CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
MARCO
He was happily wrapped in Riley's embrace, both of them drifting off to sleep, when both of their phones began to ring. Riley's went off first. "Ignore it," she groaned. Then his began to ring, too.
Riley reluctantly sat up and grabbed her phone. Marco did the same. He saw his mother's number. It was the middle of the night. This couldn't be good.
Riley picked up as soon as she saw the caller ID. "Kris? Is everything okay?" She asked. Marco could hear Kristy's hysterics through the phone. "Kris... Kristy, slow down. I can't understand you. What happened?"
Knowing this was major now, Marco picked up his mother's call. "Mom? What's going on?" He asked.
"Marco... Baby... Something's happened. Something awful," his mother told him.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"There was a crash..." She was crying. "It's Saraya, honey..." His mother had always been close to Saraya, but she had no idea how much she meant to Marco.
"How bad?" Marco asked, dreading the answer.
"She's on life support... Just until Cayla can say goodbye."
"Life su-? Goodbye?" He couldn't understand what was happening. He'd just talked to Saraya earlier that night. "She could wake up! Why would Cayla take her off of life support?"
"Baby... She's got no brain activity. She won't wake up."
"People do! Miracles happen all the time!"
"Marco, sweetie... She's got no chance of that... But she signed up to donate her organs a while ago, and when Dani got sick, she got tested, and she's a match... She's going to save Danielle's life, but she can't do that if they keep her on the machines."
"What about her life? Why should they kill her to save Summer Fucking Rae? Why should she get to live instead of Saraya?"
"Marco, stop it! You shouldn't say things like that. Danielle's a good woman. She deserves a chance... And Saraya won't come back from this. If there was even a slight possibility, Cayla wouldn't do this, but there's not. I'm sorry."
"I gotta go, Mom." He hung up, unable to bring himself to do anything else.
Riley was crying. She'd hung up the phone and was clinging to it like a security blanket, hugging it to her chest as she sobbed and rocked. "Not Saraya," she whispered over and over again.
Marco wanted to run. He wanted to go get high and forget all of this, but seeing Riley looking about six years old and completely vulnerable in her grief, he stayed. He pulled her into his arms and cried with her.
"She was more of a mother to me in the time I spent at NXT than my own mom was in eighteen years," Riley said between sobs.
Marco couldn't even begin to express his own grief, but he held Riley against his body and rocked her, crying into her hair as she sobbed into his chest.
GINNY
She saw her mother's name on her phone in the middle of the night and she instantly flashed back on the day her father died. It had happened late in the evening, but by the time her mother was functional enough to tell anyone other than Ginny, Faye, and Randy, it had been after midnight. Somehow, she knew this news was going to be equally bad.
"Hey, Mom," she answered nervously.
"Ginny... Have you seen the news?" Her mother asked.
"No... What's going on?"
"Randy called me... There was an accident... It was Nicky's rental. Corri, Saraya, and Trixie were all in the car..." Her mother's voice caught.
"Who's dead?" Ginny asked bluntly. She needed to be direct or she'd never get an answer.
"Saraya's on life support... For now."
Ginny's heart caught in her chest. "Oh God... What about the others?" She was already grabbing clothes so she could run out to the hospital.
"Nicky broke his arm and has a concussion, but he's mostly alright. Corri's pretty much fine, just a slight head injury... But Trixie... She suffered massive head trauma."
"Is she...? Will she be okay?"
"The doctors are hoping she will recover, but it's hard to say right now."
"I'm going to the hospital."
"Ginny... Can you tell Faye? I can't have this conversation twice."
Ginny cursed silently. "Sure, Mom. I've got Faye. I love you." She hung up before she could scream. Then she got dressed and grabbed her keys with shaking hands.
Gabe's room was right next to hers. She debated asking him to come with her, but she hated to wake him. It turned out that she didn't have to. He opened his door, fully dressed, and came into the hall. "Gin..." He said, tears in his eyes.
"You know," she said.
"Molly called me. Keith's completely losing it."
"Of course he is. He has every right to freak out."
"I agree. Are you heading over?"
"Yeah... But Mom chickened out of telling Faye and asked me to do it."
"Seriously? Not cool. We'll do it together, okay?"
