.~*Chapter Twenty*~.
It was Christmas Eve. The time was 9:50 p.m. Outside the Belleview Hospital, heavy snow fell from an overcast sky. The thick flakes had clumped together, making the snow crusty and deep—already a foot, the most seen in the state of Tennessee in a long time.
She entered the room with only ten minutes left until visiting hours were over for the night.
Her soft golden fur was thick and full for the winter season. She had grown almost two inches since this entire ordeal began back in May. Daka had said that though Beary was in a coma, he would've grown as well, but it was unlikely since he hadn't responded thus far.
Walking over to the bed, she pulled off her green overcoat—revealing a dark sweater with red and green holly for the season and jeans—and draped it over a chair. She stood next to the bed. "Hey, Beary," the eleven-year-old she-cub softly said as she brushed a strand of her medium-length golden auburn locks out of her face. She had been growing out her hair for a while.
Her forest green eyes were troubled and filled with sorrow, but if someone were to look closely at them, they would see a small glimpse of hope still within them. But that hope was fading every day. "Merry Christmas." Hesitantly, she reached out, gently gripped her best friend's paw, and squeezed. Then, she waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Beary's paw didn't squeeze back.
It never did, no matter how many times she tried. It never worked.
Jewel sighed. A huge part of her had hoped that he would finally respond. That he would wake up at last.
Dr. Daka had told them a few days ago that the antidote may have been given to Beary too late. If the cub didn't respond within a few days—Christmas Day being the last—he would never respond and they would have to pull the plug. It was better than letting him stay alive only because of machines. He needed to rest in peace.
Henry and the Barringtons, however unwilling, were forced to agree.
In other words, let him die.
Take Jewel's best friend away from her forever.
Jewel wasn't even supposed to have heard about it. It was an accident.
FLASHBACK
Jewel walked towards the Hall, smiling brightly. She was going to be able to visit the still-comatose Beary today and she couldn't wait. Plus, she got to visit her parents for Winter break. She had taken the presents she had gotten everyone over to her and her mother's cabin and had hidden them in her room. After that, she had headed over to the Hall, briefly wondering why nobody was around.
"What do you mean you agreed?"
The familiar voice of her Uncle Zeb shouting startled the she-cub. She came to a halt just outside of the main door and stood still, listening in on the conversation. She knew she shouldn't be doing that, but she just couldn't resist. Sometimes it was fun to listen in on their conversations.
"There's no other choice. He wouldn't want to be kept alive with machines. It would just be cruel and selfish of us to keep him like this," the voice of Henry spoke wearily.
"There's been no change in the brain activity. I have talked with the other head doctors and they agree. There's nothing more we can do. He's gone."
Jewel recognized the last voice as the feminine voice of Dr. Renee Daka. 'What is she doing here?' she wondered. 'Who are they talking abo-' Her thought was cut off by her father's voice.
"So what? It doesn't mean that he won't respond eventually!" Tennessee's exclaimed, his tone full of anger.
"You can't just kill him!" Trixie growled.
"You don't think that this is hard on all of us? You don't think we care?"
Jewel had never heard Mrs. Barrington shout. It startled her and nearly made her fall back in surprise. Slowly, realization began to dawn on her. She knew who they were talking about. Why didn't she figure it out earlier? She brought a paw to her snout, muffling her pained cry.
Mrs. Barrington's outburst must've startled everyone in the room, because if fell silent. It was a few minutes later that Fred's voice was heard.
"How long?" he asked softly.
There was a sigh, then Henry's pain-filled voice was heard. "Christmas."
Jewel couldn't listen to any more. Tears filling her eyes, she backed away and began to run from the building. She kept running through the six inch deep snow until she reached the barn. Throwing open the large door, she ran inside—
And let out a startled cry when she ran into something large and soft. She fell back and looked up with teary eyes.
Big Al looked down at the golden cub in surprise. "Jewel?" he questioned.
She didn't know what made her do it as she got up and wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his gray fur.
Though he was surprised, he returned the hug, gently rubbing her back as she continued to cry.
