Of Hearts And Mirrors
Ch.3-Hospital Blues

A.N: You know the drill.

-------------

The next morning...

The lavender-eyed girl opened her eyes slowly and looked around before her eyes came to a halt on the fairy, not knowing that he stayed with her the entire night, watching over her. He face started to curl into a look of disgust, but found herself fascinated that Ryan was quietly sleeping in the chair next to her bed, his chin resting on his chest. She dared herself to tilt her head and watch him sleeping before she heard the door knob turn. She quickly feigned sleep as the doctor slowly shook Ryan awake.

"Hmm?" He yawned and stretched before he looked back at Angela, still thinking she was asleep. But she couldn't fake sleep any more as she listened to them.

"She's waking up." The fairy doctor said as Angela pretended to stir awake, and blinked slowly like an owl.

"Hello." The doctor greeted. She said nothing but turned on her side and pulled the covers over her head.

"I guess she wants to sleep some more." Ryan said with a sound of disappointment in his voice but masked it very carefully.

"No...I think it's something different. Well, I'm off to check on my husband. He's in ER right now. Just let me know how she's doing, and we'll release her from the hospital. ...By the way...what's her name?"

"I don't know, she wouldn't tell me."

"...Ah...well that's okay." She winked at him and left the room. As soon as Angela heard the door close, she pulled the covers off her face.

"...Where am I?"

"You're at the hospital." He replied.

"...I'm aware of that. I meant, where am I?"

"You're in the recovery room of the hospital."

"...Fairy World?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"...Good." She pulled the covers back, making Ryan sigh. She heard him and pulled the covers down once again, scowling.

"...What?" She asked.

"Nothing."

"...What do you mean it's nothing?" She sat up a little and stared at him.

"I didn't say anything," he sighed as he looked away.

"Yes you did. You said 'nothing'. Now tell me what is 'nothing.'" Angela demanded.

"All I did was sigh." Ryan answered.

"...And why?" she asked.

"Can't I breathe?" Ryan snapped back. Angela nestled back into her bed and turned over on her other side and once more, glaring at the blank wall as if it did something wrong.

"...So why am I in the hospital?" She asked rather stiffly.

"...You took a nasty blow to the head by a thug." Ryan picked up the pillow he took from the bed and fluffed it.

"...Oh. ...All I remembered was fighting him...then I blacked out." She said, finding her voice softened a little.

"...He threw a rock at your head." He placed the pillow amongst the others next to Angela, and sat back in his chair.

"...And then what?"

"He tried to rape you but I came in and got rid of the guy." Ryan wondered why she asked so many questions like it was a quiz show, and he certainly knew it wasn't a good time to play Q&A with a steamed pixie. Especially a stubborn one.

"...Oh..." Silence over came the room seconds later, with only the sound of the clock ticking away. Ryan ruffled his hair and looked up at the ceiling before he heard a noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob.

"Hmm?" He had a concerned tone in his voice as the sound grew a little louder and noticed that Angela was shuddering a little.

"Something wrong?"

"...NO!" She yelled, surprising him a little.

"...You sure?" The pixie refused to turn around and look at him in the face, afraid that she would break down if she did. But she answered his question more calmly.

"...No." She said.

"Then what's wrong?" More silence.

"...You saved me." She whispered as she curled into a ball.

"...I had to."

"...I didn't need...to..." She continued.

"I told you, I hate people getting hurt out there." Ryan said in exasperation.

"...You don't even know me." She responded quietly.

"...I like to help people out, even if i don't know them." At his words, her lips started to tremble. Perhaps she was wrong to judge him...but it wasn't like she was going to admit it. Or perhaps she wanted to, but didn't have the guts.

"...FINE! You're right, I'm wrong! I knew I wouldn't survive, but I was too stupid to believe you!"

"I didn't save you to rub it in, I saved you to protect you." He explained.

"...And you earned a bragging right!" Angela yelled, trying not to cry. For all of her effort to prove she wasn't a weak person...she ended up being in the hospital...with the fairy that she was trying to get rid of in the first place. Quite ironic, once you think about it.

