The Accident: A Tinker Bell Fanfiction

7. An Empty Shell

The Accident

 7.

When Terence awoke, it was early afternoon. He had only slept about four hours, but it was the most restful sleep he had had since Tinker Bell was injured. The boy felt sick to his stomach about it, too. Terence knew he needed this to stay sane, but it left a bitter feeling that he had abandoned Tinker Bell for his own selfish reasons. He had to work hard to convince himself it was for the best. If I can't keep my mind sharp and focused how am I going to take care of Tinker Bell? This line of reasoning helped ease his guilt.

Taking advantage of the relief, Terence chose to have a bit of lunch and then make a few purchases before returning to the hospital to resume his duties keeping watch over that lovely girl he loved most.

~O~

"Well, there you are," Rosetta said cheerfully. "It's about time. We were gettin' worried you might never come back.

Terence knew she was joking. "Oh, I'll always come back to help my friends," he said. "And for you, too, Ro."

"Good one, Terence," Fawn said with a smile.

All of Tink's girl friends had assembled in the hospital room. When their shifts ended, they each came over to keep Silvermist company and to check on Tink's status.

"The doctor says Tinker Bell has a good chance of making through this week," Sil told him.

"Yeah, whatever it is you're doing, keep doing it," Fawn told him.

"What, exactly, are you doing?" Vidia asked with her trademark smirk. "Nothing goofy, I hope."

"Vidia!" Ro chided her.

"I'm just yanking his wings, Ro," the flyer said. "Everyone knows he has a crush on Tinker Bell."

To Terence it was as if all the air had been sucked out of the entire room.

"You knew about that?" Terence asked.

"We do now," Vidia said.

"So it is true," Rosetta said. "I thought I saw a hint of unrequited love in his face lately."

Terence just shook his head. He could not believe he had fallen for such an obvious trick. "Well, nothing is going to kill my good mood today. I brought each of you something for your kindness this week."

The young dust keeper gave each of the girls a box of Pixie Hollow's finest chocolates.

"Oh these look delicious, Terence," Iridessa said. "But these are expensive. I bet they set you back almost a week's rations.

"For everything you've done for Tinker Bell, it's the least I could do," he answered.

The blonde-haired sparrow man than presented each of the girls with a flower, a pink Rose blossom which he said symbolized friendship. Then he placed a different flower in Tinker Bell's hands and laid it on her chest. The bloom, which sat on a long, green stem, had six white petals and several stamens at the center.

"What is that?" Iridessa asked.

"Oh, that's a Grass Lily," Rosetta said, identifying the flower. "Now why would you bring that weed in here, Terence? I don't even like having it in my gardens; it takes over if a fairy isn't careful."

"It's from the Griffiths," he said.

"It is a nice gesture, but why that particular flower?" Fawn asked.

Terence opened up a piece of leaf paper. On it was a letter, transcribed from the original written on a human size piece of loose-leaf paper.

"It has a different significance to the humans," he said. "They call it a Star of Bethlehem flower. It refers to something in their religious texts and it is meant to symbolize innocence, purity and above all, hope. Lizzy writes that this flower was blessed by the local Vicar and she believes it will help with Tinker Bell's recovery."