A/N: I think I said I was almost done...on chapter 30-something. But this time, I think I really am close to done. I'm considering a sequel, but, as fun as that might be, I can't think of a plot that's different from this one. I was considering having Della come back to Middle Earth as Tracie and Benvenue's child, but it would basically be this same story, with different names. I dunno. I'll see what I can think of. Read on!
Chapter 44-Just a Dream
Delaney's eyes snapped open. Wide-eyed and disoriented, she looked around. At first, she thought she was dead. -I am dead, I died in Legolas's arms.- But she felt very much alive. -This can't be happening. I'm dead. Rose died, and I died with her.-
All she could see was white. Blinding white. -Well, people say they see Heaven when they were near death.- Was this it? Was this Heaven? Did Middle-Earth even have Heaven? The last thing she remembered was Legolas saying he loved her, and...a white car. An Audi. But that wasn't Rose, that was how she, Delaney, had died.
"Della?" She heard the voice. But it wasn't Rose, it wasn't inside her head, it was outside, she heard it with her ears. "Della, you're awake!" Awake? Alive? Could it be? Then...what happened to Rose? Where was she?
Slowly, she found the answer. She was in a hospital room. Modern-day Manhattan. A television screen was playing her mother's favorite daytime soap opera, a small table with doctor's tools stood off to one side. For several seconds, these objects seemed strange and foreign to her. Then everything clicked at once.
She was alive. She had survived. She was in the hospital, recovering, and her mother was sitting next to her, nearly hysterical. But what was all of Middle-Earth? Was it just one hell of a coma dream? That thought made her sad; on the other hand, that meant that Rose didn't really die, which was somewhat comforting.
"M-mom?" Her lips felt stupid and heavy, like she had forgotten how to talk. Her mother looked at her strangely. Why? She might be forgetting little things, like how exactly a microwave worked, but she was quite sure that the woman by her bed was, in fact, her mother. "Manke amin?" What did she just say? She had meant to ask where she was. No wonder her mother was looking at her as though she was speaking a different language. She was! What language? Was that Elvish? Why did she think of that...?
It must have all been a dream. Just like a dream, details were slipping out of her memory as fast as she tried to remember them. She couldn't remember the names of places, or what they looked like, or what she had looked like. One face stayed constant long after the name faded, though; a handsome blond Elf. And it wasn't Link. And Rose. She couldn't forget Rose, ever. Everything else, though...she wanted to cry. It seemed like such a part of her. But that was silly. It was just a dream. Something her brain had unconciously created while she was in a coma. Everything could be explained. She had been thinking of Elves before she went under, hadn't she? But the sense of inexplicable loss still filled her.
"Della?" Her mother was speaking hesitantly. Delaney thought about each word carefully before she said it and, lo and behold, it was ordinary English.
"Where am I?" It was easier to speak, now, though her voice was hoarse and rusty.
"The hospital, honey, you're in the hospital. Do you remember anything? The doctors said you might not." She strained to remember what had happened, but all she came up with was the shadowy, undefined world of her dream. And...a white car...
"An Audi. It was an Audi, wasn't it?" Her mother nodded slowly.
"Is that all you remember?" She tried. She really did. But all she could remember was a white car. And Mollier. What had Mollier been doing? Teasing her, of course; that question shouldn't have been asked. But she thought Mollier had been screaming. Why...?
"Yeah. All I remember."
"The car hit you. The driver wasn't looking at all where he was going. Your friend--Elsie? Elise?--tried to warn you." Elsie? Who? Oh, she couldn't possibly mean...
"Her name's Eloise. And she's not my friend."
"Well, she did try to help you. She got you out from under the car before the ambulance arrived."
"You're not supposed to move an injured person. That makes it worse."
"She was only trying to help you, angel. Really, I think you'd have a lot more friends at school if you just gave everyone a chance--"
"Mom, it's them that's not giving me a chance!" she cried. "You know I'd never be mean to anyone for no good reason, but these people are! It's not my fault they don't like me because I'm not rich!" She struggled to sit up, but her mother gently pushed her shoulders back down.
