Chapter 21 already :) Very dramatic and hopefully entertaining ;) All in Vaughn's P.O.V throughout this chapter, hope you enjoy. Oh and thanks for the review :D Disclaimer – I do not own Harvest Moon or any of its characters.
Chapter 21 – Vaughn's P.O.V
I opened the baby blue double doors and my eyes rested upon Chelsea. She was hooked up to a ton of wires and had a heart monitor by her bed. My heart threw up in my mouth then stopped beating all together, how could I let her get this bad? Walking over slowly I stood next to her and stroked her soft hand. Her eyes were shut but frantically moved under her eyelids, it was as if she knew I was there. Suddenly the doors opened and I took a step back as Denny moved in and walked quickly over to Chelsea's limp body where he took her other hand and kissed her forehead.
"Chelsea, it's me Denny" He whispered into her hair. Her eyes stopped moving and she froze still. Denny let out a sob and buried his face into her hair. This was awkward. I wasn't the type to comfort people, especially full grown men. I moved in closer to the bed again as the doctor came through the door. I turned to face him as his eyes fired across the page he held in his hands like he was watching a live tennis match.
"Mr Thomas isn't it?" He asked turning to me. I nodded and moved my gaze so I looked into his eyes. I could tell by the way he squirmed that my gaze was cold, didn't bother me too much.
"It seems that Chelsea has a lot of Carbon Monoxide in her system … " He said pushing the paper into the clipboard at the bottom of the bed before turning to face her.
"She has Carbon Monoxide poisoning. The chances of her waking up is very little and if she comes round there could be a chance she is brain damaged," He turned to face me again. "We try to prepare people for the worst case scenario Mr Thomas, I'm sorry." I nodded. It felt like someone had just taken a knife and thrust it into my abdominal. Chelsea never waking up? There was no chance, no way. Chelsea was a fighter, of course she'd wake up. Denny let out a louder sob and a small whale.
"Mr Holloway could I go over all the details again in the hallway?" The doc asked turning to a crying Denny. He nodded, sniffed and then followed the doctor out of the room into the corridor. As soon as they left I took hold of Chelsea's hand again and moved the chair closer to the bed. Her eyes began to move under her eyelids again at the touch of my hand.
"Chelsea Edwards" I sighed tracing the outline of the veins on her fragile hand. I moved my gaze to her face where a wire fed oxygen through her nose.
"Chelsea you're going to wake up. I know you are. Do you know why?" I asked squeezing her hand.
"Because I love you Chelsea Edwards" Her heart monitor suddenly started beeping frantically and her breathing increased rapidly. I began stroking her hand and leant over to whisper into her ear.
"Everything's going to be alright." I whispered before letting go of her hand as the doctors rushed in and ushered me outside. Denny's face was a sight to behold. He had tears streaming down his face and was trying to see what was happening.
"What happened?" He snivelled. I moved my gaze from the double doors to him and stared at him.
"She's going to be fine," I said, not showing any emotion. He turned to me and searched my face for answers.
"How do you know that?" He asked, wondering if I knew something he didn't. I shrugged it off.
"Because it's Chelsea." I said. It was a valid reason but slowly his face fell. He didn't have enough confidence in her. That's why he was an utter prick. One of the doctors soon joined us and confirmed that she had stabilised. He paused for a while before turning to us.
"We suspect that there must be something wrong with a house appliance but we can't know for certain until we send out an investigator … I don't suppose either of you two have recently spent a night at Chelsea's house because if you have we need to get you checked straight away." His words slapped me in the face and all of a sudden the colour drained from my face.
"No of course not." Denny whimpered, completely wrapped up in the doctor's words and diagnosis. Damn it. My stomach flipped as my mind raced back to just a couple night before. I had gone extremely quiet, not sure if I should say something or not. Then both of their eyes moved to mine. Denny's accusingly and the Doctor's concerned. He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Mr Thomas. Have you stayed a long period of time at Chelsea's within the past couple of days?" He asked again, waiting for an answer. I swallowed nervously and shook my head … slowly. Denny relaxed in his chair but the doctor still eyed me carefully. He wrote something down before walking off. I followed him with my gaze before he disappeared around the corner.
