A/N
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Cheers.
Chapter 7 – I love you
Piper barely remembers driving to the hospital, the night was all a blur. Except for the part where she had to get Lucy, who had already fallen asleep while waiting for Alex to come to bed, stereo on in the back ground. Knowing Lucy was there, waiting for Alex to come to bed so she could curl up with her, then having to wake her so they could go to the hospital, it broke Piper's heart.
Piper now found herself in the hospital waiting room, stroking Lucy's hair as she lay in Piper's lap. Piper just could not process what was happening, and Lucy was completely inconsolable. Alex was everything to her, Lucy could not stand the thought of someone hurting her sister so much. Diane was pacing the room in front of them, she hadn't said much since Alex was admitted. Danny walked back into the waiting room and handed Diane a coffee, "Thanks Danny." He then handed one to Piper. Piper was really worried about Diane, she had never seen her so quiet. Piper wanted to get her to speak, but at the same time didn't want to push her. As Piper started to drink her coffee, Lucy sat up and looked at Danny, "Piper told me you're a doctor, will my sister be ok?"
Danny knelt down in front of Lucy so he was at her eye level, "She will be ok, but she'll need to stay in the hospital for a while."
"But I can't sleep without her," Lucy looked like she was about to start crying again.
"Let's just wait and see what the doctors say, then we'll know how long they'll let you stay with her tonight."
Then finally, after what felt like an eternity, a doctor walked towards them. "You're here for Alex Vause?"
Diane rushed towards the doctor, "Yes, I'm her mother. How is she?"
"Well, your daughter will need to stay in the hospital for a while, but she'll be ok. She's suffering from a severe concussion and extensive bruising to her neck. She got four stitches to the cut on her head, but that should heal nicely. The damage to her neck is making it hard for her to breathe properly, so we'll need to keep her on oxygen for a while."
"When can we see her?" Lucy was desperate to see Alex.
"She's just woken up, so you can go see her now, but not for too long". Lucy was not satisfied with this answer.
"But I can't sleep without her, please you have to let me stay," Diane could tell from that tone in her voice that she had no chance of getting Lucy to leave the hospital tonight.
"Please, this is Alex's sister, they're very close. Is it at all possible to let us stay in her room tonight?"
"I'll see what I can do, but no promises. She's down this hall in room 22. Also, the pain medicine will make her a little groggy, but that's nothing to worry about. And encourage her to not speak, we need to give those bruised areas a chance to heal." With that, the doctor gave them a small smile before he walked down the hall. Danny stood up, "Why don't you three go to her room, I'll wait here."
"Don't be stupid, come with us, I'm really grateful for what you did for us tonight," Diane then took Lucy by the hand and led her down the hall. Piper and Danny followed close behind, Danny put his arm around Piper, trying to reassure her.
Piper braced herself as they walked into the room and she saw Alex lying there. She had a very swollen black eye and bruises running down the side of her face. Her neck looked horrible, dark blotches covering it. She had an oxygen mask covering her face and an IV in her hand, she was asleep.
Lucy immediately ran over to the bed and rest her head on Alex's arm, holding onto her for dear life. Alex stirred at the touch, she tried to speak but it came out as barely a whisper, she had tears in her eyes and kept her gaze on Diane. Diane put her hand on Alex's shoulder, "It's ok baby, don't try and talk just yet. The doctor said you need to rest up." Diane looked down at her daughter, it felt like she could feel her heart shattering into a million pieces. "I'm so sorry Ally, I should have done something," Diane had tears streaming down her face. Piper came up behind her, pulling the older woman into a hug, "This isn't your fault Diane, don't say things like that." Piper ended the hug and pulled a chair next to the hospital bed for Diane to sit on. Piper walked to the other side of the bed and held Alex's hand. Alex was struggling to keep her eyes open, "It's just the pain medication Pipes, it'll make her pretty tired, she needs to sleep." Danny tried to reassure his sister again. Piper bent down to kiss Alex on the forehead and whisper into her ear, "I love you Alex." She didn't know if Alex could hear her, but she needed to say it. She was trying to keep it together for Diane and Lucy, but in reality all she wanted to do was crawl into a corner and cry. She was so thankful Danny was with her, she didn't know how she would have coped tonight without him.
