"Anything"
A/N: Well, one post-finale one-shot wasn't satisfying enough for me! The other one I just did, "Breakfast at Betty's" dealt with most of the cliffhangers at the end and the reactions to them. This one covers the one I left out: Daniel and Alexis. I'm putting in some Betty/Daniel here because I said so. Please be nice, no bashing, and enjoy this second story! This isn't as humorous as the first one I wrote. Also, I a not a nurse, nor have I ever been one. I have no idea how a coma works, so I wrote it the way I did just to shove the story along, kay? I don't want any EMTs coming on here to trash this story because I portrayed a coma unrealistically!
Summary: Two Meades got into a car wreck that night. One woke up quickly. The other is on the brink of death. How can Alexis and Betty team up to bring Daniel back before it's too late?
The first thing that hit Alexis was the smell. The disgustingly sterile smell, like a dentist's office. She never liked the smell of medical buildings.
Ugh, what had happened? It slowly began coming to her as she regained her vision. She remembered driving pedal-to-the-metal down the road towards the hospital. Daniel was slipping away beside her, having overdosed on whatever drug he was on, and Alexis was struggling to have him hold on. She also remembered being very careful of her brother in his fragile condition. Then, she realized the brakes were cut by the hit-man she'd hired to 86 Bradford. Then, the tree, the blinding light she saw, Daniel's eyes slamming shut as Alexis felt a horrible jolt, and the whiplash that followed, and then something smashed against her head. Then, blackness.
She was lying face-up in a hospital bed. How long had she been there? How long was she in the wrecked car before someone got to her? She looked down and saw the IV line going into her wrist. Blinking and looking around, she was clearly in a room in the ER ward. Her bed was close to another, closed partially off by a curtain. Was that Daniel's bed? By her side on the table was a vase of plastic daisies that were probably at least 20 years old, her tattered purse (recovered from the accident, no doubt) and a chart with some handwritten post-its covering the front. Alexis reached out for it and snatched it. If she was bleeding internally, she sure as hell wasn't waiting for a nurse to tell her that.
Most of the post-its were all the same. "Patient was in a car accident." "Patient is not critically wounded." "Patient suffered moderate head trauma." "Patient has no internal bleeding." Underneath the notes were a bunch of vital stats and charts that meant nothing to her, but nothing looked too urgent anyways.
Good, she wasn't going to die after all. Alexis' hands flew to her face. A bandage covered the right side of her cheek. She must have been cut there.
Suddenly, Daniel came back to her thoughts. Was he in the bed next to her? Alexis couldn't reach the curtains to find out. Damnit! She needed to know before she knew anything else. Wasn't there supposed to be a call-button around? Alexis struggled to sit up, but her head was killing her. She needed to lie down. Her pillow was propped up a bit, but her head still throbbed.
No call button. What the hell could she do? She couldn't just shout out and expect someone to come to her aid. This wasn't her house! What kind of crackpot hospital didn't have emergency call-buttons in the rooms?
Alexis grabbed her purse. Did her cell-phone still work? Searching through it, Alexis couldn't find her cell phone. But then again, she didn't really have much time to look. A redheaded and cheery nurse wearing a long white frock walked into the room with another clipboard. She took one look at Alexis and smiled. It was like a Jack Nicholson-esque smile. Creepy and wide. Alexis felt a chill run up her spine.
"Well, aren't you a pretty little number?" the nurse said, smiling. She had a very strong Queens accent. "Good thing you're awake, you had quite the concussion!"
"Where's my—"
"So you're the famous Alexis Meade! I'm Nurse Eliza, I'll be your night nurse until we move you upstairs. We're keeping you here for 3 days just until you get your strength back," said Eliza.
"What time is it?" asked Alexis.
"Coming on 2 in the morning," said Eliza. "Hold out your arm." Alexis obeyed as Eliza stuck a cuff around her bicep and began measuring blood pressure.
"Where is my brother?" Alexis asked again, sternly.
"Who?"
"Daniel Meade!"
"145 over 90," calculated Eliza. "A little high, but what can you expect after that terrible crash?"
