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Part Two
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Gene sat silently in the hospital waiting room. He hadn't even noticed all the pretty girls in the room, for once in a long while. He concentraited on nothing more than those white doors that led to where they had taken Melfina...
Jim sat in a chair next to Suzuka and Aisha on the other side of the room. Gene had sat far from where they were, facing the doors that led to the intesive care and emergency rooms.
"I can't believe this..." Aisha said, teary eyed.
"I know..." Jim said. It was a good thing he had seen Melfina on his way home. Though he doubted the hospital would be able to keep her alive. She had looked pretty serious...though she lay unconscious she still had a slight pulse...
Suzuka didn't say anything. She only sipped her tea and stared off into space, as if in deep thought.
"Why is Gene acting so weirdly?" Aisha asked, blowing her nose.
"I dunno..." Jim said somberly. He glanced over at Gene, who sat still, silent and unmoving. Just looking. Just looking at the doors. He hadn't shown any signs of emotion, at all. Except when Jim had called him from the car asking him to met him at the hospital...
"D'ya suppose he's real shaken up or something and doesn't want us to see?" Aisha asked, "Maybe we should try and talk to him."
"No," Suzuka said, breaking from her trance-like behavior, "I think it's best if we leave him alone."
Jim nodded, "I don't think we should mess with him now..."
"Why did I do it?" Gene thought bitterly, "Why did I do it? Melfina's dying right now, and it's all because of what I did. If I hadn't been so hotheaded none of this would have happened. I can't live with this. I can't live knowing that the last thing I said to her..." he shook it off.
He groaned as he brought his hand up and rested his face in it, then runned it through his hair. He finally stood up and starting walking towards the lady at the counter. "Why are my legs so shakey? Since when did I become unstable on my feet besides when I went into space again? Is this fear?" He thought.
"Yes, sir?" The lady said, with a large smile.
"How can you smile?" Gene thought angrily, "How can you smile at a time like this you stupid bitch!"
"Can I help you?" the lady asked. Her faced turned to looking concerned. His thoughts must have shown on his face.
"Yeah," he said, "Is there any news on Melfina?"
"Melfina?"
"You know, the girl with the broken arm...who..." Gene closed his eyes as he added, "Who drowned?" having to practically force the painful words out.
"I told you that I'd notify you when something comes up. I believe they are putting her on life support. Now please go and have a seat where you were and I will-"
"I don't want to sit down!" Gene said loudly, causing some people in the quiet waiting room to turn and stare.
"Sir, please don't cause any disruptions-"
"I am NOT disrupting!" he growled, "Let me see Melfina!"
"I'm sorry, sir, but there are no visitors at this moment. I will let you know when Melfina is accepting visitors."
"Melfina is dying right now and you won't let me tell her something? You won't let me resolve anything? I'm going to have to live with the fact that I killed her!" Gene screamed, now causing everyone in the room to stare at him.
"Oh my god..." Jim said so quietly only Suzuka and Aisha could hear, "What did he do?"
"Sir? Are you implying that you murdered Mrs. Melfina?" the lady said, looking at him as though he were some evil pirate.
"No! I got into a horrible fight with her and she ran outside and drowned in the rain!" Gene said. He could almost feel his eyes burning at this. "No..." he thought, "I am not going to cry. I never cry. I didn't even cry when dad died, or when Hilda died...or even when I was stranded...all alone. That's how I was before Melfina...why did this have to happen?"
Aisha put her hand up to her mouth and muttered, "Oh my..." before praying silently to her Ctarl Ctarl gods.
Jim's eyes went wide, "I...I can't believe this!" he thought.
"You'll have to sit down, sir,"
"I will not sit down! Let me in the damn room!"
"Would you please follow our policy? The doctor should be out shortly!" the lady said, starting to get annoyed.
"Fine." Gene shouted. On his way back to his seat he kicked a metal bookshelf that held magazines, leaving a large dent in the side. The lady at the counter didn't say anything.
"Melfina!" he thought when he had sat down, "Oh Mel, why did I ever do this to you? What drove me over the edge? You were perfect. Almost angelic. The way you walked, the sound of your voice. I loved everything about you Melfina. So why did I do this? Because I know I'll never be faithful to you? Oh Mel, you deserve someone so much higher than myself. Harry, if Harry was alive...though he may be feared across the galaxy and was a little crazy in the head, he never would have done this to you. He loved you, as much as I do maybe, but why can't I ever show it like he did? What's wrong with me?" he felt his cerulean eyes burning again, "Damnit...damn it all." he said aloud, fighting back those damn tears that threatened to streak down his face.