Ginny nodded, relieved to have the support. Dad never would have put me in this position, she thought. She missed him so much sometimes... The wound suddenly felt fresh. They got to Faye and Scotty's room seconds before Toby and Kristy did. Both looked hysterical. As soon as a groggy Scotty opened the door and saw all of them, he woke up.
"What happened?" He asked cautiously.
Toby hugged his brother and sobbed out, "Saraya's on life support... And they're going to take her off of it."
"What? No, no... That's impossible. She was just at RAW," Scotty said practically. "She... She's fine. We were joking around a couple of hours ago."
"There was an... An accident," Kristy forced herself to say. She started to cry harder. It was Gabe who hugged her because he knew Toby needed to be with his brother. His father was a twin, and he seemed to have a strong understanding of twins because of it.
"I need to see my sister," Ginny told Scotty. He nodded and walked inside. Ginny followed him.
"My fair fairy," he said gently. "I need you to wake up."
Faye let out a quiet sigh before opening her eyes and smiling at him. The smile quickly vanished when she saw Ginny. "Oh no," she said. "What happened?"
"Faye... There's been an accident," Ginny began. Faye sat up as Ginny let the story come out. When she started to cry, Ginny hugged her tightly and said, "We're going to the hospital. Come with us?"
Faye nodded and sniffled. "Give me a couple minutes to get dressed," she said.
Ginny left her and Scotty alone and rejoined Toby, Kristy, and Gabe. She leaned against Gabe and braced herself for what was to come. She wanted to break, too, but Keith, Nicky, Trixie, and Faye needed her to be strong. Since her mother had opted out of acting like a parent to Faye, Ginny knew that she, especially, would need her.
I really hate my mother right now, she thought. I wish you were here, Dad... He'd always known exactly what to do. Ginny was just going to have to wing it.
MOLLY
She had somehow held herself together. Keith had broken so badly after losing Cody, and she could see signs of the same emotions threatening to return now. It had been scary the first time, because Keith was so much like Randy. He almost never broke. It was even scarier now, and Molly knew she needed to be strong for him, especially since Nicky was also broken. He'd stopped speaking and was mostly staring off into space now that he'd insisted Lucas leave to stay with his mother, who was in rough shape after hearing the news. The doctors blamed his concussion, but Molly knew Nicky well enough to know it was much more than that.
Keith was in Saraya's room with Cayla. Molly stayed in the waiting room, allowing herself to breathe as they waited for... Well, she wasn't really sure what they were all waiting for, but the crowd was slowly growing. Everyone stood, mostly in silence, almost like they were holding a vigil... Molly supposed that's exactly what they were doing.
When her Sire came in, with Colby and Joe right behind him, her strong exterior shattered. "Sire..." She whimpered.
Her Sire immediately pulled her into his arms. "I'm here, Offspring," he said gently.
She couldn't stop her tears from falling, and she hated that. Molly wasn't one to cry. She began shaking as she sobbed into her Sire's chest, surprised by the power of her own emotions.
"She's dead, Sire... Saraya's dead... Only a bunch of machines are pretending she's still alive," she said as she looked up into his face.
"I know, Molly..." He pet her, trying to soothe her.
"She's gone. She's not coming back... She's just... Just gone."
"She is." Her Sire understood. She needed him to confirm this. She needed to know that this horrible situation wasn't just a bad dream.
"She's gone, and Trixie doesn't even know, because she's... She's lying in a hospital bed broken with tubes sticking out everywhere and she might have brain damage... She might not be Trixie anymore... And... And she's my best friend. She was my first friend. I decided I liked her way before I decided Nicky and Keith were acceptable friends... And she's hurt... She's more hurt than she's ever been, and she could have died... She did die! Her heart stopped, but she's Trixie, and she came back, but... But it stopped, Sire. Her heart stopped."
"Molly..." He shook his head and held her tighter, knowing there were no words that could possibly make any of this okay.
Joe and Colby held her, too. Nothing was safer than being wrapped in the Shield's embrace. After a minute, Kristy came back in from a coffee run, and Colby went to her.
"Is Riley here?" Joe asked.