"WHERE IS MY BROTHER? DANIEL MEADE! WHERE IS HE?!" Alexis asked, quickly losing her patience with the woman. Eliza nodded.
Eliza gave Alexis a serious look. "He's right beside you," said Eliza, pulling aside the curtain. Alexis gasped. Unlike her side of the room, which only had the IV line and a few instruments used for measuring, Daniel was all but buried underneath all the wires, tubes, and machines keeping him alive.
"Is he on life support?" Alexis asked.
"Not technically. He is in a coma," said Eliza. "He had enough Methaqualone in his body to kill him, and that accident did him no favors. Lucky one of our EMTs found you on thew way to work or else he would have absorbed all of the drugs into his blood. But…a lot of it did get into his bloodstream. All we can do is wait to see how much made it. If there was too much…"
"Danny!" Alexis gasped. "What about injuries?"
"His airbag didn't deploy. He got some really bad whiplash. But that's not why he's in the coma."
Alexis felt a tear come to her eye as she shot up in bed despite her head and neck injuries. "Danny! I…I didn't want it to…Nurse?" Alexis asked.
"Yes, Miss?"
"Can he still hear?"
"Yes, Miss. One of the few senses that still works during a coma. Sometimes, if the voice is really special to someone, it will trigger a chemical rellease in the mind that could help the patient recover," Nurse Eliza said. Alexis nodded. Alexis leaned over as far as she could and began talking in a sweet voice.
"Danny? Danny, can you hear me? We need to here, Danny! I'm so sorry for all the things I've done to you…I'm so sorry for all of this! Danny? Daniel?" Alexis sat back in her bed and cried. Daniel hadn't stirred.
"I have to go report you stats and do a few more rounds," nsaid Eliza. "I'll be back in 2 hours, Miss Meade," Eliza said, walking out fo the room. Alexis couldn't reach Daniel's bed. She wanted to touch him to see if his skin was still warm. Her kid brother. Her Danny.
Alexis suddenly remembered to get her cell phone. As much as she hated the bastard, maybe Bradford could come in and try to help Daniel. Alexis shifted through her purse. Oh, where the hell was her cell phone?
She pulled out a phone, but for some strange reason, it was Daniel's. She flipped it on, making sure the nurses didn't see. Who was in his contacts? Maybe someone he cared enough about to help talk to him…
Valerie Swanson
Emily Riou
Colleen Burns
Francesca Sanchez
"Ugh, damn you, Daniel!" Alexis murmured. All four names were all one-night-stands of Daniel's.
Betty Suarez
Alexis' eyes widened. Well, his secretary was better than any of those foreign model bimbos in Daniel's harem. Alexis selected Betty's name and put the phone to her ear, listening to the dial tone as if it were her favorite song.
Betty's cell phone ringtone brought her out of her tracelike state. Where did Hilda go? Betty didn't realize she had dozed off while consoling Hilda in her deeply sad state. Hilda wasn't in the kitchen anymore. She must have gone upstairs to see how Justin was recuperating, if he was at all.
Betty scrambled to find her phone. She grabbed it and flipped it open. The caller ID was Daniel's. Why would HE be calling so late at night? "Betty Suarez?"
"Betty?"
The voice was feminine. Who was calling Daniel's phone?
"Who is this?"
"Alexis."
Betty almost stuck a finger in her ear. Why was Alexis calling her on Daniel's cell?
"Alexis?"
"I'm at the United Hospital of New Jersey," said Alexis. "Daniel and I were in a car wreck because Daniel was loaded," she explained.
"Loaded? CAR WRECK?" Betty felt her chest tighten.
"Anyways, Danny's in a coma. I need you down here, I think we can snap him out of it if you get down here now!"
"How?"
"Just get down here and HURRY!" Alexis hung up with that. Betty quickly ran to find her shoes and parka. She called up the stairs to Hilda.
"HILDA! I'm going out!!" she yelled up the stiars. After 10 seconds, there was still no reply, so Betty zoomed out the door and down to the nearest bus stop.
