Disclaimer: Nope... still don't own any of the characters of Veronica Mars. Wish I did though, cause I'd pretty much be in heaven.
"How is she?" Keith asked, not even trying to attempt to remain calm.
The doctor smiled tightly, "We had to give her ten stitches to patch up the cut that ran from her temple to her forehead. The blow to her head luckily was not substantial enough to cause her skull to fracture, and after looking at her CT scan she doesn't appear to have brain damage beyond what we'd normally see from a head injury like this. In other words, she doesn't seem to have sustained additional damage from the length of time she wasn't breathing. This is very good news, as it was one of my main concerns. We also haven't found any degree of internal bleeding. All of these things are very positive in favor of a full recovery. She was very lucky."
He had visibly began to relax throughout the doctor's speech, and saw Keith's mouth turn up a bit as a tear ran down his cheek.
He then realized tears were also leaking from his eyes and wiped them away, "So can we see her?" He sniffled softly, "Is she awake?"
The doctor's mouth opened and he took a second's pause before answering, "She's been relatively unresponsive up to this point, but after what her body's been through that is expected. You can go see her," he answered, looking at Keith only. "But she really can't handle much excitement right now. She's going to need all the rest she can get. Also… it's likely she may have some temporary amnesia about some things, so it may be best not to ask her any questions."
"I understand… Is there any way that he can come with?" Keith asked, motioning towards him.
Expectantly he awaited the response, but Dr. Kline as his tag read, only shook his head, "I really can only allow one person at a time, and I must advise that she be allowed to sleep as soon as possible." He made eye contact with him, and the pain in them was evident. Dr. Kline sighed, "One at a time. I want her asleep in half an hour. As long as you abide by those rules, I'll allow him to see her."
"I'll be back for you," Keith promised as he followed the doctor down the hallway.
A smile crept across his face at the prospect of being with her, and talking to her. He thought of returning to the chair he'd recently vacated, but was too anxious to sit. He bounced on his heels and paced back and forth in front of the blue line where they'd been separated what seemed like so long ago. He'd been staring at his shoes and counting the tiles on the floor when Keith's hand grasped his shoulder.
"Down the hall, turn right after the double doors. She's in room 148," he said quickly, with a grin on his face, and eyes red from joyful tears.
He took off in a dead sprint that hadn't been broken out since his junior high days of running track. He dodged medical personnel and pushed his way past the doors, careening around the corner. His eyes darted to the numbers on the doors until he screeched to a halt in front of 148. He froze, looking through the small window. The room was dark except for a small light above her bed. She looked like an angel, lit up from the inside. He swallowed the lump in his throat as his trembling hand reached for the door handle. He gained the courage and entered the room silently. The monitors around her beeped quietly as he spanned the space between them to sit in the chair next to her bed. Tears threatened to spill again as his finger tips brushed the hand laying gently at her side. His eyes watched as a miracle happened before him; her eyelids fluttered and then opened. He let out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding in, as her gaze met his.
"You found me," she breathed, turning her hand over to clasp his much larger hand within hers.
He immediately knew that she wasn't referring to her hospital room, "I had to… I'm just sorry I couldn't get there fast enough to prevent this from happening to you… From him doing this to you. When I saw you laying there… And you weren't breathing… I couldn't make you breathe…" He buried his face in his hands, one still enveloped in hers.
"Shh…" she whispered to him, obviously drained of energy as he felt her fingers comb through his hair. "Everything's okay now," she assured, cupping his cheek and tilting his head to look at her. He nodded to her, unable to help noticing her fight to keep her eyes open.
"You need to sleep," he forced himself to say. The last thing in the world he wanted to do was leave her.
"I'm fine," she said, her voice still hushed, and without the strength that was usually so present.
He sighed and kissed the back of her hand before setting it to rest on her stomach. His hand reached out and began stroking her hair softly. He smiled as her eyes fluttered back to a closed position and she took a deep calming breath.
"I should go. They'll be coming to kick me out any minute," he whispered, brushing her brow with his thumb, carefully avoiding the spot marred by ten stitches. It was painful to even think of taking his eyes off of her. It had been hard for him to even blink for fear that in that split second she would disappear. "Do you need anything?" he asked.
She shook her head very slightly, and mumbled something incoherent that he could, at least, determine was negative.
"Okay… Well, I promise that I'll be right outside until they let me back in to see you," he insisted, wanting to grab her and hold her tight to him, but she looked so fragile that he didn't think he should. "Goodnight, Veronica," he said into her hair as he kissed the top of her head. He pulled back and forced his feet to turn and head for the door.
Then he felt her hand brush his, "Don't…" Her plea was so soft, he wasn't sure he'd heard anything. When he turned around she was looking at him, "Don't go…"
He almost cried at the desperation in her voice as he quickly closed the space between them to stand over her, "Leaving you is the last thing I want to be doing."
"Then don't," she begged, and his heart broke all over again.
He closed his eyes, so as not to look in her eyes, "They said you need to sleep, so that you can get better." He looked at her again, "I need you to get better."
"I need you here," she amended, and he had no response. He didn't want to prove her wrong. "And if I need sleep, we'll sleep." She pulled the covers up and tried to scoot herself over to one half of the bed. Seeing her slight strain, he scooped his arms under her and easily moved her over.
"We're going to get in so much trouble for this," she grinned as he slipped his shoes off.
She smiled, and his heart leapt into his throat as he climbed in beside her. "Naa… They won't disturb us. I need my rest, remember?" she mumbled, allowing his arm to wrap around her shoulders.
"Yeah, well… I think your dad might finally be starting to like me, so he's more what I'm worried about," he replied softly, burying his nose into her hair and inhaling deeply. "'Night, Ronnie," he told her, as he felt her breathing slow.
"'Night," she responded, nuzzling her head body closer to him.
He laid awake feeling her breathe in and out against his chest, and feeling her twitch ever so slightly as she dreamed. He didn't want to fall asleep, wanting to be alert so that he could protect her from everything. But soon the day began to take its toll on him, and he knew he couldn't fight it much longer. His arms held her tighter and silently thanked whoever was responsible for keeping her here with him. They both had been through more danger and turmoil together in one day than most people see in a lifetime. There was a bond between them now that would forever entangle his life with hers and his heart with hers, just as his fingers were with hers as they were finally able to rest in each other's arms.
See, Veronica's alive and well. Yay! Alright... my plan from here is to write a cute, snarky, witty, fun conclusion to this and have it out to you relatively soon. However, that means the story is almost over. : ( I had debated in the past rewirting the second season as well, but I've seen (but not read) a few stories out there with the same premise. For that reason, I'm unsure I am going to tackle that. I'd love love love to hear what you guys think. What do you want me to do? I'm now back in the writing mode and would love to continue giving you LoVe stories to read. Hope you've enjoyed it, be looking for the fun Epilogue soon!