Chapter 9: Hospital Reunion

Disclaimer: I do not own Tangled

Rapunzel looked to her left and right, noticing the duct tape binding her to a somewhat familiar chair. She squirmed around, trying to get out, but to no avail. Her mouth was also duct tape, muffling her screams and cries for help. She looked around the room. It was familiar. It was somewhere she had been before.

It was her old house. Mother Gothel's house.

Fear flooded Rapunzel as her eyes darted around. They were in the living room. Everything was how it was when she left on her first day at school. Gothel was nowhere to be seen. She stayed cautious, but tried to calm herself down. She took deep breaths, thinking of Eugene. A figure appeared in the shadows.

"Blondie!" the man called out, stumbling towards her. It was Eugene! He clung to her on the chair, trying to pry off the duct tape. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of here. Don't fear, I'm still here," Eugene comforted her as he tried and tried to rip off the tape. He was able to get the piece off her mouth, but couldn't get the rest off. He breathed heavily, his body already tiring out. Another figure appeared behind him, a slight glint coming from it.

"EUGENE RUN!" She yelled, but it was too late. Eugene flung to look behind him, where a dagger met his side. Eugene let out a groan as he crumpled to the floor. The figure walked into the light. It was Gothel.

"I didn't want to do this, my precious flower," she said, faking her sadness, "but you left me no choice. You want me to be the bad guy? I'll be the bad guy." Tears ran down Rapunzel's face as she saw the color fade from Eugene's face.

"Why mother… why?" she said through her tears.

"This is all YOUR fault!" Gothel yelled at her. "If you just came back to mommy, everything would've ended up fine. But here we are," she grinned.

"No! No no no no!" Rapunzel couldn't think of anything to say. More tears ran down her face as Gothel laughed maniacally, repeating the same line.

"It's your fault!" The words echoed in Rapunzel's ears, causing her to cry more and more. She couldn't bear it and shut her eyes tightly. She just wanted to live her life with Eugene. She just wanted something else! Suddenly everything went quiet, and it was pitch black.

"Rapunzel! Rapunzel wake up!" the voice called. She felt something shaking her, jolting her out of it.

She opened her eyes, her vision a bit blurry. A blinding white filled the corners, while a blotch of skin color stayed in the middle. "Rapunzel, are you okay?" The blotch called out. Rapunzel rubbed her eyes. Standing in front of her was Max. She looked around, seeing that they were in the hospital waiting area. She had only been here once, and that was when they visited Max when he hurt himself earlier on.

So it was all a dream… she thought. Rapunzel shuddered at the thought of the dream. It was scary. She had nightmares before, but this one felt so real. Then it hit her. Eugene really did get stabbed.

"Are you okay Rapunzel? You were crying and whispering some scary stuff while you were asleep."

"Yeah… just a bad dream," She said, not wanting to explain. It hurt her heart to think about it. "How's Eugene?" she asked, remember what had just happened before.

"He's hanging in there. They just took him in for surgery. The doctors said he was lucky they didn't stab more up, or he would've been a goner," bitterness filled Max's face. He wished he was there earlier. He wished he had gone with them. He had a lot of regrets that night.

"Hey, don't look like that Max…" Rapunzel saw the face he was making, "It's not your fault, there's nothing you could have done." Max unconfidnetly nodded. The hospital wasn't very busy, only a couple of people in the waiting room. Suddenly a door flung open, and two police officers walked in.

"We are looking for Maximus Luci," one of them said, looking around the room. Max raised his hand, and they proceeded to walk over to him. "Who's the girl?" one of the officers asked.

"This is Rapunzel Braun, she's the victim's girlfriend," Max introduced her.

"I'm sorry for what happened tonight," the officer said, trying to comfort her.

"It's alright officer. There's nothing you could've done either," she replied. The officer wanted to question either part, but decided not to.

"So did Rapunzel witness anything you didn't, Maximus?" the police officers asked. They all looked at Rapunzel, waiting for an answer. She recalled what had happened to the officers, and they jotted down what she said. She was considered a witness, so they decide to see what information they could get from her.