"No," Molly said. "She texted, though. She wanted to come to... To say goodbye... But Marco won't. He's refusing to come and she won't leave him." For once, Molly agreed with Riley's decision. Marco shouldn't be alone, but that didn't mean he could handle seeing Saraya on life support.
Molly was distracted as Corri came over. She looked at the Sire and must have seen how hard he was trying not to cry. Even he couldn't handle the emotions hitting him. "I've got her," Corri said. "Go take a walk with Joe and clear your head."
Her Sire looked at Molly. "Go," Molly said with a nod. "I'm okay."
He nodded and promised to hurry back. Corri took Molly's hand. "How are you holding up, sweetie?" She asked.
"Like shit," Molly replied. "I'm trying to hold myself together, but I just had an outburst... I'm just glad Keith didn't see it."
"He'd understand. And I heard you... I thought you might need me."
"Thanks, Corri."
"We all helped your father raise you, Molly. You're practically my daughter, and I know how much Saraya means to you... And Trixie."
"She's my best friend... And I can't fix her."
"No one expects you to, honey."
"But Trix is easy, Corri. Give her a kitten or something shiny, stick a fork in her bully when she's not looking, hug her... All better. Except that's not enough this time."
"I know."
"I've never not known how to help her before."
"Just be here, Molly. That's all she needs. Trixie's going to be okay. I'm positive of that."
"She died, Corri."
"I know. I know she did, and short of the day a lunatic held my sister, my husband, my niece, and some of my best friends at gunpoint because he wanted to shoot me, that was the scariest moment of my life... But her heart started again, and her vitals are strong now, and she's going to be alright."
"How alright will she really be when she finds out that Saraya's gone?"
Corri sighed. "About as alright as Cay, I'd guess... But they'll have all of us to lean on."
"Keith's broken."
"I know... But he'll get through it. Randy and I are already trying to figure out how to convince him to talk to someone... He never healed from Cody. Without help, this will overwhelm him."
"And Nicky..."
Corri looked like she might cry. "Nicky was driving. He's going to have a harder time with this... But Lucas excels at taking care of him, and he's got a ton of other support. He needs to take time off because he's injured anyway, so we'll make sure he takes care of his mental health, too."
"Work... Shit, Smackdown's taping tonight... I... I need to rearrange the plans... Figure out who needs to miss it... Trixie had a match scheduled, but she... She..."
"Stop," a new voice said. "I'll take care of everything. You just take some time off, okay?"
Molly turned to see Shane. "But... It's my job to-"
"Molly. Stop." He pulled her into a tight, reassuring hug. "Saraya and Trixie are your family. Your only job right now is to be here with the people you love to help each other get through this." He turned to Corri and hugged her. "I came as soon as I could. Are you alright? Is Nicky?"
"I'm fine. Barely even concussed," Corri said. "Nicky's not doing so well, but physically, it's just his arm and a concussion."
"And Cayla?"
"Way too calm. She's on autopilot. I don't think she's letting herself process any of this right now."
"Has she eaten?"
"Not yet, but I don't think that's intentional. Everything's been too chaotic."
"Let me know if she needs anything. That goes for all of you. Whatever you need, I'm here. I already called in every counselor on the payroll, too."
"Thanks, Shane," Corri said. She looked at Molly and hesitated before asking, "Can you call Paul? He may be an asshole, but he's still sort of family, and Cayla may want to see him when this is all over."
"I didn't even think to call Paul or Stephanie," Molly said. "But for this... I should have."
"Molly, it's not your job to do that kind of thing."
Her chest ached and she began talking too quickly, rambling. "I called a ton of other people... I tried to think of everyone, but-"
"Molly." Shane hugged her tightly until her breathing calmed down. "Look at me." She did. "I know that everything has always fallen to you for the past five years, but I've got this. I will handle everything. Take time. Mourn. Scream. Punch things... But don't worry about taking care of anyone else. Take care of yourself for once."
"But... They need me," she said weakly.
"They do. And that means you have to take care of yourself first."
Somehow, just hearing Shane say he had everything handled made Molly feel better. With that weight off of her shoulders, she felt like she could actually take a minute to grieve, to process, and even to be afraid. Molly was rarely frightened, but the fact that she'd nearly lost Trixie, too, was too much for her. When she finally admitted that to herself, she felt better.
