Welp... At least I know where the story is going now.
I am going to pat myself on the back now, because this is NOT how I planned to further the story at all, but is WAY better than my first plan, so we're just gonna go with it and see what happens. Sound good?
Good!
On we go!
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o
The hospital is bustling with nurses and doctors at work. Sarah and Jareth arrive at the ER area, frantically looking for a front desk of some kind to find the kids. Hurriedly, they find a man behind a wrap around secretary area and ask for a Toby Williams and a Francesca Kingsley. With little information, the gentleman takes his time to find those names and points them into the right direction. Avoiding the slow patients and the heavy equipment littering the halls, Jareth and Sarah find the room numbers given. Sarah, seeing that they are directly opposite of each other, just barely sees Jareth barge into Francesca's room before she tries to do the same for Toby's.
But instead of being able to barge in, she is rushed out of Toby's room by a female doctor. She says that they are still working on regulating his breathing patterns and are in the middle of patching him up. In a calm tone, she suggests that Sarah wait in the waiting room around the corner until she comes for her. She apologizes for having to make her wait, and assures her that they will be done as soon as they can be. Sarah stands staring at the thick door hearing little to nothing happening in the room. Her eyes are wide. She is beyond scared. She stands frozen right in the middle of the hall. Various doctors and nurses wiz around her as she continues to stare at the grey door while internally wondering what she is going to do now.
Wait around? She can't just sit and wait around! They just expect her to sit and do nothing?!
Looking around, she suddenly realizes that she is all by herself. Jareth is gone- 'oh yeah'- he went into the room right behind her. The doctor didn't push him away. 'Francesca! Is she okay?' She spins and, barging the heavy door open in a rush expecting a horrid site and an upset Goblin King.
But there isn't anything in the room.
It's empty.
It's dark.
There is nothing but an empty bed and a heart monitor that is not in use. the only light source is a light above a cleaning station on the far side of the room.
But- but...
She saw him run in this room. This very room.
Confused, she slowly backs back out letting the door close on it's own. She backs up to the opposite wall as she suddenly sees another patient- one foreign to her- being rushed into the empty room. Looking around, she is extremely confused. Where is Francesca's room? Where is Jareth? She contemplates checking the other rooms, but doesn't want to disturb anyone if there are other people in those rooms that she doesn't know of.
Should she just stand here and wait for Jareth? Will he even try to look for her? No- He needs to care for Francesca. That should be his top priority.
Sarah stands in the same spot, looking around to see very little action in the hallway now. Everything has settled, somewhat. She sees that she is suddenly all alone.
All by herself.
Coming to this realization, a quiet gasp escapes her breath as she holds herself. With her back against the wall next to Toby's door, she slides down, her silk dress spreading the floor around her, as a nurse or tow strolls past her peripheral vision. She stares at the ground completely lost in time... just...
What does she do?
She doesn't have a clear enough mind to think straight, but she suddenly remembers that her parents aren't here either. Slowly remembering where they are, she leans her head back against the wall, and pulls out her phone from her purse. Her tears grow at the sight of it, regretting the call even before she makes it. The last thing she wants to hear is Karen gasping and crying over the phone. She doesn't think that she can handle this call. Sniffing, she flips open her phone and calls her dad's cell instead, hoping that Karen doesn't pick that one up, too.
It only rings twice before it is, thankfully, picked up by her father. "Sarah?"
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o
Sarah eventually ends up in the waiting room around the corner from Toby's room. After getting off the phone with her father and a hysterical step-mother in the background, she calls Sheena to tell her the news. After hearing that her friend is already in the car and on her way, Sarah decides to just stay and wait in this waiting room, instead of going off and looking for Jareth and Francesca. She assumes that this must be a delicate situation with Francesca being a Fae caught in a car accident. She knew that he would at least give her an update whenever he could.
All in all, it is better to stay in one place so someone can find her whenever they need her.
It has been a little over an hour, but to Sarah, it feels like a century. Sheena showed in no time at all, hugging her friend and offering any kind of condolences she can. There wasn't much said to one another, just hugs and hands to be held.
Being the only two in this medium sized waiting room, at 12:45 in the morning the silence isn't awkward, but it sure is felt from one end to the other.
Finally, the same female doctor from before comes out. "Sarah Williams," she calls to the waiting room.
Sarah shoots up from her seat. "Is he okay? What happend? How bad is it? Can I see him-"
The doctor holds out a gentle but stern hand to stop Sarah's oncoming hysterics. "My name is Dr. Harpor, and I will be Toby's doctor. We have done what we can in this area. We are now taking him up to a bigger and more comfortable room a few stories up. If the party will please follow me, I will take you there, myself." she smiles as she leads the small party of two to the elevators.
"Please tell me how he is."
"Well, he had to be patched up. The crash was a head on collision with a tree. Police and EMSA say that with the impact that was made, Toby might have been speeding to reach such an impact."
"Oh God," Sheena quietly gasps.