Diane turned to Lucy, she looked exhausted, "Lucy, why don't you go home with Piper and get some sleep hey?"
"No, no you can't make me leave. I was meant to sleep in Alex's room tonight, you can't make me go home without her!" It killed Diane to see Lucy like this, she bent down to sweep her into a hug. Lucy buried her face in Diane's hair and cried.
"I'll go check with the doctor, they might let you stay with Alex tonight," Danny then walked into the hallway to find someone to speak with, he needed to feel useful. Lucy went back to the edge of the bed and held onto Alex's hand, "I want to stay with you Ally, I'm scared…."
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Danny walked back into the room with a small smile on his face, "Good news Lucy, you're allowed to stay with Alex tonight. Reckon you can sleep on the couch in the corner?" Lucy just nodded at him, but didn't move from Alex's bedside. A nurse then came into the room, she started checking on Alex, which seemed to worry Lucy, "Is she ok?"
"She's doing very well sweetie, she just needs a lot of rest." Lucy just nodded at the nurse before returning her attention to Alex. "Sorry folks, but I'm going to need to ask anyone that's not family to head home for the night. But visiting hours start again at 10 am tomorrow, and she'll also be a bit more awake then."
Diane pulled Piper into a tight hug, "Sorry you can't stay Piper, it's a stupid fucking rule,"
"It's ok Diane, I'll come back in the morning, bring you two some breakfast." She hesitated before she continued, "What about the police?"
Diane sighed, "They'll be back in the morning to speak to Alex, the doctor wouldn't let them see her tonight." Piper just nodded, looking back at Alex, she felt completely lost, unsure about what would happen with the police and how much Alex would tell them. She was soon pulled out of her thoughts when Diane gave her a hug.
"Thank you sweetie, thank you for being there for us tonight." Piper just nodded, said goodbye to Lucy and then left the room with Danny.
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Piper led Danny into her apartment, she felt empty, "Sorry Danny, I just realised I don't even have a bed for you to sleep in."
"Hey, don't be silly, the couch will be perfect."
"How long do you think she'll be in hospital for?"
"I'm not sure, maybe a week or so…..Piper, what happened tonight?"
Piper was struggling to hold back her tears, "I don't even really know." All she did know was that Robbie was responsible, and that she hated him. Piper spent half the night up with Danny, explaining the situation with Robbie as much as she could. She was so tired, but just like Lucy, she felt like she just couldn't sleep without Alex close by.
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Alex could feel the sun light on her face and tried to open her eyes, "Fuck!" she thought to herself, her head was pounding and her neck was stiff. She managed to move her head enough to see her mum asleep in a chair next to her bed and Lucy sleeping on a couch in the corner. She was trying to remember what happened, but the pain in her head and neck made it impossible for her to think straight. She then noticed another body in the room, there was a nurse at the end of her bed writing in her chart, "Hi Alex, I'm Nurse Peters. It's very early in the morning, don't try to speak yet. Looks like the pain woke you up, I can give you a bit more pain relief if it's bad." Alex just nodded at the nurse before she drifted off to sleep again.
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Alex had spent most of the last two days sleeping, waking up occasionally but never for long. Piper spent as much time at the hospital as she could. She had to call the library first thing Sunday morning to let them know what happened. Her boss was supportive and told her to take off as much time as she needed. Lucy refused to go to school on Monday, but on Tuesday Diane managed to convince her to go. Piper felt horrible for that poor kid, Danny tried to reassure her that Alex was ok and just needed to rest, but it had been nearly impossible to get Lucy to leave the hospital.