"I can't believe this," Jim said aloud, for the twelfth time, "Gene didn't even go this psycho when Hilda died!"
Aisha sniffled again, "I never saw this coming..."
Jim's eyes went downcast, "Even Aisha's not quite herself today..."
Another monotonous ten minutes past, until finally the lady at the counter becconed Gene to the deck.
"Is there any news?" Gene asked, hurriedly.
"Yes. The doctor wishes to meet with you. Through that door, please. He's in the hall." The lady said, pointing to a door to Gene's left.
"Okay, thanks," Gene said, as he burst throught the door. "Hospitals..." he muttered. "I've come to hate them."
"Ah yes, Mr. Starwind?" said a middle-aged doctor who stood in the hallway.
"Melfina, can I see Melfina?" Gene asked.
"Right this way please." They walked down the hall and turned into yet another corridor, where he opened one of the doors that all looked the same to Gene, and inside was Melfina, laying on a hospital bed, hooked up to all kinds of machines.
"Melfina!" Gene said, but her eyes remained closed. He rushed to her side and gently touched her cheek, "You poor thing! Mel, I can't even begin to tell you...I'm...I'm so sorry..."
"Sir, this is pretty hard for me to say," The doctor began.
"No," Gene thought, "No," he closed his eyes tightly. He had heard those words before. Standing behind his father when he was only a child.
"I'm so sorry Mr. Starwind. This is pretty hard to say," the doctor had told he and his father, "But Mrs. Starwind will only last about another night. The cancer has destroyed her liver, and she will not be able to live much longer."
"No!" Gene's dad had said, "She will live, oh Molly! You won't die!"
Gene had been too young to understand. He could only stand next to his father as the doctor told them the news. The news that his mother would die.
"Are you okay, Sir?" the doctor said, snapping Gene out of his flashback.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Gene lied.
"What I was saying was, Melfina has taken in a large amount of water. You see her here, unconscious. Even with the machines breathing is very painful for her. Her arm is in a cast, as you can see as well. She recieved quite a few scratches and bruises, particularly on her back. But the fact that she took in so much water...Melfina cannot survive without these machines to support her. You, Sir must make a discision." the doctor said, grimly.
"And what would that be?" Gene asked, secretly not wanting to know.
"If you wish for Melfina to live, she will live in great pain, not to mention she will need these machines at all times, which would be very costly."
"Or?"
"You can take the machines away from her now and let her die peacefully. The girl's been through one heck of alot."
Gene tried not to choke on his own tounge, "No!" he sputtered, shaking his head, "No, this isn't happening. This wasn't supposed to happen!"
"Nothing like this was ever meant to happen, but it does. You must descide now. If I were you, I'd let her die. If you really loved her, you wouldn't want her to suffer anymore."
"I..." Gene couldn't get the words out, "I...if we...if we must...then...then take away the machines." he said, wishing those words had not come out of his mouth.
"Very well then. I will remove the machines. Do you want to be alone with her while she dies?"
"Yes, of coarse," Gene said.
The doctor removed the machines from Melfina, nodded slightly to Gene and left the room, shutting the door behind him.
"Melfina?" Gene asked, "Mel, if you can hear me now, please give me a sign, anything!"
Melfina lay lifeless.
"Melfina!" Gene said, shaking her as gently as he could.
Her eyelids fluttered, and she opened them ever so slightly to meet Gene's.
"Mel...this wasn't supposed to happen," Gene said, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking her hand, "I...I didn't mean what I said. I didn't really know what to think, and now that this has happened..."
Melfina tilted her head to the side, trying not to face him. Her breathing struggled and raspy.
"Mel...don't turn away from me. This is my last chance to tell you...that...that I love you," he said, swallowing, his mouth feeling very dry, "To me you aren't a tool. I would never use you. I don't know why I made it seem that way today, or why I did sneak out at night, but Mel..." he paused.
Melfina turned back to him, and he could see the tears in her eyes.
"You...you mean everything to me..." Gene finally said. He put his hand to the side of her face and wiped away the tears, "Don't cry," he said, "Everything is going to be okay." though he knew it wouldn't be. He squeezed her hand very softly, and ran his other hand through her tangled hair.