"Okay, so you're saying you were driving home after a date and stopped in front of your apartment. Your boyfriend, Eugene Fitzherbert, told you to stay in the car as he approached the figures. You couldn't make out their faces, but they were both bulky. After a couple of minutes, you heard Eugene screaming and saw him run out the lot, and the two followed him. That's all you saw?"

Rapunzel felt tears forming in her eyes. The image of Eugene in the alley way flashed in her mind, and tears started to fall. She sniffled, trying to regain her posture. "I-I s-saw him i-in the alleyway… h-he was… he was bleeding… a lot."

"I'm sorry for that question," the officers looked grim. This young girl had to witness something that gruesome. "Thank you, Ms. Braun." They turned to Max and started questioning him, and he explained basically the same thing. They thanked the two again, and made their way out of the hospital.

Rapunzel sat in silence, looking around the room. Behind the front desk were a couple nurses. A couple plants were in the corner of the room, and there was even a water dispenser. It was odd. Everything was going fine until the last moments of their night. Rapunzel felt more tears well up, but suppressed them. She had to stay strong. Eugene would make it, she knew he would.

Her eyes struggled to stay open, phasing in and out of sleep. "You should get some rest," Max looked at her with concern.

"No… I'll stay awake till Eugene wakes up," Rapunzel yawned, rubbing her eyes. And I don't want to have another nightmare…

"Alright, if that's your decision then you can," Max shrugged, not wanting to cause any unwanted stress. Rapunzel tried to find a comfortable position, but it was hard in the hospital chair. It was made of plastic and was mounted to the wall, so there wasn't much flexibility for movement. She eventually found something somewhat comfortable, and crossed her arms. She looked up at the clock. It was already 3:20 AM. It had been a long night for sure. She had to stay strong for Eugene though. She just had to.

An hour had passed, and Rapunzel was already fading in and out of sleep. "Here Rapunzel, it'll help a bit," Max said, handing her a cup of coffee. Rapunzel thanked him for it and took a sip. It was bitter, but she didn't mind it. It was something to take her mind off of Eugene. He was all she was thinking of. Worry and anxiety filled her headspace. The cup of coffee energized Rapunzel, allowing her to make it through the rest of the night. Finally, a doctor walked in, looking at Max and Rapunzel.

"You two waiting for Eugene Fitzherbert?" The doctor examined them. They looked tired. Their eyes were red with dark circles surrounding them. The two nodded nervously, awaiting the news. The doctor looked at the two and smiled.

"Your friend is fine. The surgery went well enough. He wasn't stabbed anywhere fatal, but it was close. He sure is lucky," the two sighed as the doctor told them the outcome, "But he will have to stay in the hospital for at least a couple days."

"So… when can I see him?" Rapunzel asked, her voice weak.

"You can come right now if you want to, we transported him to room 205. Although, he may not be awake right now."

"That's fine. I just want to see him," Rapunzel stood up, wobbling a bit after sitting for so long. Max supported her as she regained her balance. The doctor led the two to Eugene's room. It was a medium sized room, and a hospital bed lay against the wall. There Eguene was, his head laying back in the pillow. He looked calm enough, but still had a bit pale. Rapunzel felt the tears, once again. They were bittersweet tears. She was happy he was fine and still breathing, but she knew that he was like this because of her. Rapunzel knew it was Mother Gothel. She blamed herself, and the tears started dropping. She slowly walked to the bed, carrying a wooden chair with her. Placing it down next to the bed, she sat and laid her head on the bed. It had been a long night, she needed some rest.

"I'm so sorry Eugene…" She whispered as she drifted off to sleep.

…

Eugene felt groggy and had a killer headache. He was dazed, to say the least. He looked around, noticing that this was not his room, and not his bed. It was dark, the only light illuminating the room was a small lamp in the farthest corner. He felt some warmth in his hand, and peered over to it. A smaller, female hand was intertwined with his. He knew exactly whose hand it was.

Rapunzel's.

He smiled, knowing that she was safe. He noticed her soft, rhythmic breathing. It was slow and peaceful. He sat there, his hand still in hers. He recounted what happened that night. He saw two suspicious figures, approached them, and then got stabbed. Not that much happened besides maybe the stabbing. He knew he was going to have to talk to the police. What a pain Eugene sighed.