The doctor slowly nods. "It wasn't pretty, and neither are his injuries. I will give you more of an in depth analysis when we get up to his room." Continuing the small journey, the doctor continues to ask a little more about Toby, asks Sarah how she is feeling, and information about the whereabouts of their parents. These are important questions, but she is really trying to get a sense of Sarah's personality so she can figure out how she can pass on the information she has about Toby. After a little bit of talk, they make their way to his new room where, the doctor assures he should reside for the remainder of his visit, however long that may be.
"Toby!" Sarah, upon seeing the sight of her unconscious brother, runs to his side as fast as she can, crying and pleading for forgiveness about not being with him. "Toby- Toby no-" Sarah cries as she holds onto his forearm; the only spot that isn't bandaged and heavily wrapped.
"Please make yourselves comfortable," The doctor's voice is quiet and sympathetic. "I will be back shortly," is all she says before leaving for another half an hour.
After some careful deliberation, the doctor finally comes back in and asks more about the teenager. Sarah knew just about everything there was to know about him, from how young he was when he had the chicken pocks to the last time he had the sniffles. Finally done with the questionnaire, she invites the girls to sit so she can go over all of what was found through Toby's car accident.
"He has a concussion, a broken nose, and his tibia is broken. There is also a hairline fracture in his femur as well as three fractures to his rib cage." The doc starts as Sarah sits in a chair next to the unconscious Seventeen year old. Sheena squeezes Sarah's hand as they both hear the heart wrenching report. Sarah slowly shakes her head in disbelief as Doctor Harpor pulls up the necessary x-rays to show Sarah and Sheena exactly where the bones have broken, as well as the swelling in his brain.
"The good news is that there is no internal bleeding." She continues with a weary voice, "the bad news is that there still could be." She adds as she shows the blow to his head. Sarah can barely look at the images. She only looks to her brother that is now heavily bandaged up by his head, his torso, and one arm and leg. "You see this spot?" Doc points to the back of his x-rayed brain. "This is the cerebellum. Under it is a whole bunch of neurons that keep the brain cognitive." she then points to the front of the brain. "And this is the cerebrum. It's what helps us to move, wake, and function. He hit both of these ends pretty hard with the impact of the crash. My educated guess is that this may have happened with the sudden stop of the crash. The front of his head was hit, as was the back with the whiplash of severe impact." she looks to the sister with saddened eyes. "Sadly this means that he is currently comatose-"
"Wait-hold on wait-" Sarah stops her. "He's in a coma?"
"I'm afraid so,"
She starts to studder. "W-what the hell is this, a soap opera?" She laughs in irritation. "When the hell is he going to wake up?"
Dr. Harpor sighs. "Unfortunately, we currently do not have a way of knowing how long he will be in this state. At least not at this time."
Sarah had little more to say. She is still processing everything that was just thrown to her. She is trying to memorize all that was said, wondering how the hell she is supposed to repeat this to her parents when they arrive expecting all of this news.
"I... I can't..."
"We have done everything that we can to make him comfortable. But for now, all we can do is wait." The doctor tilts her head as she sees the look on the big sisters face. "I'm sorry that this is the only news that I can give you."
Sarah looks to her brother completely speechless, looking at the stoic look on his expressionless features. "Toby..."
"I understand that your parents are on their way here," the doctor continues. "I have just unloaded a lot of information on you, so if you like, I can come back and repeat everything when they arrive." Sarah is thankful that Toby got a sympathetic doctor.
"We would appreciate that, Thank you." Sheena steps in for Sarah. "I know that she would rather they get the right information. We wouldn't want to get anything wrong."
"That is understandable. Go ahead and let the nurses outside know when they arrive, and they will tell me. I will be in as soon as I can after that." Dr. Harpor finishes with a sympathetic smile as she closes all of the papers in her make-shift booklet together. "Is there anything else that I can help before I leave?"
Sarah slowly looks down at her feet, sheepish such a large question. She has thousands of questions billowing in her mind- millions even. But, of course, she can't think of a single one. She slowly turns to her brother. She just shakes her head no, as Sheena verbally replies on her behalf.
"Okay, well if you do have questions, I will be back, so just write them down so you don't forget them." she lays a hand on Sarah's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Ms. Williams." the doctor tilts her head at the sad sister before her before slowly leaving.
Sarah suddenly remembers an important question, "Wait!"
"Yes?" she calmly replies.
"The girl that was with him? Francesca Kingsley? What room is she in?" Sarah asks in a hurry.
"I-I'm sorry..." The doctor looks a little confused by her question. "The... girl?" she slowly shakes her head.
"Yes. The girl?" Sarah continues. "Toby was with a girl. They were in the wreck together. I just want to know if she is okay."
"I'm Sorry, Ms. Williams, um..." Dr. Harpor sifts through her papers. "I am not aware of any other person that was in your brothers vehicle than your brother."
"What?" Sarah is equally confused. "B-but-" Sarah pauses. "But... he was with his prom date. I even got the call from you guys saying that there were two people in the car. A boy and a girl-"
"I'm sorry. I am unaware of any other person-"
"They were on a date. They were coming home from- from prom!" Sarah looks to Sheena. "Sheena, you tell her. You are the one that saw them leave."
