Disclaimer: Nope. Still not mine.
A/N: I wanted to thank all of your for your patience. It may take me a little longer to get chapters out now but I'll attempt to stay on a once-a-week schedule even if it didn't turn out that way this week. This one has a little more meat to it –I hope this will help make up for the delay.
MANY thanks to all of you who left me such wonderful and encouraging words. And to EvelynMM, without whom I don't know what I'd do when it came to this story.
Lux tapped her free fingers anxiously against the padded exam top. The room was a decent temperature but she felt a bit chilled. Cate was beside her, looking strangely cheerful considering the reason they were here. Lux raised her eyebrows questionably at her.
"It seems like just yesterday I was where you are." She reached out to push Lux's hair out of her face.
"A pregnant teenager?" Lux regretted the words the moment they left her mouth. Cate tensed up completely. "Sorry." she mumbled. She hadn't meant it the way it came out—for once. It was the nerves.
"I meant with you and Ryan here, when we first saw Alex." She said fondly, her eyes misting over slightly at the thought of her son. There was something about Cate's reflective happiness that made a similar expression. Was it one of those natural instinct things? Would she grin like that one day when her baby was here?
"And with you." Cate's eyes became darker, her voice a little more complicated. But she wasn't lying. "It...It wasn't the best situation. And I always knew how it would end...well sort of…" She smirked playfully and Lux knew what she meant. Lux had thrown a bit of a kink into everyone's plans that day.
"You love me now for it." She teased back.
"Don't push it." For the first time since the accident both of them found themselves laughing.
Lux didn't understand how they had come to this. She wasn't totally convinced that it was a permanent truce. But for now, this particular moment, she was glad that they were able to be like this. Cate hadn't mentioned Eric since their conversation. Lux could only hope that she'd keep her promise not to tell Baze right away. Instead they had switched their focus onto what seemed to be at the forefront of Cate's mind at the moment—the baby.
She had expected more anger over the proof of her affair. It wasn't exactly the ideal occurrence for anyone involved. Now that she was on her own side of the coin, Lux was beginning to think she understood how Cate had felt all those years ago. She had been young and as far as she knew alone. She couldn't give the child she carried a life it deserved and she couldn't find her own. Lux had always understood that, and come to terms with the things Cate couldn't have controlled, but now she got it.
At the same time, she wasn't Cate. She hadn't lived the same life. She also had one thing Cate hadn't at that point in her life. Lux didn't have someone who ignored her and her situation. She had Eric—who had been everything Baze hadn't. Or did she? The tight ball of uneasiness she had been able to bury started to tighten her throat. Luckily, her specialist came through the door with a plastered smile and alert eyes.
"Hey Lux, I'm Dr. Anders. How are we feeling today?"
Lux held in her breath before starting the chitchat that would lead to one thing she was absolutely positive she was certainly not ready for.
]o[ ]o[ ]o[ ]o[
The knot that had tied itself in her stomach hadn't budged since her confrontation with Courtney during the football match. No amount of victory partying could relieve the itch from the back of Tasha's mind. Now as she walked through the corridors of Westmonte she felt like a giant coil. The world was moving slowly around her, inch by inch compressing her more until she could hear one clue that would send her flying into oblivion.
"Hey." The sound of Jones' voice made her jump half a mile. When she turned to face him she looked like the cat who had jumped into the bathtub. "Whoa, whoa. It's just me." Me smiled down at her, reaching out to take a hold of one of her shoulders.
"You okay? You left pretty early last night." He didn't want her to think he was offended. He was just worried. His girlfriend was always a highlight at any gathering someone had. "Is Lux okay?" The thought snapped into his head.
"She's fine." Tasha reassured him, loosely wringing free of his grip and turning to continue on her way down the hall. "Well, I think she is. She's at a checkup right now. She promised to give me a call when she was done." She took her cell, which was set on silent, out and waved it nonchalantly around him.
This was safe. This was normal conversation for the moment. This had nothing to do with her threatening a very dangerous girl. Courtney may be a bitch, but she was a smart bitch. She was quick to remind Jones that if everything when all right Lux might be back in school the following day.
