Ch.9 The End of a Nightmare
The ambulance ride seemed to take longer than it did. Freddie's face contorted as he attempted to sort out the thoughts in his head. Fear, sadness, and finally blind anger were all present at once, and it was overwhelming to figure out which he was feeling the most. Here was Sam Puckett, the Blonde-haired Demon. A girl who had, up until two years ago, picked on him mercilessly. A girl he had not realized until now how much he loved. He clutched her hand, willing her to wake up. To come out of this alive and in one piece.
As he looked over her face he couldn't help but notice a sense of calm. Sam seemed almost peaceful. In normal circumstances, he would be content to leave it be. But then he remembered that the reason she looked so peaceful was not due to a natural sleep. He glanced at her arm, where Missy had jabbed her with the needle. There was a large crimson circle under the bandage that the paramedics had applied. He remembered that the paramedics were worried about her bleeding to death, the wound was so bad. As he stared at it, rage stirred inside him. He would not rest until Missy Robinson had paid for her crimes, and paid dearly.
"We're here," the driver announced. Freddie slowly exited the ambulance and waited as they wheeled Sam out. He was stopped as he moved to follow them into the emergency room. "I'm sorry, sir, but you can't go in there," a security guard said. Freddie, for his part, was past the point of caring. He tried to push by to no avail. "You don't understand, she's my fiancee," he pleaded. The guard placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "I understand better than you know," he said. There was no a tinge of sadness in his voice. "Look, I really don't want to have you removed, and I'm sure that the first person she's gonna want to see when she comes out is you. If you care for her as much as I think you do, go to the waiting room."
Freddie relented, realizing the guard had a good point. It was hopeless trying to force by him anyway, as the guard was slightly larger than Freddie. As he made his way to Grace Hospital's waiting room, he was greeted by Carly. They wasted no time in embracing in a much needed hug. He noticed that Melanie was missing. "Where's Melanie?" he asked hurriedly. Carly smiled. "She's getting checked out," Carly explained. Freddie remembered she looked a little worse for wear. Before he could inquire further, the girl in question made her way to the waiting room.
She limped slightly from her struggle with Peters, and Freddie noticed a cut on her lip. "I'll be fine," she said as Freddie tried to speak. Freddie looked at his soon to be sister-in-law. She looked so much like Sam, yet she was so different. Where Sam's personality was sometimes aggressive, her's was more easy going. Even so, Freddie could tell from looking at her that she had Sam's determination. It seemed to be a quality that both the Puckett sisters possessed.
"Sorry we're late," Spencer said without warning. Everyone looked up to see Spencer, Jocelyn and Mrs. Benson. "Traffic was horrible," Jocelyn said with a laugh. She took in the scene before her, and her tough exterior cracked. Tears began flowing freely as she looked at Melanie. "I'm so sorry," she said. She fell to her knees before Melanie, her head bowed. "If I had been there, they never would have taken you." Melanie placed a comforting hand on Jocelyn's shoulder. As intimidating as she was, Melanie knew better. She remembered feeling Peters' gun against her back.
"If you had been there, he would have got you too, or killed you, and this would have ended differently," she said very slowly. Jocelyn finally drew up the courage to look Melanie in the eyes. The sight of her slightly bruised and bleeding face made her think she'd failed. And not just failed Melanie, but failed Sam. She remembered that visit she'd made in prison at Carly's behest, where she'd personally assured Sam that her friends and sister were under her protection from that moment on. She had no idea how to face Sam if she came out okay.
"The way I see it, it's good that you weren't there," Melanie said. Jocelyn looked confused. "How? Why?" she studdered. "Who was it that warned Sam I'd been taken, even before Missy called?" Melanie questioned. Jocelyn hesitated. "It was you," Carly answered for her. Melanie nodded. "She's right you know," Carly continued. "We owe you more than we can ever repay," Melanie said with a smile. Jocelyn realized this was true except for one thing. "You owe me nothing," she said. The three girls embraced in a hug as Freddie and Spencer looked on. "It's a Kodak moment," Freddie quiped.
