The next two weeks were magical for Klaus. He couldn't honestly remember a time in his life when he had ever been more happy. He had Ben home with him every day for fourteen days, and they spent every waking moment together; talking, playing with Riley, catching up on their favorite television series, and just enjoying one another's company. Ben made sure that Klaus took it easy in those two weeks; he had always been well aware of the daily struggles Klaus was battling with his severe exhaustion, but after witnessing it first hand, and watching helplessly as Klaus nearly collapsed on Riley's birthday, he knew he needed to intervene while he had the chance and make sure that Klaus took better care of himself. Every day Ben forced Klaus to lay down for an hour long nap. He knew he may not always actually fall asleep, but even allowing his body to rest and recuperate was better than the constant busying his brother was always doing. Ben also took over all of the household chores while he was home; cooking, cleaning, laundry, bath time with Riley. Actually, he practically claimed Riley as his own the entire time he was home from school. Ben certainly didn't mind spending ample amounts of time with his precious niece, and while Klaus always protested, insisting that he was fine and assured his brother that he was absolutely capable of handling the workload he was now accustomed to, Ben was happy he was finally present for his sibling and could force his brother to take a step back and just take it easy.
Diego came over a lot more, too. Joining in on the merriment, helping Ben in spoiling their niece, while still ensuring that Klaus got to relax and rest between all of their fun. The brothers were both just happy that they could be there for Klaus when he clearly needed them the most. In the two weeks that Ben was home, Klaus's health was doing significantly better. He wasn't nearly as dizzy or lightheaded as he had been, and while he was still tired, he did have a bit more pep to his step. It was a welcome change to his usual chronic fatigue that he seemingly was never able to escape.
Klaus especially enjoyed the two days he had with Dave before he returned to work. They slept in late the morning after Riley's birthday, and Dave just rubbed Klaus's back and whispered words of love into his ear while the two men just cuddled in bed until the early afternoon. Finally, Klaus wasn't plagued by a single nightmare. He never would be whenever he was cradled within Dave's loving arms. Even once Dave returned to work, Klaus continued to have a long, healthy night's sleep. Having company, whether from Dave, or one of his siblings seemed to help chase his monsters away. He was happy, truly happy.
Klaus was in high spirits, he was doing remarkably better. He was sleeping normal hours, and waking up feeling overall refreshed, but even still he just wasn't back to his full strength. Even with the introduction of his mandated daily naps, Klaus would still be left feeling exhausted come bed time, sometimes even much earlier, but his days with his brothers or Dave were always his best energy days. When Ben had to leave to return back to school Klaus felt his heart shatter. He was going to miss his constant support, their daily conversations, and just the warm presence his brother always brought with him. Ben made Klaus promise him that he would continue his daily naps seeing as how they seemed to help him, and he also made Diego promise to keep coming by to help Klaus and keep him company. Everyone agreed to continue doing everything they could to ensure that Klaus and Riley would be kept healthy, happy and safe, especially during the times when no one else could be around.
Klaus was cheerily humming a merry tune while he smiled at Riley; she was sitting in her high chair watching her daddy make their dinner. Klaus was in a good mood today. He'd just gotten off of the phone with Ben, and the two of them had been chatting for over an hour. Ben always had the best knack at making Klaus laugh. He also had quite a good skill of filling foolish ideas into Klaus's head. It was dinner time, and Ben mentioned that he wished he had some breakfast food, and well, that sounded amazing to Klaus, too, so now Klaus was busy making pancakes for him and Riley.
He poured the batter onto the griddle in multiple batches; regular sized for him, and mini's in the shape of hearts for Riley. Klaus smiled at his daughter, making her laugh as he pretended he was a teppanyaki chef, waving his hands in the air theatrically while tossing and catching his spatula, periodically dancing the metal against the lip of the griddle before flipping the pancakes over when the tiny bubbles formed, signaling to Klaus that they were ready to be flipped. Riley laughed wildly at her daddy's silly antics. He laughed, and smiled at his beautiful little girl, taking the finished pancakes off of the griddle before turning it off and unplugging the device. Klaus sat beside Riley and cut up their pancakes into bite sized pieces before he fed himself and his daughter. Riley nodded her head excitedly after each bite, her little legs kicking happily as she wrapped her fingers around Klaus's fork and helped her daddy guide the fluffy delicacy to her greedy lips. Klaus laughed, pushing her curls out of her eyes before kissing her stuffed and sticky cheeks.
"All done sweet pea! My, you really liked this meal, huh? Is daddy a pancake professional or what?" He grinned widely as she laughed, flinging her arms around excitedly. He only hoped that fueling her with a little sugar before bedtime hadn't been a mistake.
Klaus wiped Riley down with a washcloth, cleaning the sticky substance from her fingers and her face before letting her loose in the living room to play with her toys while he cleaned up the dishes and the mess in the kitchen. When he finished, Riley was sitting on the floor with her back to Klaus; he smirked as he approached his daughter, bending over and scooping her into his arms as he tickled her, blowing raspberries on her little belly and eliciting screeches of joy and laughter as she squealed in his grasp.
Klaus laughed, folding himself forward and tilting Riley upside down as he continued to tickle her, her curls dangling in tight ringlets and bouncing as she wriggled in her daddy's arms. Klaus smiled proudly as he straightened his posture, holding Riley tight against his chest as his daughter continued to laugh and wrap her arms around his neck.
Klaus's own laughter halted and he closed his eyes when he was suddenly hit with an intense bout of vertigo. He hadn't felt this dizzy since Riley's birthday party. Klaus stumbled a step, his free arm reaching out towards the wall to steady himself. He inhaled a deep breath and exhaled slowly through his mouth before he finally felt grounded enough to open his eyes. The room was no longer spinning, and thankfully Riley hadn't seemed to notice her daddy's sudden discomfort since she was still laughing. Klaus smiled at his daughter, releasing his hold on the wall to run the back of his fingers over her chubby smiling cheeks.
