Let Me Be There

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Fuck the writers for not letting us know what Toni's emotional pain was about/why she needed that treatment so badly. The fact that she was so desperate to get rid of her emotional pain so much so that she kept mentioning it and wanted to go first... I'm so sad for her. We don't even know what she's been through. She clearly went through a lot of awful things that are still hurting her, but still remains kind and compassionate. 

"The Farm is a front. Kevin, Fangs... Edgar took their kidneys!" Betty frantically says to Cheryl. "There's a refrigerator filled to the brim with human organs. The Farm..." she pauses as she lifts a cooler onto Cheryl's bed "...is an organ farm."

"Are you trying to get shipped off to Shutter Island, you lunatic?" Cheryl asks, still not believing a word that Betty says about The Farm.

To try to convince her even more that she's telling the truth, Betty opens the cooler to reveal a human heart.

A look of horror washes over Cheryl's face as she scoots further back on her bed. "Oh, my God. Is that..." she goes to ask.

"Yes, Cheryl," Betty answers her question before Cheryl even finishes asking it. "This is why he keeps adopting kids... for his human chop shop."

Cheryl stares at her cousin with her mouth open in repugnance.

"Based on the price list I saw in the infirmary, it's lucrative as hell," the blonde girl adds in disgust.

"Infirmary?" Cheryl questions as she realizes something and panic washes over her like a wave. She quickly stands up from her bed. "If there's even a chance you're right, Toni's procedure is today, the nurses just took her away!" she exclaims, her voice cracking at the end. She starts walking past Betty and towards the door. She runs her hand over her forehead and through her hair in distress.

"Okay, go-go get Toni. I'll get Kevin and Fangs," Betty says to placate Cheryl. The redhead doesn't need to be told twice as she opens the door, and hastily makes her way to her girl.

***

A few hours later, Cheryl is sitting by Toni's side as the smaller girl slowly comes around and takes in her surroundings.

As soon as she sees the shirt that Cheryl is wearing is covered in blood, Toni starts getting worried: "Cher, what happened?! Are you okay?" she asks, her voice hoarse from the anesthesia. 

Cheryl stifles a laugh. Her girlfriend is the one laying in a hospital bed, but she's asking Cheryl if she's okay. That's her girl, always thinking of others before herself. 

"I'm fine, TT. This isn't my blood..." the redhead answers gently, not wanting to upset Toni, but also not wanting to lie to her either.

Realization hits Toni like a truck when she feels a sharp pain on the lower right side of her back. "T-that's m-my b-blood, i-isn't i-it?" she stutters out.

Cheryl nods numbly. While Toni was in surgery, the redhead was going to go back to Thistlehouse to change her clothes, but she couldn't bear the thought of leaving Toni alone in the hospital. 

"Why are you covered in my blood? Why aren't we at The Farm? Why am I in the hospital? Why am I in so much pain? And what about my treatment, Cher?" Toni asks. The tone in her voice breaks Cheryl's heart, it's the first time she's ever heard her sound small and in distress. The shorter girl is panicking and confused, and as a result, her heart monitor starts beeping wildly. Then her face crumples as tears fill her eyes.

"Shh. Don't cry, TT. It's okay, baby. You're safe. Just please calm down," Cheryl coos as she gently places her hand on Toni's shoulder, and rubs it tenderly.