His screaming continued, emitting the same words over and over again. And her confusion lit up her face in every corner as she tilted her head to give Cassie a questioning look.
Wife? What wife?
Cassie avoided her burning gaze and focused on her hands instead; lips pressed together in a tight line --her face almost screaming 'I know something you don't'. Which only managed to worsen Moira’s inner turmoil.
As the screaming grew even louder, the security guards nodded at the doctor and rushed into the room, most likely to assist the nurses in handling the ‘madman’.
One moment, the air rung with the booming power of Harry’s voice. And then the next, the sound was merely a lingering echo. Moira realized, with a sinking heart, that they must have sedated him. How else were they able to soothe him? Endearment?
Seconds later, his sister came racing down the hallway, abruptly stopping in her tracks when noticing them.
“Mom! I got your text!” Lizzy said, breathing heavily as she looked at them warily. Her face evolved into a frenzied expression –obviously conflicted about something. “Why are you not inside the room?” she asked, glancing over at the doctor. “Is he okay?”
Dr Janssen cleared his throat, “As I was saying earlier, some complications have occurred. Mild complications, mind you. Now before I start, you must know that emerging from a coma is not like waking up from regular sleep. When Mr Stones awoke, he was not able to focus his eyes or respond to you. This is all normal. Part of it is due to his injury; but the majority from the numbing haze of medicine. After you left the room, his awareness of self and his surroundings gradually increased until eventually I was able to ask him a couple of basic questions.”
There was a tension of some sort hovering in the air between them, so thick that it was almost tangible; and Moira just could not decide what kind of tension it was.
“He remembers everything. Even the reason why he was brought to the hospital. And his reaction was surprisingly laid back when I told him he’d been in a coma for-“
Moira's heart skipped a beat.
“Then what’s the problem?” She interrupted, blue eyes slowly growing brighter and brighter with the energy and excitement fuelling inside of her.
“Mr Stones seems to be convinced he’s married and has three kids. Of course I checked his file, and discovered none of this to be true. ”
She stared at him blankly, croaking "What?" her voice suddenly lost. “Married to who?”
The doctor took a while to answer and she started to panic, fearing the worst. She shook her head swiftly back and forth when she saw the look on his face, hands trembling as they moved to slide into her hair.
“D-does he remember me?”
Realizing his mistake, Dr Janssen’s eyes widened. “No, no, wait!” he tried hushing her. “Don’t worry, he thinks you’re his wife.”
She exhaled in relief, though her body was a lost cause when it came to relaxing; she was too wound up by it all, and a peace of mind wouldn’t come for a while.
Noteworthy were the fluttering of butterflies in her stomach and the rise of an animal inside of her that whimpered and howled for Harry like no other. She could get used to the idea of him calling her his wife. Surprising even herself with how much she truly did like the sound of it.
“Do you know why he could’ve possibly created this illusion? Or what triggered it?” the doctor asked, face solemn and uncertain.
“I think I know.” Cassie retorted, voice oddly clipped, as if the simple sentence was one of the hardest things she’d ever said. In reaction to this, Lizzy immediatly seemed to catch on, her mouth falling agape.
They were looking uncomfortably at one another, whispering and mouthing inaudible words back and forth. Moira didn’t find the hushed tones in which they spoke to be suspicious. In fact, she wasn’t paying attention to them at all –still stuck on the ‘wife’ thing.
Finally, after a few precious seconds passed with silent debating, Cassie became the first to speak.
“He was going to propose.”
That snapped Moira out of it. “I beg your pardon?”
“After he arrived back in NYC, he came to me for advice regarding Bones. But also to announce he was gonna ask you to marry him. And that he’d already bought a ring, planned the proposal and even asked your mother for her blessing. Which she gladly granted.”
Cassie’s words shocked her beyond imagination, taking her breath away. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat as her eyes began to well up with emotion –again. But this time, she cried of complete and utter happiness. “Really?”
“Really.” Cassie confirmed, feeling moved by the sight of Moira –laughing through her tears and smiling so brightly that it almost literally made her glow.
The doctor had been fondly watching the scene unfold from an appropriate distance. But knew he was going to have to break their spell, and bring them back to the order of the day.
“Miss King?”
Moira turned to the doctor, her smile slipping. “Yes?”
“I think it’s best if you try to explain the truth of the situation to Mr Stones.”
She nodded vigorously, “Of course!”
“And remember not to hesitate pushing the call button if he gets upset, we’ll be there in no time. If nothing happens, call me back in when you’re ready.”
She kissed Cassie's cheek and momentarily nuzzled her son’s neck, making the giggles spill from his little mouth. Cassie squeezed her hand, whispering a quick ‘good luck’. She looked at her in gratitude, the slightly lost glint in her eye from before had completely disappeared. Lastly, Lizzy hugged her, and off she went.