"Daddy needs to lay off all of this sugar, baby girl, it makes him too wild and crazy!" Klaus shook his head like a wet dog, his curls fanning around his face before bouncing back into place. Riley giggled and pressed her palms against her daddy's cheeks. He laughed softly, pressing their foreheads together and nuzzling his nose against hers. Klaus's eyelashes fluttered and he pulled away to rub at his temples while he settled himself down on one of the kitchen stools. In light of his little dizzy spell, Klaus decided that he should probably sit down for a moment with Riley to rest.
Klaus hated to admit it, mostly because everything in his life was finally going so well, but he couldn't help but feel a little concerned with a couple of new issues he'd been suffering from. While his vertigo and dizzy spells had lessened dramatically since Riley's birthday a few weeks ago, they were still an issue for him, and now Klaus was starting to have other problems. Klaus had recently started getting headaches, sometimes mild and only lasting a few minutes, other times they would be nearly debilitating and last for the entire day. They always seemed to follow the days after he had difficulty sleeping the night prior. What worried him more than that, however, was a sudden issue that started happening with his heart. Klaus started to notice the last week or so that sometimes he would get a sudden heart palpitation; a flutter in his chest that would leave him feeling strange. It would make him feel rather winded, sometimes it would almost feel like a chill ran through his body. Occasionally they hurt - not usually - but once or twice he did notice it as a painful clenching sensation. Klaus called his doctor immediately when these symptoms started to occur, but upon hearing that yes, he was still suffering from his fatigue and lack of sleep his doctor assured him that these symptoms were quite common to accompany such an illness. They informed him however that if they continued that it certainly wouldn't hurt to get it checked out, and that should they get worse they told him to seek medical attention immediately, but based off of all of his health issues over the past year, his doctors seemed unconcerned and were rather certain that was all that was responsible for causing these new symptoms. Klaus was relieved to hear that his doctor found nothing about this new issue to be particularly problematic, it certainly helped to put his mind at ease. He was just glad he didn't have a much bigger underlying issue like he was beginning to fear.
Klaus glanced at the clock on the oven and realized it was already nearly ten o'clock at night. It was nearing the time when Dave always called to kiss him goodnight. They'd done a wonderful job of keeping this tradition going. Every night Klaus would lay Riley down in her crib for the night and curl up in his and Dave's bed with his phone clutched above his chest excitedly awaiting his phone call.
Tonight would be no different.
"Come on sweetie, it's time to go night night, daddy Dave will be calling soon."
Using the kitchen counter to keep him steady, Klaus slowly leveraged himself off of the stool and brought Riley into their bedroom. He got her all ready for bed and laid her down in her crib. Klaus smiled as he bent over to kiss her, just happy that the pancakes hadn't backfired as she quickly exhaled a yawn before curling up and falling right to sleep. Klaus changed into his own pajamas before crawling under his blankets and pulling his phone to his chest. He glanced at the time - 10:27PM - just before he rested his head back against his pillow. Klaus inhaled a deep breath and smiled, knowing that Dave always called between this time and ten forty-five. He would be calling any minute.
Klaus clenched his eyes shut and sucked in a pained gasp when his heart spasmed in his chest. He groaned, rubbing his fingertips over his heart while he slowly peeled open his eyes and tried to focus on his breathing. He did not like this new issue at all, it worried him, but he tried to push that worry aside knowing that his doctor didn't find it alarming. Klaus continued to rub his chest as the minutes continued to tick by.
Any minute Dave would call…
Klaus was so tired, he only hoped that Dave would call sooner rather than later. He hadn't slept well the last two nights due to his nightmares. Last night he'd dreamt he was trapped in the mausoleum again; the shrieks of the dead calling to him once more, threatening him, telling him that soon he would be joining them. He'd awoken in a cold sweat and hadn't been able to fall asleep again for the rest of the night. That happened around two in the morning, and he ultimately had been unable to fall asleep during his daily nap today either, so he hadn't slept much at all. His eyelids felt so heavy and he was hopeful that tonight he would have better luck trying to sleep.
Klaus picked up his phone and looked at the time again - 11:15PM - Dave was late. He was never late. Klaus just kept reminding himself that it wasn't that late yet, though. Maybe Dave had simply got caught up on a case. Klaus decided that must be it, everything was fine. He would give him the benefit of the doubt, surely he would call him soon.
More time continued to pass by and Klaus's heart was fluttering with anxiety. He rubbed his chest, exhaling a groan of discomfort when he realized the time. 12:45AM. Two hours. Dave was two hours late calling for their kiss goodnight. In the months since they first started this ritual Dave had never been late. Not even once. Two hours was a long time. Klaus's breathing picked up as he continued to rub at his chest. Dave always called, always. He knew how badly Klaus worried. Even if he was unable to talk on the phone, surely he would have text him to let him know the reason why he hadn't called yet. Klaus forced his eyes shut to focus on steadying his breathing, he was just about to give up hope and cave and call Dave himself when his phone finally rang. Klaus hurriedly answered, holding the phone to his ear.
"Baby, you're late, I was so—"
"Klaus…"
Klaus's stomach dropped when it wasn't Dave's voice who greeted him, but his brother, Diego's. Why was he calling at this hour? Why wasn't this his boyfriend? Where was Dave?
"Diego, why are you—"
"Klaus, there's been a—are-are you sitting down? Where are you right now?" Klaus immediately sat up in bed and drew his knees to his chest, his eyes widened with fear as he cupped the phone tighter to his ear.
"I'm laying in bed. Diego, what's going on, what's wrong? Are you—"
"Klaus, I'm so sorry, man." Klaus felt his breathing pick up as tears filled his eyes. What was Diego talking about, sorry for what?
"I don't understand, what-what are you sorry for? Are you alright, Di? What—"
"Dave's been shot."
