Author's Note: Thanks to BluCrayons! Love ya!
Chapter 38: Waiting
"How is he?" Rose asked Sarah a few days later. Sarah was still clutching Micky's side, unable to leave and he had yet to wake up. "Any change?"
"No," Sarah answered despondently. Rose sighed and got out of bed, though Mike wanted her to stay with him. He felt better with her near him. But he knew Micky needed her too. Micky hadn't woken up at all in the past week and they were all getting worried.
"He should have woken up by now," Rose said. "Something's not right."
"So what do we do?" Davy asked. Before Rose could answer, they heard the door unlocking; Shirley was bringing them breakfast. She smirked at Rose and turned on her heel to leave once she put down the tray of food.
"Wait," Rose said before she left. "You need to tell Claire to come in here and look at Micky."
"What?" Davy asked. "Are you nuts?"
"No," Rose said. "He passed out the minute you brought him in here and hasn't woken up. She needs to look at him."
"Alright, not that I think she'd really care," Shirley answered.
"Just tell her," Rose said. Shirley slammed the door behind her, making sure to click all the locks.
"Why would you ask her to come back in here?!" Davy exclaimed dumbfounded.
"Because we need her," Sarah answered for Rose. "Something's wrong with him and only Claire can fix him right now."
"What do you think it is?" Peter asked.
"Could be anything," Rose answered. "But there's definitely something wrong. He should have woken up by now. The fact that he hasn't means there's something wrong with his brain, more than likely."
"So what can she do?" Davy asked.
"She's one of the best surgeons in the country, Davy," Sarah said. "If she can't fix him, no one can."
"We can't do anything without knowing what's going on with his head," Rose added. "And we can't see what's going on with his head. We don't have the equipment for that. She does. And if she has to go in and fix something…"
"Go in?" Peter asked fearfully. "As in cut open his head?"
"Maybe," Rose sighed. "I really hope it doesn't have to come to that, but if it does, I actually want him to be in her hands."
"There's something so wrong with that," Davy muttered. "She saves lives every day and then goes home and does this...it's just…"
"People lead double lives all the time, Davy," Mike said. "It's scary, but it happens."
"You think she'll even want to help him?" Peter asked.
"She can't let him die," Rose said. "She needs him still. She needs him to find Hope."
"She has to help him," Sarah said tucking Micky's hair gently behind his ear and kissing his forehead. Mike could tell his face was pale and he was a little clammy, but otherwise he just looked like he was sleeping. It was a little disturbing. It might have been a little easier if he could see something wrong with his friend, other than the wounds on his back that Rose and Sarah were taking care of. It only took a few moments for Claire to storm into the room and glare angrily at Rose.
"What did you do?" Claire demanded. Mike motioned for Sarah to come over to him in case something happened. She was only 2 months pregnant and wasn't quite beginning to show, but he had to make sure that she wasn't hurt. For Micky. Sarah hesitated, but crawled away from Micky knowing that Claire would kick her out of the bed anyway.
"What did I do!?" Rose scoffed standing her ground firmly. "You did this! He passed out the second they brought him here! They threw him on the ground; who knows what that did to him!? I helped him."
"It doesn't matter," Peter said trying to at least keep some peace. "Can you help him or not?" Claire stared at Peter for a few seconds as though wondering what he was doing. Then she turned and walked over to Micky's side. Behind Claire, Mike noticed Shirley and Wayne standing in the doorway, watching the whole thing transpire. Claire first felt Micky's pulse, then took a stethoscope and listened to his heart and breathing before unwrapping his bandages. Mike held his breath the entire time she looked over him and the silence in the room was deafening. He held Sarah close to him, hoping that somehow he could keep her from even being noticed. Sarah buried her face into his shoulder, trying to hide tears from the others. Finally, Claire looked up at Rose.
"Did you stitch these?" Claire asked.
"Yes," Rose answered. "I couldn't let him just bleed to death."
"You did a good job," Claire said. "I'm impressed. Did you do these before or after he passed out?"
"After," Rose said. "I told you, he passed out the minute they brought him in here."
"You should have come to me sooner," Claire said. "If he's been out a week, there might be damage I can't fix."
"I thought he was just in shock," Rose answered. "He's had a steady pulse and can breathe on his own. You shouldn't have hurt him the way you did."
"He volunteered, sweetie," Claire smiled.
"You went overboard," Rose challenged. "You wanted him to fall so you hit him too hard. You tried to make him fall."
"Remember who it is you're speaking to," Claire said angrily getting up and walking to Rose.
"I know exactly who I'm speaking to," Rose said. "The bitch that Hell won't even accept." Claire's eyes flashed in anger and she slapped Rose hard across the face. Mike and Sarah both jumped, and though Mike's first instinct was to get up and come to Rose's defense, he knew he had to stay put.
"Rose," Mike warned instead pulling Sarah closer to her.
"You need to watch yourself, darling," Claire snapped, either not hearing Mike or ignoring him. "Especially when you ask for a favor."
