Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY.
Author's Note: Hello everyone! Thank you for all your wonderful reviews for the previous chapter! I've been a bit down this past week but reading such lovely reviews always makes me smile. :D
Thank you to my good friend Callum for proof reading this chapter and for bsl on (and beeessl on tumblr) for editing it! You should check out bsl's fanfics btw if you haven't already, especially if you love Bumbleby, because they are fabulous!
There's one more chapter to go after this one BUT and I have mentioned it to a few people already, that there might be a bonus chapter after the epilogue (Chapter 12) but I haven't made much progress on it so when/if it appears online will be a mystery for now.
So final chapter is coming next Friday! In the meantime though I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and get lots of awesome things!
Enjoy the chapter,
Reeves3.
Chapter Eleven
The back of the ambulance doors slammed shut and the sirens started to wail as the vehicle pulled away. Yang stood towards the back of the van, wrapped in a thermal blanket, clutching her broken prosthetic and staying out of the way. Blake stood over by Kit and held her hand as the paramedic began to do her job. Down by the river bank the two paramedics had carefully slid Kit onto a trauma board and strapped her to it before carrying her back to the ambulance waiting on the bridge.
The EMT currently with them in the back had quickly introduced herself as Emma. She was very friendly and constantly trying to keep Kit amused so she wouldn't start to panic. She had spoken to Blake, asking for general information about Kit and what had transpired on the bridge.
"Does Kit have any medical history we should know about? Any allergies or medication she's on?" Emma asked, cutting up along Kit's shirt.
"No, nothing," answered Blake. She winced at the patches of bruising emerging from behind the shredded fabric. It only became more obvious as Emma pulled the shirt away and shoved it into a bag before beginning to cut up Kit's pants. "She's not on any medication either."
Emma nodded her head and once the pants were placed in the bag she placed an oxygen mask over Kit's mouth and nose.
"This will help with your breathing, alright? You'll sound a bit like Darth Vader," she said, smiling down at Kit, who nodded slightly. Kit gave Blake's hand a squeeze and Blake smiled down at Kit as well.
"You're going to be just fine," she reassured. Emma began checking over Kit's body for any other wounds, broken bones or abnormalities, and continuously asked if anything felt painful to Kit. Afterwards she attached a blood pressure monitor to Kit's arm and took note of the recordings on a clipboard then placed the thermal blanket back over Kit.
"You almost look like a baked potato wrapped up like that," joked Emma, tucking the sides in gently around Kit's body.
Kit started to snicker but ended up coughing roughly and Blake soothed her by rubbing one of Kit's cat ears with her thumb.
It only took a few more minutes to arrive at the hospital and the moment the ambulance stopped the van doors were opened from the outside. Blake and Yang got out first to get out of the way as hospital staff, along with Emma, carefully unloaded Kit from the van and wheeled her on the stretcher inside to the accident and emergency unit.
It was pretty busy inside the ER as doctors and nurses rushed about treating their patients. There were only two beds currently occupied by other people. An elderly lady lay in one with a twisted ankle and in the bed next to hers sat a drunken young man with a bleeding hand while his girlfriend stood by hiding her face in her palms. There was a strong smell of cleanliness in the air, an over wash of disinfectant so strong that it was almost nauseating. Blake followed the staff moving Kit until they stopped by one of the empty beds, more nurses and doctors quickly gathering around.
"Patient is Kit Belladonna, aged seven, airway is self maintained, breathing by natural air entry but quiet in the bases, query aspiration. We found a lesion to her forehead and bruising along the chest," informed Emma.
She completed the handover and they unstrapped Kit from the board before carefully transferring her onto the bed. A man several years older than Blake and Yang with fading brown hair began checking the readings on the monitor attached to Kit.
He smiled at Kit. "Hello Kit, I'm Doctor Morgan. I'm going to check your breathing, okay?"
Blake and Yang stood nearby to avoid getting in the way of the hospital staff fussing over Kit and when Dr Morgan was finished with checking over Kit he introduced himself to the pair of them and vice versa.
