Innocent Bystander

Chapter Twelve: The Hospital Room

AN: Quick Fun Fact: I was originally planning on killing off Gabe as they did in the show, but I had WAY too many headcanons for if he had survived and I wanted to see them all play out, so I changed the ending. Not to mention, the old ending was kinda anti-climactic. The last chapter was basically just Alice, Nolan, and Katie being grieving messes, and also *fluff*. Plus, Katie would have ended up with Theo if Gabe had died, which would have sucked for the Thiam shippers.

Alright, here's the fallout from the events of the last chapter, featuring a Big Brother reference. Please enjoy.

(TW: Death)

I gradually woke up what I could only assume was hours later in a hospital bed. When I opened my eyes, my parents, Aunt Linda and Uncle Jonathan were standing - and in Mom's case, sitting - around me. I had no clue where Gabe was, but I assumed he was keeping an eye on Charlie outside (Because why would a seven-year-old boy stay home alone this late at night?).

Now that I think of it, I don't think I've described Aunt Linda and Uncle Jonathan in detail yet, have I? Let me start with Aunt Linda.

Aunt Linda was Mom's older sister by two years. She had the same blonde hair and brown eyes as her, and her freckles, much like Gabe's, weren't that noticeable. She was the type of parent to always be worried about her kids (or, kid), which is probably where Gabe got his overprotective tendencies.

He got his sense of humor from Uncle Jonathan, who was basically a mid-forties, Brazillian version of Enzo from season twelve of Big Brother. He kinda looked like him too; Little to no hair to the point where he was always sporting a hat of some sort (On that night, it was a gray paperboy hat). Brown eyes. An overall fun-loving demeanor. Honestly, the only thing missing was the Jersey accent.

Now that those descriptions are out of the way, let's get back to the main story.

"Guys- guys, she's awake!" Mom exclaimed in a hushed tone. She turned to me and asked "Alice, sweetie, can you hear me?"

"Yeah," I mumbled half-consciously. It was at that point that I wanted to ask about Nolan - I had no clue where he was either - but I bit my tongue. Was I even allowed to date at this age?

That's when I realized what I had on; While I was unconscious, the nurses who put me in the emergency room must have taken off my sweater and thrown one of those baggy hospital gowns on over me (Don't worry, they kept my leggings and t-shirt on. It'd be predatory if they didn't). Because my forearms were exposed, the ink on my wrist, which had turned an emerald green after Nolan kissed me, was fully exposed for my entire family to see.

Dad - of all people - noticed my wrist, and spoke up.

"So," He inquired with a smile, "Who's the lucky guy?"

I knew he already knew the answer, based on what I'd heard in the garage, but if there was anything I knew about Bradley Simmons, it's that he LOVED to ask questions. Mom looked over at my wrist and gasped - Don't worry, it was a good kind of gasp - but yeah, she gasped.

"Oh, you finally found your soulmate!?" She exclaimed happily.

"Yeah," I replied timidly, blood rushing to my cheeks, "It's Nolan. Nolan Holloway."

"Gabe's best friend, Nolan?" Aunt Linda inquired.

"Yes."

I looked at Dad. I thought he was gonna go ham on Nolan for going anywhere near his precious daughter. But no. He just smiled.

"Congrats, kiddo." He said.

"You're cool with it?" I asked. Dad shrugged comically.

"Yeah, I mean, as long as he knows to keep his hands to himself until at least after colle-" He started before Mom cut him off.