Dancing Lights of New York City (Adopted by Lin-Manuel Miranda Fan-fiction)

Lifeline

Lin's POV
We eventually arrived at the hospital. Upon pulling into the driveway we were instructed to find a parking spot before coming inside, apparently they don't like people driving in the ambulance bay. That's my daughter, damn it! The parking job would not have made my driving instructors happy but it was good enough. V and I raced inside to the nurses station to figure out all the information we could, they were no help, we were told to fill out some paperwork then sit and wait. So we did.

Hours upon hours continually passed, nothing. I was really starting to worry. Every doctor that walked in our direction gave me hope only to be crushed when they were just passing by. I was nodding off to sleep as a surgeon approached, Vanessa sat up. "Hello, are you the parents or legal guardians of Kathrine Renee Greenward?" The surgeon asked. "Yes, sir. We are her foster parents" Vanessa said. "Alright, I'm Dr. Palms. I am the leading surgeon on your daughters case, if you could please follow me, I'll take you to her room." He said leading the way. Daughter...it sounded so weird when someone else said it. We followed him throughout the hospital before we made it to Kathrine's room in the pediatric wing. She was asleep in the bed, she looked so peaceful. "She's still asleep were hoping that she'll wake up with the medication we gave her based on her lab results, do you have any idea what happened? We know a few parts of this but other things are unclear." He explained. "No, we were just picking her up today, we're not sure what happened before this, we just figured that nobody sleeps this heavily." Vanessa said. "Okay, yes that's true is most cases, you get some crazy cases here and there. Anyway, the big part of why she's not waking up is in part due to malnourishment, dehydration and lack of sleep. Her body shut down and her body is taking over by healing itself. We did feed her and push liquids. In the labs we found some small problems pertaining to the liver from what we believed was excessive amounts of alcohol, then we found traces of a common drug often used in rape cases. The effect of that could be making her sleep longer. Only time will tell at this point, like I said, we gave her medication that should help her wake up, but sleep is the most important healer" Dr. Palms explained. Geeze. This girl cannot catch a break, all of this was even too much for me to take in, I can't imagine. The doctor left V and I alone to sit with Kathrine and just wait it out. Hope for the best. I was practically falling asleep watching daytime soap operas. This hospital needs better channels. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something on Kathrine's bed twitch. I turned to see her toes curling.

Kathrine's POV
I wanted to open my eyes, I tried multiple times but my eyes wouldn't budge. I started to wiggle my toes hoping maybe my senses would get with the freaking program. What the hell is that? Sappy music. Ugh, I hate shows that are so extra. Wait? Since when do I have a tv? I had all these thoughts and questions, I just had to see what was going on. I heard shuffling happening around me before I burst my eyes open. Oh, Ouch. Too much light, it was blinding. My eyes took time to focus on the once blurry figures in front of me. Lin?

I tried to talk but nothing was coming out. I started to panic, what the hell was wrong with me and where am I? "Kathrine calm down. Shh" a lady next to me said putting a hand on my arm, I quickly shooed it away. "Ah there we go! Hello there, Kathrine. I'm glad you're awake!" An old guy said walking in. "I'm Dr.Palms, your lead surgeon. If you don't mind I'm just going to check your vitals then we can figure out where to go from there." Dr. Palms continued. He looked over all the machines that I was hooked up to, writing things down on charts. How did I get to a hospital? "How are you feeling, Kathrine?" Dr. Palms asked looking up from his clipboard. I tried to talk once more, my throat was so dry. Lin looked at me and jumped to grab a cup of water. Taking a sip of the water felt like it was running over sharp grains of sand in my throat. With a raspy voice I answered "I feel fine, my stomach hurts a lot though." I explain. "You had a minor surgery on your liver, we think this issue was due to alcohol, have you drank alcohol recently, like within the last twenty-four hours?" Dr. Palms asked. Why was Lin here again? "Lin, why are you here?" I ask looking over at him. "Um well, today Vanessa, my wife, and I came to your foster home to pick you up so we could foster you long term. I hope you're okay with this arrangement." Lin said putting a hand on Vanessa's shoulder. "Uh yeah, that's fine. When did you get approved?" I asked. "Vanessa and I got foster certified before we had our son, Sebastian" Lin explained. "Oh, tha-" I said before Dr. Palms cut me off. "Excuse me, can we please return to the patients care? Kathrine, have you had alcohol in the last twenty-four hours?" Dr. Palms asked once again. I paused to think. Do I tell them about that night or no? No. Lin and Vanessa won't want a mess of a kid. Fake it until you make it, right? "Nope, I don't drink. Lin, how old is your son?" I say lying, desperately trying to change the subject. "Kathrine it's best if you tell the truth, science doesn't lie, I have your lab results that show liver damage from excessive amounts of alcohol. I was just asking to see if you'd tell the truth. Please don't continue this trend, your case is serious." Dr. Palms said clearly annoyed.

