As her knee hit the floor, the wound split open and the blood began to flow out again. Dr. Giasoda noticed the bleeding and called one of the assistants in to get her stitched up right away. it was the same assistant that came to get the doctor in the first place. He took Alex off, leaving Jet with the doctor in the room alone.
"Is there something you can give her to calm her down?" he asked her slowly. He was trying to fight back tears himself.
"We have a light sedative that would just make her a little out of it, but not totally unconscious. I'll bring it to you and she can take it when she comes back." she said as she pulled her glasses out and put them back on. She went to leave when Jet stopped her.
"Do you honestly give him any chance that he'll survive?" She was silent for a moment.
"The way it looks, he has a snowball's chance in hell, but who knows, there could be a freezer just beyond the flames." She said as she turned and walked out. Jet slammed his fist into the wall with a loud, echoing bang. If the wall weren't solid concrete, he would've made a hole the size of a dinner plate.
Not long after that, Alex returned to the room with her knee stitched shut and cleaned up a little to find Jet sitting back with his harmonica in one of the more comfortable chairs. She hobbled in and flopped down nearby with a sigh.
"What did the doctor have to say after I left?" she asked.
"Not much. Just telling me again how long they expect." He said as he took a breath and began to play again. She sighed again and let the tears roll down her cheek. The hours ticked by slowly, like an eternity. Alex was bordering on unconsciousness, as was Jet when the doctor entered the room again almost seven hours later. Jet stood quickly, but Alex was too tired to care. Dr. Giasoda entered as emotionless as ever, not telling whether he was still alive or dead. Alex looked up at her with glistening, bloodshot eyes as she removed her glasses. After a moment, she began to grin.
"Mr. Spiegel is a very stubborn man." She smiled. "We managed to get him stabilized and he's asleep right now in his room." Alex smiled and tears began to flow freely as she slowly stood and Jet hugged her tight. "Just before he fell unconscious, he made an unusual request though."
"Don't tell me he asked for a drink." Jet said. Giasoda shook her head and then looked at Alex.
"He requested that his beautiful girlfriend sleep in his room with him tonight. He was very stubborn about getting that point across also." She said. Jet and Alex looked at each other.
"He said that?" she asked the doctor. Giasoda nodded.
"You'd better go. You know how he gets when he doesn't get what he wants." Jet smiled. She nodded and walked with the doctor out of the room.
"You're a very lucky girl to have such an amazing man you know." She said as she led Alex down a few halls. Alex only had socks on her feet, but the thud of the doctor's footsteps echoed through the hallways until they came to a door with the number '5' marked on it.
"Is he okay though? I mean, he's not totally mutilated or anything, right?" she asked as Giasoda wrapped her hand around the doorknob. She shook her head.
"Not at all, the only incision we made was in his abdomen." She smiled as she twisted the knob and the door swung open silently. The room was dim, but Alex could see spike lying in a bed, surrounded by a few beeping machines that were hooked up to his body in one way or another. His face was partially bandaged where the cuts and gashes had been stitched shut and covered with gauze and there was an IV needle in his arm. "There's a chair on the other side of the bed, near the window. You can pull it close to the bed and sleep there if you'd like." She said as she led Alex into the room and then stepped back out.
"Okay, thank you so very, very much doctor Giasoda." She said.
"It's my job. Pleasant dreams dear." She said as she pulled the door shut and left leaving Alex in the room with the sleeping Spike and a handful of those beeping machines. She walked around to the foot of the bed and looked at him. He looked like he was in pain and upset, as he lie there unconscious. She walked around to find the chair and she pulled it up right beside the bed. She sat down in it and leaned on the bed itself, right next to Spike. She took his one hand with both of hers and despite the sensation of the blood pulsing through his veins she was still uneasy whether he was going to live or die. She put her head down on the mattress next to him and let go of his hand.
"Spike, it was all my fault you're like this." She cried. "If I hadn't called you today while you were trying to get away, you wouldn't be here now. I should've known better!" her tears soaked into the blankets he was lying under. "I can't believe that you survived something like this, if anyone, I should be the one laying here on the brink of death." She continued to sob out loud with her head buried into the bed at his side. "I don't deserve someone like you. You should have someone better." As she continued to cry, she felt something. His hand had picked up and was stroking her head gently, running his fingers through her hair slowly. She looked up at his face to see his eyes just barely cracked open and a weak smile on his lips. Her tears fell faster when she saw him looking at her.