"Oh, dear, I'm sorry. You aren't awake for five minutes, and already I'm getting you worked up. You should just relax for now. Don't worry about anything for now. If you want to go back to sleep, that would be even better. I'm going to see if I can find the doctor. You just calm down and wait here." Struggling to comply, she lay back down. Why would Mollier ever lift one of her perfectly manicured fingers to help her, Delaney "the poor kid" Freeholder? It didn't make sense, it didn't make sense at all. --Don't think about that, you're supposed to be calming down.- It felt odd, being the only one in her head. She could almost go as far as to say that she missed it.
The doctor bustled in, with her mother following. He was a fussy-looking man; he didn't merely walk from one place to another. He bustled, he shuffled, he did everything but walk. Taking out several instruments, he poked and prodded at her.
"Awake, are you? What's your name? What do you remember?"
"Delaney Freeholder. A car."
"That's it? How old are you?"
"Yep. Thirteen years old. Wait." She frowned and tried to concentrate. "That's not right. Fourteen. I'm fourteen years old." Her mother looked worried, but the doctor just waved it away impatiently.
"Typical reaction, in a case like yours. As long as her basic knowledge of self isn't gone, we can rule out amnesia. There's a good chance that your short term memory will be affected for a few weeks after this, but you should be just fine after that. You might even gain the memory of the accident back. Now. How do you feel?"
"Fine."
"This isn't a courtesy. I need to know how you feel."
"Um...hoarse. And I have a headache."
"Of course you have a headache. You had a concussion, that's to be expected. Your torso, where the car hit you, any pain?"
"No." He poked her near her kidneys.
"Now?" She gave a small jerk.
"Yes."
"Sit up."
"I can't."
"You can't?"
"I just said that." Her mother tapped her lightly on the head.
"Don't mouth off to the doctor, he's just doing his job. Now, can you or can you not sit up?"
"I can't." The doctor nodded.
"Then you're coming along perfectly. You'll have to stay here for another week, maybe more, depends how you heal." A sudden question occured to her.
"How long have I been here?" She was dreading the answer; she was positive she had been with Rosellyn for almost a year.
"Only two months. Quite good, for an accident of this magnitude. Impressive that you pulled through at all. I had predicted you would be in a vegetative state for a little over six months." Two months? Only two months? How did that work out? Her headache was starting to worsen. This was all too complicated for her.
A/N: If this is complicated: Delaney got hit by a car. Was transported into Rosellyn's body. Rose dies. Della woke up, in the hospital, out of the coma. Fwee.
Chapter 44-Just a Dream
Delaney's eyes snapped open. Wide-eyed and disoriented, she looked around. At first, she thought she was dead. -I am dead, I died in Legolas's arms.- But she felt very much alive. -This can't be happening. I'm dead. Rose died, and I died with her.-
All she could see was white. Blinding white. -Well, people say they see Heaven when they were near death.- Was this it? Was this Heaven? Did Middle-Earth even have Heaven? The last thing she remembered was Legolas saying he loved her, and...a white car. An Audi. But that wasn't Rose, that was how she, Delaney, had died.
"Della?" She heard the voice. But it wasn't Rose, it wasn't inside her head, it was outside, she heard it with her ears. "Della, you're awake!" Awake? Alive? Could it be? Then...what happened to Rose? Where was she?
Slowly, she found the answer. She was in a hospital room. Modern-day Manhattan. A television screen was playing her mother's favorite daytime soap opera, a small table with doctor's tools stood off to one side. For several seconds, these objects seemed strange and foreign to her. Then everything clicked at once.
She was alive. She had survived. She was in the hospital, recovering, and her mother was sitting next to her, nearly hysterical. But what was all of Middle-Earth? Was it just one hell of a coma dream? That thought made her sad; on the other hand, that meant that Rose didn't really die, which was somewhat comforting.
"M-mom?" Her lips felt stupid and heavy, like she had forgotten how to talk. Her mother looked at her strangely. Why? She might be forgetting little things, like how exactly a microwave worked, but she was quite sure that the woman by her bed was, in fact, her mother. "Manke amin?" What did she just say? She had meant to ask where she was. No wonder her mother was looking at her as though she was speaking a different language. She was! What language? Was that Elvish? Why did she think of that...?
