Chapter Forty-Four: Fall to Pieces

Legosi stared toward the ceiling, drumming his fingers upon his thighs while he anxiously awaited the return of his friend. The more he thought about Kachi's actions over the course of the day, the more they worried him. Shaky breaths left his lungs as his mind wandered.

The state he found Kachi in that morning was burned into his memory. The moment he realized what the canine had been doing to himself was a sobering one. It was the moment in which Legosi realized that Kachi truly wasn't okay, and that what he'd been doing to try and help him hadn't been enough.

He'd done his best to be there for him for the rest of the day, and he thought he'd done a good job. Aside from the canine accidentally falling asleep before dinner, Legosi felt the gathering went smoothly.

The gift Kachi had purchased for him was unexpected, and the smile he observed on the canine's face as he gave it to him was worth more to him than the gift itself. In an effort to calm himself down, Legosi lifted a hand to the chain around his neck, gripping it tightly. The cold of the metal sent shivers up his arm.

Legosi closed his eyes, instead choosing to focus on the positive memories of his friend rather than the negative ones. His lips curled into a gentle smile as he felt his body slow down. His breathing began returning to normal; in slowly through the nose, out through the mouth, each one steadier than the last. As he inhaled, a faint scent was picked up…a metallic one.

His eyes shot open, the bedroom around him returning. He looked down from the ceiling and toward the door. A sliver of the darkened hallway could be seen from between it and the doorframe. Legosi leaned closer toward it, breathing in deeply, the scent growing stronger. He could almost visualize it as it wafted into the room.

All the effort the wolf had put in to calm himself down had evaporated within seconds, his concern growing exponentially with every step he took toward the door. The pungent aroma filled his nostrils, nauseating him. Legosi stared, wide-eyed as he placed a hand upon the doorknob. Words rested upon his tongue, but he didn't have the strength to say, or even whisper them.

The very second he pulled the door open, a series of thumps came from the washroom across the hall. Legosi flinched with each one, his jaw shutting tight and his body tensing up. Just as quickly as it started, it all came to a stop. Silence. Legosi peeked his head into the hallway, the iron scent growing ever stronger.

From behind it, a thin strip of light emerged from the outline of the washroom door. Legosi's body trembled as he stepped towards it, mind racing with possibilities of what could have happened. With a shaky hand, he reached toward the doorknob and gave it a twist. Feeling that it wasn't locked, he pushed the door open, perhaps with a little more force than required.

The door hit the wall, the sound of the metal bouncing off the drywall filling his ears. He looked around the room, but it didn't take him long for his gaze to fall upon the source of the initial noises of concern. He lifted his hands to his face; his worst fear having been realized. On the floor in front of him lied Kachi, barely awake, blood dripping from his arms.

The scent of blood was overpowering, but it was the least of Legosi's concerns. He tried to move, but his body was frozen. While he stood, mouth agape in silent shock, Kachi slowly turned his head and looked up toward the wolf. His eyes were glassy and dim, the life within them seeming to slip further with every blink.

Legosi fell to his knees, no longer having the strength to stand. He withdrew his hands from his face and began to crawl slowly toward the canine, not breaking eye contact with him. With gentle hands, Legosi scooped Kachi up from the wall, holding him against his body as he took a seat next to him.

The canine was shaking, and his breathing was quick and shallow. Legosi glanced down toward Kachi's torso. His left arm had fallen onto his lap, fresh blood still flowing from the cuts and creating little streams down his arm. Blood quickly began to soak into Legosi's pants and shirt, but he didn't care.

"Kachi!" Though Legosi had just shouted his name, Kachi continued to stare blankly as if he hadn't even heard him. The only response given to indicate he was still awake was the movement of his eyes to Legosi's jaw. "Kachi, stay with me…" he whispered, giving the canine a shake.

Panic was setting in quickly as the initial shock began to wear off. Legosi found himself breathing quicker as well, adrenaline beginning to fill his blood as his mind frenzied for what to do. Still in his arms, he felt Kachi begin to slip. Legosi compensating by tightening his grip on the canine, struggling to keep him upright.