"Yea, about that…" Jones said, keeping close to the foster teen. "Not sure that would be best right now." He looked around the halls as if something was going to bite him.
"Jones." Tasha stopped in her tracks. Her glare could knock down a pro wrestler. She didn't need to say 'tell me' to have him hear the command.
"You just, you know how high school is. A bunch of kids say a bunch of shit." He cleared his throat attempting to move the conversation along as he started walking in spite of her.
"And what 'shit' are they saying?" She snapped, that knot fusing together permanently.
"A lot of people don't know that Math knows Mr. Daniels, that's all." He tried, stopping once he got to his classroom, still unable to look her in the face. "They're reading way too much into this whole thing. I mean, Lux wouldn't be that stupid. And Mr. Daniels doesn't seem like that type of guy, even if he's not our typical sub." He tried to roll this off his shoulders to show her it was okay. He took this in stride.
Tasha felt the weight crash down on her shoulders. She found herself with her pressed up against the lockers. She closed her eyes ignoring her boyfriend's calls.
Shit. Shit. Shitty, shit shit.
]o[ ]o[ ]o[ ]o[ ]o[
When he had come into work, Emma hadn't said anything. She had kept their discussion to a minimum. And when there was exchange it was purely business. In truth she was impressed by how focused he was, and how efficient, given his obvious preoccupation. However, by noon it had become boiling.
As she pulled her coat over her shoulders to go outside, she leisurely walked behind her assistant who had a planted himself into one of her office's chairs a few minutes before. She ran a careful hand long his neck; leaning down after a quick look through the doorway to see the office was mostly emptied out.
"You okay?" She whispered to him. It was a ridiculous question and one she was sure he had been hearing far too much lately. He just shrugged his shoulders at her in response.
"Am I doing this wrong, Em?" He lolled his head back to look up at her. "I mean, she's seventeen and I'm—"
"Looking out for your daughter." Emma took a few more steps to lean against the chair's arm. "I know…I'm not the best example when it comes to dealing with difficult situations and my child. But I do know the one thing you can't do is beat yourself up for trying to do what you think is best for her."
Baze closed his mouth and stared up at the blonde for a minute. He hadn't even started to explain what he meant. Was she mulling over the same things that were going on in his head the entire morning? Did she know him that well? Or was it an instinct that all parents shared?
"But the other kid, I'm sure he has parents too. And I'm pretty sure if some guy came screaming in my face that my daughter ruined their son's life… Well, we both know how that would go." He looked down into his own lap. Though, while he hoped this gnawing feeling was anything but right, it would be more like a rabid mother then a man.
Slowly he told her about how he had gone up to check on the teacher who had given his daughter a ride. He left out his suspicions. Baze was beginning to come to terms with the fact that his suspicions were sometimes just his blood boiling. If ever there was a time to quench that, he recognized that it might be now. He summarized his introduction with how Mr. Daniels' mother had reacted making him think about how he himself had approached everything. Emma fell silent, reflective.
"I don't know." Baze exhaled, standing up and stepping away form his lover's touch. "Look, I told Cate I'd meet them at the hospital when Lux was done. Is it okay if I—"
"I'm surprised you came in for this long." She didn't sound resentful as she had in their early days working together. It was endearing. "Go. I don't want to see you until tomorrow morning."
"Really?" He said perking an eyebrow and reaching out to grab her waist with one arm. "Tomorrow morning?" He checked. She giggled in a half breath.
"Okay, okay. At least six o'clock." She beamed when he gave her a quick kiss before he walked out.
She was glad he still had his spirit. He would need it. They all would.
]o[ ]o[ ]o[ ]o[ ]o[
Her doctor had left the room ten minutes ago. Lux's head was buzzing with information. Sure she had the basics etched into her head from Cate's own pregnancy. But somehow it seemed so much more important now, so much more fragile since they were treating this with more caution then a normal term. Maybe that's why she had zoned out. Or it could be that the print out between her fingers of the little sack of cells inside her felt thirty times its physical weight.
"It's pretty remarkable, isn't it?" She felt Cate's chin resting on her shoulder, a firm hand on the opposite one. "I mean sure it's just a tiny prick of a blob but…"
Lux didn't respond. She felt the hand squeeze. She knew Cate was trying—so hard. Why couldn't she find something to respond with? Maybe it would stop this damn question from rolling around in her head like it was now.
