Kate's POV
My grip stayed tight as I held on to the love of my life. Tears kept on flowing out of me as I sobbed, seemingly with no end. I was just so happy to see that I didn't lose him. I was so crushed… I didn't ever think that I would be happy again. Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder, making me pull my neck from Rick to look at the doctor.
"Are you okay?" he asked. I hyperventilated as I tried to form a sentence, failing miserably. "Hey it's okay… your friend is okay. He's gonna pull through" he added, holding onto both of my shoulders. It wasn't long before he let go of me and walked over to the counter across the room. He picked up a clipboard from there and started flipping through the pages which were clipped on it.
"So there's good news and bad news in terms of his recovery. I could give it to you now but it looks like you already have a full plate… I'll come back in a bit and we can talk it through okay?" Stevens said. I nodded as I still attempted to catch my breath.
"Th-th- thank… you" I managed to get out. Stevens smiled.
"I'll leave you alone" he said before heading out of the room, shutting the curtain behind him. Once he was gone I slowly turned back to Rick. I whimpered as I put my hand over his head, brushing his hair. It was still as soft as I remembered it… I never thought that I would ever be able to touch him again… hold him… or be held by him… but he was here… my God he was here…
I dug my muzzle into his neck again, crying and trying to take in his scent. I had missed it so much. As I cried I gave him three pecks on the cheek, the plastic of the oxygen mask hitting the left side of my mouth. I went back to my position and cried even more, drenching his face, neck, and pillows with tears. It just didn't seem real. After everything, and going through what I did, it just didn't seem real. Part of me expected to wake up on my bed, and if not my bed then my hotel room. It had actually gotten to the point where I had questioned reality. But normally I would wake up by now.
I listened to the beating of the heart rate monitor and oxygen tank as it helped Rick breath. Those were the only three sounds that you could probably hear in the room. Those two mixed with my cries. I took my head from his neck again and studied him again, rubbing behind his ear with my right hand while I rested my left hand on his chest. I could barely make out what I was seeing due to the tears in my eyes, but still I managed. I gritted my teeth as I once again tried to calm myself. No luck though.
"Ri-... Rick… I'm- I'm here… I'm here with you…" I sobbed. No response from him. Rightfully so given his coma. But still, part of me hoped and thought that he could hear me. I moved my left hand down his chest to grab his, and held it. I never thought that I would be able to hold his hand again but here I was. As I grew ore aware of what was going on, I realized how weak I felt from being so nervous and taken aback. My hands were shaking as I held Rick. I just couldn't calm myself. No matter how many time I tried.
"I'm… I'm so g-glad you're ok-k-kay '' I choked. He wasn't okay however. Far from it, but he was alive and that was all that I cared about. I looked over to his stomach to see the bandages again. They were wrapped around his body tightly. Surgery must have been painful if he was awake during it. I don't think he was though, if he blacked out while around Humphrey then he would have been out until now right? Wait a minute. Humphrey told us all that Rick was dead, and yet here he was fighting for his life. Why did Humphrey tell us if he was dead when he wasn't? What happened after Rick blacked out? These were all things that I would have to ask later. Right now I just wanted to enjoy the moment that the love of my life is alive.
"Looks like we might have that life after all" I smiled with tears still running down my face. I nuzzled into him again, leaning over and putting my muzzle against his cheek, rubbing it lovingly. Sadly he didn't nuzzle back like he normally would. Instead his head just moved to the right before centering after I moved back again.
"I'm so sorry Rick… I'm so sorry I wasn't here… I… I was so upset without you… I was sad… destroyed… sick… I was sick to my stomach, I thought I would never love again… sleeping alone in my bed without you there to warm me up at night was the worst thing I've ever had to go through… I promise I won't leave you again, I promise" I cried. Again no response as expected. Just pumps from the oxygen tank with beeps from the heart rate monitor accompanying it. I began sobbing again and hugged him once more. I gave his cheek another warm kiss and exhaled, trying to calm down again. I jumped as I heard a knock by the door. I turned to it to see the doctor holding a small cup in his hand.
"I figured you might be thirsty" he said, walking over to me with a cup. He walked across the room and over to me with his arm extended out ever so slightly. I was forced to finally let go of Rick to take it,, which I really didn't want to do but did anyway.
"Thank you" I said silently, taking a sip and then putting the cup on the floor to put my hand back over Rick's.
"Of course. So are you alright to hear everything?" he asked, again walking over to the clipboard. Part of me wanted to say no. I could have, but the bigger part of me wanted to know if anything was wrong, and something had to be if he was keeping it from me until I was ready, and I couldn't handle any more suspense. Slowly I turned to him and nodded. He began to flip through everything, taking a pen out and scribbling something before he began to speak.
