Ivy didn't know what to say after Eve's 'confession', so she simply stroked the backs of Eve's hands with her thumbs in slow, soothing motions. She could see that Eve was on the edge of breaking down, but she didn't want to interrupt her in case there was more she wanted she say. It could make it worse later if they both bottled things up now.
"You were the reason I came to Gotham, Pamela," Eve continued. She tore her hands out of Ivy's grip and clenched them into fists, digging them into the thin mattress beneath her. "Mortimer realised that. He saw my enthusiasm, my...my obsession with you, and he wanted more. He wanted me to work with him, he watched me for weeks, and if I'd just left you alone then he wouldn't have done anything like this. I knew your past. I knew what you were capable of and I still went ahead and I fell in love with you. Batman told me not to get close to you and I did it anyway. I was so fucking stubborn I nearly got myself killed!"
Her voice had risen higher and higher as she spoke, and the cardiac monitor beside her was beeping rapidly. Ivy leant forwards and put her hands on Eve's shoulders. "Evelyn, my love, look at me. You need to calm down. Deep breaths, okay? Come on, keep in time with me."
Eve shook her head vehemently. "No, no, I can't, I...I'm sorry, Pamela! I'm so sorry!" She burst into tears. She'd been trying so hard to keep it together, but she was so tired, so exhausted after everything she'd been through that she couldn't hold it back any longer; the dam broke, and all the pain and fear and sadness burst forth and manifested at once. Her shoulders shook and tears streamed down her face as she cried like she hadn't cried since she was a child, back when the smallest thing could seem like the end of the world because she didn't know any better. With an ache in her chest that was more than just pain from her injury, she fell forwards into Ivy's arms and wept. "I ruined everything," she moaned between sobs.
Holding Eve close and stroking her hair, Ivy shook her head gently. "What did you ruin?"
"All our plans…" Eve whispered.
"How did you ruin our plans? You did everything you were meant to do, and so did I - it was Mortimer that derailed everything." Carefully, Ivy broke their embrace so she could look at Eve's pale and tearstained face, always beautiful to her. "Look, I spent a lot of time in that waiting room while they were saving you, by myself, and it gave me a chance to think. And I've realised something. I blame myself for you getting hurt, and that I wasn't strong enough to get you the help you needed. Batman had to intervene, and I will always regret that. I should have been able to save you." She paused for a second, swallowing down the lump that had risen in her throat. "But I think...now...the one that made everything go wrong, it wasn't me, and it wasn't you. It was him."
Eve lifted her head and sniffed loudly. "But if I hadn't - "
"Hadn't what? Fallen in love with me? You're forgetting; I fell in love with you too." Ivy smiled slightly.
"Only because I wouldn't leave you alone."
Ivy paused for a moment, trying to think of what to say next. "You know what? You're right - you are far too stubborn sometimes. Please, Evelyn, stop trying to take the blame for something that honestly wasn't your fault." With Eve still looking unconvinced, she tried a different approach. "Let me ask you this; is there anything wrong with us loving each other?"
"No!" Eve's reply was instant and insistent.
"Exactly," Ivy said. "The only thing wrong with our love happened when somebody else tried to take advantage of it. Perhaps it was a bit naive of you to think that nothing bad would happen if only we loved each other, but God knows you're not the first person in history to feel that way. What's important is that now you understand that. We love each other, and we can take care of each other and protect each other, but we will never be able to completely avoid bad things happening. That's just how things are."
Eve took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling her body relax at last. She realised that Ivy was right - it wouldn't make sense for each of them to keep blaming themselves for Mortimer's actions. If she kept twisting the situation so that she was in the wrong, it would just be self-pitying, and it could drive a wedge between them if Ivy could see the truth but she refused to accept it herself. "Do you think," she began slowly, "do you think that I could...move past it, one day?"
"Not for a long time." Eve looked worried, but relaxed again when Ivy continued. "Mortimer was your mentor, and he betrayed your trust in a horrific way. I'm sorry, my love, but that's not an easy fix; he's left you with...physical and mental scars. You're not going to get over it quickly, but I'll always be there to help you. If you have a nightmare and you need something of mine to calm you down, if you want affection or time alone, if you want to break something, just let me know. I will help you in every way I can, because I love you, and I know that you're strong enough to get through this."
"So you don't think I'm stupid?" Eve asked, but she was smiling a little bit now.
"No more than me," Ivy said, lifting Eve's chin so she could kiss her gently on the lips. "Please, try not to work yourself up too much. All you need to do now is rest, and recover. Don't worry about anything else. I'll take care of it all."
"I'll always worry about you, you know," Eve said, then she yawned. Carefully, she lay back down on the bed and Ivy tucked the blankets around her. "Will you be here tomorrow?"
"Of course." Ivy leaned over and planted another kiss on Eve's cheek. "Would you like me to go back to your apartment and get you a few things?"
Eve nodded. "That would be nice. I think my keys are in there..." she mumbled, pointing to the bedside table. Her eyelids began to droop.
