Dust

Chapter 12

Tim POV: I open my eyes slowly, trying to keep myself calm. If you wake up and nobody else is there, it's okay... You're prepared for this... I look beside me to see Mark holding tightly to Gracie. He looks like hell.

"Hey." He says. He starts to break down a bit.

"What..." I try to say, "wrong..." I feel as if my tongue is too big for my mouth. Everything hurts so badly...

"Nothing..." He says, and takes a deep breath. Gracie looks down. Mark finally gets the guts to say what he's thinking. "You're gonna die, Tim..." He admits. Gracie looks up at Mark, and then down again, as if she's already heard it before.

"Why?" I ask. I can tell there's something wrong with me. It's really hard to speak, much less speak correctly.

"The bullet caused too much damage. There's an infection beginning to form in you, and your lung has a hole in it that just isn't holding a patch." He says. Gracie looks sadly at me.

"Care for her..." I spit out, pointing at Gracie. Gracie looks up at Mark with a bit of confusion.

"I will for as long as I can." Mark says, his breathing even sounding heavy. I look at Gracie before deciding.

"My heart..." I say, taking a moment to breathe. "To you." I say, leaning back a little. Mark swallows hard, before shaking his head.

"I can't..."

"Think... Gracie..."I say quickly. He looks down at her, and then begins to hold onto her. He takes a moment before nodding.

"Okay." He says, taking another deep breath. He wipes a few tears from his eyes.

"Faith?" I ask.

"She's going to be okay. She got lucky." He says with a smile. I smile back, feeling a little numbed by the thought. She's okay... I start to laugh a little, feeling tears falling from my eyes. "It's okay." Mark says, putting his hand on my shoulder. I nod quickly, and look at the ceiling.

"Where?" I ask. Mark looks down for a minute.

"She's healing upstairs." He says quietly. I look around and realize that I know better. Upstairs is the mental rehabilitation ward.

"No..." I say, narrowing my eyes. "Why?"

"She has just a little therapy." He says, patting my shoulder, before sitting back in his chair.

"What's wrong?" I ask. Mark begins to smile.

"She remembers." He says like a child. I stare at him for a moment, trying to process what this means. Before I can, tears are falling, and my body is shaking.

"Remembers?" I say, trying to wipe my tears. It's like my hands aren't working properly. Instead, Gracie hops onto the bed, wipes away my tears, and curls up by my side. I hold onto her, and try not to get scared. "I love you, baby." I say to her, using all my effort to try and make it fluent. She smiles.

"Love you too, Daddy." She says, giving me a little kiss. A doctor comes in and whispers something to Mark.

"Hey Gracie, it's time to go see Grandma, okay?" Mark says. Gracie nods, and looks back to me.

"Is this the last time I see daddy?" She asks. I feel my chest tighten hearing her say those words. I look at Mark, who starts to nod slowly.

"Yeah, honey." He says slowly, looking sadly into my eyes. Gracie wraps her arms around me, while I try to stay composed.

"I love you." She says, giving me another kiss, and hops down before I can say anything. I stumble for words as she makes her way out the door with the doctor. I watch her turn the corner and walk out of sight as I completely collapse.

"I love you..." I start to cry. "I love you..." I look to mark. "Tell her... I love her..." I say, grabbing onto his arm tightly. He nods quickly, wiping away tears of his own.

"I will, don't worry." He says. Suddenly, the room is full of doctors. I begin to feel panic fill me.

"Faith..." I say firmly. Mark nods slowly.

"She's going to try to come..." He cringes. I feel sick thinking about me dying without seeing her one last time. He sees it in my eyes. "I'll go find her, okay? I'll bring her down here." He says. I nod quickly, trying to relax as doctors begin to stick needles in me.

"Alright sir, this may burn a little.... Sir this may make you feel cold... Sir this may hurt..." The different nurses begin. I look at the clock. Mark has been gone for twenty minutes... Where could he be?

"Mr McGraw, you're going to begin to feel very tired. You can go ahead and let go when you please, alright sir?" The doctor that took away my daughter says. The effect of the medication hits me immediately, making it hard for me to stay awake. I know once I let go, I'm gone...

I watch the clock closely, watching the hand tick slower and slower... It's been another ten minutes, and they still aren't here.

That's when it becomes too much. I can't force my eyes open anymore...