Legosi looked over his shoulder and shouted into the hallway at the top of his lungs. "Shen!" His voice echoed through the silent apartment, giving way to silence after a few seconds. He returned his gaze to Kachi, his panic continuing to grow.

Footsteps rumbled from behind him as Legosi turned his head back to the hallway. The elder wolf stood in the doorway, towering over both him and Kachi. As he looked into the room, Shen saw the same thing Legosi did minutes earlier: Kachi, barely conscious, leaning against the wall with blood leaking from his arms.

His jaw dropped as concern filled his eyes. "What happened…" he breathed.

Before Legosi could even answer, Shen stepped into the room, his eyes immediately falling upon the shelving unit to Kachi's right. He leapt over the two boys, turning and grabbing a stack of towels from one of the shelves. Shen tossed one to Legosi before kneeling next to his son.

Legosi watched as Shen cautiously placed Kachi's arm down next to him. He unfolded the towel and pressed it to the wounds, hoping to stem the flow of blood for the time being. Stray drops rolled down the canine's arm and dripped to the floor while Shen positioned the towel. Legosi watched, speechless.

Why didn't I think of that? There's blood everywhere and I didn't even think to try and stop it at the source. How long have I been in here? How much blood has he lost? I—If he dies…If he bleeds out from this…it's my fault. All because I didn't act quick enough.

Legosi followed in Shen's footsteps, unfolding a towel and placing it to Kachi's arm just as he did. As he positioned it properly, he couldn't help but look up to the canine's face. His eyes had closed since the last time he looked. Legosi lifted his free hand to Kachi's face, recoiling at how cold it was.

"Kachi! Hey!" he gasped.

Without warning, Shen got up from his spot on the floor, stepping over the boys again and disappearing around the corner to his bedroom. Legosi continued to tend to Kachi, making sure that adequate pressure was being applied to the towels to ensure their effectiveness, despite the fresh wave of panic coursing through him.

Moments later, Shen returned, phone in hand and already pressed to his ear. He sat back down in his spot next to his son. "Hi…Yes, I have my son here…he's lost a lot of blood and he's not conscious. The wounds appear to be self inflicted. We're trying to stop the bleeding as best we can…"

To Legosi, the pain in the elder wolf's voice was almost tangible. By the way he spoke, he could tell that Shen was trying hard to keep himself calm and collected, even with the very real possibility that his son could bleed out next to him.

If it hurts this much just being his friend and seeing this…I can't even imagine how hard it is to be his father.

"Yes. One-ninety-two West Forty-Third. We're upstairs…Thank you." The phone call took only five minutes, but with injuries like Kachi's, every second counted.

Legosi watched Shen's shoulders slump as he lowered the phone from his face. He let out a deep sigh while he stared at the floor between his legs. Lifting his head slightly, Legosi saw that the elder wolf was looking at a few drops of blood that had landed on the tile, presumably from when Kachi fell.

The expression Shen wore was harrowing. To Legosi, he seemed not to be staring at the floor, but rather through it, his jaw hung open as he breathed in and out slowly. His left hand rested atop his knee, absentmindedly scratching at the pajamas he wore while he clutched his phone in his right.

The gravity of what had happened finally clicked within Shen's mind, and Legosi bore witness to his realization in real time. The dread across the wolf's face was plainly visible, causing Legosi's already shredded nerves to worsen. Legosi's heartrate skyrocketed as he continued to stare toward him.

If he can barely hold on…then how are you supposed to?

Shen turned his head suddenly in Legosi's direction. Legosi's jaw tensed up as he stared into them. The otherwise bright blue, the same blue he saw in Kachi's, had dimmed to a hue almost resembling black. The sun was setting on the deep ocean and a storm was brewing, one that may never clear.

Tears threatened to spill onto Legosi's cheeks as Shen looked back down to his son. The silence hung in the air for a few seconds more while Shen found the words to say. In that short span of time, Legosi realized that he'd been stroking the fur behind Kachi's ears.