It was Wednesday morning and Piper sat in the chair next to Alex's bed, gently holding her hand, moving her thumb over the soft skin. Piper was relieved Alex would be ok, but she missed talking to her so much, and she hated seeing her in pain. Just as Piper was about to go get a coffee, she felt Alex squeeze her hand softly, "Alex, baby can you hear me?" Alex opened her eyes slowly and looked at Piper, smiling softly as she nodded in reply. They had taken her off oxygen yesterday as her breathing and oxygen levels had improved. She was still struggling to speak, but the doctor said that would get better as the swelling went down.
"I'm sorry Pipes," Alex managed to get out in a whisper, a few silent tears rolling down her cheeks. Piper leaned over the side of the bed and kissed Alex on the lips.
"You have nothing to apologise for, don't say that. I'm just so glad you're ok."
"If I'd just kept my mouth shut this wouldn't have happened. I didn't mean for it to go this far." Alex couldn't stop feeling horrible about putting her family through this. Piper hated seeing Alex look so broken.
"No Alex, nothing you said or did justifies what he did to you." Alex just tightened her grip on Piper's hand.
"I love you Pipes, but I feel like I don't deserve you right now." Hearing Alex say these words for the first time took Piper by surprise, but she didn't hesitate in her response, "I love you too Al." She leaned over to kiss her girlfriend again, and then gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"How are you feeling today?"
"Definitely better, still pretty sore though."
"Your face is looking a lot better today, your eye was so swollen on the weekend."
"Is Danny still around?"
"Yeah, he's staying at my place. He refused to leave after what happened. Honestly, Al, I don't know what I would've done without him these last few days."
"I know, I'm really grateful for everything he's done. What about Lucy and mum?"
Piper sighed, "Lucy took it hard, she's struggling to understand what happened. But she was adamant that she was staying with you. Diane managed to convince her to go to school yesterday." Piper paused for a moment, "Your mum…I'm worried about her Al. She blames herself for everything, and being questioned by the police just made her withdraw even more."
"I need to talk to her."
"You only have to ask if you want me to help, ok?"
"I know, thanks Pipes. So I guess I'll need to speak to the police eventually."
"Yeah, they've been coming around every day but you weren't up to talking, the pain meds really knocked you out. I'll be here the whole time, I won't let you do this alone."
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Piper spent all of Wednesday with Alex, it felt so good to speak to her again. Piper read to Alex for a while until she fell asleep, and Piper took the opportunity to take a nap on the couch. She woke up late in the afternoon with Lucy nudging her, "Hi Piper."
"Hi Lucy, how was school?"
"Boring. How's Alex today?"
"She's doing a lot better," Lucy smiled at this response and sat down next to Piper.
"How are you?"
"I'm doing a lot better too, it was nice to speak to Alex today." This response seemed to make Lucy happy and she snuggled into Piper's side, trying to get comfortable. Diane then walked into the room.
"Hi sweetie, thought you could use one of these," said Diane as she handed Piper a coffee.
"Thanks Diane."
Alex was still sleeping, but woke up suddenly as she heard her family's voices, gasping as she tried to forget the bad dream she'd just had. Diane quickly stepped over to her daughter's bedside, "You ok Ally?" Diane wiped the sweaty dark hair from her daughter's brow.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine."
"It's so good to see you feeling better, a few more days and you can probably come home."
"Thank god, I hate being stuck in here." Alex then took hold of her mum's hand, just searching for that feeling of reassurance Diane always gave her. Alex felt so bad for putting Diane through this, but she'd need to wait until they were alone to speak to her properly. Lucy jumped off the couch as soon as she saw Alex was awake, "Ally!" she shouted as she practically jumped into the hospital bed.
"Hey Luce." Alex was so relieved to see her sister smiling.
"I missed you so much Ally. Maybe I can stay here with you tomorrow instead of going to school?" Lucy looked at Diane for permission.
