Chapter 13

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

My eyelids felt heavy, my arms felt like they had lost the ability to move, and actually I just felt all around horrible. All of my senses were numbed and trying to regain themselves as I started to try and get myself started. The first thing I felt was the most alarming thing I had ever woken up to; something was stuck in my throat. Somehow I could breathe with it though.

Soon I realized there was a light flow of air running into my nostrils. The breeze smelled sterile and unpleasant. A sort of pressure was pressing into various spots on my arms. Then there was hands. Hands prodding at me and touching me all over.

I tried to call out to them, to tell them that I needed help but the object in my throat prevented me from doing so. Finally the person laid a thumb over one of my eye lids and flashed a light into them. Instinctively I looked away from the blinding flash.

A gasp sounded from directly beside me and the light was gone. Standing beside me was a woman in a nurse's outfit staring at me with a shocked expression. Darting her hand to my other eye she shown the light in that own as she had the other. "Oh my, God." She breathed.

From the help she had given me I managed to keep my eyes open, barely- but none the less open. Slowly I examined my surroundings. It was a hospital room with the curtains drawn back, although there was barely any sunlight coming in. The nurse started running around me, checking and rechecking everything from charts to my own body.

She saw my lips move as I tried to say something and quickly laid a hand on my foot. "Miss Taylor, I'm going to have to ask you to keep that in for another couple of minutes. I'm gonna go get the doctor." Before I could even try and protest, her and her non-slip shoes were out the door.

Keep what in? I looked from my bedside where a bulky looking machine stood to a rather thick tube started. It ran between the bars at the edge of the bed, up my body, and then into my mouth. That's what was irritating my throat. A feeding tube! Against my better judgment I tried to move my head to look out into the hall. It was like someone set off a handful of fire crackers in my spine. Holy mother of God.

The longer I lay there the more anxious I became. Where was everybody? Why wasn't anyone coming? Or even visiting? Why was I in the hospital in the first place? Better yet, when had I even gotten to a hospital? It's okay, Hidan and Itachi will be here any minute now, and they'll take you home to Aki's. Except my own words of consolation did little for my rising heart rate.

After more time than I would have preferred. A man in a white lab coat rushed in immediately checking every medical instrument around me. He did the same as the nurse before him, flashing a light in my eyes and checking my vitals manually. "Let's get this thing out of her." He said as calmly as possible. There was a bit of giddiness to him, like he had just witnessed a miracle.

Between the nurse and himself it took them a good five minutes to properly extract the tube from me. None of those five minutes being the least bit comfortable. As soon as it was out the doctor checked my throat. "It's a little irritated, but that's to be expected." He leaned forward, making sure he was eye level with me. "Now, when you try to speak it is going to be difficult at first but just keep trying okay?" Once I nodded my understanding he gave me a quick smile. "Alright then, tell me your name."

All that came out was a wisp of a word. The nurse gave me an encouraging look. I again, more determined than before, opened my mouth. "Taylor." It was barely audible, but I said it.

My doctor stood back from the bed, gazing over me like I was a finished piece of work. "Go get Dr. Sutton and his interns." The nurse immediately turned and hustled out the door, as if it was just instinct. Picking up what I presumed was my chart, the good doctor mumbled a couple indistinct things before once again acknowledging my presence. "Can you tell me how you are feeling?"

My finger twitched, eager to move. "Confused." I neglected all the physical soreness in my body for my actual feelings and to get some answers.

He nodded slowly. "That's to be expected." Then he just kept on staring just like I was doing.

I decided to make the first move. Figuratively speaking that is. "Where am I?"

"Holy Spirit Regional Hospital." After finally catching the gist of my confusion he went on. "I'm Dr. Moyer, and I've been the lead doctor on your case since you arrived. Don't worry I'm one of the head neurosurgeons on the East Coast, so you've been in good hands"

Holy Spirit doesn't sound like something that comes from that world. My eyebrows knit together. "Why am I in a hospital?" Still my voice strained to make itself clear, but I was persistent to hear his answers.

Dr. Moyer switched his weight from one foot to another. "It seems that you slipped while visiting your mother and hit your head on your way down." The way he said it made it seem like it was old news. Which, obviously was not the case to some of us. As I started to ask my next question, he apparently wasn't finished. "You've been in an inconstant coma for the last few weeks."

That was when my mouth went dry. I had thought my throat was upset before, but from the lack of air and moisture getting to it then- the soreness doubled. "Coma?"

