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+--- Thread: If fate demands it.... (/showthread.php?tid=175437)
RE: If fate demands it.... - Widow - 12-16-2019
Despite the slight swelling on the brain, she was regaining strength. Every hour that went past she was slowly but surely becoming comfortably more stable. Her blood pressure and pulse were concerning, but she was less at risk of dying without warning. Not only this, but they were both continuing to improve a tiny amount each update the surgeon received. Her breathing was still shallow, her body's reaction to the injuries and the pain was likely to be at fault.
With some luck, it wouldn't be long before she was awake.
RE: If fate demands it.... - Doc Holliday - 12-16-2019
Med Force General Surgical Conference Room
It was a big room for two men to discuss a surgical matter but it was all that was open on short notice. Doc had returned to the hospital upon news of her arrival. It was evident that he was distraught over it and why wouldn't he be. After all, someone whom he loved had disappeared, been written off for dead only to return years later without warning, still wearing the ring he had given her. The two men sat in discussion, Doc pouring himself a large Scotch to calm himself.
"I want one thing made clear, John," stated the surgeon, "she is my patient. I share the same values you do and the same dislike of patient transfers in the middle of treatment. Try and undermine me, I will resign and I know you don't want that."
Doc just nodded and replied with, "Understood and agreed."
The surgeon then put his hand on Doc's shoulder. "And right now, your frame of mind isn't on her medical." He then sat back a bit, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not right now," Doc answered after a sip of his Scotch. "I need to process all of this first. Only talking to her and getting some answers is going put my mind at ease."
"Fair enough," answered the surgeon. He then handed Doc a bag of her personal affects including the ring. Doc pulled it out, laid it on his open palm and studied it. A weak smile appeared as did a tear.
"I found her on Erie," he began to ramble. "She was so sweet, so innocent, so un-Rogue to me. She wanted to change. I was alone, grieving over Midori. Somehow, we just fell in love. She stayed with me awhile, learning to live off the wild land of Erie." He paused a moment in deep memory. "I asked her to marry me and she accepted. Several days later, she disappeared. I knew she had things to settle but......I thought she was lost so I moved on. Now, she returns and I am not sure what to think."
The surgeon sat. It was sweet yet heart wrenching. He was sympathetic.
"For what its worth, her brain swelling has subsided. She's far from well and will require more surgery when she gets her strength back. I can take her out of the coma but will keep her under pain meds for now. Maybe then you can stay with her a bit. But remember, she's my patient."
He then stood over Doc, looking down with a look of concern, looking for confirmation. Doc just smiled at him and replied, "Yes, Doctor."
The two men went to her bed side where the coma drug was removed. The surgeon left while Doc sat at her side, in wait.
RE: If fate demands it.... - Widow - 12-16-2019
Things were fuzzy, it was as if she had just woken from a deep sleep. Her eye were heavy and didn't want to open at first. She went to rub them and whimpered, unable to move her right arm. the pain was a reminder of what had happened. Using her left hand this time, she succeeded - flinching as she came across the cuts and broken bones. She moved her hand down to her right side, it was fixed. She was confused, the more she was able to recall - the less sense it made that she was alive. Slowly but surely became more lucid, and that is when it hit her.
The ring was gone.
She instantly went for her hip, only to find her guns wasn't there either, this set her into a panic. She tried to sit, and failed, this only caused her most distress. She was in pain but all that mattered to her was that ring, if she had to fight for it, she had every intention of trying. As it was she was getting loud about it, starting to cause a scene.
“The ring.... Wh.... Where is it. I swear to whichever God it is you follow.... You have no idea what that... "
She finally opened her eyes and saw him. She froze and quietly uttered his name. For a moment she wondered if she had infact died, after all, what would the odds be that he was sitting by her bed otherwise. She looked confused, but it didn't take long for this look to turn to fear.
"No.... No no..... They will..... They will kill you..... I can't let them.... I'm not..... Not worth it"
She was seemingly rambling, still not entire there after waking from the induced coma, the painkillers didn't help. Despite this, she genuinely seemed afraid. Once again she went for where her holster would be, it would no longer be a fight for the ring, but a fight for him. She needed to calm down but just seemed to get more distressed.
She didn't seem to understand the extent of the injuries, but she seemed determined to get up. She didn't have the strength. Everything was fuzzy, she didn't understand what was going on, or where she was. She didn't know why he was there. A thought crossed her mind and she fell silent.
"please.... Don't give me to them...."
She stopped fighting to get up, she was exhausted. She instead moved her hand to her forehead, she had a headache. A tear ran down her cheek, she ignored it. Through the haze she started to piece things together. The fight, the damaged ship, what she thought were her last moments. She was tired, and she hurt. She didn't understand how she wasn't dead, nothing made sense.
RE: If fate demands it.... - Doc Holliday - 12-17-2019
For the moment, Doc did all he could to shush her, to calm her and to hold her down so that she didn't hurt herself further throughout her panic. In the attack, the surgeon came in and gave a mild sedative to take the edge off and further knock the pain down a bit.
