A/N - I'm back! I have decided something very important - two chapters after this one, and the story will end. I appreciate all of the reviews and anyone else who has read or favorited the story. It means so much, so thank you. And - I have two important announcements.
First, as this story won't last much longer, I have decided to make a new story, due to my love of writing five stories at once. There's a poll on my lookup for what pairing the next one will be, and it will not be Fax. The pairings will be pretty original, but vote nonetheless. I have some pretty good ideas for all of them.
Second, I'm so crushed because I just got my new laptop, and I have to go on a family vacation for over a week in to a place without internet. (I won't say for fear of being hunted down and killed for all my plot twists) I won't be able to update any of my stories, so please don't badger me to update any of them, I won't even be able to read the messages. Now, onto the story you clicked to read,
Memories of You
Chapter 13
Max POV
The one happy moment we'd experienced hadn't lasted forever. Everyone was badly hurt.
Angel's leg was already starting to swell up, and Gazzy's side was bleeding a half hour later when we exited the building. The people in the lobby looked alarmed and backed away when they saw us, but at least no one asked questions. We all looked like we had gone through absolute hell to rescue Victoria, who had ropeburn all over her legs and arms, a huge red mark left from the duct tabe that was ripped off of her face.
But it was Nudge who was hurt the worst. The knife that was thrown at her had hit close to her heart, landing slightly to the left. A gaping wound was left, slicing through her shirt and visible even in the darkness of the night. Leaning on Victoria for support, though Victoria herself was hurt as well, she was able to make it into the car.
She couldn't even be forced into a sitting position. Moaning when Gazzy tried to get her to sit up, she eventually was moved to the floor when Victoria took her seat. Fang got in, making sure that everyone else was safe and sound, then slammed on the gas, speeding toward the nearest hospital.
All the while, Iggy was on the ground with Nudge, stroking her hair and glancing at the wound in her chest. It was deep, and I knew as his fingers ghosted over it that he was as concerned as he had been from that first day in the hospital when Nudge couldn't remember him.
My eyes traveled to her hand, and I smiled slightly as I saw the little plastic ring on her ring finger, glimmering slightly in the low light. I closed my eyes in a moment of pure peace until Fang slammed on the breaks, and I looked through the windshield to a large hospital, and an overwhelming sense of dread settled on my stomach.
Fang, Iggy, Victoria and I reached into the car and pulled out Gazzy, Angel and Nudge. I was amazed that even though Victoria was barely able to walk, she refused to leave Nudge's side the entire time, helping Iggy to carry her. My hand stroked Angel's hair as her eyes fluttered open, smiling when she saw that it was me, and glancing over at Gazzy, asleep in Fang's arms.
They were rushed into the ER, and it was hard for us to keep up with them as they were transported onto gurneys and carried into the back. Victoria was also taken from us, and it was just Fang, Iggy and I, forced into the waiting room despite our protests. I didn't know what they were doing back there, but even after five years, the antiseptic smell was getting to me.
The next thing I knew, all I was seeing was the School, everywhere I looked. When I blinked, Fang became a whitecoat, advancing on me with a needle and a small morsel of food if I behaved. Iggy's sleeping face became a dead mutant with scaly skin and sightless eyes, and the plush couches became cages, towering over me and closing me in. I was panicking.
I was either going insane, or it had something to do with the fact that I had gotten by on no sleep and a whole lot of worry in one day. I was going to go with the second one to try and salvage some self-esteem.
Hours later, I was dozing off on Iggy, who was asleep on Fang. I was shaken awake suddenly to see a nurse sitting in front of me. I peered up at her sleepily as she took my hand and led me through another hallway. Rubbing my sleepy eyelids, I didn't notice the nurse's concerned expression until the door closed and I saw a man with a lab coat in front of me. I'm no rocket scientist, but I think he was the doctor.
"Max," he addressed me, "Please have a seat." Uh-oh. That was never good news. I remained standing and looked him straight in the eye. Whoever it was and whatever was wrong with them, I didn't want to be one of those sobbing parents who felt so helpless that they couldn't function properly. "Suit yourself," the doctor shrugged kindly, and went back to his desk.