"I was told ten minutes…I'm gonna go outside and wait for them. Could you stay here with him for me?" His voice was soft and sincere. Legosi's cheeks warmed slightly; he truly trusted him with his son. He gave a few shallow nods in response, certain that he'd be unable to answer verbally.

Understanding Legosi's confirmation, Shen relinquished his grip on Kachi's arm. Before he got up, he moved the canine's arm across his body to his left so that Legosi could hold both towels with one hand and allow him to continue petting his head.

The elder wolf then stood up from his spot, crossing the room and entering the hallway. Before disappearing into the shadows, he turned his head over his shoulder and stared blankly into the room. "I'll be back when they get here."

Legosi listened attentively to the sound of Shen's footsteps, following them through the apartment until they stopped. Seconds later, the wolf heard the front door open and close, signalling Shen's departure. The apartment fell silent, save for idle sounds such as the refrigerator's compressor and the hum of the washroom fan.

None were as loud as Kachi's quick and shallow breaths, each one filling Legosi's ears as he continued to comfort and tend to him. He forced himself to look back toward the canine. Blood has since soaked into the towels. Looking around, multiple small puddles of the red substance could be found, mainly on top of and around the vanity.

Legosi wasn't sure where he should focus his vision to keep himself steady. Everywhere he looked, there was something that reminded him of the situation he was in and the events leading up to it. The horrible memories paired with the overpowering scent of iron in the air caused the wolf's stomach to turn.

Attempting to keep himself from being sick, he looked away, his gaze falling upon one of the only blue objects in the room. Squinting his eyes, Legosi made out the shape of Kachi's discarded hoodie, the one he'd worn the most since leaving Nevers Road. As far as he could tell, it was completely unsullied, the baby blue shining bright in the dimly lit room.

Legosi looked to Kachi once more. His eyes were closed, his mouth open slightly, his chest rising and falling quickly with each breath.

He seems so calm now. There isn't an ounce of pain on his face. There's nothing to hurt you now. Even though I can't see them, I know the pain in your eyes is gone. I only wish you didn't do this to get here.

Legosi lifted his arm from both towels. He gripped Kachi's left hand within his; it was cold, much colder than the rest of his body. Legosi shuddered. It wasn't the kind of cold from being outdoors on a winter's day, it was an unnatural cold, and the feeling alone was enough to cause more panic.

In response to his adrenaline rising, Legosi tightened his grip. Through Kachi's skin, he was still able to feel a pulse. His gaze having not left the canine's face, an unsteady sigh left his lungs. He leaned in closer, almost resting his head upon his shoulder.

"Everything will be okay…I promise. I know things seem bad, but…you'll be just fine. You have to trust me…we're gonna make it through tonight." Legosi listened, hopeful for a response, anything to signal to him that Kachi could hear him, but as he expected, the canine remained silent.

For a few more minutes, Legosi continued to sit with Kachi, petting his head and holding his hand. Before he knew it, the sound of the front door opening rang through his ears, causing them to stand straight up. Footsteps approached, louder and more plentiful than before.

As he turned to look to the hallway, Shen's figure came into view, along with two others that he didn't recognize. It only took one glance at their uniforms to tell Legosi that they were paramedics. Seeing them helped him to feel a little better.

They stood in the hall for a moment as they surveyed the area. Their gazes finally fell onto the two canines on the floor before they stepped inside. Shen remained in the hall as the two paramedics approached. The first, a male lion, knelt next to Legosi, while the second, a female panther, crossed the room and did the same.

The lion identified by a patch on his uniform reading 'Hendricks' pulled his eyes up from Kachi. "Could you just move out of the way for me?" he asked softly. Legosi stared blankly into his eyes for a moment. His grip on the canine tightened in response, hesitant to let him go. Hendricks sensed the wolf's reluctance and softened his expression accordingly. "I know you're worried for your friend, but I can't do my job if you're holding onto him the way you are."