Quickly and quietly, Ivy gathered everything she needed together, gave Eve one last sweet kiss, and made her way out of the room. She had a plan in her mind - yes, she would go to Eve's apartment and get new pyjamas, a hairbrush, things to help her feel a bit more like herself, but she also wanted to speak to the hospital receptionist about the medical bills. She didn't have a very good idea of how much it would cost to keep Eve in hospital for a fortnight, but she knew it wouldn't be cheap, and she didn't want Eve to have to think about it. She had money in place, and she would handle it.
Once both of those things were sorted out, and she had slept a little herself, she would go into the city the next day. There were a few jewellery shops she wanted to visit, and during their opening hours too - which was unusual for her.
It wasn't until she crossed the threshold of Eve's apartment that Ivy was struck with the realisation that she had never actually been in there before. She'd seen it through the Green, but she hadn't realised what a nice little place it was - her attention had been caught elsewhere. From what she could see, it was a little bit Spartan, but Eve had good taste in soft furnishings.
Stooping in the doorway, she picked up the comb that was still lying on the floor. An unwelcome thought of what she'd seen Mortimer do in that very spot flashed through her head, and her fingers clenched around it for a second before she collected herself again. That might keep happening for a while; she had always had a bit of trouble keeping her anger in check.
She took a deep breath and continued on into the apartment itself, smiling at how many objects within carried a plant motif; the couch cushions, the fern on the coffee table, the collection of pretty paintings depicting spring flowers. She moved into the bedroom and looked around for some kind of bag for Eve's things, eventually finding a slightly battered holdall under the bed. She took her time in the wardrobe, searching through for the comfiest, softest items; nice pyjamas, warm cardigans, and other clothes that fastened at the front so Eve didn't have to keep lifting her arms up. It was quite pleasant in a way - she felt like she was getting extra insight into what Eve liked, her personality, and what made a place into a home for her. It might be useful for when they found a place of their own sometime in the future, and it helped her feel closer to Eve while they were apart.
After doing a circuit of the apartment to pick up hairbrush, toothbrush, and anything else she thought Eve might need - this took her a bit longer than usual, as she hadn't really had to think about such things for a long time - Ivy glanced at the clock on the living room wall and realised it was later than she'd thought. She probably wouldn't be allowed back in to visit Eve until the next morning now, and though she could easily sneak into the building she didn't want to risk being caught.
She took a second to marvel at how much her mindset had changed; a few months ago she wouldn't have cared at all whether she was caught breaking into somewhere or now. Now, though, she was much more likely to obey the rules, at least where Eve was concerned. It was why she wanted to wait until the next day before she went to find an engagement ring; her Evelyn didn't deserve a stolen ring. Yes, she'd stolen her Christmas present, but that was then and this was now. Eve deserved a ring that she had spent time and money on, a ring that nobody could say didn't belong to her, something she could wear forever. Ivy hoped that by spending time to shop for and buy the perfect ring, rather than simply taking it, it would give some small indication of how much Eve meant to her, even if she had to spend the rest of their lives together making sure she really knew how much that was. She smiled to herself, quite enjoying that prospect.
With a small yawn, she sat down on the couch and leaned back into the cushions. How could she be so tired? How did hospitals drain your energy so much when you weren't really doing anything except sitting around? She supposed it was the worrying; even sat still in the waiting room, she'd been tense and nervous, clenching her fists, her heart pounding hard against her ribs as if to remind her that Evelyn's might stop any second. She'd been through such a rollercoaster of emotions in a relatively short space of time that, as she thought about it, she was surprised it had taken this long for the exhaustion to catch up with her.
Pushing herself to her feet, she walked into the kitchen and traced her fingers over the cupboard doors, reaching out with her mind until she sensed what she wanted. She opened a door and pulled out a box of chamomile teabags, then made herself a cup of the soothing brew. She inhaled the steam as she returned to the couch, feeling herself relax slightly. Her thoughts began to wander, and she found a small part of herself wishing that there was a plant of some kind in Eve's hospital room, so she could check on her, but as quickly as the thought occurred she dismissed it. Eve needed her rest. She would see her tomorrow, during visiting hours, and every day after that while she was in hospital, and then she would bring her home to take care of her. She would always take care of her, and she would never get so close to losing her again.
With these pleasant thoughts in mind, Ivy made her way into Eve's bedroom. She knew Eve wouldn't mind if she slept in her bed - they would only end up sharing it at some point anyway, until they moved away and found a different one to become part of their new home, wherever that ended up being. As she sat down on the mattress and willed the leaves covering her body to recede up into her hair, leaving her bare-skinned and beautiful, she tried to remember the last time she'd slept in a proper bed and couldn't. How strange. It was comfortable, but not too soft, explaining why Eve had always been content with sleeping on the ground or a tree branch. Her home was showing off so much about her that Ivy had never really considered, and she loved it all.
She reclined on the bed like a Greek goddess in a painting, all long limbs and luscious curves, her leaf-filled hair splayed out beneath her in a halo of scarlet. She had pulled the thin top layer of quilt with her, so it was wrapped between her legs and across her body like an elegant robe, and she felt more comfortable than she had in a while. She pointed her finger at the light switch, and a skinny vine that had been hidden in her hair snaked out and across the floor, up the wall, to turn it off and plunge the room into darkness.
At ease, Ivy slept, and her dreams were filled with images of herself and her Evelyn, together, happy, and whole.