aeipathy | one shot collection

dead or alive pt. 2

*Aubree's POV*

I immediately jump out of the creaky hospital chair, stumbling over to Willow's hospital bed. I grasp her clammy hands in my shaky ones, pulling her fingers to my lips and kissing her knuckles.

"Willow," I cry into her skin. I reach up and touch her forehead. Cold sweat is matted into her hair, her skin a pale green. Her eyes are open, blinking rapidly and with much difficulty. When I speak, her eyes try to find me, the source of the voice.

The doctor soon rushes in, a smile stretching across his face when he sees her eyes are open. He was her surgeon.

"Dr. Hurley," I murmur, standing up and shaking his hand. "Thank you so much."

He puts his other hand on top of mine, smiling at me kindly. "Don't thank me. This was all Willow. She found her way back home. To you."

I smile at him gratefully, hundreds of emotions washing through my heart at once.

"I do have some information to tell you. The accident resulted in a broken clavicle, which is basically her collar bone, and parts of her sternum is fractured. The scapula, below her clavicle, is also fractured. She had what is called a cardiac contusion, which is an injury to the heart. All of that made her unconscious; if you weren't awake during the accident and didn't call 911, she would have likely gone into a coma."

My heart drops and my hands go to my mouth.

"Fortunately, though, she was never comatose completely. The contusion to her heart was so severe it stopped it completely, but she started breathing again with the help of the Defibrillator. Willow was very, very lucky."

I wrap my arms around the doctor, thanking him over and over. When he leaves I sit next to Willow again, who has fallen back to sleep. Sleep is the best thing for her right now.

About an hour later, I'm starting to drift off to sleep in the chair that feels like a bag of rocks when there's a knock on the door. A nurse steps in and glances at me apologetically.

"Miss? Your daughter is well enough to be seen now. She is asleep and all stitched up. She'll be up and at 'em in no time."

I nod, a big smile finding it's way on my somber face. "Thank you."

"Also, Miss, two people are here to see you and your family. I believe their names are Hailey and Patrick?"

"Oh yeah! Send them up here, please."

The nurse smiles at me and leaves. I wait in here for them so they don't get lost.

"Aubree?"

The door opens slightly and Hailey's head pops in. An expression of concern is on her face until she sees my smile.

"Come in! We're all doing fine."

When they come in the room and find a seat, I fill them in on everything that's happened from the beginning to now. They look shocked.

"Oh my God, I'm so glad all of you are alright," Patrick murmurs, patting my knee. Hailey nods.

"I'm sorry we didn't make it to that dinner. Who knows what you two were thinking when we didn't show up-"

"Don't worry about that. It doesn't matter to us. What matters is the fact that you are okay and safe." Hailey gets up and looks at Willow, who has wires snaking out of her nose and bandages everywhere on her body. She gingerly takes her hand, Patrick emerging from behind Hailey to see.

"Do you want to see Marie?" I ask. They nod.

-----

"When can I go home?"

The nurse laughs as she refills Willow's meds.

"I'm not sure yet. In a couple days, maybe. You've been in a really bad car accident. You need the time to rest. Then we'll talk about discharging you."

Willow huffs. "Fine."

When the nurse walks out, Willow looks at me with puppy dog eyes.

"Willow, I can't get you out of here any faster than the doctor can. We don't want you getting injured even more," I mumble, maneuvering in the stupid, creaky chair. Willow sighs.

"This is all my fault," Willow says abruptly.

"What?"

"None of this would have happened if I'd just paid attention to the damn road and stopped drifting in and out of my fucking mind. You wouldn't have a huge gash on your head or cuts all over you, Marie wouldn't have stitches or glue in her. This is all because of me." Sighing, she looks down, probably so I wouldn't see her cry.

I grab her hand, wiping my thumb across her cheek. "No no no honey, this wasn't your fault. Please don't blame yourself. It could have happened to anyone, and all of us are fine. You got hurt the most, and I hate it. I wish it were me. But I still have you and Marie, and that's all that matters. You didn't leave me."

She looks down again, absently scratching her arm.

"How's Marie?"

"She's good," I start after a sigh, leaning back into the chair. "She's still staying at Hailey's. They're taking great care of her. She's handling what happened alright; mostly because she knows both of us are okay."

Willow frowns, painfully moving around on the bed. "I have a broken clavicle, whatever the hell that is. And fractured whatever-it's-called and something-or-other. When she sees all these braces and splints she's gonna freak out, isn't she?"

I take her hand gently. "I'm not sure. She's never had to deal with something like this. But she's a strong little girl. We'll all be okay."