[Woot, super long part! Enjoy it guys, because I'm not near my computer tomorrow. Hopefully I can do a little bit, but like I said before: school's starting and I might have to do chauffeuring around...anywho, it's going to be difficult to type anything. So, enjoy what you can get! Oh, and comments pleases! I am in much need of those...Happy Reading! ^_^]
Keith stood outside the door to Belinda's room, fidgeting nervously. Maggie was waiting outside for Jack and this might very well be the last time - for now, at least - that he could talk to her alone. And he couldn't do it because he was scared out of his wits, scared that she would blame him too. But Maggie had insisted that he be the first in there, seeing as she had asked for him.
Hesitantly, he pushed the door open. She was asleep again, that much was obvious. Yet, this seemed a more peaceful slumber, as opposed to an enforced unconsciousness. Unlike before, when she was lying on her back, she was curled up in a ball on her side, breathing rhythmically. He stepped forward now, eager to hear her, to know she was alright. His hand brushed against her cheek, making his fingertips tingle.
And then her eyelids were fluttering open, her beautiful green eyes catching him where he stood. His hand stayed at her cheek as she started to sit up, smiling slightly. She looked so relieved, so alive that he couldn't help but let go of the breath he had been holding.
"Keith, you're okay!" Belinda cried out, trying to fling her arms around him. She looked at the IV in her arm with such frustration that Keith couldn't help but laugh. "What? What's so funny?" she asked eagerly, forgetting to be mad at him for laughing at her.
"I'm okay? Jeez Belinda, I'm not the one who's been in hospital for nearly three goddamned weeks! Do you know how much everyone's been missing you?"
"Says the guy who was stuck in a world with genies for two months! And I guarantee you were missed more."
"Oh, come on," Keith said, trying - and failing - not to blush. "It's just that I know more people. Trust me, if you knew them, they'd miss you more."
He hadn't realised that he was leaning forward, looking into those fathomless eyes. He only realised that they were so close when someone came barging into the room, making Keith jump nearly out of his skin. His hand jumped from her face automatically, his cheeks going an even deeper shade of red.
"You're really awake!" Jack called out, rushing to sit by her, hugging her tightly. Keith felt the guilt hit him full force. What had he been doing? Okay, so he missed her. Was that really a good excuse for what he'd been about to do? He felt the blush receding as the guilt overwhelmed him and he muttered something about going to get a drink.
"What? But you just got he-"
He didn't wait to hear the rest of Belinda's sentence. He had to get out of there now. Before he did something Jack would never forgive him for. He had already told himself he was going to keep his distance, going to let Jack make her happy. It was too much for him to cope with, being in the same room - alone - with her. He wondered, vaguely, whether this was what it was like to give up drugs. It was like she was a necessity, something he couldn't live without which he knew was absurd.
"Keith?" Maggie's voice brought him out of his depressed train of thought. He looked up at her from where he was sitting, next to the coffee machine. "Are you okay? Belinda looked kind of stressed and Jack said you ran out."
"Just came for some tea," Keith said, half-heartedly pointing at the machine. "Plus, didn't Jack want to talk to her...alone? I mean..."
"Well, he's not complaining, you know? Except Belinda thinks she said something wrong and he's trying to calm her down some. Not really working too well."