A sudden sharp pain filled his side, causing him to groan. He covered his mouth, not wanting to wake up his sleeping beauty. She moved her head a bit, but didn't seem to wake up a bit. That's right, I was stabbed, he thought, rolling his eyes. How could he be so stupid. He should've just called the police. Why did he confront them by himself? Unarmed too. He was just being stupid. Really stupid.

Then he remembered what those two dicks said. They mentioned Gothel, Rapunzel's mother. Rapunzel didn't talk too much about her after their first month of dating. Eugene understood why. It always brought back painful memories she'd rather forget, so Eugene didn't really talk to her about it. Rapunzel blocked her phone number a while back, and she basically disappeared from the world. Everything was fine until now. Now Eugene knew Gotehl was planning something, and he had to do something about it. If he didn't, not only would he be in danger, but Rapunzel would be too.

"Eugene no… don't leave me…" Rapunzel mumbled in her sleep, distraught overcoming her face. Small tears fell from her eyes. Eugene's body tensed as he squeezed her hand harder and stroked her hair. The messily cut brown hair. It matched her so much. He still remembered the first time he cut her hair, it was a mess. Some hair poked out and it was uneven, but she didn't mind. She actually liked it, and asked him to cut her hair every time. Rapunzel stopped mumbling and crying, a small smile forming. Eugene was put at ease.

Eugene was still squeezing though, causing Rapunzel to open her eyes. She slowly opened them, blinking a couple times. Her eyes met with large brown ones. She felt a couple tears form and drip down her cheeks. Eugene was staring right back at her.

"Hey Blondie," he gave her his smugest look ever.

"Eugene!" She yelled, hugging him tightly.

"Ouch ouch ouch! Careful Blondie," he winced as she squeezed. Rapunzel almost instantly stopped.

"Sorry Eugene. It's just uh you know uh how do I put this? I'm uh I-" Rapunzel was cut off by a deep kiss. Eugene held her close, and she lightly embraced him this time. The kiss cleared all anxiety from Rapunzel as she melted into Eugene's arms.

"Blondie, I'm okay. Look at me, I'm still here," he comforted her.

"Yeah I know… I just missed you. I was scared I lost you forever..." her voice drifted.

"I'm sorry for scaring you. I shouldn't have been so irrational," Eugene sighed.

"No, it's not your fault Eugene. It's my mother's fault. She's the one who did all this, I'm sure of it," she seemed confident.

"Yeah, it was," Eugene confirmed. He went on to tell her what the thugs have said. Rapunzel sighed, knowing that her greatest fear had been confirmed. They would have to do something about Gothel. They were planning to tell the police of course, but they knew that Gothel would hide her tracks well. She probably wouldn't be caught in such a simple way. This was a big headache for them both.

"Maybe we could confront her?" Rapunzel suggested.

Eugene shook his head. "She'd probably kill me on the spot and run away with you. She'd flee the country somehow, I'm sure of it." Rapunzel hung her head, knowing she would as well, but was just throwing it out there. "But if it comes down to it, we can always try that," Eugene finished after a pause.

"Sounds good," Rapunzel weakly smiled.

"Hey, don't worry so much Rapunzel," he lifted her face up, "We'll get through this, I promise." Rapunzel's smile grew larger, nodding her head slowly. Staring into each other's eyes, they knew. As long as they were together, they could do anything.

"Ahem," the two looked over to the door. Max had a raised eyebrow while Pascal looked uncomfortable. Behind them were the two police officers from earlier. They looked at Eugene.

"Hello officers, how's the night?" Eugene smirked.

"Fine, Mr. Fitzherbert," one said, unamused.

"Well you sure don't sound like it," Eugene said, earning him a scoff from the same officer. They went through the same process with Eugene as they did with Max and Rapunzel. Asked him questions about what happened that night. The only thing they asked that was different was the appearance of the thugs. He described them to the officers, and they sighed.

"Someone must really want you dead, Fitzherbert."