His tone was much softer the second time, and the gentle smile on the feline's face instilled enough confidence in him for Legosi to convince himself to move. Legosi pulled his arms away from Kachi, carefully setting his head down against the wall. Hendricks stepped back and let Legosi rise to his feet.

As soon as he let go of his friend, the second paramedic, Kane, took up the responsibility of holding him. Legosi stepped back and watched while the paramedics got to work. Beginning with the greatest concern, Hendricks lifted one of the towels placed upon Kachi's arm. It was then that both Legosi and Shen saw the true extent of the injury.

The cuts were deep, and the fur surrounding them had been matted down with the blood that escaped them. As he lifted the towel further, they could both see that the surface contacting the wound was saturated; the once white towel had turned red.

Hendricks replaced the towel before looking over his shoulder at the two wolves. "Are there any other injuries that you know of?"

Legosi and Shen looked to each other, unsure of what to say. It was then Legosi realized that he was the first on scene. He swallowed hard before turning his head back to Hendricks with a shrug. "I heard a thumping before I came in…he was slouched against the wall like he is now. I don't think he hit his head or anything…" His voice was low and raspy.

Hendricks nodded. "Okay, well we'll just look him over to be sure," he said before turning his gaze back to Kachi.

The two paramedics started to look elsewhere on Kachi's body for signs of additional injuries. The two wolves watched as they started with Kachi's head before moving down to his torso, and finally his legs. After finding no other serious injury, Hendricks and Kane each reached into a pocket on their uniforms and produced rolls of thick bandages.

The towels that had been atop Kachi's arms for the better part of twenty minutes had finally been removed. As quickly as they came off, the wounds were quickly covered again with proper bandages to better manage the flow of blood. Legosi watched while the black of Kachi's arm was replaced by the brown of the bandage.

"That should be good enough until he gets to the hospital," whispered Kane to Hendricks.

The lion nodded. "Right." He then looked over his shoulder toward the two wolves. "Aside from the gashes and the blood loss, he's physically okay, but he isn't conscious. I'd suggest the best way to move him is to carry him."

Shen's eyes widened, his shoulders tensing. "Uh, if you need him to be carried down, I'll do it. He's my son…"

Both Hendricks and Kane glanced up at Shen, the former shaking his head. "I understand your concern, but I can't let you do that. I know he's your son, but we don't want you getting hurt. It's safer if one of us does it," stated Hendricks.

Shen opened his mouth to argue but closed it shortly after. His shoulders slumped as he glanced toward his son on the floor, the bandages around his arms already beginning to collect blood. He sighed. "I…understand."

With a confirming nod, Hendricks carefully scooped Kachi from the floor. One arm supported the canine's back, while the other rested under his knees. Kane backed away from Kachi to allow Hendricks better access to the canine, accidentally stepping on the blue hoodie that was on the floor behind her. She bent down and picked it up, unfurling it to get a better look before draping it over her arm.

Shen and Legosi backed away from the door to allow Hendricks past them. Kane left the room shortly after, following Hendricks down the hall. With the washroom empty, Legosi could see the true extent of Kachi's blood loss.

The vanity as well as the floor in front of it each had collections of little drops, while the floor where he sat contained much more. The worst of it was contained in the two towels that the paramedics had discarded, a deep red staining the surfaces that contacted Kachi's wounds. The whole room reeked, the iron smell of blood permeating the air. It was enough to make Legosi sick, and it would have if he had the strength to vomit.

While he shuddered at the sight, Shen reached down and placed a comforting hand upon the wolf's shoulder. He jumped at the sudden contact. "C'mon, let's go…" he said softly.

Legosi followed Shen and the paramedics down the darkened hall and into the entryway. Kane ran ahead of Hendricks and opened the door for him, allowing him to step into the cold of the storage area. Not wanting to hold them up, the two wolves quickly threw on their jackets and slipped on their shoes before joining them outside.

They descended the wooden staircase one by one, with Kane leading the way. She pulled the second door open, stepping through herself ahead of Hendricks. They filed out of the building and onto the sidewalk, where the two wolves were met with a multitude of flashing lights from the vehicles parked on the road just in front of the gym.

