Chapter 24 – Revenge

A/N: We're winding down…just a few more chapters.

          Sam woke up to find that she had somehow found her way onto a pillow. And then she started feeling the pillow move. She was startled enough to sit upright, and she had found she had fallen against Rob sometime in her sleep, and Rob had fallen asleep too. When she sat up, he plopped right back against her. She must have been propping him up. He startled awake when he impacted against her arm, opening his eyes quickly as though he had been shocked. She sleepily glanced at him, yawning.

          He, on the other hand, scratched his head and looked around. "Where am I…?" He seemed to snap out of his daze instantly when he remembered. "Damn, I must have fallen asleep."

          "Brilliant deduction." She replied, stretching. She yawned loudly. "…I wonder if Raven's stable yet."

          "I'll go…"

          "Ms. Wesley?"

          Sam looked past Rob to see the doctor standing there. She instantly stood up herself, her heart leaping to her throat. She tried to read his expression, but found herself unable to.

          "…How's Raven?"

          "Well, everything seems to have gone well enough. He's stable now, we stopped the bleeding inside, and gave him the transfusion. His ribs, though beat up, can be mended. Now all we can do is wait and hope he comes out of his coma."

          "He-He's in a coma?"

          "His body has had a lot of shock, you must understand. We believe he will make it but I never make promises. However, if you'd like to see him, please come with me."

          Sam turned to Rob, and he nodded to her. "Go on. I'll wait here."

          She forced a smile and turned around to follow the doctor. They passed by many rooms and many people walking around, and ended up going into basically the areas where the intensive care units probably stayed.

          "He's pretty beat up, I will warn you." The doctor informed her. She looked at him, shaking her head.

          "No worse then watching him bleed onto me." She replied quietly. "To see him coughing up blood and claiming that death was going to take him."

          "I'll give you a few minutes alone." He said, patting her shoulder before leaving. She walked in slowly, as if almost not wanting to see him. In her mind, she knew once she saw him half-destroyed, it would be reality. And there he laid, dozens of wires and tubes entered into his skin, bandages and stitches littering his body. He looked…dead. In fact, she figured he would be considered that if not for the very pained looking labored breathing he was doing and the soft bleeps of the heart monitor by his bedside. She knew he wasn't in pain though. He had to be pretty heavily sedated. She kind of stood and stared at him in shock for what seemed like hours. When she finally moved forward, she was greeted with the sight of just how badly ripped apart his body was. He didn't see all the little scratches that needed stitches that dotted his midsection, and she didn't even need to see under the bandages to know that his midsection that was covered up probably was already black and blue.

          She silently took back the comment she had made, this…this was ten times worse. At least all the wounds weren't seen with the blood flowing over them. When she finally made it to his bedside, she fought another urge to break down, since the sight made her want to turn and flinch or throw up or something that would not be pleasant.

          "Jesus." She uttered, looking him over up and down. Despite the fact he was in such a bad condition, he actually looked peaceful. Kind of like a dead peaceful, which of course ruined the whole realization that he didn't look like he was in pain. She sighed and touched his hand, trying to make herself feel better by realizing that he was still warm to the touch. That meant he wasn't dead. That meant he was still inside there somewhere.

          She didn't even know where to start. She had never been by a person this hurt. She even started wondering if her parents were as mangled as he was. She got that out of her head, quickly. That would definitely put her over the edge. She didn't actually know what to do. On TV, when people were standing as she was, they usually talked to them as if they were up and awake.

          So she tried it out.

          "You know, you have to give me the biggest headache sometimes." She mused, resting her hand against his. "Scaring me half to death like this. And look at you, you let yourself get beat up this much? For what? For me? You know better. You should have just did what they asked. I know they wanted me..."

          She sighed. "…But whatever. Guess yelling at you won't help. Hell, if you were awake, you'd probably talk all dutifully that you must protect me and whatnot. And I'd tell you not to bother, even though I would know you wouldn't listen. You've always been stubborn as hell." She looked at his scratched up face. "But that's why I like you, because you were always the only one who could talk sense into me. You can go back and forth with me for hours and I'd get so tired that I'd just give up and let you win. So that's why you can't die on me. I might go crazy one day and no one's there to stop me. Then what, Raven? It'd be all your fault because you died on me."

          She realized she was crying again. She rubbed her eyes, a bit angrily. "…See what you're doing to me, now? Crying and blubbering like a kid. Even Rob saw me crying. He's the one who brought me here, you know. I knew he was innocent too, even before you told me. I was telling Chris that a little after I snuck out to see you and…well, you know. I think Rob even saved you, and helped me out even when I almost broke his nose. So it can't be that bad, right? …It doesn't matter. Because you're still here. And I refuse to let you leave me. You never gave up on me, and now I'm not going to give up on you. You're going to wake up and we can go back to normal."

