Chapter 27: The Accident

Benoit felt his breath stop for a moment as well as his heart. A horrible feeling went into the pit of his stomach.

"Is she okay?" he asked Mrs. Drysdale.

"Well, she broke her ankle, some ribs, one of her wrists and knocked her head pretty bad."

"How bad?"

"...She's in a coma."

Benoit's eyes widened and he sat down on the couch. "A coma?"

"Yes. Would you like to come see her?"

Benoit quickly got up, grabbed his overcoat and began putting on his shoes. "Yes, I'm leaving now."

"Alright. We're in room 1625 on the 6th floor."

"Thank you for calling me, Mrs. Drysdale," Benoit said as he put on his overcoat.

"You're welcome. We'll see you when you get here."

Benoit hung up the phone, got out the door, locked it and ran down the hallway.

Benoit watched Julia and Marta stand in front of everyone with a frown on his face before looking down at the piece of paper in his hand.

"You've always been good to me," Marta began.

Benoit wanted to look at the results merely out of curiosity. He put on his glasses.

"And what I'm about to say isn't gonna be easy and you're gonna be upset."

Benoit opened the piece of paper and skimmed it, looking at the results of the blood work.

"But I thought after what you've gone through the last few days..."

Benoit's mouth parted as he stared at the piece of paper. The blood work was all normal.

"...that you deserved..."

Suddenly Benoit found his central piece. Everything clicked together in his head.

"...to hear it from me."

Benoit walked slowly over to the two girls."I-"

"Excuse me!" Benoit said, ripping his glasses off and walking into the living room.

Everyone looked at Benoit in confusion as he was still gathering all the puzzle pieces in his head. The arc's terminus had finally revealed itself and in his mind, he went running towards it.

"You have not been good to her," Benoit snarled with a disgusted look on his face. "You have all treated her like shit to steal back a fortune that you lost and she deserves! You're a pack of vultures at the feast! Knives out, beaks bloody! Well," Benoit took a sharp breath, "you're not gettin' bailed out, not this time! Miss Cabrera has decided, definitively, not to renounce the inheritance."

"What?" Walt said in disbelief.

"What?" both Julia and Marta said in shock.

"And furthermore," Benoit said, pointing his finger about, "it will be my professional recommendation to the local authorities that the manner of death in the case of Harlan Thrombey is ruled as suicide!" Benoit exclaimed with a fierceness in his voice. "And the case is closed."

"Blanc?" Marta asked in confusion.

"Thank y'all for comin'. Goodbye," the detective said. He looked at Julia and Marta, grabbed them and pulled them out of the living room.

"What's going on? Just tell me."

"Just hold on a second, I'll explain in a minute," he said, dragging both the women to the parlour room.

He gave Julia a grin and he couldn't be happier in that moment. Marta didn't murder anyone and Julia was not an accomplice: they were both innocent.

And the one responsible? It was Ransom.

"I just wanna come clean, okay?" Marta begged. "It's over."

"Almost," he said with a hand raised. He smiled at Julia and gave her hand an affectionate but brief kiss. "The game is still afoot, Watson."

Benoit arrived at the hospital in record time. He parked in a parking ramp, got out, almost forgot to lock his car and ran through the area to the building. He got on an elevator, pushing the button for the 6th floor. As the elevator whirred and Benoit felt it move, he tried to recover his breath. His heart was beating so fast, too.

The elevator dinged and Benoit got out, looking around at the room numbers. He went to the desk and looked at the nurse sitting behind it.

"Excuse me, which way to room 1625?" he asked.

The nurse looked at him and directed him to go left. Benoit thanked her and went walking down the hallway, passing by the room numbers quickly. The hallway curved and eventually he saw the Thrombey family and Marta in the family waiting room along with Lieutenant Elliot. What was he doing here?

Benoit walked into the area, trying his best to remain calm. "So, uh...how is she?"

Joni raised a brow. "Detective Blanc...what are you doing here?" she asked curiously.

Meg rolled her eyes. "He's dating Julia, Mom."

Joni looked at Meg. "But I thought they broke up?"

Benoit sighed. "We got back together earlier this evening."

