Weee! So I was nearly finished with This Would Be A Reality and decided I'm just not yet ready to leave my AU versions of Rose, Dimitri, Adrian, and the gang. So aren't you people lucky?!
And since it'll be fairly obvious a few words in why doing Rose's POV would just be boring, I'm doing something different (Holy shit, Batman!) and writing in Dimitri's POV. Yep, you heard me. I'm fairly excited to write in his POV, especially with him being all AU and stuff in my post-SK series. :)
Yes, this A/N was freakishly long. As is this chapter. Ciao.
Usual disclaimers apply.
No sleep, today
Can't even rest when the sun's down
No time, there's not enough
And nobody's watching me now
When we were children, we'd play
Out in the streets, just dipped in fate
When we were children, we'd say
That we don't know the meaning of
Fear, fear, fear
Fear, fear, fear
We don't know the meaning of
~OneRepublic, "Fear
"Room 305. It'll be on your left." The nurse behind the desk flashed a sad smile at me and then went back to her paperwork. It shouldn't have come as a surprise to me that she would remember my face; I'd spent every possible hour in this goddamn hospital since Rose was first admitted.
I found her room easily, crappy cup of hospital coffee in hand. The current doctor on staff looked up as I entered, dumping my bag next to my chair.
"How is she today?" I asked in vain. At least my voice didn't crack this time. I was getting better about that.
"Same as usual. Dimitri, is it?"
Dr. Solomon, was it? Well then, right back atcha, Doc.
I nodded.
"Vitals are where they should be, given her condition. I'm sure you've heard the age old saying, 'There's nothing we can do until the patient comes out of the coma,' right?"
"I know," I muttered, glancing at Rose.
"Despite having a chipped skull when she first came in, she's pulling through a lot more than I expected."
Literally, a flash of white light before my eyes squeezed shut in anticipation.
"Her head trauma doesn't look like it'll be permanent."
My arm crushed by what looked like the roof of the car.
"I'll have to double check again with my supervisor, but it looks like we'll need to take her in for surgery tomorrow to see what we can do about salvaging her leg."
The screams, the whir of passing traffic, that goddamn laugh.
"Salvaging?" I asked. The word brought my out of my thoughts like a bucket of cold water.
"Her right leg was broken in eight spots and her right hip in three, both due to the impact of the crash. It almost would have been better if she hadn't worn her seatbelt. Going through the windshield might have produced better results for her instead of being crushed by the car itself."
The ambulance ride was a daze, watching her fight for her life, the blood loss, the frantic EMTs.
"So what does that mean?" I asked softly, afraid of the answer.
"It means that she'll have to go through intense physical therapy after she wakes up. Any sort of martial arts or yoga she may have done before the accident will have to be put on hold for quite some time. Running itself could pose potential issues for pain and arthritis later on down the road."
The police, questioning about the accident and what happened. Going back to the wreckage, retrieving what could be salvaged. Watching the rest get pushed over to the side with the twisted metal.
"I don't think there'll be any issues with carrying children, but she shouldn't be balancing four-year-olds on that hip. All in all, she's an extremely lucky woman."
Bending in unnatural positions to give x-rays. The plain, white cast that eventually encased my lower left arm.
"I may have asked this before, but you're her what again?"
"Fiancée," I replied automatically.
"In that case, Miss Hathaway is doubly lucky." He smiled and patted my shoulder. I grabbed Rose's hand with my good one as the door clicked softly somewhere behind me.
As with every other day that treacherous week, I sat there, holding Rose's hand, letting the hours slip by. A nurse came by to run some tests around dinner, as usual, and I jumped when my phone rang.
I fumbled for it in my pocket under the murderous glare of the nurse. Punching the green button and hastily retreating into the hallway, I gave a nervous, "Hello?"
"Oh, God, Dimitri. You're alright." Lissa. I idly wondered how she knew my cell phone number in the first place.
"I am," I replied, leaning against the wall next to the covered window.
"How is Rose? Adrian tried to go talk to her the other night, but he couldn't reach her. What happened to her?" I could hear the scared note in her voice.
"We got into a car crash." I heard Lissa intake a breath of air sharply. "She accidentally drove into oncoming traffic."
"Why?"
Victor threw a rock into our car for no apparent reason, other than to scare the hell out of Rose.
"No idea. She's been in a coma since then. They're taking her in for surgery tomorrow to work on her right leg and hip."
"Oh God," she whimpered. Christian's voice came softly from the background. I watched one of the overhead lights flicker as she relayed the information to him.
"Why are they waiting a week to get her into surgery?"
