Author's Note: I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed, even the ones that complained about the cliffhangers. ;)
Disclaimer: These are a pain in the neck, aren't they? I only own the angst involved with the characters, not the show itself. All ideas and characters belong to Mr. Butch Hartman.
Chapter Seventeen: Til Death Do Us Part
Breathing deeply, Vicky gazes at her youngest sister and clasps her hand. Again, the raven-haired girl tosses and turns, but this time, she says nothing at all. Perhaps she imagined it- people in comas don't tend to speak, do they? Maybe it's her guilty conscience.
"Tootie?" She whispers, uncharacteristically tender in her speech. For the first time in her life, the thought occurs to her that she's her sister...not just in name. And she should have treated her better, or at least like she was a human, and not a slave.
Outside, she can hear banging, but she ignores it. Let them bang and howl at her, she has as much a right as they do to see Tootie. Maybe even more, because she's her sister. And sisters'll forgive each other no matter, right? No matter if she takes that tube and tries to strangle her...
Clearing her throat, she begins her 'woeful' tale. However, she doesn't count on one factor- people can hear other people in comas. Maybe it isn't terribly intelligent of her to blather on falsely. Maybe, just maybe, Tootie can hear her.
"I'm sorry I wrote those notes, telling Timmy that if he didn't want dead goldfish, he'd leave you alone. I guess I didn't realize he valued those damn things so much...what kind of normal person would do that? Jeez, what a twerp.
"Hmph, and he was stupid enough to screw around with a gay girl to boot. He really is a moron, isn't he? I wonder why he came here; it can't be out of affection for you. Maybe he wanted to see you off or something." Vicky shrugs, her eyes flickering to her heart monitor. But why is it beeping so erratically? And why does the hand she holds suddenly squeeze hers a little too tightly?
"Ack!" She screams, but she is unable to wrench her hand from her sister's. She's clasping it so tightly, she's hurting her. That bitch is going to break her hand at this rate.
"Let go, you little whore!" Angrily, Vicky slaps her hard, leaving an imprint. Before she knows it, she's striking her with her right hand and whipping Tootie's arm with her left. If she isn't careful...
Rushing in are Timmy, A.J., and the nurses. They have to forcibly remove her from Tootie, heart beating erratically. If the beating continues in this manner, Tootie will suffer a full body breakdown. Vicky may have missed her chance to kill her before, but she could do so now if she is not stopped.
However, Vicky overpowers all of them, running out the door and down the stairs. Tootie spasms so badly, it looks like she's having a seizure. A.J., eyes rooted to her older sister, fails to notice her state. What the hell happened to security?!
A pink aura envelops Timmy and Tootie- he struggles to keep the spell active, because he knows Wanda intentionally left it so. If he can enter her dreams, maybe he can dissuade Tootie from suffering from cardiac arrest. Right now, she's frightening the living crap out of him.
However, enacting the spell is the most difficult thing he's ever done in his life. Humans are able to perform a miniscule amount of magic on their own, but it takes a great amount of effort. Timmy's uncertain he can muster enough...
However, for a brief second, Tootie's eyes flicker open...and that gives him incentive. Even if this kills him, he will get to her. She needs him, damn it!
This time is different, he can feel it. Instead of rushing into her mind, she's inviting him in...
-----
Sitting astride a large, red Chevrolet, Tootie gazed at him. Her eyes were shut tightly, and, when she opened them, he was stunned to discover she was blind. No wonder she wasn't wearing glasses.
"Timmy..." She breathed, indicating he join her on the hood. Of course, he scrambled up and she shuddered deeply. What she wanted to say would not be easy for either of them, but it was the only way to tell him. Sometimes, people required the cold, hard truth.
"You almost had a heart attack there. You scared the living shi-"Timmy began, but she held up her hand. Even if she couldn't see more than a vague glimmer of it, she knew he could. Damn, she really wished she could see him one last time, before she tendered her resignation.
"Timmy, I'm dying. You and I both know this." Sighing heavily, she felt for his hand and he drew her to him. His hand ran through her hair, making it hard for her to concentrate on what she wanted to say. Oddly enough, when Timmy didn't force himself in her dreams, he wasn't present. Who was playing around with her mind?
"But you can still choose to live!" He snapped, kissing her neck. Again, she shuddered and restrained herself, just barely, from feeling beneath his shirt. God, she wanted him so badly.