"What if he never sees this?" She felt it slip past her lips before she could stop herself. She could hear the sharp inhale the radio personality took.
"He w—"
"NO." Lux snapped hopping off of the table and turning to look at Cate. "Don't say it. Please, just don't." She held up her uninjured hand. "I can't hear 'fine' one more time." She almost hurt for the look that met her. Lux mumbled an apology under her breath.
"It's just… promises, hopes, wishes, reassurances. They're all just words. They're words I've heard too much for them not to feel like fairy tales." She looked around the sterile room with little hope of finding an emotional anchor. "I can't do that this time. I just…I can't." She kept her voice as even as she could.
"And all I can think of is…we're going to lose him, and it's all my fault. And this kid…yes I'll have you and Ryan and Baze, but it won't have one person in its life that it really, really, needs. Someone I need. How do I answer it when it asks me why all the other kids have a daddy? How do you even handle that?" She felt her pulse quickening. She knew her cheeks were gaining color.
Cate took a step close rand held her arms out to Lux. Silently she drew her into them and held her lightly. Lux wasn't the type to cling to others. This time, Cate wasn't sure if she could look at her daughter to say this directly.
"You tell them that their dad left them to protect the both of you—that you needed a guardian angel and he wasn't going to let someone else do such an important job. That he is your hero, and even if he can't be seen he is there." Lux blinked rapidly in Cate's arms before pulling back to look at her in the face only to see eyes that were rimmed in tears.
"Thank you." Lux choked, biting her lip knowing her face mirrored the one she was looking at before she found the strength to pull herself away.
"Baze." She cleared her throat. "Baze is probably waiting." She reasoned. Cate nodded, and with a light hand on her daughter's back, she led her out into the chaos that was the hospital corridors.
]o[ ]o[ ]o[ ]o[ ]o[
The last of his classes had just let out. Thank god. The day had seemed unending. But now all he had to do was the girl's basketball practice and he'd be out, clear, and free until tomorrow morning. He even had minimal grading to do that night. If it weren't for the situation that was occurring to the members of the loft, he would almost say it was brilliant.
Math's heartstrings tugged slowly. He hadn't heard everything about the situation. He had gotten the bones of the matter from an exhausted Baze. He may not be related to the girl by blood, and he may have given up on his crush on Cate long ago. That didn't mean she hadn't become like a niece to him. As much as he was sure her parents were blaming them, he couldn't help but feel partially responsible himself. Wasn't he sort of their eyes while she was in school?
Putting the last of his work into his satchel he made his way towards the gym only to nearly collide with the school's principal. He stopped immediately.
"Ah! Mr. Rogers." She smiled at him. "Just the man I was looking for. Could I have a word please?" She asked with her mask of a smile. That was never good news.
"Of course." He shot her reaction back at her. She nodded before leading them back towards her office. It was on his path way to his destination as it was.
Math had been in this room countless times—before the current regime even. Though he hadn't been on the same side of things as he was sure his roommate had been. In this moment though, from the way she took her seat and shuffled the papers in front of her, he was pretty sure he knew what those students felt like. HE had to resist the urge to loosen his tie.
"Is there a problem?"
"Perhaps." She folded her palms onto the cold desk. "Mr. Rogers, you live with Ms. Cassidy's father correct?"
"I'm one of his renters, yes." He wasn't sure where this was going.
"Have you heard more about her condition? Will she be returning to us soon?" Math didn't like the way she was asking. It was too clean, too formal. A necessity only.
"We hope so. She had an appointment today." He fulfilled his random chitchat quote, he concluded.
"Very good." She said stoically. "Mr. Rogers, I'm not sure if you're aware but there has been some concern presented over some things we've been hearing lately concerning Ms. Cassidy."
"Like?" Math was confused. Hadn't Ryan told them about the pregnancy already?
"Mr. Rogers, is there anything that would make you question the nature of the relationship between Ms. Cassidy and Mr. Daniels?"