"I wish I knew, Lissa. I'm assuming it's due to the lack of space to begin with. This hospital is nearly overflowing." And the only reason they were letting Rose stay was because they didn't want the comatose out of their eyesight.
"Where are you?" If I hadn't mentored Rose for a year, I probably would've thrown the phone across the hallway. Too many questions for my brain to handle right then.
"Chicago. And where are you?"
"At the Court. Do you think Rose would mind if we paid a visit after her surgery?"
"'We' being…?"
"Christian, Adrian, and me."
"That's fine. Just, lay off on the healing, okay? We're not exactly in vampire territory right now, and humans can get pretty suspicious quickly."
"Fine." But I could tell that Lissa was disappointed.
"They're surprised at how fast she's recovering," I added. I hoped it sounded like a piece of reassuring information.
"Well that's good." She was a bit happier now. She paused, again telling Christian what we'd just talked about. "I'll let you get back to Rose, then. I know she'd throw a fit if you weren't there."
"Thanks, Lissa."
"No problem. I'll let Adrian know that his favorite flirt hasn't died." She laughed a little bit and hung up.
I flipped the phone closed. My hand was on the door when my phone buzzed again. My brain, used to the standard ten digits for American phone numbers, did a double take at the strand of numbers on my screen.
"Who gets to blow out my ear this time?" I asked, a smile creeping onto my face.
"You finally turned it on this time," Natalya noted. I rolled my eyes. Sunday. I should have remembered. It was the only day my mother could get everyone in the house to do their monthly phone calls. It was something they tried to do after the attack on the school eight years ago.
"I was busy," I said, trying to defend myself.
"In July?" Nikita asked in disbelief.
"Unlike some people, I have a job and a fiancée with an anger issue to attend with, so yes, I was busy."
"So what's so special about you answering now?" Viktoria. Of course. Always Lieutenant Sarcasm to Natalya's Captain Obvious. I could see everyone on separate phones throughout the house.
"Girls."
"Sorry, Mama."
"Sorry, Dimitri."
"Whatever."
"Where's Els?" I asked. The nurse left Rose's room, ignoring me completely.
"Out," my mother said, though her voice was careful. Like there was more to the story.
"So what've you been up to, oh dear brother of mine?" If Natalya was Captain Obvious and Viktoria was Lieutenant Sarcasm, Nikita was Brigadier Lets-Push-Dimitri-To-His-Limits.
"Road tripping with Rose."
"Can I talk to her?" Viktoria must have put the phone on speaker; her voice was too far away for it to be up against her ear.
"Well, um, you see–"
"What is it?" My mother, the worrier.
I made a face, though they didn't see it. I pushed myself up from the wall and looked in through the small window on the door.
"Dimitri."
"Huh?" Feigning innocence could always work.
"What happened to Rose?"
Damn. Not happening.
"She's in a coma."
The silence was nearly as deafening as the shrieking I had expected.
"What?" Natalya, who'd been silent up until then, suddenly found a new low note in her vocal range.
"There was an accident on the highway right outside Chicago about a week ago. Our car and the car Roza crashed were so destroyed that they had to spend two hours pulling the metal apart to get to her. I made it out with a broken arm and a sprained ankle."
Viktoria let out a disapproving whistle.
"So how is she, other than the whole coma business?"
"Nikita!" Thank you, Natalya.
"What?"
"Have some respect. It must have been traumatic on Dimitri."
"It's not my fault his fiancée can't drive."
"Rose–"
"Is a very capable driver." Time to cut in. "Something surprised her and there was no traffic barrier."
Nikita grunted and went back to doing whatever she had been previously doing.
"They've already done surgery on her skull – it was chipped somehow – and they're taking her in for more surgery on her leg and hip tomorrow since they're not healing fast enough."
"I'm so sorry, Dimka."
"Thanks, Mama."
"Whoops. Igor's here with the kids. Gotta run." Nikita's extension clicked off.
"He really is here, Dimitri." I heard Viktoria's window open. "Hey Iggy!"
Someone shouted back at her, along with a chorus of tiny voices.
"They're so cute. But anyway. Tell Rose we're thinking of her."
"Take care of yourself, Dimitri. Not that you need to be told that anymore, but just humor your old mother here."
"You haven't told her yet about coming here for Christmas yet, have you?"
"Hold on a second." Viktoria's voice rang loud and clear now. "Does this mean the wedding is postponed?"
"Vikka. It was yesterday. What do you think?"
I swear, if Natalya didn't exist, I would've turned gray by now.