Her parents came running in shortly after that. Upon seeing their sobbing cub, they knew that she had heard everything. They walked towards her as everyone else watched from the doorway. They all knew why she was crying. They hadn't expected her to overhear. They wouldn't have even known that she was out there if Tasha hadn't walked into the Hall and demanded to know what they had said to upset her niece.
"Jewel? Honey, come here," Trixie softly pleaded.
Jewel answered her mother's pleads and ran to her parents' arms. "It's not fair! He didn't ask for any of this!"
Trixie smoothed out her daughter's bangs, gently soothing her. "I know, baby. I know," she whispered, sharing a meaningful glance with the others at the door.
Tennessee wrapped his arms around his daughter as well, echoing his girlfriend's words.
"Please don't kill my best friend! Please!" she begged…
END FLASHBACK
Fresh tears fell down her cheeks from the haunting memory. "Oh, gods, Beary… You have to wake up… If you don't… You'll never wake up again…"
Still, there was no response.
Softly, she began to sing, hoping beyond hope that this would finally wake up her best friend. Her brother.
If I tell you
Will you listen?
Will you stay?
Will you be here forever?
Never go away?
Never thought things would change
Hold me tight
Please don't say again
That you have to go
A bitter thought
I had it all
But I just let it go
Oh, this silence
It's so violent
Since you`re gone
All my thoughts are with you forever
Until the day we'll be back together
I will be waiting for you
If I had told you
You would have listened
You had stayed
You would be here forever
Never went away
It would never have been the same
All our time
Would have been in vain
Cause you had to go
The sweetest thought
I had it all
Cause I did let you go
All our moments
Keep me warm
When you're gone
All my thoughts are with you forever
Until the day we'll be back together
I will be waiting for you.
Through her tears, Jewel noticed that Beary was on the far side of the bed. There was enough space on the right side of the bed that another person could also lay on it if they so chose to do so. An idea came to her head and slowly, she crawled onto the bed and lay on her side. Since the small tube for the IV entered Beary's left arm, Jewel wrapped her arms around Beary's right arm and buried her snout on his shoulder. Then, she quietly cried herself to sleep, not feeling the small twitch that the supposedly still arm gave.
.~*~.
Renee Daka smiled as she took in the scene before her. She had come to room 333 to tell the young she-cub, Jewel, that visiting hours were over for the night. When she had opened the door, she hadn't expected to see Jewel lying on the bed next to the other cub, sleeping peacefully.
"That's so cute!" she quietly squealed. She knew she should go wake the she-cub up, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. It would just be cruel, considering that this… 'No,' she ordered herself. 'Don't think about that. Not now. It's bad enough that…' She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She made her mind fill with the image of the sleeping cubs.
She silently shut the door and made her way to the waiting room, where the other members of the group were located, still smiling. Opening the door, she was met with confused looks, along with some concerned expressions.
"Where's Jewel?" Trixie asked, starting to get up. She wore a coat similar to her daughter's; however it had little Christmas trees on the light red fabric. The others in the room wore similar holiday outfits. Tennessee, of course, wore a sweater—he had a thing for sweaters, no matter how ugly they were, a fact that Trixie sort of despised.
Renee just chuckled. "You have to see this. I've never seen anything like it. It's simply adorable."
With slightly amused expressions, everyone got up and followed her out of the room and down the hallway. They all stopped outside of Beary's room and crowded around the door as Renee quietly opened it, revealing the adorable scene within.
The sight of the two cubs lying next to each other brought a strange peacefulness on the assembled group. It was just an innocent scene that brought tears to some of their eyes.
The past few days had been hard on all of them; how couldn't it be with all that's been going on? All their hearts had shattered when Daka had told them that there was no more hope left. This scene before them brought a little of that hope back to life.
"It would be a shame to wake her, you know. I have the night shift, so I can keep an eye on her," Renee said, looking at the sleeping cubs with a soft smile. "It wouldn't be any trouble." She didn't feel the need to report that she would get in huge trouble for doing so.
"It would be a lot smarter," Trixie said, glancing at Tennessee with a small smirk. "And you never want to wake a cub. Especially if said cub's father is one Tennessee O'Neal."
