Disclaimer: See Ch. 1.
To my one (non-requested) reviewer: this one's for you, dear.
He always looked the same when she came to see him; pale and motionless, almost dead. He was completely unresponsive to her except to groan a bit and flicker his eyelids when he was spoken to, and that could mean anything. If she touched him he would move, sometimes... but that was probably reflexes.
Was Walter conscious at all, under his closed eyelids? And if he was, did he get lonely, locked in his own body with no one near him for hours on end? What did he think when she came to him? Did he even know it was her? Did he care either way?
"I wish you could answer me," she said aloud, and wasn't surprised when he didn't respond at all. At this hour it was unlikely he'd even heard her. With a soft sigh, she pulled a chair to his bedside and sat down, replacing the washcloth on his forehead with the fresh one she'd been carrying. Why do I bother to tend to him? Maybe I am being pathetic, the way my Master says.
"I know you probably can't hear me now, Walter. I know you're most likely going to die whether I'm here or not, and I know what my Master thinks about me spending so much time in here. But I--" She paused to collect herself and wipe tears from her eyes. Crying would be more pathetic still. "I can't lose you. You're the only friend I have at Hellsing--the only person who doesn't treat me like some lost kitten, anyway--and if you die I'll be... all alone... Oh, Walter!"
Infuriating silence, broken only by Walter's labored breathing. Fighting down tears, Seras composed herself again. "All I want is one word from your lips... one word to prove I'm not pouring my heart out to a dead man. Would you do that for me if you could, Walter?"
His eyelids had lifted just a bit; the slightest motion, but it meant all the world to Seras. She laid a hand against his cheek, wiping away the sweat that had beaded on his face. "You're not dead, Walter." Gently, she bent her head down to his shoulder, her lips beside his ear, and whispered, "Hold on, Walter... for me."
She didn't notice her hand had made its way to his mouth until she felt his lips move softly underneath it... trying to kiss her fingers...
Reflexes.
With a frustrated grunt, she stood and left.