"I want to see Trix," she told Corri.
"Go on. I think Danny's in with her. He keeps going back and forth between her room and his mother's," Corri said.
Molly nodded and headed toward the room she'd avoided. She'd peaked her head in, seen Trixie looking so small in the mess of wires, and had run back to the waiting room. She could do it for her Sire. She could do it for Lucky... But not knowing how to help Trixie had made the idea of staying with her too terrifying.
Danny sat at her bedside looking exhausted and holding her hand. "You okay?" Molly asked him. She suspected no one else had bothered to ask him that.
"No," Danny admitted. "But I'm trying to be."
"Your mom will pull through. There's no stronger heart than Saraya's," she promised him. Molly wasn't the sort to offer empty sentiments. She meant that. If anyone's heart could save Danielle, it was Saraya's. Knowing that gave Molly the slightest comfort. If Saraya really had to die, at least something good would come out of it.
"Trixie's going to hate me... I feel like I'm killing her mother to save mine."
"You didn't cause this, Danny."
"Trixie wanted to skip RAW and come with me. I told her no. That's why... That's how she ended up in Nicky's car... And that's how Saraya ended up in the car with her..."
"Danny... None of this is your fault. Not even a little."
He looked at her with eyes that were completely lost. Molly hugged him instinctively. Then she looked at her best friend and declared, "Enough sleep, Trixie... I need to know how bad this is." She knelt beside her. "Time to wake up, Trix," she said gently. Trixie didn't stir. Molly tried again. "Come on, Trix... Give me a sign you're okay." When she still didn't respond, Molly cried out, "Oh no! Someone's picking on that cute little puppy!"
Trixie's eyes fluttered open and Molly nearly laughed as Danny stared at her. "Seriously?" He asked her. "I've been trying to wake her for hours."
"What can I say? I know her," Molly said.
Trixie's hand twitched three times before she managed to squeeze Molly's. Suddenly, feeling Trixie gripping her hand was the greatest thing to ever happen. Relief flooded through Molly as she looked into her eyes. "I'm here, Trix... Danny and I are both here," Molly said.
Trixie tried to reply, but only incoherent sounds came out. She was able to make the "mmm" sound, but nothing else seemed to be working.
A doctor happened to come into the room. He smiled brightly at Trixie. "Look who's awake!" He said. "Trixie, I'm Doctor Ramos. Do you know where you are?"
Trixie tried to respond, but only managed more "mmmm" sounds. She looked at Molly with terror in her eyes.
"It's alright," Dr. Ramos said soothingly. "Don't push yourself to speak just yet. Let's try this. Blink once for yes and twice for no. Do you understand me, Trixie?"
Trixie blinked once hard. "Okay, that's great," Dr. Ramos said. "Do you remember being in an accident?" Trixie blinked once again. "Good. You're doing great, Trixie. You did suffer a very serious head trauma, but you're stable, and the fact that you woke up is a great sign. Can you wiggle your toes for me, Trixie?" Trixie closed her eyes and Molly knew she was trying, but she didn't move. Finally, she blinked twice.
"That's okay, Trixie," Dr. Ramos insisted as fear began to overwhelm Molly. He touched Trixie's foot and tugged slightly on her big toe. "Can you feel that?" Trixie blinked once. "That's really good, Trixie." Dr. Ramos repeated the test in several other spots. Trixie felt everything and her reflexes were basically in tact.
"What does this mean for her?" Danny asked tonelessly. Molly had seen him do this when things got bad with his mother, too. Danny flipped the switch and turned off his emotions so he could do whatever needed to be done. It would hit him later. She made a mental note to keep an eye on him.
"It looks like Trixie's brain is just having some trouble giving instructions to her body... In a couple of days, we'll see if she's still struggling. If she is, it's going to take a lot of work, but we may be able to get her back to normal... Her vitals are good, her body still feels everything, and she understands us. These are very good signs, but this may be a very long journey. It's possible that Trixie will need to relearn how to do even the most basic of things, like a toddler would. For now, we will take this one day at a time."