Alexis couldn't take her eyes off Daniel. He was nothing more than a mess of tubes, IV drips, and breathing machines. Her baby brother was all but on life support. So many years of sibling rivalry and trying to outdo each other wasn't really so impprtant anymore. Alexis was willing to do anything, even hand over the position of editor-in-chief to Daniel again. Even quit MODE and go somewhere else if he needed it. She wanted things to be better. He was her only brother. And, truth be told, one of her only friends. Since she'd 'backstabbed' Wilhemina, she lost a LOT of loyalty, and despite still being seen as "the better one" by everyone (except Bradford, of course), Alexis was painfully aware that she wasn't the most-liked person at MODE. But regardless, all she wanted was to see Danny move again.
Alexis knew this was her fault. She's hired the hitman to take out Bradford. How could she have been so stupid as to asking for his car? She could have taken the bus! ANYTHING other than Bradford's car! But, that wasn't going to shut her up about killing Bradford. No, she'd take care of THAT later.
Alexis looked at the clock….where the hell was Betty, anyways? She'd called an hour ago. That insufferably annoying nurse Eliza would be in again to check her vitals again soon.
Leaning back in bed, Alexis moaned. Her head was still aching like hell. Her neck burned from the whiplash she'd gotten. Alexis also noticed she'd gotten a broken ankle because she'd been trying to slam the brakes when the car hit the tree. But the ankle was nothing compared to her head. And her heart.
"Alexis?"
Alexis looked up as Betty ran into the room, obviously out of breath. "I'm sorry I'm late. I forogt the buses didn't run in my neighborhod that late so I—"
Betty could hardly stand the sight. Alexis was pretty banged up, but was that really Daniel beside her? Betty felt her heart drop into her stomach as she realized it WAS Daniel.
"He's in a coma. He won't listen to me," Alexis said. "Lean down in his ear and talk to him."
"Why?" asked Betty.
"Some nurse said if he can respond to the voice of someone he's close to, something in his brain will jump start and help him!"
Betty looked confused. It was too early for this!
"Um…why not you? You're his sister!" Betty said. Alexis shook her head. Betty realized Alexis had already tried.
"C'mon, Betty! Daniel's so dependents on you he won't take a pee without asking you first anymore!" Alexis said. Betty frowned.
"Not exactly!" Betty moaned, thinking about her last conversation with him…
"Oh my… Daniel! What were you thinking?" Betty couldn't believe her eyes. Daniel was addicted to drugs. What WERE those little white pills? Ecstasy? Some kind of aspirin? Regardless, Daniel was clearly in bad shape.
Daniels' clueless expression said it all. He was fishing for some kind of excuse. Betty knew whatever he said would be painful for her to hear. "I don't know. But at least I'm not having sex to erase my problems anymore…"
"No, you're taking drugs!" Betty yelled, crossing her arms. Inside, she was crying for him. This was so hard to bear. Daniel was addicted to drugs in order to avoid being addicted to sex.
"I know…you're disappointed in me," Daniel sighed, averting his gaze to the floor. He was like a child who'd got his hand caught in the cookie jar. Betty couldn't stand to be with him in the room anymore.
"I'm so past disappointed, Daniel." Betty turned and left the office. Nothing more could have been said than and there.
"Betty, please. He's my kid brother!" Alexis gave a look of sincerity to Betty. Betty didn't quite understand. THIS was the woman who'd attempted to take MODE away from Daniel? THIS was the woman who'd tag-teamed with Wilhelmina to make Daniel's life a living hell? THIS was the woman who now was begging for Betty to revive Daniel from his death-like coma because he was her "kid brother?"
Wow. That must have been some car crash.
Betty nodded and gulped. She walked across the room to Daniel's bed and leaned down to the head of the bed. Daniel's ear was behind all this machinery somewhere.
"Wha…what do I say?" Betty looked at Alexis. She struggled to sit up straight again in bed. Betty lunged as if to aid Alexis, but she held up a hand to keep Betty by Daniel's bed.
"I don't know…um…anything!"
Betty's face was frozen as she leaned down to Daniel's ear.
"Anything!" she whispered. She looked up at Alexis and cringed.
Alexis frowned (as much as she could, with a bandage across her cheek). "Very funny."