"I'm not asking for a favor," Rose countered. "You can't let him die. You need him."
"No, I don't," Claire said. "I can get the same information from you."
"No, you can't," Rose answered. "Those two are the only two I have in the world. If you take one of them away, you can bet I'll never let you do anything to the other."
"Don't lie to me, Rose," Claire said. "You have him now." Claire looked over Rose's shoulder at Mike. Rose seemed to falter a little bit.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Rose answered.
"Don't you?" Claire asked. "I've seen the way you look at him. I'm not stupid. You want him. So does Heather. She's been begging me to let her drug him again. Maybe I should let her."
"Don't you dare," Rose said firmly.
"Maybe I should reward you for doing such a good job on those stitches," Claire smiled as a chill ran down Mike's spine. "Drug all three of you. Let both of you have fun with him."
"Fuck off, bitch," Rose said.
"Rose!" Mike said knowing that baiting her was a bad idea. Especially considering the threat she'd just lobbed their way. His mind instantly swam with haunting images of it. He wanted to be with Rose, but not that way. He couldn't live with himself if he slept with her while she was drugged. Even if he himself was drugged.
"Please," Peter said inserting himself bravely between the two of them. "Can you help him or not?"
"I don't know," Claire said, again surprised at Peter's bravado. "I'll have to run some tests to find out what's going on. Wayne, take him to a private room. We'll need bloodwork and an x-ray. Wayne, take Micky down to a private room so we can run the tests." Wayne crossed over to Micky and picked him up before carrying him outside. Claire gave Rose one last scathing look before disappearing behind Shirley and Wayne. Mike let out a heavy breath, relieved nothing worse had happened and that Micky was going to get the help he needed. He only wished that he could be with Micky; that he knew what was going on.
They waited all day and didn't hear anything. Rose, Peter and Davy busied themselves with trying to work on the spring weapons, but they all looked at the door periodically. Mike could now walk on his own and was able to limp to the bathroom when he needed to. Sarah moved over to the bed she and Micky had been sharing and had curled under the sheets as though she could smell him on them.
At the end of the day, Shirley brought them dinner, a tray of peanut butter sandwiches, and left without saying a word. Davy asked about Micky, but she simply ignored him and walked out. Sarah stared at the door as Peter tried handing her food. Davy gave a sandwich to Mike, but he wouldn't eat just yet. He was worried about Sarah. None of them were eating; they were all worried about Sarah.
"Sarah," Peter said. "You really should eat."
"Why aren't they saying anything to us?" Sarah asked.
"Because they know staying quiet is just gonna make us squirm," Rose said.
"He's gonna come back," Peter tried.
"You don't know that," Sarah answered.
"She can't let him die," Rose said.
"She may not have a choice," Sarah said. "What if she can't help him?"
"You can't think that way," Davy said. "None of us can." Suddenly Sarah sat straight up and whipped her head around to face Rose. She had a look of pure anger on her face.
"You should have done something!" Sarah yelled. "You should have called Claire sooner! This is your fault!"
"Sarah, she didn't know," Peter said softly trying to get her to calm down. Rose looked a little taken aback at the sudden outburst, but didn't really look hurt or angry.
"His pulse was steady and he was breathing on his own," Rose said simply after a moment. "That is a good sign. A very good sign. I did what I could."
"He's gonna be ok, Sarah," Peter agreed sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. "He's been through worse. Mike said Micky almost died when Chucky beat him before. Claire helped him then. Claire saved him then. She's gonna save him now."
"Mike helped," Sarah said turning to look at Mike now. He was a little worried she was going to snap at him now. He prepared himself for it, knowing it was just hormones and she didn't mean any of this. But she didn't. "You saved him."
"I just did what I was told," Mike said.
"No, you did more than that," Sarah said. "You got him out of there when you didn't have to. You took him away from them. Most people in your position would have run away. Left without even looking back. But you didn't. You risked everything to take him with you."
"I suppose you're right," Mike answered. "But I couldn't leave him behind."
"Most people would have been too afraid," Sarah added.
"I was terrified," Mike said. "My dad did horrible things to me to condition me to keep quiet and let him do his business. He stuffed me in the oven when I was three and threatened to turn it on next time just because I gave one of the girls water. But there was something I saw in Micky. I can't explain it, but I knew that I had to help him. If no one else, I had to help him and maybe it would make up for not helping all those other people. Maybe saving his life would make up for my staying so silent."
"Look, Sarah," Peter said, "I know you're scared. We all are, but...I can't explain it..I don't know how I know, but Micky is coming back. I just know it."
"You can't know it," Sarah said. "No one can. You can only hope that he does. I just...I can't do this again. I can't go through this alone. I've done it before and I can't do it again."
"Sarah, you aren't alone," Peter said pulling her into his arms. "You have us." Sarah curled into his arms and broke down. Peter rubbed her back softly as she cried into his shirt. Mike felt horrible. He wanted to help her; to take her pain away, but he couldn't. Peter sat with her all night and eventually, she fell asleep in his arms.