"I'm gonna go find summit to eat." I said turning to Denny. His tear stricken face turned to me and nodded understandably. I stood up off the chair and casually walked the same route as the doctor. As soon I was around the corner I picked up my pace and caught up with the doctor. Tapping him on the shoulder he turned around and greeted me.
"Mr Thomas?" He asked looking at me as a group of nurses scurried past. I looked at the ground awkwardly and rubbed the back of my neck.
"I kinda stayed overnight the other day" I admitted, looking at the pattern on the floor. The Doctor nodded understandably and checked through the papers in his hands.
"Come this way Mr Thomas" He said turning swiftly the right and picking up a nurse on the way. They began talking in medical terms as I tuned out and concentrated on Chelsea. Of course she was going to get better. My Chels was a fighter; there was no way she wouldn't wake up. I could see her blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight and reflecting the love she held inside. We stopped at another set of double doors and I was lead inside. The nurse pointed to a seat as she continued her chat with the doctor. I took the seat and stared at the floor, hopefully Denny wouldn't suspect anything. They finished chatting and the doctor pulled up a seat opposite me while the nurse began to mess about with some equipment in the corner.
"Right so Mr Thomas, when was the last time you were at Miss Edwards?" He asked holding the pen ready on the paper. This wasn't awkward at all.
"A few days ago … I don't know when exactly" I muttered. I felt awkward without my hat to cover my face; it was easier to deal with talking to people with it on. The doctor nodded and scribbled stuff down on the paper.
"And how long did you spend there?" He asked not moving his gaze from his forms. I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly again.
"Overnight" I replied quietly. I could tell I was blushing, my face was burning up. Damn emotions. Doc nodded and repeated the word yeah a dozen times before placing it down on his knee. He motioned for the nurse to come over; she brought a large needle with her and a sterilizing kit. She took hold of my right sleeve and began to role it up so it was just above my elbow.
"Final question Mr Thomas, are you and Mrs Edwards in a sexual relationship?" He asked looking into my eyes. My face heated up and the nurse began to wipe my arm. I couldn't get up and storm out with the needle so close to my skin.
"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked as I eyed the needle growing closer to my unprotected arm.
"Necessary information to determine the relationship between you and Miss Edwards," He said matter-of-factly. I glared at him with a cold stare. Suddenly I felt the needle penetrate the flesh on my arm. Looking down I watched as the needle filled with my blood.
"I guess so," I muttered as the needle was withdrawn from my arm and the nurse placed a cotton wool bud onto the tiny pinprick. The doctor nodded and wrote this new information down. I turned to face him.
"Don't breath a word of this to the guy I was with outside." I said staring intently at him. The doctor nodded and stood up. The nurse placed the needle into a container and handed it to the doc. I kept the wool pressed against my forearm as the doctor turned back around to me.
"You can return to the waiting room now Mr Thomas, we will return with the blood results shortly." He smiled opening the door for me. I grunted and walked down the corridor, back to the waiting area outside Chelsea's room. As I turned back around the corner I noticed that Denny wasn't sat on any of the chairs. They must have let visitors back into Chels room. Moving closer I heard a faint voice coming from within. Stopping, I placed my ear close to the door and listened in.
"Chelsea please wake up. I need you with me; I've got so much I want to share with you. If you wake up I'm going to take you away with me and we will get married and have kids and we can spend the rest of our lives together." Denny let out a loud whimper and sobbed. I waited a few seconds before opening the doors and walking in. Denny suddenly stood up and wiped his eyes before taking a seat on the blue plastic chair. I bowed my head slightly and took a seat on the sofa in the corner of the room. Denny's eyes followed me as I kicked my legs up and leant against the white wall.
"What did you do to your arm?" He asked, his gaze focused on my arm where I still held the cotton wool bud. I looked down and slowly moved the cotton away. There was no mark, just a little blood on the bud. I stuffed the cotton wool bud into my pocket before turning back to Denny.
