Author's Note: I believe my Internet harbors ill will towards me. I've noticed that, pretty much ever since Chapter 6, my connection would magically disappear in the few minutes it takes me to proofread my work. And it always happens to do this after working just perfectly for several hours. Go figure. And for the record, I actually finished this at 2:10 this morning, but I was not able to actually post it until just now, about 12:10 PM, ten hours later. Ah well. That's just how it goes I guess.

Anyway, enough of my needless ranting. Please continue on and read the next chapter of my epic saga. And as always, I do hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 11: "Awakening"

School hours on Friday came and went faster than the blink of an eye like they managed to do on most Fridays. Even Doog's unwelcome return from his few days of suspension and the challenging English quiz didn't hinder the overall feeling of excitement for Sports Day, which, thankfully, was scheduled to continue as planned despite the small fire that occurred two days previous. Saturday would be the day for fun and sore muscles from the wee hours of the morning to the depths of the night, and Daisy planned to participate in as many of the events as she possibly could. But, unfortunately the same couldn't be said for the remainder of the friends...

Luigi: "I'm just gonna stick with soccer."

Peach: "I might try tennis, though I'm not that great at it..."

Mario: "I'll go for soccer and tennis."

Their answers to the question of which sports they were going to participate in during the after-school walk were understandable. Luigi was getting pretty good at soccer, for it was his favorite sport after all and he largely practiced that specific game in his spare time; the only sport Peach ever actually tried was tennis, her first time ever playing being only two days ago; and Mario simply wanted to stick with his brother and the girl he liked (and who obviously liked him as well), even though he was actually pretty good at just about every showcased sport. Nevertheless, the answers were disappointing, for Daisy wished to have at least a couple of her friends present as she hopped between activities. The options that none of them even considered included basketball, kart racing, track and field events, and golfing (though it was only nine holes and took place at a more isolated location). She seemed to be the only one of the four in the group to care that there were more than twice as many sports as the ones everyone else named, and she was disappointed in her friends' lack of adventurousness. But it appeared she would have to cope. Though she really didn't feel the urge to do so.

Daisy needed Toad. Knowing him, he would be down for any of the sports. Unlike these three, he didn't limit himself to what he knew or who else would be playing; he would try anything at least once, and usually enjoy himself, even if he honestly sucked at it. The only problem was the fact that Daisy never had any clue where the kid disappeared to after school. So, of course, she initiated the best, most rudimentary way to uncover information: she asked the brothers in red and green.

"Oh, Toad's been going to the hospital every day," Mario answered, looking off in the direction of the large hospital that jutted out from the smaller buildings surrounding it in the distance. "He said that he wanted to be the first person Tess sees when she wakes up, so he's been spending all of his time there after school these past few days."

"Yeah, he doesn't go for anything," Luigi added as both Peach and Daisy curled their lips into smiles. "His parents have to bring him food because he never leaves the room until visiting hours are over."

"That's so sweet," Peach spoke up, prompting an agreeing nod from Daisy.

"We're hoping Tess wakes up sometime soon," Mario continued, returning his gaze forward. "The doctor said she's likely to get up today actually."

"Really? Then we should go and visit," Daisy suggested energetically. "We could at least keep Toad some company while he's sitting there. And if she wakes up while we're there, we can just leave the room."

"Why would we do that?" Luigi asked stupidly, making Mario and Daisy smile as Peach let out a small giggle.

"So Toad will be the first person she sees," Peach answered, causing Luigi to look down at the ground for a short while and give a small, awkward smile himself.

"Oh yeah..." he muttered quietly, rubbing his nails against the back of his head in a moment of embarrassment as he often did.

"So are we all up for paying a visit?" Daisy asked to confirm that everyone was on board with the idea. Sure enough, the question was met with various affirmative answers, and the group soon set their course for the hospital.

–

Dedication, fortitude, excitement, sorrow, love. There were plenty of words that could possibly describe why Toad remained in that room for so very long every single day. With school letting out at one in the afternoon and visiting hours ending at ten in the evening, Toad spent almost nine hours at Tess's bedside those past few days. Of course, he would pass the time away with homework, word puzzles, books, handheld video games, all kinds of idle activities that would occupy him while he was there, but nothing seemed more engaging, more satisfying, or more excited than standing over Tess and simply looking at her, daring himself to think of the hopeful future they would have together after such a horrible, life-altering incident. Which was exactly what he was doing at that very moment.

