TNS Piper's Problems

Chapter 15: Pull the plug?

~Video down below by: tiedtoyouyoutube

James' POV:

It's been two months now. Every single day, A troupe and Riley come to visit Piper, but nothing has really changed. She's still in a coma and she's made little to no improvement; so I'm really worried.

Every night Riley manages to convince me to go home to change, eat and sleep for a couple of hours before we make our way back to the hospital.

Today, Piper's being assessed; if they think she's improving, then they'll keep her on life support, if not then they'll pull the plug.

I've been praying non stop for a miracle, because Piper deserves none of this. My dad and my brothers visit her around 3 times a week; they wanted to spend more time with her but I didn't allow them to.

If Piper wasn't in the situation that she's in now, would they have apologised? I don't know. So they will have to wait until she wakes up and if she forgives them then I will too.

I'm absolutely terrified about what the doctors will say, but all the same, I sit by my sister and hold her slightly cold hands, telling her stories about when we were younger.

"Yup, it's true! You made me come to school with you dressed up as a fairy for your annual book day. It was so embarrassing; West, Eldon and Hunter wouldn't stop teasing me but it was so worth it to see your smile. It was even more worth it when we won the trophy for best dressed." I said, smiling fondly at the memory, but it faltered as I glanced at my sister's pale face once again.

"Please wake up, Pipes. I don't know what I'll do without you." I said, sadly as I sighed. I drifted off, thinking about all the happy and sad moments and memories I've had with Piper.

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Sighing to myself at the memories, I faced my sister again and began to tell her another story from our childhood.

"Well, do you remember that time when you were 8? I had just met Riley then, and I really liked her. I was blabbing on about how I wanted to be her boyfriend, and you got jealous, so for two weeks straight, you pretended to have an imaginary boyfriend. It was hilarious! We even had a special dinner for you and everything! Ha, those were the times." I said, laughing a bit, as a doctor walked in.

"Hello, James. I see you're here bright and early again." Doctor Hayes said as I smiled genuinely. "Yup, as always." I replied. "Ah, you must've been a star pupil." He responded as I laughed. "Well, not exactly." I said with a smile.

"Okay, we'll have to start the assessment in 10 minutes. Just have hope, James." Doctor Hayes said, as he patted my shoulder and I nodded.

I spent those 10 minutes talking to Piper and laughing with her, pushing my worries away. But then, some unfamiliar doctors walked in with small smiles and I knew that this was it.

The assessment that would make or break me.

20 minutes later, the assessment was over, and the head of all the doctors in the ward, came to sit next to me.

"Listen, James. Her heartbeat is steady and her pulses are faint but okay. I'm afraid that she hasn't improved at all. Now this doesn't mean that we will definitely pull the plug; I still have to get other opinions from some other doctors, so just have hope and stay strong." The doctor said, as he stood up and went to talk to some other medical professionals.

At that same moment, Riley walked in, with two coffees in her hands. "Hey James. Any news? When are they doing the assessment? Are you okay?" She asked, placing the coffee into my hand.

"Ri, they've already done the assessment. She hasn't improved at all. He's going to get a second opinion and then get back to us." I said as her face fell. "Come here." She said, as I crashed into her and began to cry.

"What if she doesn't make it, Ri? What if they decide to pull the plug? I can't lose my baby sister, I just can't." I mumbled into her hair, as she hugged me tightly and uttered words of comfort to me.

"We have to stay strong, Jay. There's still hope and there's still time. We've got to stay strong, for Piper." She said, softly as I gave her a small nod. 5 minutes after that, Doctor Hayes came back in and I crossed my fingers.

"Hello James, the other doctors have reached a decision." He started as I nervously nodded my head for him to continue, but then his expression became a lot more somber and I knew what they had decided to do. "Doctor, you don't mean-" I started, already knowing the answer.

"I'm sorry, James, but they've decided to pull the plug." He said.

I burst into tears at that, and so did Riley, even though I could tell that she was trying to stay strong for me. Doctor Hayes left the room to give us some privacy, as we continued to cry.

We were also meant to say our goodbyes to Piper, but I just couldn't. She can't die. I can't live without her. I also haven't decided if I should A troupe; it would crush them, even more.

"Ri, can you please get me another coffee?" I asked her softly, as she sniffled and nodded. "Sure, baby." She mumbled, giving me a kiss on the cheek, before kissing Piper's forehead.

Once she left, I held my baby sister's hand, refusing to believe that she may never leave this hospital alive. I decided that A troupe should also have the chance to say goodbye to her, so with all the courage I could muster, I called Amy.

Maybe I should've called Richelle instead because I know that Amy is extremely emotional, but I shook my head and put her on loud speaker.

"Hey Ames." I said, sadly. "Hey James. Don't worry, we're coming to visit in an hour or so, after rehearsals." She said, as my heart ached at what I had to say. "Um...can you put this on loud speaker for the rest of the team, please Ames?" I said as she said "yeah" and put it on. All of A troupe said hi but I just couldn't bring myself to say hello back.

"Um... guys, the assessment has been done-" I started slowly, as I paused. "And... wh-what did they say?" Amy asked gingerly as I took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. "They're gonna pull the plug, so you guys gotta come and say your goodbyes." I rushed out; it was a miracle they could even hear me.

I heard a scream from Amy and a lot of commotion as people began to burst into tears. After talking to them for a short while, I ended the call and faced my sister.

"Piper, if you can hear me, I beg you to come back, please. I can't let them do this; I can't let you go. Please. I love you, Pipes and I need you so, so much. Please come back, P, I need you. Please." I said, trailing off as I began to cry again.

Suddenly, I felt something shift under my hand. It was brief but I felt it. "Pipes? Pipes, you're doing it! Just follow my voice and open your eyes." I said, hope bursting through me at the thought of my prayers being answered.

Just then, her eyes began to flicker under her eyelids as her hand shifted again. After a couple minutes of these soft movements, she finally opened her hazelnut brown eyes before closing them again.

I put my free hand over my mouth as I stared at her in excitement. She groaned before opening her eyes again.

She looked all around the hospital room before settling her eyes on me. Tears of relief and joy made its way down my face as I hugged my sister, never wanting to let go of her again.

But then she said something that literally killed me, all over again.

She gently pulled her hand from my grasp and moved slightly away from me as I looked at her in confusion.

"Who... who are you?"