Joni looked at Benoit and made an "oh" face. "I see."

Just then, Lieutenant Elliot came up to him. "Ah, Benny. Um, we need to talk.

Benoit blinked. "Elliot. Why are you here, if I may ask?"

Elliot sighed deeply. "Well, the circumstances of Miss Drysdale's accident...it seems someone ran her off the road."

Benoit took a deep, shaky breath and leaned his hand against the wall. "Oh Lord...let me guess. A big black pick up truck?"

"Mmhmm."

"Wait, the same truck that chased her through South Boston a while back?" Linda asked as she walked to them both.

"The very same," Elliot replied.

Benoit shut his eyes and turned around, feeling the urge to punch something. "How do you know the truck ran her off the road?" he asked as he turned back around.

"There were some witnesses. Truck was chasing her down and collided into the side of Miss Drysdale's CR-V...and due to the slippery roads, Julia lost control of her car. It...rolled down a hill, Benny."

"...Shit," Benoit said.

"Yeah, and that's not the worst of it," Elliot commented with regret in his voice. "The witnesses observed a woman getting out of the vehicle and tossing a Molotov cocktail on Julia's car."

"Oh Jesus!" Benoit nearly shouted, pure agony overcoming his voice.

"If it wasn't for those witnesses, Julia would be dead by now. They got her out of the car just in time," Elliot explained.

"Did she get burned at all?"

"No."

Benoit sighed in relief. "But she's in a coma right now."

"Yeah. It...it doesn't look good, Benny."

Benoit's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

Linda looked down. "Doctor said she's got some swelling in the brain and...she might not make it."

Benoit's face dropped and all the blood drained from it. "Wh-what? No no no, no...that can't be...that..."

"She's in surgery right now, though. They're gonna try to stop the swelling."

Benoit rubbed his face, feeling woozy. "I must sit down," he said, brushing past them and sitting in a chair. He elbowed his knees, leaned over and held his head in his hands. "I need to...Jesus..."

Benoit felt absolutely horrible. His girlfriend was in a coma and she might die. No, this would not do. He knew Julia was a fighter and he had faith that she would make it. She had to. If she didn't, Benoit had no idea what he would do. He couldn't have just gotten her back only to lose her again.

"Do you want some water or anything?" Meg asked him.

Benoit nodded and Meg got up to go get him something to drink. Elliot crouched down in front of Benoit and sighed.

"Benny, we are gonna get Emily and she is gonna go to jail, alright? I'll make sure of it. Personally."

"Who's Emily?" Walt asked.

"My ex. The one who has been trying to kill Julia," Benoit uttered sadly.

"Your ex?!" Linda shouted. "Your ex is behind this whole thing?!"

"Yes, and apparently she's been in cahoots with the Heller family, too," Elliot said.

"Oh for crying out loud," Richard exclaimed madly. "This is such horseshit."

"Richard..." Linda said. "Calm down."

"No, I won't calm down! If it wasn't for you, Benoit, Julia would be fine right now!"

Benoit felt a lump in his throat. Perhaps this was his fault. If he had just stayed away, Julia wouldn't be on the verge of dying right now.

"Don't blame him, Richard," Linda said. "This isn't his fault. It's his stupid ex's fault."

Benoit sat up straight and wiped his mouth as Meg came back with some water. "Here you go," she said, handing him the cup.

"Thank you," he said, draining the cup entirely. "I should've insisted further on her comin' home with me."

"What do you mean?" Joni asked.

"Well, I asked her to come back to my place inmediately but she said she needed her car the next morning because she was doing a radio show interview tomorrow. I...I should've made her come with me."

Marta came and sat next to Benoit. "This isn't your fault. Don't blame yourself for this."

Just then, Jessica, Julia's publicist, came running down the hallway. She slowly came back and walked into the waiting area.

"I came as soon as I heard. How is she?" Jessica asked.

"How did you hear about this?" Benoit asked.

"Her accident is all over the news and the internet."

Elliot turned to face Jessica. "What?"