Molly's heart sank. Her best friend couldn't speak and could only communicate by blinking. The doctor was optimistic, but what if he was wrong? What if they couldn't fix her? Her mind turned to Ricky, paralyzed and living in a rehabilitation facility, and she nearly started to cry, but Trixie seemed to somehow sense this and squeezed her hand. Molly decided that if Trixie was still trying to comfort her, even in this state, the least she could do was suck it up and believe in her. If anyone could come back from this, it was Trixie.
Guilt ate at Molly as she realized Trixie still didn't know about Saraya. Her mother was on life support with, at best, a couple more hours to live, and Trixie was too hurt to even see her so she could say goodbye.
She's going to miss the funeral, Molly realized in horror. There was no way Trixie would be out of the hospital before Saraya was buried. She looked at Trixie and gently stroked her arm as Danny kissed her other hand.
"I love you," Danny told her. "I love you so much..."
Molly saw Trixie squeeze Danny's hand. She decided it was as good a time as any to leave. "I'm going to go for a walk," she told Trixie. "I promise I'll be back."
Trixie moved her head slightly, watching Molly walk away. Molly tried to focus on the good news, but there was still so much they didn't know... There were still too many things that might go wrong.
KEITH
So many people had come and gone, each saying their goodbyes. Although Saraya's brothers and father were on a plane from London, there was no way they would make it in time to see her before Cayla had them turn off the machines. Danielle wasn't going to last much longer. They had to act quickly or she'd die, too. Somehow, Roy and Zak understood and had given their blessing. Keith wasn't sure Saraya's father felt the same, but he hadn't argued.
He looked up as he felt more people arrive. "Matt... Nick..." Cayla cried out. She'd held herself together so well as people had come to say goodbye, but this was different. She began crying as Matt immediately pulled her into his arms, followed by Nick. They cried with her.
"Get over here, Kiddo," Matt said to him, bringing Keith into the hug.
"Where's the Godson?" Nick asked, his voice hoarse. Keith could tell he'd been crying for hours.
"In the waiting room," Keith said. "With my parents."
"Is he okay? Corri said he was concussed and broke his arm, but... Is he okay?" Matt asked.
"I don't think so," Keith admitted. "He won't talk to anyone, and he kicked Lucas out...Sent him to his mom... Tenille collapsed from the news... She's having a rough pregnancy as it is."
"We'll get him to talk," Nick promised. "But first... Cay, what can we do?"
"Just be here," Cayla said. "That's enough."
"Kenny's on his way, but..." Matt sighed. "It took us a while to reach him. He's in Japan. He got the first flight out, but he won't be here before..." He let the sentence trail off.
Cayla nodded. "At least he's on his way."
"So's Stu. I hope you guys don't mind, but you know even with how much of a dick he could be, Stu always dropped everything to have Saraya's back," Nick said. "He was with Kenny when I finally got him to pick up his phone... I could hear him crying. I think this broke him."
"I think this broke everyone," Matt added.
Keith knew they were talking about Wade Barrett, who'd had a complicated history with his mother that still made his father curse his name, but they were right. Stu had loved Saraya. When she'd been in the UK during the shooting and had panicked at the news, Stu had been the one to swoop in and get her to the airport. He'd even insisted on paying for her flight home. According to Saraya, Stu had grown up a great deal in the last two decades and he was a good man.
"I... I forgot to call him," Cayla said. "I should have called Stu... She'd want him here..."
"Cay... It's not your job to call everyone. Other people can handle that," Nick said gently.
"Fred's on his way... He was in Canada doing some charity work with Thaddeus... They're both coming, but they won't be here in time..." Cayla took a deep breath. "But they'll be here soon... Which is good... Trixie needs Fred..."
Keith suspected Trixie wasn't the only one. Fred wasn't just Trixie's biological father. He was one of Cayla's best friends, and they'd been through some of the hardest moments of her life together.
The Bucks stayed in the room for a little bit before they finally said goodbye. When they left, Cayla sighed. "Keith... Can you go get your parents? And Nicky? And anyone else who... Who should be here?" She asked.
He knew what she meant. It was time. He nodded numbly. "Of course," he said. He stepped out of the room and forced himself to walk toward the waiting room, knowing when he returned, his aunt was going to die.
MARCO
He'd distracted himself by fucking Riley so wildly, neither of them could think of anything else. Afterward, he was ready to do it again, but Riley stopped him. "Marco... We should be there," she said.