But Sheena doesn't say anything. She looks just as surprised as the doctor.
Sarah continues, "Remember?" she urges Sheena. "You told me yourself that Toby snuck off with Francesca after they took the keys out of my purse-"
"Sarah..." Sheena slowly asks. "Whose Francesca?"
Sarah's eyes bulge open wide...
"What...?" Sarah looks to her equally confused. "Francesca- Toby's date. You know- our student- our top student?" Sarah grabs at the air around her as if she were trying to ring out Sheena's brain.
"Sarah, I don't have a student named Francesca." Sheena slowly approaches Sarah.
"What are you talking about?" Sarah shouts. "Red hair, foreign accent? I went out with her uncle?" Sarah starts to shout. "We trying to talk Toby into dancing with her all night long! He has been head over heels for her all year-"
"Wait- you went on a date and you didn't even tell me?" Sheena heard that part.
"Don't do this to me Sheena!"
"Do-do what?" Sheena's eyes grow, as she starts to become afraid for Sarah.
"Francesca is here! I even came here with her uncle and saw him go into one of the rooms to check on her! When I went in there-" Sarah suddenly paused remembering that she saw nothing in that room. Her flailing hands slowly come down to her sides and she avoids eyes contact with everyone, wondering what the hell is going on here.
Sheena pulls her friend down to a seat. "Look, you were just hit with a lot of information. You're tired. You're angry, you're sad, you are a mess, and that is totally okay." Sheena says pulling her friend in for a hug. "I think you just need some rest. Why not go and lay down over-"
"I don't need to lie down!" Sarah jumps up.
"Ms. Williams," Dr. Harpor adds, "you need to relax."
"I don't need to relax. There was a girl that was in that car with Toby and I want to know if she is okay. Her uncle should be with her. Please go and check for me." she shouts at a shocked doctor before her. "Will you please?" the bursts causes the doctor to reply with a chastising rebuke.
"Yes ma'am. I will go and ask. But please, in the meantime, will you calm yourself and sit down? You are going to make yourself sick." This is all she says before leaving the room.
"Sarah," Sheena looks to her friend with a mixture of shock and disappointment in her eyes. "What has gotten into you?"
"What the hell up with you, Sheena? You were the one that told me that Toby left with Francesca."
"Who the hell is this Francesca you keep talking about?!" Sheena shows no sign of kidding or horseplay. Either she really has no idea what is going on, or she is a really good actress.
"I was standing right next to her uncle when you told us both!"
"Her... uncle-"
"Hell, Sheena- he was a fucking prom chaperone-"
"Sarah, what the hell are you talking about!"
Here, it is clear to Sarah that Sheena in being honest with her misunderstanding on Sarah's words. Sheena really has no idea what she is talking about. This has Sarah's head spinning as she looks around the room to wonder where she even is at this point.
"Sheena, what-what... What's going on?" Sarah starts to cry as she holds her head tightly. Sheena watches her friend as she sits with tears streaming out of her face. She cries and mumbles words that she can't seem to understand before pulling Sarah, who now sits in fetal position, towards her.
"Honey," Sheena speaks to Sarah in a hushed tone. "Toby did not have a date tonight, remember? He went out with his buddies. Yes he took your keys but he left with those stupid frat boys that always cause shit in the back of our classes. You know who I'm talking about." she pauses to hear Sarah lessen her tears. "And you? Sarah Williams? The girl who swore to become a nun before dating another guy? I sure as hell would remember seeing a guy wrapped around your arm. Now I know you're dreaming." They both chuckle in the slightest as Sarah slowly pulls herself up, showing Sheena her puffy eyes and snotty nose.
"Sheena..."
"You're tired, honey." Sheena whispers. "You're tired and scared, and pissed. Your brains in just overloaded with stress. You need to rest. You need to chill the hell out. Everything will makes sense after you have had some sleep."
Sarah continues to stare into space trying to peace everything together. "Then... then how did I get home?" she asks. "Jareth... He took me home-he took me here- if he didn't then how'd I get here?" she looks to her friend.
"You took a cab, honey. You told me yourself when we were on the phone earlier." Sheena tisks. "Babe, if you can't even remember what we talked about an hour ago, you really do need sleep."
"No!" she pulls away from her. "They're real, Sheena." Sarah stands in protest.
"Sarah!"
"They're real!" Sarah shouts as she frantically runs out the door into the maze that is the hallways of a busy hospital.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o
Alright. This is hella rushed. Sorry not sorry. I wrote this out of the complete blue. I was just jotting down some ideas on how to write this next chapter and 2 hours later you have this monster. Well alrighty then!
I wasn't expecting to write anything, but it just randomly started pouring out, and I couldn't stop. So here you go. Shit is getting real.
I wonder how things turn out.
(psssst. I totally know how everything is gonna turn out.)
I am no expert with the brain, so if I got any of that information wrong, please tell me. I have had my fair share of time with family in the hospital that I basically know the routine when it comes to hospital talk and the basic procedures. Writing this chapter brought back a whole lot of memories for me... Some not so good. I need to go and get my mind off of those times, now.
See you soon.
I.L.C