Till the End of the Line

Coding

The Med Bay is in total chaos. People are scrambling everywhere, and nurses are rushing Becca out in her bed. 

Naturally I follow, trying not to show too much emotion. 

From what I gathered she's contracted some infection from the wound. 

There's nothing the doctors can really do except wait it out.

Unfortunately, it's highly aggressive and is attacking her heart.

And now she's coding. 

God this day couldn't get any worse.

As nurses rushed by me with tubes and needles, I couldn't seem to move. I was vaguely aware of someone telling me to move, but my feet wouldn't.

I watched as they stuck needles and tubes into her. She looked so frail, so pale. Her silver hair had lost its sheen, and the circles under her eyes were dark. 

God please don't let her die. 

I'm terrified. I shouldn't be feeling. I shouldn't be remembering. I shouldn't be afraid.

But here I am, terrified that I'm going to lose my only...friend...in this shithole we call home. 

I sit and wait by her bedside, holding her hand tightly, trying not to cry. If I cried, they'd wipe me and re-program me for sure. 

I listen to the steady beep of the heart monitor, the IV drip into her veins, the canula tube snaking from her nose to help her breathe. 

All I could do was hold her hand. 

"God Becca. How the hell did you get to be so brave?" 

I whisper as I stare at my student,

"You took that bullet for me. I should have seen it coming. I am so...so sorry for that. I'm so sorry for everything. For how I treated you, how I hurt you, I-" Suddenly my throat felt tight, and it was hard to breath or speak. 

"I...I need you. The Red Room needs you. You're a hero Becca. You're my hero, the reason I haven't tried to kill myself. You're the only thing in this goddamned world that's keeping me from going insane so please...please...don't leave me here alone."

My voice is shaky, and my eyes are getting hot. I squeeze her clammy hand in my flesh one, my metal clenched so hard against the arm of the chair that I was vaguely aware of the cracking noise of the wood splintering.

I didn't care. To hell with the chair. To hell with this entire world because that's where he'd be going if Becca died. That's what this world would be without her in it. 

"You're such a fighter. You're so strong, and such a pain in the ass. I need you. Please keep fighting."

I squeeze her hand harder and sit there in a cold silence. 

Then I feel movement, its weak but it's there. 

She squeezed back.