"We're going to take her in for a CT scan which should take around half an hour. I'll ask one of the nurses to get you a change of clothes for you Yang and we'll take you to get your hand x-rayed Blake," he said. Blake's eyes widened and she lifted her right hand up realising Dr Morgan had noticed her swollen middle finger.
"Hey, what happened?" Yang asked, softly, raising her hand to gently see Blake's broken finger.
"I punched Adam after you jumped in," admitted Blake, and Yang raised her eyebrows at her seemingly impressed.
The nurses began to move Kit but they stopped the bed in front of Blake so she could run her hand from Kit's forehead to her cheek.
"Are you coming with me?" Kit asked, her hands coming up to hold onto Blake's arm while her eyes began tearing up.
Blake shook her head slowly. "I can't come with you sweetheart, but you'll be okay. The doctors and nurses will take care of you, it won't take long."
Kit pouted under her mask but she let go of Blake's arm and raised her arms up for a hug and Blake leaned down to return the gesture.
"I love you so much. I'll see you soon," promised Blake, pressing a kiss to the side of Kit's head. She felt Kit nod her head into her shoulder and Blake pulled away waving with her good hand as they wheeled Kit out the unit. A nurse walked up to Blake.
"Let's take you to get that finger x-rayed, shall we?" She suggested, with a bright preppy grin that seemed too cheerful for what they had been through tonight.
Blake glanced over at Yang who smiled reassuringly at her. "I'll go sit in the waiting room. Meet you there after your x-ray?"
With a brief nod Blake followed the nurse to the x-ray department turning around to watch Yang walk back from where they had entered towards the waiting room. The nurse handed her over to the x-ray technician once they arrived and Blake was led into an open room with a table and a large machine rigged over it. Blake followed along with the instructions given to her, not really paying too much attention; her mind was filled with thoughts of her daughter, of what did happen and what could have been, worst case scenarios interweaving with the facts in her mind until they made very little sense. Still she sat by the table on the hard wooden chair and positioned her hand under the machine, moving it slightly when she was asked to.
When the machine had finished taking the scans Blake was asked to wait in the seating area outside the room while the images were printed. She sat staring around the room at the few other patients waiting before her until all of them had been called in and only she remained. She was called up after a lifetime, though really it had only been twenty minutes, and led into a small room where the x-ray's of her hand were lit up on the light board on the wall.
The male nurse pointed out that she had a stable fracture on her middle finger before splinting it to her ring finger. When he had finished Blake stood up and thanked him before she made her way back to the main waiting room where she knew Yang would be. Upon entering the spacious room filled with numerous cushioned chairs, Blake's eyes were instantly drawn to the dripping blonde mane of curls sat in the centre of the room. Yang glanced up from the out of date magazine she had been reading and grinned brightly as Blake made her way over to her.
"Hey, hasn't anyone given you a change of clothes yet?" Blake asked, noticing Yang was still wearing her drenched clothing. Her arm lay in her lap as her hand kept a secure hold of the blanket around her neck. Yang put the magazine back on the pile next to her and shook her head as Blake sat down next to her.
"Nah, it's ok. They're busy doing other things," she dismissed.
Blake squinted her eyes at her. "If you get hypothermia... "
Yang let go of the blanket and put her hand over Blake's. "I won't. My body tends to warm up pretty quick anyway. How's the finger?"
Extending her other hand out in Yang's line of sight Blake explained what the nurse had told her. "They found a small fracture below the knuckle of my middle finger. It should take about four to six weeks to heal."
"No swearing for you for a while then," mused Yang.
"I still have my other hand," said Blake, tightly gripping Yang's hand, and she let out a little laugh. Blake's eyes scanned around the room at all the anxiously waiting people noticing doctors were talking to a couple of them. "Has Doctor Morgan come back through yet?"
Yang shook her head. "Not yet. I'm sure Kit's doing just fine, she's strong and brave, just like her Mom."
