Seeing What Can't Be Seen
Chapter 4
A Miracle Arrives
Nanoha's POV
Today was the day where my family would meet Fate. After a conversation with my mom, Fate's name had come up and she insisted that I bring her over for dinner. But the thing is, I haven't told her that Fate and I are dating. Fate said that it probably would just be better to tell them at the dinner and I agreed, but I'm still a little nervous though.
We were standing in front of my parent's home. From what Fate stood me, she was wearing a black dress with matching heels and I was wearing a blue one.
"Are you ready Fate?" I said still nervous.
"No, but I'm sure that things will go the way it's meant to. I think everything will be okay" She placed a kiss on my temple. I was really hoping that she was right. After taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door. After a few seconds, the door was opened.
"Nanoha! It's great to see you honey" my mom said excited as she pulled me into a hug. "And this must be Fate. You're such a pretty girl"
"Thank you Mrs. Takamachi. You're not too bad yourself. I can see where Nanoha gets her good looks from"
"Aww, that's so sweet of you to say. You've already won points with me. Please, come in" and with that said, Fate grabbed my hand and escorted me into the house. "Shiro, Nanoha and Fate are here"
"Hey Nanoha! How's my little princess?" my dad said giving me a hug. I knew I was blushing and blushing hard. My dad just called me princess in front of Fate. I could just die from embarrassment.
"Hi dad. I'm fine"
"And this must be the wonderful Fate that I've been hearing so much about"
"It's nice to meet you Mr. Takamachi" I could hear that they were shaking hands. So far everything was good, but the night is still young.
"Dad, where's Kyoya and Miyuki?" I was curious to know why I hadn't heard them yet.
"Oh sorry Nanoha, but something came up and they had to miss tonight. They said to send their apologies"
"It's okay. Fate you'll just have to meet them some other time"
"No problem"
"Okay everyone, dinner is ready. Take a seat at the table and I'll bring the plates out" Fate held my hand as we walked over to the table. She pulled my chair out for me. As I sat down, I thanked her and she took the seat next to mine. "Okay, here we are" my mom said sitting the plates of food in front of myself and Fate. She then went back to the kitchen to grab the other plates and took a seat at the table.
"Mmmm. This is wonderful Mrs. Takamachi. It tastes exactly like Nanoha's cooking" Fate said after eating some of the food in front of her.
"Thank you. Nanoha has definitely learned from the best"
"So Fate, What is it that you do for a living?" my father asked.
"I'm a lawyer"
"Wow that's really wonderful, but aren't you a little too young?" My mom asked curiously.
"Yes I am, but I'm that good that they couldn't say no"
"Well that's good. So that means that you can take care of my little princess"
"Dad!" Everyone laughed at my embarrassment.
"So Fate, are you dating anyone at the moment?" my mom asked, which had me choking on my drink.
"Nanoha are you okay?" Everyone asked with concern.
"I'm fine. The water must have gone down the wrong pipe" Something's going on here. First my dad said something about Fate taking care for me and now all of a sudden mom's asking about who Fate is dating.
"So are you dating someone Fate?" My mom asked again. I turned in Fate's direction and she did to since I could hear movement next to me. She grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. I knew what she was going to do, so I gave her a squeeze back letting her know that I was okay with it.
"Well actually….Nanoha and I….are together" There was silence and fear and nervousness overwhelmed me. Were they going to reject Fate and I? I was really afraid.
"I knew that already" Huh? How did they know?
"How did you know mom"
"Well the way that you talked about her over the phone really didn't sound like how you would talk about someone who's just a friend. So I immediately knew that there was more between you two and if you're worried about how we are going to react, then don't. Your father and I already approve of your relationship with Fate and now that we can see how genuine of a person she is, we definitely approve. We just want you to be happy Nanoha" I was so overwhelmed. I was happy that my relationship with Fate is okay with them.
"Thanks mom and dad" I said while hugging Fate and placing a kiss on her lips.
"Well since that's out of the way, your mother and I had some good news" I sat back in my seat and gave all my attention to my parents.
"A few days ago, we had received a call from your doctor, Shamal, and she said that there's a surgery that can potentially allow you to see" I was so stunned by what she said, I almost dropped my fork.
"Really?"
"Yep" I was so happy that I could cry and I did.
"That's great Nanoha" Fate said kissing me. Wow. I was speechless. There was finally a possibility that I could finally be able to see. I would finally be able to see the world, my family, but most of all, I would finally be able to see my precious Fate.
After dinner, I found myself back at Fate's place. It was getting late so we decided to go to bed.
"I can't believe that you have an opportunity to gain your sight Nanoha" Fate said holding me.
"Yeah I know. I still can't believe it, but I'm still a little scared though. I don't want to get my hopes up" Fate held my tighter.
"I know that you're scared Nanoha. I believe….no I know for a fact that you're going to be able to see. And before you know it, we'll be enjoying all the sceneries of the world"
"The only scenery that I'm going to be enjoying is you"
"You naughty little girl" Fate said as she pulled me into a kiss.