"I'll give it to you straight like I do all my other patients. I know there might be more of a chance, considering your ability to heal faster than normal, and Angel…erm…Gazzy, and Victoria are all going to be fine. The problem is with Nudge. The wound in her chest is great, and we don't necessarily think she'll be able to make it through the night."
I fell back into the chair, despite my resistance earlier. Could it be true that Nudge wouldn't make it, having just finally gotten her memories back? "I want to see her," my voice cracked. I knew that he wouldn't let me in, but I had to try. I couldn't let her die alone. "Please," I begged.
He shook his head. "You know as well as I do that it's against hotel policy to let anyone who's not directly related into her room. You may know her well, but you are not family. Gazzy is the only one who may only see Angel, and he's in his own room for his side wound. No one is permitted to see Nudge." Before he could blink, I leapt forward and grabbed him by the collar.
"I'm sure you've heard what's happened to her. It's all over the news, and she was even on Oprah, for crying out loud. Even before that, she spent years in a cage, with no one. Now, when she really needs us to be there, including the boy she's engaged to, you won't let me in to see her?" Fury was written on my face, tears gathering in my eyes.
He nodded softly. "I understand. I'll see what I can do." He removed himself from my choke hold on him and walked into the hall to speak with one of the nurses. In a few moments, he came back in. "Follow me," he said, and I did. When we finally got to her room, it shocked me, and awakened me to just how real the situation was.
With all the machines she was hooked up to, all the IV lines, and the oxygen tube running under her nose, you could hardly see the real Nudge under it all. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was irregular. A huge weight settled on my chest. This was what the doctor had been talking about, and I knew that it could have been a risk, what with the knife so close to her heart.
Like this, Nudge might die. And unlike dying on the side of the highway with the people she loved all around her and perfectly whole, dying in this hospital seemed like hell, with Angel and Gazzy broken around her, no one to comfort her in the world, because she couldn't hear us. The idea of her dying here, in a hospital, with the eerie antiseptic smell, was the very thing we'd always had nightmares about.
Would it happen to her, a girl of seventeen, about to get married and with hopes and dreams for the future ahead of her? We had always known that the maximum life limit for us was going to be around forty, if we were lucky. This was too soon. She hadn't had children, and she hadn't had a family. She'd just got over her memory problems. Were we going to lose her now?
I felt a warm hand on my shoulder as tears slid down my face, not for the first time that day and not for the last. "I don't want to get your hopes up in any way. It's very possible that she could die. She's been through a lot. But the knife did miss her heart, and the Aorta. Even though her injuries are great, and the knife may have hit other important veins and arteries, she has a chance at life."
I turned around, my face full of confusion. "What are you saying? That she could life and get through this with a normal life, or that she'll live the rest of it in a wheelchair? If she's in a vegetable state, pull the damn plug right now. I don't want her to live like that. I want her to live and be okay. I won't believe that she has a chance and then have every hope shattered. I cannot, will not, tell that to my family."
"No," he protested, "It's nothing like that. She could very well life to be like you and the rest of the flock. The only thing is that it's not very likely. I'm telling you that you should know all about being prepared for anything. I'm asking you to do the same now. Have no expectations, and be willing to accept whatever happens."
I rolled my eyes. "Like I've ever done that."
"Please," he begged, "Spare yourself some pain. Be prepared to let her go instead of struggling to keep her alive. You'll be happier than if you haunt yourself by trying to hold onto something that's gone. I'm not asking you to give up, but I'm asking you to have the strength to accept the things you cannot change."
I resisted the urge to scream. "And what is that, something off a Hallmark card?"
"It happens to be the serenity prayer," he said. "I don't care what your religion is. You could be Jewish or Christian or atheist for all I care. But, as much as my profession chooses to ignore it, I believe in God. And as much as no one will admit it, all religions and cultures have a bit of wisdom in them. Miracles can happen, Max. You should know that."
My hands trailed over Nudge's IV-covered arm as he exited the room. Please…God… I thought uneasily, Let her live another day.
