AN: So this takes place right after Wanda is taken out of Mel, and before Wanda is put into Pet. Enjoy!!
It was different then she thought it'd be, having her head to herself again. Like Wanda, Mel felt the effects of the sedation, but she didn't realize just how strong it was until she began to swim closer to consciousness again. Her head was buzzing and the pain was intense, shooting a throbbing pain shooting through her skull, causing her breathing to hitch. Her nose seared with the smell of the hospital ward in the cave, mixed with the smell of a human odour, all of which seemed stronger to Mel now then it had been when Wanda was still in her body. A lot of things were different now. Her eyelids burned a bright red but Melanie didn't have the strength to open them to the world yet. She wanted to relish being in her own body by herself before anyone else knew she was conscious. She took a deep breath and filled her lungs with the familiar smell of the musty air she had grown used to.
There was a shuffling beside her and she knew her cover was blown as she heard Doc's quiet voice, close to her.
"Melanie?" He whispered, his voice smothered in anxiety.
Even though his voice was but a whisper, the sound was loud in Melanie's ears and she winced, turning her head to the other side. She knew she was lying on her back and she lifted a heavy arm to swipe it across her eyes, preparing herself to see the world again.
She cracked open one eyelid and then the other, blinking a few times as the world went blurry, and then clear, before her eyes. A tall, thin man was standing over her that Melanie already knew well, but reminded herself that Doc had never met her.
"Hey Doc." She murmured, smiling.
Doc sighed in relief and collapsed onto the other cot, letting his head fall in his hands. Melanie sat up, alarmed and then swayed as dizziness caused her to be momentarily disoriented.
"Doc? What's wrong? What is it? Is it Wanda? Where's Wanda?" Melanie asked, her heartbeat accelerating.
"She's right here." Doc mumbled looking up to gesture to a cryotank sitting a few feet away from where she was sitting.
Melanie got up slowly and shuffled over to where Wanda was currently resting, in peace, she hoped. She half walked, half fell back over to her cot and sat with Wanda sitting on her lap, hugging her tightly.
"I want to be there when you bury her, Doc. She was like a sister to me." Melanie whispered, stroking the top of the tank like you would, a small child.
Doc just nodded, knowing that it wasn't smart to argue with the stubborn girl, even if he wasn't exhausted.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, looking attentively at Melanie.
"I'm feeling pretty good, actually." Mel answered, realizing it was true. "Did you have any problem with the…procedure?"
Doc winced.
"It went smoothly." He mumbled. Melanie nodded, and then went back to stroking the tank again.
Doc watched her curiously and then, as if remembering something, he hurried from the hospital, telling her that he'd be right back, and not to move from her cot. Melanie barely heard him as she continued to sulk the tank.
"Wanda, I know you can't hear me, but I miss you. I know this is what I wanted and I don't regret the decision, but I miss you a lot. It's so weird not having you in my head anymore. It feels so empty up there."
She began to shake uncontrollably and she hugged the tank so tightly that her limbs were trembling with the effort. Melanie didn't cry, but she felt a terrible sadness that she had only felt when she realized that her dad wasn't coming back. Melanie was grieving for a lost friend.
"Oh Wanda." She breathed, closing her eyes momentarily.
Melanie was so caught up in what she was feeling that she didn't hear the returning footsteps. She didn't hear the running steps that would have normally set her heart racing and her heart soaring. She didn't realize who was standing in the doorway until he cautiously called her name.
"Mel?"
As a realization dawned on her, Melanie's head snapped up and her heart skipped a beat as she looked into familiar light flecked eyes.
Jared.
Melanie carefully placed Wanda's tank onto the cot beside her and then hopped to her feet, half running and half falling to the doorway where Jared stood there, one of his hands stretched outwards to her, hoping, praying that it was Melanie.
She threw herself at him and hugged him as hard as she possibly could, harder then she had hugged Wanda's tank not even a minute ago. Now the tears came and she sobbed and sobbed into Jared's shirt while he hugged her back, tears of his own mingling with hers, weak with relief that she was finally back. That she was okay, that she was Mel again.
"God, Mel, I thought I'd never see you again." He choked out, twisting his hands into her hair in order to keep her pressed against him, though she showed no signs or moving away from him.
"I-I can't believe that she did that for me! That she put her own species at risk just to give me back my life." Melanie revelled, completely blown away at the selfless act of kindness.
Jared just nodded, drinking up the image of her, and running his hands through her hair.
"I missed you so much." She whimpered, clutching the material of his shirt and burying her face in his chest.
Jared hugged her tighter and planted a kiss in her hair, causing Mel's head to tingle where his lips had touched her.
"I missed you too, Mel, more then I can express."
She looked up at him and then pulled his head down to meet her in a fiery kiss. The motion sent sparks through both of them and a few more tears rolled down Melanie's face as she realized that he was kissing her now, not Wanda.
After a few more moments of that Doc cleared his throat and Mel stepped away from Jared, letting him go except for one of his hands which she clutched tightly and smiled apologetically at Doc. He just smiled at the two of them and then set about cleaning up all of the tools.