Eugne was taken back a bit. "Why would you say that officer?"

"The person in question actually hired the most ruthless hitmen," the officer sighed, "the Stabbington Brothers. They're known for, as their name suggested, stabbing their victims. They are quite brutal but also a little crafty. We've been having trouble with them for a while now."

Eugene had heard about them before. They were all over the news before, but haven't been popping up recently. People thought they just left, but I guess they were wrong. "So you're telling me that she actually hired them? Wouldn't their services be expensive?" Eugene was a little panicked.

"Well I would assu-" the officer paused. "Did you just say 'she'?" Eugene realized his word choice in that sentence.

"Yeah. We are pretty sure the woman who sent them after me was her mother," Eugene said, pointing at Rapunzel, "Gothel Weber," Eugene confessed. Pascal and Max eyes widened, and Rapunzel looked around the room, not wanting to attract too much attention to herself.

"Thank you for that information, we'll be sure to look into it," the officers thanked them. "Do you know why she would do that though? Are you a runaway?" The officer looked at Rapunzel suspiciously. She seemed young.

"N-No I'm not. W-W-Why would anyone run away from home? Rapunzel stuttered nervously. The officer looked unconvinced. "Fine… I did run away, but there's a reason behind it!" Rapunzel touched her finger tips together.

"And what would that be?"

"I- I can't say…" Rapunzel sighed.

"And why is that?" The officer pushed further.

"It's hard to talk about."

"If you don't say anything, we can't help Miss Braun," the nicer officer insisted.

"I ran away because… because I loved Eugene!" She looked at the officers. One had an unamused face, while one had a soft expression.

"Is that really the only reason? That isn't much of a reason to be honest. He could be manipulating you for all we know," one said bluntly. Eugene was being slander, right in front of him too!

"He would never do that!" Rapunzel yelled, slamming her hand onto the bed. "Eugene isn't that kind of person. Although he used to be a bit sleazy, he is good now!" she protested. Eugene's heart fluttered as he heard Rapunzel defend him. This is why he loved her so much.

"I'm just saying," one shrugged. "There has to be another reason besides that."

Rapunzel sat there, contemplating her next words. Should she really tell them all? She's only really talked to Eugene about her childhood. She was trying to find a simpler way to say it. She rubbed her temple, feeling a headache coming on.

"Rapunzel, want me to just tell them?" Eugene rubbed her shoulders

Rapunzel looked at Eugene. She trusted him. She knew that he wouldn't say anything that would hurt her. So she nodded.

"Officers," Eugene sucked in a deep breath and exhaled, "Rapunzel was abused by her mother." A small gasp escaped Pascal's mouth while Max was taken aback. The officers, on the other hand, sat there solemnly. So that's why she didn't want to say.

"I'm sorry for the insensitive question," one of the officers apologized. Rapunzel shook her head. It was alright. She would tell people eventually, might as well start now. "So Mister Fitzherbert, could you elaborate on abuse?"

"The first day I met her, I saw her bruises on her arms," Eugene cringed thinking about it. "Eventually I saw some on her back and legs. Large blotches of black and purpled riddled her body. It was horrible, officer." Eugene didn't go on with her life at home and how she was forced to stay home for almost 16 years. He knew Rapunzel didn't want them to know that.

"I see. Well, we'll see what we can do. Thank you for this, and once again, I am sorry." The officers exited the room, leaving just the four of them.

"Is it really true?" Pascal's eyes were glossed over. Rapunzel nodded as Eugene hugged her close to him. "I'm so sorry Rapunzel. I'm sorry I didn't do anything," Pascal apologized.

"Pascal, there's nothing you could've done about it. I'm sorry for not tell you," Rapunzel said as she shook her head.

"I'm kind of glad you're with Eugene now," Pascal smirked weakly. Eugene rolled his eyes, but was actually happy. Pascal rarely said anything good about him, so this was a pleasant surprise. Max stood there, thinking.

"Please don't look at me differently now," Rapunzel requested. She didn't want to be pitied or babied. She wanted to be treated exactly the same as before.