"...I don't deserve it, don't be so hard on yourself." Ryan said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder. She pushed his hand off and buried her face in the pillow.

"...LIAR!" She yelled, her voice muffled. He sighed.

"...I hate bragging rights, because I hate bragging." Angela hated the way he was so calm to her. Usually everyone she met would either scorn her or treated her like she was the most broing thing on earth. The only way she could feel better was yelling at him randomly.

"...I AM NOT CRYING, IN CASE YOU WANTED TO KNOW! I...I just got something in my eye!" Ryan blinked for a second.

"...If you're sure." She blinked away a small tear before she suddenly turned around and tried to hit him with her bandaged hand. Ryan caught her hand gently and squeezed it a little.

"...You sure you're all right?" He asked. Angela took her hand away and softly blushed.

"...Just get me out of here..." She mumbled.

"You need to rest first." The fairy said, trying to coax her back to sleep. She definitely didn't want to be forced to do something she didn't want, and their encounter earlier proved that fact.

"...Don't tell me what to do." Angela pulled off the covers and got out of bed. Her legs trembled a little but she managed to stand up.

"...You're not ready yet." He said softly.

"...Just watch me!" She winced as she pulled out the IV needle from her arm and walked towards the door in her slippers.

"Oh dear." Ryan said softly. Angela grabbed onto the handle and wrenched the door open, painfully walking out the door.

"...See?" She laughed weakly as she let the door slam behind her.

"...I don't know." He said in concern as he allowed her to lead him towards the main lobby of the building.

"...I'll be fine! S...So go do whatever you were doing!" She winced.

"If you insist." Ryan said, opening the main door for her. She pushed him to the side as much as she could in her condition.

"...Jerk." Angela started slowly walking down the sidewalk. She still had no clue where she was going as she wandered around in her hospital gown.

'She's as stubborn as ever.' Ryan thought as he watched her. The pixie girl winced as she stopped to lean against a stone - wall for breath.

"...I'm n...not...not...not...weak..." She whispered as she slid down the wall and closed her eyes. He followed her closely, but not enough that she would sense him.

"...I knew it." He said as he couldn't bear to watch her from afar. Angela tried to get up but couldn't move a muscle, making her very frustrated enough to cry. She heard the same soft and kind voice close to her once more and opened her eyes to see sapphire orbs staring into her teary lavender ones.

"Found you." He said, patting her on the head as he knelt next to her.

"...Why c...can't you just leave me be?" She asked weakly as she pushed his hand away.

"You need to go back to the hospital." He said.

"No...I won't. I already escaped once. I still need to find a place to l...live." She panted.

"...Then why don't you go back home?"

"...I won't go back home." She said bluntly as she tried to grab hold of the wall behind her.

"...Then go back to the hospital." He said, trying to help her up.

"...No!" She pulled away from him.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" Ryan asked. Angela looked away from him.

"...Because."

"Why?"

"...I don't need anyone."

"So you only want to live alone then?" It was getting harder to keep up his patience with her, but he didn't want her to be alone on the streets...not after last time.

"...What...y...y...you expect me to live with you? HA!" Ryan coolly stepped back away from her.

"Fine then, you wanna be alone, even when somebody tries to help you? Fine."

"... That's right! Leave! I don't need you!" She angrily glared through her tears at the ground as she heard Ryan poof away. As the tear slid down her cheek, it was joined togther with a drop of rain. She looked up, and realized that she was all alone once more. It started raining a little at first, but the clouds moved in quickly and became a storm cloud, including thunder and lightning.

Angela winced in slight fear at the sound of thunder being dangerously close to her. She shivered in the cold and pulled her jacket close to her body as the rain started soaking her. She finally got up slowly and continued wandering around rather painfully for a few more hours before collasping to the ground in exhaustion. She saw a few fairies grinning maliciously at her.

"...H...HAPPY NOW?" She cried before she passed out. But Ryan had poofed back to Cosmo and Wanda's fish bowl, so he never heard her. As he entered the castle, he couldn't help but think,

'She's doomed.'