]o[ ]o[ ]o[ ]o[ ]o[
Baze didn't like how well he was getting to know this hospital. There was already one receptionist who recognized him. And in a place like this, that wasn't a good thing. His nerves couldn't handle the thought of having to spend too much more time here. Luckily for him he spotted the girls almost immediately. They looked just about as energetic as he did.
He needed a weak hello to them and waited for them to make their way over to him. "How'd it go?" He asked in general, trying not to take notice of the print out in his daughter's hand.
"I need sleep, no caffeine, and I can't be running ten laps a day but apparently the stress levels of midterms are acceptable." She tried to be witty. Baze lazily smiled in a grateful gesture.
"Great kiddo, ready to get out of here then? My night." He couldn't wait to have her back at the loft. He hated her being so far away when all he wanted to do was to watch over her. Not that, at this point, he could protect her from much worse then had already happened.
"Actually," She shuffled her feet a bit unsure of how to approach the question. "Do you think I could go up and check on Mr. Daniel's condition really quick?"
All sound caught in Baze's head. He noticed all too clearly Cate's flinch. Was he right? Did she know something he didn't? And trickled up in him again as he tried to quell it. The shy look on Lux's face said more then he could ignore. Either she was loosing her acting skills or he was determined to prove this theory true. Still, the raw look of her lethargy was enough to cause him to pause.
"No." He snapped somewhat unwillingly when he saw both women jolt in response. "You're not going up there on your own." He said sternly, following quickly before the loose jaw that had surfaced had a chance to find her charisma again.
"I went up there yesterday and his mother practically ripped my head off. She's one crazy bitty." It was true. He was pretty sure her claws matched his own. "I'll go with you."
"You don't have—"
"No buts." It was clearly his condition. Just because he could ignore a suspicion didn't mean he wasn't keen on learning more that would validate this action.
]o[ ]o[ ]o[ ]o[ ]o[
Grant sat limply in a plastic coated chair nursing his fiftieth cup of cardboard coffee since seven. At least it felt like it. The college student was fairly certain he knew this hospital floor better then his dorm level. He had given up fidgeting and was staring into liquid in his hands.
Frustrated he scrubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. Sleep was only a memory despite his urging his mother to attempt the function. He felt someone come to sit beside him more then he actually saw the form. He didn't care who it was at this point.
"I hear you got some good news." Grant found his uncle, a bit scruffier and a tad thinner the a couple days ago. Not dangerously so. His uncle wasn't a beanpole by any means.
"They said they liked how his EEG was looking. The activity's improving." He shrugged his stiff shoulders.
"So he might wake up?" George ventured. "Sorry kid, my brother was the one with the brains in the family. Heh." He tried to make light of his weak grasp on the situation. Grant only shrugged again.
Tearing the conversation away from the constant pain in their current lives, his uncle asked if he was headed back to Minnesota soon. That was one thing that had been good about the situation. His professors had given him extensions and allowed him to pass in some work electronically. He was surprised how much he had actually been able to focus on schoolwork. He assumed it was the distraction.
He also had received several calls from an acquaintance he would very much like to be more then that, wondering if he was okay. He supposed in a twisted sort of way some small good had come out of the situation. But he refused to go anywhere until his brother opened his eyes—academics be damned. He was either going to pace here, or pace there. As fragile as she was lately, he liked being able to keep an eye out for his mother. His father shouldn't have to do it constantly. Even if that meant he was coped up in these hallways, it was better then not being able to see people who needed him right now.
"How's mom?" He asked, knowing his father had mentioned that George was going to take her out to lunch this afternoon. He had let his dad have some time alone with Eric during that time.
"With him." George sighed, the bags under his eyes making him seem his age for once. "But she's a trooper. He got that stubborn streak from her. We all know that my brother runs from everything." Grant snorted. There was a general disdain for the not-to-be-named brother/father in the Monroe-Daniels family.
"Don't worry." George reached up to pat his nephew's shoulder solidly a couple times. "All he needs is the right sort of push and he'll be back with us."
"Yea, well. We're kind of running out of options. I mean, unless he has some sort of fondness for Aunt Kati…" He stopped by the look of pure amusement on his uncle's face. It almost helped him calm down.
