Chapter 42

Giselle glanced up from Clare's still form and sighed. The small room where Clare was was

completely silent, save for the regular beeping of the machines. "They're the only constant

thing we can still grasp onto," she thought sadly. Casting her eyes about the room, she

silently noted its occupants: Rayan, sitting on the other side of the bed holding Clare's

still hand, hunched over with grief; Quatre, sitting next to his son, eyes glazed over;

her parents, unobtrusively standing off to the side, eyes filled with sadness; the rest of

them gathered in various parts of the room, Jerry holding Eva, who was sniffling

occasionally, Reena, Aelis, and Riko clutching each other anxiously, the Chang twins

eyeing the bed uneasily. Fear, tension, and anxiety pervaded the room; the chaotic

feelings nearly tangible and punctuated by the steady beeping of the machines struggling

to win a battle that Clare herself did not want to win.

Giselle returned her gaze to her comatose best friend. She wondered briefly where

Dorothy was; wouldn't she want to be by her daughter's side? She also noted the absence

of Thomas, and her hands clenched. "That bastard!" she thought furiously, frustratedly.

"How COULD he?!" she thought murderously, recounting Eva's tearfully blurted explanation

of how he had taken flight. "I swear, if Clare dies-"

Her thoughts were abruptly cut off as the door was suddenly opened. Dorothy stood framed

in the light, calm and collected as always. Quatre started, and began to stand.

"Dorothy-"

A quick jerk of her head cut him off as she gracefully stepped into the already crowded

room and made way for a hunched figure. Stepping tentatively into the room, Thomas

raised his tearstained face and glanced about uncertainly.

Rayan abruptly rose. He stared at the other boy, then suddenly he lunged. "YOU!"

Rayan snarled, hands on Thomas' throat. Thomas didn't resist, letting the older boy take

him down to the ground. "You murderous, no good son of a bitch!" Rayan roared, throttling

him. "You fucking bastard! I'll KILL you!"

"Rayan!" Dorothy interjected coldly. Rayan looked up with wild eyes. "Kaasan-"

"Let him up. Now."

Ice blue eyes clashed for what seemed like an eternity, then Rayan slowly released his

hold. Dorothy gave a curt nod of approval, then jerked her head at Thomas, indicating

towards Clare's form on the bed. Thomas slowly got to his feet, then made his way over

to the bed. He stood there a moment, gazing sadly down at Clare, then said, "But I don't

know how-"

"You know what you need to do. Do it," was Dorothy's short response.

Thomas stared, shrugged his shoulders helplessly, then turned back to the bed. Then

hesitatingly, he took Clare's cold hands, and closed his eyes.

"Clare..."

*********************

Thomas started, staring around him. He seemed to be floating in space. But before he

could wonder any further, he began to drop. He seemed to plunge towards an infinite

darkness, but before he could panic, he felt himself hit water. Frantic, he clawed

towards the surface, lungs bursting for the lack of air. Finally, his head broke free

of the water. Gasping, he looked around for something to grab onto, but found nothing.

He began to panic once again, but then saw a form floating a little ways ahead of him.

"Clare!" he shouted, swimming towards her. "Clare! Can you hear me! Answer me!"

Clare heard her name called, and slowly opened her eyes. Forcing herself upright by

treading water, she turned and saw Thomas. "Thomas?!" she gasped, shocked.

Thomas spat out water; the current was overwhelming him, but Clare seemed to be having no

problems at all. Trying to keep his head above the water, he shouted back, "Clare! It's

me! Come on, let's get out of here!"

Clare's eyes hardened. "Get lost!" she spat, and suddenly, the waters became ferocious.

Thomas felt himself being pushed under, the river trying to smother him.

********************

Back in the real world, Thomas suddenly gagged and fell to his knees, his entire body

tense and his eyes squeezed tightly shut. However, his hands never let go of Clare's.

Giselle glanced uneasily at Dorothy. "Dorothy-sama...exactly what is going on?"

Dorothy's eyes never left Thomas. "He's trying to bring her back, and she's fighting him,"

she stated simply.

"But...but what will happen if he fails?"

"They will both die."

********************

Fighting furiously against the river's wrath, Thomas once again clawed his way to the

surface. Hacking and spitting out water, he shouted over to Clare, "Clare! I'm sorry!

It's all my fault! Please forgive me, and let's go back! Give me another chance!"

"Another chance Thomas? Another CHANCE?! Who called me a whore? Who said he didn't want

anything to do with me? Huh? ANSWER ME!!" she screamed back, the river's current

becoming fiercer and fiercer.

Thomas felt himself getting sucked under again, but summoning more of his quickly waning

energy, he shouted back, "I know I messed up! I was WRONG Clare! I was completely and

totally wrong! I was scared, but now I'm asking for your forgiveness! Please Clare!

Please LIVE! Please choose to live before it's too late!" he managed to finish before

being forced under again.

********************

Rayan watched silently as Thomas began to writhe, then slowly, he stepped over toward

him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he choked out, "Come on Thomas, be strong. You can

do it. I...I know you can save my sister."

********************

Thomas felt a sudden surge of strength. Pushing himself upward, he started to call out to

Clare once again, but was struck dumb at the sight of the looming waterfall behind her.

"No," he whispered, horrified. Shaking himself out of it, he called out, "Clare, PLEASE!

Please come back before it's too late! We're almost out of time!"

"Out of time?" Clare asked, then turned around. She stared at the waterfall, then shook her

head. "It's already too late Thomas," she said quietly, closing her eyes.

Thomas felt the river pull at him again, and he knew this time there would be no coming

back up again. Fighting with all his strength, he managed one phrase before he was

completely pulled under.

"Clare, I LOVE you!"

********************

Rayan started as Thomas suddenly went limp. Seeing his frightened expression, Giselle

quickly stepped over to his side of the bed. Placing her hand on Thomas' other shoulder,

she whispered fiercely, "Don't you dare give up! Come on Thomas, keep fighting! Bring

Clare back!"

********************

Clare's eyes flew open at Thomas' sudden proclamation. "Thomas?" she called, waiting for

him to reappear. When she received no response, she began to panic. "Thomas!" she

screamed. "Thomas, come back! Please! Don't just say something stupid like that and

then not-"

She was abruptly cut off as she too was pulled under.

********************

Clare's already still body seemed to go lifeless as her pulse flatlined on the monitor.

There was a collective gasp in the room, but Dorothy shook her head. "No," she said

fiercely. "Not yet. It's not over yet."

********************

Clare clawed helplessly in the water, trying to reach the surface. "No!" she tried to

scream, but the waters muffled her voice, choking her. She felt herself being pulled over.

"Is...is this it?" she thought helplessly. Suddenly a hand grabbed hold of hers.

Starting, she stared as Thomas appeared in front of her, his face determined.

if you die, we will die together.

Clare was shocked.

tho...thomas? is that you? in my head?

Thomas smiled, nodding encouragingly.

come on clare. let's go back.

Time seemed to stand still as the two looked at each other, both being pulled over the

waterfall that would permanently take them away from the physical world. Finally, tears

in her eyes, Clare nodded.

i want to live!

********************

Thomas gave a little sigh before his entire body relaxed. Rayan and Giselle started,

lifting their hands off as Thomas opened his eyes and straightened, his fingers still

intertwined with Clare's.

Giselle recovered first. "Thomas! Is Clare-"

Thomas smiled wearily, then kissed the hand he held. The fingers he held suddenly

moved, then wrapped around his own fingers. Clare slowly opened her eyes, then turned to

look up at Thomas.

"I...I'm back."