The drive to the hospital was agonizing. Kyoya sat in the front of the limo with the driver, trying not to scream at the poor man for driving what he considered to be painfully slow. Haruhi tried to stifle her sobs to no avail; her head was laying in Hikaru's lap with her right arm draped over her eyes. Hikaru played with her hair, hoping the soothing feeling would eventually take over the pain she was in.

"Haruhi, we're almost there. It's going to be okay," Ranka said, sitting on the opposite side of Hikaru and his daughter. She nodded, eyes still covered.

No one said anything the rest of the ride to the emergency room. When they arrived, Kyoya ran inside for help while Ranka and Hikaru got out of the limo. Nurses were quick to bring a stretcher and carefully lifted Haruhi onto it before rushing her inside, Ranka following in long strides behind them.

The rest of the group showed up shortly after. Everyone sat in the waiting room, watching the clock, sitting or pacing in silence.

Eventually, Honey whispered, "Do you think she'll ever dance again?" but no one responded.

Hikaru felt absolutely hopeless. The image of Haruhi lying on the floor of the makeshift ballet studio, and the piercing screams, would not leave his mind. He sat in the hard chair, shaking and tapping his foot in a chaotic rhythm. After what felt like hours, Ranka finally came out to give an update.

"It's not good, but overall it could've been worse," he started. "Her kneecap was dislocated when she came down from her leap, and the way she fell broke it. Thankfully it was a clean break, so recovery won't be as long. The worst part is she also broke her tibia, so we're dealing with a couple problems."

"But how long is recovery?" Mori asked. Ranka sighed. "We're looking at a few months, if not longer. But physically she's in amazing shape, and her legs are the strongest part of her body. Hopefully that'll help speed up the process."

Hikaru felt sick and slumped back into his chair. Months of recovery, meaning no school, no host club, no…

"What about Swan Lake auditions?" Tamaki blurted, as if reading Hikaru's thoughts. Ranka just shook his head.

"I'll be shocked if she ever puts pointe shoes on again. Ballet will never be the same for her."

.xx.

Haruhi woke up a few hours later in a hospital bed, groggy and sore. She slowly blinked, trying to clear her vision, but the white walls and the lights were so damn bright. She groaned and attempted to sit up but felt a sharp pain on her right side. And it all flooded back to her as quickly as it happened. Just then, she heard the door open, and turned to see her friends and father walk in slowly.

"Hey Haru, how are you feeling?" Ranka said before sitting on the edge of her bed.

"I don't know. I hurt, and I'm scared. How bad is it, Dad?"

He looked at her with a pity she'd never seen before. Eyes swelling up with tears, Haruhi choked back a sob as the gravity of her injury set in. The silence was deafening, but it was all she needed. Swallowing hard, she lifted her blanket, exposing the thick cast underneath. It went all the way up her leg, with only her toes peeking out at the bottom. Her mind went numb and she could only stare at the cast in disbelief.

"Don't worry, Haruhi, I'm sure you'll be back on your feet in no time–"

"Back on my feet? I'm sorry, can you not see me? My life is OVER," Haruhi half yelled at Tamaki, frustrated and not ready to hear any kind of encouragement. Her outburst shocked everyone, including herself.

"That's a bit dramatic, Haruhi. You'll only need a few months to fully recover," Kyoya stated. She glared at him. "No, Kyoya-senpai, you're wrong. Sure, my bones will heal, but what about muscle recovery? What about my strength? I just managed to throw all my goals out the window with one stupid mistake!" Haruhi was crying now, angry and unable to control her feelings.

Honey stepped back, tearing up. He'd never seen Haruhi so upset before, and she was positively scary when she was mad. He slipped out of the room, with Mori following behind. Kyoya sighed and also left along with Tamaki. Only Ranka, Hikaru and Karou remained.

"Haru, we understand you're upset, but you don't need to take your frustration out on us. We're here to support you as much as we can," Karou said.

"Right now, I just want to be alone. I want out of this godforsaken hospital, and I want to go home and be alone," Haruhi responded bluntly. Karou looked at Hikaru and retreated from the room. Ranka and Hikaru looked at each other, as if begging one another for help.

"Did I stutter? Can you please just leave?" Haruhi shouted, more tears falling down her cheeks. Ranka stared at her for a moment, before muttering "I'll start your discharge paperwork", leaving HIkaru alone with his daughter. Even he didn't know what to say, as her mentor and as her father.

