And We're All Falling

Just Hoping You Were Still Alive

"How long has it been?"

"Forty-five minutes."

"It's taking forever! Do you think something went wrong? Are they prolonging the inevitable?"

"Breathe. Everything is fine. Why don't you go lay down over there?"

"No."

"South. Go."

        Rolling her eyes, South stood up and walked over to the couch in question. She sank onto it tiredly, eyes half-closing upon contact. Laying on a stiff, old pillow, she trained her gaze on the ceiling tiles.

"Whatever happened to Carolina?" she asked.

"She passed out. Recovery room 3. But I don't want you to go see her yet. Rest," North answered, jutting a thumb toward the recovery rooms.

"I don't want to. I'm fine," she insisted, blowing hair out of her face.

"I know you're scared to sleep because you don't want him to die while you are asleep. Trust me, okay? He will be okay, Sadie."

        The use of her real name shut her up. Blue eyes fluttered shut and she turned onto her side. Maybe rest was good. It'd pass the time and, after all, she was tired. Wondering if he was alive or not every second was only going to make things worse.

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"You think she's done...you know...doing the thing...with the needles....and the blood?"

Della stifled a laugh as she turned her gaze to Wash.

"Well, considering it's been approximately sixty minutes since she started, yes, I believe she's most likely finished," she replied, crossing her legs.

        They had taken a walk for a while, twisting and turning through endless halls. Wash had eventually calmed down more and the color returned to his already-pale-complextion. They ended up in the cafeteria which was pretty empty. Perfect for a place to calm down.

"Ha, ha," he muttered. "I just don't want to see...you know...those two things and then I'll be fine."

"How do you work at an animal shelter if you can't even deal with a person giving blood?" she asked, giggling slightly.

"That's different. I want to help the animals get better. People....I'd rather not have parts of my body transferred into others. Or on others. I like my body stuff with me," he replied, biting his lip.

"Okay," she agreed slowly. "But aren't you glad Maine's going to get the blood he needs?"

"Yeah, of course. I mean, I don't even have O negative in the first place. But the thing is, if he dies on that operating table, Carolina's not going to be able to forgive herself. She's going to think her blood wasn't good enough or that there was going to be more she could've done. That's partially why I wanted to stay far away from the process," he explained.

"He's going to make it," she declared confidently.

"How do you know?"

"Some might call it a gut feeling? I don't know. I do know one thing; even though I haven't known you guys for long, I know that Maine and South are something special. He's not going to leave her. According to Carolina, she's pretty...messed up? I don't know, I just know Maine is going to fight for her."

"Carolina runs her mouth a little too much. But she's right. South is...how'd you say it? Messed up? This shattered her tough exterior. When North and York got into a car wreck, sure, she was a bit worried at first, but she didn't break like she did now. She's worrying a lot of people."