"Alex…If anything," he began slowly. His voice was very raspy and hushed. "If anything, I don't deserve an angel like you who looks after me like you do." His words took an eternity to get to her ears. She kept her head down on the bed and let him continue to run his fingers through her hair. This was a moment she wished could last forever. She was so upset and he was in so much physical pain that the sensation of pain in one way or another was mutual.
"Spike, it hurts to see you lying there like that." She said as he wiped a tear from her face.
"You think you're hurting, look at me!" he said showing her his bandaged body. "Not only do I have to sit here in pain from these damned cuts, but sitting here and watching you cry hurts just as much if not more." He said as he continued to run his fingers through her hair over and over.
"I just don't think it's fair that you're the one who has to lie in this bed because I distracted you and almost got you killed." She sniffled as she placed her hand over his. He shook his head.
"To tell you the truth, I'm glad I was almost killed. It made me think about how I live my life and the things I should change that would probably make me live longer." He explained. "Like going after huge bounties all alone like I did, that was really stupid of me. I should've at least took you or Jet with me."
"Spike, what are you saying?" she asked him curiously with tears in her eyes still. With a sigh, Spike's reply surprised her.
"I'm considering giving up bounty hunting."
"What?" she couldn't believe what he was saying. "Why? You love it!" he shook his head.
"But it's taking a hell of a toll on my body. One more mess like this and I can guarantee I won't live through it. The bout with Mad Pierot, then the mess with Vincent, and on top of that being left for dead after my fight with Vicious, it's a miracle I'm not dead yet." He said as a tear was brought to his eye as he recalled the painful memories.
"Spike, bounty hunting is your life. What will you do if you give it up? What will you do for money?" she asked becoming a little frustrated.
"I don't know, I guess I could teach self defense classes or something for kids and adults." He said trying to work things out in his head.
"You hate kids, remember?" she reminded him.
"Oh yea." He sighed. There was a short pause. "Well, I can find something to do. I can sell something or something." He said slowly thinking of what he was saying as he was saying it and realizing how stupid he sounded. She wanted to laugh, but she couldn't find it in her anywhere. He wanted to give up what he did all his life because of all of this and for her.
"Spike, you just have to be more careful is all. If you didn't rush out all alone and I went with you, things like this wouldn't happen anymore. We're supposed to be a team remember?" she told him as she took his hands. She was extra careful not to jostle the IV needle.
"No, it's time I give it up and start thinking about the rest of my life. I don't want to have to rely on hunting people down for money to get by. I want to do something else I can enjoy and make money at the same time. You always wanted to play your guitar and sing, why don't we just leave the bounty hunting behind and start a band or group or something? I'll play the guitar, Jet has the keyboards and a couple other instruments covered, and Ed has the drums." He suggested. She didn't want to have any part of it.
"I don't understand why you're doing this. You lived for bounty hunting, now you're giving it up at the drop of a hat. What's gotten into you? You were always in it for the thrill of the chase and the huge reward in the end, but now you just want to run away from it with your tail between your legs like a scared dog? I don't understand Spike, did you hit you're head on something or lose too much blood?" Spike shut his eyes, shook his head, and smiled weakly.
"No, I just think it's time for me to settle down is all." Alex looked at him like he was psychotic, which she thought he probably was.
"What are you talking about?"
"Back when I told you I had something to ask you before the ambulance arrived, I guess you didn't hear me since you didn't answer." She looked at him even more strangely now. He began to shift around in his bed.
"Spike! What are you doing? Lie down!" She told him as he started to climb out of the bed. His feet hit the floor and he stood wearily. He reached into a drawer in a table beside the bed and pulled something out, hidden in his palm. Using the bed and the arms of the chair to make his motions slow and easy, he sank to his knees in front of her. He took her one hand and pulled her to sit in the chair facing him. With painful groans, he managed to bring his one leg up so he was only down on one knee. The hand with the object in it was leaning on the bent knee. Alex started to cry as his eyes met hers.
"Alexis Maria Roselynne Bondora, will you marry me?" he asked as his eyes began to fill with tears of mixed emotions. She sat there speechless as he revealed to her a tiny platinum colored ring with three sparkling stones set on it. He knelt there on the floor awaiting the answer from his beautiful, yet stunned, female companion anxiously despite the pain that was racing through his body.