"Alright so it looks like he suffered major blood loss and a cut in his lower intestine that resulted in internal bleeding. We managed to fix everything in there, and from what we were able to pick up there no blood clotting so that's good. However he suffered traumatic trauma to the head which again resulted in internal bleeding which we were able to stop, but it's also what's keeping him under. We don't know when he'll wake up if he wakes up at all. Normally most patients recover after a few weeks but because of all the other injuries… it might be awhile… and even if he does wake up he might be prone to seizures, he might have trouble seeing, he might suffer from memory loss, but worst case scenario he won't be able to comprehend anything. But I don't think that's the case" Stevens explained, leaving me with a racing heart and a slightly opened mouth.
"So… when do you think he might… wake up?" I asked. Stevens put the clip boards down on the counter again and sighed.
"Honestly I don't know. It all depends on how he recovers. I don't have an answer for you right now. From what I heard he wouldn't even be alive if an ambulance wasn't so close" Stevens said. I closed my eyes and exhaled before I began to sob again. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"I… yeah I-I'm fine I just… I need to be alone right now" I cried. Stevens didn't even reply, he just walked out, again shutting the curtain behind him. I hugged Rick again as I began to cry loudly now. Severe trauma to the head? Might not recover? This couldn't be happening. There's no way Rick held on for this long only for that to happen to him, it couldn't. He had to recover. I couldn't lose him again. I pulled my muzzle from his neck again, trying to catch my breath.
"Come on Rick… you have to pull through, I know you can do it" I sobbed, no response. I gently laid my head on his chest and sobbed even more. I then began whispering. "Please… please God please let him recover, let him be okay… please…" I sobbed. I lifted my head up and looked at his poor face again.
"Don't worry Rick… I fucking got that bitch… Garth is gone too, we can't be bothered anymore. There's no one left… if you pull through this… we can live that life that you and I were always talking about… we can be happy… but you gotta pull through this… and I'll be here when you wake up… I swear…" I said. Again, nothing but the sound of the oxygen tank and heart rate. I placed my head back on his chest sobbing again. It went on like that for awhile before I heard the curtain get dragged back and a familiar voice afterward.
"Holy shit" it said. I lifted my head up and looked to my left to see Lilly standing there wide eyed. "I thought… I thought Shaky was bull shiting" she said as she began walking over.
"No… no he's alive, he's okay" I said, tears still rolling down my face. Lilly walked over to the other side of the bed across from me and looked down at Rick. she went to touch him, raising her hand above his chest and then gasping, pulling her hand back. I looked up to see that she was getting emotional as well.
"Rick" she whispered. Finally she laid her hand on his chest, letting it sit there as she used her other hand to cover her mouth.
"We have to tell Humphrey" I said, looking at Rick still.
"He… he's been texting me, asking about you. Yesterday after he heard what… what happened he was so worried about you" Lilly explained, clearly struggling to do so.
"hey Lilly… take a seat if you need to, we don't have to do that right now" I said. Lilly looked around for a chair as she tried to keep herself from crying. She spotted one but didn't go for it, instead looking back at Rick again
"I thought… I thought-"
"I know… we all did… but I'm so glad he's back" I said, beginning to cry again.
"He… he was never gone… why would Humphrey…" Lilly began but had to cover her mouth again.
"I dont know… but we'll ask him when we call him… I'm sure it's nothing special" I answered. Lilly said nothing in return. Instead she rested her face against Rick's chest and began to sob. I joined her, placing a hand on Rick's shoulder and then eventually leaning on it.
"I'm so glad he's okay, '' Lilly whispered. Like she did a moment ago I didn't reply. I just cried into Rick's shoulder. We stayed as we were for about thirty minutes before Lilly finally lifted her head up. "I… I'm just so grateful, '' she said. I looked over to her, not taking my head off of Rick.
"I am too," I replied. Lilly sniffed before pulling out her phone and began to dial someone. Presumably Humphrey. Once the call was picked up I found out I was right as I heard his voice.
"Hey Lilly, is everything okay? How's Kate?" he asked. Lilly stuttered before she finally got something out.
"hu-Humphrey…" she said.
"Lilly? Are you okay? What's wrong?" he asked in what sounded like a slight panic.
"You… you told us that Rick was dead… why did you say that?" Lilly asked. There was a slight pause.
"What do you mean?" Humphrey asked.