Angel POV
My eyelids fluttered open to see the cream-colored walls and the IV lines next to me, but I didn't panic as Max would have done. Even just barely awake and terribly weak, I could still manage to hear the thoughts. I mean, you don't just wake up and your ears aren't working, right?
But why would I be in a hospital? We certainly hadn't been hurt badly, years ago, when we were still fighting, we'd had a lot worse than a few minor scrapes and bruises. My eyes opened wide in realization when I threw off the covers to stare at my leg, completely bandaged, with blood soaking through the entire thing and staining it a dull red color.
A nurse rushed into the room with a new bandage, carefully removing the bloody one as I winced. The bandage peeled back from the wound awkwardly, and I could see just how deep the gash really went. The smell of blood was prominent here, and I immediately switched to mouth-breathing. When the new one was on, I breathed a sigh of relief and pulled the covers back over.
I knew I should have felt lucky, because I was barely hurt at all. I had suffered the least pain, other than Max, Iggy and Fang, and I should have felt happy for my own life. But I just couldn't be. In the other room, I could hear Gazzy's nurse, bustling around him with more anesthesia. I heard no thought from him, and I felt empty without them.
And I felt an overwhelming sense of dread at being alone, for the first time in forever. No one was allowed in to see me, however much I would have enjoyed the company. I couldn't hear any thoughts from Fang or Iggy, and the anxiety was building up in me.
But the worst thing of all was that in the next room, the only thoughts I could hear were Max's. And they weren't good thoughts. I had seen Nudge get hit in the chest with the knife, and I had heard her fall to the floor with a weak thud. But Max's thoughts confirmed it – that Nudge would die here, without anyone.
What must it have been like for Iggy, when Nudge came out of that door, her entire chest stained in red and her eyes drooping all the way? What had it been like when he hadn't heard Nudge's chattering, and known that something was horribly, terribly wrong? I knew the answer. He didn't have any idea how serious it all was.
I wanted to cry. I wanted to die. But strangely, I couldn't find the strength or the lack of strength to do either. I was completely alone, but I couldn't help hoping that maybe, just maybe, Nudge would suddenly come up with her own strength and save herself from an early death.
Yeah. And maybe, just maybe, pigs would fly.
Max POV
I walked into the waiting room with a heavy heart, and sat down next to Fang. Gently shaking the both of them awake, I walked both of them down the hall. Ignoring the protests from the other nurses, I told Fang to go into Angel's room. My hand clasped Iggy's gently as I led him into Nudge's room.
He understood where we were, and he didn't speak one word. With a trembling hand, I grabbed his own and directed it to where Nudge lay. He ran his hand over her arm, up her neck and found the wires on her face and chest. His fingers ghosted over the wires with ease, not moving one thing. His hand remained steady the whole time, and his face was stone.
But with every wire he touched, he understood a little more that her condition was serious. He didn't speak, and I remained silent. And when it came to the bandages and monitors around her chest, his face contorted in the realization that she might not be coming back from this hospital. His hand clenched into a fist as he sat down on the bed and buried his face in his hands.
And the tears slipped through the cracks in his fingers, his body wracking in the sobs. I knew then that he wasn't crying and hurt because he felt sorry for her – he was crying for himself. Crying that he'd never see her again after this, and that he'd be alone without her. And I couldn't move from the room.
His hand found hers and squeezed tightly as I sat with him and put my arms around his shoulders, closing my eyes and taking one last shuddering breath before exhaling again. My tears felt like they would never stop coming, and his other hand grasped mine.
I walked from the room, leaving him alone with her, taking comfort in the fact that her hands were still warm and her heart was still beating. However much time he had left, he'd love her all he could.
In the hallway, I slumped against the wall, closed my eyes and held my head in my hands. In the rooms across the hall, I saw grandmothers and grandfathers, surrounded by their families, breathing peacefully and seemingly resigned to their fate. They'd all lived their lives, but Nudge still had hers to live. My eyes screwed tightly shut as I made a silent vow. Nudge would not die.