"If she needs more, Doc, I'm OK with you doing that for her," he told him as he left.
Still, while the sedative worked in, he started calming and re-assuring.
"It's OK, Ashley," he said to her, "no one knows where you are and security is thick here." He could feel her starting to settle a bit under the sedative, at least physically.
"Thatta girl," he said to her cariingly. "You are at Med Force General in Baffin. It is fairly new and off the charts to most. You are safe here."
He then smiled as he let his robe open enough for his two ivory pistol handles to show, "Let them try and kill me." He then closed it.
He then began running some fingers through her hair with his left hand. With his right, he took the ring out of his pocket and showed it to her. As he did, his face went somber.
"The fact that you were still wearing it after all of this time tells me you must care something for me," he said softly. He then went silent as he was obviously upset. For the moment, he put the ring back in his pocket.
"For now, just relax and heal. You still have a lengthy road to recovery in front of you as you were resuscitated twice when you got here."
He just sat, trying to keep her relaxed.
RE: If fate demands it.... - Widow - 12-17-2019
She fell silent as the sedative began to work. Her breathing slowed and she began to watch him, her thoughts were still racing. She was still as she listened to where she was. She began to realise just how lucky she must have been. In being lost, she had by chance stumbled across the best place she could have been.
She saw the pistols, but didn't say anything. She would have never forgiven herself if he had to use them because of her.
"I was never meant to be gone for so long... I was leaving, I wasnt going to go back to them... I didn't go back to them..."
His touch, his fingers running through her hair silenced her thoughts almost immediately. She watched him put the ring back in his pocket before closing her eyes again. She understood, but it still hurt. There was another tear.
"I wouldn't be the cause of... I... I didn't know what else to do"
She wasn't making a whole lot of sense, she wanted to explain but she wasn't able to collect her thoughts enough to begin to try. His comment about her still caring made her shake her head slightly
"John... Of course I still.... I never stopped caring.... I just couldn't... They threatened the children... I didn't think you would..."
This was the point she started crying, she never meant to hurt him, and she knew she had made a mistake. The situation had gotten out of hand too quickly and she genuinely didn't know what to do. She didn't think she would have been missed, not to this extent. She didn't think he would have cared so much that she had gone. No one ever had before, it was foreign to her. She hated seeing him upset and she knew she couldn't fix it.
She was trying to collect herself, but the emotions were too much. She had been so afraid. She had been on the run for a long time, never able to settle, never able to talk to anyone in fear of what they knew about her, and where their loyalty would lie. She had listened to how she needed to be resuscitated twice, from the little she could remember, she understood. She was beginning to realise how serious it was. Through the tears she tried to sound reassuring.
"I am OK..... I will be OK....."
RE: If fate demands it.... - Doc Holliday - 12-17-2019
"Much has changed, Ashley. The children you need not worry about. Emiko went to be on her own and has chosen to distance herself from me. The other two? They are on station going to school and being children."
He sighed, "I lost Tombstone and everything I own on Gran Canaria. Still, though, I have the camp on Erie. It is a safe place."
He started looking over her wounds. His fingers touched the bandages that covered many of them. "You did better than me," he said after a deep sigh. "When you left and did not return, I thought the worse. I moved on and fell into the arms of another." He shrugged, "I do not think I could ever get into so much trouble from one person as she got me into. I had to let her go."
He then looked at her, his fingers still going through her hair, "I swear that if I had known, I would have waited."
RE: If fate demands it.... - Widow - 12-17-2019
She didn't understand why Emiko would have made that decision, but she didn't ask. Hearing they were OK helped calm her somewhat. She cared a great amount for them, and their safety, even now, was important to her.
By this time she had managed to collect herself again, she had wanted to return to Erie so often, the memories of her time there were often all she had to keep her going. But hearing the news of Tombstone and Gran Canaria she frowned slightly, looking across at him
"how..... What happened?"
She sounded genuinely concerned. She knew what they meant to him. As he continued to talk, she fell silent again. The news he had found another, while she expected it, hit her like a dagger to the heart. She looked away, instead watching where he was touching the bandages. She said nothing for a few moments, she didn't know what to say. Eventually she sighed.
"As time went on.... I had expected that.... I... Expected you would forget me... "
She sounded like there was more she wanted to say, but she fell silent again, hearing his comment about how he would have waited. It wasn't his fault, she didn't blame him. After all, she had left. Despite this, when she looked back up at him, every part of her was trying to hide the hurt.
"I'm sorry, I.... I never meant for this to happen..."
She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of him playing with her hair, whatever they had given her to calm her was working, she was still by no means relaxed, but the panic had almost subsided. She didn't want to let her guard down, she knew it was dangerous, but in this moment, she felt safe. However, it only lasted a moment, the slight frown was all she gave away as the thought she had earlier crossed her mind again, surely he wouldn't betray her like that, but she knew first hand there was nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing left to lose.
