Even through the lights, the shouting, and their family's ruckus, they held each other tight as they slept. Laid over the covers, still wrapped in the thick fur, they matched each other's breath, in and out.
They were rudely awakened by a loud bell and the Sun as it was setting. It just peeked over the window and casted a warm but bright light and the silk reflected it, making it look like they were in water. Five heard the bell and groaned turning to his sides to face Lila and bring her closer, but he was reminded of his ribs as the stitches pulled on his skin. He winced but managed to be parallel to her. She still had her eyes closed, but heard the bell and Five's wincing, and Five took the time to study her face again. Every time, it felt like seeing her for the first time. There was always a freckle he didn't notice before and he kept wanting to set aside a time of his day just to watch her live.
"What was that, a bell?" She said groggily and her accent dragged on.
"I think that's the food. I hear Luther running." Five said as he felt the stomps as he bounced down the stairs. "You hungry, love?"
"I could eat a whole cow right now. I just want to eat a warm meal in peace." Lila finally peeked her eyes open, but when she saw how bright it was, she buried her face in his shoulder.
"Come on. Let's go eat. We need to talk to the woman of the house, anyways." Five replied as he rustled up but hissed as it continued to pull on his stitches. Lila shot up, remembering the injury, her house, and the state of her kitchen. She helped him stand up and out of the bed, and she saw how their bodies left soft imprints on it. She smiled as she opened the door. Five slung his arms on her waist for support and Lila tucked her arm on his back, trying to center him. They struggled downstairs and followed the multiple voices in a nook, next to the foyer.
There was a grand meal that stretched to its end. A decorative bow was tied on the chicken's leg and the smell of warm food washed her senses. She set down Five on a chair and sat next to him. She rubbed on his thigh to check he was okay. He smiled at her and thanked her, still weary of his Dad and Abigail who were sitting the head and tail of the table.
"Please, do dig in. I hope it matches your tastes." Abigail said softly at the group. Luther was first to grab a chicken leg and pulled it on to his plate. Everyone soon followed, still skeptical of them. Five didn't feel hungry as pain overtook him again.
"So. Did you find anything?" Five said as he raised a glass of wine and gulped it three times. Lila shot him a worried look.
Abigail taken aback by the abrupt question, answered "…Yes, I do have an idea. But I need more data."
Five felt the cold wine slosh down his chest and into his empty stomach. "I have data." Five said and drank another sip of wine. "I'll give you everything I have." He began to rise out of his seat to get the satchel, but Abigail raised her hand and said, "Maybe not right now. We're eating, Five."
He rolled his eyes and sat down. He watched as his family ate like they haven't eaten in years. The silence didn't take long to break, and they all discussed their adventures in full detail to Reginald and Abigail. It took several people to cut in and tell it 'right.' Abigail was getting a better picture at their antidote and Gene and Jean's situation.
When they finished, a line of servers came in and took away their empty plates. Five's plate was untouched and clean, but he did finish the cup of wine and tried to ask for more. Reginald said, "No. Do not give him more," and the server walked away.
The servers came back with small bowls of ice cream, beautifully decorated with strawberries and chocolate syrup. Everyone, but Five, accept it gratefully. He sat in his chair and stared at the painting facing him.
It was so big that it took up most of the wall and beautifully encased with gold, hand-carved frame, but the painting itself was contrasted with the dark undertones. It painted a man and woman, wrapped with silk clothing that was flowing through the wind. They wore pained expression and longing, but they were embraced, and hands clutched tight on each other. Their faces lit with the bright light shining above them and casted a dark shadow around them. In the darkness, he saw war, destruction, and people in massacre. He saw several angelic cherubs, holding weapons, as smoke filled around them. He zoned into every part, noticing the crumbled buildings, the broken plates and its food scattered, and he saw the two people clutched again to only notice their feet, broken, mangled, and bloody.
Five stood up, finally stopping himself from staring at the painting, and skipped up the steps. He didn't care his ribs burned and felt cold sweats gathering on his temple. He found his satchel and laid out its content on the bed. He shook it upside down and everything fell out. The gold jewelry was the first to fall, then came the notebooks and journal, and smaller knives, bombs, and the compass fell last. He separated it to two piles, one for Abigail. He gathered the scatter papers that Doc had given him, readings from the Mass Spectrometer, the RH journal, Jean's notebook, Gene's list of active groups and the map him and Lila had marked. He grabbed the rings he stole from their bodies, just in case. He gathered it all in one hand, but when he went to open the door, the walls swayed sideways, and everything seemed far away.