Klaus felt his breath hitch in his throat. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't hear, or see. He didn't know how to form into words what thoughts were going through his mind at that moment, he couldn't even process his brother's words right now. Dave, his boyfriend, the love of his life—was shot?
"W-what?" he finally stammered, the words were weak, and broken as he forced them from his mouth, "No. N-no, Diego. That can't—that can't be, he-Dave-he's supposed to call. He, I—I need to go, Dave is supposed to call any s-second, I—"
"Dave isn't going to call Klaus."
"No, Diego..." Klaus's heart was hammering wildly in his chest. He groaned, pressing the heel of his palm against his heart, rubbing circles to try to soothe the pain there. His tears were freely falling, now. A choked sob burst passed his lips as they wobbled with anguish. "Please, please, that can't be—he...he..."
"Shhh, it's okay, Klaus. Calm down, try to breathe for me, okay?" Diego could hear the unsteady breaths from his brother, he needed him to hold it together. "His last case of the night turned south, it was an ambush. He was shot three times. Once in the chest, his arm and his abdomen. His Kevlar vest is the only reason he's still alive. His worst injury was the bullet to his arm. Thank god he refused to work without a vest, always said he had too many people back home he needed to live for." Klaus could almost hear the smile in his brother's tone at that statement.
"I need to see him, Diego. Riley and I, we-we will be right there—" Klaus frantically threw his blankets off of his body and quickly clambered to his feet, but the room swam around him dizzyingly and his vision instantly blurred. Klaus all but fell back down into a seated position on the mattress, he twisted his fingers into the blanket to steady himself while he closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath. Klaus was so dizzy, and his head hurt so badly, but he couldn't just sit there and do nothing while Dave was hurt and needed him. Besides, Klaus knew that he was fine, he'd just stood up too abruptly. He would be okay in a couple of minutes once he caught his breath. "W-which hospital is he at, Diego? I need...I need to see him." He asked through his panted gasps.
"No, Klaus. You two stay put," Diego tried to soothe his brother, "Dave's in surgery, there's nothing that you or I can do for him right now. The best thing that you can do is try to rest, okay? It's late—"
"I can't sleep, Diego. Not when...not when—" Klaus cupped his hand over his mouth as a strangled sob echoed from his throat. Klaus tried to silence his cries, he didn't want to disturb his daughter. He didn't want to alert her to the severity of the situation surrounding their family.
"I'll be right there, okay? Just give me an hour tops. I'll be over soon, you don't have to be alone." Klaus couldn't even respond to his brother, he was too distraught to form a sentence. He simply forced himself to suck in a deep breath and exhale another pained cry. Diego reassured his brother that everything was going to be fine before they hung up the phone.
Klaus stayed where he was propped on the lip of his mattress and continued to cry. How could this happen? Why, why Dave? Klaus suddenly felt so sick, his head was spinning and his heart was aching from the pain of knowing that his love was hurt, or worse—what if he—Klaus gagged. It hit him suddenly, the nausea, and he tried to swallow it back, as he fought to keep the bile down. But his nerves were shot, and his anxiety was through the roof, and the harder he tried to fight it off the stronger the urge became. He clamped his shaky hand over his mouth and rose to his feet. His legs were unsteady, and the room danced around him because he was so dizzy. Klaus had to steady himself on the wall as he made his way into the hallway, but he did eventually make it to his bathroom. Klaus collapsed onto his knees in front of the bowl, his fingers clutching onto the toilet seat as he expelled the contents of his stomach. He wailed as he heaved, his stomach protesting the news of Dave's predicament just as badly as he himself was. Klaus stayed knelt there for quite some time, long enough for his belly to become vacant and his voice to grow hoarse from his wails.
"No, Dave! Why—why, please...no, no, no, no, no..." he cried and screamed into the bowl of the toilet, tears blinding his eyes as they traveled down his cheeks. He fought to catch his breath while he draped his hand over his upset stomach. Klaus continued to cry, pleading to whomever was listening, he didn't care if it was to god or a neighbor at this point, he just needed to put it out into the universe, needed it to be known that they couldn't take Dave away from him. He couldn't lose him. Klaus pushed himself away from the toilet, sitting on his pockets and pressed his back against the wall to try to focus on his breathing. He rocked his head back and forth as he continued to cry, gut wrenching sobs shaking his frame. He gasped, his hand darting to his chest when his heart clenched painfully. Klaus couldn't breathe for a moment, the pain was too strong. It eventually receded and he was able to struggle to suck in a breath when Riley started to cry in her crib.
"I-I'm coming, baby," Klaus slowly hauled himself onto his feet, gripping the bathroom counter to assist him and stood there rooted to the spot for a moment. He needed to catch his breath, and he needed to calm down. Klaus looked at his reflection in the mirror, his distress was painted obviously across his features. He didn't want his daughter to see him like this. With shaky hands, Klaus turned on the faucet and cupped the water, splashing it onto his face. He turned the water off and planted his palms against the counter and leaned all of his weight heavily into his hands. Klaus closed his eyes and tried to take in long breaths. His heart was pounding and he was so tired, and scared. He thought that he had managed to calm himself down enough when his lip started quivering again and a pained cry escaped his lips. His shoulders shook as another sob tore through him, when his daughter's own crying intensified and he straightened. She needed her daddy, she would just have to accept him as he was, a blubbering mess of a heartbroken fool. "Daddy's coming."
Klaus sucked in a short gasp as he entered his bedroom and pulled Riley into his arms. His daughter instantly wrapped her arms around her daddy, burying her face against his tear dampened neck and just held onto him. Her own crying calmed almost immediately and Klaus couldn't help but to hold onto her, and just absorb her presence against his broken heart.
"Everything is going to be okay, princess." Klaus assured his daughter as he rocked her in his arms, while more tears continued to trail over his cheeks, "Daddy Dave is going to be okay. He has to be."