"Why don't we just wait and see." Diane was so relieved to see Lucy happy again, she had been devastated since it all happened.
"Why don't you lie with me for a bit, keep me company and you can catch me up on school." Lucy took off her shoes and carefully slid into the bed next to Alex. "It's ok kid, I'm feeling a lot better today, put your head here," said Alex as she tapped her shoulder. Lucy carefully placed her head on Alex's shoulder as she lay on her side and wrapped an arm around Alex. Alex wrapped her own arm around Lucy as they lay next to each other and Lucy started talking her ear off. Diane sat next to Piper on the small couch, "I don't know how I ended up with kids like that, considering I was never around for them."
"Don't say that Diane, this is not your fault. Don't let him win, the police will catch him."
"Of course it's my fault Piper. I brought him into the house, this all happened on my watch. I can never forgive myself for not protecting Alex." Piper didn't know what else to say, but she knew Diane needed help.
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A few days later Alex was allowed to come home, which was a huge relief but felt weird at the same time. It felt weird standing in the same spot where it all happened not that long ago. But Lucy was a good distraction for everyone, she was determined to take care of Alex, nothing else. Piper had gone back to work and Alex was home with Diane and Lucy. Diane was making them all some lunch while Alex and Lucy sat on the couch watching movies. Lucy felt Alex shiver slightly, she immediately went into her room and came back with a blanket, draping it over Alex, "Thanks kid." Lucy may only be ten years old, but in that moment she seemed so much older. Alex was starting to feel tired, they'd come home from the hospital that morning, it was the longest she had been awake in over a week. Her neck was still sore, but that didn't stop her from placing a pillow in Lucy's lap for her to lay her head on. She was starting to get a headache but was so sick of feeling constantly foggy from the medication, so she decided to try and sleep it off. She fell asleep with her head in Lucy's lap, feeling at ease for the first time since getting home that morning.
Not long after Alex fell asleep, Piper arrived, "Hey Diane."
"Hey sweetie, what are you doing here so early?"
"I decided to do a half day, I wanted to see how you guys were going."
"Well, Lucy has assumed the role of chief care giver. Also seems half the time when you come over they're both asleep on the couch." Diane handed Piper a sandwich, and the two headed into the lounge room. Alex was still asleep on the couch, but surprisingly Lucy was still awake.
Piper sat on the floor next to Lucy, "You look tired Luce, why don't you take a nap too?"
Lucy seemed to seriously contemplate the question before responding, "No, I just…..I just wanna make sure Alex is ok. I wanna look after her so she doesn't go to hospital again."
Diane abruptly got up and went into her room, Piper gave Lucy a smile before following Diane. Piper walked into the room to find Diane leaning her head against the wall, trying to regain some composure. Piper went up to her, placing a hand on the older woman's shoulder, "Everything ok?"
Diane didn't move, "Sometimes I think I'm doing ok and then Lucy says something like that and I just can't take it. That kid is too fucking scared to close her eyes in case something happens to Alex, she shouldn't need to feel like that at her age."
"It's a totally normal reaction Diane, you just need to give Lucy time to settle back into everyday life."
"I know, there's just a lot going on at the moment. Alex and Lucy, hospital bills, fucking rent and utilities. I gotta figure out a way to pay these fucking bills on my own. And to top it all off the fucking police are coming to speak to Alex again tomorrow."
"But didn't they already speak to her at the hospital?"
"Yeah, well apparently they need to talk to her again. I just want her to be ok Piper, I need her to be ok."
"She will be Diane, I know it. Look, you need a proper rest, let me and Danny cook dinner tonight so you can relax. I'll stay here with Alex tonight, you don't need to worry about her, I'll take care of her."
"Thanks Piper, and I know you'll take care of her."
The two women hugged, but Piper didn't know what to think, Diane had a lot to deal with, and she was struggling to cope…..