So basically as soon as I say I'm going to try to commit to a weekly updating schedule, I go back on it twice. I'm the worst and I apologize. I also suck at writing from the perspective of someone in a comma, for which I also apologize. And yet you're still reading. Gosh, I love you guys. Thank you so much for your support. =D
Disclaimer: Stitchers and Trivia Crack are not owned by me in any way.
Chapter 7: Cracked
Kirsten remembered trying to explain to Cameron in detail what temporal dysplasia felt like. He had never asked her- the respectful gentleman that he was- but she could see the gears in his head spinning with curiosity.
"Another enigma for you to crack, Mr. Science." the whine overtaking what little filters she had.
Her description had changed over the years, but eventually she'd settled on one that she liked.
"It's like I'm floating through life." her eyes narrowed as his lips quirked upward, "Shut up. Really though, it's like…"
Her muscles tensed as she searched for the words. It was hard with the way he was looking at her, like she was a dream he didn't want to wake up from. Her chest felt tighter, like a panic chord was wrapped around her heart, pulling her closer to the center of the couch. He reciprocated by setting his glass down on the coffee table and shifting so he was facing her square on. She held his gaze for a moment before dropping it to his shirt.
"Imagine a tether," she said, and as she stared at his chest, she could see it, "and your whole life it's keeping you grounded."
Cameron nodded. The green of his eyes was electric. Kirsten's palm began to tingle, liquid courage pulsing through her veins. She extended her hand to press it flat against his sternum, right on top of his scar. He inhaled sharply and she didn't dare look at his face.
"Imagine its cut," the reserve in her own voice surprising her, "and then you're just drifting. Time is nothing but this endless, empty space. Emotions are there, but they're faint and out of reach and you can see them but you can't hold onto them."
The words stung as they left her mouth, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. Dropping his head, he sighed and his breath danced across her knuckles.
"Things are different now, though." he rubbed circles into her forearm with his thumb.
He sounded like he was trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to comfort her. Kirsten released his shirt and held her hands in her lap.
"I know," she said, defeated, "but sometimes all that does is make me realize how much I'm still missing."
His expression softened, "You'll get there."
There was no question in his statement, three words filled to the brim with hope. He believed in her- trusted her- and that was both empowering and slowly killing her.
0o0o0o0
Once again, she was weightless- she was nothing.
Kirsten tried to take in her surrounds, which was fairly easy because everything was black. Were her eyes closed? There was no sensation that told her she'd opened them and none when she raised her hands in front of her. She couldn't feel anything. Was she dead? Cameron would be so pissed.
"I'm sorry, Kirsten." a voice echoed from behind her.
There was still nothing but darkness.
"This is all my fault."
The words were raw with sadness and she was overwhelmed with the sudden urge to cry.
"Krissy wake up, please."
They were in pain- so much pain- and it was because of her. Somehow she knew the voice was sad for her.
"Sweetheart?" the sound was coming from all directions, now. "If you do go see Mommy, will you tell her I'm sorry?"
At the mention of her mother, Kirsten instantly had form. Every nerve in her body was accounted for with intense clarity. She could feel the oxygen circulate through her lungs, the wires and tubes all across her skin, the soft fur beneath her fingers. She felt chapped lips press against her temple and then they were gone.
Her senses shifted between feeling nothing and everything until she heard another voice beckoning her.
"I'm sorry this happened to you, Kirsten." it was Ed, "You deserve so much better."
Warmth cascaded over her. Something flashed out in the darkness, like a firefly. It was dim and didn't last, but she kept watching for it to return.
"I promise I will always protect you." it flickered again, a little brighter.
She waited a lifetime before it returned.
"Your Dad loves you, Kirsten. He really does. Please don't forget that."
Kirsten felt her heart burst in her chest, the explosion splitting open her skin and sending shockwaves into the blackness. At the same instant a gunshot pierced her ears and left them ringing a deafening tone.
"Hey, Sunshine," Cameron's voice pushed through, "look at that."
The ringing stopped and started in a steady, alert rhythm, dimming until it was a simple hum.
"Pulse is rising. That means you're getting closer to consciousness."
