Breathe Again

Although she felt like she'd been run over by a mac truck, Mel tried to open her eyes. Something wasn't right. She felt as if she had swallowed a bowl full of nails, she felt a pressure on her nose and a burning pain in her right side. Her head felt as if it might explode if she even breathed too hard. Something or someone rather was squeezing her hand. God, what happened to her?

"Melony?" A muffled voice called out to her. She concentrated unsuccessfully opening her eyes when reality hit her with a rush, Bubba. Panic overcame her as she tried to push herself up in the bed. The voice spoke again, calmly, reassuringly. What the hell was wrong with her?

She lay there for what seemed like an eternity. Time of no consequence to her. By not being able to see or hear that well, all she had were her thoughts.

And those thoughts were not pretty ones.

But for the time being she reasoned with herself that she was safe and was apparently in the hospital as she could hear a man talking to someone he referred to as doctor Zanro. Inwardly she willed herself to open her eyes. She needed answers or she was going to go crazy.

--- --- ----

"Melony?" He held her hand careful not to disturb the IV that occupied the top of her bruised hands. If only he would have gone with her to find Mark. It seemed all he could do was blamed himself but in reality there was only one person at fault Bubba Dudley. How could one man be so disturbed and deranged? Kurt stroked her hair softly as she shifted in the bed. He could tell she was conscious but he wasn't sure she was able to hear his voice or knew that he was even there for that matter. Her hand was limp in his.

"Mel sweetheart, can you hear me?"

Once again she shifted in the bed. A soft moan escaping her lips and her face wrinkled in pain.

"It's ok. You're safe. Bubba has been arrested. He can't hurt you any more."

At those words a huge weight was lifted from her. For the moment she could breathe again. Slowly her eyes fluttered open and she was met with eyes as blue as the ocean. "Kurt." Barely a whisper from her lips yet it lit up his entire face. Mel was awake and recognized him immediately. His heart seemed to fill his throat as relief swept over him.

"I'm here Mel." Kurt squeezed her hand and stroked her hair back from her face.

"Don't leave me." She pleaded softly.

"Shh, I will never leave you again, never."

--- --- ---

"It looks like Melony is going to pull through just fine. Luckily there's no sign of internal bleeding, which was our main concern. She does have a slight concussion, two broken ribs and of course the swelling on her face should go down soon. I'm prescribing some antibiotics to keep away infection and something for the pain. I'm willing to sign her out as long as she has someone to look after her. And I'm also going to recommend that she see a counselor to help her with the mental and emotional pain." Dr. Zanro patted Kurt on the back. "It's not going to be an easy road for her son. All you can really do is be there for her."

Kurt nodded and shook the doctor's hand. "I'll make sure she has everything she needs."

Dr. Zanro signed off on the chart he was holding before closing it shut. "Well that does it. I'll have the nurse bring you all the necessary paperwork."

"Thanks doctor."

--- --- ---

Kurt let his exhausted body settle into one of the cold waiting room chairs. He supposed he should call someone but who? Deciding on Torrie first, he dialed her number and left a message on her voice mail. Kurt considered calling Mark, but decided against it. He wanted someone to blame for this, someone to lash out at and since Bubba was behind bars Mark was the only other option. If only Mark would have just been in the locker room. 'If only' was beginning to be the beginning of a lot of Kurt's thoughts lately. He sat forward and rested his face in the palm of his hands. He reasoned that the only thing that mattered now was that Mel was going to be ok. There was no one to blame but Bubba, though he would ever be capable of forgiving himself for not simply walking with her. He glanced at the clock above the nurses station and mumbled a curse. He had been gone longer than he meant to be. Rushing down the hall he said a silent prayer.

--- --- ---

By the time Kurt reached Melony's room she was sitting up in bed drinking a glass of water. He stood outside the door watching her. With each sip of water she cringed as if she was being hit again. And it hurt him to the core to see her this way. The entire left side of her face was swollen and bruised. A bandage covered the horrid 'art work' that Bubba attempted to carve into her cheek. To Kurt, she was still beautiful. Underneath it all, she was still the spitfire that had captured his heart. There was no denying how he felt. It was as if he could literally feel his heart swelling with love.

"Hi beautiful." He called out as he walked into the room and sat down on the edge of her bed.

She tried to smile but the bandage and tape made it difficult. "Stop it. I can feel my face. It's far from beautiful." The words came out in barely a whisper. Each word made her body cringe in pain. She laid her head back against the pillow and tried to take a deep breath. Her broken ribs made it difficult to breathe as it hurt every time she inhaled. The oxygen tube in her nose provided some relief. "Kurt, I ..." Her voice weak and as much as she wanted to say it, the words just wouldn't flow.

He took her hand in his. "It's ok. There's nothing you need to tell me that can't wait. I'll be right here."

She opened her mouth to protest but decided that maybe she should just keep quiet. She wanted to let him know how grateful she was. He had very literally saved her life. Her heart could no longer deny the love she felt for him, love that had been growing stronger and stronger each day. She yearned to say those three little words that meant so much, just not under these circumstances. But if not now, when? What is she never got another chance? As life just proved, no one is promised tomorrow.

Kurt stroked the back of her knuckles with his thumb. Her hand seemed so tiny and delicate as it lay in his. It was obvious as he studied her face that her thoughts were eating her alive. If only he could do something to ease her pain, to erase her memory of the last few months. His inner voice condemned him for starting with the 'what ifs' again.

Despite what Mel had been through she still found happiness when she looked at Kurt. She watched him through her tired eyes. His head was down, resting on the edge of her bed yet he still held her hand. She carefully removed her hand from his and placed it on the back of his head. Immediately he rose up, her hand sliding down to his cheek. He turned and placed a kiss in her palm. "Kurt, you really are my hero. If you hadn't come along when you did..." She trailed off not really wanting to say what would have happened had he not found her when he did. The thoughts were there though, haunting her. "What I'm trying to say is, thank you."

He shook his head. "Don't thank me. I should have never let you out of my sight."

"Don't go blaming yourself. Because of you, I'm alive. And I definitely don't want to spend my future reliving the past. I knew this would happen eventually. That's why I never left him before. But this time I thought it was worth taking the chance, I had you to run to."

He raked a hand over his bald head. "I let you down."

She held his hand tight and leaned forward as much as she could to make sure he heard her every word. "No Kurt. You didn't let me down. If it wasn't for you, I would still be wasting my life away with him. It's over and done with, can't we just move on?"

While he understood that she wanted to look toward the future, he could never completely get rid of his guilt but like Mel's wounds he was sure they would both heal with time. "I guess in time I'll get over it. But for now, I promise not to dwell."

"Thank you." She cocked her head to the side and smiled. "You know I haven't forgotten that you still owe me dinner."

Caught off guard, Kurt laughed out loud. "Yeah, I guess I do. Do you feel like you could maybe eat now?"

"Not if it counts as our first date."

He chuckled. "Of course not. This is just dinner for two people who haven't eaten in a day or so."

"Well, in that case, I guess I can eat a bite or two." She knew she really didn't feel like eating nor could she eat anything solid. But she figured this was the only way she was going to get Kurt to eat as well.

"What do you feel like?"

She shrugged. "Maybe some soup or ice cream."

"Ok. I will see what I can do." He kissed the top of her head and headed out the door. "I'll be back in a few."