—-
Diego didn't know what to expect when he arrived at Klaus's, but his heart tanked the moment he first laid his eyes on his brother. Klaus's arms were wrapped around his daughter in a tight embrace, he was shaking and his sobs that he was emitting broke Diego's heart. He didn't think he'd ever seen his brother so emotionally devastated. Klaus was pacing the floors, humming sounds of distress before sucking in a quick gasp of air. He didn't sound good, and judging by the unsteady way he was breathing, Diego guessed that he'd probably been struggling like this since they got off of the phone together over an hour ago.
"Klaus, hey, I'm here." Diego approached his brother and laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Klaus just groaned to acknowledge his presence. "Why don't you sit down for a minute, bro. You need to take it easy." Klaus didn't even protest as Diego led him to the couch and helped guide him to sit down. Klaus's eyes were clenched closed and his shoulders continued to shake with each of his sobs. Riley peered at her daddy, her own tiny features contorted with concern as her hands found her daddy's cheeks.
"Dada?" She cooed while her fingers swept across his anguished features and wiped at his many tears. Klaus opened his eyes and looked at his daughter. He exhaled a strangled laugh as he gazed into her worried blue eyes.
"I'm so sorry, princess. Daddy's a mess right now," he whispered before closing his eyes once again, as more tears tumbled down his cheeks.
"Just try to take a deep breath, Klaus," Diego instructed as he listened to Klaus's labored breathing, "Why don't I hold Riley for a little bit, I need you to try to breathe, you're going to hyperventilate if you keep breathing like this."
Diego gently took Riley into his own arms and his niece wrapped her arms and legs around Diego while she kept a steady watchful eye on her daddy.
"Sorry it took me so long to get here. Eudora called with an update—"
Klaus's attention perked at that. "How is he?" he asked as his bloodshot eyes met his brothers worried browns.
"He's still in surgery. He was lucky, though, no major organs were hit. The blow to his chest will leave a nasty bruise, but thankfully he was wearing a vest. His shoulder took the brunt of it, miraculously the bullet didn't hit any bone, just fucked up the muscles and tendons. Then the shot to his abdomen was just a graze. They're saying he's going to be okay, Klaus."
"Oh, thank god!" Klaus wailed while he buried his eyes into his palms, as a new set of sobs wracked his already trembling frame, "I can't lose him, Diego—I just can't!"
"Hey, Shh," Diego sat on the couch beside Klaus and threw his free arm around his brother, pulling him against his chest. Klaus curled himself against Diego's side, burying his face against his shoulder as his fingers clung onto his uniform like a lifeline, twisting the material in his grasp. "Just breathe, Klaus. He's going to be okay—"
"I need to see him, Diego—"
"He's in surgery, and even then visiting hours aren't until morning." Klaus pulled away and clenched his eyes shut. He stifled a groan and ran his palm over his chest when his heart fluttered uncomfortably again. His breath hitched and his lips struggled to suppress his distressed whimpering. Diego frowned as he watched how erratic Klaus's breathing was, and how awful he looked. He glanced at the time that was displayed on the clock and realized how late it was. Diego placed his hand on Klaus's shoulder and tried to look him in his eyes. "I think you should drink some water, alright? And then you need to sleep—"
"I can't—I can't sleep, Diego. I just can't." Klaus inhaled a sharp breath as he continued to cry.
"Listen to me, I need you to try, okay? Dave would murder me if I let anything bad happen to you, you need to sleep, bro."
Klaus wanted to fight against his brother's request, he wanted to throw himself off of the couch and run to Dave and pull his love into his arms, but he knew that he couldn't do that right now. Dave was in surgery, he was going to be okay, but it was still killing Klaus to know that he was having someone cut open his body and remove bullets and repair damage to his love and he couldn't even be there for him to hold his hand, or be there to support him. Klaus opened his mouth to speak but the only sound to come out was a sharp inhale of air when his heart spasmed painfully once again. He wrenched his eyes shut and clenched his jaw tightly closed from his pain. Klaus tried to inhale a deep breath, but it hurt so badly and he was already so distressed.
This was the worst his heart had ever felt before. Usually it was occasional flutters, but this was all so much more painful than it had ever been. Klaus attributed it to his obvious stress and decided it was a safe bet to shrug it off, though. Of course his heart was aching—it was broken, shattering at the thought of anything happening to his love. Klaus groaned when Diego laid his hands on his shoulder and knelt before him, he hadn't even realized he was trying to get his attention.
"Klaus, are you okay?" Klaus's eyes finally opened, his vision was blurred by his tears but he could still see the concern on his brother's face, "You look like shit. You need to sleep, bro, it's late. Come on, let's get you to bed. At least for a few hours." Diego hooked his arm beneath Klaus's and helped haul him onto his feet. Diego noticed immediately how unsteady Klaus was, how badly he was trembling, how much he was struggling to breathe. "Jesus, Klaus, seriously, are you alright? When was the last time that you slept?"
"I'm fine, Di. I'm just...worried, I'm fucking scared. Why Dave? W-why did this have to happen to him?" Klaus asked through his sobs. Diego just tightened his grip around his brother as he led him into his bedroom and helped ease him down onto his mattress.
"Shh, try not to think about that right now. You need to focus on you, okay? Dave will be fine, I'm going to need you to close your eyes and focus on calming your breathing down for me, alright?" Diego instructed Klaus before he laid Riley down in her crib. She curled up and fell asleep quickly, and Diego took a seat beside his brother on his bed.
"I can't focus on that, not when—"
"Klaus, stop. Come on, calm down." Diego grabbed a hold of Klaus's hand, pulling it between both of his own palms as he gripped it tightly, running his hand up and down his arm. "Breathe in deep through your nose," he instructed while he mimicked the action himself, "and exhale slowly through your mouth. In...out...in...out..." Klaus struggled to copy his actions, but over time he was eventually able to steady his breathing.
"I'm so tired, Di. So tired, and so scared." Klaus whispered. His lips were quivering as more tears fell from his exhausted, puffy eyes. Diego smiled softly at his brother as he wiped away his tears.