Jessica pulled out her phone, started typing something in, then showed the phone to everyone. It was security cam footage of the accident. Everyone huddled over to look as they watched the truck hit Julia's car and roll down the hill. Then they saw Emily get out of the truck, light a bottle with a rag on fire and throw it at the CR-V.

"Oh my god," Linda said, gasping.

It then showed the truck driving away and some people running down the hill. Benoit saw them trying to get Julia out of the car. Eventually her body was dragged out of the burning car by a man while someone else was recording on their phone.

"Jesus," Elliot said. "Look, we got the license plate number on the truck," he pointed out.

Benoit lowered his head, thankful that Julia wasn't burned alive. Still, it was a hard thing to watch. He looked at Elliot with narrowed eyes.

"Lieutenant..." Benoit began. "You better find Emily before I do. Because if I locate her first, I'll-"

"Don't finish that sentence, Benoit," Elliot said, pulling out his notepad. "Can you go back to where the truck is in view, Miss?"

Benoit, Marta and the Thrombey family waited in the waiting area for what seemed like hours. Benoit was pacing back and forth, biting on his thumbnail. People had tried to encourage him to sit down but he refused. He couldn't sit or stand still about this.

It was at that point when a doctor in blue scrubs came into the area. "Are you the Thrombeys?" he asked.

"Most of us," Walt replied. "Is Julia gonna be okay?"

The doctor smiled. "She survived the surgery and we stopped the swelling."

"Oh thank God," Donna said.

"She is stable for now, but she's still in a coma. All we can do for that is wait, but I'd say she's gonna pull through."

Benoit took a few deep breaths of relief. "Can we see her?" he asked the doctor.

"We just got her settled back in her room, so yes."

"Thank you, doctor," Linda said.

"Yes, thank you," Richard repeated.

Benoit and everyone else thanked the doctor and he left. Benoit immediately left the area and went looking for room 1625. When he found it, he took a deep breath, put his hand on the door handle and opened the door.

He was not quite prepared for what he saw next.

Julia was lying on the bed in a hospital gown, a white blanket covering her from the waist down. She had a nasty bruise on the side of her face, a swollen eye, and part of her head had been shaved. There were stitches on the shaved part. She was hooked up to a ventilator and a tube was sticking out of her mouth while another tube was in her nose. There was a bag full of a clear liquid hanging up beside her hooked to a tube that was attached to the top of her hand.

As he walked in to examine her more, the heart monitor beeping to show her heart rate, he noticed an ace bandage wrapped around her other wrist, hand and arm. They must've not gotten around to putting a cast on yet.

Benoit pulled up a chair and sat down beside her, putting a hand on her arm.

"Oh God, Julia..." he whispered.

Seeing Julia like this knotted up his insides and made him feel like he was going to throw up. But he did not. Instead he just sat there, looking at her bruised face.

"Benoit," Marta said behind him. "She's gonna be okay."

"I know, but I just want her to wake up."

For the next four days, Benoit spent his time in the hospital. People came and went, but Julia's parents and Marta were also there most of the time.

Benoit went home once to shower, grab some clothes and some books so he could read while time passed by. Other than that, to eat and use the bathroom, he never left her side.

He spent a good portion just talking to her unconscious form, updating her on the situation with Emily and the Hellers, and occasionally reading her own books to her and commenting on them for her benefit.

He was in the middle of critiquing "The Cold and Damp," chuckling to himself as he did. After all, he did read romance novels.

"I don't understand why you had the doctor kiss her patient so early in the book, Miss Drysdale, but I submit it must be for a reason," he said outloud. "But I like her friend Michael. He seems like a good guy, but I think he might have a crush on your main character. That won't do for the recovering police officer, will it..."

Benoit went back to reading silently for a few minutes before shutting the book. He wanted to actually read to her, but not one of her own books. No, he wanted to read a book she didn't know. He set "The Cold and Damp" down into his bag and roamed around for another one.

"Hmm, let's see...ah, how about this one?" he asked. "Outlander? I heard this one is really good. It involves time travel. I think you might enjoy this one."

Just then, Benoit heard the door open and he turned around to see Richard walking in.

"Ah, Mr. Drysdale," Benoit greeted. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," Richard replied, walking over to the bed. "How's my kiddo doing?"

