Chapter 25

The next morning, Sebastian woke up early and made lunch for Sasha. He headed over to the clinic at noon in a hurry, desperate to see how she was doing. When he entered, Maru was at the counter, filling out paperwork.

"Oh, Sebby…Sasha had a relapse last night. We had to perform emergency surgery on her heart to fix a pump that wasn't functioning properly. Luckily, it went well, and she should recover eventually, but she's not going to be able to work for a while. You'll be able to take her home in a few days. Also, she might still be under anesthetics, so don't necessarily expect her to be awake just yet."

Sebastian frowned and hurried through the hallway to see her. She was lying there, awake, and watching the news.

"God she must hate this." thought Sebastian.

She looked over as he entered, smiling weakly and struggling to sit up.

"Wait! Let me help." he said, walking over to adjust the bed and pillows. "Better now?"

"Mhm." she said. She spoke quietly, almost in whispers. "I missed you…its very boring here. I wanna go home."

Sebastian nodded along as she spoke, stroking her limp hand.

"I thought you wouldn't like it. Do you want me to bring anything?" he asked.

"No, it's fine, I don't wanna be an inconvenience." she said.

"What? You're not an inconvenience. I'll take care of you, please don't worry about being inconvenient." he said in a gentle voice. "In fact, I made lunch for you. Are you hungry? I don't know how good the food is here..."

She nodded and smiled. He handed her the warm thermos, watching her hands tremble as she ate. When she was finished, she turned to him, taking his hand.

"Thank you Sebby." Tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm sorry I had to drag you through this."

"Hey, don't cry! I don't mind at all Sasha. You're the one that paid the price, not Me." he said, wiping her face. "I'll be right back, okay?"

Sasha frowned but obliged, waving to him as he left. Sebastian walked back home, and immediately began making cookies. As they baked, he packed up a bunch of comic books, a console, some games and DVDs. He threw everything in a big canvas bag, placing the warm Tupperware on top. He trotted back to the clinic with the large bag, but when he arrived, Sasha was asleep. He found this the perfect opportunity to set up everything. After he was finished, he walked over to Sasha. He kissed her on the forehead, about to leave, when she woke up.

"Oh, Sebby…I'm sorry. I tried to stay awake but-" she began, gasping as she turned to see everything set up neatly. "You didn't…"

"You said you were bored…I hope this helps." he said. "I'll be here every day until you get discharged, okay? I'm glad the surgery went well, and they said you should be able to leave soon."

She smiled, squeezing his hand gently.

"Can we watch a movie?" she said. He nodded, walking over to the table to read out the options. After they chose a cheesy romantic-comedy, Sebastian was about to sit down on the chair next to her bed when she patted an empty space next to him.

"Come here…please?" she said. "I need a hug…"

"Okay, I just don't wanna hurt you…" he said. He hesitantly perched on the edge, carefully lying next to her. It was difficult for him to lie there without hitting any wires. "Alright, I think we're good."

She wrapped her cold arms around his torso, taking in his body warmth. The moment didn't last long however, as Sebastian noticed her breathing grow rough and uneven. She soon doubled up coughing, sitting up as he rubbed her back.

"Hey, you okay?" he said. "Should I call Maru?"

She leaned back against his shoulder, breathing heavily.

"No, I'm fine." said Sasha. Sebastian waited a moment, but her breathing didn't slow. She sighed out, trying to catch her breath but failing after several attempts. She began coughing violently again, leading Sebastian to press the "Call Assistant" button on the back of the bed. Shortly after, Maru appeared at the door. She took one look at Sasha and disappeared into a side room, returning with a small brown jar.

"You can hold her hand while I give her the medicine." said Maru. Sebastian nodded and took Sasha's hand as she leaned back against him. "Can you hand me the bottle on the table?"

Maru opened the bottle, revealing a dark brown liquid. She carefully measured out a dose of the liquid in a small measuring cup. Sebastian took the cup from Maru, holding it up to Sasha's lips for her to drink. Her coughing stopped almost immediately.

"Now, this is the tough part, but we are going to have to give her some anesthesia to help her breathing and heart rate return to normal. It's sort of a "calming process" that helps a lot of patients." said Maru, frowning. She disappeared again, returning with a small machine and mask. She rolled the machine next to the bed, handing the mask to Sebastian. "It's not easy to do, I know."

He looked at Sasha, who was nearly asleep on his shoulder, then back at Maru. She gave him a sympathetic look, and nodded her head. He stretched the elastic over her head, placing the mask on her face. Maru flipped a switch and counted down. Her eyebrows furrowed as she took in the gas. Sebastian's heart sunk as he saw her tighten up in pain. Her eyes fluttered as she drifted off, and after a few seconds, Maru flipped the switch again. Sebastian took the mask off of her face gently, squeezing her tight before laying her down on the table. Maru exited the room, leaving Sebastian alone again with her. He sat, stroking her hair and cheek. After waiting for a while, he left, walking outside. He bought a pack of cigarettes from Pierre, smoking nearly half of them before returning inside. Maru lifted her head and wrinkled her nose at the smell, shaking her head before returning to her paperwork. As he was about to enter the door to go back to the room, Maru spoke.

"She woke up you know. She asked where you were." she said, not even lifting her head to meet Sebastian's eyes.

He turned his back to her, pushing the door open and walking through the cold hallway to her room. Her hands were folded in her lap, just sitting in silence. She looked like she had a bit of color in her face now, as if she had a bit more strength. He pushed the door open, and she lifted her head and smiled to greet him again.

"Hey Sebby! Did you get dinner? I want you to still stay healthy while I'm here." she said, weakly. She stretched out her arms to hug him, but as he got closer, she lowered them, her smile disappearing. "Did you smoke?"

He blushed and stopped, running his hands through his hair.

"Yeah…" he said. "I've been worried about you."

She looked him in the eyes worriedly, but didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry. I know you hated when I did it, but I…" he began. "Don't be mad."

He began rushing towards her and hugging her. After a moment, she accepted it and hugged him back.

"Please be careful."