Legosi lifted a hand to shield his eyes while they adjusted to the brightness of the lights against the dark of the night. Stepping further down the sidewalk, he picked up on the silhouettes of an ambulance and a solitary police cruiser ahead of it.

Looking to his left, Legosi saw that, upon the otherwise empty streets, a crowd had gathered to see what was going on. They stared intensely toward him, as well as Shen and the paramedics, captivated by the scene.

Kane caught onto the stares rather quickly. She slowed her pace and tried to shield Kachi from their views as they made their way to the rear of the ambulance, where a third and fourth paramedic were waiting for them. Standing not too far from the ambulance were two police officers.

"Don't you have anything better to do? It's Rexmas, come on!" shouted Kane toward the unwanted spectators. Hearing her cries, the two officers standing just out of the way stepped onto the street, one of them going to deal with the crowd while the other stayed back.

The two other paramedics opened the rear doors of the ambulance as Hendricks approached. While they helped him with Kachi, Kane stayed back with Shen and Legosi. "These people can be so insensitive sometimes…what if it was your relative being loaded into the back? How would you feel then?"

Her question went unanswered as the second police officer approached them. "Are we able to go inside to have a look around?"

Kane shifted her focus from the thinning crowd to the officer to her left, her expression softening. "Yes. Once the patient is ready to go, we'll most likely be heading straight to the hospital. You'll have the place to yourself."

The officer nodded. "Perfect. Thank you." He then shifted his gaze to Shen. He extended a hand toward him. "My partner and I will just be doing a quick sweep of the scene and note down anything that stands out."

Shen nodded, hesitantly taking the officer's hand into his own and shook it. "Yeah, that's alright." Shen took back his hand and returned it to his pocket.

"That being said, I'm afraid you won't be able to return home for at least twenty-four hours after we start. We need the scene to be untouched while we complete our investigation." He continued.

Shen looked toward the ground, having not expected to be barred from his home. "Oh. Well…" he lifted a hand to his neck, still averting his eyes from the officer. "I'm sure we'll manage." The officer nodded again. "Somehow." He added under his breath.

"Thank you for understanding. Stuff like this, it's…never easy. Especially on a night like tonight." Though he knew he was referring to the holiday, it suddenly clicked with Legosi that the weather was less than pleasant. Winds whipped and howled down the mostly empty streets, and blowing snow obstructed his vision beyond a hundred meters.

The officer departed the wolves' side, heading toward the apartment just in time to join his partner in heading upstairs. Legosi and Shen watched until they reached the door, pulling it open and stepping into the darkness.

Their attention was pulled away from the building as a voice called from over the wind. "Kane! We're ready." Legosi recognized it as the first paramedic from before. Squinting through the snowflakes rushing past him, he saw the lion flagging them down with both arms.

"Gotcha!" returned Kane. She turned her gaze toward the two wolves, motioning for them to follow her as she started toward the ambulance. They oblige, tailing her the short distance to the rear of the ambulance, each climbing in one after the other.

Seated in the rear with them was Hendricks, while the other two paramedics Legosi spotted earlier were seated in the front. Kane closed the doors and shortly after, the vehicle pulled away from the curb. Legosi didn't know how far the hospital was from the apartment; he could only hope it was nearby.

No words were exchanged between the paramedics and the wolves for the first few minutes of the ride. Hendricks and Kane were focused on Kachi, as were Shen and Legosi. They watched tirelessly as the paramedics worked on him and listened to their hushed conversation despite not knowing any of the fancy words

Shen suddenly looked toward Kane, an expression of concern across his face. A moment passed before she caught on to the set of eyes upon her. She leaned in closer, tilting her head slightly to listen. He cleared his throat. "Do you think I could make a call to someone?"

Kane nodded softly, crossing her arms over her lap. "Go ahead."

Shen reached into his pocket and produced his phone. He wasted no time in finding the contact he was looking for. Once the line started to ring, Shen set the device to speaker before he lifted it closer to his face. It rang once, twice, three times. Just as he began to lose confidence, the ringing stopped, the other end having picked up the call.

