Knockin' on Heaven's Door (Axl Rose)

19: Wake-Up Call

I woke up in Axl's arms. Both of us were fully naked, but he felt so warm I didn't care. I snuggled closer, burying my face into his chest. He took a deep breath, shifting for me even in his sleep. Our legs were tangled, his hair was all over me, and the way he was holding me was so pure and innocent I almost forgot how much of a jerk he could be. I closed my eyes, wanting to fall back asleep like this.

Axl shifted again, taking a strange breath. He let go of me, sitting up a little bit. He ran his hands over his face a few times. Then he looked at me, smiling lightly. "You've got crazy hair," he said, running his fingers through the tangles of brown hair on my head.

"You look fly even when you've just woken up," I replied, turning and sitting up myself.

"You're adorable." He leaned forward, pecking my lips.

"Aww.. Where's the Axl I know?" I pouted.

"It's too fucking early for make outs, Angel-face," he groaned. He lifted the blankets, seeing that both of us weren't wearing clothes. "And after last night, the last thing you should be asking for is more."

"I'm insatiable when it comes to you," I replied plainly. I vaguely remembered last night. I remembered dropping acid, Axl realizing that I wasn't kidding about being an angel, and I remembered vaguely wanting all of Axl's skin on mine. I think somewhere down the line it turned into intimacy.

"That's sweet, but it's too early for me to rail you. I'm still tired. Let's sleep some more." He laid back down, pulling me against him once more.

"But we've been awake now. How can you fall back asleep?" I asked him, putting my face in the crook of his neck.

"Shhh. Don't talk, Angel-face," he whispered. "Just lay there quietly." I sighed as I shut my mouth, doing as he'd asked for me to. 

The door to the bedroom was thrown open. Axl sat up, shielding me with his body. "So you finally are awake. We've been trying to tell you stuff for hours!" Slash complained, barging in. 

"What's the big emergency? It's not like we have a-"

"Duff ended up in the hospital last night."

I sat up, not covering myself. "What happened?!" I demanded.

"A car hit him. It's not fatal, but it's bad." The guitarist ran his fingers through his curly hair. "I wouldn't worry about him too much. Just thought you might wanna know what the fuck is going on." He shot a dirty look at Axl. He looked at me again. "Nice tits." He turned away. "I'm going to the hospital. You can go if you want." He left the room, closing the door.

Axl threw the blankets off of himself, finding clothes in a drawer. He threw me some, and then started pulling on leather pants. He laced them up quickly while I stumbled out of bed. "Do I have to dress you, too?" He asked me, sounding a little annoyed.

"Do I have to come with you?" I'd never been to a hospital. The thought sent a bad feeling to the pit of my stomach and made me a little dizzy.

"You were the one all panicked. Now I'm taking you down there to see the bass player." He pulled a shirt over his head. I started following suit.

"What about underwear?" I asked, lacing up the leather pants that I'd been given.

"That's always optional," he smirked. I pulled my shirt over my head, feeling my skin grow warmer at the thought of people seeing me without anything under Axl's clothes.

He pulled my arm, then looked at my face. He let go of me to reach for my hand. It was trembling. "Hey, Duff is gonna be just fine. He's a tough guy."

I nodded slowly, knowing that he was right. I really hoped that he was right.

When we got to the hospital, it was a whole process. We had to say who we were here for, show some identification. That one was difficult. I didn't have identification. Axl simply explained that I couldn't drive, but I was who I said I was. I thanked him, grateful he'd pulled me out of that hole.

The room was small. Duff was sitting in an all-white bed in a poka-dot robe. From the neck up, he looked ridiculous. Long and messy blond hair clashed with clean walls, and a face with light make-up clashed with machinery with a somewhat futuristic feel. He looked at me and Axl, smiling weakly. "You didn't have to come. I'm alright."

"Yeah, well I didn't have a choice. Lucy was worried." I looked up at him. "What?" He asked.

"You really have a soft spot for her, don't you?" Duff asked, keeping his voice down. Axl didn't answer, but he really didn't need to.

"What are the damages?" I asked, changing the subject. The singer's face was contorting with slight distress at the thought of people seeing him be sweet and sensitive.

"Just a few bumps and bruises. I'm really alright." Izzy opened the door next, crowding the poor bassist.

"Look who finally decided to show up," he grumbled, looking at Axl and I. I looked down, Axl kept his head up. "When are they letting you out?"

"Should be in another hour or so. They just wanted to double check that none of my organs and were broken or anything."

I nodded slowly, wanting to sit down. I could feel the walls practically screaming at me. This was a sign, I could just feel it. Everyone was starting to sound far away. Was I going to throw up again.

"Angel-face, you look really pale again." Axl took my hand, lacing our fingers. "Let's get you outside for some air."