Lila heard a large thud upstairs. She tried to stop him from leaving, but decided to let him be, seeing his uncomfortable face throughout dinner. When she heard the sound, her heart dropped and let the silver spoon fall out her hands as she dashed upstairs. She saw him on the floor with a growing pile of blood around his stomach. He was face down and the journal in his hand was starting to soak up the blood.
"Oh my God. Five. Love! Can you hear me?" She shook his shoulders to no response. "Five! Somebody help! Somebody…" She said it through her tears and couldn't project the proper sound. By the time she looked up, Viktor, Diego, and Allison were already upstairs, helping her turn him over. There was more blood spewing out of his site and Lila gasped as she put more pressure on the wound.
Abigail came up next to her and saw the wound closely, unwrapping the bandage. "Are you sure this is just a bullet wound? The stitches look like it's been disintegrated." She said it with calm.
"I thought so. We put four stitches on him! What do you mean? It's not there?" Lila said rapidly and tried to blink away her tears to see better.
"Let's take him to the basement. I need to see this better." Abigail said as she gathered the material still tightly clutched in his hand. Five was still out, with blood draining away from his face and pouring it on the marble floor. Luther heard Abigail and lifted his brother into his arms. Startled and panicked, he managed to say, "Lead the way," at her as she rapidly walked downstairs.
Blood was soaking the edges of Abigail's white dress, and it was slowly spreading up as it found more material to bleed through. They were half-walking, half-running as a small group of the family followed them. Lila was hot on Luther's feet as she watched Five's hand dangle, lifelessly against Luther's shoulder.
They reached the basement with a biometric door. She pressed her thumb on it and said her name through the microphone, which turned the console green and clicked open the door for her. There was at least 15 people in lab coats, working and was startled when they saw a lifeless body in the large arms of Luther.
"Dr. Gold, please clear that lab table and get ready for an impromptu surgery." Abigail said towards a man, with thin, silver-framed glasses. "Here is more data for our prior problem," as she handed him the stack Five was holding. He had to push his glasses up to see what kind of supplies they would need and started rambling to his group. Lila watched them scurry as she heard, "I want at least 30 surgical gauze, sutures kit, antibiotics, and get the anesthesia." She pushed past Luther to the other side of the table with the bright light that shined down on him.
"I don't think we can do anesthesia. All he's had tonight is wine." Abigail said to the group as she put on a surgical gown. "Let's see what we're working with…"
She cut off the rest of the bandage and Five remained still. He looked so dead, Lila wanted to look away, but she focused on the actual problem at hand.
"I got shot with the same bullet. I'm fine, what's the problem?" Lila said as she held Five's hand.
"A graze, no?" She said back, "I think it's the bullet itself. It's laced with something." She took a small series of test tubes a lab student handed her. She pulled the cap to reveal a cotton swab, which she swirled inside and outside of the wound. She did several of these and handed the tray back to the student who immediately started running tests as she furiously typed on the computer. There was another student drawing two vials of blood, hooked up several wires and an arm band to connect it to a monitor. It started beeping slowly, and Lila read, "Pulse is 62, bp is 80 over 58, O2 is 75%." She worried at the low numbers.
The rest of the lab worked rushed as they revealed pieces of information as their computer's dinged with lab results.
"Blood work is normal, for the most part. Blood alcohol level is 0.09%, good call on the anesthesia. Weird thing is the blood culture. No signs of bacterial or viral infection, but his fever is at 102." A far away voice in the corner shouted.
"The stitches are normal polycaprolactone threads and doesn't seem to be the problem." They head it coming from the other end.
"Abigail, pressure is dropping. Do something!" Lila said, anxiety rising as the readings steadily worked its way down to 75 over 56. Five was now half naked on the cold metal table. His bloody jacket and clothes were on the floor and the family gathered around the wall.
"The swabs are showing something. It looks like…" She squinted at the screen, "This can't be."
Abigail had to push past the crowd and the lab student moved over and pointed straight on the screen, "This isn't…"
"Damn. It is." She returned next to Five. "It looks like they synthesized the Durango into the bullet. It started reacting when the bullet entered.
"The journal has the recipe for the antidote." Lila said, trying to gather herself. "Look in the leather journal, latest entry!" She watched Abigail turn her head and nod at the scientist, and he went straight to work.
"Looks like we can synthesize it in time. But it will take a bit. He's going to have to stay like this in the meantime." She walked back to the scientist and started discussing the equation.
