The prompt was "Terror". I don't know if I did the prompt justice, so if I didn't, just ignore the prompt (:
"Malia, please."
"Get out of my way, Kono." Calm. I will not panic, no, I will not panic. I can't. I can't panic.
"Malia."
"Step aside, or I'll make you." Please, just let me through. I'll do anything, please, I need to see him.
"They're doing all they can, Malia, you have to trust them."
Get out of my way, please. I don't know how much longer I can hold on. Please, I need to see him. I need to touch him, feel him, know he's alive. Please.
"Let the doctors do their work."
And suddenly, everything erupts. Red flashes across her vision, tinting everything with her anger, frustration and fear.
"I'm a damn doctor, Kono!" she snarls as she shoves her away. Kono stumbles backwards and into Danny, her bottom lip quivering as she tries to hold onto her own tears.
"Malia," Danny tries. She rounds on him, desperate, terror reflected in her eyes.
"I've spent close to a decade and a half of my life working in hospitals," she almost screams. "I'm not going to be in the way."
The lights are too bright, heartbeat too fast. Blinding terror ices its way up and down her spine, spreading to her limbs until all she can do is stand right where she is or risk a face plant.
ChinChinChinChinChinChinChin.
She'd almost lost him once but it was different then. She could watch from a distance, pine for a man who pushed her aside for her protection. She could handle that heartache, could handle that sort of pain. This is different. This is a whole new level of different.
He could die, oh my God, he could die. He can't die. Please, don't let him die.
"Please," Malia rasps as all of a sudden, the fight leaves her and she collapses to the floor. "Please, just let me see him."
There are arms around her, arms that are anchoring her but she feels like she is floating. The room is too big, the noises too amplified. Her arms and legs feel leaden, the double doors that stood between her and the room where her husband is being resuscitated too far away.
"He can't die," she whispers brokenly. She can't envision a life without him, can't stomach the possibility. Without him, she was alone, terrifyingly alone, in a house that will suddenly become too big, filled with his shadow and his ghost. She doesn't bother scrubbing the tears from her eyes, doesn't bother with the wretched sobs that were tearing her apart. She wants to be in his arms again, safe, fear-free.
The door swings open, a quiet displacement of air and Malia shoots to her feet, knocking aside a startled Kono and Danny.
"How is he?" she asks frantically. She doesn't care what she looks like, doesn't care that the nursing staff are staring at her with wide and sympathetic eyes. She vaguely identifies the doctor as Dr. Wilson.
Dr. Wilson smiles tiredly. His scrubs are spattered with blood but there is a softness around his eyes that Malia recognizes and she feels herself go boneless with relief. Danny catches her easily, supporting her with his compact body.
"He'll be fine. Give us about half an hour to settle him then you can see him. I'll give you more information after I get cleaned up."
He offers them a small smile before disappearing round a corridor. Kono leans against the wall and closes her eyes.
He's alive.
And just like that, her terror dissipates leaving behind an empty space that is waiting for his presence to fill.