What Happened in the Morning...

Aftershocks and Quinceaneras

Chapter Nine

Later that evening, the two Lombaxes were out cold, only with an occasional snore from Ratchet. This was all very amusing to Clank. Before Alice came into the picture, he and Ratchet would sleep together in the bed, with the Lombax cuddling him like a teddy bear. To some it might be weird and even disgusting, but it doesn't seem the slightest bit strange to them. It was just out of habit. But now that he met this other Lombax, those nights were over. Even though he missed those days greatly, Clank still felt happiness that his best friend found love. Speaking of which...

"Meh...five more minutes..."

Clank laughed as he saw Ratchet starting to mumble in his sleep ,with Alice in his arms. He had to admit - they looked kind of cute together. At that moment, Alice opened her tired eyes and let out a small yawn.

"Hm," she mumbled while rubbing her eyes, Ratchet opening his tired eyes as well. "I really need to stop sleeping so much." Ratchet chortled gently as they roused up from the sofa, stretching their arms and legs as they became numb from being snuggled for so many hours. As she stretched her body, Alice gave a small gasp of pain. Ratchet picked up on the sound of distress and turned to see her grasping to her side and panting heavily.

"Are you okay?" he asked, carefully touching the bandages so not to hurt her more. But the moment he touched it, she flinched in pain, causing him to jerk his hand away. "Sorry," he said sheepishly, afraid to hurt her more than she already was. She looked up and gave him a painful smile.

"It's fine," she said, removing her hands from the bandages to reveal a dark red stain. Both of them grimaced as they remembered how that happened in the first place. She clutched it in pain as another agonizing shock came from the wound. Because she jerked so violently, some blood broke through the scab and oozed onto the remaining white parts of the gauze. She completely panicked as the blood dripped from the wound to the ground, leaving red drops on the floor. Reacting quickly, Ratchet rushed to the kitchen cabinet containing the first aid kit. He dug through it for a couple of seconds before finding a roll of gauze and dashed back to the living room only to find her curled up in a half fetal position, grasping onto her wound and breathing extremely hard. Her face was strained and there was a small puddle of blood underneath her. The harder she held her side, the harder she breathed. Ratchet rushed to her side and felt her chest. Her heart was pounding out of it and she started breathing shallower. He sprinted to his room to grab his O2 mask because if she didn't get enough oxygen, she might faint and die from lack of oxygen. He snarled as he pushed this thought to the back of his head. She wasn't going to die. Not under his watch.

Ratchet rushed down the stairs and ran to Alice's side. When he did, his heart sank to the pit of his stomach. She was limp; no signs of life whatsoever. Her eyes were closed, she was pale, and her body temperature was dropping. It wasn't as serious as before but it was still alarming. Clank was kneeling next to her, feeling her wrist for a pulse. Ratchet reacted and quickly placed the O2 mask over her face. Once it was on, he started performing CPR, desperately trying to help her breathe. After a few compressions, Ratchet sighed in relief as he finally felt a rise in her chest, signifying that she was breathing. He lifted her body into his arms, her limbs hanging lifelessly on his lap. He cradled her and closed his eyes, hoping in vain that she would wake up. Ratchet growled under his breath. Even though she seemed to be doing better on the outside, she was internally traumatized. The shock and suffering from being shot has caused her to become weak and fragile; even the slightest cut could be fatal for her at this point. Ratchet swore to himself that when she awakened, he would personally hunt down Nefarious and kick his sorry little butt. He'll show him what he gets for messing with his girlfriend.

".........mm....."

Ratchet's ears perked up as he heard the quietest little murmur. He looked into her face to see her chocolate brown eyes half-opened, bloodshot and weary. He frowned as she shifted uncomfortably in his lap, whining in pain as she twisted her body. He noticed that despite the O2 mask, she was having trouble breathing. He pressed on her chest a few more times and then her breathing became a little more even. He pressed his cheek against hers and a tear rolled down his face. He felt so guilty for how agonizing the pain must feel for her and how the cyborg even broke into the house in the first place. Even though he only knew her for about a day, he felt that she's been with him for practically his whole life.