          She bit her lip, looking down. "….Please, Raven? Please say that I'm right?"

~~

          Rob knew he was shouldn't have listened in. He just felt compelled to listen to her talk to him. She sounded so…sad. It wasn't a normal sad. And he knew that Raven was now really the part of her life that he had lost. He wasn't really surprised, though. Raven was always there where he wasn't. And he made her happy. Rob suddenly realized anger was boiling inside him.

          Why did it have to happen to Raven? How could two humans do this to another? He knew Sam wasn't going to get revenge for Raven for a while. It came to him easily – since that was a fact, why not put matters into his own hands? It was the least he could do for her. He turned from the door and started walking away with much intent.

          They would pay for what they did.

          He felt what he figured was what Sam felt when she went primal. Just a pure, utter hate that ate at him. He barely noticed Jericho until he hit into him.

          "Rob!"

          Rob looked at him and Jericho actually took a step back, his darkened, completely pissed look surprising him.

          "Excuse me. I have to attend to something."

          "Rob, wait a second!" Jericho caught his arm. "What's going on?"

          "I'm going to kill the bastards." He muttered.

          "Which bastards?"

          "The ones that nearly killed Raven." He pulled his arm out of his grip and continued walking. "…You can come if you like."

          Jericho stared after for a moment, then quickly followed. He had a feeling that he had to watch Rob more then he had to watch Sam.

          Rob didn't care that he drove recklessly. He just wanted to get there and find the damn idiots. He figured already where they might be. It all led to one girl. Heyman had said to trust his instincts, and his instincts told him he would have to shove Stephanie's head through a wall for all the shit she's put him through. His instincts told him to beat Shawn and Hugh unconscious. Not to the point they had gotten Raven, but enough so they'd get the point.

          And his instincts told him to leave the Alliance, even with a small threat of not finding another job. He couldn't…WOULDN'T…be apart of something that hurt their own members like a wild pack of dogs.

          "What are you going to do when we get there?" Jericho asked.

          "Get two chairs and beat the shit out of Shawn and Hugh."

          "They did it?"

          "Yes."

          "How do you know?"

          "They ran past me, leaving a blood trail right to him. That's how."

          "Oh." Jericho looked down. "…Damn."

          "You couldn't possibly understand unless you see him. How bad off he is. He looks like he was hit by a truck."

          "Does Sam know…?"

          "No. I didn't tell her. I figure I owe her this much." He explained. "She loves that guy and she won't get revenge for him for a good while, the way Raven is."

          Chris frowned when he heard Rob's voice crack a little at the mere speaking of Sam loving Raven. He didn't comment on it. Rob easily found his way back to the hotel and pulled into the first possible spot. His car stopped with a loud screech. They both got out, and Rob didn't bother waiting for him. Chris just did his best to keep up with him. There was no one Chris would stop him then. He was way to far gone. It just kept repeating in his head, the sight of Sam absolutely beside herself with panic, and the realization that they almost made a man die instantly…

          He would find them, no matter where they were. He stomped into the hotel, barely noticing people watching them as they walked by. What he did realize, even in his anger-induced state, was that he really didn't know where they were, and it would be pretty pointless to burst into a whole mess of rooms. He needed to find someone who knew something. He contemplated questioning the man at the desk, but he knew the man would probably end up calling them and letting them escape.

          He found his answer in Lance Storm, who was suspiciously hanging outside. He seemed to be waiting for something. He didn't immediately see Chris behind him, but when he did, his eyes kind of got wide and he looked as though he was about to take off running. He didn't get far. Rob caught his shirt and tugged him back. He threw Lance into the wall, pinning him to it.

          "Where are they?"

          "Rob?! You working for her too?!"

          "Tell me where they are or I'll beat you viciously, got me?" Lance, who was still bruised up by Sam, seemed to squirm at the idea of more pain.

          "Alright, alright. They're in Stephanie's room. She'll never let you in." Lance pointed out.

          "She will when you call to her." He smirked wickedly. "Chris, take him."

          Rob tossed the poor man to Jericho, who sighed and held him tightly. "…Are you sure you want to do this? You'll be fired on the spot."

          "I don't want anything to do with people like her. I'd rather be without one in that case." Rob turned from him, shaking his head. "Let's go. I have a little vengeance to pay out. Save Sam the trouble."

          "You're the leader." He agreed, shrugging. He pushed Lance forward. "Get going, idiot."