His determination to stay by her side slightly flabbergasted several nurses and doctors who came to check in on Tess every once in a while. They'd never seen an individual so deadset on seeing a loved one wake up with their own eyes; most would be content with simply knowing that their special someone would wake up at all. None of the staff could honestly say that they minded Toad's constant presence from the early afternoon until well into the evening however. Who could deny that he was simply a pleasure to have around, especially considering the situation he was dealing with?

When one thought about it, it was somewhat odd how cheerful Toad managed to appear under the circumstances. With his girlfriend lying in a coma mere feet away, Toad was able to smile and joke and hold steady conversation about topics other than Tess's condition, very rare actions that most people probably wouldn't be able to do in the same situation. Granted, he'd been there so often lately that he simply started to see that Tess was only sleeping, waiting for her moment to discontinue her slumber and rejoin the rest of the world. For him, it wasn't a matter of worrying over her health or fretting about symptoms and the past. He already promised he would help her cope with everything as best as he could. It was all just a matter of waiting at this point. Waiting for that magical time when she would open her eyes once again and rejoin him in the conscious world.

Looking at her though...it was still just a little hard to take in her image. Her eye was still slightly swelled and bore a faded shade of purple and a number of cuts covered her cheeks, still healing underneath the thin lines of scabs. At times, Toad found himself unable to believe what happened to her and hardly able to remember the moment that he first found her lying in the street. It felt like it all happened centuries ago, sometime in an ancient history that actually took place merely three days ago. But he was so focused on the future and how things would be made better for Tess under his careful, loving watch that everything that happened before, it just didn't matter.

The doctor's abysmal prediction on the night of the incident was proven true however, much to Toad's displeasure: it was discovered that Tess would not be able to have her own children. Toad had no idea how he would break the news to her once she woke up. Should he tell her flat out about it? Would a doctor come in and inform her if he didn't do it himself? Should he wait until she was up and about to let her know? Imparting such information would not be easy to be sure, even if he wasn't the one to deliver it in the first place. But now...he didn't want to think about it right at that moment. The time would come when she would find out. It had to come. But that time was not right then and right there...

If only he could wipe that grisly fact away; be God for just one moment and grant Tess's natural, miraculous gift back to her... But now wasn't the time to brood over what he couldn't possibly hope to achieve. He had to stay focused on what he could do for her, not what he wanted to do.

As he stood over Tess's resting body, watching her chest rise and fall as she breathed peacefully, Toad tenderly held one of her hands with both of his own. She looked so serene, despite the scarring that defiled her otherwise gentle and flawless face. Her mouth even hung open ever so slightly, allowing only a centimeter or two of space between her lips. Toad couldn't help but smile as he observed this cute, minute detail that made watching over her just that much more satisfying. Tess seemed-rather, she was-absolutely angelic.

Slowly and softly, Toad leaned in and planted a small, light kiss on Tess's forehead, a kiss brimming with love and care specially reserved for her and her alone. Standing up straight once more, Toad held his smile as he swore he could see Tess stir just slightly as a result of the show of affection. The thought of rousing her with a simple kiss made Toad's heart jump, though he was certain that the motion couldn't yield such powers as to revive a comatose spirit. It was simply ludicrous to think that much was possible.

However, the phantom movement he merely thought he saw a moment ago led to another that was undeniably noticeable. He could feel her grip tightening around his own. Her hand didn't contract all that much, but it definitely gave a squeeze that was absolute proof that Tess was at least somewhat aware at that moment.

Toad held his breath as his heart nearly stopped and he watched on in anticipation. He unconsciously squeezed Tess's hand a bit tighter as he looked and waiting eagerly as her head tilted slightly, causing her to face him completely as she let out a very quiet, nearly inaudible sigh. Her mouth closed completely, and, as her eyes began to slowly crack open, Toad could tell she was coming back to reality once again. She was coming back to him.