Haruhi cradled her head in her hands, trying to contain her emotions until she was fully alone. Hikaru slowly took Ranka's place on the bed, with his hand on her left thigh. "Haruhi, I'm so sorry this happened to you. But let's focus on your recovery–"

"Hikaru, please, just leave me. I don't need to hear this right now," Haruhi mumbled.

"I'm not going anywhere, I want to be here."

"Well I don't want you here, just go!" she shouted, shoving his hand off her leg with such force that he stood up, shocked at her reaction. She stared at him, hard, with disdain and venom radiating off her. Hikaru's face was blank, unsure of how to react. After a few moments of tension, he finally left the room. Haruhi, alone at last, started to cry. For herself, for her injury, for lost dreams, and for being so awful to the people she cared for most of all.

.xx.

Exactly two weeks after being discharged, Haruhi sat on the couch of the living room, scrolling through reality show reruns and midday news channels. She was surrounded by snacks; chips, chocolate, things she would've never dreamed of eating before. Now, Ranka gave in to all her demands just to keep the peace. Haruhi was bitter with the situation, and rightfully so, but her short temper was wearing thin on him. It was just easier to give her what she wanted and live in silence rather than screaming.

Ranka walked into the apartment, carrying groceries and shopping bags. He kicked the door closed and threw the bags on the counter, sighing with relief that the heavy burden was out of his arms.

Speaking of burdens, he looked at Haruhi, trying to determine what her mood was now that she was awake. She'd been sleeping in long past what he thought was an acceptable time to wake up. Today, she seemed blank, perhaps even lonely.

"Anything good on today, Haru?" he asked, expecting a battle to commence. Instead, Haruhi just shrugged and mumbled a quiet "not yet". She settled for a documentary on animals and safaris, sinking further into the couch and eating another handful of chips.

Ranka decided her mood was decent, and put away the groceries quickly so he could join her. Most of their days have been quiet, but maybe today was the day that would change. Content with the restocked pantry, he left the kitchen and sat on the opposite side of the couch.

"You know, it's been a couple weeks since you talked to the host club. Maybe we should have them over tonight for board games or movies?" Ranka asked, hoping this wouldn't be the conversation that set Haruhi off.

Instead, Haruhi sighed and muted the TV, leaving lions in the Sahara to fight in silence. She'd been missing the guys terribly, but couldn't bring herself to reach out after the way she acted at the hospital. She knew they were still upset with her, and they had every right to be. She was a true asshole to them. Not even Hikaru tried to contact her these last couple weeks.

"I would love to see them, but they're not real happy with me right now. Not after everything I said," Haruhi said quietly. Ranka knew this, but what he didn't tell Haruhi was that he and Kyoya had been emailing back and forth ever since they got home and planning for everyone to come over to their house for the evening. It was Friday, the group's scheduled day to hang out, and Haruhi was set to go back to school on Monday.

"Well, maybe it would be good to clear the air before going back to Ouran. After all, you'll probably need some help with carrying your books. You have classes with the twins, right?" Haruhi didn't look at her father, but she pondered what he said. She will need some help, and she really does need to apologize for her behavior, she was just afraid her behavior led to consequences she can't fix with a simple 'sorry'. The damage was already done; you couldn't just stick a bandaid over a gaping wound.

"Let's see what they say. Worst case scenario is they say no, then you and I can watch movies and hang out like old times." Haruhi gave him a small smile and nodded. Ranka smiled back, then whipped out his phone and sent Kyoya an email. Haruhi turned the volume back up on the TV, now watching birds fly over a lake.

.xx.

Hikaru and Karou stood outside Haruhi's apartment. They'd been there for a few minutes, debating if they even wanted to ring the doorbell. The rest of the group was running behind, waiting on a pizza order to bring to the apartment. Karou wasn't as upset with Haruhi as Hikaru was, but Hikaru was still agitated with the way Haruhi spoke to him. He knew it wasn't meant to be malicious, and her anger wasn't meant for him, but it still caught him off guard. In the several months of knowing her, he did not expect the sweet girl he'd grown feelings for to be so cruel.

"Hikaru, we have to go inside soon. It's cold!" Karou said, shivering harder with every passing second. It was mid-November now, and fall was changing to winter faster than anticipated. Hikaru was also cold and knew he should just ring the doorbell and face Haruhi, but he couldn't seem to do it.