Suddenly, one of the machines hooked up to Daniel began beeping like crazy. Two nurses (one was Eliza) rushed into the room and yanked Betty aside as they scrambled to see to whatever was going off.
Eliza looked up, a little dazed. "It's the blood pressure monitor," she said. "His blood pressure is going up."
"What does that mean?" asked Betty.
"It's a VERY good sign!" said Eliza. "It means his heart is recovering from the overdose and it's beginning to pick up where it left off."
Alexis and Betty looked at each other. All Betty had said was "Anything!"
"We'll be right outside the door if anything else begins to go off, okay?" said the other nurse, quickly going out with Eliza after making sure everything was finely working again. Betty looked excitedly at Alexis, then back at Daniel. He was still unconscious.
"Why is he still out?" asked Betty. Alexis shrugged.
"Try again!" Alexis said excitedly. She didn't even mind her head was killing her. She was getting the second chance she'd been praying for in the car!
Betty leaned down to Daniel's ear again and muttered softly but clearly. "Daniel? It's Betty! Wake up!"
No beeps this time, but a small buzzer went off a few seconds later. The nurses rushed into the room again.
"What is it now?" asked Alexis.
"His breathing is leveling off!"
"In English?" asked Alexis.
"His breathing is regulating. It means he's stabilizing!" said Eliza. Betty looked happily at Alexis, who, in turn, looked like she was about to cry. Eliza shoved Betty aside again as she and the other nurse again checked his vitals. Betty ran back over to Alexis and gave her a hug.
"What are you guys doing?" asked the other nurse.
Betty shrugged innocently.
"If he comes to, even the slightest movement; let us know, because he'll need to have some work done so he can recover!" The nurses left the room, looking at Betty cautiously. Betty ran back over to Daniel's side again. But, this time, Betty didn't have time to speak.
Because Daniel moved. Betty was startled, and Alexis held her breath.
Daniel's head moved as he sighted Betty. His eyes had big dark bags underneath them, but they were clearly open. He looked at Betty. Betty flashed her wide braces-encrusted smile at Daniel.
"Betty? Why…you…in car?" Daniel muttered. Betty raised an eyebrow. Did he think he was still in Bradford's car?
"Humor him, Betty!" Alexis said.
"Humor him? He's not even talking in full sentences!" Betty said back quickly. She turned back to Daniel.
"You're alright, Daniel. You're going to be just fine now!"
Daniel uttered a natural moan. Betty sighed.
"Love…you….Betty."
Alexis looked at Betty, suddenly a LOT more intrigued.
"What? Daniel? What?"
"Secret….but….I…do. You…reason…I…" Betty bit her lip, ready to cry. Daniel suddenly slipped back into unconsciousness. Betty's lower lip trembled as she struggled to hold back tears. She leaned back down to Daniel's ear.
"Daniel! Wake up! It's Betty!"
"Betty…love…you," Daniel whispered. His eyes were closed, but he was still conscious, just exhausted.
Alexis yelled. "Nurses! He's awake!"
The two nurses stumbled back into the room. "He woke up!" Alexis pointed out, excitedly.
The rush was to thrilling, exciting, and tear-jerking as Daniel was quickly wheeled down to the lab to have the tests done. By the time all was said and done, Alexis and Betty were left dumbstruck in the room alone. Betty could still hear Daniel's first words bouncing around in her ear.
Alexis fell back onto the bed suddenly. "I need my sleep."
Betty nodded. "I'll follow Daniela and…and give you updates if you—"
"—No. Daniel will be okay. Just go home and let me sleep."
Betty nodded and went to get her purse from the table beside Alexis. She went to leave.
"Betty?"
Just as Betty was walking out the door, she spun on her heel. "Yes, Alexis?"
"Mention this to ANYONE, and you'll be demoted from assistant to toilet-scrubber."
Betty nodded happily. "Got it," she said before leaving the room with a new energy. She still had a lot to work through. But Daniel's recovery would make it that much easier for her to pull through her other problems floating around her.
And, of course, those words were still fresh in her mind. She knew Daniel would more than likely forget them, but it was a start.
"Love…you….Betty. Secret….but….I…do. You…reason…I…"