Future Holds || Bob's Burgers

13- I'm Here

Bob

Every time I leave the hospital, I'm terrified I'm going to come back to a corpse.

My heart hurts just thinking about everything. I hope Amelia knows how much we love and miss her.

I'm just...glad she's still alive at the very least. Let's hope she'll wake up soon.

I arrive to the hospital, allowing Zeke and Tina some time with the kids while I stay with Amelia.

"Hey kid." I greet.

She doesn't move. With a tube down her throat, she breathes unsteadily. God, that looks like it hurts.

"Ams...I'm so sorry. I just...I hope you know I'm here with you. And that...we all love you so much." I say.

"Baby...Baby...Baby..." I repeat, my heart breaking with every beat. It hurts so much.

"I love you so much...I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry." I begin to cry again. "I could've...I could've stopped this. I knew you were hurting and...I just didn't listen to you...I didn't...I should've followed you into your room. I should have...God I...I'm sorry."

She groans, making me jump in surprise. "Ams?"

"Ughhh..Gra...Paaa?" She mumbles.

"Gr-Grandpa? Did you just say Grandpa?!" I gasp.

My heart leaps in my chest. "Please tell me I heard you say it...Amelia, it's me. I'm here. I'm here!"

Her eyes shoot open, gasping for breath. "Gra-Gra-" She tries to speak, seemingly in pain.

"You...You don't have to talk." I reply. "You're alright. It's alright."

She still looks a bit blank behind the eyes. I pick up my phone and call Tina immediately.

"Dad? Is she okay? Oh God, please tell me she's okay." Tina begs, instantly worried.

"She's awake. I don't know how aware she is but...she sad Grandpa...she said...Tina, she called for me." I tell her.

"I'm...I'll be right there. I love you, Dad. Tell Amelia I'll be right there!" Tina exclaims.

After she hangs up, I talk to Amelia. "Your mom is coming. She'll be here soon. I promise."

The doctor tells us she's expected to recover as long as she receives dialysis for her kidneys, and we all keep a close eye on her health.

I clutch her hand and continue to talk, hoping it keeps her mind focused on me instead of how much she must be hurting.

"I'm so glad to see you, Ams." I say.

She groans. "Gra...Gram..." she's still trying to say something to me.

"It's okay. Don't strain yourself. I know it must hurt. But you don't have to talk right now. Everything is fine." I reassure her, trying to stop her from damaging herself further with more talking.

Amelia isn't fully aware right now, but I do see her eyes light up as she sees her parents.

"Oh my God, bug!" Zeke embraces her and begins to cry. "Bug, I'm here. I'm here now."

Amelia cries, the tube still down her throat. "H-Hurts" She manages to say weakly.

"Oh sweetheart, I know. Just breathe." Tina cries back, hating to see her baby in so much pain.

I'm just so glad she's alive. Awake and alive. I don't think I can bring myself to ever tear my eyes away from her.

Robbie soon runs in to see his sister, bursting into tears. "How could you leave us?! I love you, damn it!"

Amelia gives him an apologetic gaze and a few tears, still basically unable to speak without it hurting.

"Please don't go. I'm sorry. I'm really really really sorry." Robbie weeps.

She squeezes his hand softly, doing her best to communicate with him this way. I hope the pain subsides soon. It's hard to see her like this.

"I'm sorry." He croaks again. Robbie isn't a crier. But here he is at his most vulnerable, faced with the way too close death of his own sister.

"She doesn't blame you, bud." I say.

He sniffles. "I woulda really missed you."

I'm both relieved and terrified. Relieved that she's okay, but terrified that she felt she had to do this in the first place.

Amelia looks so fragile. The once bubbly and happy girl who never stopped smiling...she is now in tears.

I know this is going to be far from easy, but I'm gonna do everything I can to protect her.

I genuinely don't know if I could take it if she died. I think I might've just dropped dead myself.

So with every breath she now takes, I sigh with relief. She's here. She's alive. She's breathing.

Delilah soon lies down next to Amelia and reads a book to her. Her favorite book that Amelia would always read to her at night.

I remember reading that book to Amelia when she was tiny. God, time flies.

At least when she was little, I didn't have to worry about saving her from her own mind. But now I do. Now, she could be on the verge of a breakdown and I wouldn't even know it.

I hate how close it was this time.

This time. I say that like it won't be the last time. Even the thought of going through this again is agonizing.

It's not her fault. I can already tell how sorry she is, but it's not her fault. She genuinely thought...

Cassidy discovered a note that Amelia had written and gave it to Zeke. She explained what happened with this girl Dakota and the stupid prank she planned at the beach.

Amelia truly felt hopeless. She described her pain and said there was nothing left for her here.

But the truth is, there is so much left for her. Her future is bright and she doesn't even see it.

It just hurts to know that not only did Amelia feel this way, but Tina did at fifteen too. This isn't new for this family.

Which makes me feel all the more guilty. I should've recognized she was hurting and gone to help her before it resulted in a hospital stay and the near death of my grandchild.

I'm never going to stop feeling immense guilt over this. I'm just...I'm just glad that she's safe.

But is she? Because she clearly wasn't safe in her own head. And that scares the hell out of me.

All I know is I'm going to do everything in my power to keep Amelia from hurting herself ever again.