Melfina whimpered, closing her eyes as she felt his touch. She looked at him, with those solemn, sparkling hazel eyes, and suddenly started coughing through her labored breathing, a bit of water leaking from her mouth. She put her good hand on her chest as she coughed and choked violently.
"Don't!" Gene said, "Stop, stop coughing, please!" he said, but it was useless. Melfina was choking to death. He put his arms around her waist and lifted her gently into a sitting position, where he let her rest forward on his chest. She buried her face there, where she continued choking.
And that was when Gene finally let go of the tears that he had fought back all along, forgetting his pride for once. Whenever something like this happened, he could only feel anger, but now nothing mattered. Nothing but Melfina. He should be angry. He should go and beat that stupid doctor. But when it came down to it...it wasn't the doctor who brought this about. He buried his own face in her hair, "Everything's going to be okay, Melfina. Everything's fine,"
Melfina knew at last she would be at peace. Though she lay here, painfully choking to her death, she would be fine as long as Gene was here to hold her until she left this world. A world that had only brought her pain and misery, unless she was near him. And maybe her life really did have purpose. Maybe she wasn't only created as a piece of a ship, or a puppet. She wasn't given emotions just for thrills, she knew how to love.
The next few moments seemed like an eternity. Gene didn't know how long he was there, how long it took for Melfina's coughs to die down until her heart beat so softly he could barely feel it. It didn't matter. Gene only wanted Melfina to be alive and well again, which he knew was something that would never come true.
Melfina finally coughed her last, and her body gave way in Gene's arms.
Sometimes things seem too good to be true to last forever. If there was any way to turn back the hands of time, Gene would have made things different. So different. And he never throught one day he would be here, at this hospital. He never thought things would come to this. Ever. All of it surreal, and even to this day he never forgot those long minutes he spent, just holding the now lifeless Melfina. Her raven black hair, those mystical eyes now shut for eternity. Quiet, shy, though in all her radiance. Her invisionment like a phantom in his mind, just a figure in his memory. Never again would he see the day when he'd return from a job to see her, standing there, smiling and greeting him home, and he always knew how happy she was just knowing that he had returned to her.
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*sniffles* Thanks for reading!
Part Two
-------------------------------------
Gene sat silently in the hospital waiting room. He hadn't even noticed all the pretty girls in the room, for once in a long while. He concentraited on nothing more than those white doors that led to where they had taken Melfina...
Jim sat in a chair next to Suzuka and Aisha on the other side of the room. Gene had sat far from where they were, facing the doors that led to the intesive care and emergency rooms.
"I can't believe this..." Aisha said, teary eyed.
"I know..." Jim said. It was a good thing he had seen Melfina on his way home. Though he doubted the hospital would be able to keep her alive. She had looked pretty serious...though she lay unconscious she still had a slight pulse...
Suzuka didn't say anything. She only sipped her tea and stared off into space, as if in deep thought.
"Why is Gene acting so weirdly?" Aisha asked, blowing her nose.
"I dunno..." Jim said somberly. He glanced over at Gene, who sat still, silent and unmoving. Just looking. Just looking at the doors. He hadn't shown any signs of emotion, at all. Except when Jim had called him from the car asking him to met him at the hospital...
"D'ya suppose he's real shaken up or something and doesn't want us to see?" Aisha asked, "Maybe we should try and talk to him."
"No," Suzuka said, breaking from her trance-like behavior, "I think it's best if we leave him alone."
Jim nodded, "I don't think we should mess with him now..."
"Why did I do it?" Gene thought bitterly, "Why did I do it? Melfina's dying right now, and it's all because of what I did. If I hadn't been so hotheaded none of this would have happened. I can't live with this. I can't live knowing that the last thing I said to her..." he shook it off.
He groaned as he brought his hand up and rested his face in it, then runned it through his hair. He finally stood up and starting walking towards the lady at the counter. "Why are my legs so shakey? Since when did I become unstable on my feet besides when I went into space again? Is this fear?" He thought.
"Yes, sir?" The lady said, with a large smile.
"How can you smile?" Gene thought angrily, "How can you smile at a time like this you stupid bitch!"
"Can I help you?" the lady asked. Her faced turned to looking concerned. His thoughts must have shown on his face.
"Yeah," he said, "Is there any news on Melfina?"
"Melfina?"
"You know, the girl with the broken arm...who..." Gene closed his eyes as he added, "Who drowned?" having to practically force the painful words out.
