Adventures In AAA With Fionna and Marshall Lee [original]

Sleeping Noises

I was happy and thankful and in pain all at the same time. I was awake and alive and, well, the only problem being that my eyes just won't open.

My hands don't want to cooperate either or my legs, or neck. The only thing I really can move is my heart as it beats at an odd rhythm, one that is heard on the beeping machine as it sits next to my ear.

But that is okay. Because I'm awake and alive and fine.

Others though, are not so fine. I can hear everything going on outside this surrounding state of blackness that I'm in. The doctors, I hear them as their squeaky shoes pace back and forth in front and beside me. I can feel their cold, rubber gloved hands as they place new needles into my skin, saying "She's lucky to be breathing but I'm not sure what's entirely going on."

And Marshall.

When those annoyingly squeaky shoes of the doctors leave, closing the door behind them, I can smell Marshall as he makes his way closer to me. I listen as he pulls a chair from who knows where, placing it beside the bed I lay on so that he can sit beside me.

He's back and in this moment I can't feel anything but happiness.

But he's crying. Those small droplets of water rarely seen from the vampire king leak onto my hand. And desperately, so desperately I want to hug him, to hold him, to tell him I'm fine. But I can't do any of those things, for my body won't allow it. I'm in pain, yes, I can feel everything, but still I am happy.

"Fi, you should've called sooner!" he whispers angrily. And I'm glad he whispers, because my head is pounding in the worst of ways. The tone he uses though, makes me want to desperately reply but my lips are still unable to move. So, I answer him in my head.

I know, I know, I'm sorry. But I thought I could really take her! I almost had her down, did you see? Was she there when you came? Was she beaten? Oh Marshall, haha did you see her hand?

"Fionna, come on wake up. What happened, why'd she attack you?" his voice cracked.

Gumball, Gumball, oh he can't know I'm in here-does he know? He'll kill me, Marshall, really I'm being serious can you hear me?

I knew he couldn't hear me, he couldn't possibly hear me. Still though, I asked, just in case he had some sort of secret ability I didn't know about. More importantly, I needed to tell him that it was Gumball and that I shouldn't be in this candy-scented hospital- but I couldn't, I can't.

"Fi, I'm s-so s-sorry." he was crying.

His words were barely understandable hiccups at this point and his cold hands that wrapped around mine were trembling and begging mine to hold back. But I couldn't and my heart was breaking listening to his slurred, heartfelt words.

It's fine, really, it's my fault, stop crying you big baby.

But he couldn't hear me and I couldn't see him so we were simply two disabled people trying to communicate somehow.

"F-fionna, hey..."

His voice was raspy and breaking and dying just like my heart was on the inside. I wanted to cry along side him, to show him I was listening, to hug him and kiss him and prove to him that yes, I'm alive, and yes, I am okay.

But I couldn't.

"... I lo-ove yo-u."

The words Marshall spouted to me were not words of encouragement, or tellings of 'how I'll get better', no, they were deeper than that. They were words formed out of pure emotion, words that couldn't possibly be filtered by his brain before they left his mouth. These words were so pure, and rare and all I could do was cry.