"Maybe we haven't run out of all of them just yet." George quirked a grin and a brow, jerking his head down the hallway. "Looks like your mom and Eric aren't the only stubborn ones."
Grant looked up to see a very nervous looking Lux being trailed by the woman who had first been with her and the man who had come up to see them the day before. The sight of her made him blink the sand out of his eyes. Nervously he looked behind him to make sure his mother hadn't seen them. She had calmed down a bit since the initial two days, but she hadn't had a good impression of this group as ridiculous as he thought it was. Yet it was George who reached the trio first.
"Well if it isn't Lucks!"
"Um, Lux." She corrected the vague mistake in her name. She didn't want to offend the man; he had been pleasant enough to her.
"No. To me, You're Lucks –lucky charm. No if ands or buts." He winked down at her, his attitude entirely infectious as she managed to smile a little bit.
"Your bumps and bruises coming along?" He asked courteously.
"Suppose you could say that." She almost laughed.
Baze, her father Grant remembered, seemed to be less then patient with the pleasantries that were being exchanged. His posture was ridged, his eyes alert. He kept looking towards Eric's room nervously. He clearly didn't want to be here. He also didn't seem so keen on the idea of George rubbing elbows with his daughter. Lux picked up on this.
"How is he?" She asked attentively. George launched into the brief summary that Grant had just given him.
From inside his room, Mrs. Monroe stirred. Seeing the visitors a deep frown grew on her face. Her distraction caught her husband's attention. He gripped her shoulder and walked out of the room before her for once, coming to loom like a shadow as he towered over most of the other people in the area. Baze sized him up immediately.
"You're here about Eric." He had a distinct way of making statements instead of asking questions.
"I'm sorry if I upset Mrs. Monroe before—" Lux started quickly, peaking around him to see a woman who was looking just about as great as she would if she were allowed to openly fret. "I can't imagine what this is like for her." Actually, Lux could. But that was beside the point.
"Please excuse her, but she's rather… focused, when it comes to family." Tough as he was his eyes softened a little. "Eric's doing as best as can be expected right now—still unconscious but there has been no sign that we should be concerned yet." He seemed even, almost unfeeling, but neutral.
"But please, if you don't mind, for my wife's sake, we'd only like the family here. We could let you know if there is any change." He supplemented at the end.
"Thanks." Baze said coldly, before putting one hand on Lux's back. "Come on kiddo."
Lux swallowed the knot in her throat, nodding. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting. But this wasn't exactly it. The disappointment must have been clear on her face. George was the one to speak up before they could get too far away.
"Harold." The comical uncle was shockingly sober. "Why not let her say hello? He's probably sick of hearing us old farts – excluding you of course Grant—and if this girl is the one he protected, he probably wants to know she's okay just as much as they want to know he's okay."
Lux wasn't generally comfortable with people touching her. But uncle George's presence seemed comforting. For whatever reason this man who she didn't know from a needle in a haystack had her back seemingly unconditionally.
"What could it hurt?" He ended his argument. From the looks of Mr. Monroe, it even looked like it might work.
Might, if Milly hadn't caught wind of the situation and come out from her haven by her son's side. Before her husband noticed her she stepped in middle of the group. At least her glare was directed at George at first instead of Lux.
"George, you've been good to me and Eric—and you know I'm grateful for that." Her patience seemed thin, but anchored to him. "And we know you love Eric like your own. But it's not you're place to determine what is or isn't good for him right now." She turned unwilling attention to Cate, Baze, and Lux. "Now as my husband already asked you—please go."
"Now just wait a second." Baze was the one to hold up his hand. "We'll go, but my kid has the right to know what's going on."
"Excuse me?" Milly looked aghast.
"She's been tearing herself up about this entire incident. I would bet you ten bucks right here and now she's blaming herself for what happened. And all you're doing is making her feel like more of a criminal then she already does!"
Lux was surprised. She knew that Baze was protective of her. But she had also picked up on the fact that this was the last place he wanted to be. Why was he trying to get her to stay?
"Well good!" Milly snapped. A chorus of her name and title reprimanded her immediately. "What? Snap all you want! But if it wasn't for this girl, my son wouldn't be in that bed! And that is the truth!"