"Sure," Max and Pascal both agreed. They didn't want things to change just because they learned more about Rapunzel. They wanted to have the same friendship with her. They cherished her.

"Thanks guys, it means a lot," Rapunzel closed her eyes, laying against Eugene's chest. "And thank you Eugene," she whispered just so Eugene could hear. "Thank you for everything. I hope I can make it up to you someday."

"You do everyday, sweetheart. Don't think too much about that. As long as you're with me, I'm a happy man," Eugene let out a short laugh. Pascal and Max looked at the two, then at each other. Max winked at Pascal then walked out the room, Pascal following in suit.

Eugene and Rapunzel cuddled up together. Rapunzel was careful where she laid though, trying not to touch Eugene's injured side. Rapunzel climbed under the blanket, resting her head right next to his. Their faces close enough for their noses to touch.

"I love you Blondie," Eugene smiled at her.

"I love you more, Eugene," Rapunzel replied with a smile of her own. A memory popped up in her mind. A memory of Gothel. She would always end it with 'I love you the most," but Eugene didn't seem to do that. He just kept smiling at her. She was relieved. She hated it when Gothel did that. It was always a competition with her, and Gothel always wanted to win, so Rapunzel would back off every time. She hated that.

"Everything alright?" Eugene snapped her out of her thoughts. "You look a little angry."

"Sorry, sorry. Was just thinking of something," she softened her expression.

"Gothel?" Euigene guessed.

"You really are a mind reader," Rapunzel giggled.

"I am, and that's why I was able to get someone as amazing as you," he joked, winking at her, causing her to blush a bit. "But in all seriousness, what were you thinking about? How Gothel is planning her revenge?"

Rapunzel shook her head. "I was just thinking about something stupid she use to do with me." Eugene's eyebrow raised, looking at her. "We would do this back and forth thing with saying "I love you' and 'I love you more.' It was stupid because she would always end it, saying she loved me the most, but I know that isn't true. She didn't love me at all," Rapuinzel sighed.

"Hey, Rapunzel," Eugene started, pushing a little bit of hair out her face, "Don't let her get to you. Her love doesn't matter. She did bad things and you know it. Just keep don't think about her. You've got Pascal and Max, everyone at school. You've got me! We all love you, but maybe me a little more than others." This got a laugh from Rapunzel. "Just know that there are a lot of people supporting you. You can't please everyone, Rapunzel, and you most certainly try to please that witch."

"Hey, that's a little mean," Rapunzel frowned.

"I have every right to say that. I mean, look at me! I'm in the hospital with a stab wound in my side," Eugene defended himself.

"I wasn't talking about Gothel. You were being mean to the witches!" Rapunzel had a goofy grin on her face. Eugene laughed loudly, wincing at the pain in his side.

"Man, this really sucks though," he groaned as he touched his side.

"You're going to have to get used to it, the doctor said a couple more days in the hospital, and I'm sure your wound won't heal for a week or so." Eugene complained and complained, but eventually got over it. A yawn escaped from his mouth, causing Rapunzel to yawn too.

"Maybe we should get some rest," Rapunzel smiled at him. She went to get up from the bed, but Eugene pulled her back in.

"Stay here, and besides, where would you go?" Eugene asked.

"I was just going to go grab something. I wouldn't leave you here like this," Rapunzel smiled. Eugene had embarrassed himself. He hid his face in the pillows as Rapunzel went to the lobby and grabbed some water cups. Bringing them back, the two sipped on them in silence.

Eugene laid his head down on the pillow, and Rapunzel followed in suit. They faced each other again and just looked at one another. It had been a long night, but they survived somehow. They knew everything would be fine, as long as they were with each other. They knew that they would make it through this. They held each other's hands tightly, smiling at one another. Closing their eyes, they slowly drifted off to sleep.

End of Chapter 9

A/N: Well, that was a fun chapter to write. I hope it was a fun chapter to read! Anyways, I hope you guys aren't getting too bored of the story. I know it's a little slower now, but I'm really taking my time with the pacing. It went fast, so I wanted to slow it down a bit. I'm expecting a pretty decent amount of chapters ahead, so stay tuned!

Till next time, ciao!