"Tess," Toad whispered excitedly as his girlfriend refrained from opening her eyes wider, the brightness of the ceiling lights being terribly unwelcome. With a squint, it took her several moments to fully register that it was Toad who was standing over her, carrying his warm smile and positively beaming as his wish to be the first person Tess saw when she awoke was fulfilled.

"Toad..." Tess spoke with a faint voice, her vocal chords having grown lax over the course of the several days she was unable to put them to use.

"Yeah...it's me," Toad answered softly, refraining from grabbing Tess right then and there and pulling her into a massive hug.

"Where am I...?" Tess muttered without diverting her eyes from Toad. "I feel...really sore...and stiff..."

"You're in the hospital Tess," Toad informed her, feeling a surprise tear welling in his eye, a signal of the momentous occasion and his genuinely ecstatic feelings. "You've been here for a few days."

"A few...days...? Toad...what happen..."

Tess couldn't finish her sentence before warily closing her eyes once more. The few moments of consciousness drained her of whatever little energy she had, and she soon found herself slipping off into slumber once again. Despite having lost her to continued slumber though, Toad was absolutely overjoyed to have been able to speak with her just that once after what felt like a miniature eternity.

He slowly raised Tess's hand to his lips and gave it a tender kiss shortly before resting it over her stomach. As he did so, his smile was stained by the single tear that occupied his eye just moments before. The drop landed harmlessly on Tess's blanket and Toad never bothered to wipe away the stained trail it left behind on his cheek. He didn't care about erasing that mark. He was proud to wear it actually. That tear symbolized the moment Tess first woke up in three days. He was her first sight. Her first word was his name. That was all he needed to witness to make his entire week of waiting and watching to feel even more worthwhile than it already was.

So at that moment, as Tess retired once more into rest, Toad wouldn't be sad that he couldn't speak with her more. He wouldn't be upset that he couldn't magically rise her up from her bed and whisk her away to lead a happier life right at that moment. All it meant was that he had to wait a bit longer. And, for Tess, he would wait until the day he died if he could simply be there for her on the day she could start to live. And little did he know that, mere feet away, just on the other side of the wall separating the room from the waiting area, his four most loyal, most true friends were all observing through the frame of the window, granted a front row seat to this event that was so important to him, and so very heartwarming to them.

Peach was the first to react to the scene that played out before her, turning away from the rest of the group as she wiped a tear away, smiling and blushing in embarrassment. Everyone glanced over at her almost simultaneously as she gave a timid look over her shoulder and let out a small, tearful giggle.

"Don't pay me any mind," she pleaded softly with a smile as she looked away once more, blushing slightly more deeply. "I'm trying so hard not to cry right now."

A small sniffle was the signal for Luigi and Daisy to obey the command, giving each other a momentary look with smiles on their faces before returning their attention back to the room. However, Mario opted to take some initiative and instead approached Peach, wrapping an arm around her as he escorted her to a chair nearby. The pair sat themselves down side by side and Peach automatically proceeded to let herself cry into his shoulder, allowing his arm to continue to hold her close.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to him with a muffled voice, covered partially by her tears and partially by his shoulder. "I just get a little overwhelmed sometimes. I'm so happy for him."

It wasn't very long after Peach's comment that Daisy could swear she heard a poorly concealed sniffled emanate from Luigi. Slightly surprised, she turned her head to glance over at him, eyebrow raised and lips forming a small smile. At the same time, Luigi looked away, disallowing her to see his face at the moment.

"Aw, Luigi, do you need a shoulder to cry on too?" Daisy asked with a voice writhing with such sweetness that one would not be able to believe that she was only being partially sarcastic. As if to further confuse anyone who wanted to attempt to figure out whether she was serious or not, she fully turned to Luigi, holding out both arms at a wide angle in order to invite him into an embrace, should he choose to accept. This could have easily been mistaken for teasing as well, but she was honestly completely ready to allow Luigi to cry on her shoulder. But, of course, Luigi wouldn't openly admit that he was having almost as much trouble keeping his composure at the moment as Peach was. Especially in front of Mario and Daisy. Days of jokes and a feeling of weakness and insecurity would follow if he gave in to his feelings. So, being the true man that he was, Luigi feverishly denied any claims of being on the verge of tears whatsoever. But, of course, simple denial didn't mean that he could fully control his voice at the time. And his voice told it all.