Without a hiccup to her walking, she silently opened the door, entering Harry's room. Compared to the last time she stood next to his bed, he looked much better. A healthy, red shade to his cheeks, his brown curls an awful mess –looking a bit greasy from his lack of washing. One hand placed over his heart, the other hanging over the edge of the bed and his legs tangled together. All in all, he looked pretty much like the old Harry again.
The two security guards were still there, as well as the nurses.
“We’ll keep you company until he wakes up. Just to be sure.” A nurse said to her, to which she nodded.
Harry twitched in his sleep like a puppy does, but he didn’t stir; instead, his mouth fell open a little and he began to snore. Moira could barely hold in her laughter.
After an unknown amount of time had passed, his eyes finally fluttered open. And as the reality of being awake seemed to dawn on him, he sat upright.
“You sedated me.” He addressed the nurses, his voice hoarse with sleep yet slick with anger, deadly and snappish. His words clipped short at the ends, presumably because he was shaking with fury. “You’ll be very sorry if you ever try doing that again.” He laughed lowly, the sound of it almost scary. “Now tell me, where the fuck is my wife?”
Quite obviously, he hadn’t noticed Moira’s presence. Not yet anyway.
“Sir, she is-“
“I want to see her!” Harry seethed, teeth bared. “Bring. Her. To. Me.”
He slammed his fist against the bedframe, pounding on it repeatedly. One particular punch rattled the whole floor, and she felt her first tear spill over.
“Sir, we need you to calm down or we’re forced to sedate you again.” One of the nurses said, carefully stepping forward.
Harry laid one last punch to the metal then turned to face the nurse. His eyes, shocking Moira to the very core, were red and puffy. She spotted the tiniest drop of a tear leaking from the corner of his eye. Was Harraël Stones.. crying?
“Please I-I just… I… I need to see her. Please.”
The nurse seemed just as shocked as Moira was because she stumbled back, unnerved by the look on Harry’s face –especially since it had been blazing with anger mere minutes ago. But Moira did something different. She didn’t stumble back.
She pushed forward.
With her shoes slapping against the tiled floor, her eyes blinded from everything but the crushed, fallen face of his. Harry let out one last grunt of anger before she reached him, and that was about the same time he finally lets go.
Moira didn’t know how long it was until the security guards and nurses left. All she could comprehend right now was that they were alone in his room, she was straddling him while Harry was holding her tight, tighter than he’d ever held her before with his arms wrapped around her back like Anacondas, up to the point where she was gasping for air as he gasped through the sobs –crying into her shoulder. Soft, quick sobs and loud, prolonged sobs drifted into her ear, sloppy tears dripping onto her neck, and a few of her own slipping down her cheek.
“I’m so happy you’re awake,” she whispered into his –mildly smelly– hospital gown, and the words came forth to her lips, spilling out and tripping over each other in their rush to tell him. “I love you so, so much…"
Harry let out a particularly loud sob and hugged her closer. Still, she could not seem to fully wrap her head around the whole situation; Harry was relying on her, letting his feelings out right here in front of her, the sight broke her heart in two, but the worst part? She didn’t even know why he was so upset in the first place! As if something horrible had happened.
His crying came to an abrupt halt after what felt like several sunlit days of it. He didn’t let go of her quite yet, and she hurried to stop her own little cries and tears, in case they set him off once again. She hadn’t really thought about what would happen after she comforted him; when she had ran to him, all she thought about was holding him the same way he’d held her so lovingly on multiple occasions, to comfort him like he’d comforted her. Nothing else.
Slowly, Harry tilted his head up to look at her. His eyes were searching hers, more puffy and red than before.
“Can I have some more water please?”
Soundlessly handing him the bottle of water sitting on the bedside table, she watched as he gulped the entire thing down in one go, before carelessly tossing it away.
“Where have you been?” he croaked lowly, in an accusing manner –acting as if he hadn’t just been sobbing his weight in tears.
“Outside.”
“Outside?”
“Yeah, outside the room. They wouldn’t let us in."
“Who is ‘us’?” he wondered aloud, shooting her another look.
She felt her eyes burn again, but tried to smile nonetheless. “Your mom, Lizzy, Ollie and me.”
It was quiet. Harry staring at her, her staring at him. Finally, he let out a shaky exhale, looking away pointedly as his eyes started to well up again, but not before placing a quick kiss on her forehead.
“Where are Scarlett and Noah?”
“Who?” She asked, one eyebrow shooting up in confusion.
He cracked a playful grin, and she was unable to keep herself from mirroring that. “Our kids, silly. Is your mum babysitting them?”