Blake's eyes shone and she leaned her head on Yang's shoulder and she placed her head atop of Blake's being mindful not to press on her ears. They sat there in that position for ten minutes in a peaceful silence, their minds trying to process all that had happened, occasionally glancing up each time the doors opened hoping to see Dr Morgan.
The person that entered the room next, although unfortunately wasn't Kit's doctor, still caused Yang and Blake to sit up in their seats. It was Officer Smith; she instantly spotted the black and yellow pair and made a beeline for them. In her hands she carried Yang's jacket that she had hastily thrown before diving into the water.
"Evening," she greeted, briefly to the two of them. She handed over the jacket and Yang checked the pockets, happy to find her phone and keys were still there. Officer Smith then turned her full attention to Blake. "Miss Belladonna, is it possible to speak with you privately for a moment?"
Yang and Blake shared a fleeting look.
"I'll wait here," said Yang, gesturing to her seat, but Blake shook her head.
"No, I want you with me," she said, looking back over at Officer Smith. "Is that alright?"
Officer Smith gave a short curt nod and the three of them headed towards the back of the room where there were three small rooms, each containing little more than a few chairs, a table, and a phone. They each sat down on one of the seats, and Blake realised this was probably where the worst kind of information was broken to people waiting for news about their loved ones.
Clearing her throat slightly Officer Smith began to speak. "I'm here to inform you that after Mr Taurus let you go Miss Belladonna, he attempted to flee but didn't get far before one of our officers managed to grab him. Unfortunately Mr Taurus struggled and stabbed the officer in the shoulder. He was about to stab him again when another officer fatally shot Mr Taurus in the chest."
Blake could have heard a feather land it was that silent in the room. "H-He's-"
"He's dead, yes," confirmed Officer Smith.
There was no remorse or sadness; instead a sense of peace washed over her as though the dark clouds labelled 'Adam' had been cleared by the sunlight shining through. She no longer had to worry about him coming after her, ruining her life, and hurting her or Kit. They were free from the shackles of that monster.
"I, uh, thank you. For telling me," Blake finally replied, a little bit stunned.
"Just doing my duty. Will the little one be alright?" Officer Smith asked, standing up.
"Hopefully, we're waiting back on news from her CT scan," said Blake, rubbing her hands together anxiously.
"All the best for her then. Take care," she said, leaving the room and closing the door shut behind her. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes until finally Yang spoke up.
"How're you feeling?"
Blake slowly leaned back on the chair staring at Yang who was closely watching her.
"I'm shocked honestly, but I'm also just so relieved... I don't have to live in fear anymore."
Her lip quivered and Yang pulled her into a hug as the first tear began to fall. She wasn't sure if she was crying from relief, stress from tonight, or worry over Kit, or maybe all three but Yang's gentle words and soothing tones helped her let it all out until her racking sobs had softened to gentle hiccups and sniffles. Blake graciously accepted a tissue Yang offered her from the box on the centre of the table and blew her nose into it.
"I really should call my parents and let them know what's happened," said Blake. Yang nodded as Blake brought the phone closer to her and began dialling the number for her parents. "Let's hope they accept calls going to Menagerie."
After a few rings the cheery voice of Kali Belladonna appeared at the other end of the line.
"Hello, Kali speaking, who's calling?"
"Mom, it's me," replied Blake.
"Oh Blake! What number are you calling from? I didn't recognise it."
"No, you wouldn't, it's the hospitals."
Instantly Kali's cheerfulness evaporated into concern.
"What is it? What's wrong? Is everything alright? What's happened?"
With a big sigh and Yang's hand rubbing reassuringly up and down along her back Blake started from the beginning when Kit went outside to play up until now. A lot of words spilled out from Kali's mouth that Blake had never heard her mother use before as she was telling her what happened and by the time she had finished Kali was shouting at Ghira to get their suitcases out from the attic. The door to their little room opened up and Blake's eyes widened.
