Disclaimer: I own nothing...
A/N: Did you expect an update this soon? I couldn't leave you hanging and to those that have my Facebook I allowed them to cheerlead me through another chapter so they could have get this update ;) So I dedicate this to them =P
Enjoy! And thank you!
Beauty and the Beast – Chapter Twenty-Three
Opening her eyes, Ana felt disconnected from her body like every sense and limb was discombobulated from one another. Her arms and legs felt heavy, and her head was swimming in a heavy fog. This wasn't the effects of a sedative anymore. She opened her eyes to blurred movement and muffled noises and she closed them again. Slowly she blinked on and off to cheer her vision but, all she could muster was Christian's copper hair seemingly hovering above her. It was then she heard the familiar sound of bleeping heart monitor and she knew something had either happened to her when she passed out from all of the screaming or she had dreamt the most horrible nightmare possible.
"Hey, beautiful," Christian grinned as he saw Ana's eyes open and he shot her grin. He was more than ecstatic she was awake now.
"Was it a dream?" She asked, not caring that her voice was minimal and she felt like absolute crap.
"Was what a dream?" Christian asked and he leaned his arm over the top of her head, running his hand over her hair.
"Where everyone left me," she stated and licked her lips to help with the dryness on them.
"We're still here," Kate stated, jumping in to aid the statement. "There's nowhere else we need to be than right here with you. Nothing you're going to do will stop that."
Ana gave a tired smile and tried to move her head but, the soreness in her neck prevented her from moving. She remembered what the surgery was for and she felt her heart ache in her chest. She just prayed it was a success. Moving her hand up, she found it unbound and free and she went to swipe away at the oxygen cannula propped under her nose.
"Leave it," Grace spoke from above her suddenly, Kate now replaced.
Looking up as Grace checked over the IV bags above her, she found that Grace was smiling at her. That had to be a good sign, right? Bringing her gaze down she closed her eyes exhausted and just lay there for a moment well aware of Christian's hand in hers. She then felt the blood pressure cuff around her arm tighten and she just lay there waiting for the foggy cloud clinging to her to start to lift and disappear.
"How are you feeling?" Grace asked as she jotted Ana's blood pressure day and released the pressure from the cuff.
"Tired," Ana rasped back, opening her eyes to a clearer view of everyone sitting around her bed. "Really tired and confused," she stated and furrowed her brow.
Grace smirked knowingly having seen multiple patients feel like this over the years, "Totally normal, sweetie. If you feel the need to sleep it'll help greatly believe me." She looked to Christian and saw his worrying expression slowly lifting. She leaned down to Ana so she could focus more on her, "You're under double observations but, I reckon you could sleep through most of it."
Ana just nodded, slowly caving to the analgesics floating alongside her blood cells. She was happy everyone was here and not leaving her right now and she would greatly sleep knowing that. It was reinforced as Christian's lips dotted kisses to her knuckles and she couldn't help the smile that played onto her lips.
"I told you my girl would pull through," Ray commented as he watched Ana sleeping. It was different now. Before they had been waiting for her to wake up and speak after the surgery. Now with her asleep, it was just sleeping off the anaesthesia in her system. "How about you go and get some rest, Christian?"
"I can't leave her," Christian refused without thought. "I won't leave without her knowing about it first."
"Christian, you're going to crash and burn soon," Grace stated to her son, worried to see him collapse because of the stress and exhaustion he was going through.
Christian ran a hand tirelessly over his face, feeling his stumble pushing through, readying to show his neglect of his personal care, "I'll be in the right place if I do so."
Grace sighed, "Would Ana want that though?" She asked and she saw Christian's expression answer everything. "No, she wouldn't. She is worried enough about her own future, she doesn't need to worry about you on top of that."
"I just can't leave her," Christian stated, his tone begging them all to just leave him be. "I just need to be near her." He looked up at his mother, his eyes watering and he no longer cared if he was a weaker man right now. He just didn't care anymore. "She nearly died and all because I couldn't get over myself to show her off to the world. She is perfect and she is my other half and I'm hers. I know I am but, we did the wrong thing and we lied and because of that she nearly got killed. I can't leave her. I can't let her down any more than I have."
"You didn't let her down," Carla spoke up not seeing that statement from Christian as true. "She apologised for the same mistake but, Christian she loves you and it's more than apparent that you love her with your entire heart. These things happen and we can only use them as the moment to change things."
"When I get my hands on viable evidence to string around Kaitlyn's neck things will change," Christian spoke in a frustrated heated tone. "That woman deserves more than a fucking jail sentence for this."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Beauty and the Beast -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Opening her eyes again, Ana immediately found her vision cleared and the limbs feeling like they were joint to her body. Taking in a deep breath, she found she felt miles better as it was and she just needed to see Christian. She had to see if he had left her but, as she turned her head she saw him sleeping soundly and yet awkwardly beside her.
"He won't leave," Kate yawned from Ana's other side forcing her head to turn. "We tried but, he wouldn't budge so we left him."
"He needs to go home and rest," Ana spoke tiredly and her worry bubble that shrouded Christian only grew. She gave a few prolonged blinks and looked to Kate again. "What about you?"
"I'm not leaving," Kate confirmed and crossed her arms over her chest and gave Ana a stern look. "Christian and I are like the male and female version of one another when it comes to you. Stand our ground, remain unmoved and attack anyone that means you harm."