"I caught it on the door" I mumbled rolling down the sleeve to my top. Denny closed his eyes and leant back in the chair. I looked over at him; he had bags under his eyes.
"Denny. Aren't you due back at the islands on tomorrow evening?" I asked. He opened his eyes slowly and stared at me.
"I can't leave her." His voice was hoarse and quiet, I nodded understandingly.
"But what about the jobs people are relying on you?" I asked staring at him as warmly as I could. He turned to face Chelsea and stroked her hand.
"I can't … I can't do it." He eventually said, breaking the silence of the room. I closed my eyes and nodded.
"You know I'm in the city till Wednesday ..." I mumbled, trying to hint without making it sound obvious. He then sat up straight in his chair and looked at me.
"Vaughn …" He asked. "Would you look after Chels if I had to go back to the islands?" His eyes looked straight into mine and smiled weakly. I nodded and rested my head back onto the wall, closing my eyes. It was already around 10PM and I was frickin knackered.
Vaughn's P.O.V –
I sat on the chair staring at Chelsea. She looked so fragile wired up to all those machines. All I wanted to do was pick her up and run away with her, hold her tight and never let anything hurt her. Reaching out I grabbed her hand and stroked it. Suddenly the doors burst open and a small brown haired girl walked in, mascara running down her face. Denny soon followed and stood near the door. The brown hair girl ran over to Chelsea and took a seat at the bottom of the bed.
"Oh Chelsea" She sobbed stroking her leg. "Chelsea Jill's here. It's me." She cried as her tears fell onto the sheets. I turned to face her, she had purple eyes and had chocolate brown hair tied up into a pony tail. I knitted my eyebrows together and looked at Denny; he was staring at Chelsea's limp body. The doors suddenly opened, scaring Denny, as the doctor walked in. He walked over to Chelsea and checked all the monitors before checking the clipboard at the bottom of the bed.
"Chelsea is still stabilized but isn't showing any signs of waking soon," He announced turning to Denny who had now moved closer to the bed. I nodded and turned my gaze back to Chelsea while Jill let out a loud sob. The doc's gaze then switched to me.
"Mr Thomas, please may I see you for a second?" He asked. I nodded and stood up. Letting go of Chelsea's hand I let Jill take my place as I followed the doctor outside. Denny's eyebrows knitted together in confusion as we walked out of the doors.
"Ahhh. Vaughn isn't it?" He asked turning through the papers.
"Yep" I nodded sticking my hands into my pockets and kicking the ground. His face found mine as he pulled out a specific piece of paper.
"Your blood tests came through and it turns out that you're perfectly fine." I let out a sigh of relief and bowed my head.
"Thanks" I muttered turning back around to walk into the room again but was interrupted by the doctor.
"Chelsea's body seems to be rejecting the medication we are giving her" I froze, halfway through a step.
"We will try and give her more in the morning but if it doesn't go well she might never wake up" He added. Another lump rose in my throat and my eyes began to sting. I nodded and walked off. Standing outside the big double doors I wiped the corner on my eyes with the end of my sleeve and rested my head on the wall. I couldn't lose Chelsea; I wouldn't be able to function. The only reason I got through my week was knowing I got to see her for two whole days. Her smile lit up my world; I hadn't felt this happy in a long time. Rubbing my face in my hands I stood up and walked through the doors. Denny was now sat in the felt chair while Jill stood by her bed. Walking to the free space next to Jill I looked down at Chelsea. Apart from the thousands of wires covering her body and the annoying beeping from her blood sugar level, she looked like she was sleeping. Jill then sniffed and rested her head on my arm. I cringed at her touch. If you couldn't tell - I wasn't a people person. Awkwardly shifting, I slowly slipped away from the bed and took my seat back on the sofa and rested my head on the arm as I stretched out my legs. Chelsea would wake up, I know she would.
Carbon Monoxide poisoning … Dun dun duhhh ;) So what do you think of this chapter? Thanks for the reviews and followers :) Tell me what you think and please stay tuned for the next chapter x