It must have all been a dream. Just like a dream, details were slipping out of her memory as fast as she tried to remember them. She couldn't remember the names of places, or what they looked like, or what she had looked like. One face stayed constant long after the name faded, though; a handsome blond Elf. And it wasn't Link. And Rose. She couldn't forget Rose, ever. Everything else, though...she wanted to cry. It seemed like such a part of her. But that was silly. It was just a dream. Something her brain had unconciously created while she was in a coma. Everything could be explained. She had been thinking of Elves before she went under, hadn't she? But the sense of inexplicable loss still filled her.
"Della?" Her mother was speaking hesitantly. Delaney thought about each word carefully before she said it and, lo and behold, it was ordinary English.
"Where am I?" It was easier to speak, now, though her voice was hoarse and rusty.
"The hospital, honey, you're in the hospital. Do you remember anything? The doctors said you might not." She strained to remember what had happened, but all she came up with was the shadowy, undefined world of her dream. And...a white car...
"An Audi. It was an Audi, wasn't it?" Her mother nodded slowly.
"Is that all you remember?" She tried. She really did. But all she could remember was a white car. And Mollier. What had Mollier been doing? Teasing her, of course; that question shouldn't have been asked. But she thought Mollier had been screaming. Why...?
"Yeah. All I remember."
"The car hit you. The driver wasn't looking at all where he was going. Your friend--Elsie? Elise?--tried to warn you." Elsie? Who? Oh, she couldn't possibly mean...
"Her name's Eloise. And she's not my friend."
"Well, she did try to help you. She got you out from under the car before the ambulance arrived."
"You're not supposed to move an injured person. That makes it worse."
"She was only trying to help you, angel. Really, I think you'd have a lot more friends at school if you just gave everyone a chance--"
"Mom, it's them that's not giving me a chance!" she cried. "You know I'd never be mean to anyone for no good reason, but these people are! It's not my fault they don't like me because I'm not rich!" She struggled to sit up, but her mother gently pushed her shoulders back down.
"Oh, dear, I'm sorry. You aren't awake for five minutes, and already I'm getting you worked up. You should just relax for now. Don't worry about anything for now. If you want to go back to sleep, that would be even better. I'm going to see if I can find the doctor. You just calm down and wait here." Struggling to comply, she lay back down. Why would Mollier ever lift one of her perfectly manicured fingers to help her, Delaney "the poor kid" Freeholder? It didn't make sense, it didn't make sense at all. --Don't think about that, you're supposed to be calming down.- It felt odd, being the only one in her head. She could almost go as far as to say that she missed it.
The doctor bustled in, with her mother following. He was a fussy-looking man; he didn't merely walk from one place to another. He bustled, he shuffled, he did everything but walk. Taking out several instruments, he poked and prodded at her.
"Awake, are you? What's your name? What do you remember?"
"Delaney Freeholder. A car."
"That's it? How old are you?"
"Yep. Thirteen years old. Wait." She frowned and tried to concentrate. "That's not right. Fourteen. I'm fourteen years old." Her mother looked worried, but the doctor just waved it away impatiently.
"Typical reaction, in a case like yours. As long as her basic knowledge of self isn't gone, we can rule out amnesia. There's a good chance that your short term memory will be affected for a few weeks after this, but you should be just fine after that. You might even gain the memory of the accident back. Now. How do you feel?"
"Fine."
"This isn't a courtesy. I need to know how you feel."
"Um...hoarse. And I have a headache."
"Of course you have a headache. You had a concussion, that's to be expected. Your torso, where the car hit you, any pain?"
"No." He poked her near her kidneys.
"Now?" She gave a small jerk.
"Yes."
"Sit up."
"I can't."
"You can't?"
"I just said that." Her mother tapped her lightly on the head.
"Don't mouth off to the doctor, he's just doing his job. Now, can you or can you not sit up?"
"I can't." The doctor nodded.
"Then you're coming along perfectly. You'll have to stay here for another week, maybe more, depends how you heal." A sudden question occured to her.
"How long have I been here?" She was dreading the answer; she was positive she had been with Rosellyn for almost a year.
"Only two months. Quite good, for an accident of this magnitude. Impressive that you pulled through at all. I had predicted you would be in a vegetative state for a little over six months." Two months? Only two months? How did that work out? Her headache was starting to worsen. This was all too complicated for her.
A/N: If this is complicated: Delaney got hit by a car. Was transported into Rosellyn's body. Rose dies. Della woke up, in the hospital, out of the coma. Fwee.