"He's alive Humphrey" I said, leaning over Rick to get further over to the phone. "Rick is alive," I said. Another pause.
"What?" Humphrey asked, sounding amazed.
"He… he's not in good shape but he's alive. Me and Kate are at the hospital right now and we just found out" Lilly explained.
"I… I'm on my way" Humphrey said quickly before hanging up. I looked up from the phone and at Lilly who looked just as confused.
"He didn't know? How could he not know?" Lilly asked. I shook my head and shrugged.
"I have no idea… but we'll ask him when he gets here" I replied. Finally I turned around and spotted another chair just behind me. The same type of chair that I had sat in for days the last time Rick was in a coma. The fact that I thought that made me angry. He didn't deserve this. He deserved to be happy. With his sister and family. Instead he was stuck with me. He deserved better but he loved me so much, and he kept getting hurt over me, and no matter how many times he always came back unchanged. Always with me in his heart. I didn't deserve him but I was so grateful for him to be alive. Now I just prayed that he was okay when he woke up. I would tell Lilly and my parents but right now the fact that he was alive was all they needed to know. I took a seat, still holding onto Rick's hand and shoulder.
"Should we call mom and dad?" Lilly asked. I took another deep breath, closing my eyes before turning to Lilly. I opened them and stared at her for a few seconds before nodding. Lilly began to dial moms phone number and again put it on speaker. It rang about three times before she answered.
"Hey sweetie, is everything okay? You just left. Did you forget something?" mom asked.
"Mom… Rick is alive" Lilly said. There was a few seconds of silence, followed by the distant voice of my dad.
"What did she say?" he asked, sounding surprised.
"Lilly… what do you mean?" mom asked.
"Rick he… he was never dead. Me and Kate just found out that he's been in a coma this whole time" Lilly explained.
"Oh my God. Where's your sister?" mom asked.
"Right… I'm right here mom" I said, sounding a little bit weak.
"Are you okay? What happened? What does Lilly mean Rick's alive?" she asked, even though Lilly just explained everything.
"The hospital called me not too long ago… They told me that they've been trying to reach me for a while and that… Rick was alive" I explained.
"I don't get it. Humphrey said he was dead, that he watched him die" mom replied.
"I know mom I know but… we're next to him right now… he's still breathing… he held on for me…" I said. I heard mom sniff over the phone as she became emotional.
"I'm sure he did sweetie… where's Humphrey?" she asked.
"He's on his way right now. He couldn't believe it either" Lilly explained.
"I just don't get it… why would Humphrey lie?" dad asked.
"We don't think he lied… but we're gonna ask him once he gets down here" Lilly said.
"Do you want us to meet you over there?" mom asked. Lilly looked up from the phone and over at me for an answer. I took a moment to ponder the idea before sighing again.
"No… there's nothing here for you guys… most likely we'll meet Humphrey, talk to him about everything and then leave… but I'm not… I'm not leaving his side" I said.
"I'm sure you're not… Kate… this is such a good thing" mom replied.
"I know… I know… we'll get to be together again…" I said, sounding crazy for a moment but it was only because I was still talking through my own tears.
"I still don't know about Humphrey," dad said.
"He has no reason to lie Winston… Did you see the poor boy when he came over? He was crushed… I think he thought he was dead too" mom explained.
"Hey mom? Were gonna go okay?" Lilly said.
"Alright. Are you coming back to the hotel?" mom asked.
"I have to. They only allow one visitor" Lilly replied, looking over at me again. Our eyes only made contact for a split second however before mine darted away, over to my poor soulmate again.
"Okay… I'm glad that bitch didn't get him" mom said, making me shut my eyes tight as another tear fell.
"Me too, love you mom" Lilly said.
"I love you too. Love you Kate" mom said.
"B-b-bye mom" I sobbed.
"Kate? Are you-"
"I don't know mom, I'll talk to her" Lilly said before ending the call. "Kate? What's wrong?" Lilly asked. I sobbed for a second, trying to catch my breath as I looked at Lilly once more. She still didn't know about Angel. I had to tell her. I would have to tell Humphrey as well… and Rick…
"It's… it's something you all need to know" I sobbed. Lilly seemed worried at my choice of words, sadly though all we could do was wait until Humphrey came into the room fifteen minutes later. The whole time I clung to Rick, crying into him as me and Lilly waited. Every pair of footsteps had my hopes up until finally we heard the curtain get pulled back. Me and Lilly looked up and over to see Humphrey wide eyed.