Lila took a lab chair and still held his hands in hers. For the first time, she squeezed his hand but didn't feel the squeeze back. She watched the family slowly file out, back through the door, with nothing to help with. They felt like they just got in the way and gave them their space.
"Can't catch a fucking break." Diego said as they exited the basement into the large, windowed hallways. They saw Reginald waiting by the door with an unreadable face.
"The boy?" He asked, afraid of the answer.
"Something about the Durango in the wound? They're trying to make the vaccine right now." Luther said to him. He saw his Dad grimace at the news and watched him quickly turn, place his hands behind his back, and walk away.
Lila had to bear through Abigail stapling his stomach back together. "Sorry. This is my best temporary solution." When she was done, the blood pressure rose back a little and Lila grimaced at the small change. They were so close. To going home, to being home with him. He just wanted to tell her he loved her, and the universe wouldn't let him. The last few days, she had to think more about his potential death than she ever did. She always thought, she would be the first to go, or that they would die together. But not once, did she imagine living on, surviving on, or fighting on without him. How had she already forgotten that she shouldn't take Five for granted? Why didn't she kiss him more? Why didn't she tell him she loved him, more? Why did she let him go upstairs alone? Why did she push him to eat and set down the glass of wine?
She let her tears fall and didn't have the energy to keep her head upright and let it fall. She tried to blink the rest of her tears away, but before she could raise her head up, she saw a small piece of paper tucked out of his bloody jacket.
She pulled it out and carefully opened it, and the corner was bloody and frail. She had to let go of his hand to pull it open. She felt a tear fall on it and tried wiping it away before it smudged the ink, but it was too late.
"Lila. My love.
Breathe, my darling. Though I may not be next to you, you are next to me. I would have liked more time to solve the enigma, that is you, it seems like the world has other plans. If I go, know, I love you more than I thought I was capable. It's been a privilege and an honor to share this timeline with you and be in love with you. I take solace in the fact that I've loved you in all my timelines. We'll meet again, my love. Don't cry. You will see me in the sunrise and sunsets, and we will grow old together.
My Sun, I love you."
Lila was shaking the paper in her hands. She glared at him, "You can't just say all that and leave, asshole. You better not die on me, because I won't forgive you. You promised, Five. You said…"
She just wanted to kiss him again. She wanted him to kiss her again. She held his hands again and kissed it, but it was cold.
When Lila was beginning to grow inpatient, only thirty minutes have passed. She heard a critical beep from the machine next to her and snapped her head and said, "Pressure is dropping again! It's 67 over 49, Abigail." She smacked on the metal table to grab her attention. She quickly brought over a blue vial and drew it with a syringe.
"This should be the right dose, but we'll see." Abigail said, but before Lila could protest, she plunged it into his arm. Five twitched as the vaccine traveled through his system, but quickly relaxed and didn't move.
"Lila, look, pressure is rising again." Abigail was staring at the black and green screen. "O2 is back to 99%, pulse is normal." She sighed.
"How long, until he wakes up." Lila said monotoned and tired, remembering Five's words, 'It's not over, until it's over.'
"We don't know, but we'll keep him here until we know for sure. Good thing you were with me. I don't think anyone could have replicated that anywhere else." Abigail smiled at her and saw the vacantness in her eyes. "Darling, nothing you can do here. I know, you love him—"
"No. You don't know anything. You don't know. So, stop. Just fix him." Lila cut her off, but she still added "Please." She sat back down and held his hand. Abigail nodded and silently motioned her lab to retrieve the suture kit. They sewed him back up again. She still winced every time Abigail pierced him.
He was bandaged again and still wore an expressionless face. They ran another blood culture and test to find everything back was back to normal. But after three hours since he'd been bandaged, he didn't move or showed any signs of waking up.
Abigail returned and pressed a stethoscope on his chest and nodded at the normal sounds. She pressed around the abdomen and saw no pain inflicted on his face. She rubbed her fist on his sternum and pressed her pen against his fingernails and he winced. "Okay, pain receptors are good, too. I don't know why he's not waking up. Let's move him to a bed. He should be more comfortable there. I'll get Luther."
When Luther carefully picked him up, Lila was holding the long pole that dangled with three bags, sloshing its content as she pushed it up the stairs. They had to coordinate each footstep to ensure they didn't rip the port out of his veins. When they reached the bedroom door, the pool of blood was gone and wiped clean. Lila pressed open the door and softly laid Five on their bed as Lila hurriedly ripped open the blankets. Lila tucked the blanket to his chest and thanked Luther as he closed the door. She didn't sit on the bed but on the floor, still holding his hands. She silently cried as the hand still felt loose around hers.