This got a chuckle out of everyone—they all knew how much Tennessee hated being woken up—except Tennessee, who glared at his lover.
"So, it's decided?" Renee asked.
"It's okay with us," Henry said, speaking for himself and the Barringtons, who nodded in agreement. Trixie and Tennessee also nodded in agreement.
Sparing one last glance at the adorable scene, the others left Trixie and Tennessee behind. The couple walked into the room and kissed their sleeping daughter's cheek before whispering "Good night".
Tennessee gently brushed the longer fur out of his cub's—he never got tired of thinking that or hearing it—face. He leaned over and whispered so quietly that even Trixie couldn't hear, "Keep him safe. I know this isn't over yet. Something isn't right, and you and I both know it." He didn't know what made him say it, nor did he particularly care as he stood up straight and placed his paw in Trixie's and together, they left the room, following the others.
Renee walked back into the room—she had stayed outside in order to give the parents a little privacy—and went over to the closet, pulling a spare blanket out of one of the drawers. Then, silently, she took the blanket over to the bed and gently covered the golden she-cub with it. After that, she took Beary's vitals and marked them down on a metal clipboard. She paused as she was writing down the BP and watched in amazement when she saw the comatose cub's paw twitch.
"It can't be…" she whispered. She watched for any more signs of movement, but nothing happened. "Must've been wishful thinking…" she mumbled, finishing writing down the BP. Hanging the clipboard on the end of the bed, she silently left the room, dowsing the lights as she left.
Once again, the comatose cub's paw twitched, and his head ever so slightly turned so that the masked snout was resting on Jewel's head.
.~*The Country Bears*~.
Darkness surrounded him. Silence engulfed him. He floated on nothingness, if that was even possible. He felt lighter than air, almost as if his body didn't exist. In the distance, he could see a small, bright, white light. The "light" was the only source of comfort on this strange plane of existence.
"Hello?" the young cub called, his voice filled with fear. He had been here for as long as he could remember—which wasn't very long. He couldn't even remember how he had gotten here in the first place! He couldn't remember much of anything for that matter.
"Beary…"
His hazel eyes dilated in surprise and fear. He looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the voice. "W-Who are you?" he asked.
"Beary, don't you recognize me?"
The cub thought for a moment. "Mama?" he softly guessed.
A figure appeared, surrounded by a bright glow that briefly blinded him. Once he could see again, he could see that she was slightly taller than he was with an almost white-furred face, the rest of her body being covered in light brown fur. Her forest green eyes were filled with kindness and love. She wore a white gown, with a mesh skirt and sleeves. Hanging from her waist was a long loincloth that reached her knees, also white in color. Her top was loose and soft. A pair of silver wings donned her back.
"Hello, Beary," she said, her voice sounding like a flute. "It's been a long time, hasn't it? You've grown so much."
Beary was startled at seeing his mother for the first time in years—other than in his dreams, that is. "Is that really you?" he questioned, taking a small step towards her.
The she-bear smiled. "Yes, my son. I'm really here. But you shouldn't be. It's not your time."
"What do you mean? Where am I?"
She sighed. "This is the place that souls go before they Cross Over. Those who are not meant to move on are held here while their bodies heal. Each time something happens to a person's body, like a cut or a near death experience, their souls move closer to Favum. Some enter the Favum before their time is up."
"So, why am I here?"
"Do you not remember?"
The cub shook his head.
She sighed. "This is going to be difficult for you to understand. Right now, your physical body is in a coma. You were gravely injured and poisoned. Your body has been trying to fight against it for some time now. But, during that time, certain circumstances have brought your soul closer to the Favum. You're about halfway there, now."
"Why are you here?"
"To prevent you from Crossing Over before your time. I've been watching over you since I died."
Her son stopped her from continuing on. "Why did you die, Mama? Why did you leave me alone like that?"
Hurt filled her eyes and she looked down. "Believe, I didn't want to physically leave you. That's what your father and I tried to prevent by hiding both you and me from the outside world."
Beary looked at her, confused. "What do you mean "hide us"?" he questioned.