"I have to go. Visiting hours is almost up and the nurses across the hall are shooting me dirty looks. Love you all."
A round of "bye Dimitri!" floated through the phone before I flipped it closed.
--
"Belikov! Good to see you, man." Christian held out a hand, to which I returned. Lissa nearly flung herself at me, like I was Rose's savior or something. Adrian and Eddie, the latter of whom had been added to the trip for security measures, copied Christian's gestures.
"Show us the way. You're the expert of Chicago now," Eddie said, shooting a look in Lissa's direction. If she noticed, she didn't let on; she was busy looking around the airport's entrance.
"When in Rome, we take the bus with everyone else. The hospital's about a half mile away." I heard Christian and Adrian chuckle, and I suddenly hoped that they weren't thirsty.
They ran a shuttle from the airport into the city, and with their tiny bags, the five of us managed to fit on the next bus passing through. It was a silent, hot, uncomfortable ride, and Lissa's growing stomach took up what could've been another person's space.
"It's so white in here," Adrian commented when we entered the hospital.
"It looks like this until you get to the children's ward. I got lost the first time I came in here as a visitor. Just stick behind me and you'll be fine."
We ended up with one of the smaller elevators, but it wasn't as tightly packed as the bus had been. Everyone was silent, even Adrian. There was a quiet nervousness to everyone's body language; talking just seemed out of place.
"Room 305, Mister Belikov. You know the drill." The nurse looked up, and stared at my group. "You're getting badges for all of them?"
"Yes ma'am," I said. "Friends," I added, handing a bunch of name tags and a Sharpie to Eddie. I paused in the middle of writing Lissa's name. "How did you pronounce my last name correctly? Rose's nurse can barely get my first name right."
"Born and raised in Poland, though I've spent the past twenty years here in America. I'm used to the phonetics." Her smile became so much more genuine after sharing that information with me. She suddenly looked her age in the off lighting.
"That would explain it," I agreed with a tight-lipped smile.
"They're taking her in for her surgery in an hour, so I'd hurry it up. No telling how long it will take. You all have a good day."
I finished off my own name and pulled out my laminated badge. The only sign of being nice Rose's nurse had displayed was with giving me a name tag I could use over and over again. It showed up on the seat I normally sat in on my third day there.
I showed them the corner to dump their bags in and followed suit with my own.
Lissa sat on the bed on Rose's good side. Adrian was about to sit on the other side when I shook my head.
"That's the side they're working on today. It's already broken in thirteen places; I don't think they'd want to deal with a fourteenth break."
"Alright," he said nonchalantly, and just stood instead. Eddie was leaned up against the window in the tiny room, and Christian sat in the seat next to me. He reached across me and grabbed the marker sitting on the table connected to Rose's bed.
"Hold your arm out, Belikov."
I raised an eyebrow. Christian uncapped the black marker, a glint in his eye.
"Allow me to decorate your cast."
"Oh God," I muttered, but I held out my arm anyway.
Christian was busy attacking my arm with words and doodles when Lissa spoke up.
"Where's her chotki?"
The bracelet or the necklace?
"Destroyed. Her nazar, too. Janine's already been notified. She told me that she might not be able to make it."
"I can always get her another," Lissa murmured. She gently moved a piece of Rose's hair away from her eyes.
"There you go. It's one of those puzzles where they've got words and pictures and it makes up a saying. Thought you might like something to do so time can pass."
Weird but nice. That was Christian for you.
"Thanks."
He shrugged. "No problem." He tossed the marker back onto the table.
"Where are you staying?" Eddie asked. "We'll probably end up crashing there tonight."
"A hotel a few blocks down. They haven't thrown me out yet because I haven't caused wild parties and the credit card looked expensive enough that it seems like I'll pay the bill at the end."
We lapsed into silence after that. A team of nurses came in and started punching buttons and messing with the bed. Lissa and Adrian had moved away from the bed, and Dr. Solomon came in. He flipped through Rose's chart and I stood in acknowledge that I saw him.
"Ah, Dimitri. Friends of Miss Hathaway's, I assume?" He looked over the four others in the room.
I nodded. "How long will it be?"
"A few hours, four at the most. It'd be longer if she wasn't healing so fast. We're still going to give her a small dose of anesthetics to make sure that if she comes out of the coma that she'll stay out until the end of the operation."
"But you don't want to suffocate her," I added.
"Yes." Dr. Solomon gave me an odd, sidelong look. "How did you know that?"
"My mother was a nurse when I was growing up." I shrugged a shoulder. "She passed on things to my sisters, and living in a small house, I heard it."