"Listen," He gave me what I was sure was a dime a dozen smile before looking out the door. "Nurse Rose has contacted your family and they will be here within the hour. Until then, we'd like to thoroughly check you out, to see what may have triggered your wake up. You are more of a rare case, so we are going to let our interns have a crack at you."

Although, it didn't really seem like I had a choice in the matter. Before I could ask anymore questions a team of coated doctors rushed in. Dr. Moyer stood beside who I presumed was Dr. Sutton and started announcing my situation. While they were having their little pow-wow I started getting my mobility back. It started with my fingers and toes. Then as I started moving my arms slowly up over my blankets I tried to lean forward.

My whole body seemed was weakened to not moving on its own for so long. But a couple of weeks? Really? Wasn't it supposed work so that only a few hours passed in the normal world? Because obviously every science-fiction movie I had ever watched had been a lie up until that point.

I was doing fine with testing my body out until a suspicious younger looking doctor pointed me out. Dr. Sutton's eyes widened and walked around my bed. "Taylor, you need to give yourself time. You've been asleep for a long time. You're body isn't ready yet."

"I'm fine." I attempted to sound tough and badass but it just came out as weak and pathetic sounding statement. I had been through this when I was eight, I'm sure I could handle it eight years later. As Dr. Sutton made an effort to help me out, Dr. Moyer turned back to the handful of interns.

He started making them brainstorm ideas of what could have sparked off my newly awakened state. I had to admit I kind of liked listening to them, it reminded me of Grey's Anatomy. Of course all of their mumbo-jumbo just sounded like big words that are just as hard to read as to say. Giving up on keeping up with them I focused all my attention to Dr. Sutton. Seeing as how I was fully sitting up on my own he stepped back to the foot of my bed.

"Where's Itachi and Hidan?" I asked suddenly. Everyone looked at me, while Dr. Moyer still pushed for ideas. What I had meant to ask was where my family was, though my mouth was having none of that.

"Who?" One of female interns asked.

After Moyer stopped and also turned to me, I just looked out the door. "It's a nickname for my brother and sister." I quickly lied. "Where's my family?" As hoarse as my voice still was, they all managed to make out what I was saying.

Dr. Moyer smiled simply replying, "Soon." I'm sure by 'soon' he hadn't actually expected them to rush in within the next ten minutes.

The interns were herded out of my room leaving only Dr. Sutton and Dr. Moyer in the corner of the room as my family started fawning over me. My mother was in tears and she threw herself on me while my Dad was on the opposite side roughly petting my hair as he tried to fight of tears himself. Alexis buried herself in Duncan's arms, weeping from what was hopefully joy. Standing off the sides were my step-parents. They spoke in low voices to the two doctors, giving everyone their time with me.

That's when it started sinking in for me. When everything started to click. I wasn't in Naruto's world anymore. I was back home. It all was a bit much for me to be honest. I hadn't had any contact with any of them for the past few weeks and suddenly they were all around me at once. And seeping with too much emotions at once. After being around someone like Itachi for so long, I guess it should've felt refreshing. Instead it only felt aggravating.

"Mom." I ran my hand over her shoulder. "You're cutting of my circulation." Try as I had to comfort my mom, there was still an element of bite to my voice. She nodded as she started pulling herself together.

"I'm just so happy that you're awake." Her eyes started welling with tears again and she once again threw herself at me, this time wrapping her arms around my shoulders. "Oh, Taylor!"

Dad gripped my hand tightly as he rubbed his eyes from underneath his glasses. "You've been so pale for the last couple of weeks." He took in a shaky breath to try and calm himself down. "It's good to see you getting some color back."

My chest squeezed painfully together. The whole time I had been with Itachi and Hidan, my family had been suffering. They had to see me hooked up to machines just to stay alive. What kind of daughter puts them through that? "I'm so sorry, Daddy." Not knowing what else to do, I looked down at our joined hands and gave him a squeeze.

"Taylor," Duncan's deep voice said at the last empty side of my hospital bed. "None of this is your fault."

"For God sake's you've been in a coma!" Alexis wailed. I guessed that the word 'coma' was officially an off-limits word among the family from that point on.

Pulling a near by chair up beside the bed, Dad sat down. "Yeah, Love-Bug, I didn't mean anything by it. Like your mom said, I'm just happy that you're awake." He smiled a thin smile that was nearly all hidden by his pepper colored mustache.