"No...I'm completely fine..."

Damn it all, Luigi's voice was so muddled in the tears he was trying to keep to himself that it managed to squeak in the four words he uttered in response. And, of course everyone noticed, because life wouldn't be what it was if everyone didn't witness Luigi in his most embarrassing moments.

Passing doctors and nurses, a family of five that just entered the room, a blind Koopa woman and her seeing eye dog all stopped what they were doing and looked directly at Luigi for a brief but excruciating second before continuing on with whatever they were doing before the untimely slip-up. Luigi couldn't believe that that just happened to him, and, cheeks burning with embarrassment and the thought of "Why me?", Luigi promptly excused himself from the group to go and stand in an isolated corner outside of the hospital walls in order to let himself cry properly, since he now had more than one reason to do so.

Feeling sorry for Luigi (thought admittedly tickled at the same time), Daisy felt the urge to follow him out and convince him that what just happened wasn't that big of a deal, something she found herself doing quite often as of late once she thought about it. But before she could leave, a quick look over at Mario as he continued to hold Peach close followed by a glance into the room in which Toad continued to pour every ounce of his attention onto Tess seemed to trigger something in her mind.

Thoughts stemming from her days in kindergarten flowed into Daisy's mind as she slowly turned to face the window once again. She unconsciously placed a hand on the sill as she gazed at Toad, remembering the instance that occurred only minutes ago involving his kiss and Tess's brief awakening shortly thereafter. Daisy hadn't thought about it at the time, but an element found in one particular fairy tale she heard as a toddler just played out before her very eyes...

"And with a peck from Prince Charming, the sleeping beauty's eyes fluttered open, awakening her from the sleep. The sleeping spell was broken by her true love's kiss."

Sure, the same principles didn't apply here. For one, Tess wasn't under any spell; she was suffering from blunt force trauma, not some poisonous apple passed to her by an evil witch. And she was predicted to wake up at around this time. But was it a mere coincidence that she just so happened to reawaken only moments after receiving a kiss from Toad, the one person in the entire world that ever loved her so thoroughly and unconditionally? Or could his affection for her actually bear some kind of miraculous power that wasn't quite so easy to explain?

And what about Peach? She wasn't in a situation anywhere near similar to Tess's, but she completely let her guard down when Mario supplied a shoulder for her to cry on. Why couldn't she just let her emotions show right off the bat? What was so different about having the arm of another wrapped around her that allowed her to cry so freely when she previously attempted to force herself not to?

Fairy tales and love and friendship...they were all displaying themselves in full force in Daisy's immediate vicinity. The result was an atmosphere filled with emotions that would otherwise be simply self-contained or nonexistent altogether. And really, it felt very warm and very comforting, even though she herself didn't have anyone at her side. Just seeing others coping with dire situations and their own feelings thanks to the invisible fortitude of love...it suddenly made Daisy think about things she'd begun to take for granted and things she gave up on a long, long time ago.

Aside from special cases like her aunt and uncle, Daisy found love to be such a fickle, truly rare thing that she figured that even attempting to find it (and hold on to it) was a futile practice and that people shouldn't really bother. Sure, she was able to love, she didn't deny that; she loved her family more than anything in the world. What she had a hard time believing was romantic love, the kind that could sometimes drive people into depression, hopelessness, sorrow, etc. if they didn't succeed in finding it by some point in their lives.

Why bother craving something that you have little chance of obtaining? Daisy would always ask herself this. Really, it was pointless to drive yourself virtually mentally insane in an attempt to find the "love of your life". All that did was create more self-generated strife for yourself because without love, the world just didn't accept you. Somehow. Daisy never pretended to understand how people could come to such a conclusion that being single for extended periods of time meant that nobody liked you and that your existence was meaningless. That was crap. Not being in a relationship meant nothing more than the fact that you weren't in a relationship. That was that.

But it wasn't until this day that Daisy finally figured out just why love was so thoroughly sought after. Love meant being able to comfortably let your emotions out to someone who would be there to support you. It meant having someone that would be there for you when times were tough. It meant having someone be there for you when you felt all alone. Love meant a lot of things. A lot of things that most people didn't just want, but needed in order to feel safe and secure in their own skin.