"Baby, there are evils in the world that you couldn't possibly imagine. When you were kidnapped, you only experienced a small fraction of all the evil in the world. The biggest form of evil is revenge, which, in a way, you experienced anyway. You were taken by two people who didn't want revenge on you, per say, but on someone else."
"Then, why'd they take me?"
"Because it was easier to cause the people they wanted revenge to suffer greatly because you are not only very young, but very loved by almost everyone who meets you."
"Almost everyone?"
"Josh Chase, remember? Reed Thimple. Well, I guess his real name was Benny Boggswaggle."
"B.B.," he mumbled.
"Yes, Beary. Benny Boggswaggle is, er, was B.B." She sighed. "But enough about that. I want you to know that I never fully left you."
"Excuse me?"
"My body may have died, but my soul remained. It was my soul that led you to that forest ranger. It was I that helped the ranger find a family to take you in. It was I that reunited with your biological father."
Beary's eyes widened. "Huh? Run that by me again, will you?"
His mother came towards him, but he took a step back, surprising her. "Beary, what's wrong?"
"What do you mean you reunited me with my biological father?" the cub demanded, his curiosity and surprising anger getting the better of him. But who could blame him? He wanted answers, damn it!
"You were reacquainted with your father last year when you reunited the band. I'm surprised you didn't recognize him. You used to scream and shout with excitement whenever he would come visit us."
"I met six guys last year, Mama. Henry, Big Al, Ted, Fred, Zeb… I don't think Tennessee counts, though. Then my mom would be Trixie, which isn't possible, since she was pregnant with Jewel when she left him."
Helen stared at him, amazed. Grinning, she said, "You definitely get your brains and observation skills from me. But think, Beary. When you were in the cabin, whose picture did you see?"
"Henry?" His eyes widened in disbelief. "No way. T-That's not… possible… Is it?" He looked at her closely, and his eyes widened even more. "Are you serious?"
She nodded, smiling softly. "Yes, Beary. Henry is your father."
"B-B-But…" A tugging sensation stopped him mid-sentence. "What's going on?" He began to move against his will towards the strange bright light. He looked at his mother's horrified and terrified expression before looking back at the light, which was getting bigger and much closer. "Mama! Help me!"
Helen attempted to make a move towards him, but something stopped her from moving. She looked up at something that only she could see and screamed, "NO! It's not his time! Let him go! Please! Mortem pro me tolle! Parce puer!" She looked back at her son with tears in her eyes."Baby, you have to fight it! If you don't you'll never wake up! I can't help! This is your battle! Find the strength!"
Try as he might, he couldn't find the strength to fight against the incredibly strong pull. What little strength was fading fast. He looked down at his paw and was immediately horrified as it began to dissolve before his very eyes. As he watched, his arm began to dissolve. The dissolved pieces began to flow towards the light.
"Beary, fight it!" his mother pleaded. "It's not your time! Baby, please!" She looked towards the light, begging and pleading. "Cantios non est paratus! Nolite filii mei tuleris!"
He didn't look at her as he answered in a voice that was not his own. "Why fight it? I feel peaceful for once. Warm, even. No more pain… I… I don't want to go back…"
The light changed from a white glow to a reddish-black one as a voice familiar to only Helen spoke. "That's right, Beary. Don't fight the pull."
As the figure materialized the she-bear let out a warning growl. "Get the hell away from my son, Adam, you bastard."
The blackish-silver furred just grinned. "I see you still remember me, dear Helen. I'm touched. But, I don't think I will let him go. You see, I have him under my spell. No matter what you say to him, he won't listen. He belongs to me now." He laughed sadistically. He began to change form into something simply terrible. Black and red bloody body, shredded wings of a bat, long demon horns… He had turned into a Belua. And now he was after Beary's soul.
Helen's eyes narrowed and she let out a fierce growl. If only she weren't on this plane, she could fight him. But here, she could use no weapons. "Beary, listen to Mama. Fight him! Baby, fight!"
Beary couldn't hear her. By now, almost a third of his body had been dissolved.
"Beary!"
"He can't hear you, Helen! Try as you might, he won't answer, you bitch! My revenge will finally be complete and you can't do a thing to stop it!"
