After Nina fell asleep, Snow Miser left the room. He sat down on the floor near the door, his back against the wall. He hugged himself, his face buried in his knees. Santa walked up to him, coming from the end of the hallway, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Would you like me to go get your brother?"
Snow Miser didn't look up. "Yes." His tone was solemn and melancholy.
"Will you be alright here by yourself?"
"I need some time alone to think."
"Alright. I will be back."
An hour later, Santa returned with a man who had orange hair and amber eyes. "I'll sit with Nina," Santa told them, and went into the room she was staying in.
The man with orange hair spoke with Heat Miser's voice. "How is she?" he asked.
"Tired. Nobody has told us anything."
"Well, they better hurry up, or I'll-"
"It's our fault," Snow Miser interrupted, not looking up.
"What?"
"It's our fault she's here. The pain she's having was caused by one of our fights, when we shot down her plane."
Heat Miser was quiet. He simply stood still in front of his brother while Snow Miser didn't move at all from his position.
"I don't know what's wrong with her. I don't know if she's going to make it or not. All I know is that the love of my life is suffering because of a mistake I made." Snow's voice cracked, and he hugged himself, tighter.
Heat Miser sat by his brother. "Taking all the credit, as usual," he grumbled. "It's my fault, too. Don't just blame yourself."
"I love her so much. I can't lose her. Not now. Not when I just found her. She's my everything." Snow Miser finally broke down, his body trembling.
Heat Miser darted his eyes away, fidgeting with his hands. Then, he looked over at Snow and slowly hugged him. Snow Miser hugged him back, wailing, too despondent to be shocked by the gesture. Heat told him, "She probably won't die. She made it all those other times."
"Yeah, but Mother isn't here, and I don't know if she could even help, now," Snow managed to say in between sobs.
"Have a little faith in Nina. She's strong for a human. She has to be to be in love with a snowball like you."
Snow looked at him, his face and eyes red from his tears, and managed a brief laugh. "Yeah, well, being around you is no picnic, and yet she keeps wanting to be around you."
Heat smiled, bittersweetly, though his eyes showed pain. "Even after all this, she still chooses to associate with us. There hasn't ever been anyone like her."
"And there never will be again."
A hush fell between the two, and they sat, motionless, amongst the quiet sounds of the hospital.
"We have to stop fighting," Snow Miser stated, breaking the silence.
Heat Miser nodded in agreement. "We at least owe her that. If we don't stop, someone else would come along and go through this, too. When would it end?"
"It ends right now. Whatever has happened between us, let's put it behind us. For Nina's sake, at least."
Heat Miser held out his hand. "For Nina."
The two shook hands, then stood up. Snow Miser wiped his eyes, trying to become as peaceful as he could. "I can't let her see me like this; it would just make her feel worse."
Heat patted his back. "I think you've got to take some deep breaths. I don't know anything about this human stuff. This body temperature is way too low for me, so I hardly ever change into this form."
"It's way too high for my liking, but I did what I had to. I couldn't let her be here without me."
The two went into Nina's room when Snow Miser was completely calm, and they saw that Nina was just waking up. "Snowy?" she asked, drowsily.
Snow Miser rushed to her and sat by her. "Hey, angel. How are you feeling?"
"Sleepy and dizzy," she replied. "But not in pain. The stuff they keep giving me is working."
Snow Miser kissed her forehead. "That's good, at least. Someone's here to see you."
Heat Miser came into the room more and stood by the bed. "Ah, hello," he greeted her, awkwardly.
"Heat Miser! I'm so glad to see you," Nina exclaimed, her tired face brightening.
"You are?" he asked, a bit surprised.
She nodded, looking at the three men. "It would be harder to deal with this alone. You all mean a lot to me, and I feel so much better knowing that I'm surrounded by people who care about me."
At that moment, Santa asked, "Do you want your mother and stepfather here?" he asked.
Nina paused. "No. I don't want them to see me like this. Besides, they're too far away. I'll tell them after I get out."
There was a knock at the door. Dr. Mallone came in, holding a folder. "May I speak to Nina alone?"
Santa and Heat Miser left the room. Snow looked worried. "Can't I stay?"
Nina looked to the doctor, who sat on the other side of the bed. "It is up to you," Dr. Mallone told her.
"I want him here," Nina stated.
"Alright." Dr. Mallone opened the folder and handed Nina the scans. "We did a ultrasonography, and your liver has been punctured...We can do surgery, but we aren't sure if it will be successful."
Snow Miser immediately began panicking. "You've got to do SOMETHING!"
"With how long she's had the injury, it may be difficult for her to get through it, but we'll do everything we can."
Nina sat, staring at the sonogram, silently.
"Nina?" Snow Miser was shaking, doing his best to keep his terror under control.
She looked up at him with a blank expression. "Nina, what do you want to do?" Snow asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
"I have no choice. I have to do it."
"I'll give you two a few moments before we prepare you for surgery, Ms. Alvar," Dr. Mallone said, then left the room.
Snow Miser held Nina's hand. "Nina...I am so sorry. This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't gotten into that fight with Heat Miser."
"Snow Miser, come here."
He sat closer to Nina. She rested a hand on his face. "This is partially my fault, too. I should have gotten this checked out when I first noticed the pain, but I didn't. I held off on it, and now..." She took a deep breath, and her brown eyes met his blue ones. She could see he was filled with fear and regret. "I'm going to fight this. Whatever I have to do to stay with you, I'll do it. I've beaten death before, and I'll be damned if I can't do it again. I won't give up. I love you, Snow God."
"I love you, too, Nina." Snow Miser held her, moving her hair out of her face, and kissed her lips.
Two nurses came in to take Nina to the operating room. Snow Miser let go of her and watched her leave. Nina was prepared for surgery, then put under anesthesia. The last thing she thought about before losing consciousness was Snow Miser.