"Mom, I've got to go, the Doctor just got back. I'll see you later," said Blake, rushing to hang up the phone.
"Alright my baby girl, give Kit some kisses from Nanna and Grandpa."
Blake said her goodbyes and put the phone down before standing up with Yang to face Dr Morgan and a nurse who was holding some dry clothes for Yang.
"How's Kit?" Blake asked, immediately.
Dr Morgan quickly put her heart at ease. "She's fine. We've got the results from her CT scan. There's a bit of water in her lungs still so she's now in ITU state-side and has a non-invasive oxygen mask on. Basically that will help support her lungs and breathing as we wait for the water to naturally aspirate." Blake nodded her head as she listened to every word the doctor said. "We'll be monitoring her for a few days as we want to keep an eye out in case any infections arise from the river water but she should make a full recovery. She's certainly a figh-"
"Survivor," answered Blake and Yang, simultaneously. They glanced at each other smiling. Dr Morgan raised his eyebrows and let out a little cough regaining their attention.
"Yes, well you can go and see her now. Nurse May here will show you the way."
Nurse May passed the clothes over to Yang and the four of them left the room. Once they exited out of the waiting room Dr Morgan turned off down a busy hallway while the nurse led Blake and Yang to the intensive care unit. She stopped them at the door to the ward that Kit was on before going back to her duties.
"I'll quickly go change," said Yang, nodding down at the clothes in her hands.
"Alright," answered Blake. Yang began walking down the corridor towards the bathroom and Blake opened the door to the ward then stepped inside. It was a large room filled with several beds, some of which had curtains drawn around, and there was a constant beeping noises from the monitors as nurses did their rounds and checked the clipboards at the end of each bed. Blake moved down the length of the room checking each bed that wasn't cloaked with curtains and finally came across Kit towards the end of the room.
She was perched up slightly against a thick white pillow with a large mask covering her mouth and nose that was hooked up to the ventilator beside her. The bedside monitor showed the readings of her blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels. Her hair had been dried and the cut on her forehead had been stitched up, her face cleaned of any remaining blood in the process. The second she saw Blake her eyes lit up and Blake rushed towards her.
"Mommy!" She called out, her voice muffled, while raising up her arms. Blake fell into them and hugged her daughter careful not to press onto her too hard.
"Hi sweetheart," breathed Blake, trying not to tear up again.
"I love you," said Kit, squeezing Blake tightly around her neck.
"Mommy loves you too, baby. So, so much," said Blake, beginning to place numerous kisses anywhere on Kit's face that wasn't covered by her mask. She pulled away after a little bit and sat down on one of the chairs beside Kit's bed, leaning in close to hear her daughter clearly.
"What happened to your finger?" Kit asked, seeing Blake's bandaged fingers resting on the bed.
"I broke one of them but I'm okay. How're you feeling?"
"A bit tired, my chest hurts," admitted Kit, staring downcast at her blanket covered body that was still being warmed up.
"It will for a bit but the doctors and nurses will help you feel better," explained Blake, and Kit nodded. She went quiet for a moment as her small fingers fiddled with the sheets and her eyes darted back and forth to Blake.
Reaching out Blake held Kit's hand in her own."What is it, sweetheart?"
"What...what happened to him?"
Blake bit her lip, unsure whether to tell the whole truth before ultimately deciding not to. "The police took care of him. I'll tell you more when you're feeling better, but we don't have to worry about him coming after us anymore."
Kit nodded her head, accepting that answer and unwilling to pry for more. Their attention was drawn to Yang's sudden arrival and the pair of them had to stop themselves from laughing. The outfit the nurse had gave Yang was at least two sizes too small and was a blue and white striped pyjama set. Yang noticed them holding back their giggles and caused them to bring them out full force by walked the rest of the way to Kit's bed pretending to be on a catwalk and did a spin, the empty sleeve swinging wildly and smacking her in the face, before sitting down in the chair on the other side of Kit's bed.