Smooth fingers webbed in between hers. She clutched them desperately, like a knight would hold his shield in the midst of battle. Heat enveloped her again, but this time it was searing in her veins. Color crackled in the darkness like fireworks across the night sky.
"They doctors say that it's only been two days," he scoffs bitterly, "only two days."
She felt as if an eternity passed, the soul sound in the dark void being the syncopated ringing, before he spoke again.
"Every second you're in this bed, Kirsten Clark, and not by my side is wrong. Every moment your eyes are closed and not glaring at me is like a knife in my chest. I can't-"
The light flared with every word he said, growing brighter and brighter each time.
"You're brave, you're stubborn, and you're the strongest person I've ever known."
Something pulled her upward, easing the pressure in her head like she was getting closer to the surface of the water.
"I need you to wake up, Kirsten."
The light was eating the black and she wished she could cover her eyes.
"Wake up." chimed again and again, old and new voices forming a chant, "Wake up. Wake up. Wake up."
And she did.
0o0o0o0
"Linus?" Kirsten winced at how brittle her voice sounded.
Her colleague's head snapped up from his phone so fast she thought for a moment he may have injured himself. Without hesitation, he burst from his seat against the wall and was at her side in a single bound. His hands shook as he gripped onto the rim of the bed, eyes searching her like spotlights.
"Holy crap," he stammered, mouth still agape, "you're awake!"
If she had felt like expending the energy, she would have rolled her eyes.
Instead she let them close again and groaned, "Yes, I'm awake. Stop yelling at me."
Linus blinked at her as if she'd said it backwards before he remembered what his indoor-voice was.
"Sorry," he spoke in a merciful whisper, "sorry it's just we started to think that maybe you weren't going to…"
He swallowed hard and averted his gaze. The silence prompted Kirsten to push her heavy eye lids open long enough to look deep into his face. Velvet shadows hung below his eyes and his muscles slacked with exhaustion. A sour feeling swelled in her stomach that she recognized as guilt.
"What happen?" she asked innocently.
The last thing she could recall was stepping out of the elevator with Cameron's arm around her, Fisher in toe. Vestiges of anger still pulsed under her skin.
Something flashed across Linus's expression, like she'd cursed him.
"Well I can only give a personal account." he placed his hands on his hips, "One minute Camille and I are in the lab- trying to figure out a Plan B after Maggie pulled the plug on Megan- and the next we get a call from Fisher saying you've been shot."
Kirsten felt like she'd crashed into a window, Linus's words cutting deep into her like shards of glass. She traced backwards through her memories and tried to find the last thing she'd said to him. How in the dark had she left him? Remorse rose in her throat like bile, making it hard to speak.
"I didn't even say good morning," her lip wobbled, "I could have died and never have even told you good morning."
Despite what Cameron would say if he was asked, Kirsten had been well aware of the fact that they all could have died at the hands of Dr. Barmul's mystery virus. She wasn't about to let that happen, but the thought had been present in the back of her mind ever since the lab sensors went off. Despite this, she still hadn't seen Cameron's point in calling Liam. Their "last" exchange had ended on a fairly positive note, so why waste time?
This felt completely different. Knowing that Kirsten nearly died without having said a word to one of her closest friends ate at her like acid.
"I'm sorry, Linus." she offered quietly, trying to keep her breathing under control.
The hard features of his face immediately dropped and he shook his head.
"It's okay, Kirsten." he squeezed her forearm, "I'm going to go get the nurse."
"No!" she panicked.
He was going to leave her and she couldn't face another eternity alone.
"No, please don't go." she said in a much calmer tone.
Linus's eyes were as wide as saucers as he nodded mutely. He pressed a button on the side of her bed that he said would summon one of the doctors. Then his hand traveled along the panel until his fingers hovered over two yellow arrows.
"Let's see if we can't make this a little more comfortable." he added a seductive swing to his voice that made the edges of Kirsten's mouth twitch.
A buzzing sounded from behind her head and then the bed was folding into a fairly cozy recliner.
Before she could manage a "thank you", a tall woman with shining red hair and a much older Hispanic woman walked into the room.
"Ms. Clark," said the red head, "I'm so glad to see that you're awake. My name is Dr. Barry and this is Nurse Aiza. We're going to do some routine checks to make sure everything's alright."