"What?" the voice spat. Though hushed, it was filled with spite.

Shen's brows folded, "Rae. I'm not calling t—to fight or yell or anything. I'm calling because this is important. It's Kachi…we think he tried to take his own life." He looked to his left. "Legosi found him on the floor in the washroom with cuts all down his arms. We called emergency services and we're en route to the hospital right now."

They didn't expect an immediate response from the fox on the other end, but the length of the silence on the line had become concerning. As he listened to the static, Legosi couldn't exactly blame her. It'd taken him much longer to open his mouth again after finding Kachi on the floor, and he briefly wondered if he'd ever speak again.

Finally, the silence was broken after a whole minute. "I—I'll meet you there…" Her tone of voice was completely different than when she answered. She sounded cold and distant, something Legosi found odd. "Is he—"

"He's alive," Shen interrupted. "I think we caught him in time, but we can only really wait and see."

Another, much shorter pause passed by before Rae-Anne answered again. "Right…I'll see you, then."

A dejected sigh left Shen's lips. "Bye…" After hanging up, he returned his phone to his pocket and his gaze to his son. Before Legosi followed suit, he picked up on the look in Shen's eyes. It was the same one he wore after dialing for the paramedics: a reserved despair he hadn't seen anywhere else.

The ride to the hospital didn't last too much longer after Shen hung up. Legosi and Shen were the first two out of the ambulance to allow the paramedics to do their jobs. They watched in silence as Kachi was taken from the ambulance on his stretcher and wheeled into the building.

They followed the group of paramedics to the emergency room, where a bed had been prepared for him in the time it had taken to drive from the gym. A pair of nurses were already waiting for them as the stretcher came to a stop, ready to have their own look over the canine.

The paramedics carefully moved Kachi from the stretcher onto the hospital bed. The nurses then got to work hooking him up to various machines. A droning beeping sound rang from the heart monitor once one nurse was done with the tethers, both it and the graph on the display showing an elevated heartrate.

Without addressing their presences, the two nurses disappeared, leaving Legosi and Shen alone with Kachi. In the small area within the larger emergency room they'd been given, only one chair was found. Legosi wasted no time in claiming it while Shen continued to stand at the foot of Kachi's bed.

Legosi found himself watching Kachi again. With the constant buzz of the emergency room and the beeping of the heart monitor, a dull headache formed behind his eyes. His mind quickly became clouded, the only things ringing through were the events leading up to the reason they were at the hospital in the first place.

He gripped the fabric of his pants tightly as he gritted his teeth. His chest tightened as he tried to keep the urge to cry at bay. Just as he felt it was becoming too much, Shen's voice rang clear through his head.

"I'm going to meet Rae outside; I'll be back in a minute." Legosi nodded while he watched Shen turn his back to him, leaving the way they came only ten minutes prior.

Once Shen was out of view, Legosi turned his head back to Kachi, his emotions swelling once more. The bandages wrapped around Kachi's arms had become soaked with blood, just as the towels were. The expression on the unconscious canine was one of exhaustion; his fur was matted in all directions, and his chest rose and fell with each shallow breath.

His eyes settled upon Kachi's hand, which was lying gently atop the cover. Legosi longed to take it in his again, but as he extended his own, he recoiled. The bloodied bandages paired with the sterile scent of the emergency room had caused the return of his nausea.

Legosi saw two figures enter his peripheral vision as he stared toward the floor beneath Kachi's bed. He cocked his head upward to see that Shen had returned, with Rae-Anne following not too far behind him. As Kachi entered her field of vision, she gasped, her hands finding their way to her mouth.

From his spot in the chair, even at the distance it was from Rae-Anne, he could see just how bloodshot her eyes were. Tears had been streaming down her face long before she'd even arrived at the hospital. The ones falling then were just drops in the bucket.