"I told you that I'd notify you when something comes up. I believe they are putting her on life support. Now please go and have a seat where you were and I will-"
"I don't want to sit down!" Gene said loudly, causing some people in the quiet waiting room to turn and stare.
"Sir, please don't cause any disruptions-"
"I am NOT disrupting!" he growled, "Let me see Melfina!"
"I'm sorry, sir, but there are no visitors at this moment. I will let you know when Melfina is accepting visitors."
"Melfina is dying right now and you won't let me tell her something? You won't let me resolve anything? I'm going to have to live with the fact that I killed her!" Gene screamed, now causing everyone in the room to stare at him.
"Oh my god..." Jim said so quietly only Suzuka and Aisha could hear, "What did he do?"
"Sir? Are you implying that you murdered Mrs. Melfina?" the lady said, looking at him as though he were some evil pirate.
"No! I got into a horrible fight with her and she ran outside and drowned in the rain!" Gene said. He could almost feel his eyes burning at this. "No..." he thought, "I am not going to cry. I never cry. I didn't even cry when dad died, or when Hilda died...or even when I was stranded...all alone. That's how I was before Melfina...why did this have to happen?"
Aisha put her hand up to her mouth and muttered, "Oh my..." before praying silently to her Ctarl Ctarl gods.
Jim's eyes went wide, "I...I can't believe this!" he thought.
"You'll have to sit down, sir,"
"I will not sit down! Let me in the damn room!"
"Would you please follow our policy? The doctor should be out shortly!" the lady said, starting to get annoyed.
"Fine." Gene shouted. On his way back to his seat he kicked a metal bookshelf that held magazines, leaving a large dent in the side. The lady at the counter didn't say anything.
"Melfina!" he thought when he had sat down, "Oh Mel, why did I ever do this to you? What drove me over the edge? You were perfect. Almost angelic. The way you walked, the sound of your voice. I loved everything about you Melfina. So why did I do this? Because I know I'll never be faithful to you? Oh Mel, you deserve someone so much higher than myself. Harry, if Harry was alive...though he may be feared across the galaxy and was a little crazy in the head, he never would have done this to you. He loved you, as much as I do maybe, but why can't I ever show it like he did? What's wrong with me?" he felt his cerulean eyes burning again, "Damnit...damn it all." he said aloud, fighting back those damn tears that threatened to streak down his face.
"I can't believe this," Jim said aloud, for the twelfth time, "Gene didn't even go this psycho when Hilda died!"
Aisha sniffled again, "I never saw this coming..."
Jim's eyes went downcast, "Even Aisha's not quite herself today..."
Another monotonous ten minutes past, until finally the lady at the counter becconed Gene to the deck.
"Is there any news?" Gene asked, hurriedly.
"Yes. The doctor wishes to meet with you. Through that door, please. He's in the hall." The lady said, pointing to a door to Gene's left.
"Okay, thanks," Gene said, as he burst throught the door. "Hospitals..." he muttered. "I've come to hate them."
"Ah yes, Mr. Starwind?" said a middle-aged doctor who stood in the hallway.
"Melfina, can I see Melfina?" Gene asked.
"Right this way please." They walked down the hall and turned into yet another corridor, where he opened one of the doors that all looked the same to Gene, and inside was Melfina, laying on a hospital bed, hooked up to all kinds of machines.
"Melfina!" Gene said, but her eyes remained closed. He rushed to her side and gently touched her cheek, "You poor thing! Mel, I can't even begin to tell you...I'm...I'm so sorry..."
"Sir, this is pretty hard for me to say," The doctor began.
"No," Gene thought, "No," he closed his eyes tightly. He had heard those words before. Standing behind his father when he was only a child.
"I'm so sorry Mr. Starwind. This is pretty hard to say," the doctor had told he and his father, "But Mrs. Starwind will only last about another night. The cancer has destroyed her liver, and she will not be able to live much longer."
"No!" Gene's dad had said, "She will live, oh Molly! You won't die!"
Gene had been too young to understand. He could only stand next to his father as the doctor told them the news. The news that his mother would die.
"Are you okay, Sir?" the doctor said, snapping Gene out of his flashback.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Gene lied.