And just like that, her smile vanished and she was reminded of the fact that –no, he was not the old Harry.
A cold shiver ran down her spine.
Shaking her head, Moira got off the bed –away from him– and stood in front of him, shuffling from one foot to the other. She hesitated from embarking his illusion and bringing light to what it was; everything except the reality. And in all honesty, she was terrified of his reaction.
“How long have we been together?"
He frowned, “Six years. Why?”
Oh, god.
Moira ran a shaky hand down her face, panic sweeping through her like wild fire. She was absolutely clueless of what to say next.
“Babe?” he called her and she could hear him struggle to keep down the concern in his voice.
Deciding that it was now or never, she took a deep breathe.
“We met at a grocery store. You turned out to be my new neighbour and we became fast friends. I didn’t like you much at that point and acted like a complete bitch, but that didn’t stop you from pursuing me. Eventually, neither could I stop myself from falling in love with you.” She said slowly, voice void of emotion; testing him and carefully observing his reaction to the information she gave him. She felt her heart skip a beat in her chest, but his attention was entirely focused on her, almost looking eager for her to go on.
“We clarified our feelings for one another, became an official couple but you.. you turned out to be my sperm donor and though I was upset with you at first, I couldn’t stay like that for long because I love y-“
“I know all this…” he cut her off, giving her a funny look. “You’re my wife, the love of my life, why would you think I’d forget our story?”
“I’m not your wife.” She managed to gasp out, her voice barely above a whisper. She could hear the trembling within it, probably from the emotions coursing through her veins.
“What?” All the color drained from his face, and Moira could hardly bear to continue looking at him. The sight was heart-shattering.
“We’ve only been together for half a year,” She quickly tried to explain, hoping desperately that she was tackling this the right way. “Ollie is 10-months-old, he’s our only son.”
His eyebrows were drawn nearly together. He was thinking, stress lines, running across his forehead. “What about Scarlett and Noah?”
“They don’t exist… I’m sorry, Harry.”
Heaving a deep sigh, he leant back into his pillow. Her eyes moved to his face frantically, watching as he stared deep in thought down at the cover. His lips quirked into a frown as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He patted his lap, almost like he was summoning a dog. “Please sit on my lap.”
“Why?”
“Just do it. It makes me feel better, having you close to me.” He said, keeping a neutral expression.
For a good, solid minute, they stared at each other and said nothing as she stood in front of him. In the end, she couldn’t resist him. And thus, she climbed his lap.
Hesitantly – his hands reached up to cup her face in a sloppy and almost lazy manner. They cradled her jaw comfortably in their palms. He started shaking his head, mouth tugging him closer to her until she felt his lips press to her forehead.
“I feel like I’m going crazy.”
His mumbled words were muffled against her skin, but never had she understood a sentence more clearly than this one. When he pulled away, she looked up at him, slightly startled by the eerie calm he was releasing into the air; this made her panic. Gradually, her heartbeat started to pick up.
“My mind is cluttered with these images and I can’t tell if they’re real or false segments of my imagination.”
“But.. do you believe me?” she questioned, her voice lost somewhere in her throat. He peered down at her with the same unresponsive expression on his face.
“I want to but I-I.. I don’t know.” His shoulders rose and fell in a lethargic shrug.
Moira sucked in a short, hasty breath, the beats of it skipping over one another as she asked her next question. “Do you..” she started, fear clutching tightly around her throat. “..want me to help you remember?”
“How?”
“Ollie.” She said, trying to seem casual --and not as tense as she truly was-- with a small jerk of her thumb over her shoulder, indicating the door to her left –behind which their baby boy was waiting with his grandma.
They were silent, until Harry broke it.
“Okay,” he whispered.
“Okay,” she whispered back. “Is it alright if I bring the doctor as well? So he can be here to make sure everything runs smoothly?”
He shrugged, “Fine by me.”
More silence filled the air because what was there to say? ‘Yes sure I’ll go get our son and prove I’m not lying about everything?’ The quiet pressed down on them like gravity, not very heavy, but still undoubtedly there.
Without another word, Moira climbed from his lap, pressed a single kiss to his temple and began making way for the door.
“Moira?”
“Yes?” She turned back around, her eyes wide, alarmed and full of expectation.
“If you really are not my wife... then I want to make you my wife.”
Her lips curled up into an overjoyed smile, “Okay.”
YOU ARE READING
Daddy Unknown
General FictionMoira King had been cheated on, stabbed in the back, and broken beyond repair --be it her father, her best friend, or her boyfriend; she's had enough. So, with that in mind, she gave up on the idea of finding love and opted to become a mother throug...