Slowly Alexis started inching towards my bed. She made it seem like if she came to me too quickly, then I would konk back out. Duncan must've been the one holding her hand through it all because he was acting like a walker for her. Right along beside her every single baby step of the way.

Awkwardly I sat there as the doctors gave their plan for the next day or so. Basically they would have a psych evaluator come down to my room make sure I was mentally stable, then if all checked out okay then I would be back in school that week.

School. The word alone made my head spin. What would it be like returning back to school and associating with normal people again? It couldn't be all that hard. With friends and familiar faces around me again it would be much easier to cope with everything.

But without them. My hands became clammy and diverted my thoughts back to the doctors words. There was no point in thinking about any of that, there wasn't anything more I could do. The best thing I could think of doing was focusing on recovering as quickly as possible.

When all was said and done and the doctors were out of the room, everyone became slightly more lax. Alexis worked up the nerve to smile and separated herself slightly from Duncan. "So, tell me what's happened." I leaned back in my bed, resting my body for a little while.

Mom pursed her lips while rolling her neck. "Well Grammy Edie decided to give Duncan a pitbull puppy for his birthday." Grammy Edie was my Dad's mother and never quite got along with my Mom, especially after their divorce. So I just assumed that Duncan's 'present' was a giant middle finger to Mom.

I stopped for a second. "Wait, Duncan's birthday?" I sat back up suddenly, making my muscles cringe. "I missed your twenty-first birthday?" Duncan just rolled his eyes accompanying a shrug. This made me so disappointed. I had been saving up enough money to get him a hot-pink leather set of seat covers, as a gag-gift naturally.

"It's no big deal, Tay. I promise." He might have said that, but to me it was. It was like I missed something big. Which I did. I missed one of the most important mile stone birthdays a person can have.

Trying to relax again I just kept going. "Alright, so what else?"

For a couple seconds everyone get really quiet before my sister spoke up. "That boy started coming around again."

I stared at her with so much hope, that I could've jumped out of bed. "Which boy?"

Her smile gave a little more oomph suddenly. "Chet."

And there went my hopes.

"Chet?" At first I didn't understand completely. The concept of a boy named Andrew 'coming' around didn't register. "He's your…?" My voice trailed off leading into a questioning tone.

She drew her hair over her shoulder, a habit of hers that was all to familiar. A sign that she was getting somewhat excited. "Your ex-boyfriend." Then it came back. Chet Fitzgerald. My ex-boyfriend of seven months. Why he was bothering my family now, I didn't really care to know.

"Oh. That's weird, I guess."

Mom sat down on the bed beside me. "You know what I think?" I just looked at her. "Once you get up and going again, you strike up a couple conversations with him and see where things go."

My face crumpled together. See where things go? "Mom." I said with a firm voice. "I don't want to see where things go with Chet."

Marie, Dad's girlfriend, stepped in beside Dad. "But Taylor, remember how much you-"

"I don't want to see where things go with him!" My voice was now in a mixture between a hurt whine and an unbearable yell. Everyone in the room became silent. I did feel slightly bad for snapping at them so hard, they didn't deserve my mixed feelings about being awake. "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what-"

Marie laid her hand on my leg. "It's okay, we'll just change the subject." Mom nodded her head in agreement.

Then everything started to roll. There were stories about Dad fighting with some armed man, Cody's puppy (now named Sammy), Marie almost setting the house on fire with her cooking, Alexis hitting a cow, and other various stories including everything from A to Z. They kept my mind off things until visiting hours were coming to an end.

Nurse Rose came back in timidly. Almost afraid to interrupt our reunion she stepped up into the space between my mom and Duncan. "I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over." She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "I mean they were over a half an hour ago, but we made an exception this time."

My mom stood up in her defensive way. "Well, isn't that psychiatrist coming down? If she I want to be here with Taylor when she does."

The nurse pointed somewhere over her shoulder. "Dr. Sutton made an appointment with Dr. Aud, a doctor from the psychiatric wing, for tomorrow. We'll call you before her appointment so you can come, but you can't be with her during the appointment." At the beginning of when she started talking her voice was semi-concrete, but as she progressed it slowly declined in authority.

Rich, my step-father, brought my Mom's coat over to her. "We do have to get up for work tomorrow, Hun." His look just made what he said feel more like 'Enough is enough, let's get the heck out of here already.' Reluctantly Mom hugged me good-bye.

