After they pulled Kuza out of surgery, he was left in a coma. They didn't know when he'd wake up and from the sounds of it, the bleed was pretty bad. I hadn't slept really or taken the time to change. As I sat in the corner chair of his hospital room, I was still in my dress from last night. Both my makeup and the clothes I wore were ruined by the rain. I had to have looked like death warmed over.

At some point I drifted off just for a little while. Ricky's sweet voice gently woke me as he set a hand on my arm. I blinked myself awake and glanced at the clock. I got an hour sleep, if that. It's not Ricky's fault. He didn't know how long I'd been asleep.

"Sweetie, you don't have to stay here." He told me, "They said it's going to be a few days at the least before he wakes up. It could be weeks."

"That thing, the demon that did this to him, it will attack him when he's alone. I can't leave him right now." I replied.

He set some clothes down on the window beside me, "You at least need to shower and change your clothes. Get all this makeup off. I'll stay right here while you do."

I sighed, "You promise?"

"I promise." He reassured me.

A shower did sound pretty damn good right about now. I was a fucking mess and could use it. There was a bathroom attached to the room, as is standard for hospital rooms. I grabbed the pile of clothes and other items that Ricky had brought me. He knows me so well it's scary sometimes. I took out my contacts to give my eyes a break. Which, showering without contacts is a fucking death trap but fuck it.

By the time all was said and done, I went from the gothic bell of the ball to a librarian pretty much. Ricky is the only one that usually gets to see me in just a sweater, jeans, and my glasses. I'm not in the mood to struggle with makeup and all that shit right now. I just want to be comfortable and to be there for Mike.

"Hey pretty lady." Ricky greeted me as I walked out of the bathroom. He had stolen my chair and he was working on his laptop.

I leaned over and kissed the side of his head, "Hey. Everything going okay?"

"Nothing's really changed since you left." He replied. Ricky set his laptop on the table behind us so he could pull me into his lap. "I got word on the other four. One of them died already, another is in critical condition. The other two are stabilized."

"It wasn't the young one that died, was it?" I asked.

"London? No, he's one of the ones that's stabilized." He said.

"Good. I like that kid. He reminds me of myself when I was his age... You know, minus the prostitution part." I snickered.

"Hm, who knows. If he's anything like you, that means he's full of secrets. We've been together almost five years and I'm still learning more and more about you."

I snit playfully, "Right back at ya, Babe."

He paused to think about it, "Okay... Fair enough."

"I still love you, though." I responded, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"I love you, too, kitten. You're tired, I can tell. You should get some sleep."

"I'm not leaving this room." I insisted.

He started to rub his hand up and down my back to make me sleepier, "Who says you have to? Just go to sleep right here. I don't care. I've been dying to have you fall asleep in my arms again for a long time anyways."

I laid my head down on his shoulder, "You just have to promise to wake me up if anything happens."

"I promise, Baby. I'm here for you. No matter what." He whispered just as my eyelids became heavy.

Realistically, Kuza probably won't wake up for a few days. At the most, I expect him to open his eyes but he won't talk for awhile. It is Halloween. Hopefully the power of All Hallow's Eve will bring him strength. I would've never believed in that sort of thing before. After the last few months, I have no other choice.

| | |

Even the four or so hours of sleep I got made a huge difference. It was nearing eight o'clock when Ryan made his way down. I'm surprised it took him this long. He forced Reese to carry all of his shit. Sorry if I found that hilarious. Little bitch got demoted to being a pack mule. She deserved it after all the shit she's done to him. Maybe Ricky doesn't see it that way because it's his sister. I definitely do though.

The doctors tried to bitch at him about bringing around anything that would contaminate the air, since Kuza was on a vent right now. He wasn't going to have any of that shit and told them "It's my patient. Leave us the fuck alone". What would we ever do without him?

"Do you really think this will work a second time?" I asked, watching him light candles.

"It has no reason not to. They're not going to let you get away with laying with him but please try your best to not leave the room. There was something about you that he clung to. I don't know what it was, but you kept away this evil." He replied.

I leaned over the rail of the bed, grasping Kuza's hand. "Why though? I'm not the most powerful one of us all."

"Maybe it's not how much strength you hold, but how much strength you give him." He responded.

I almost jumped out of my skin when I felt Kuza squeeze my hand. Holy shit, he must be able to hear us. I thought that was all bullshit though. In the movies and all, that's not true that people remember what happens to them in comas. We've had plenty of fucking miracles though. What's one more? He didn't move much after that but it was enough to give me hope. He's still in there somewhere.

"It's okay, Baby. I'm not going anywhere." I whispered to him weakly.

There was apart of me that wished he would've retaliated the way he normally would. Kuza would call me out for my lies and I'd try to restitch the same wounds over and over again. He wasn't going to though. I'll be lucky if he fucking remembers how to speak when he wakes up. Ryan and the doctors all told me there's a good chance he won't remember us at first. It will come back eventually but fuck, it's going to hurt to have to take care of someone who doesn't even know who you are.

Ryan left to go treat the other three. Hours passed and Halloween was almost at a bitter end. I paced around that room, trying to do something to distract myself from my own thoughts. Eventually I found myself right back at his side, holding his hand. The clock was near 11:11. Maybe I was hoping the was some magic spell that would bring him back. Even if it brought me to tears, talking to him did help me so much.

"I know when you pull out of this, you're going to be so pissed you missed Halloween." I told him, sniffling, "It's almost 11:11. I'd say make a wish but I don't need to. I've got all I need, but I took it for granted. I'm sorry I took you for granted. The only wish I could make would be for you to get better."

He squeezed my hand for the second time that day. It didn't scare me as much this time as it gave me hope. Sometimes a beacon of hope can make you realize how slim the chances are. I felt hot tears rush down my face. I'd give anything to have him wipe them away for me. I leaned forward and kissed his forehead. If I could, I'd kiss his lips, but he had a vent down his throat to help him breathe. As I reopened my eyes, my fucking heart must've skipped a beat to see his looking back at me.

"Fuck." I grabbed my chest with my free hand, "I, um, I need to go tell the nurse you woke up. I'll be right back." I didn't get a chance to pull away because he squeezed down on my hand as I tried to. "Oh. You don't want me to leave, do you? ...Right. You can't answer me. I'll just hit the call button."

Did I mention that they had his arms and legs restrained? Yeah, not exactly something fun to wake up to. They're afraid if he doesn't remember where he is, he'll attack people. I hit the nurse's call button and she came in a few minutes later. She seemed just as shocked as me to see him awake. They knew he'd wake up soon but I doubt anyone expected it to be this fucking soon.