Penni's Coma
((A/N: Penni is Wesley's God daughter. She lives with her fifteen year old brother, Jeremiah, and their baby sister, Kelli. Kelli has very, very strange powers. No one's sure quite how, but when she claps her hands, things happen. Just the way she wants them to. Right then. People show up at her door after spending fifteen minutes getting there. People who wouldn't have even left, fifteen minutes ago, had she not clapped, fifteen minutes later. BTW, I can not be held responsible for Kelli or her powers, as she and Jeremiah are my sister's characters.))
"Can you hear me, Penni?
"I miss you- I mean, we all do, everybody has visited you. You have get well cards from almost everyone at the firm. Flowers from Fred, to brighten up the room, animé posters from Jeremiah, which he swears are necessary to life, and music plays in here almost all the time, because Lorne felt that no one -you least of all- should have to live without music."
Silently, he added his own uncertain contribution. He wasn't sure why he'd chosen this. He would have liked to find something perfect, personalized, just right. That would have been good. Connor jerked himself back to real life, where every gift he thought of was given by someone else, and he'd eventually brought her something she already owned. Gently, he took Penni's hand and sprayed a bit of his gift: her favorite perfume. Avon's 'Splendour'. (A/N: Yes, that's my favorite, too, if you were wondering...) She'd always said that it made her feel safe and happy... He hoped that might still work.
"Can you smell that, Penni?" He smiled a little then, wondering if he really was crazy. "Never mind, no more yes or no questions. They're, ah, a bit depressing." He thought for a moment, then changed the topic back. Back to other people, which, Connor thought, was probably just as well.
"Dad does all he can, for you, Wesley, Jeremiah... He misses you, he really does. I think he misses you as much as I do. We all do; of course, It's hard for everybody without you. I mean, you've become invaluable to everyone at Wolfram and Hart, and Jeremiah can't cover for you: he tries to do your work as well as his own, and every time I see him, I am reminded how much he's suffering without you... He doesn't talk so much anymore... I actually miss it. He and Kelly are staying with me and Dad now, and Kelly's turned into a bit of a mascot around Dad's office."
He laughed weakly, then sighed.
"But they still miss you. No one can take your place; Jeremiah's running himself ragged, and your Godfather barely eats... Even Kelly knows something's wrong, and she cries more. She claps all the time, but not happily, like before. She always looks like something should change, that you should come back, just because she claps." He shook his head, "That doesn't really make sense, but nothing does.
"Especially now.
"Especially when murderers and vampires roam freely, but an innocent girl is lying in a coma." He hesitated, unsure what else he could say. What, that is, other than what he truly wanted to say. What he came here to say. He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly.
"I miss you, Penni. I miss you so much. I look for you sometimes, forgetting you're not there. When anything out of the ordinary happens, when the weather changes, I try to guess what song you're singing, before I remember that you couldn't be.
"Everything seems so quiet and empty without you, and for the first time since I met you, I feel detached from the world, as if my last tie to life were lying in this hospital. I don't want much in life, Penni. I'm not sure how much I even want life. But I want you. I miss you so much, Penni. I miss you so much it feels like dying." He touched her cheek, held her left hand in both of his.
"I love you."
((Yep, that was it. Hopelessly romantic, I know... Please review: Easy on the flaming.))