She rushed forward, pushing Shen to the side and nearly knocking Legosi out of the chair as she came to a stop at Kachi's side. Carefully, she lifted a hand to her son's face, running a thumb through the fur on his cheek. She recoiled, feeling both how cold he was, and the cut he'd sustained from Chris.

Rae-Anne pulled her arms to her chest. "Oh my God…I can't believe this…I—I'm so sorry…" she whispered, her voice breaking.

From behind her, Shen's ear flicked as his hands found their way to the pockets of his jacket. "I don't think we should be spending our energy blaming ourselves and apologizing right now." Both Rae-Anne and Legosi looked toward the elder wolf in surprise. "It doesn't feel right to me."

Rae-Anne glanced toward Kachi. "No. You're right. He…he wouldn't want that." Neither wolf offered a verbal response; Shen only giving a nod as the silence continued between them.

The only thing Legosi was able to focus on in with the lack of conversation was the fact that Kachi's breathing was getting quicker and shallower. The anxiety that filled him since he first laid eyes on him that night was only intensifying. He wanted to do something, but there was nothing he could do besides sit like a statue next to him.

His ears stood straight up as footsteps approaching from the left broke his concentration. He raised his head from the floor to see one of the two nurses from earlier, a beaver, drawing nearer. Shen and Rae-Anne had also picked up on her arrival.

Stopping just at the foot of Kachi's bed, the nurse shot Rae-Anne a confused expression. Before she had the chance to say anything however, Rae-Anne stepped forward, taking her hands into her own. "What's going on? Is he okay? Is he gonna be okay?" she demanded.

The nurse tried to wrench her hands free from the fox's grip but was unable to. "Hey! I'll tell you if you let go of me!"

Hearing the anger in her voice, Rae-Anne retracted her hands, hiding them behind her back as she stared toward the floor, ears flat against her skull. "Sorry…" she muttered.

The nurse backed away from Rae-Anne, wiping her hands on her scrubs with a groan. "He's somewhat stable. With the amount of blood he's lost, we can't say for sure what's going to happen just yet. We'll be moving him to his own room within the hour to free up space in here…Rexmas is a busy time for us unfortunately. We'll be able to give you more details sometime tomorrow afternoon, but for now…all I recommend you do is go home."

Neither Legosi, nor Shen, nor Rae-Anne liked what the nurse had to say. They all shot confused and frustrated glares toward her. She stood her ground, meeting each one with a sneer of her own.

Legosi got up from his chair, stepping forward to join Shen and Rae-Anne in front of the nurse. "Do we have to leave?"

The nurse offered a shallow nod. "It makes caring for him in these crucial hours that much easier when we don't have to work around concerned family members. We have diagnostics to run, and there's the task of moving him—"

"Why is our presence a problem? It's not like we're right on top of him. Besides, isn't there a waiting room?" Shen argued while crossing his arms over his chest.

The nurse folded her brows, lifting a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Sir…normally we would allow you to stay in a waiting room, but with it being Rexmas we have an increased volume in patients. We can't have the nurses' attention split between them and their families, it'll lead to mistakes, and mistakes can be quite grave in a hospital setting."

Shen's anger dissipated, his shoulders slumping as his arms fell to his sides. "I suppose you're right. Sorry for being difficult. I'm just…worried for him, y'know?"

The beaver's frustration disappeared as well. She reached out and placed a hand on Shen's upper arm. "I don't want to separate you from your son, but we just want to offer the best care we can."

Shen nodded, looking back up from the floor. "I understand. Could you give us maybe twenty more minutes though?" Legosi looked toward Shen; any trace of anger, or even sadness had vanished. His jaw fell open slightly with shock.

How are you so calm? …Doesn't really matter, though. I'm glad you can be calm in a time like this…I only wish I could be.

"Alright. I'll be back in twenty minutes to escort you out." The nurse turned her back to the canines and began walking deeper into the emergency room.

With the nurse gone, Shen shifted his attention to the fox next to him. She looked up to him, a worried expression upon her face. Shen placed his hands back into his pockets. "Rae, could I talk to you alone? Preferably outside?"