A soft voice suddenly filled the darkness with song, causing everything and everyone to freeze.
If I tell you
Will you listen?
Will you stay?
Will you be here forever?
Never go away?
Never thought things would change
Hold me tight
Please don't say again
That you have to go
A bitter thought
I had it all
But I just let it go
Oh, this silence
It's so violent
Since you`re gone
All my thoughts are with you forever
Until the day we'll be back together
I will be waiting for you
Beary's dissolving stopped with only his head left. "Jewel?" he questioned. Then, for some reason neither adult bear could comprehend, the dissolving reversed. The cub's body began to piece itself back together. His soul moved away from the sinister-looking light.
"NO!" the Belua shouted, making a grab for the cub's soul, but missed him by inches. He let out a scream of rage as he was slowly sucked back into the dark light."How?"
Helen just chuckled. "Never doubt young love, you old fool. You won't get him. He's going home, where he belongs. He's going back to the cub he loves, who also loves him. He's going back to the family he loves and deserves and it is you that can't stop it. You've lost, Adam. My family is stronger than you ever were."
Another voice was heard, much to the shock of both Adam and Helen.
"She's right, you know."
"J-Julie?"
"Julie!"
Another bear appeared, holding the paw of a much younger cub. Together, as one, the she-bear and cub spoke. "Go back to Infernos, where you belong."
As they dark light disappeared, all that was left was a furious scream.
Helen turned towards her old friend. She was about to speak, but the black she-bear stopped her. "Helen, no. Now is not the time. I can't stay. Besides, you have your own cub to look after and return back to where he belongs. It's time for me… and my son, to rest in peace at last." Without another word, she disappeared, despite Helen's cries.
Beary, fully rematerialized, turned to his mother with a confused look. "Mama, who… What?"
"That… was an old friend. But enough about that. You need to get back home."
A sad smile crossed his face. "Am I ever going to see you again?"
She embraced him tightly as a few tears rolled down her cheeks. "Yes, baby. We'll meet again. I promise." She chuckled and held him at a distance and wiped a tear from her son's eye. "You've grown so much, Beary Henry Taylor. You were just a little thing when I last held you."
The cub chuckled as he wrapped his arms around his mother's waist. "Am… Am I going to remember this?" he asked as everything faded and only his mother's voice and a lingering touch on his cheek remained.
"You might, you might not. But you must remember that I love you. Nothing will ever change that." She smiled softly. "I will use the last of my strength to heal as much as I can of your body. Then, I must go back to Caelo… and recuperate. I'll see you soon…"
"I love you, too, Mama." With that, his soul was engulfed in a familiar warmth as everything turned black…
.~*The Country Bears*~.
She didn't know what woke her up. Blinking slowly, she lifted her head and looked around in confusion, wondering where she was. A few moments later, she remembered. Immediately, she skin flushed under her fur as she released her hold on Beary's arm and looked at his face.
Her eyes widened in disbelief when a pair of hazel eyes stared back, glinting in the moonlight that filled the room.
Jewel just about fell backwards off the bed in shock. "B-Beary?" she shrieked.
His voice was barely a whisper, but he answered. "J-Jew…el?"
That was all it took for the golden she-cub to immediately hug him and let her tears fall.
Slowly, the former comatose cub lifted his right arm and wrapped it around his friend's shoulders. He wasn't sure what was going on or where he was, but if Jewel was hugging him and crying, the only thing he knew how to do was give her some comfort.
He wanted to say something, but his throat hurt too much as a sharp pain shot through it. He let out a slight whimper that was cut short by the pain. A few tears fell down his cheeks.
Jewel heard him and stopped the embrace. Looking at him with worried eyes, she questioned, "Beary, what's wrong?"
Instead of answering—because he couldn't—he pointed at his throat.
"Your throat hurts?"
He nodded.
Jewel hopped off the bed and pressed the call button. "Don't worry, Beary. Dr. Daka will be here soon."
Even though he was confused, Beary nodded.
Jewel held his paw again, gently squeezing it as she stood next to the bed. She just prayed that it wasn't a dream.
The door opened and in walked Dr. Renee Daka. "Jewel, what's wro-" She froze and dropped the metal clipboard as she looked at the bed in shock.