"No," he said. "I can't do that. I won't do that."
"I get it. Really... But you'll never forgive yourself if you don't go say goodbye to her while you still can."
He hated to admit it, but he knew she was right. Reluctantly, he'd forced himself to get dressed. When he and Riley arrived at the hospital, they headed straight for Saraya's room. He saw the tubes and machines and the way she lay there, motionless and even paler than usual, and he turned from the door.
"I can't do this," he whispered. His chest was tight. He couldn't breathe.
"Marco-" Riley protested.
"No! This was a mistake. I can't... I can't!"
Riley tried to comfort him, but he pulled away from her. That was when Cayla called to him, "Marco? I'm really glad you're here, sweetheart."
Marco cursed inwardly. If Cayla could do this, so could he. Taking a deep breath, he walked into the room. Riley lingered in the doorway. "Come on in, Riley," Cayla added. "She'd be glad you both made it."
Riley joined him. She looked at Saraya and let out a cry of "Oh, God... God, this sucks..." Then she started rambling in Italian and Marco couldn't follow her. Finally, she kissed Saraya's cheek and said, "I love you... Mi dispiace..." He knew that phrase. It meant I'm sorry.
Riley looked at him. "I'll give you some privacy," she said. He nodded and she left the room after giving Cayla a tearful hug.
He looked down at Saraya, but he knew she wasn't Saraya anymore. "Thank you," he whispered. "You have no idea how much you mean to me." He couldn't hold back tears as he touched her cheek. He shook his head and said, "I'm sorry for your loss, Cayla."
"And I'm sorry for yours," Cayla replied. "I know how much she means to you, Marco. And she knew, too. Trust me." She hugged him. "She loved you, Marco. It meant a lot to her that you trusted her so much."
"Thank you for saying that."
"Marco... If you ever need anything... Anything at all... You can call me."
He nodded. "I should go," he said.
"You can stay... You're family."
"I.." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Cayla. I just can't be here for that... I can't do it."
She nodded. "It's okay." She hugged him again. "Take care of yourself, alright?"
"You, too." Marco turned and left, running from the room as the Ortons, Molly, Danny, and the others came down the hall. He couldn't be there when they pulled the plug. He'd snap.
Riley chased after him. "Are you okay?" She asked.
"No," he admitted. She didn't ask anything else, but followed him out in silence.
At the entrance, a man was waiting to be picked up. Someone said to him, "You were so lucky, David... Falling asleep at the wheel could have killed you, but you've barely got a scratch on you."
"I hit another car, Helen. People were hurt... They tell me someone died," he said.
Suddenly, Marco knew he was looking at the monster responsible for the crash. "You son of a bitch!" He shouted. He flung the man against the wall of the hospital and started throwing punches.
"Marco!" Riley screamed. "Marco, stop!"
"He killed her!" Marco shouted, attacking him harder. His grief turned to rage.
"Marco, enough." Someone said firmly, getting between him and his target. The man was trembling. His companion was screaming. Marco looked at the person who'd stepped in and realized it was Dean. Joe stood beside him. He put a comforting hand on Riley's shoulder that she shockingly didn't shrug off.
"He killed her," Marco said again.
"And he's not worth getting arrested over," Dean said. He looked at the man. "Get the fuck out of here before I change my mind."
The man and his companion ran. Dean looked at Marco. "You okay?" He asked.
"No," Marco said. He ran off. He saw Riley shrug apologetically before she followed him.
DANNY
Several people had gathered in Saraya's room and in the hallway, but everyone was giving Cayla her distance. He'd decided he needed to be there for this. His mother was prepped and ready for surgery. They couldn't be there when the last of the machines were turned off because the machine had to continue pumping Saraya's heart until they harvested it, but they'd be there to say their final goodbyes together.
"I love you," Cayla whispered. She'd crawled into the bed beside Saraya and she held her now. Everyone was silent as Cayla began to sing softly. "I need a love that will release me, keep me honest, keep me happy... I need a peace with understanding, trying to find a softer landing. I wanna know when I can change this, or give it up and just embrace it... I need to find a way of letting it go... Everything falls apart. I've taken too much, given up. I am twisted, burning, breaking up. I need to find a way of letting it go... When everything falls apart... I could try, but I'd never take it. Yell and I will never be heard. You will be my phoenix burn... I could run, but I'd never reach it. Leave but I might never return... You will be my phoenix burn..."
