Two Hearts

Just Teasing

Aisuru groaned. Her head felt like cotton. As if someone had started filling her ears and nose and mouth and even her eyes with cotton and just kept going until it filled her cranial cavity. She felt around blindly, finding herself alone in the worn out bed. She couldn't hear anything in the room, either.

She forced her eyes open, staring up at the stark white ceiling. Her chest constricted. She couldn't quite get enough air in her lungs. Her fingers tingled, feet going numb. She could remember being on the floor, screaming. What happened? What happened?

In the white room

She couldn't get her body to respond.

Alone

Couldn't make her lungs work.

Taken apart

Short, shallow, gasps for breath.

Stitched together

Panting, sobbing, paralyzed

No... No... Something else happened.

Something else happened

I tore my stitches. She swallowed her next sob, forcing her lungs completely empty. Her inhale was quick and squeaky, full of dizzying oxygen. "I... Tore my stitches," Her voice was ragged and the words were punctuated with sudden whimpers, "I t-tore my stitches, and L-law had t-to fix-fix them. And he... And he said... Said I wouldn't wake up in the white room again."

Aisuru hiccupped, bending her body back to her own will. She wiped at her eyes with a shaking hand and managed to sit up straight. The room she was in happened to be perfectly white, except for the grey egg shaped chair in front of the grey desk. Her head jerked to the side. On the small, white bedside table was a tray with a glass of water, a hunk of thick, fluffy bread, and a note.

Her motions were erratic and jerky still as she grabbed the paper.

Aisuru-ya, don't drink the water too fast. It will make you sick. Don't eat too fast for the same reason. Stay in bed and rest. I went to town with some of the crew. We will bring you back some clothes that fit.

Don't tear your stitches.

Law

Her face twitched into a smiling position, and she finally wiped away the last of the tears. She could hardly believe he added 'ya' even when writing. It was kind of cute. More importantly, he hadn't left her with nothing... It was nice to know that he seemed to care about his patients, though Aisuru hated to think of herself as that word.

You will never wake up in a room like that again.

There will never be another 'just because'.

She really wanted to believe in those words. For now, she settled for following the instructions on the note. As she was tearing off a small piece of bread to nibble on, the door swung open.

"I didn't knock," Bepo informed her shyly, "I'm sorry."

Aisuru managed a warm smile and patted the bed next to her. "That's okay. I didn't want to be alone, anyway."

The bear lumbered over to her, sitting at the very edge of the bed with his paws on his knees. He glanced up at her, then back to the floor. He fidgeted as she ate and drank, putting one paw over the other, and back again. When Aisuru leaned against the wall, eyes closed, he finally brought himself to speak. "How do you feel about captain? It's a funny question, so I'm sorry... Sorry for asking."

She snorted. "Why do you think it's a funny question?

"I just... Sorry."

"Well... I think he's alright." She shrugged. "For a doctor."