"Can you go with me to see the doctor? I would feel more comfortable having you there with me"
"Of course Nanoha. Anything for you"
"Thanks Fate. I love you"
"I love you too"
The Appointment
"Nanoha. It's been a while. Please come in" Shamal said. Fate and I proceeded inside my doctor's office and took a seat. "I see you've brought a friend with you"
"Yes. This is my girlfriend Fate"
"Wow. Girlfriend huh? Well it's nice to meet you Fate"
"You too Shamal"
"Well I know that you're both here to talk about the surgery that I mentioned to your parents Nanoha"
"Can you tell me more about it?"
"Yes of course. Well we both know already that you've suffered damage to your optic nerves, which is the cause of your blindness" I nodded since I already knew this. "So the surgery would consist of taking out the damaged optic nerves and replace them with new ones from a donor"
"What's the success rate of the surgery?" Fate interjected. She grabbed my hand after she asked the question.
"Well, since the damage to Nanoha's optic nerves are severe and the fact that the damage isn't just starting, she only has a ten percent chance that she will regain her eye sight. And there's also the fact that since she would be using optic nerves from a donor, there's still the possibility of her body rejecting them" This was definitely discouraging news. I only had a ten percent chance that I would see and then also the possibility of rejecting the optic nerves. Was it worth going through the surgery with such little chance of me being able to see?
"Is there anything that could stop Nanoha from rejecting the nerves if that was to happen?"
"Yes, there are pills that can stop it from happening, but sometimes the pills just aren't enough. After the surgery, Nanoha would have to get eye examines just to make sure that everything is okay" After taking a deep breath, Shamal continued. "Nanoha, I know that this is a lot to take in and you have a lot to think about, but do you think that you would go through with the surgery?" The question echoed through my head over and over again. Was it worth it?...
"Yes. I'll do the surgery. There's nothing really to lose if it doesn't work, so I may as well go and try it out" Fate gave my hand a gentle squeeze and I did the same.
"Okay then. When would you like to have the surgery?"
"As soon as possible"
"How about next week? Saturday?"
"Sure"
"Well, Saturday may be the day that you can see Nanoha"
"I hope so" and I turned towards Fate's direction flashing a big smile. The surgery was worth it because…..I had Fate with me.
The days passed quickly and before I knew it, it was Saturday. I was so nervous and excited at the same time, but I was hopeful. Even if the surgery didn't work, I would still be happy because I would still have Fate and that was most important to me.
The whole ride to the hospital, Fate held my hand. I could tell that she was nervous as well. When we arrived to the hospital, I was led to a room. I was stood to change into a hospital gown and to lie down afterwards. And so I did what I was stood. Fate pulled a chair next to the bed and held onto my hand. Even with the caresses she was giving me, I could feel her hand trembling.
"Nervous?" I asked so that I could figure out what was wrong.
"Yeah. You?"
"Yeah, but I'm just happy that I have you here with me" She got up and placed a kiss on my lips and sat back down. "It does suck that my parents and siblings couldn't be here before the surgery"
"Well at least they'll be here after"
"Yeah. Thanks for being here with me Fate" She kissed my hand.
"Anything for you baby"
"I love you"
"I love you too Nanoha" A knock soon came to the door and the door opened.
"Hey Nanoha. Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'm going to be"
"Good. Just wanted to going over some things with you again before we take you up to surgery"
"Okay"
"Just as a reminder, the surgery will last between three to five hours. Also that it will be maybe a week before we can see how the surgery went. Do you have any questions before I take you up?"
"No"
"Okay then" With that said, Shamal and her assist nurse lowered the gurney and the bed I was laying on and started its destination towards the surgery room.
"Fate!" I was a little scared.
"I'm here Nanoha" and I felt her hand holding mine again.
"Fate don't leave me"
"I'm not baby. I'm going to be in the waiting room waiting for you when it's over. I'll be waiting okay?" I nodded.
"Okay Fate. This is where you'll take your leave" Shamal said.
"Fate, I love you"
"I love you Nanoha" She placed on last kiss on my lips and one on my hand and that's when her hand slipped out of mine. I felt alone at that moment, but I knew Fate would be waiting for me.
Soon I was hooked up to monitors and IVs were injected into my arm. This was it. The surgery would be starting soon.
"Okay Nanoha. I'm going to put a mask on your face. Once it's on, I want you to count from ten okay?" I nodded and soon a mask was on my face that covered my mouth and nose.
"10, 9….8….7" My eyes felt so heavy that I just had to close them. Fa…te…
Fate's POV
I think that maybe four hours has passed since Nanoha went into surgery. I'm sitting in the waiting room with her family. They're worried, shit I'm worried to. I want everything to go okay and I know that it will. I'm really happy at the thought of Nanoha being able to see. That would make me so happy if it was to come true, but…..a part of me feels the opposite. What if when she did recover her sight, she didn't like what she saw? Would she think that I was incompetent like all the others thought that I was? I….I don't know if she would and that what makes me a little afraid.