Danny knew why she'd chosen to sing that song to Saraya in her final moments... Instead of traditional wedding vows, Cayla had sung Phoenix Burn to Saraya during their wedding. His mother had gushed more than once about how romantic that had been. Now, it broke the heart of every single person there.
When the song ended, Cayla began sobbing harder. Her voice had cracked with tears after half a verse, but now she couldn't breathe. Nicky backed away, trying to leave. Lucas, who was back, tried to comfort him, but he shrugged him off and ran. Lucas stared after him before walking away, clearly feeling helpless. The Young Bucks chased after Nicky, leaving Corri and Randy to try to comfort Cayla. Randy finally picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the room. The others followed silently, unable to find any appropriate words.
Danny was confused about how to feel. In just a few moments, those machines would be turned off and Saraya would die... But his mother would live. He struggled not to scream as emotions overwhelmed him. Everyone had someone with them... Keith had Molly. Ginny had Gabe. Faye had Scotty. Cayla had Randy and Corri. He stood there, alone, staring into the room long after Saraya's bed had been wheeled away. Finally, he headed to Trixie's room, uncertain of what else to do.
TRIXIE
She woke up to find Danny returning to her room. Trixie saw the look on his face and desperately wished she could remember how to comfort him. She looked at him as he sat beside her.
"Mmmm..." Trixie said.
"Shhh... It's okay, Trix," Danny replied soothingly.
But it wasn't. "Mmmm!" She tried harder.
"Trix-"
"Mmmm! Mmmm... Mmmmuh..." Muh? Well, it was closer, anyway. It gave Trixie the strength to try again. It had been her first word as a baby... Maybe it could be her first word again. "Mmmmuh... Mmmmuh...?"
"Trixie, honey-"
"Mum?" She finally got out. She was actually quite proud of herself for a moment, until she saw Danny's face fall.
"Trix..." He sighed, tears in his eyes, and he shook his head.
She understood, but it was impossible. "Mmmmmum," she said again.
"I'm so sorry, Trixie..." Danny was shaking as he said, "She didn't make it."
She wanted to scream, but what came out was an almost animalistic whimper. She started crying, her chest tight, unable to breathe as panic set in. It couldn't be true. Her mum couldn't be gone. She started making terrible noises, clutching at her chest as best she could because her hands were still kind of uncooperative.
"Shhh, Luv..." Her mum whispered in her head. "You have to calm down, my little duck... They'll sedate you."
Maybe it was her mum's spirit, or maybe she'd just been hurt so badly that her brain was hallucinating, but either way, she was right. Trixie forced herself to slow her breathing.
"Trixie," Dr. Ramos said as he came rushing in, "we can sedate you if you need us to."
Trixie blinked hard twice. Dr. Ramos nodded. "Okay," he said as he checked her vitals. "If you can stay this calm, I won't sedate you."
Trixie managed to nod slightly. Danny squeezed her hand and she squeezed it back. She had to get better... She knew she had a fight ahead of her... Part of her wanted to give up, but that wasn't her style. Trixie always found her way back, and she'd do it again, but she wasn't sure how. A single moment had turned her entire world upside-down and even if she got better, her mum would still be gone.
"Trix... I'm sorry," Danny said again.
She looked at him and remembered his mom was dying, too. "Mmmm..." She said. She sighed in frustration and tried again. "Mmmm-mum," she said, motioning toward him as best she could.
"My mom?" He asked, somehow understanding. She gave a slight nod. "She's... She's in surgery, Trix." He paused. "Your mom... Um... She made a decision to donate your mum's organs... And... And Saraya was a match for my mom." He stared at his feet guiltily.
Trixie understood then. Her mum's death had saved Danielle's life... And as much as that hurt, Trixie knew it's exactly what her mum would have wanted. Tears streamed down Trixie's cheeks as she squeezed Danny's hand. She couldn't put it into words, but she hoped he understood that she wasn't mad at him. She didn't really know what she felt, but she knew that much. She'd have to figure the rest out as time went by.