"Same as before," Benoit said with a sigh.

Richard huffed. "That sucks."

"Yes."

Richard cleared his throat. "Listen, um...about the other day when I blamed you, I'd like to apologize for that."

Benoit arched a brow in confusion, not expecting this. "You do?"

"Yeah," he said, grabbing a chair and scooting it across the floor to sit next to Benoit. "I know it's not your fault that Julia's...in this condition. I was just...really mad about the whole situation," Richard said, rubbing his palms together gently while leaning over.

"Understandable, Mr. Drysdale."

Richard nodded and looked at the book in Benoit's hand. "What's that?"

"Hmm?" Benoit looked at the book. "Oh, just a book I was about to read to Julia."

Richard jerked his head. "What's it about?"

"It's about a woman from the 1940's who gets sent back in time two hundred years."

"Huh. Interesting."

Just then another person entered the room. Both Richard and Benoit looked back to see a nurse come in.

"Hello, just here to check on Miss Drysdale," the nurse said, a male in his mid twenties with short brown hair and blue eyes.

He walked over to Julia and began checking her vitals. Benoit watched the man carefully. "How is she doing?" he asked.

"Hmm, no changes as far as I can see, sir," the nurse said. "I should only be a few minutes checking her over."

Benoit sighed and looked at Richard. "So, you hungry?" Richard asked him.

Benoit nodded. "I could eat."

"Let's go get some lunch downstairs."

Benoit nodded, put the book down and stood up, walking over to Julia and kissing her cheek.

"I'll be back, chickapen," he said before walking with Richard to the door. Just as the two men were about to walk out the door, Benoit heard a groan. Benoit and Richard turned around to look at Julia. "What's happening?" Benoit asked.

"I think she might be waking up." The nurse bent over to look at Julia's face. "Miss Drysdale? Can you hear me?"

Benoit and Richard hurried back over to the side of Julia's bed. Her eyes started fluttering a bit and a very soft, almost inaudible groan came out of her. Benoit's eyes went wide.

"Chickapen?" Benoit said.

Julia's eyes fluttered more and another groan came out of her. Then slowly, but surely, her eyes opened and she blinked a few times while looking around. Her eyes seemed unfocused, like she wasn't really seeing anything until her eyes landed on the nurse.

"Julia, can you hear me? Blink once if you can hear me," the nurse said.

Julia slowly shut her eyes then opened them. Benoit cheered internally and Richard started laughing. "Atta girl, Julia!" Richard exclaimed.

Julia's eyes suddenly widened and she lifted up her arms in a clumsy manner to reach for her breathing tube, trying to pull it out, but the nurse grabbed both her casted arm and her good arm to stop her.

"Julia, I know it feels uncomfortable but you cannot take the tube out of your mouth, okay?" the nurse said. The heart monitor started going off and Julia looked as if she was panicking. "Julia, I need you to calm down, okay?"

Tears formed in her eyes and Benoit grabbed her hand. "Chickapen, listen to the nurse, okay?"

Julia moaned again and looked at Benoit slowly, tears now falling from the corners of her eyes. She looked frightened so Benoit kissed her hand.

"I'm here, Julia. So is your dad," Benoit whispered.

"Hey kiddo," Richard said.

Julia looked over at her father and blinked, her eyes still wide. She tried reaching for the tube again but both the nurse and Benoit held her hands down. The heart monitor was still going off.

"Julia, you have to calm down," the nurse said. "You need to relax. Everything is fine, and you are fine, okay?"

Julia's eyes fluttered again before shutting. The heart monitor stopped beeping like crazy and soon her heart rate went back to normal. Benoit sighed and lowered his head to her shoulder before looking at her again. Julia was unconscious once more.

"Is she back in a coma?" Richard asked.

"Well, yes and no. She's coming out of it but awareness comes in intervals. Over the next few days she'll wake up more and more."

Benoit smiled at the nurse. "But she is coming out of it. That's good, right?"

"Of course. And considering she tried to take out her tube, I'd say that's excellent."

"Why would that be excellent?" Richard asked with a sour face.