Without being asked, Linus took a seat back against the wall and watched as the staff poked and questioned his colleague. Kirsten's eyes remained locked to his like he was going to disappear. She only turned away when she was asked to follow Nurse Aiza's finger.
"Alright," Barry chimed, "we'll have a few more tests to run in time, but you seem to be looking good, Kirsten. Nurse Aiza is going to get you a sling for that."
She gestured toward Kirsten's heavily bandaged chest and shoulder, "It's just to keep it immobilized so you don't tear any stitches and reopen the wound."
Kirsten's throat was so dry she couldn't speak, so Linus swooped in beside her to thank them.
Once the sling was fitted around her shoulder and the nurses left, the blonde expelled the breath she'd been holding and leaned back into her pillow.
"Waking up is exhausting," she croaked, letting her heavy eyelids shut.
Linus let out the ghost of a laugh, "Come on, Stiff, you can sleep when you're dead."
Anyone listening in would have called him insensitive, but Kirsten understood his humor and was so unbelievably thankful for it. She balled her free hand into a fist and rubbed the soft cotton of the blanket into her palm. Confusion covered her faced as she eyed the knitted material. It's orange, purple, and brown stripes stuck out in sharp contrast to the blank hospital room.
"This… I recognize this." she said, volume rising above a whisper, "This is Camille's."
Linus looked down at the quilt a nodded, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
"She was in here, yesterday." his head was still turned toward the blanket, but she could tell he was looking past it into a memory, "She would be here now, but she had this presentation that counts for like 10% of her grade and I wouldn't let her miss it."
Kirsten processed this, taking in a quick breath at the sudden rush of gratitude that struck her. Camille had proven that she could act like a decent adult sometimes, but not enough to keep her from worrying. If she died, who would look out for her?
Traveling farther down that protective train of thought, Kirsten's chest tightened.
"Where's Cameron?" the words tumbled out her mouth with concern thick on her tongue, "He was with me when we left. Is he okay?"
"Yeah, yeah chill." Linus snickered as he waved his hands in front of him, "Cameron's fine other than the fact he's being freaking out over you seven ways to Sunday. This is the longest he's been gone in like eight days."
Kirsten couldn't have kept her expression neutral if she'd tried.
"Eight days?" she gawked, "How long has he been gone?"
Linus drummed his fingers against the bed as he looked at the wall clock. It was 3:27 in the afternoon.
"About an hour and a half." he shrugged.
Cameron had spent 99% of the 192 hours she'd been unconscious here, by her side. She couldn't process that.
"Believe me," Linus settled onto the foot of the bed, "he would be here now, but I told him he was in desperate need of the trifecta."
Kirsten blinked at him.
"The trifecta," he continued, articulating each point with his fingers, "sustenance, shower, and sleep. Poor guy hasn't had much of either."
For the first time since she'd woken up, Kirsten noticed the empty bed that was pulled up beside hers, so close that the rims were touching. In her mind she could see him lying there, forehead creased with stress and hair a total mess.
"Thank you, Linus," she turned back to face him, resting her hand over his, "for taking care of them."
Finally, the warmth of his smile reached his chocolate eyes.
"It's what I do." he bowed and waved his hand with mock elegance.
Kirsten's face remained sincere, "But I never thank you for it."
His grin stiffened unnaturally.
"Its fine," he said, "I don't really care."
"Yes you do."
The signs had been there from the beginning and she just hadn't noticed them. Was her temporal dysplasia to blame, or was she just an awful person?
Before either of them could answer that question, a muffled whizzing sound emanated from somewhere in between. Kirsten cocked her head to the side as Linus pulled put his smart phone. He glanced between her and the screen nervously.
"Sorry," he blushed, "Trivia Crack."
When he started to slide the device back into his pocket, Kirsten made a squeak in protest.
"I'm great at trivia." she declared, shifting as far over as she could on the bed.
Linus stared at her, bewildered for a moment before readjusting himself to sit beside her.
"I warn you, my parents are practically unbeatable." he said at which Kirsten scoffed.
"Bring it on."
I really hope that you enjoyed this installment. Thank you so much for reading and I'll see you when I see you!