"Good job it hasn't got a butt flap," she added, grinning.
Kit's laughter ended up in hacking coughs but the nearby nurses didn't seem too bothered by it and eventually Kit settled back down amongst the pillows. Blake ran her fingers through Kit's hair and Yang put down her arm and bag of wet clothes by her feet before pulling out three Kit-Kats from her trouser pockets.
"I got these from the vending machine as I figured you two might be hungry as well. It's no tuna pasta bake but Kit-Kats are pretty awesome."
Yang nudged Kit's cheek with her knuckle and she beamed happily up at her teacher. After quickly checking with the nurse if it was alright for Kit to take the mask off to eat, they got the all clear that she could take it off for brief intervals, and the three of them snacked on the tasty chocolate bars. When they were done Kit put her mask back on and Yang threw the wrappers away in the nearby trash-can before the three of them started playing games, such as I Spy, I Went To Market, and Two Truths and a Lie for an hour. Blake and Yang had to smile to themselves as they watched Kit slowly drift off to sleep while trying to guess something that began with 'R' inside the ward.
They sat there, basking in the silence and relief that Kit was going to be okay, until Yang pushed her chair back gently then stuffed her arm in the bag of clothes and picked it up.
"I better head off. I've got to get the water out of my arm or it's going to rust and I'll need to ask Ruby to take a look at it and sort out the wiring. Will you be alright on your own? I can come back later if you want me to."
Blake shook her head. "No, it's fine, you should go home and get some rest. I'm going to stay here with Kit all night until my parents get here in the morning, then I'll get a taxi home."
"Alright, I'll go over to Amber's as well and let her know what's happened. She'll probably want an update. Is it okay if I come visit Kit tomorrow?" Yang asked, glancing down at Kit.
"Of course you can," smiled Blake. "You can come over to mine if you like and we can go together."
"Sounds like a plan. Text me when you want me round," she whispered. Yang gave a little wave goodbye and began to walk away but she didn't get far when Blake called out to her.
"Yang, wait!" Blake quietly got up from her seat and moved around Kit's bed until she came face to face with Yang. Together the pair of them stood a bit off from the end of Kit's bed and Blake realised that there were no nurses around and all the other patients had drawn their curtains around their beds to go to sleep.
There was something extremely important that Blake had to say.
"Thank you."
Yang's eyes widened and she gave a little shrug, trying to brush off the praise.
"Ah, don't mention it-" she began, but was quickly cut off.
"No, really, thank you for everything," emphasised Blake. She needed to let her know that it wasn't just for tonight but for the swimming lessons, earning her trust, becoming her friend, giving her the time she needed to think, and being there for her and Kit.
With the loving smile Yang gave her, Blake knew everything she had wanted to say had been conveyed in the importance of her tone and the love she radiated. Smiling too Blake stepped closer into Yang's personal space and it appeared Yang didn't mind one bit as she leaned in even closer. For a moment they searched each other's eyes for permission before Blake gave the briefest nod of consent and their lips connected.
Yang dropped her bag moving her hand to cup the back of Blake's neck and deepening their kiss as the tiny hairs along Blake's body rose up as her body shivered with delight. Her own hands rested upon Yang's hips as her fingers delicately grazed across the soft skin that wasn't covered by the outlandishly short pyjama top. They shared a long sweet kiss, each enjoying and exploring their partner's lips appreciating things that they'd had barely a moment to register during their first kiss.
"~Mommy and Yang sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love...~"
Blake could feel Yang's smile against her lips seconds before pulling away from each other and the two of them turned back to look at Kit. She had obviously woken up when Blake had moved away and she giggled at the pair of blushing adults.
"Not all our kisses will be interrupted, will they?" Yang asked, jokingly. Blake turned back to look at her.
"This next one won't be."
She brought her lips to Yang's again who happily returned the kiss as Kit let out a little squeak and covered her head with her blankets.
Kit too cute. :P AND HUZZAR FOR BEES!
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to leave a review! :D
Reeves3.