"Is there something you can give her to calm her down?" he asked her slowly. He was trying to fight back tears himself.
"We have a light sedative that would just make her a little out of it, but not totally unconscious. I'll bring it to you and she can take it when she comes back." she said as she pulled her glasses out and put them back on. She went to leave when Jet stopped her.
"Do you honestly give him any chance that he'll survive?" She was silent for a moment.
"The way it looks, he has a snowball's chance in hell, but who knows, there could be a freezer just beyond the flames." She said as she turned and walked out. Jet slammed his fist into the wall with a loud, echoing bang. If the wall weren't solid concrete, he would've made a hole the size of a dinner plate.
Not long after that, Alex returned to the room with her knee stitched shut and cleaned up a little to find Jet sitting back with his harmonica in one of the more comfortable chairs. She hobbled in and flopped down nearby with a sigh.
"What did the doctor have to say after I left?" she asked.
"Not much. Just telling me again how long they expect." He said as he took a breath and began to play again. She sighed again and let the tears roll down her cheek. The hours ticked by slowly, like an eternity. Alex was bordering on unconsciousness, as was Jet when the doctor entered the room again almost seven hours later. Jet stood quickly, but Alex was too tired to care. Dr. Giasoda entered as emotionless as ever, not telling whether he was still alive or dead. Alex looked up at her with glistening, bloodshot eyes as she removed her glasses. After a moment, she began to grin.
"Mr. Spiegel is a very stubborn man." She smiled. "We managed to get him stabilized and he's asleep right now in his room." Alex smiled and tears began to flow freely as she slowly stood and Jet hugged her tight. "Just before he fell unconscious, he made an unusual request though."
"Don't tell me he asked for a drink." Jet said. Giasoda shook her head and then looked at Alex.
"He requested that his beautiful girlfriend sleep in his room with him tonight. He was very stubborn about getting that point across also." She said. Jet and Alex looked at each other.
"He said that?" she asked the doctor. Giasoda nodded.
"You'd better go. You know how he gets when he doesn't get what he wants." Jet smiled. She nodded and walked with the doctor out of the room.
"You're a very lucky girl to have such an amazing man you know." She said as she led Alex down a few halls. Alex only had socks on her feet, but the thud of the doctor's footsteps echoed through the hallways until they came to a door with the number '5' marked on it.
"Is he okay though? I mean, he's not totally mutilated or anything, right?" she asked as Giasoda wrapped her hand around the doorknob. She shook her head.
"Not at all, the only incision we made was in his abdomen." She smiled as she twisted the knob and the door swung open silently. The room was dim, but Alex could see spike lying in a bed, surrounded by a few beeping machines that were hooked up to his body in one way or another. His face was partially bandaged where the cuts and gashes had been stitched shut and covered with gauze and there was an IV needle in his arm. "There's a chair on the other side of the bed, near the window. You can pull it close to the bed and sleep there if you'd like." She said as she led Alex into the room and then stepped back out.
"Okay, thank you so very, very much doctor Giasoda." She said.
"It's my job. Pleasant dreams dear." She said as she pulled the door shut and left leaving Alex in the room with the sleeping Spike and a handful of those beeping machines. She walked around to the foot of the bed and looked at him. He looked like he was in pain and upset, as he lie there unconscious. She walked around to find the chair and she pulled it up right beside the bed. She sat down in it and leaned on the bed itself, right next to Spike. She took his one hand with both of hers and despite the sensation of the blood pulsing through his veins she was still uneasy whether he was going to live or die. She put her head down on the mattress next to him and let go of his hand.
"Spike, it was all my fault you're like this." She cried. "If I hadn't called you today while you were trying to get away, you wouldn't be here now. I should've known better!" her tears soaked into the blankets he was lying under. "I can't believe that you survived something like this, if anyone, I should be the one laying here on the brink of death." She continued to sob out loud with her head buried into the bed at his side. "I don't deserve someone like you. You should have someone better." As she continued to cry, she felt something. His hand had picked up and was stroking her head gently, running his fingers through her hair slowly. She looked up at his face to see his eyes just barely cracked open and a weak smile on his lips. Her tears fell faster when she saw him looking at her.