"My daughter didn't make that car lose control!" He stepped into Milly's personal space. Harold took the defense and Cate stepped forward to try to draw Baze back.
"She might as well have!" Milly shot back. Even her husband's soft voice couldn't calm her. "She may be a sweet girl—and you may be nice people—but that doesn't change the situation. It doesn't help Eric!"
"YOU heard that officer just as well as I did." Baze pointed down at the floor as if it would ground his spot. "Your son CHOSE to protect her!"
"That's because MY child is a DECENT human. Maybe if your daughter wasn't whoring around then he wouldn't have had to pick her up! Or maybe if you were a better PARENT, she wouldn't have needed a ride to begin with!"
Lux knew she should be as mad as Baze. A part of her brain told her that she should be outraged. But the woman's beliefs only made her heart heavier.
"HEY!" Cate glared at the other woman, who almost flinched realizing her words. Baze looked murderous.
"Whatever she was doing, my son had the decency to not only do her a favor but then to risk his own life. And no tramp or her father is going to come in here and make my boy's injuries seem like a scandalous romp! And don't you think I haven't heard these damn nurses whispering!" Tears boiled behind Milly's eyes but they didn't fall.
Their argument had gained the attention of fellow visitors and nurses alike. One of the attendants came closer, attempting to get a word in. AT the nurse's station one seemed on stand by to call security. From the way Cate was gripping onto Baze Lux was afraid it might be too late.
"GOOD guy? DECENT?" Baze shot, straining against the small woman who had a grip on him. "Damn straight they should be whispering! They're probably happy there's one less pedophile on the streets stalking their draughts!"
"BAZE." Both Cate and Lux chirped up in unison, one a little less livid then the other.
"How DARE you!" Milly looked like she was about to slap Baze—and she may have if her husband hadn't been holding her arms at her sides. Uncle George was doing his best to calm down the nurses who had looked ready to pounce. "My son—"
"You son, your SON! That's all you can say, lady? How awesome your son is?" Baze had lost all sense of rationality at this point, forgetting his company. "Let me tell you something about your PRECIOUS son. Does every HONORABLE man knock up seventeen year old girls?"
His words fell like a lashing across the room. Everyone stopped to stare at the feuding pair. Baze looked over at Lux who had lost all color in her face. A flash of guilt crossed his expression. The only one not totally stunned into submission was Milly.
"You're disgusting! Why would you even make up such a thing?" She looked ill, the nights of sleeplessness catching up with her as she fell back against her husband. While she was still running it seemed some of her venom had run dry.
"I think I –" Baze started.
"ENOUGH." Lux screeched. If the proclamation hadn't stopped traffic, that certainly had.
"What is WRONG with you two?" Her voice cracked. "You're so damn caught up in whose fault any of this is, what are you in a contest? Do you get some sort of prize for being on the moral ground? Because let me tell you RIGHT now—you both SUCK at it, okay?" The fist at Lux's side showed how hard she was trying not to tremble in fury.
"While you two are sitting here having a screaming match you both are forgetting what the hell you're even fighting FOR." She looked at both of them with a lack of pity. "Who CARES what happened? You can't change it. So DEAL."
Cate looked at her daughter with sympathy. She could tell how hard this is was—how much of a toll it was taking on her. Cate wanted to go to her, to tell her to calm down. This wasn't good for her, or the baby. But neither was the stress of the situation. At this particular moment, she was almost positive she'd only be tossed aside anyway.
"YES he saved me. YES it is my fault that he was out that day, that he was giving me a ride. Don't you think I KNOW that?" This was directed entirely at Mrs. Monroe. "I am SORRY for what happened, believe me. If there was anything I could do to change it, I would. If I could be in there instead of him, I wouldn't hesitate—and don't even say anything Baze because you know that if it was someone you cared about in there you would same the exact same damn thing."
"But I can't go back in time. The only thing I can do, is support him. Help him fight for his life. Because while we're out here bitching and bellyaching, can you only imagine what he'd say if he saw us like this? At a time when he needs his family more then ever, those who care about him, you're too distracted by your pain. Not his, YOURS." She wasn't going to be polite, not now.