Fang walked into the hallway, seeing my position and hearing Iggy's sobs in the other room, and he understood everything. For all we knew, Nudge really wouldn't be making it out of here. I felt his arms wrap around me and I cried into his chest, pulling him closer. "Hey," he soothed me, stroking my hair. I looked up at him with wide eyes.
He tilted my chin up and tenderly pressed his mouth to mine. My hands hesitantly reached up around his neck where my fingers twisted into his hair. He pressed me up against the wall roughly, and I knew where this was going. But this just wasn't the right time.
I pushed him away gently and turned away from him. He slumped against the wall, almost disappointed. Suddenly, we heard a crash from Gazzy's room, swiveling around and running into the room.
Sure enough, Gazzy was there, picking himself off the floor and staggering a little. He groaned as he smashed into the wall, whirling, only to be met by the door. We raced to pick him up off the floor again, but he smacked our hands away. "W-where's Angel?" he asked hoarsely. "She's alright, right? He didn't get her, did he?" His eyes were wide.
"No, sweetie, he didn't," I held him close and stroked his hair. "She's in the next room over for her leg. You got out really lucky, Gazzy. It just missed your most vital organs, alright?" But he brushed past me like he didn't care. I thought he was going to Angel's room, but as I followed him down the hall, he passed over and entered Nudge's.
Iggy stiffened when he heard our footsteps in the doorway. Gazzy stared at all the machines that Nudge was hooked up to, seeing things seriously, not for the first time in the last few weeks. Even as they had gotten older, Gazzy and Iggy had always been the best of friends, partners in crime, and seeing him like this probably frightened Gazzy.
"Hi, Nudge," Gazzy said softly as he sat down on the other side of the bed, with Nudge in the center of them. "You know, I always thought you were going to live a long time, and talk more than anyone wanted you to." He smiled, a bittersweet smile, like she could actually hear him. "Come on, you can make it, Nudge."
He got off the bed abruptly. "I'll go see my sister now. I know that Angel's hurt and she probably won't be able to walk on one of her legs." He grimaced as he got up, clutching at his side.
Max POV
I heard him coming even before the door to my room opened. When it did, I grinned at him, sitting up a little. I winced as a pain throbbed throughout my leg, and motioned to the seat next to the bed, which he gratefully took, favoring the leg on the side he got stabbed in. "Oh, and Gazzy, you know that those gowns tie in the back, right?"
His face went scarlet and he glared. Pulling the robe shut, he scowled as he sat down next to me, but his face was quick to soften. He had a thoughtful expression, and I knew what he was thinking before he spoke, of course. "She's probably gonna die, Angel. After all this time, she's going to leave us."
"Max says that the doctor isn't sure," I said softly. "It isn't for sure yet whether she'll live or die. She could still have a chance, Gazzy. Nudge has been a fighter for as long as I've known her." But I wasn't exactly as confident as I was acting. I tried to be like Max, to not be surprised by any situation, but that just wasn't me.
I could fall asleep and dream forever of a world without troubles, but it wasn't my life. So I forced myself out of bed, hobbling on one foot. I dragged the IV line along behind me, heading toward Nudge's room for the last time.
Max POV
We looked up from where we had been sitting as Angel and Gazzy walked into the room. She offered a wobbly smile, then sat down on the floor with Gazzy. They both looked up at Nudge, who had become completely still. Her heartbeat was growing slower by the minute. I gave Fang's hand another squeeze.
Her mouth opened to breathe this time, her breath coming in short, quick pants. Iggy bit his lip until it stopped and it was back to normal again.
It wasn't too long before Nudge's agent came in on a wheelchair. She wheeled herself in, a grim expression on her face as she stared at Nudge, sprawled out on the bed but just barely breathing. She had a few minor wounds, nothing too serious. There were some scars from that psychopath's abuse, but nothing too major.
Hours later, we were still in the same positions. None of us were complaining about boredom, and usually in this situation, Gazzy would be pulling some fart joke or Angel would be commenting on Fang's perverted mind. Now, we were all sullen and silent as it had continued on, the heart accelerating, then slowing, then returning to normal.