"Dr. Shamal" I heard Mrs. Takamachi say. Soon all of us headed towards Shamal. "How did the surgery go? Is my little girl okay?" she asked with worry.
"She's fine. The surgery went rather well. She in recover right now, but we won't know until next week how well the surgery really went" That's a relief.
"Well can we go in and see her?"
"Sure. She's in room 311"
"Thank you Shamal" We all said one after another.
"You're welcome" and with that, we all went to room 311. Mrs. Takamachi knocked on the door and slowly opened it. Nanoha was lying on the bed. It looked like she was sleep, but I really couldn't tell since she had bandages over her eyes.
"Nanoha?" she began to move
"Hey mom" Nanoha said in a sleepy voice. Mrs. Takamachi was crying as she wrapped her arms around her. And everyone else followed suit. "Where's Fate?"
"I'm right here Nanoha" I walked over to her placing my hand in hers, leaning down giving her a kiss, which she smiled at. "How are you feeling?"
"Better now that I know you're here" I kissed her hand and held it tightly.
Every day I came to the hospital to visit Nanoha after I got off of work. She was always smiling. Happy that it was almost time for the bandages to come off. That was the day I was dreading and when that day came, I was nervous.
Nanoha's family and I were currently in the room. Everyone was in front of Nanoha, but I was behind her. Shamal had begun to take of the bandages, which seemed to be going rather slowly. I held my breath when I saw all of the bandages were off. Nanoha's family had their fingers crossed the whole time hoping that Nanoha could see. Even with my insecurities, I was hoping that Nanoha could see as well.
"Nanoha, you can open your eyes now" Shamal said once everything was off. I couldn't see her eyes opening, but I knew that she did because the smiles on her family's face grew. "Well, can you see Nanoha?" I could see her shoulder shaking; she was crying. The surgery didn't work….shit.
"I can see. I can see" Nanoha said happily over her cries. Her family started crying as well as they went to hug Nanoha. I cried to. I was happy that Nanoha could see. Then my happiness was replaced by sadness. My insecurities were back again and they told me that I couldn't allow Nanoha to see me. As selfish as I knew it was, I left. I could hear Nanoha calling my name, but I just continued to walk. I couldn't bear if Nanoha rejected me.
It's been almost a week since I've seen Nanoha. She called me a couple of days ago asking why I left the hospital and why I hadn't seen her yet. I told her that I had a case to work on and I've been busy. It wasn't a lie, but it was an excuse. I just couldn't see her because I was afraid to. Nanoha's rejection would be the worse and I couldn't deal with knowing the possibility of being rejected by her.
It's Saturday night and I'm still working on this case. It was just too much for my mind at the moment and I was starting to get a headache. Out of nowhere, a knock came at the door. It was rather loud and whoever it was hadn't stopped banging since they started. I opened the door without asking who it was just to stop the annoying banging and to my surprise it was Nanoha. An angry Nanoha at that. If looks could kill, I would have been dead as soon as I opened the door. The intensity she had in her eyes, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a hole in my head.
"N-Nano-" I didn't even get the chance to finish because she pushed me in the house slamming the door behind her.
"You've been avoiding me again Fate. What is it this time?" She screamed at the top of her lungs. I was so ashamed that I had started this routine again. I didn't say anything. "What is going on Fate?" I stared at the floor. I couldn't even look at her.
"I was afraid"
"Afraid of what Fate?"
"I was afraid that when you got your vision back that you wouldn't like what you saw and that you would leave me like everyone else"
"Were you not listening to me the last time Fate? I guess you weren't, so let me say it again. Fate, I love you. I love you so much that I couldn't imagine myself without you. I'm not those other girls that took your love for granted. You are the one that showed what love was, so why the hell would I leave you. This is the only thing that matters to me Fate, this!" She put her hand over my heart. "Fate look at me" I looked at her. "I love you. Can't you see that? I love everything about you. I take you as you are, even your flaws. Nothing else matters to me then having you with me" Nanoha began to cry. She was crying because of my stupidity. I began to cry to. I was being an idiot again.
"I'm sorry Nanoha. I was such an idiot"
"Yes, you were being an idiot…..but you're my idiot and I love you"
"I love you Nanoha. More than you'll ever know" I pulled her into a hug and we cried into each other's shoulder.
"Fate you need to stop doing this to yourself and to us. I'm not going to leave you"
"I'm sorry Nanoha"
"Stay with me?"
"Anything for you baby" and we kissed. Once it was over, Nanoha stared at me with so much love than I've experienced in my entire life. She raised both of her hands and placed them on my cheeks, caressing them gently.
"You're beautiful Fate" she said smiling that smile that was only for me"
"I love you Nanoha"
"I love you too"
I forgot about my case after that. All I was worried about was being with Nanoha. We spent the rest of the night making love to one another. And I was finally complete…..complete with you Nanoha. I love you.