As the group hug drew to an end, a doctor approached the group. "My name is Dr. Tanya Stevenson," she introduced. Spencer stepped forward and shook hands with her. "What news do you have, doctor?" Mrs. Benson questioned. "Well, it was close," the doctor replied. "Whoever injected her obviously didn't know how to give an injection. They jabbed her so hard that the needle broke off the syringe," she explained. Carly gasped, and Spencer put a hand to his mouth in shock and fear.
"I'm to understand that this was an attempted lethal injection?" the doctor inquired. "That's correct, doctor," Melanie answered. The memory of what Sam went through was still fresh in her mind, and Melanie suspected that she'd have several nightmares about it in the near future. "Well, the good news is that the needle breaking probably saved Sam's life," she said. "Wait, how is that good?" Freddie asked. Dr. Stevenson answered, "It's good because she didn't recieve the full dose." Everyone present breathed a huge sigh of relief. "We ran a Tox-Screen," the doctor continued. "They used Sodium Thiopental, which is a drug we use to induce anesthesia for surgery," she explained.
"Now for the bad news," the doctor continued. Time seemed to stop. "Now, while she didn't recieve a fatal dose, she'll be unconscious until the drug's effects cease. We only picked up 2.5 grams in her system, so it could be anywhere from one to twelve hours before she wakes up." Carly took the news in. "We'll be here as long as it takes," she declared. The entire group nodded. "We also removed the needle from her arm," Dr. Stevenson said. "Thank you doctor," Spencer said. She nodded and took her leave.
Time seemed to pass slowly as the Puckett party waited. Melanie had went to get a soda from the vending machine when she was greeted by a sight she never thought she'd see. Standing at the receptionist desk, impatiently ringing the bell, was Jane Puckett. "Mom?" Melanie said, startling her. There was a tense moment of silence as mother and daughter locked eyes. "Melanie?" Mrs. Puckett asked, breaking the ice. Melanie didn't answer right away. After another moment of silence, Mrs. Puckett looked down. "I guess I deserved that," she said. Melanie imagined how difficult this was for her mother. In point of fact, it wasn't easy for her either.
"So, why are you here?" Melanie asked softly. Mrs. Puckett's expression fell. "I heard about Sam on the news," she said. Her voice was at the point of breaking. "I wanted to know if she's okay, and to beg for her forgiveness." Melanie absorbed the information. "So suddenly, we're not disowned anymore?" she asked. There was a slight tinge of anger in her voice. Mrs. Puckett looked confused. Melanie clarified. "Remember, mom? You said that if I left with Sam and not you, that I was disowned too?" It was quite a barb, but Melanie suspected that it was nothing compared to what Sam would say.
For her part, Mrs. Puckett nearly broke down. "I'm so sorry," she said. Her eyes were begining to glisten. She forced the tears back, and took in Melanie's appearance. "What happened to your lip?" she asked. Melanie stifled a laugh. "Well let's see," she said. Her voice was a mix of anger and sadness. "I was kidnapped, beaten, and made into a human bomb so that some psychos could try to kill my sister, your daughter," she said. Mrs. Puckett tried to hug her daughter. Melanie resisted at first, but relented.
She was a truly kind person at heart, and she realized that her mother was at least trying to make things right. "Mom, I forgive you, but I can't speak for Sam. That's something you have to take up with her." Mrs. Puckett felt happy tears rolling down her cheeks. "That's gonna be ugly," she said. They were cut off by Carly's sudden appearance. "Mel, I've been looking all over for you-" she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Mrs. Puckett?" she asked in disbelief.
"Hi, Carly," the older woman she said. She tried to plaster a smile on her face, but Carly was not buying it. Part of her was still unbelievably mad at how Mrs. Puckett had treated Sam. "I didn't expect I'd see you here," Carly said pointedly. Mrs. Puckett nodded. "For what it's worth, tell Sam I'm sorry for everything," she replied. Carly looked her over for a moment, considering her words. "You can tell her yourself," she said finally. "That's what I came to tell Melanie. "Sam's finally awake."
Melanie suddenly forgot her sadness. "Well I should go," Mrs. Puckett said sadly. Carly thought this was a good idea, though she didn't say it. She stopped her on her way out. "Look, if you want to make it right, try talking to Sam," she said. Mrs. Puckett left without a word. "What are we waiting for?" Melanie asked. "Let's go see Sam." The two wasted no time leaving to do just that.