She fell asleep with her legs scrunched up to her chest, her head on her knee as she leaned on the bedframe. Her hand had to be perched up to still hold his. She only woke up when she heard Diego peer through the door and ask, "Lila? You here?" unable to see her past the bed. She opened her eyes and saw the moon was on its peak.
"Yeah. I'm here," and her throat cracked at the dryness.
"I brought you tea." He sat next to her, on the floor, and leaned on the bed. It was steaming and chamomile by the smell of it. He placed it on the floor in between them.
"How is he?" Diego whispered in the dark room.
"I don't know, Diego. I don't know anything right now, to be honest." Lila whispered back. She wanted to drink the tea but knew it would be too hot.
"Abigail told us what happened in there. Looks like everything is good on paper." He mumbled back and peeked at Five. He lowered his gaze back at her and saw the same blank look when they first separated. He noticed a folded, crumpled, and bloody piece of paper in between her knee and chest.
"He's not waking up, Diego. What if he… never does?" Lila finally looked sideways at him.
"He won't leave you like that. Not like this." Diego said, "The bastard is too stubborn."
"I don't know. Destiny is a cruel bitch." Lila said back, "I feel like she would."
Diego had nothing to add and sat with her in silence. He watched her sip at her tea and set it back down again. After a few minutes, he got up and smoothed over Five's hair out of his forehead and whispered, "You can't go before I kick your ass," and left, shutting the door behind him.
Lila felt the strain on her back and legs as she stood up. She grabbed the empty tea mug and let go of his hand. She set it next her side of the bed and took off her bloody jacket and laid down next to him. She saw his silhouette by the moonlight and reached her hand to trace his forehead, down his nose, to his lips. She dropped it, with no more energy in her system. She curled up next to him and felt a tear hit the silk when he didn't hug her back.
She woke up when Abigail was changing the bags. She hung up the bag and Lila squinted to see past the Sun.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." Abigail dropped her arms down, finished with the bags. "We think he's resting. I'm guessing something in between high stress, dehydration, and malnutrition. But we think he should be up by tonight. His body just needs to rest."
Lila sighed and nodded. He was just resting. Just healing. Still alive, trying to come back to her. Although Lila, did not want to leave his side, she felt the dehydration and hunger rise in her. She glanced at a clock that read 9:20AM and followed Abigail downstairs for breakfast.
The family was still sat in the same chairs with Five's left empty. She stared at it but had to look away when the smell of tea hit her. "Is there tea? Like actual tea?" and couldn't let her excitement rise. She missed her mom's chai but would take a cuppa at any given moment. She stirred the milk and sugar in until it was golden brown and sipped on her cup. She felt the relief wash over her.
She didn't know how hungry she was. The night before she had been so worried and glancing at Five not eating, she couldn't properly eat. She ate the eggs, a scone with butter and jam, and finished her tea to rush back upstairs to him. The family let her leave as they continued their food.
"Good news. The data Five had was more than helpful." Abigail began to say to the rest of the family. Lila had to stop in her tracks and listen by the staircase.
"I think I found a way to solidify the timelines. It would stop the bleeding of other timelines into ours. With no evidence of 'The Cleanse' maybe we can discredit Gene and Jean." She continued with a serious tone, "That means, no more time travel. No access to the subway system. No way of moving from one to the other. This timeline will be the same as you age and die."
Lila had to enter back into the room to say, "How."
"Well, we essentially will close the exit. We'll send a powerful signal using your powers to close this timeline's doors. Solidify it. Like a normal life." She smiled slightly but Lila was still aching to go back to Five. "We're building on a prototype right now, but we are still working on feasibility. It would defeat the purpose if you evaporated with the machine."
Lila struggled to keep up but nodded and headed back up the stairs. She saw Five still laying there with no change. She pulled the blanket on top of her and reached underneath to look for Five's hands. She squeezed it and nothing returned.
"Five. Wake up. We have a plan to finish it all. We can go home. For real." Lila whispered in his ear. "Please. Wake up. I need you, Five." Still, nothing returned.
Lila heard a violin far away and knew it wasn't Abigail. She had heard Viktor practice enough to know it was him. The song was sorrowful and full of weight as Viktor pulled the bow and shook out a vibrato. Tired of laying down and holding a dead hand, she rose to see his face from above. His hair was still shaggy, and his beard grown out and it created a heavy shadow on his face. She roamed around the bathroom for shaving material but only found shaving cream. She reached through Five's satchel and found the blade she chose for him in the Weapon's Wing. She smiled at the memory and their kiss.