"Sometimes a coma patient will lose their ability to move for a while. She's lucky."

Richard huffed a happy sigh and looked at Benoit. "I'm gonna go call Linda and tell her the good news."

Benoit watched Richard leave and he sat back down next to Julia, holding her hand. He had high hopes for her recovery now that she'd woken up, even if it was just for a few minutes.

The next couple of days went by with Julia going in and out of consciousness and Benoit left once for a shower and another bunch of clothes. When he got back, he resumed sitting in his usual chair by Julia's side before grabbing Outlander to read to her.

A few chapters later, Benoit heard Julia moan. He set the book down after inserting a bookmark and scooted closer to her.

"Chickapen? Are you wakin' up?" Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at Benoit. She blinked a few times and reached for him. He took her hand and kissed it. "Hi," he said.

Julia blinked again and tried to talk but she couldn't. A confused look formed on her face.

"Sorry, Julia, but you're currently on a ventilator and cannot speak."

Julia groaned and lifted her hand from his, making a writing motion with her fingers. Benoit smiled and scooched back to look through his bag of things. He pulled out a small notepad and pen, got close to Julia once more and handed the items to her. As she began scribbling something down, she looked at her wrist cast and blinked before looking at Benoit.

"You broke your wrist. And your ankle. And some ribs."

Julia finished writing and showed him the pad.

How the fuck did that happen?

Benoit guffawed loudly. "Well, at least your personality is still together." Julia rolled her eyes at him. "You were in a car accident, Julia."

Her eyes went wide. Benoit was told by the doctors that she would have some memory loss going on so the next thing she wrote down didn't surprise him.

Was I in Marta's car? Is she okay?

Benoit sighed. "Marta's fine and was not with you. You were driving Commander when it occurred."

Julia scrunched up her brows and wrote something else down before showing him.

I don't remember that.

"I expected as much. The doctors said you were gonna suffer from some short term memory loss."

Julia wrote another thing down.

Is Commander okay?

Benoit frowned at her. "No, she isn't. Thing is, chickapen, it...well, it was on fire when people pulled you from the wreckage."

Julia's eyes widened once more and she scribbled something else after turning to a fresh page.

How did it catch on fire?

Benoit rubbed his face and took a deep breath. "Emily ran you off the road and threw a Molotov cocktail at your car."

Julia groaned and wrote again.

Your ex is really pissing me off.

"Me too," Benoit said. "And the cops still haven't caught her yet."

Let's not talk about that crazy bitch anymore. Why am I on a ventilator?

"Because you were in a coma."

A coma? For how long?

"About four days. You've been here almost a week."

Julia turned to a new page.

Jesus Christ, why me?!

Benoit laughed loudly. "I don't know, chickapen."

Julia looked around a bit before writing something else down.

I think I was dreaming while I was under. I kept hearing voices, especially yours. It was like you were narrating my dreams.

Benoit smiled and kissed her forehead. "I'm so glad you heard me, chickapen. I was talking and reading to you."

Were my parents here?

"Everyone was here. Your family, Marta...even Jessica came by a few times."

Julia swiped to a fresh page.

My head hurts a lot. Did I get a concussion?

Benoit frowned and held her hand again. "You had to have surgery on your brain, Julia. There was some swelling and they had to fix it."

Suddenly Julia started crying and she covered her eyes with her fingers after dropping the pen and notepad. Benoit frowned deeper and kissed her cheek.

"It's okay. The doctors think you're gonna be just fine despite all that," he murmured. "Please don't cry."

Julia sobbed a little bit longer before wiping her eyes and looking at Benoit. She reached around for her notepad and pen but he found them for her and gave them to her. She started scribbling again and showed him what she wrote.

When can I get this fucking ventilator out? I want to kiss you and never stop.

Benoit cackled while throwing his head back. "You crack me up." He looked at her once more with a smile. "Once the doctors are certain you can breathe on your own, they'll take it out."

Can you go get them now? This thing is so uncomfortable. And pain medicine. I need it so bad.

Benoit chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Sure thing. I'll be back shortly," he said before leaving the room in search for a doctor.