DISCLAIMER: Characters of Veronica Mars, the canon events of their storylines, and recognizable dialogue belong to Rob Thomas.
A/N:
So about that bus crash cliffhanger …
You may remember that at the end of Stall I promised that there would ultimately be a happy ending … at the end of Part 5. I also warned you there would be some rough patches along the way. Some of the roughest are here in Part 2.
Chapter 5
At times, I was aware of movement and sound around me. Images kept flashing in my mind's eye. There was no particular order to the images; they didn't match the sounds I heard. Occasionally, the faces I saw matched the voices that were speaking to me. I recognized some voices, but not others.
The unfamiliar voices explained that they were there to see how I was doing, to draw blood and check on my IV, to give me a sponge bath or change my gown. As they talked, I felt hands on me. Their touch was comforting as they cared for me. If they had not been explaining what they were doing, it might have been scary rather than soothing, since I couldn't see their faces.
Somehow, I knew that I was safe.
Familiar voices held one-sided conversations with me. Most of the time, I heard Weevil and Dad.
My father spent time telling me old stories – first days of school, learning to drive, my first camera, bringing Backup home. At the end of each story, he would plead with me to come back to him, saying things like, "We have more memories to make, sweetie."
Sometimes, I would feel his hand holding mine while an old movie played in the background. He would comment on his favorite parts like he always did during movies.
When Weevil was with me, he talked about many things: that Letty and the rest of his family were praying for me, that Felix was looking forward to seeing me again soon, and about school. Sometimes, he read to me. I seem to remember hearing large portions of The Princess Bride.
One day, his normal flow of babble broke through my mental haze, escalating into this:
"Just want you back, querida. Miss you. Miss your kisses. Miss your voice. God, V … me encanta escuchar tu voz." As he held one of my hands between both of his, I heard a song in the background – the one that had been playing on the radio as we sat in the car one night last spring, one of the songs he had put on a cd for me. The lyrics floated past my ears to my heart:
"Aún recuerdo el momento en que todo cambió ..."
His voice was soft as he said, "Mi vida … todo cambió."
For minutes on end, he whispered in Spanish – the words blurred together by sobbing, coming too quickly for me to understand all of it. As his voice steadied and the words slowed down, he shifted from Spanish into English:
"Dios mío, te necesito. So many things I thought I needed – I don't need any of it. Swear to God, I'd give it all up to have you back. I need you more than anything."
He stroked my hair and pressed his lips against my forehead. Then, I felt his head resting next to mine. "I'm trying to hold it together, stay on top of school, figure out what's going on with my guys – but fuck, I can barely breathe without you." It sounded like he was choking back tears. "Nena. Come back to me. I've never needed anything like I need you. That's not an easy thing for someone like me to admit. Please, don't make me say it again." He let out a dark, sexy laugh before whispering in my ear, "We haven't even made love yet. Come on, beautiful, that's gotta be worth coming back for." His tone became serious as he continued, "And I will do anything I have to do to be good enough for you. Just come back to me, be mine … mía."
I could smell leather and oil … and something that was uniquely Weevil. I could feel his hand holding mine as his voice reached my ear. But it was the gentle kiss placed against the inside of my wrist that seemed to awaken me.
As I opened my eyes, I saw his head resting against his hands on mine. I took a moment to process, but nothing made sense. Everything in me wanted to take him in my arms, but it took all my effort just to move the hand he wasn't holding. I reached across my body and tenderly placed my hand on the smooth skin of his head. He reacted to my touch as he always did – almost like when you pet a cat.
All of a sudden, he became perfectly still. Then, he reached behind his head to find my hand. When he did, he raised his head to look at me.
He gasped before saying, "Hello, beautiful." Weevil stared at me with tear-filled eyes. He stroked the side of my face and moved to give me a kiss on the forehead. After a long, tender moment, he wiped away his tears and said, "Let me go tell everyone that Sleeping Beauty is awake."
My voice was hoarse as I said, "Everyone?"
"Your dad, the doctors and nurses. Then, we'll have to call Wallace and Mac."
He stepped out of the room. Only then did I look around and see that I was in a hospital bed hooked up to machines.
My dad was the first one through the door. Soon, I was surrounded by medical personnel who were asking questions and looking me over.
After some prodding and poking, one of the nurses brought me a drink of water. The first couple times I tried to speak, I had difficulty getting the words out.
Finally, I asked, "How long have I been here?"
Dad said, "It's been 15 days."
"What happened?"
He and Weevil looked at each other, silently negotiating who should answer me.
Weevil began, "You were on the bus … on the way back from the field trip to Shark Stadium. I was following the bus. Do you remember anything?"
