BEEP...BEEP...BEEP...BEEP...BEEP...BEEP...BEEP.
That was the first sound Pacifica heard, as she made her way back to the land of the living.
She at first wasn't sure she WAS awake, going by the fact she was surrounded by perpetual darkness.
But, the fact her whole body was in absolute agony, persuaded her otherwise.
"OH, SWEETHEART, YOU'RE AWAKE!" That voice...
"Good to have you back, Pacifica." A male speaking this time... More measured in tone.
Her mind was slowly emerging from the fog... But even as she recognised those voices, she couldn't believe...
"WE WERE SO WORRIED!" Closer now. The female who just spoke this time was right by her side. It was... Her mother.
"Yes, indeed." That unmistakable posh accent... It was... Her father.
But they didn't sound anything like themselves.
Her mother had never one for emotional outbursts... She was too entrenched in her beauty and make-up routines.
Her father had never sounded that polite and genial (at least to her). He was usually shouting at her for getting second place, or berating her for turning up five minutes late to a piano lesson.
Had she... Perhaps been kidnapped by ZOMBIES?!
She tried to move... But, despite lying down on something comfortable and soft, she was totally constrained.
"No dear... just stay where you are. You need rest... You've been through a tough ordeal." She felt her mother, now. She was being given a hug around the facial region...Although, it was so swathed in material, it was hard to tell.
"Yes, that's right... They told me, all the doctors did. That girl will never make it... She's a lost cause... You might as well start arranging her funeral..." Pacifica listened on with horror, as her father spoke so casually about her own demise.
"But I wasn't haven't any of THAT, oh no. She's got the old Northwest spirit, I told them. So I got together some of the best medical minds money could buy, and lo and behold, here you are, alive and kicking." Her father took a sip of something.
Pacifica tried to talk. Her throat felt as dry as a desert, and only one thing came into her head... "B...bill?!"
She heard her father put something down (his drink?) as he sauntered over to her. "Oh, don't worry about him anymore. He's long gone... And we won't be requiring his services again. He couldn't even keep his side of the bargain... That treacherous triangle..."
There was no hint of shame in what he did. Of course there wasn't. After all... NOTHING was more important than preserving the family name. Everyone was expendable... Even Preston's own daughter.
"Besides, we don't need him now. " Her father continued "Isn't it funny how things have a way of working out? Here we were, ready to ground you for an eternity when we got a call from our chauffer a month ago..."
"A... MONTH?! " Pacifica rasped in her croaky voice.
"Don't interrupt your father, dear." Her mother gently chastised her.
"I'll overlook it this once, Priscilla" he told his wife. "Anyway, as I was saying, he informed us that you were hanging out with that Pines boy, against our express wishes. As you can imagine, I was beside myself with rage. And that's when I summoned Bill. He was SUPPOSED to bring you straight home after possession, so we could start afresh. And then, when we thought you'd returned to your senses, you could have your body back".
He paused for a minute in thought, before adding:
"But, in light of the new circumstances, none of that will be necessary now."
"New... Circumstances?" Pacifia tried to communicate again.
"Here, darling... drink this ." Her mother somehow found a gap in the stuff covering her face (which she now figured out was bandages) to deliver a cool glass of water to her mouth. Man, that felt good.
"When the daughter of the richest, most powerful in Gravity Falls gets seriously injured, EVERYONE wants to know about it." Preston said rather smugly "and not just the local rags. We had NBC, ABC here... Even FOX. " He said the last word as if pronouncing the name of a revered monarch.
"Basically, the upshot of it is, EVERYONE loves us again. We've had sympathy cards, and good wishes from the President, the Queen of England, the Dalai Lama... The list goes on. We've been on the front cover of almost every international paper you can think of. And all... Just for falling off a cliff. Who'd have thought it? If I'd known it was THAT easy I'd have pushed you off YEARS ago, Priscilla! " Pacifica's father sniggered, as if he'd just told a Knock Knock joke.
"Oh, Preston!" Her mother simpered, as Pacifica's mouth begin to fill with bile. If it WAS possible for her to hurt more than she did now... She'd crossed that line.
"Regardless, the fact is that we're now more popular then ever before. We're household names in countries I didn't even think had television sets! And we have YOU to thank for it, Pacifica. Your debts are paid. We'll continue to get you the best medical help that we can afford, and as soon as you come out, we'll arrange a press conference so everyone will know how brave the Northwests are." Preston schemed openly.
Suddenly,Pacifica felt a third presence, by what she now knew was her bedside. "Oops, here comes a doctor. I think we need to leave now, Priscilla. Don't worry, Pacifica. We'll be back first thing in the morning. We might bring a reporter with us. If you feel up to it, please try and say a few words. Have a good rest."
He took a few steps to the door, being he stopped as if remembering something. "And, don't worry about seeing that Pines boy ever again. He wanted to stay and see you get better, along with that weird sister of his. But I convinced their parents their education was more important, and that you were in good hands, so they're back home now. And just in case any undesirables do try to poke their nose into your private room, we've got our own security on watch twenty four hours a day. See you soon, Pacifica."
She heard her father take his leave, while her mother gave her a little kiss on her bandage encrusted cheek, before following him out.
"Hello, how are we doing today?" That was the sound of the new person. "My name is Doctor Smith, and I'm hear to see how you're doing today. Please lie back and relax, while I check you over".
Pacifica fumed. It was not like she COULD even move a muscle, but whatever.
At that moment, she felt whatever was covering her face being unwrapped and lifted off, before a blinding light shone right in her face causing her to blink like mad.
Well, ONE of her eyes, anyway. The other one...
"Left eye seems to be fine... Right eye... Well, let's just see how we go, shall we? Facial scarring is healing nicely... Nose is beginning to get back into joint... Fractured jaw is recovering well... Minus the missing teeth..." As the doctor continued his examination, Pacifica's head felt lighter. And lighter.
And not in a good way.
The medical practitioner carried on, ignoring his obviously distressed patient. He lifted up her blanket, and continued to make notes. " Broken neck...Pretty severe, but doing well...Two broken arms... on schedule to be fixed... Cracked ribs... Should be fine in a few weeks or so... Broken leg... Doing alright, considering what happened to the other one..."
What happened to the other... What did he mea...
Pacifica got her answer as the final part of the blanket was pulled away. There, she strained her neck, as painful as it was, to make out what was underneath.
She could see ONE leg, covered in plaster. But, her right one...
Her right one...
Simply wasn't there.
She could FEEL it...
But it wasn't there.
It was at this point...
She completely lost it.
Screaming.
Crying.
"WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ME?!"
The doctor looked up from his notebook.
He'd been expecting this.
Time to revert to protocol.
He pressed a button.
An alarm went off.
A few seconds later, in came a female carrying something.
It was small, and sharp, and filled with liquid.
Doctor Smith pointed calmly at his now having-a-fit patient, and simply said...
NURSE! THE SCREENS!