The Accident: A Tinker Bell Fanfiction

5. The Vigil

The Accident

5.

After nightfall, the last of the visitors left. Among them were fairies and sparrow men of other guilds besides the tinkers, including Fairy Gary who had a soft spot in his heart for Tinker Bell. When the last of them had gone, doctors told Terence he could leave whenever he wanted.

"No, I'm staying," he replied, and indeed he did. Terence kept vigil over his beloved fairy throughout the night. He watched over her like the protector he should have been earlier that day and wasn't. He spoke to her regularly, related some juicy gossip he heard and even explained a few things about being a dust keeper that Tinker Bell had always wanted to know, but he was always too busy to tell her. Terence said whatever he could just to keep her mind active and his off what could be her last evening of her life.

Late at night, his eyes started to droop and he began to nod off. Terence forced himself to stay awake by getting up and walking around, making sure Tinker Bell's bed was tidy and that her room was orderly. Not that there was much to arrange, some of the visitors earlier that day brought a few flowers of condolences and Terence would move them around to look nice. It was all just so much busy work to keep his mind and body from falling asleep.

However, despite remaining ardently positive, deep inside Terence still held many doubts and they kept him in a constant state of anxiety and fear. This took its toll on him as exhaustion began to overwhelm his most strident attempts to keep awake. He sat down for a moment to speak with Tinker Bell, taking her hand in his and stroking it with his thumb. The next thing he knew, Terence was in the hallway still sitting in the chair.

~O~

"Hunh? What happened? Where am I?" he asked no one in particular.

"He's awake now doctor," someone said from inside the room. A healer talent walked out of the door and shook Terence's hand. The same doctor that spoke to Terence yesterday and told him Tinker Bell wouldn't survive the night.

"What happened? Is she still alive?" Terence asked, panic setting in.

"I don't know what you did last night, my boy, but it seems to have worked," the healer said. "She made it through the night."

"Thank the second star," Terence said, gasping with relief.

"I am very surprised," the physician added. "I would have staked my reputation that she was going to perish before sunrise. Well, that being said, despite some improvements your friend is still going to have a hard time ahead of her."

"What do you mean?" Terence asked.

"She was without oxygen for an extended period of time; it could have resulted in brain damage. If that is the case, then we must consider the possibility she may never wake up. Tinker Bell could be a vegetable for the rest of her life," the doctor answered.

This answer struck Terence at his core. To think that he could win the battle and still lose the war was a sickening proposition.

The doctor continued. "Also, her injuries are still going to be a threat to her life for at least the rest of the week. She may need more of your brand of comfort to make it all the way through."

"I'll stay here as long as it takes," Terence told the healer. "She is my best friend, I owe it to her."

"Well said, young man," the doctor told him before going back into the room.

"Wait, why was I out here this morning?" Terence asked him.

"Oh, we had to examine her and change her bandages," the physician replied. "We tried to wake you, but you were dead asleep, if you will pardon the pun. We moved you out here until we finished. You can come back in now if you choose."