"What I was saying was, Melfina has taken in a large amount of water. You see her here, unconscious. Even with the machines breathing is very painful for her. Her arm is in a cast, as you can see as well. She recieved quite a few scratches and bruises, particularly on her back. But the fact that she took in so much water...Melfina cannot survive without these machines to support her. You, Sir must make a discision." the doctor said, grimly.
"And what would that be?" Gene asked, secretly not wanting to know.
"If you wish for Melfina to live, she will live in great pain, not to mention she will need these machines at all times, which would be very costly."
"Or?"
"You can take the machines away from her now and let her die peacefully. The girl's been through one heck of alot."
Gene tried not to choke on his own tounge, "No!" he sputtered, shaking his head, "No, this isn't happening. This wasn't supposed to happen!"
"Nothing like this was ever meant to happen, but it does. You must descide now. If I were you, I'd let her die. If you really loved her, you wouldn't want her to suffer anymore."
"I..." Gene couldn't get the words out, "I...if we...if we must...then...then take away the machines." he said, wishing those words had not come out of his mouth.
"Very well then. I will remove the machines. Do you want to be alone with her while she dies?"
"Yes, of coarse," Gene said.
The doctor removed the machines from Melfina, nodded slightly to Gene and left the room, shutting the door behind him.
"Melfina?" Gene asked, "Mel, if you can hear me now, please give me a sign, anything!"
Melfina lay lifeless.
"Melfina!" Gene said, shaking her as gently as he could.
Her eyelids fluttered, and she opened them ever so slightly to meet Gene's.
"Mel...this wasn't supposed to happen," Gene said, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking her hand, "I...I didn't mean what I said. I didn't really know what to think, and now that this has happened..."
Melfina tilted her head to the side, trying not to face him. Her breathing struggled and raspy.
"Mel...don't turn away from me. This is my last chance to tell you...that...that I love you," he said, swallowing, his mouth feeling very dry, "To me you aren't a tool. I would never use you. I don't know why I made it seem that way today, or why I did sneak out at night, but Mel..." he paused.
Melfina turned back to him, and he could see the tears in her eyes.
"You...you mean everything to me..." Gene finally said. He put his hand to the side of her face and wiped away the tears, "Don't cry," he said, "Everything is going to be okay." though he knew it wouldn't be. He squeezed her hand very softly, and ran his other hand through her tangled hair.
Melfina whimpered, closing her eyes as she felt his touch. She looked at him, with those solemn, sparkling hazel eyes, and suddenly started coughing through her labored breathing, a bit of water leaking from her mouth. She put her good hand on her chest as she coughed and choked violently.
"Don't!" Gene said, "Stop, stop coughing, please!" he said, but it was useless. Melfina was choking to death. He put his arms around her waist and lifted her gently into a sitting position, where he let her rest forward on his chest. She buried her face there, where she continued choking.
And that was when Gene finally let go of the tears that he had fought back all along, forgetting his pride for once. Whenever something like this happened, he could only feel anger, but now nothing mattered. Nothing but Melfina. He should be angry. He should go and beat that stupid doctor. But when it came down to it...it wasn't the doctor who brought this about. He buried his own face in her hair, "Everything's going to be okay, Melfina. Everything's fine,"
Melfina knew at last she would be at peace. Though she lay here, painfully choking to her death, she would be fine as long as Gene was here to hold her until she left this world. A world that had only brought her pain and misery, unless she was near him. And maybe her life really did have purpose. Maybe she wasn't only created as a piece of a ship, or a puppet. She wasn't given emotions just for thrills, she knew how to love.
The next few moments seemed like an eternity. Gene didn't know how long he was there, how long it took for Melfina's coughs to die down until her heart beat so softly he could barely feel it. It didn't matter. Gene only wanted Melfina to be alive and well again, which he knew was something that would never come true.
Melfina finally coughed her last, and her body gave way in Gene's arms.
Sometimes things seem too good to be true to last forever. If there was any way to turn back the hands of time, Gene would have made things different. So different. And he never throught one day he would be here, at this hospital. He never thought things would come to this. Ever. All of it surreal, and even to this day he never forgot those long minutes he spent, just holding the now lifeless Melfina. Her raven black hair, those mystical eyes now shut for eternity. Quiet, shy, though in all her radiance. Her invisionment like a phantom in his mind, just a figure in his memory. Never again would he see the day when he'd return from a job to see her, standing there, smiling and greeting him home, and he always knew how happy she was just knowing that he had returned to her.
-------------------------------------
*sniffles* Thanks for reading!