"I know, Klaus. I know you're scared, but Dave's strong. He's going to be okay. Get some sleep. When you wake up we will go see him, okay?" Klaus could only nod as he finally allowed himself to drift into a restless sleep.
—-
Klaus opened his eyes slowly when he heard what sounded like the front door trying to be opened and he idly wondered who that could be at this hour. He peered around his bedroom and realized Riley was still asleep in her crib and Diego was asleep on the far end of the bed, curled up on his side and drooling like a baby. Klaus's head snapped towards his bedroom door when he heard the sound again. Everyone was here in the room, who could that be—
The door unlocked and opened and Klaus heard the distinct sound of boots against the tile floors and the door softly being closed.
"Klaus?"
Klaus's heart hammered within his chest at the familiar voice.
"Dave?" Klaus propped himself up on his elbows in bed.
"Klaus, where are you?"
"Dave, I'm in the bedroom," he quickly scrambled to his feet. What was Dave doing home? How did he get released from the hospital so quickly?
"Klaus!"
"I'm coming baby, I'm coming!" Klaus quickly shrugged out of his blankets, tossing them back onto the bed and exited the bedroom before stepping out into the hallway. All of the lights were off; Diego must've forgotten they always leave the bathroom light on for a nightlight. He stumbled down the hall until he stepped into the living room. Klaus's hand wandered aimlessly up and down the wall until it found the light switch, and he quickly flipped it on. Dave was there, smiling brilliantly when their eyes finally met.
"Oh baby, thank god! I was so worried!" Klaus ran towards Dave, both men's arms were outstretched reaching towards each other.
"I'm so sorry, darlin! I never meant to worry you, I love you so much. I'm okay, I'm here, I—"
Dave never got the chance to finish his sentence. Klaus gasped, his steps faltering to a halt as a gust of darkness blew past him, forming a blockade between himself and Dave. The darkness expanded; growing and taking shape, or rather many shapes, as it formed a wall between them. Klaus's heart shuddered at the sight.
Ghosts..
Hundreds of them. Dead, evil soulless corpses that were now blocking his path to his love. Dave's face fell as the wraiths surrounded him, and Klaus's breath hitched in his throat when he saw the fear in Dave's ocean blue eyes.
"Klaus, I—" Dave's words bubbled from his mouth in a stream of his own blood. Klaus tried to scream his name, tried to push his way through the sea of the dead to get to his love as their wretched arms wrapped around Dave, dragging him away. Klaus's heart pounded painfully in his chest as he watched Dave's injuries reopen before his eyes—large, bloody wounds forming on his chest, his arm and his abdomen as he continued to try to fight the ghosts off, tried to still reach out to Klaus, to call to him even though he was choking on his own blood.
"Dave! No, you can't have him! Please!" Klaus took a step forward only for the barrier to expand. They were everywhere, now. No longer could Klaus see Dave, or anywhere else, all he could see were hundreds of evil faces staring right at him. The sight made him feel nauseous, his heart clenched painfully and he squeezed his eyes shut as he groaned, reaching for his chest.
Suddenly it was quiet. So, disturbingly still. Klaus opened his eyes and the dead were even closer, now. They were all around him; breathing down his neck, their evil eyes watching him intently. What scared him the most however, was the way that they were looking at him.
They were smiling…
Every single one of those awful, horrible faces were smiling right at him.
"You're going to die, Klaus..."
"We told you that you would join us..."
"Dave can't protect you anymore..."
"No one can..."
"What? No—No!" Klaus tried to escape but he was trapped. They inched ever closer, pressing their decaying bodies against his own. Klaus gasped for breath, struggling for air but he couldn't breathe. "Please! Please, go away! My daughter needs me!"
A mangled petrified arm reached through the crowd and laid its ghastly hand against his chest, just above his heart. The corpse's smile widened as it laughed right in his face.
"No one needs you, Klaus...but we do...you're going to die. You're going to join us very soon. Just like we told you." The demon jabbed his emaciated index finger accusingly against Klaus's chest, it's jagged nail digging into his skin.
"S-stop...please, that h-hurts—" Klaus begged as the entity continued to prod harshly against his chest.
"You're going to die! You're going to be one of us!"
"One of us, Klaus! Dead, just like us!" Their evil laughter filled the air and Klaus's heart pounded wildly in his chest and then—
Klaus gasped in agony as the hand stabbed through his chest, shredding through his flesh as it reached deep into his rib cage. Tears instantly flooded his eyes as the pain stole his breath away.
This pain was real, oh god, was this really happening...
"Please..please, no...it's-it's s-so painful..." Klaus cried out in agony as he fell to his knees, his blood was gushing from his wound in his chest as his worst nightmare continued to explore his chest cavity with its demonic hand. Klaus groaned as his heart clenched painfully, the demon's black, soulless eyes met his own horrified green irises as it's smirk tightened against its ghastly features.
"You're going to be dead soon, just like us." The entity stated with finality as it ripped Klaus's beating heart out of his chest.
—-
"Klaus!" Klaus sucked in a sharp breath as his hand shot to his heart. He cried out in pain, his breath hitching uncomfortably with each unsteady gasp he tried to take in. "What the fuck, bro, are you okay?"
Klaus groaned, tightening his grip above his heart, he still had the agonizing phantom pain from his dream. He unclenched his tear filled eyes and continued to try to steady his breathing.
It was a dream…
It was only a dream…
"Easy, Klaus, breathe. Christ, what's wrong? Are you alright?" Diego asked as he took in his brother's appearance. Klaus was unnaturally pale, and the way he was holding his chest was worrying him. "Seriously, bro, talk to me, are you okay?" Diego reached to lay his hand over Klaus's heart but Klaus pushed his unwarranted request away before quickly sitting up in bed. He closed his eyes when the action made the room spin. Klaus groaned while he continued to try to focus on catching his breath.