The happily reunited couple sat down on the cot and Mel picked up Wanda again, smiling over at Jared, who returned her smile.
"Thank you Wanda." She said to the tank. "Thank you for giving up your life for me just so I could have mine. I'll never forget you and I'll make sure that you get your last wish."
Jared placed a hand on the top of the tank and thought for a moment.
"Thank you for give me Mel back, I'll be in your dept, and just so you know, Wanda, I really do love you…just not in the way that Ian does." Jared said quietly.
As if on cue Ian came hurtling through the hospital ward door, his eyes wild. Doc looked up with a pained expression on his face knowing that he'd have to explain it to the heart broken boy.
"Where is she? Where's Wanda?" Ian cried, his eyes darting around the room like a frightened animal.
Melanie, seeing Doc's unwilling expression, got up slowly, and walked slowly towards Ian, Jared keeping a sturdy arm around her waist.
"She's right here, Ian." She said quietly, waiting for the explosion she knew would come. It came alright.
Ian's face was confused for a moment and then it changed to grief, fury, and heartbreak.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S RIGHT HERE? WHERE IS SHE?!" He screamed sounding a lot like Kyle.
Melanie just held the tank out to Ian. He took it carefully and stared down at it in disbelief.
"What did they do to you?" He whispered, stroking the tank.
He turned his angry gaze to Doc.
"What about the tribunal? Jeb's going to be furious when he finds out that you didn't wait until he gave the final word." He growled.
"It wasn't my decision." Doc mumbled.
"YOU KNOW WANDA WOULD JUST WANT THE BEST FOR EVERYONE ELSE BUT HERSELF, YOU SHOULD HAVE STOPPED HER!"
"We had conditions and that was one of them." Doc answered in a level voice. Melanie nodded in agreement.
"This is how she wanted it to be, Ian." She murmured, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder.
Ian slapped her hand away from him and he spun on his heel, running from the room with the cryotank still in his arms. Melanie stared after him with a tortured expression and then sighed, leaning into Jared's side. He planted a kiss in her hair in attempt to make her feel more at ease.
"He just needs time to calm down, he'll come around." He assured her. Melanie nodded and then shuffled back over to the cot, leaning her head against Jared's shoulder, a sudden fatigue making her feel exhausted.
* * *
"Mel, wake up." Jared whispered in her ear, gently shaking her awake. Melanie lifted her head up and blinked, looking around in confusion.
"What is it? What's wrong?" She asked.
"You need to eat something." Jared replied, handing her a rough roll.
Mel had it gone in seconds and she gratefully accepted the water bottle from Doc, drinking almost half of the bottle, not realizing how thirsty she actually was.
"Thanks." She said to both of them, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Doc smiled and then all three of them turned their attention to the hallway as she heard a series of voices coming in their direction.
Jeb was the first one to come through the door, followed closely by Ian and Kyle, the three of them with hard looks on their faces. Ian still had the tank resting in his arms and he was holding it like you would a baby.
Melanie got up and Jared rose beside her, wary of what Ian might do. She shuffled over to her uncle.
"Uncle Jeb, Wanda did what she thought was right and I stand by her decision. She knew it was her time to leave and I think it was an honorary thing to do, despite not waiting for your answer. It had to happen."
The room was quiet and Jeb deliberated.
"I should have known she'd do something like this." Jeb grumbled. "Selfless creature."
Melanie had to smile at that.
"She planned it right from the start." She explained. "And she knew even before Ian called the tribunal that she was going to go through with it, no matter what you decided."
Jeb nodded and stroked the ever present gun in his hands. Melanie looked over at Ian to see that he was glaring directly at her, not bothering to try to hide his emotions. She felt Jared stiffen beside her and she nudged him with her elbow.
It was silent for a moment and in that silence Melanie moved backwards until she felt the cot hit the back of her knees. She sat down there with Jared beside her and wrapped her long arms around her knees, suddenly wishing that Jaime was here so she could have someone to hold on her lap.
As if he had heard her thoughts she heard one voice that she had missed just as much as Jared's voice.
"Is it true? Is Mel really back?"
Jaime fell through the doorway in his rush to get into the room. Melanie got to her feet and gasped in delight as Jaime finally found her face in the now crowded room.
"MEL!" He shrieked and Melanie stumbled back a few paces, onto the cot, as Jaime nearly knocked her over in the hug that he gave her.
"Jaime, Jaime." She replied, letting him crawl onto her lap like he would have done when he was younger.
He didn't cry, but he trembled with relief and Melanie ran her fingers through her brother's hair, feeling at peace that she was finally back where she belonged, with the people that she belonged with.
"You came back." Jaime murmured into her neck.
"Of course, I wouldn't break a promise to you, would I Jaime?" Mel replied, smiling over at Jared.
She was so happy she could barely breathe. Even though a major part of her was now missing she was Mel again.
She was human again.
AN: Alright so any of you who've read my other stuff know that I usually write for High School Musical, and no worries, I haven't forgotten about it, I've just wanted to write this for a while. R&R people!