She pushed all his hair out and started putting the shaving cream over his chin, mouth, and sides. She took a deep breath to stop her shaking hand and started shaving down. She was focused and careful not to cut his face. She worked her way down to his neck and over his upper lip. She remembered the way he looked up at her the first time she did this and hated that it remained closed. The last time she had done this for him, they ended up naked with shaving cream all over each other.
She wiped the remaining cream off his face with a warm towel and kissed his cleanly shaven cheeks. She headed back to the sink with the towel to start washing it away. The violin was still playing, and she wanted to go downstairs to ask Viktor what the piece's title was, but she heard rustling and quickly shut off the tap.
"Remember the last time you did that?" Five's low voice barely spoke up but was smirking. Lila rushed to his side and placed her hands on his face.
"Five. You awake? Five!" She couldn't believe her eyes as she stared at his blue eyes that turned greener every time he blinked. She hugged him and didn't care he was in pain. "Never. Ever. Do that to me again."
"I'm sorry, love. Injuries are part of the job description." Five quipped back. He hugged her back and snaked his hand in her hair and pulled her closer.
"Are you sure you're okay? Do you remember anything?" Lila pushed him back to look at him again.
"I remember falling and the shaving." He grimaced as he rested on the headboard. "Everything in between is just… black."
"Listen, you were so stressed and dehydrated, that you didn't wake up for a day. You can't do that, love." Lila pressed her forehead to his. "If you need to save someone, you save us. Remember?"
"I love you." Five didn't have to use much of his voice as she was only inches away. He pressed his lips on hers and felt her relax. She separated and kissed him three times back.
"I love you." She finally said, as she felt her shoulders empty the stress.
He tried to sit up, but Lila pushed him back down. "No. Strict bed rest." She pushed a red button hanging on the metal pole and Five followed her hands and saw the hanging bags.
The family with Abigail soon followed, trampling on each other as they struggled to open the door. Abigail trailed behind them and walked around the bed to check his vitals.
"Five. You're alive!" Luther said, joyfully.
"Oh, thank God." Allison muttered as she shoved her hair back.
Klaus elected to sit on Lila's side of the bed and said, "Hi. Missed you."
Viktor was still holding the violin when he entered. The bow was swinging on his index finger while the rest held the violin by its neck. He saw Five blinking rapidly at the crowd and knew he was going to be okay.
Ben and Jennifer still held each other as they whispered among them, glad to see him up and stable. Diego gave Five a nod and looked at Lila, glad to see her lively again.
Abigail undid the dressing to change it while everyone watched. They saw how he was stitched again and no longer bleeding. They saw how his temperature and blood pressure returned to normal and sighed at the confirmation.
"Once, and only once, you feel better, you should come to the lab. We're working on a way to solidify this timeline. Your help will be most appreciated." Abigail finished bandaging as she said it.
Five looked up at her and eagerly asked, "When's that?"
"It depends on how well you do. No straining, no lifting, no heavy movements. Strict bed rest for at least a day." She stated and rose from the bed to head back to her lab. He groaned and rolled his eyes. Lila reached for his hand as the family filed out. Five did squeeze it back this time and he gave her a look.
When Five joined for dinner, he was in a better mood. He had enough painkillers in his system and ate food like he had never been fed before. He laughed at jokes and felt the anxiety he had been carrying slowly fade away. It was partly because both Abigail and Reginald didn't join, as they continued to work in their lab. After dessert, they moved to the living room where they watched the fire crackle and continued explaining the last 24 hours to him. He rolled his eyes at Klaus' dramatic rendition and laughed when he said, "I mean, we are idiots. What do we know?"
Lila didn't let go of his hand once. She made sure he was always nearby and always touched by her. When they finally settled into their bed, Lila cautiously brought up a new subject. "I read your letter. The one we wrote before Jennifer?"
Five looked over at her to whisper, "And?"
"Once this is all over, and we go home, you want to, maybe, get married?" She mumbled her way through her sentence and looked away in shyness. She hadn't plan to say all that. She just wanted him to know that she loved him too.
"What?" He genuinely didn't catch it and tried to face her. The lamp on her side was on and it casted a shadow over her face. She sighed, not wanting to say it again.
He watched her pull at the drawer underneath the lamp and slid out a clean, folded note. She slid it to him after she opened it to read it herself, "This was mine." He noticed it was the same paper in his Dad's journal. He gave her a puzzled look but read it.
'I just wanted to marry you. I'm sorry if I couldn't make it, love.'