Ana gave a small smile at that thought and she looked over to her sleeping Christian, "he really does love me."
"He really does love you," Kate affirmed the sentence with much pride. "I think the public would have eaten you up. You're perfect together." Kate spoke but, Ana become silent and withdrawn. "Ana, seriously, you need to take a look at this from our point of view. He will show you off to the world and show everyone that no one shines a light even close to you."
"I don't want to be shown off to the world," Ana admitted meekly and turned her gaze to Kate. "I never really did. That was another reason we kept quiet. I was never ready for the limelight that followed Christian. Now I really don't want it and he can't have a secret wife that no one see's."
"You'll feel better after you see the outcome of this surgery and plus, Christian would love you regardless of what you look like," Kate comforted her friend. "Plus, we all win as a result of this surgery. You can see how well it went and we can see you getting some of you back. It's all we want." Kate tried to gauge Ana's reaction but, she couldn't fully do so. "Ana, c'mon, girl, what's really bugging you here?"
"I didn't want the surgery," Ana confessed and raised a hand to her mouth to smother her sob. "I did it for everyone," she continued to cough up her confessions like she was a sinner in church. "I just wanted everyone happy." She looked to Kate, daring to look her dead in the eyes and see what she had just caused to erupt. "Please don't tell anyone, Kate. Please, they don't need to know."
"Oh, Ana," Kate was crying with her best friend, closing the gap to wrap her hands around Ana's supportively. "Why didn't you just do what made you happy?"
"I-I thought making you lot happy would do that," Ana fessed up more and tried to calm herself, "It didn't work."
The last thing Ana remembered as she broke down was Kate climbing onto the bed and soothingly wrapping her arms around her to rocking her to sleep. When she woke up she was still curled into someone but, this time it was Christian's arms around her, his chest her face was against and his smell that kept her calm.
"You okay?" Christian asked, sensing her waking up.
"Yeah," Ana replied and reframed from moving. "Was the operation a success?"
"Yes," he started, kissing into her hair. "You slept through the rest of yesterday afternoon so the doctor's coming by with Grace this morning to check you over."
"Okay," she nodded and just became quieter. It was a success and she felt like a failure. It was becoming an increasingly joint outcome right now.
"Ana, what's the matter?" Christian noticed that Ana was panicking and looking around, tallying up everyone's response.
"Just a bad dream," she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.
Christian moved then, moved enough to get her lying down and enable him to look at her. "What dream?"
Ana's lip trembled again, the thought hurting her, "Everyone left me. They hated what I had become. You left me as well. You cut all ties to me," Ana began to cry again, her loose emotions untangling so easily. "I had attacked people with a scalpel and everyone just left me because I wasn't me."
"You didn't do that," Christian stated to calm her woes. "You do realise that right?" He saw her nod and he gave her a smile. "Do you remember what happened before they put you under?" He asked and saw the panic cause an uproar in her eyes. "You had a panic attack but, you calmed completely once you were under. That was the only hiccup the surgeon could report when he came to us after getting you comfortable in recovery."
"That's it?" Ana asked cautiously, "It was a good operation?"
"I'd say it was a terrific operation," Doctor Marsden said as he entered the room. He gave a smile as he came in with Grace and it appeared that Ana's parents were just arriving as well. "I wish more of my patients sailed through an operation like you did, Ana."
Ana pushed a smile out but, she wasn't confident about him being here and she wasn't in the mood to be joyous.
"Now, do you mind me taking a look?" He asked and she shook her head. "I'll be quick and we can get you resting again but, I think if we don't have any more hiccups then you'll be looking at eligibility to have all scars revised."
"Oh, that is wonderful news," Carla exclaimed happily, grabbing her husband's hand. "Isn't it, Ana?"
"I guess," she muttered and could the elation on everyone's face.
"Right let's do this," Doctor Marsden took control and ordered for a nurse to bring in clean bandages whilst he took off the post-op bandage.
Ana surveyed everyone's reaction as she felt her surgeon pull away the surgeon and from their expressions they were telling her it was a good outcome. It was the first time she had seen them with so much positivity in their eyes and it pained her. She had sacrificed what she wanted to see them smile again.
She had thought it would work on her mood but, it didn't. How did she get over the fact that they were only happier because her scar looked better? They were happier for any other reason. They were happier that she was less damaged.
Even with her crippling emotions she pressed through, "I'm guessing it looks different?"
"Oh, Annie, it looks miles better," Ray grinned happily. "If one surgery does this imagine what a few more could do."
"You look amazing," Carla said with a watery smile, Grace in quick agreement.
"Always my beautiful, Ana," Christian grinned broadly at her.
She was getting back to being some form of beautiful so why did she feel like an ugly duckling still? Why did it feel wrong to be giving less scarring after such a vicious attack? Ana dwelled for a moment to try and make sense but, all she could deduce was that doing the surgery for everyone else but, herself was causing her more grief that ever.
Don't Flynn's words echoed in her mind and she now felt like fraud for not listening to sound advice. Ana, don't push for anyone but you with this. You start to do that and you'll only find yourself wanting to escape. It was too late to listen to that voice.
Her family were happier with the outcome and that should be what mattered. She was accepted again for being normal in the eyes of everyone around her. Exactly what she had wanted to get back in her life but, it appeared no one noticed how unhappy Ana felt with herself.
At the end of it all, they would subject her to whatever other surgeries until she was near perfect.
And it only further broke her heart to feel unaccepted by her own family.