"And maybe you can't stand him. Maybe you wish he had died." She turned to her father. "But I don't. I can't." She paused, her face reddening. Her lower lip rolled between her teeth.
"I want to be in there with him. I need him to know I'm okay, that we're okay." She found herself placing her hand over her heart instead of her stomach. Lux couldn't stop to think about this reaction. "I need him—and so does this baby."
Even uncle George looked slapped at Lux's admission to the suggestion her father had made. Grant raised his eyebrows. Damn his brother had screwed up.
"And whether you like it or not," She found herself straightening up as she took a few steps closer to Milly. "If either of you like it," She added looking over her shoulder. "Me and our grandchild are not going ANYWHERE." The word to describe the life within her was powerful. She felt dizzy recognizing it herself. It seemed to ring in the heads of the previously warring parents. Milly could no longer look her in the eye.
"So you two need to get off your high horses and work whatever it is you two have going on out. There IS no right way out of this. Move on!" With one last gulp of air to strengthen her resolve Lux marched past the adults in the room, shooting a glare at the shell-shocked nurse at the station who had been ready to call for security. The hand slipped away. Faintly behind her she could hear Grant rebuffing the words that were about to come out of Milly's mouth.
The swelling of pride in herself and the relief of her secret being revealed was overwhelming. She wasn't an idiot. She knew that wouldn't solve everything. There was still a chance that Baze wouldn't be able to let all of this go for the greater good. And legally Milly could have her removed. But for this brief second she had won. And she was finally free to do the one thing she had wanted to do since waking up in that white hospital room.
Gravity took her to Eric's room with haste.
It was her vision that brought her to a dead stop.
The man in the bed was not the Eric she had known. The frame was the same. Everything else was different. The monitors around him were numerous. While the ventilator wasn't in place, its looming presence in the background was an eerie backdrop. What tubes didn't cover, bandages did. It was difficult to tell where the gauze stopped and the hospital robe began. The sharp contrast of angry magenta and purple and sickly pale yellow flesh was a splattered canvas in comparison to the usual cream of skin. His central core, which had been curled around her, seemed mostly in tact save for some swelling from surrounding wounds and medication. Every other surfaced looked like it had been gritted across sandpaper.
Unable to register the ghost of a person in front of her, Lux's feet took insecure steps further into the room. As she drew closer to the form her nausea increased. The closer details were so much worse. From the corners of clothing and edges of bandages she could see the gashes from the splayed glass—an image that made the sound of the event ring in her ears again. She could feel the lurch of the breaks seeing the near black on his forearms where IVs were loosely tapped into place.
Morbidly curious, or unable to ignore it, Lux reached out to lift the corner of one bandages only to see long scrapes from the materials of the car. In other places angry stitches glared back. One eye showed signs of decreased swelling. She didn't want to imagine what his back looked like. Her good hand shivering she reached out to touch his hand to find it surprisingly clammy.
Shocked she withdrew her hand like it had shocked her. The air she had held in her lungs came out in an unanticipated sob. Inhaling quickly she forced herself to take and hold the motionless hand.
"I'm here, Eric." She choked; the sounds barely formed the words. "We're here." She whispered.
"Oh god, I'm sorry." She felt her shoulders shaking. She new the hot and wet trails on her cheeks were tears, but the act of crying was irrelevant to the shame and fear that she had felt accumulating into this one horrific image in front of her.
Lux felt her legs failing her. She tried to think of finding a chair only to feel small hands on her shoulders. She looked behind her expecting to see Cate. Instead, Milly's own puffy eyes stared back. Milly pulled the chair closer to her not a moment too soon.
Safely in the seat Lux hid her face from the rest of the hospital by hiding it against the standard sheets and the hand that clutched onto Eric's. She heard soft sounds behind her, and was aware of a hand rubbing circles on her back. The hand turned into a hug and the sensation of someone crying along with her own sobs.
From outside of the room, the others looked in. The scene felt a million miles away. Cate found Baze's shoulder. The world that had come crashing down seemed glued together by the figures of the room. No one dared to speak, barely to breathe.
The lingering anger had dissipated and replaced the corridors with the heaviness of sorrow.