Saving You

Part 2

The next time Kane woke up, the darkness from the window was trickling white moonlight into the room. A steady breeze made it airier than it had been before. Kane suspected it must be late in the evening. A suddenly ache in his arms drew his attention back to his injuries, though he was startled to see that there were no nails pinning him down any longer. He pulled his arms into his lap with a grunt. They were bandaged liberally, blood staining them from inside. Kane winced just as another throb of pain exploded in both arms. He yelled involuntarily, and then laid back down on the surprisingly comfortable surface underneath him. Turning his head, he realized he was on a bed, his head resting on a soft, elevated bump he could only infer to be a pillow. His senses were on red-alert. Where was Abby? She had mysteriously gone missing, probably while he was out... And who had patched him up?

Kane sighed and let his mind race with all of the wild thoughts he had threatening to escape from his mouth. For now, he'd just lay low, be thankful that someone had taken it upon themselves to help him. If he was indeed still in Polis, he would keep quiet, try not to blow his cover if he hadn't done already.

But then - someone entered the room. Kane fell silent. He froze, watching as the figure swept across the room, crossing from the doorway to the bed. He held his breath, but as they leaned over him, the dim light illuminated their face and drew his breath out of him in a gasp. It was Abby.

....
He stared into her pale face, and she started back at him. For a moment he was too terrified to move. But then she drew away, plopping down instead onto the bed. To Kane's surprise, Abby put her head in her hands and began to weep - quiet, shaking sobs that completely broke his heart again.

Despite his agony, his utter suffering, Kane sat up and brought his hands to her shoulders. Abby looked over at him, hurt and sadness in her big brown eyes. Kane's voice was soft as he spoke to her, "Are you A.L.I.E., or Abby? My Abby?"

Abby looked at him and a tear trailed down her cheek. "Oh, Marcus, I'm so sorry, so sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Instead of replying, Kane scooched over to her. He gathered her swiftly into a passionate embrace. She crumpled into his arms, and he felt her sobs wracking through her body, her heart racing.
"Shhh, it's alright," he told her, rocking her gently and resting his chin atop her head. He smoothed down her hair, which was all but loose and wild.
Her chest heaved as she held onto his forearms feebly. Kane ignored the pain that shot through him at her touch, instead savouring the feeling of her in his arms - she, herself, not A.L.I.E. or AI Abby. The Abby he loved with all his heart.

~
Abby's sobs finally petered out a few moments later. Kane kissed her head softly, and released her so he could look at her. She twisted around to face him, her own tear-stained, eyes puffy, lips swollen, bruised and bloody. Kane's heart broke yet again.

"Are you alright?" he asked her sincerely.

Abby frowned. More tears fell as she replied, "Me? Marcus, who cares about me, look at you! You-you, the man who was just impaled!"

"That wasn't your fault." he told her.

Abby stared up into his eyes. "No, Marcus. No. I will never forgive myself for this. For what I did to you."
Her voice shook with emotion. "And you don't get to forgive me, either."

"Abby..."
Kane reached out to her, but she flinched. Instead, she grabbed his arm and pulled it towards her, palm-up. She ran her hands lightly over the gauze as if checking his wounds, but then she gave a little choked noise and she was crying again.

"This is all my fault," she was sobbing, "I'm so sorry, Marcus. I never wanted to hurt you, ever - I shouldn't have let her take control of me!"

Kane reached over to grab her hands. He squeezed them as tightly as he could. "Hey. This was A.L.I.E., not you. Abby, I forgive you a million times over. Because you didn't know what you were doing. You weren't you."

She shook her head. "No, I'll never stop hating myself for what I did. What I..."

She paused. "...said." she finished. 

Kane fell silent, yet his fingers continued to skim over her smooth skin. 

"Did I - what did I say to you?" Abby asked, forcing him to look into her eyes.

Kane thought about that. How it had utterly broken him to hear her words. He shook his head. "It doesn't matter now. What matters is-"

"Not going to happen until you tell me what I said to you," she cut him off. She gazed into his eyes, pleading. Her hands covered his, but they were so much gentler than they had been before he lost consciousness. "Please, Marcus. If you won't let me hate myself, at least give me a good reason why I shouldn't."

Kane sighed heavily, and looked down at his bandaged arms. "Alright. You told me what I needed to hear. You told me... I was a monster, that you hated me, that you didn't know why you had ever forgiven me in the first place. But, Abby, that's true. It's all true."

Abby tilted her head worriedly. "Marcus..." Tears sprang to her eyes again.

"No, Abby," he cut her off softly, "No, you were right." 

He inhaled sharply before moving off the bed, away from her. He slowly lowered himself off of it, ignoring the burning pain in his wounded wrists, casting one last longing glance at her before walking back to the doorway. "I never deserved you." he told her quietly, watching as her tears rained down her face, his heart silently shattering yet again. 

It wasn't the first time this had happened between them. 

As he closed the door behind him, he was met with none other than Thelonious Jaha.