"I'm fine, Diego—"
"You don't seem fine—"
"I'm fine!" Klaus shouted. He whimpered when his heart spasmed painfully again and he continued to rub at his chest. "It was just a nightmare, I'm fine."
Klaus's lashes fluttered as he looked around the room. The sun was just starting to make its presence known as its soft rays barely illuminated through his drawn shades. Klaus loosened his grip on his chest before looking Diego in his eyes.
"I'm up. Please, take me to Dave now. I need to see him. Please, Diego…"
"Okay. Yeah, alright," Diego's shoulders slumped forward as his tension released and he ran his fingers through his short raven locks of hair. "Are you sure that you're okay?"
Klaus nodded as he weakly leaned against the headboard of his bed. He was exhausted, what little bit of sleep he had gotten was nothing short of terrible, but he felt a little relief in knowing that at least that terrifying experience was just another one of his ghastly nightmares. Undoubtedly the scariest one he thought he'd ever had, and the most realistic. He closed his eyes and rubbed at his heart again as it fluttered painfully in his chest. He really shouldn't stress himself out so much. It was only a dream, he was going to be okay. He was fine.
"Yes, now can we please go? I can't wait any longer, I need to see Dave. I need to hold him and make sure he's okay."
"Alright," Diego smiled sadly at Klaus while he patted his shoulder. "I'll give you a few minutes to get ready while I go feed Riley. Let's go see Dave." Klaus smiled sadly at his brother and nodded.
"Finally."
The ride to the hospital was mostly quiet, and thankfully for Klaus, fairly quick. Klaus was happy to learn that Dave was at Palms of Hope hospital, which was the closest to Ben's house. He knew he would have no problems walking there to visit Dave if he had to stay for a few days. It would be about a forty minute walk there and back, but it was much better than the hour and a half walk to Waycare Hills Hospital which was the next alternative.
Diego and Klaus walked through the front entryway and Diego told Klaus to take a seat in the lobby before he went to the reception desk to find out how soon until they could go see Dave. Klaus slumped his tired body into one of the hard plastic chairs and hugged Riley close to his chest. He closed his eyes and nuzzled his cheek to her curls while he ran his hand up and down his daughters back. Klaus's face screwed up in pain when his heart spasmed again. He hated that he felt this way, all of this stress over Dave, and now that hellacious nightmare mixed with his lack of sleep was really making his anxiety flare up. Klaus felt like shit. He was unbearably tired, and he was still feeling a little dizzy even as he sat, and his anxiety was making his chest just still not feel quite right. Klaus tried taking deep steadying breaths to calm his rampaging heart.
A hand draped over his shoulder and Klaus gasped as he startled awake, he hadn't even realized he was starting to nod off. His hand shot to his chest when the person retracted their hand.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" It was Dave's sister, Emily. Oh god, how could he have forgotten to call Dave's family? Emily recognized the look of distress on Klaus's face and sat beside him, laying her hand over his knee. "Oh, honey. How are you holding up?"
Klaus's emotions instantly bubbled over and he started to cry, his shoulders shaking with each of his silent sobs. Emily frowned and threw her arms around him, pulling Klaus into a tight embrace.
"I'm so sorry," Klaus whispered through his tears. "I'm sorry I-I didn't call you, I'm just so worried. God, I'm such a wreck."
"Hey, shhh, you have nothing to be sorry for, hon. It's okay," Emily pulled away to push Klaus's curls out of his eyes, her motherly instincts were kicking in. She smiled sadly at him, their sorrowful eyes meeting before she wiped at his tears. "This is a lot to take in. We are all scared, but we are all in this together. Dave is going to be okay." Klaus nodded sadly as more tears spilled over his cheeks and Emily pulled him back into her arms. She rocked him while he cried and Klaus felt a little pathetic because of it. He felt like he should be rocking her, not the other way around, but he was just so emotionally devastated right now that he couldn't even bring himself to care.
Emily talked to Klaus to take his mind off of the situation, and to try to soothe his broken heart. She explained that she was the only one of Dave's family who could make it today since her husband Joe was away on a business trip. Robbie, Dani's husband, was out of town for a funeral, and that left Dani to watch all of the kids by herself. Klaus couldn't help but to feel a little guilty for having Riley here at the hospital; hospitals were notoriously known for being riddled with germs and he knew it would have been better to have someone watch her, but he was so worried about Dave that the idea entirely slipped his mind. Not that he had anyone he could turn to for that, anyways. He certainly wouldn't expect Dani to watch her, she already had her hands plenty full with the other three hooligans. Slowly Klaus was starting to feel a little bit better, Emily's soft voice and delicate touch was helping to smooth down his frayed nerves. He was thankful that Emily was here for him to talk to. Klaus hugged Riley tighter against his chest. She had fallen asleep in her daddy's arms. He cradled her to his heart and kissed her curls just as Diego approached the three of them and all of their eyes instantly shifted to him.
"We can go see him now."
Klaus nodded and wiped at his tears. Emily was on her feet right away, while it took Klaus a few minutes to stand. All of his crying left him feeling rather lightheaded. He groaned when the room started spinning, his knees started to feel weak and his heart fluttered quickly within his chest. Emily frowned and was immediately at his side, she braced her palm against his back to steady him.
"Are you okay?" she asked when her worried blue eyes studied his pale features. Klaus could only nod and send her a reassuring smile as he adjusted Riley in his arms.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just tired, I didn't get much sleep." She nodded sadly and ran her palm up and down his back for a moment to soothe him. Klaus smiled at her appreciatively as his world stopped spinning and he eventually started to feel a little more grounded. Klaus exhaled a long breath and the family finally made their way through the hallway of the hospital together to go and see Dave.