As independent as Daisy was, she had to admit that if it weren't for the love of her father and the love of her aunt, uncle, and little cousin, she didn't know where she would be that day. Her father loved her enough to let her attend a public school (though only after some harsh persuasion). Her aunt and uncle loved her enough to make her a completely welcome guest in their home and to raise her as if she were their own daughter. Her cousin loved her enough to be her one friend that she could always go to, no matter what, that would never fail to make her smile, make her laugh, make her love life as much as she loved her. And now the love that spread amongst her friends reminded her of the love she had for her own family.

Excusing herself, telling Mario and Peach that she would be at the park if they needed her, Daisy left the room rather suddenly. Taking a bright smile with her, Daisy exited the hospital's front sliding doors, shortly met by Luigi, who was on his way back in after letting his tears flow freely for a short while. Without warning, Daisy grabbed him and pulled him into a slightly less violent version of a bear hug, squeezing Luigi a fair bit, but not enough to crush him. The surprise embrace left Luigi startled, throwing him into a loss for words and disabling him of the use of his arms, making him unable to return the hug. But Daisy didn't care.

"Luigi," she began happily, "You're such a cool guy. You're a sweetheart, you're a great cook, and ever since I met you I haven't had a single day that wasn't made better because of you. I just wanna thank you for being such a klutz. And for being such an awesome person."

With that, Daisy released the intensely blushing Luigi and continued on her way, leaving the boy behind to wonder just what in the world incited such a speech all of a sudden. It would take him several seconds to regain his composure after the event, but, after contemplating what Daisy just said, Luigi's day just suddenly seemed so much brighter. While he was a crying wreck only moments ago, he now felt life couldn't really get much better. It was pretty amazing how one hug and a few words straight from the heart just completely turned his day around. And he was actually able to walk back into the hospital with a rather confident smile on his face.

–

Daisy cheerily bounded up the steps leading to her home, humming an undeveloped free form melody that was stuck in her head for the past fifteen minutes. She dug into a front pocket, extracted her house key, and made quick work of tumbling the locks that previously barred her from entering. Opening and closing the door with haste, Daisy took several quick, excited steps towards her family, sharing each other's company on the couch as they watched an animated movie primarily for Ilys's entertainment (though Jeff and Julie found some aspects quite entertaining themselves).

Before anyone had time to react, Daisy approached from behind the couch and bent over to hug each family member individually as well as plant a single kiss on their cheeks. All three of them (especially Ilys) chuckled as Daisy hailed the surprise storm of affection on them. Ilys quickly stood up on the couch and turned around, prompting Daisy to scoop her up into her arms and give her another kiss on the cheek, accompanied by a tiny hug.

"What's up with the hugging and the kissing all of a sudden?" Jeff asked with a smile as both he and Julie turned away from the movie to face Daisy, who returned the smile eagerly.

"What? A girl can't just show some affection for her family without being questioned about it?" Daisy retorted sarcastically.

"Well, the handbook on how to handle the behavior of a teenage girl certainly didn't warn us about this," Julie responded just as sarcastically, making Daisy give off a playful scoff before taking a moment to look at her aunt and uncle.

"I just love you guys alright?" she stated sincerely, shortly ruining the heartfelt message by rolling her eyes. "Like, God, sorry I actually, like, like you guys. I'll try not to, like, do that so much anymore."

"You'd certainly be more normal that way," Jeff commented with a chuckle, making Daisy scoff once more.

"Like I come from a 'normal' family."

"You got me there," Jeff admitted defeat as Daisy came around to the front of the couch and took a seat, holding Ilys in her lap. Of course, the quartet hardly even watched the movie, for Daisy inspired conversation that easily outlasted the seventy minute duration of cartoon Goombas lost in the nether regions of the core of the sun. They seemed to talk about absolutely anything that came to mind; from the local toy store to Sports Day to Julie's surprisingly large pinkie toe. The chat simply seemed to flow flawlessly, changing topics from one to another without a hitch and all four participants having something to say about it. And it was times like these, times that Daisy honestly took for granted until that day, that she realized just how much she truly loved her family.