And the doctor had said that it was possible that Nudge wouldn't make it through the night. I didn't know what we'd do if that was true, or what Iggy would do. Occasionally, the doctor would come in and check on us, or try to give Iggy false hope, but Iggy wasn't nearly stupid enough to fall for something like that.
"Hey, Max, I'm going to go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat. I'll go alone and ask for directions, okay? Call me if anything happens, alright?" After all, I was the only one with a phone other than Fang, and his had gotten lost when he was guarding that door.
Iggy was off, down the elevator and probably halfway to the cafeteria, by the time Nudge's eyes opened. Our eyes brightened as she smiled at us, for once remembering us when she woke up. Her eyes scanned the room, but Iggy was nowhere to be found. I dug out my cell phone excitedly.
Then, her eyes closed again, and there was a flat line on the monitor. The cell phone clattered to the floor as the beeping continued, panic coursing through the small room. Victoria wheeled herself over and felt at her wrist while I grabbed the other one. There was no pulse. Fang leaned over and felt at her chest, but there was no heartbeat. By all rights, she was technically dead.
"No!" Angel surprised me by jumping to life and up to Nudge. "No, no, no! It's not possible!" She tried to give Nudge a mental shock with all of her might, but gave me a distressed look when Nudge didn't respond. I scrambled to pick up the phone on the floor, dialing Iggy's number. My face fell as I realized that there was no way that Iggy was getting up here. The battery had died.
The nurses and doctors rushed in, but I knew that there was nothing they could do. I buried my head in my hands as the tears welled up once again. Victoria's eyes were wide and Angel had to be pried off of Nudge by three of the nurses, but Gazzy was silent and perfectly calm.
This was it. Nudge was dying and Iggy hadn't even been here. I slammed my fist into the nearest wall, cursing as the blood stained the wall and my knuckles, the skin torn and scraped. But I didn't care about that. It was the fact that even though all of us had been there, Iggy hadn't been, and she really had died alone.
The doctor shot me one last glance, one that said that she was really gone now. They couldn't save her anymore. And so I took a page from his book. I thought of all the times I had had with Nudge, and shoved them into a drawer in the back of my mind. I couldn't change this. As much as I wished I could, I couldn't change this.
"What the hell is going on?" I heard a voice from the doorway. Iggy was standing there, his eyebrows furrowed. "Why are all these people in here? Is there something wrong with Nudge?" His eyes widened in new realization. "She's gone?" he asked quietly.
And I saw something in him snap, a defiant snap, like he wasn't going to take no for an answer. He knew that Nudge wasn't dead, not really, and he'd be damned if he was going to let her die on him like that. "Nudge," he yelled suddenly. "Nudge, come back! Stay with me, Nudge! Damn it, I know you're alive!"
He kept yelling her name, begging her to wake up, and the doctors forced him back. He struggled against them, and I only sobbed harder. He kept calling her name until his voice broke, and he collapsed on the chair next to her bed. "Nudge, please," he whispered, one last time, and she opened her eyes.
"Nudge," he breathed, before sweeping her into his arms, and she only hugged him back harder. She was crying into his shoulder, and he was basically thanking God that she was safe. And I know that I had the strength to accept the things I couldn't change…but right now, I didn't have to. She was alive.
They stayed like that for hours, in each other's arms and not about to let each other go. In the early hours of the morning, the doctor came back and spoke to me privately in the hall. "Max, by medical standards…she was really dead. But that boy saved her. She recognized his voice and her heart started beating again. You really have a strong family, there."
"I know," I answered. "I know." And I turned away from him, walking back into the room with said family, the people that I loved, and even Victoria, who Nudge seemed to adore. We were all in it together for the long run, but the worst of it was over. Nothing could have been worse than what we had already been through, but our story wasn't over quite yet.
Don't forget to review now or forever hold your peace! xD Seriously, do that and vote on the poll on my lookup, closing August 1st, 2010. ^^ 2 chapters to go...Thanks for reading!
~Rachel