When they opened the door to Dave's hospital room Klaus's heart instantly clenched with pain at the sight of seeing his love like that. He was asleep, but he just looked so frail, so not like himself. Klaus had never seen Dave look so weak, so tired, so sick or so vulnerable before. Dave had always been so strong, and had always been Klaus's savior. Seeing him like this; laying in a hospital bed and knowing he could have lost him—it physically hurt Klaus's heart to see Dave in such a terrible state. A sob wracked Klaus's frame, his crying picked right back up and intensified at seeing his love in such a disadvantaged way. Klaus covered his mouth to try to silence his cries, he didn't want to wake his daughter, or Dave. He didn't want to disturb anyone at all with his wailing, but Klaus's breathing and cries only seemed to get stronger. Emily and Diego exchanged a concerned glance and Diego pulled a chair over to Dave's bedside, positioning it so that it was as close to the bed as possible.
"Why don't you take a seat by Dave, Klaus." Diego urged as he patted the seat of the chair. Klaus sucked in a sharp breath and Emily draped her arm around his lower back and ushered him to the seat.
"Here, hon take a seat." Klaus could only nod in response when Emily guided him to the chair and helped him sit down.
"How about I hold Riley for a little while, you just sit and relax for a bit, okay Klaus?" Diego took Riley's slumbering form into his arms. She didn't so much as stir; she just wrapped her arms around his neck and cuddled herself up closer to her uncle.
Klaus wiped at his tears and ran his palms down his thighs before taking Dave's hand of his uninjured arm into his own. Klaus leaned forward and cupped Dave's face in his free hand, gently stroking his cheek with the pad of his thumb. Klaus's lip quivered as more tears spilled over his cheekbones. He glanced at his family before returning his attention to Dave.
"I hate this. He shouldn't be here, he shouldn't be hurt." Klaus inhaled an unsteady breath and ran his fingers through Dave's curls. Everyone voiced their agreement at it being wrong for Dave to be like this. It was unnatural and unsettling for all of them. "I'm so sorry this happened to you, baby," Klaus whispered before moving his hand to join his other in holding Dave's hand.
Klaus's face screwed up when his heart twinged painfully again within his chest. He closed his eyes and tried to will his pain away. He was so tired, so stressed out, and so unbelievably scared for his love. Klaus rested his weary head against Dave's hospital bed, he buried his forehead into the uncomfortable material and just tried to focus on the fact that Dave was still here. He was alive, and his hand was within his own. Klaus concentrated on his breathing, tried to calm his racing heart, and tried to remind himself that Dave was okay.
Klaus was so tired. So unbelievably drained from the day's events he wondered if he could even sleep right here, just rest his eyes, if even for just a few minutes...
Dave inhaled a deep breath, just as his fingers tightened around Klaus's hand. Klaus's eyelashes fluttered and opened and he leveraged himself upright so that he was sitting up. Klaus's wobbly lips instantly tugged into a smile when he met Dave's beautiful ocean blue eyes, his own features displayed a stunningly warm grin.
"Hey...hey, baby..." Klaus whispered breathily as he tightened his grip on Dave's hand.
"Hello beautiful," Dave said softly but with a broad smile. Klaus laughed pitifully at Dave's words, while more tears continued to trail down his cheeks as he pinched his eyes shut. Dave frowned softly at the sight of Klaus's tears and pulled his hand away, cupping it to Klaus's cheek while he tried to smooth away his despair.
"Don't cry, darlin, I'm here. I'm alright." Klaus's shoulders only shook harder at what Dave had to say. He was so happy to hear Dave say those words, but his heart ached at the fact that he should even have to say them at all.
Dave cooed to Klaus as he wiped at his tears before he dragged his hand down his shoulder, then his arm before finally pulling his hand back into his own.
"You know, they say that when you have a life altering experience and you think that you're going to die that your entire life flashes before your eyes," Dave began, earning Klaus's attention. More tears fell at the idea that Dave believed he was going to die, that Dave really could have died, and that this was him admitting that he thought that he would. "Do you know what I saw?"
Klaus furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head as he looked at Dave.
"I saw you, darlin. You and Riley. I saw the moment I first laid my eyes on you, every beautiful moment we spent together as a family, and every memory we have been lucky enough to share together in between. And do you know what I realized? That it wasn't enough. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to you, or to Riley. I wanted to create more beautiful memories, spend many, many more precious moments together. I couldn't live with the idea of leaving either of you behind, or of ever losing you. I love you both too much. The idea or losing you and Riley scared me more than the bullets themselves, darlin. I wasn't willing to give either of you up. Besides, I promised you that I would never leave you, I can't break that promise now," Dave laughed softly and Klaus's eyes fluttered as more of his tears freely fell. Dave's thoughts when he believed he was dying were of him and his daughter? He smiled and tightened his grip on Dave's hand. Klaus inhaled a sharp breath as his heart shuddered with pain but he pushed his discomfort aside to listen to his love speak. God, he missed his voice. Dave ran his thumb over the delicate skin on Klaus's hand and he continued to smile as he spoke.
"Klaus, I love you and Riley with every beat of my heart. I can't live with the idea of not sharing the rest of my life with you. You both are my whole world, and I want to spend every moment I have on this earth with you," Dave paused as his own tears started to fall and Klaus smiled while he leaned forward to wipe away Dave's tears. Dave laughed softly and leaned into Klaus's touch, tilting his head into his palm so that he could kiss his hand. Klaus leaned back in his seat while the two love birds' kept their eyes interlocked. "I wasn't exactly planning on doing something like this under such circumstances, so I apologize that I'm not exactly prepared and don't have a key piece to tie this question together...but, I can't put this off for even a single second longer. Klaus—will you make me the luckiest man on this earth, will you continue to bring a smile to my face everyday by just being you...will you marry me, darlin?"
Klaus's shoulders quaked as a breathy sob burst from his lips. He inhaled a deep breath as he nodded his head, more tears tumbling over his cheekbones at Dave's unexpected proposal.
"Yes," he whispered, "of course. I-I love you so much, baby. I..I can't lose you...I can't..." Klaus's breathing picked up speed, his chest heaving as he tried to take in each unsteady breath. Dave tightened his grip on Klaus's hand, squeezing it gently while he gazed at his love with sad eyes.