"I remember seeing you … out the back window … I was sitting all the way at the back, in the last seat. And then …" I paused and closed my eyes, trying to remember. "Did something hit the bus? Or was it … ? Wait. There was a loud sound … like …" I became agitated, partly because I desperately wanted to remember, but partly because I couldn't make sense of what I could remember.
"Shh. Take it easy, honey," Dad said. "Don't worry about that now. We're just glad you're awake."
"No, this is important. Were we hit?"
Dad looked at Weevil, who answered, "No. The bus veered and went over the cliff. I was behind the limo. All I saw was the back of the bus as it disappeared. But there were no other vehicles involved."
"I heard a loud sound."
"That was probably the bus hitting the guard rail."
"No. It was … it was more like an explosion." I looked at Weevil's face and suddenly realized what he must have been thinking and feeling when he saw the bus crash. I reached for his hand and then turned to Dad. "Can we have a minute alone?"
"Sure, honey. But I get second shift. I'll be in the waiting room. I'll call Mac and Wallace and give them the news."
"Thanks, Dad," I said as he kissed the top of my head.
When the door closed and we were alone, I said, "Are you okay?"
"Am I okay? You're kidding me, right?"
"No. If I had to sit for two weeks waiting for you to wake up after watching you plunge over a cliff, my insides would be shredded. So, I'm going to ask again, are you okay?"
He was quiet for a moment. With an expression equally sad as it was happy, he began softly, "I'm good now, but I was a wreck at first. When I got to the edge with everyone who was in the limo, I looked down and I couldn't imagine how anyone could have survived that. But then I saw you floating there – the color of your jacket caught my attention. And waiting for help to arrive …" His voice trailed off like he couldn't bear to finish his thought. "When they brought you up, you weren't breathing. By the time they got you in the ambulance, you were breathing, but not conscious. I probably should not have been driving at that point, but I got on my bike and followed you to the hospital. Duncan tried to get me to go with them in the car, but I … couldn't do that. I told Duncan to call your dad. Since then, we've just been waiting for you to come back to us."
"Who else is still in the hospital? Or has everyone else been home for days?"
"Veronica ..." His face became even more serious. "No one else survived."
I turned my head away and closed my eyes, taking in the enormity of what he had just said.
After a couple minutes, he broke the silence. "Do you need anything?"
"More water. And do you have any gum or a mint?"
"Yeah, but wouldn't you like something to eat?"
"Later. Right now, I want to kiss you, but my mouth tastes nasty."
He laughed at me as he poured a cup of water and produced a piece of gum from his jacket pocket. With him sitting on the edge of my bed and tubes coming out of my body, we got reacquainted.
I had never felt so alive – and happy to be alive.
A nurse rushed through the door and turned red when she realized she was interrupting a private moment. "Sorry. Your heart rate was elevated. And you should really be resting." She shook her finger at me, but smiled as she left.
After kissing me again, Weevil said, "I'm gonna go get your dad. I'll give you guys some time alone while I get some food and make a few phone calls."
About a minute after Weevil left the room, my father came in. The first several minutes were filled with all that you would expect in a happy reunion of this type: hugs, kisses, expressions of joy. This shifted into small talk before Dad could gather the strength to talk about the extent of my injuries. The bruising had begun to fade. The doctors were amazed I didn't have any broken bones, but I did bang up my right arm pretty good – lots of bruising and swelling. There had been some internal bleeding and they had to operate to stop it. There was a possibility that I might need another surgery. But they had been most concerned about the severity of my concussion. With the amount of time I'd been unconscious, they would need to evaluate my cognitive function. Dad went to great lengths to avoid the words 'coma' and 'brain injury.'
"While Eli was in here with you, the staff spoke to me directly and I overheard them talking at the nurses station. They are beyond happy with how you're doing and the fact that you woke up recognizing faces … even remembering the accident. It is still possible you have some memory loss, but all indications are good."
"So … tell me what I missed."
"You mean … while you were sleeping?"
I looked up at my dad and smiled. I had never been so grateful to hear one of his bad jokes.
A/N:
Song on CD (from Chap 10 and 12 of Stall): "Y Llegaste Tú" by Sin Bandera (feat. Andrés De León) 2002
Thanks for reading! Until next time …
~Jen
13 January 2018
querida = darling
me encanta escuchar tu voz = love hearing your voice
LYRICS: aún recuerdo el momento en que todo cambió = I still remember the moment when everything changed
mi vida … todo cambió = my life (term of endearment) … everything changed
Dios mío, te necesito = My God, I need you
nena = baby
mía = mine