya said softly, eyes leveled. Feferi breathed in deeply and let her shoulders sag. "Eridan has a ruptured vein in his brain." She quickly brought a hand up to silence her before she could try to interrupt. "If we operate immediately he will be okay but, since he has fallen into a coma it can only mean the bleeding has persisted for a while. Even if everything goes well…"She trails off, feeling a shudder bubble up from within. "He may not wake up…" She locked eyes with Kanaya and placed her hands on her shoulders to brace her in the event she were to faint.
Kanaya let the news flow through her, paying no mind to Feferi's hands as her body tensed. "Eridan may have named me his secondary signer but I need you to be okay with it Kanaya I won't say yes unless you say I can." Feferi added softly, never breaking eye contact with Kanaya.
Feeling her eyes sting with tears Kanaya swallowed, closing her eyes and regaining her composure. "Let them." She whispered, her eyes still closed. Feferi nodded, letting go of Kanaya only to have her grab her wrist. "Feferi…" Kanaya's grip tightened. "I want you in that room. Make sure he stays with us." Feferi nodded lightly, only moving when Kanaya releases her grip to go authorize the surgery.