"Hey, Shh, look at me," Dave urged, with a delicate softness to his tone. Klaus's tear filled eyes met Dave's steady blues. "I'm not going anywhere—" Klaus started to cry even harder as Dave spoke, the reality that he could have lost him today finally setting in. Dave frowned as he cooed to him, he ran his thumb over Klaus's skin, rubbing soothing circles against Klaus's hand.
"I'm not going anywhere," Dave repeated, "I'm okay, and I'm going to continue to be okay. Darlin, just seeing your beautiful face has already made me feel so much better." Klaus laughed, it was a breathy pitiful sound, but Dave just smiled at his love while he continued to reassure him that he was alright, as he tried to make sure that Klaus knew that he had nothing to worry about.
"I'm alright. I love you so much, Klaus."
"I love you, Dave. God, I love you." Dave cupped Klaus's cheek in his palm and just peered lovingly into his eyes. Dave's smile fell when he finally allowed himself to see Klaus, truly see Klaus as he took in his appearance. Dave's own heart broke at seeing his love. Klaus looked so pale. He was trembling and he could see just how tired he must be. Dave hated that he did this to Klaus, that he'd been causing this to go on for some time ever since his career change, and now this? Klaus looked awful, he was breathing heavily and looked like he was just about ready to pass out from his sheer exhaustion.
"Klaus, why don't you go home and go to bed for a little while, you look like you haven't slept in days—"
"No," Klaus interrupted, "baby, I don't want to leave you."
"I'll still be here. Please, go home and get some sleep. You need to rest." He ran his fingers through Klaus's curls just before Klaus pulled away. He shook his head and went to protest but Dave just smiled and took his hand back into his own. "Klaus, I'm not going anywhere, darlin. Please, listen to me and go home, you look exhausted."
Klaus exhaled a laugh before his chin dipped down to his chest. Dave's eyebrows furrowed at Klaus's reaction. Dave frowned, he knew that Klaus practically lived his day to day life always feeling exhausted, and Dave also knew that Klaus was probably tired of hearing that he always looked so tired, but that didn't change the fact of the matter here, which was that he still needed to sleep.
"Please, baby?" Dave pleaded, his worry was thick in his tone, "Please go home and go to sleep, for me?"
Klaus wanted to tell Dave no. He wanted to tell him there was no possible way in hell he would be able to leave him, not now, not when he finally had him in his arms and he could see him, and hold him, and talk to him. Not after he just spent hours worrying himself half to death fearing that he would never be able to see him again, but Klaus couldn't even attempt to fight anything right now. His head was pounding from all of his crying, and he felt so dizzy, and he was just so unbearably tired. He knew that Dave was right, he should try to get some rest, at least for a couple of hours. Klaus nodded his head slowly in acceptance.
"Okay," he whispered before licking his lips, "okay, I'll try to get some sleep."
"And you'll succeed," Dave squeezed Klaus's hand and smiled warmly at his love. "Please, promise me that you'll try to sleep? I'm okay, but I need you to be okay, too."
"I promise," Klaus nodded again while he wiped at his tears. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, he was just so dizzy. Diego shifted Riley on his hip when she lifted her head sleepily before cuddling back up in his arms.
"I'll stay with you until Dave can come home, Klaus. You won't have to be alone, alright?" he began as he rubbed Riley's back and took in his brother's exhausted appearance. "You really should rest, you barely got any sleep, bro. I'll take care of Riley, and in a few hours after you wake up we will come back, okay?"
Klaus leaned on his forearms against Dave's bed as he looked at Diego with tired eyes, "Okay."
Dave pulled Klaus's hand to his lips to plant a chaste kiss there before rubbing his thumb over Klaus's soft and delicate skin. "I'll see you later, darlin. I love you."
"I love you," Klaus slowly rose to his feet. Dave frowned at how long it took him to do-so, and at how unsteady his love seemed. He knew how badly Klaus's overall health and well being always seemed to suffer whenever he didn't sleep well. It killed Dave to see him so unwell. Klaus just smiled softly at Dave before he rested his palm against his cheek and slowly bent over him to kiss his lips. Dave smiled into the kiss, his smile remaining even once Klaus pulled away.
"Mmh, first kiss from my fiancé," Dave said as he gazed into his love's eyes. Klaus's lips tugged into a warm smile as he exhaled a soft laugh.
"First of many," Klaus assured him. Dave's smile widened, the lines around his eyes smiling too.
"First of many."
The couple continued to bask in their love for one another when Diego approached his brother, laying his hand over his shoulder.
"Come on, let's get you home." Klaus nodded just as Riley woke up, her bright blue eyes landed right on her daddy. She reached for him, her face eager for her daddy to hold her. Klaus smiled and took his daughter back into his loving arms. She snuggled against his neck and he kissed her curls, resting his hand against her back. He looked at Dave one more time and they exchanged another smile before Diego's hand trailed to his lower back and helped guide him towards the door. Diego opened the door and Klaus started to leave the room when Dave's voice brought his motion to a halt.
"Oh, Klaus, one more thing," Klaus turned to face Dave and both men smiled fondly at one another. Dave pulled his hand to his lips, kissing his fingertips before he blew Klaus a kiss, "Goodnight."
—-
Authors Note: First off I just want to say WOW, thank you guys so much for all of your lovely comments last chapter, you all are amazing! Seeing such wonderful feedback makes me all the more excited to keep updates coming! So, thank you, really! I appreciate you all so much!
Poor Dave, and poor Klaus :'( BUT at least they are ENGAGED! So there is a silver lining! If you are still following along and enjoying this story, as always, I crave validation and would absolutely LOVE to hear from you all in the comments! What thoughts or concerns are you feeling? Let me know!
I hope you all are staying safe, healthy and happy! Until next week! Have a great day! :)