Rae-Anne tilted her head in confusion. Shen remained unmoved, staring down at her with tired eyes. The blue within them was dim, just as dim as Legosi had observed in Kachi before he lost consciousness. After another moment, Rae-Anne finally nodded. Without missing a beat, Shen departed toward the exit, the vixen following close behind him.

Legosi was left alone with Kachi again. He hadn't been counting, but if he were to guess, it would have been at least the fourth time. The wolf wasn't sure what to do with himself as he watched multiple hospital staff walk past him, giving him a passing glance before continuing toward their destinations.

Out of curiosity, the wolf pulled his phone from his pocket. Upon his lock screen, the time was displayed perfectly in the center. He gasped softly. He'd lost track of time; it was nearing two in the morning. Almost on cue, he let out a big yawn. Following it, a deep sigh.

He unlocked his phone. Out of habit, he checked his notifications. Still empty. As he swiped back to his home screen, a realization was made. His breath hitched in his throat as he pulled open his contact list. Though small, it contained a couple names of importance. Legosi's heartrate picked up as the mere notion of calling them crossed his mind.

They…they deserve to know. It'll hurt less in the long run…won't it?

With a shaky hand, Legosi tapped the first name. The phone's ringing scared him; he wasn't expecting it to call right away. He lifted the device to his ear and waited for an answer. It rang once. Twice. Three times.

"…Hello?" muttered a tired Pina other end of the line, having just been woken up.

Legosi hesitated for a moment. He knew he couldn't not say anything, otherwise he'd lose Pina's attention. He let out an unsteady breath into the device as he forced his brain to string sentences together. "Pina…I—I'm sorry for calling you like this…but there's something you need to know."

"Legosi? What's going on? Are you alright? You sound as if you've just finished a marathon!"

"S-Something's happened. It's Kachi. He…He's in the hospital." The silence on the other end of the line concerned him. "He tried to kill himself. I—I'm sorry, okay? I knew how he was feeling and I didn't stop him!" Legosi choked.

A gasp came from Pina. "What?" The ram continued to stammer as he processed what he'd been told. With every second that passed, it became harder to listen to, and the tears in Legosi's eyes threatened to spill over. "I—I knew I should have texted him! I knew it! There was a reason I felt the need to, and I knew it! Oh my God, I…I can't believe this!"

Before Legosi could try to calm Pina down, the line went dead. Pina had hung up. Legosi frantically tried to redial, but every time he called, he would only get the ram's voicemail. After a few minutes, he finally gave up, accepting that he wouldn't be able to get a hold of him.

Still, he wasn't finished. There was still one name left. Just as he did before, he lifted tapped the name and the phone began ringing. He lifted the device to his ear as it continued to ring, and ring, and ring. Then, voicemail. He tried a few more times, getting the same result.

It is two in the morning…it's a bit farfetched to think he'd answer at this time.

Not wanting to give up, Legosi switched his approach, opting for a text message instead. Despite his dread for phone calls, Legosi knew receiving a text about a friend attempting suicide wasn't the best approach.

He opened a new conversation, setting Dana as the recipient. He typed out his message very slowly, carefully choosing his words to make the message sound as sincere and respectful as possible.

After spending a considerable amount of time typing, rereading, and deleting the message, Legosi forced himself to hit send. Once the delivered text appeared beneath the bubble, he slipped his phone back into his pocket with an exasperated sigh.

His headache had gotten worse. He lifted his left hand to his head and began massaging his temple. With his right, he reached over to Kachi's bed and took the canine's hand into his own, just as he did in the washroom at Shen's apartment. He ran his thumb through the fur gently, the sensation already helping him with his stress.

A text message feels so impersonal. Like I didn't care enough to call him, but I did. He'll see that I did…but it won't make his reaction to the news any better.

Legosi stared toward Kachi's hand as he continued to stroke it, a soft sigh leaving his lips.

I'll have to leave you soon, but I'll be back as soon as I can. When that time comes, I'll be right back by your side. I'll stand just like a statue…just like you…