Lin and Vanessa shared a look before returning to me. They totally hate me. "We also found drugs in your system, this drug however is commonly used in cases involving rape. Do you recall taking anything or anyone doing anything to you?" Dr. Palms asked pushing his glasses up on his nose. "No. I don't remember a lot of that night." I said. I sat staring blankly at the bare mint walls in front of me. "Uh, Lets put it this way, what do you remember?" Lin spoke up. "Umm, I remember my friends from the foster house, Emma and Jessica, they invited me to a party. I was suspended for getting in a fight at school so I wasn't given a direct invitation. I snuck out with them to go to this party and I drank a lot...like a lot" I said, giggling. "What else? Oh! I made out with this one kid, he was kinda cute. We were in the basement? No, no it was the bathroom. I think I smoked weed? First time. It was nasty. Um, the make out kid got me a drink and I just remember someone screaming, might've been me...people staring at me. Now I'm here." I explained. I realized that the hospital drugs were talking, I sound crazy. Vanessa and Lin's eyes were huge. I'm coming off as a poster child for the type of kid you don't want to have. Damn it, I ruin everything. "That sounds like quite a lot, more than we expected. Um, well, do you know how to explain the dehydration and malnutrition?" Dr. Palms asked. "I don't know? I'm just like that." I answered. "Is there any contributing factors that were the main cause or were you the cause?" Dr. Palms asked. "No, I guess lately I've forgotten to eat or I wasn't allowed to. Before the foster home, in my home, I had to sneak snacks, I never ate meals and frankly I never had food in the house. I got transferred to a foster home and the only meal I ate there the whole time I was there ended up being breakfast. I don't know, was that the answer you wanted?" I asked. Dr. Palms rolled his eyes. I really hate this guy. "I'm going to run a few more tests then see if I can get you out of here. I want to make sure the drugs are out of your system and your fed and hydrated, I think you're good on sleep now. Should be a quick process, hopefully." Dr. Palms said leaving the room.

After many long excruciating minutes of awkward silence between Vanessa, Lin and I, Dr. Palms finally comes back baring news. "Alright, test look good, your surgery sight looks like it is healing properly, if it doesn't heal within the next week or two then call, come in just to be sure. Your stats look very good. I think it's safe to release you, so just take it easy, rest, don't drink anything besides water. Please do not party or do drugs again...just don't. Not right now at least. Sign these papers and you're set. Thank you all." Dr Palms said exiting the room.

Here it is again, the awkward silence. Tick toc, tick toc. "We didn't have time to pack your bags, so Melinda did that and she dropped it off here earlier. We can go straight home." Lin said, breaking the silence. Vanessa and Lin looked at me for an answer. "Uh yeah. Lets go" I said in a soft voice. A nurse opened the door, wheeling in a wheelchair. Vanessa and Lin excused themselves from the room and let the nurse help me get dressed and settled in the wheelchair. Wheeling me out of the room, the nurse handed me off to Lin. The ride to the car felt like forever, we had to go over hills, bumps and through Narnia before we actually made it to a car. This was exhausting and I wasn't even doing shit. I laughed at Lin who was out of breath. "I didn't realize how far away I parked. Oops." Lin said opening the car door. He came over to me and picked me up before sliding me into the car.

The drive home wasn't very long, it was quite though, with the radio canceling out our silence. Here and there Lin and Vanessa would talk, not to me, but to each other. In front of our eyes was the George Washington Bridge that connects with New Jersey on the other side. Such a pretty view. Soon enough we pulled into a parking lot for apartments. Once inside Lin pushed open the door revealing a clean living space. "Welcome to your new home" Lin says with a smile. "Yeah, lets see how long this lasts" I said. I don't have much experience in the foster system, but from what I hear it's just playing pretend. I was told not to get comfortable because there was a high chance I wouldn't be there long. "Hey, don't be like that, you'll love it here, if you don't then we'll force you too." Vanessa said smiling and giving me a poke on my shoulder. "Where do you want to rest? There's the room down the hall, your room, or there's that couch." Lin said pointing off in the direction behind me. "The couch." I say softly. "The couch it is." Lin says helping me walk. I flopped on the couch and blankly looked at the wall. What now?

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This I think is one of the longer chapters, I believe. I would've had this up sooner but I've been dragging lately, and I haven't really been in the writing mood or I've just been lost on where to go with it, writers block? I'm not sure, I've had a stressful and crazy past week or two so if my writing goes more downhill than it already has I'm sorry and know I'm just out of it at the moment. Paciencia y fe. Patience waiting for when I'll get good and faith that...I'll hopefully get good. Yeah. Anywho, I didn't go through and edit or revise so I present you with a chapter in its blemished glory once again. It's like 2:00 AM
- LinsDeadPonyTail