"Karou, I don't know if I'm ready to see her. You don't know how she looked at me in the hospital. I can't stop thinking about it."

"You have to see her sometime. Kyoya said she's coming back to classes on Monday, it's better to get the apologies out of the way now."

"Yeah, but I don't know if I'm ready to accept any apologies yet. I'm still pretty heated about it."

"Well, you can stand out here all you want, I'm ringing the doorbell." Before Hikaru could protest, Karou smacked the doorbell with more force than he wanted. A few moments later, Ranka opened the door, dressed in pink pajamas and white slippers.

"Hello Karou, Hikaru, come in," he said, moving out of the way to allow the boys through. Karou walked in first, thanking Ranka and removing his jacket and shoes. Hikaru trudged in behind him, mumbling a quiet 'thank you' before doing the same.

Haruhi looked over at the door and sat up. Karou gave her a big smile before skipping over and giving her an awkward sideways hug. She looked at Hikaru over Karou's shoulder; he was staring at her, shifting uncomfortably in the entryway.

Ranka, feeling the tension, excused himself to start making tea in the kitchen. Karou sat on the opposite side of the couch with a sigh of relief to be in the warm space. Haruhi, still looking at Hikaru, spoke first.

"Are you going to come inside?"

Hikaru slowly made his way to her, standing next to the couch where she sat. Karou looked back and forth between them, feeling awkward himself. "I think I'm going to help Ranka with the tea!" He quickly bolted for the kitchen, leaving Hikaru and Haruhi alone.

"Listen, I need–"

"Haruhi, we have to–"

Both teens stopped talking, trying to allow the other to continue first, but the result just ended in more discomfort. Haruhi sighed, patting a small space on the couch next to her. Hikaru sat down, trying not to sit directly on her in the process. After a moment, he found a comfortable position and looked at her, uneasy.

"Hikaru, I need to apologize for the way I treated you at the hospital. I was, and still am, angry about the situation. And I know that's not an excuse, and I should've never lashed out at you like that. I'm so, so sorry."

Hikaru grunted. "You know, I was really scared for you, Haruhi. I watched and heard the whole thing. It was terrifying. And I sat in the waiting room, not knowing what Ranka was going to say when he finally came out. Even though I knew you were going to be okay, seeing you in the hospital bed was one of the worst things I've ever experienced."

Haruhi swallowed hard, feeling herself tear up. She really, really hurt him.

"I just need you to know that you really tore me up inside, Haruhi. I didn't expect you to treat me like that." Hikaru looked at her, his eyes hard, but somehow soft at the same time. "I accept your apology, but I still don't know if I'm ready to fully forgive you."

"I know that I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I will do everything I can to make it right and earn back your trust. I'm so sorry again, Hikaru." Haruhi felt a few tears fall on her cheeks, despite her efforts to hold it together. Hikaru brushed his thumb against her cheek, wiping away what he could. The movement felt incredibly natural.

"I know, Haruhi. It'll be okay, it just hurts right now." He leaned his forehead onto hers in a caring manner and closed his eyes. Haruhi closed her eyes too, taking in the brief moment.

"Who's ready for tea?!" Ranka exclaimed in a sing-song voice, carrying a small tray with a few mugs and cookies. Hikaru sat upright, removing his hand from Haruhi's face. Haruhi missed the contact, but was also a bit embarrassed that her father walked in on what felt like a private moment.

Ranka must've felt the same way, because he just stood there, mouth agape. "Ahem, well, here's tea, oh Karou, let me help you with…whatever you're doing!" As quickly as he appeared, he disappeared back into the kitchen.

After a moment, Haruhi couldn't help but chuckle, resulting in Hikaru laughing with her. He turned to look at her again, this time with a softer expression. "The rest of the guys should be here soon, do you want to pick a few board games to play?" Haruhi nodded, genuinely smiling for the first time in weeks. Tonight was exactly what she needed. Hikaru, finally relieved that he and Haruhi were speaking again, was thinking the same thing.

.xx.

Wow, friends! It's been a long ass time since I've contributed anything at all to this story. A friend of mine and I were talking about our old stories, and I decided to revisit Blackbird. Amazingly, I still love the idea and even remember how I wanted this story to play out!

Six years is a long time, but I'm hoping some of you are still along for this journey, and I'm hoping to hear from new folks as well! Please let me know if you'd like me to continue, and I promise I'll do everything I can to stay motivated to see this story through. Thanks for reading!