"Alex…If anything," he began slowly. His voice was very raspy and hushed. "If anything, I don't deserve an angel like you who looks after me like you do." His words took an eternity to get to her ears. She kept her head down on the bed and let him continue to run his fingers through her hair. This was a moment she wished could last forever. She was so upset and he was in so much physical pain that the sensation of pain in one way or another was mutual.
"Spike, it hurts to see you lying there like that." She said as he wiped a tear from her face.
"You think you're hurting, look at me!" he said showing her his bandaged body. "Not only do I have to sit here in pain from these damned cuts, but sitting here and watching you cry hurts just as much if not more." He said as he continued to run his fingers through her hair over and over.
"I just don't think it's fair that you're the one who has to lie in this bed because I distracted you and almost got you killed." She sniffled as she placed her hand over his. He shook his head.
"To tell you the truth, I'm glad I was almost killed. It made me think about how I live my life and the things I should change that would probably make me live longer." He explained. "Like going after huge bounties all alone like I did, that was really stupid of me. I should've at least took you or Jet with me."
"Spike, what are you saying?" she asked him curiously with tears in her eyes still. With a sigh, Spike's reply surprised her.
"I'm considering giving up bounty hunting."
"What?" she couldn't believe what he was saying. "Why? You love it!" he shook his head.
"But it's taking a hell of a toll on my body. One more mess like this and I can guarantee I won't live through it. The bout with Mad Pierot, then the mess with Vincent, and on top of that being left for dead after my fight with Vicious, it's a miracle I'm not dead yet." He said as a tear was brought to his eye as he recalled the painful memories.
"Spike, bounty hunting is your life. What will you do if you give it up? What will you do for money?" she asked becoming a little frustrated.
"I don't know, I guess I could teach self defense classes or something for kids and adults." He said trying to work things out in his head.
"You hate kids, remember?" she reminded him.
"Oh yea." He sighed. There was a short pause. "Well, I can find something to do. I can sell something or something." He said slowly thinking of what he was saying as he was saying it and realizing how stupid he sounded. She wanted to laugh, but she couldn't find it in her anywhere. He wanted to give up what he did all his life because of all of this and for her.
"Spike, you just have to be more careful is all. If you didn't rush out all alone and I went with you, things like this wouldn't happen anymore. We're supposed to be a team remember?" she told him as she took his hands. She was extra careful not to jostle the IV needle.
"No, it's time I give it up and start thinking about the rest of my life. I don't want to have to rely on hunting people down for money to get by. I want to do something else I can enjoy and make money at the same time. You always wanted to play your guitar and sing, why don't we just leave the bounty hunting behind and start a band or group or something? I'll play the guitar, Jet has the keyboards and a couple other instruments covered, and Ed has the drums." He suggested. She didn't want to have any part of it.
"I don't understand why you're doing this. You lived for bounty hunting, now you're giving it up at the drop of a hat. What's gotten into you? You were always in it for the thrill of the chase and the huge reward in the end, but now you just want to run away from it with your tail between your legs like a scared dog? I don't understand Spike, did you hit you're head on something or lose too much blood?" Spike shut his eyes, shook his head, and smiled weakly.
"No, I just think it's time for me to settle down is all." Alex looked at him like he was psychotic, which she thought he probably was.
"What are you talking about?"
"Back when I told you I had something to ask you before the ambulance arrived, I guess you didn't hear me since you didn't answer." She looked at him even more strangely now. He began to shift around in his bed.
"Spike! What are you doing? Lie down!" She told him as he started to climb out of the bed. His feet hit the floor and he stood wearily. He reached into a drawer in a table beside the bed and pulled something out, hidden in his palm. Using the bed and the arms of the chair to make his motions slow and easy, he sank to his knees in front of her. He took her one hand and pulled her to sit in the chair facing him. With painful groans, he managed to bring his one leg up so he was only down on one knee. The hand with the object in it was leaning on the bent knee. Alex started to cry as his eyes met hers.
"Alexis Maria Roselynne Bondora, will you marry me?" he asked as his eyes began to fill with tears of mixed emotions. She sat there speechless as he revealed to her a tiny platinum colored ring with three sparkling stones set on it. He knelt there on the floor awaiting the answer from his beautiful, yet stunned, female companion anxiously despite the pain that was racing through his body.