Looking right back at her with wide eyes was her "comatose" patient. Her never-to-wake-up patient.
"Dr. Daka," Jewel began with a wide grin, "look who's finally awake."
Renee Daka stepped on her clipboard as she raced to the bed. She had to be dreaming. There was no possible way… "How? When?" she questioned as she checked vitals. She was shocked to find them all normal. "This isn't possible!"
"He woke up a few minutes ago. He motioned that his throat really hurts. He can barely talk," Jewel replied, somehow still managing to keep calm despite all the excitement in the room. She still held Beary's paw, refusing to let it go, in case it all was just a dream.
"I'll run some tests. In the meantime, go call the others. Better yet, just call Dex. Best not start a stampede. It's still early in the morning. Plus, it's snowing heavily. A big bus would be a huge problem, especially on the icy roads. Dex does have a car, I presume?"
"Yep."
"A small car would be able to maneuver better on the roads. So, yes. Call Dex. His parents would just panic and wake everyone up. Best to start small, eh? Not overwhelm the poor lad. We'll contact the others in the morning." She glanced at the door. "Use the phone in the nurse's station." Seeing the cub's hesitation, Renee sighed. "He'll be fine now that he's finally awake. Go on. I'll make sure he's okay. I promise. Let him rest now."
Jewel finally nodded and squeezed Beary's paw one more time. "I'll be back, CBB. Soon." With one final squeeze, she let go of his paw and left the room.
Renee looked at the bedridden cub. "Sleep. You need it." She didn't need to say any more. The cub was already out of it. She quickly checked him over again, just to make sure he hadn't slipped back into the coma again. Satisfied that he hadn't, she looked back at the door, waiting for the she-cub.
All was finally well in the world, now that Beary was awake.
.~*~.
Reaching the nurse's station, Jewel told the nurse there that Daka had told her to call Dex and tell him that Beary was awake. The nurse, surprised—everyone thought that the cub would never wake—let her use the phone. Then, she—the nurse—went and told other staff of the hospital.
Grinning from ear to ear, Jewel began to dial Dex's cell phone number and listened as it began to ring. "Come on, pick up!" she mumbled, eyeing the numerous staff that began to appear from seemingly nowhere and walking towards Beary's room door. She was about to chastise them when she heard Dex's tired voice on the other end of the line.
"Hullo?"
"Dex, get down here, but don't wake anyone else up. Leave a note."
"Jewel? Is that you?"
"Yes, it's me. Who else would it be?"
"What the hell do you want? It's two o'clock in the friggin' morning!"
"Just get down here."
"Is something wrong? What happened to Beary?"
"Dex, we've had a Christmas miracle."
On the other end of the line, Dex sighed. "Jewel, what are you talking about?"
"Beary's awake."
There was a thump on the other end of the line. Dex must've fallen out of bed, causing Jewel to giggle. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Say that again."
"Beary's awake."
"Jewel, this isn't funny. Tell me the truth."
"Dex, I am telling the truth. If you don't believe me, then come see for yourself. And hurry up. And don't tell anyone. Except maybe in a note for them to find in the morning."
"Why?"
She heard the sound of pants zipping up, causing her to blush as she listened to him dress. "Uh, because if they find out, then they'll be rushing and… It'll just be disastrous. But, Dex, there's something wrong with his voi-"
His voice dropped to a whisper. "Shh! I think Mom and Dad are awake. I'm on my way. Just… Just keep him awake." With that, the phone hung up.
Jewel walked back to Beary's room with a smile on her face and a hop in her step. If anyone were to see her right now, they would think she glowed like sunshine. Which, if the light hit her fur just right, she did.
Upon entering the room—after pushing through numerous nurses, doctors, and interns alike—she froze when she saw that her friend's eyes were closed again. "Is he-"
Renee stopped her panic attack before it could properly begin. "He's sleeping. Comatose patients tend to be tired when they first wake. It's like they never got any sleep at all."
"But he will wake, right?"
The doctor nodded.
Jewel returned to Beary's side and took his paw in her own again. If this was a dream, she never wanted to wake.