"If you would rather I leave......"
She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, instead falling silent once again.
RE: If fate demands it.... - Doc Holliday - 12-17-2019
"Bretonia is what happened," he replied. "They took all of Gran Canaria and Omega 49. I was not about to live under their rule, their taxation....not under all I had built so I destroyed it and left everything behind."
He shrugged. "It hurt for awhile and still does a little but with each passing day, I have come to realize that a lot of good memories were left behind." He points at his head with a gentle smile, "Memories that no one can take from me."
Her monitor started taking her blood pressure. Doc had seen it thousands of times but he watched anyway. It was her and he was searching himself. Old feelings were there but for now, the ring stayed in his pocket. He had his doubts. Would she run again? Sure, she sounded genuine but they had time, MUCH time and he would use it wisely.
"I was depressed when we met," he said softly, "I hated being alone. My cabin on Erie is my escape. I mean, you split a few logs, catch a few fish and ride a few kilometers on a horse and for whatever reason, you feel complete." He smiled, "I remember how much you enjoyed that."
He wasn't quite sure where to place a hand on her broken body so he just kept his fingers running through her hair and looked her kindly in the face and shook his head, "I want you to stay. I would like to know what happened. I think you owe me that much. I mean, I never forgot, I just moved on so I have my own cross to bear."
RE: If fate demands it.... - Widow - 12-17-2019
She was surprised, she didn't expect him to have come to that decision, but at the same time she understood why he had. It wouldn't have been the same living under Bretonian law. He had told her stories, and although she had never been there - She knew how hard that would have been. She smiled a little as he mentioned the memories, knowing that he was right. No one could take those from you. She still couldn't help but feel bad for him and his loss.
"I... I am sorry, I only know the stories.... But know how much that meant to...."
She stopped as the the machine took her blood pressure. As the cuff inflated around her arm she couldn't help but hold her breath, it was uncomfortable, but she didn't want to complain. Eventually it showed the reading, It was still lower than it should have been, as were all of her observations. She didn't understand the numbers, or what they meant. She just knew she was becoming very aware of the pain again. Pain in places she wasn't aware she had hurt. Most of the injuries she didn't remember, She was sure not all of them had come from the fight - and this worried her as she couldn't explain it otherwise. She still wasn't sure of the extent of a lot of them, or what had happened in surgery. She couldn't help but to ask, hoping he would be honest despite the concern she was showing.
"I... Everything hurts, and I don't know how to make it stop.... I don't remember how a lot of it happened.. I can only recall so much... They caught me by surprise, I had been so careful, but I never saw them coming. How bad is it."
She was enjoying him running his hand through her hair, she had always loved him playing with it, and she didn't want him to stop. She had never forgotten the time he had helped her with it on Erie, it was the first time anyone had done her hair for her, and no one had done it since. She bit her lip hearing him say he was a depressed man when they had met.
"Even then you had gone through a lot... You had seen things no one should have ever seen. You had given up a lot to help everyone else. I remember the stories, You had... you have... a heart of gold, John, but sometimes gold can be heavy."
She didn't say anything more, she didn't want to cross the line, after all she didn't know where she stood anymore. She expected him to be angry, she expected him to be upset. The kindness he was showing was something she didn't understand, especially as it was her fault they were in this situation. She listened to him talk about Erie, she couldn't help but smile, the memories had been her safe place for some time now. The water - she missed the water. She remembered the cabin, and the time with the horses, he was right - she had enjoyed it.
"I remember asking you, when we first met on Foster, what you enjoyed doing. Even then you said riding. After you had taken me there.... I could understand why..... You are right, I did enjoy it. So many times I had wished I could go back.... I just...."
Again she fell short of finishing the sentence.
"I wish I could say it was simple... I will tell you what you want to know... I just don't know where to start..."
RE: If fate demands it.... - Doc Holliday - 12-17-2019
He finished the sentence himself. "I want to go back....to take you back...."
He stood up and took a few steps away. With his back facing her, he just looked up as he spoke, "You hurt me, Ashley. When you left and did not return, I was hurt."
He then turned around and faced her, "I know you did not mean for any of this and I know that you did not plan to hurt me but....." His head sunk, ".....you did." He looked back up, "But, I am a forgiving man. You are right, I have seen a lot and others, many others, have wronged me much, much worse."
He took a seat by her again and used the excuse of taking her pulse to hold her hand. "If you saw what I saw on Leeds lately, what the Gauls did to billions, well, I am not Bretonian but I am human. They have much explaining to do as does Bretonia for taking our home."
He let her wrist go and returned to stroking her hair. He knew she liked it so he continued. "If you need to hear the words, I will say them. I forgive you. I just need time to process it all. Know that once your strength gets back and you have your next round of surgery, I will assist."
He gave her a soft look followed by a light smile, "I will be here at your side through this."