Dr. Solomon's mousy, egotistical feel to him heightened. He pursed his lips in a tight line.
"Yes, true, we don't want her to suffocate. That would be bad. Well, Rose will be back soon enough. Gentlemen," and he gave a nod to a frowning Lissa.
"They don't like it when you say stuff that makes them look equal to you. Some doctors go on a head trip because they spent years in medical school." I sat down in the spot Rose's bed had once been in. "And now we wait."
Hour after grueling hour passed. Eddie, Adrian, and Christian took turns pacing around the small, white room. Lissa wandered over to the window at some point. She sat on the ledge and looked out over the city. Her face was thoughtful, but nobody pressed her to speak her mind.
Eddie left the room after conducting a survey and returned with the hospital's crappy coffee half an hour later. He jerked his thumb towards the window after passing out cups.
"You can get lost pretty easily out there." Christian muttered something into his cup, and Eddie grimaced.
"And they're coming back with Rose. They were at the other end of the hallway."
"We should probably get out of the way, then," came Lissa's voice out of nowhere.
Nodding, I followed the others out into the hall as they wheeled Rose by.
"They're pretty pleased with themselves," Adrian noted. It took me a moment to realize that he could read their auras. "Nobody's worried, not even that new doctor that just walked in. Some of them are even happy."
"That's good, right?" Eddie asked. It was obvious Rose hadn't really included him in all of the mysteriousness behind spirit and its powers.
Adrian just nodded as the latest doctor came out. She shut the door and looked our group over.
"Who's the closest relative?" she asked. Rose was probably taller than her.
I raised a hand halfway. Lissa let out a weird, strangled noise.
"If you don't mind stepping over here with me." She led me over to the nurse's station across the bright hallway.
She leaned against the white counter, identified herself as Dr. Anderson, and set Rose's file on the counter. She pulled out several x-rays that looked freshly printed.
"I was Rose's surgeon. I've got another one in an hour, so I can't chat forever." Getting right to the point, in typical Janine Hathaway fashion. Too bad she was blonde. If it was redder, she could pass for Rose's mother.
"It was pretty impressive what she did. I didn't get to read the police report, so I don't know the extent of what happened. I do know, however, that it could've been worse."
She pointed to the x-ray closest to her. "This was her leg when she first came in." She pointed to the middle x-ray. "Before the surgery. We did this last night." She pointed to the last one. "This was done just a little while ago."
I could see that her kneecap looked put back together, along with some other points in her leg and hip.
"The kneecap was starting to fuse together so that it would've come out disfigured." She circled Rose's kneecap with her unopened pen on the middle x-ray. "We moved some bone around to help refigure it, but it's going to be a little off. I'm predicting arthritis for her, which is something I tried to avoid.
"Her hip was a different issue. The bone density itself was on the thinner side, but nothing too bad to worry about. Artificial cartilage went in here-" She pointed to a spot on the final x-ray with her pen. "Here." Another spot. "Here." Another spot. "And here." The last spot.
"Artificial cartilage?"
"Experimental procedure that's been done with marvelous results. Your bill might go up a few hundred dollars. Otherwise, it's nothing to worry too much about."
"Ah."
"If she weren't comatose, then I'd say it'd be at least a week before she's to get out of bed. But seeing as she is, however, it's a different story." Dr. Anderson pushed the x-rays back into Rose's file. "She's got cast from toe to hip on, and then a brace that will keep her hip still. When she wakes up, she is going to be in a ton of pain. My suggestion? Ask for a room in the family ward. You've been here long enough, from what I can tell."
"Family ward?" I asked.
"It's up on the eighth floor. It's just hall after hall of sectioned off beds. People who a family member with a special circumstance can request a room or section of them. It helps them avoid traffic and trying to make visitor hours." She paused and looked around before leaning in closer. "Plus, the cafeteria up there has better food, in my opinion." She leaned back into her original position. "If you need anything, just go ask Anna, up at the sign-in desk. Though I'm sure you know her by now."
With a quick smile, she scooped up Rose's file and left. Her blue scrubs were a sharp contrast to the whiteness of the hallway.
Back in Rose's room, the nurses were gone. Everyone had resumed their normal spots from that morning. I told them what Dr. Anderson had told me.
"That's good, then, if you can stay here. Go get a bed, and we'll take your room." Adrian grinned wildly.
"And all sleep in one bed? It's not even king-size." I shook my head.
"Picky," Adrian muttered.
I rolled my eyes and headed for the door.
My hand was about to pull the door open when I heard Rose's weak voice.
"Dimitri? Wh-Where am I?"
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