"Oh… oh my God" he said quietly before running over to the bed. Tears were already in his eyes but once he finally got to Rick he was crying them out. He reached for Rick, hugging him as he stayed unconscious. Lilly stood up, walking over to the curtain to close it, meanwhile Humphrey was sobbing into Rick's shoulder. "I didn't… I didn't know" he whined.
"Humphrey… What happened that day?" I asked, not wanting to waste any time. Humphrey looked over at me and then continued to sob as he turned back to Rick.
"Give him a moment," Lilly said as she stood next to me. I sighed, reaching for the cup of water from earlier, taking a sip. By now it was no longer cold but instead almost room temperature. I put it back down on the floor and folded my hands on my lap as I waited for an answer. Finally after about a minute Humphrey looked up again,
"That day… all I saw was him on the ground… I watched him leave… he closed his eyes and was gone I swear… by then the ambulance came and was trying to do something but… they had nothing… I didn't hear anything of what they were saying though because the police… they came and they were questioning me… by the time they were done there was nothing but a bloodstain on the sidewalk… Rick was gone… the ambulance took him and I assumed the worst" Humphrey explained.
"The doctor said that if the ambulance wasn't already at the gas station then Rick wouldn't have made it… you didn't tell us that there was me there" I explained. Humphrey sniffed.
"Yeah… we went to go see what was going on because we were curious… it was a good thing they were there… but Kate I didn't know you gotta believe me… he was in such bad condition… I swore I saw him die that day" Humphrey said desperately. I stood up, walking around the bed and over to Humphrey as he sobbed. He got off of Rick to face me as I approached him, probably fearing the worst. But I hugged him. I hugged him tightly, making him hug me back as he cried again.
"It's okay… I'm not mad… I understand" I whispered in his ear. Humphrey kept the tears flowing as he squeezed me. I opened my eyes to look over to Lilly again who was holding onto Rick again. I sighed, closing my eyes again to relax into the hug.
"Thank you… thank you Kate… I'm so sorry for what I caused" Humphrey cried.
"Shhh, it's okay… it's not your fault… It's mine. I should have answered the phone… I should have known something was wrong" I said, trying to calm him down. He kept his grip tight, crying into me as I continued to hold him. I didn't break the news to them. I just wanted them to be happy for right now. Besides, I had a lot on my plate. We stayed around until about eight o'clock before Humphrey had offered to take Lilly back to the hotel.
"Are you staying here?" Humphrey asked. I kept my eyes on RIck as I nodded. Humphrey walked over, hugging me again. I hugged him back and then let go not long after to do the same with Lilly.
"Are you sure you want to be alone all night so soon after what happened?" she asked. We had talked about it earlier with Humphrey since he wanted to know what happened and if I was okay. I assured him I was and he offered comfort if I ever needed it. It was really sweet. But it came to no surprise that he cared so much for me, as I did with him. But right now I didn't want to think about any of that. What mattered was that the love of my life was alive.
"Yeah… I'm fine" I said, patting her shoulder. "You two should get going," I added.
"Alright… we'll be back tomorrow… okay?" Humphrey said. Again I nodded.
"Sounds good," I told him. He turned to Lilly, holding her hand. She looked over at him and they exchanged sympathetic looks before turning to me one last time.
"Call us if you need anything," Humphrey said.
"I will," I replied. Humphrey sighed again and then turned around, walking out of the room with Lilly. She looked at me as she stood in the doorway to close the curtains, and then I stood still in the dark hospital room by myself again. This time as the slight night light entered through the window. I listened to the pair walk away and once they were gone I turned to face the hospital bed again, my arms crossed. I walked over to the chair and took a seat, making sure my tail was through the midway gap. I held Rick's right hand with both of mine, leaning on the side of the bed, getting ready to rest for the night. I gave it a kiss and nuzzled against it.
"Don't worry Rick… I'm here… I'm here and I'm not going anywhere until you wake up. I promise… I'll never leave you again… I hope that if you can hear me, or even if you can't I want you to know that I love you… and I'll be here whenever you wake up… I just… I was so scared… I was so scared of living the rest of my life without you… I didn't know what I was gonna do… you are my everything, my comfort, my love, my soul, my happiness… everything… and the fact that you're still here even after everything… you really held on… for me… you still are… I love you so much Rick… I love you so much… and… I know it's your thing but… I love you more than YOU"LL ever know… I would do anything for you… and if you got this far I know you'll pull through and make a full recovery… for me… and if not… if not… then I'll still be here… Rick I'll be here for you no matter what… because I love you… I love you, I love you so much… I love you… I love you…" I said. I kept saying it until eventually I fell asleep next to him again.