Holding my face she kissed me on my forehead. "I'll be back as soon as they call me tomorrow, okay?" I tried to make a couple jokes with her to show her that I was just fine but as mothers always do she just shook her head and took another five minutes to finally leave. Once she was gone it was only a matter of time and a number of 'see you tomorrow's until they left in suite.

Then I was alone. Then there was nothing to keep my thoughts at bay.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Even that timid little Nurse Rose didn't come back in for God knows how long.

Everybody had been so happy to see me awake. I was happy to see them to, but something was off. I wasn't feeling the way I should've. I should've been ecstatic about being back to the normal world. Instead though there was this feeling making me feel more or less jittery. A restless, hopeless, and depressing feeling to everything.

The feeling all came back to those returning thoughts. The unsettling thought that told me I was where I was supposed to be. I was home, but there was something missing. They were missing.

How could I feel so attached about a world that was merely a figment of my imagination? A dream was a dream, so who cares how vivid they are? But I felt it all! I could remember slamming into the cliff, and the smell of the festival, and the feel of Itachi grabbing my arm.

He had even left a mark! There was no way that was a dream, he had practically broken my I arm I thought. He said he was sorry! Sorry or not it still scared me. Itachi had never been like that with me before. He even activated the sharingan… Why was he being like that?

I would have expected something like that from Hidan, what with his anger issues and all.

And what stems from anger?

Jealousy…?

My breath hitched. My heart on the other hand was racing like a sprinter that tripped and fell. To feel jealous though you have to at least like another person, and Itachi never really seemed all to keen of me at times. Which meant that if my gut was right, a flip of a coin chance, then Itachi had liked me and he was jealous from Yoh flirting with me.

So why hadn't Hidan made a fuss? He was the one with the violent history after all. Hell, we were practically all over each other on the street. Of course we stopped and things progressively had gotten worse through out the night. I should have just glomped him while I had the chance. He was there for my taking right before we shut down on each other.

Even with Itachi we were about to have the real heart-to-heart where I finally admitted that we were childhood besties. At least that's how I like to view it. What would have happened if we hadn't been interrupted by the bar commotion? It could've been the half of Itachi I remembered from the memories of- Wait. What was I thinking? There was no memories! They didn't exist! It was all a very real dream that I had had from severe brain injury.

Keep telling yourself that. Maybe you'll sleep better that way, right?

Then came the sinking stomach. It was like some one had hollowed out my insides. There was no throbbing headache. No crappy soreness. Nothing but numbness. My eyes didn't even give me fair warning about the onslaught of tears that started rushing out over my cheeks.

No matter how I turned it, what light I showed it in- they still had a part of me. Fake things don't just steal a part of you and keep it all to themselves. I don't know how I had been so blind about what I was feeling up until that point, but it was pretty clear to me now. When I had been so snappy with them and wanted their attention and even had such a mental roadblock with them, it was all because I lo-

"Miss Taylor?"

"What?" I nearly jumped out of my skin. Nurse Rose came into my room with a tired look on her face. Mom and Dad had probably been hounding her with questions and demands of how she should treat their daughter. Poor girl.

She rubbed her neck as she approached my bed. "I just have to make sure you're comfortable and stable." She slumped into the chair my Dad had left pulled up. "Which you are."

"Long night?" I asked softly.

Probably without even really thinking she leaned her head back and her eyes lowered shut at a snail's pace. "You have no idea. The man in the room next to you has to be bathed every couple of hours." After a frustrated sigh she went on. "And he is six hundred and ninety three pounds."

Yep. Long night. I guessed that that man was just the pinnacle of her physical workout. I could've only imagined what other problems the more severe case loads gave her. So I just sat there and let her sit in silence to the rhythmic beeping of my heart monitor. Nurse Rose was out in no time without even a single twitch she stayed there giving me some unconscious company.

I wish I could've had her gift of sleep that night, but I didn't. I never even got a single second of rest. There was nothing for me to look forward to in the morning, so I didn't feel the need to make things go faster. And even if I had the possibility of someway, somehow, returning back to my wonderland it only gave me an even furthermore numbing sensation.

The worst part of it all.

I never said 'Good-bye.'

… :o. Oh my Ke$ha. This chapter made me so depressed as I wrote it. I seriously thought that I was going have to stab myself with a fork. Eh, I'm coming up on the last couple of chapters here. I'm not sure how many more but there is at least like 4 more I think. Point is, this isn't my last chapter. Plus, just for future references- who would read a sequel if I wrote one?

You know the drill. Review for love- :3 NSR.