"She must've seen them coming... pushed us out of the way."
"The doctor told me earlier that if a car of that size had hit us, we wouldn't have survived."
"... She saved our lives."
The voices echoed around Dylan, surrounding her like a warm blanket of familiarity. Was she dreaming? No, the voices were too familiar. She knew those voices. They sounded so close, within touching distance. Light poured into her vision as she finally opened her eyes, bringing herself out of the purgatory dream-land. She felt like she'd been sleeping for years, her mind groggy and weary from the mere effort of her consciousness coming back to the world.
Someone gasped near her, and something warm squeezed her hand. Was someone holding her hand? Her vision clearing, she focused on the person sitting next to her, the person holding her hand to their face.
"Dylan?!" The voice said excitedly. She knew that voice. Kenshi? Her vision focused once more, and there he was. His eyes were red and swollen but he smiled down at her, her hand pressed dearly against the side of his face.
"Ken...shi?" She whispered, her throat incredibly dry.
"That's right baby, I'm here! I'm right here." He said, joy radiating from his voice and causing her to smile weakly. A group of other bodies entered her vision, and she blinked wearily, seeing the faces of the other Black Foxes crowded around her. They all looked relieved and yet ashamed at the same time, worry clouding all of their eyes, and Dylan wondered why. She went to sit up in the bed to looked around, but a pain in her side prevented her, and she winced. Kenshi squeezed her hand and looked more concerned. He got up and sat on the bed next to her, cupping her cheek with his hand gently. Like she was a damaged doll he was afraid to break. Did she look as bad as she suddenly felt?
"Where... where are we?" She whispered.
"You're in the hospital Dill pickle." Takuto said quietly, handing her a cup of water. She graciously took the cup from his hand and downed its contents within seconds.
Hiro patted her arm lightly. "How are you feeling?"
She gave a short chuckle and groaned, her side beginning to throb dully. "God, I feel like I was hit by a truck."
Kenshi's expression looked pained as he gave her a weak smile. "Y-You were pumpkin."
Dylan stiffened and smiled despite herself. "Oh... yeah, right."
"Do you remember what all happened?" Riki asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, I remember. It's not exactly something one could just easily forget."
"You saw that truck coming, didn't you?" Atsumu asked, his voice gentle.
She nodded. "Yeah. It was coming full speed and I just... reacted... My body just kind of moved of its own accord. I just knew that I had to push you guys out of the way... W-What happened to me?" Kenshi looked even more pained, bordering on anger, but he didn't say a word. He didn't look like he was able to say a word.
But Hiro responded for him, seeing Kenshi's face. "You broke three ribs, punctured a lung, got a pretty nasty cut from the glass on your forehead that needed fifteen stitches..."
Dylan mustered a smile, more for Kenshi than for herself. "That's not going to be fun for the next few weeks."
Riki smiled back at her. "Just means that you'll have us at your beckon call in the mean time."
She laughed softly. "I think I may like that. Hey, how long was I out anyway?"
"A few days." Hiro said, and the room fell silent once again. No wonder Dylan had woken up feeling like she'd been asleep for years, she'd practically been comatose for days. And no wonder the guys were fawning over her so.
Kenshi looked over his shoulder at the guys. "Hey, you guys think you could go grab some coffee for a bit? I want to talk to Dylan alone for a bit."
Atsumu patted Kenshi on the back and nodded. "Sure. We'll go grab some coffee, grab you another cup as well."
As the boys were leaving, Takuto turned and looked over at Dylan. "Hey, I'm going to get you that tea you like while we're gone."
Dylan smiled at him. "Thanks pork noodles."
"Welcome Dill pickle." He shouted over his shoulder as he ran after the rest of the Black Foxes.
She and Kenshi were silent for several moments, like they were trying to find the right thing to say. But what do you say to your boyfriend after you just wake up after being in a car accident? Especially to a boyfriend who looked almost as broken as she felt. She'd never seen him look so upset, or so... guilty looking. It hurt her own heart seeing him like this, and she stroked his hand with her own.
She looked up at Kenshi. "How... How bad is the truck?"
"Truck was totaled."
She winced again but not from the pain. "I'm sorry about your truck Kenshi, I promise that I'll..."
"I don't care about the damned truck Dylan," Kenshi interrupted, "I can always buy a new truck... I can't buy a new you!" He closed his eyes and lowered his head, holding her hand against his face. The sincerity in his voice reverberated through her, and she realized why he was so upset. She tried to put herself in his shoes, thinking about how she would feel if Kenshi had been in a car accident.
"Kenshi?" She asked, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.
"I thought I almost lost you there for a bit." He finally whispered after a few moments, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Well, you didn't. And that's the important part."
He opened his eyes and looked down at her, a wetness brimming his eyes. "But I almost did. God Dylan, I'm just... I'm so sorry..."
"For what? You didn't do anything wrong!" She soothed, reaching up and stroking his cheek with her thumb.
"You did that for us. For me. The guys and I probably would have died if you hadn't have done that. You got this way because of me!"
She lightly, and playfully, popped him on the cheek with her hand. "Now Kenshi Inagaki! I don't ever want to hear you say something like that again, you hear me? This isn't your fault. Not in the least. The people who were coming down the road towards you guys, and hit me, is responsible for this. I don't ever want you to blame yourself for this. Ever."
"But..."
"No but's! Would you have done that for me?"
"Of course I would have..."
"Then quit blaming yourself for this. You wouldn't want me to do the same if I were in your shoes, would you?"
He shook his head bashfully. "No."
"Exactly, so quit blaming yourself."
Finally, he smiled feebly at her. "You're my little angel, you know that?"
"I know. And damned proud of it." She teased, giggling lightly so as not to disturb her side. He leaned forward and gingerly kissed her lips, the taste of him so intoxicating that when he pulled away, she wished he hadn't.
He held her hand against his cheek, squeezing his eyes shut briefly. "I love you so much, and I was just so scared Dylan."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Now don't you go apologizing!" He said curtly, but with a smile, "You saved my life Dylan. And not just mine, but our friends lives as well... I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you for that."
"You can just get your mom to bake me one of those awesome cakes of hers and we'll call it even."
Kenshi laughed and kissed her forehead gently, making sure not to touch the bandage covering her cut. "I'm sure she'd bake you a hundred cakes if you wanted."
"Well with how hungry I am right now, don't tempt me. I might just call her up and tell her to fire up the ovens."
"The guys should be coming back around soon, I'll see if anyone can run out and sneak you in something good. Not this nasty hospital food."
"Be still my heart, you know me well."
"I just know that I have an amazing woman with a wonderfully healthy appetite for food. What could make a man happier?" He laughed, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear.
She smiled at him. "I don't know, what would make you happier?"
His expression darkened slightly, and he had a determination in his eyes that she had never seen before. "Me finding out who did this to you. That will be what makes me happy here soon. But don't worry honey, we're going to figure this out. And we're going to figure this out together. Just rest for now, I'll be right here beside you. I'll always be right here beside you love." At his loving words, Dylan closed her eyes, feeling as he stroked her hair gently, and drifted back off to sleep.