"That choice has already been made for me...just let me die. It's the most humane thing to do and-"His lips fell from her neck and he stood, glowering at her. God, she didn't mean to make him angry with her, just to tell him the truth.
"You're giving up again, damn you! Tootie, I'm defending you- my fairy godparents got in trouble because of you! You don't see me complaining, do you? Stop it, stop acting like there's no other choice but to die!" Dimly, she saw him reach out and shake her. It wasn't severe, it was just enough to jolt her. He couldn't think of any other way to shock her.
"There isn't!" She responded, on the verge of tears. Truthfully, she couldn't see another way out of this conundrum. And now, she was dizzy.
"Listen to me. You may feel like you have nothing to live for, but that isn't true. You have me to live for, okay. Even if Vicky doesn't get arrested immediately and she and Ricky aren't charged with child abuse, I'll still protect you. I love you, Tootie...why won't you accept that?" Placing a hand on her face, he kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Did you say that to Trixie too? Does that make me a lucky winner or something?" Tootie snapped, unwilling to believe him yet again. She didn't quite buy Vicky's story, either. Then again, she longed to, longed to feel Timmy inside her...
"I said it to her because I thought that was how I felt! I-"He was cut off before he could finish, unfortunately.
"So you're saying it to me and then, later, you'll find someone cuter and you'll tell her you love her, and maybe you will-"Before she knew it, she'd commenced crying; Timmy wrapped his arms around her and she sobbed into his shoulder. I know you only think you mean it now, but it's nice to dream, isn't it? I want to enjoy you as long as I can...
"I think this is different somehow," Timmy murmured, kissing her on the crown of her head. "I was only in lust with Trixie, never love. But I fell in love with you."
"Stop..." She whimpered.
Taken aback, he did so, glancing down at her worriedly. His hands fell to his sides and absolutely no part of him touched her. What was going on inside that subconscious of hers? What was she thinking?
"Stop making me believe you...stop giving me hope...stop loving me...just stop..." Wearily, she shoved him away, but she could not extract him from her mind. She'd invited him in.
"No." One word said volumes. "I won't stop loving you, I won't stop making you believe me...because I'm not a quitter. And I know you aren't either, as much as you'd like to pretend you are."
"Just get the hell out!" Tootie screamed, but he remained put. He wasn't leaving without her. It seemed that the only way she could learn was the hard way how much he cared.
"You can't keep shoving me out when you don't like what I have to say, it doesn't work that way. I understand that you don't want people to get too close, because you think if they do, they'll be hurt. You're afraid that, by letting people into your world, you're opening them up for abuse too.
"But not everyone is in the same situation than you. You haven't been taught to fight the system, just to blindly follow it and hope you turn out okay. If you give in, you feel it's the best for everyone involved.
"But you have to learn that isn't true. Sometimes, if there's something you really want, you have to protect it. Life is a precious thing, Tootie, and even if you feel like you're in too much pain to endure it, just remember that 'this too will pass'. There are people who love you, although they don't express it as often as they should (or at the appropriate time), and they won't forgive you or themselves for letting you take the easy way out.
"I know you think slipping into a coma and fading away is the best thing right now. That if you just disappear, your problems will mysteriously vanish. They might, but you have to remember that you're also making it worse for other people.
"Take me, for instance. I'd never be able to live with myself knowing I was the only person who could help you and you still chose death. Trying your hardest means nothing if you don't achieve your ends in a case like this.
"Now answer me, Tootie. Will you wake up?"
There was utter silence, when Tootie's eyes cleared and she gazed at Timmy anew. He bit his lip, not noticing that all his knowledge was not his, but garnered from many a lecture from Cosmo and Wanda. They'd taught him far more than they'd ever dreamed.
"I'm not saying that when you wake up, everything will be easy, but I won't leave you for a second. I've been here for hours, waiting for you to wake up. Wanda and Cosmo got in trouble with Fairy World just so I could save you- I'm risking two creatures that I love more than life itself for another love- you. So, please, just wake up." His lip quivered and he dropped his eyes so she couldn't see the tears forming. Nevertheless, his shoulders shook terribly.
"Can-can I have a little time to mull this over?" Tootie spoke, voicing her opinion for the first time in over fifteen minutes.
Listlessly, he replied, "Sure." None of that sunk in...she's still going to kill herself...
A weak smile crossed her face and she briefly embraced him. Tears shone in her eyes but she quickly shook her head to dispel them. He wasn't required to know his speech had moved her to tears.
"I love you, Timmy..."
With that, he was kicked out for a final time.