UNTIL DAWN

DAWN

"I wish I could tell you that it wasn't true. Those hideous, killing creatures are down in the mines of Josh's lodge. I saw it, Caitlin. I looked one right in the eyes." Kara said, her voice hoarse. Caitlin handed her a cup of water, and Kara thanked her.

"I read that those creatures used to be human. Is that true?" Caitlin asked. Though Kara felt like this was a lot for Caitlin to know, Kara wanted Caitlin to know the truth.

"There was no humanity left in them. If they saw you, they attacked you. No mercy. Hannah, she..." Kara trailed off as Caitlin's eyes widened.

"You don't have to say anything else. I believe you. Even if no one else does, I will." Caitlin said, and Kara smiled weakly. She heard a knock on the door, and turned to see Josh.

"Cait, can I have a minute?" Caitlin nodded.

"Yeah, uh, sure. I'll wait outside for dads to get here." Caitlin smiled. Josh curled into bed beside her, tears falling down his face.

"It was just a prank..." He cried. Kara grabbed his hand, squeezing it as tight as she could.

"I know, Josh. You went too far, but you know I still love you. You will always have me." She told him.

"That's all I'll ever need." He whispered. She heard a knock on the door again, and looked up to see Sam and Mike.

"Hey, Swan." Mike smiled, his face full of bruises and cuts. Sam looked a little better than him, but still had cuts on her face.

"Mike, Sam, you don't know how relieved I am to see you." She said.

"We just wanted to check up on you. You had it pretty rough, Kara." Sam said.

"I want to thank all of you for saving my life. Mike, if it weren't for you, I'd be dead. You didn't have to carry me, but you did. Thank you." She said, looking around at the three of them.

"Leave no man behind." Mike said.

"How's Jess? How's...well, everyone?" She asked.

"Jess is...she's dazed. She knows what happened, but she's in a lot of pain. They have her doped up on medicine. She fell asleep, so I figured I'd come and check up on everybody." Mike exclaimed.

"Chris has a broken ankle, Ashley is bruised up, but I think they've admitted their feelings to each other." Sam said, chuckling softly.

"You owe me twenty dollars." She whispered to Josh.

"Matt's pretty beat up, and the doctors keep looking at Emily's bite. They said they've never seen anything like it. She's getting pretty annoyed." Sam continued.

"Sounds about right." Kara chuckled, grimacing at the pain. Kara looked up to see her dads standing near the door.

"Hey, kids. Can we have the room for a minute?" Mark asked, and they nodded, shuffling out of the room. Josh stood by the door for a minute, looking at her fathers.

"Mr. and Mr. Swan, I want you to know that I love Kara more than anything. I was irresponsible. I didn't take my medicine, and that was wrong. If you'll let me, I still want to be in Kara's life. I need her. I promise I'll take my medications and go to therapy; anything to get better." Josh told her fathers, causing her to smile. Mark put his hand on Josh's shoulder, smiling softly.

"We'll talk later, Josh. We aren't going to take you away from Kara. She talks about you all the damn time. It'd be a crime to part you two. I do, however, expect you to shape up." Mark said. Derek nodded, though he was a little more cautious than his husband.

"Yes, sir." Josh said, walking out of the hospital room. Caitlin entered again, with the same grim look as her dads.

"We talked to the cops. They told us what you said attacked you." Derek said, sitting down in the plastic chair.

"You don't believe me, do you?" She asked, turning away from him.

"Sweetheart, it's just hard to believe that monsters are real." Derek said, trying to grab her hand, but she yanked it away.

"I believe her." Caitlin said.

"It almost killed Jess; dad, it almost killed me! The nine of us could have died last night because of this monster. I don't give a damn if the cops believe me, but you are my fathers. I need you to believe me, okay?" She rambled.

"We believe you. It's okay, Kara." Mark said, touching her shoulder, and glaring at his husband. She nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"However, there is something we need to talk about..." Mark said quietly.

"It's my foot, isn't it?" She asked, and Mark nodded sadly.

"Your Achilles tendon was...destroyed. It was lucky that you got to a hospital before you bled out. However, they don't think you'll be able to walk again. That tendon is what makes your foot be able to move. They said you'll never be able to move that foot again." Mark said, as she teared up.

"You could walk with crutches, but you would just be dragging your foot. The cuts on your cheek will heal in time, but the gashes on your chest will leave some pretty gnarly scars." He continued, and she wiped her tears.

"We are here for you whenever you need, honey. You won't be going through this alone. You'll have us, Caity, all of your friends, and Josh." Mark told her.

"That's all I need."

ROWAN BLANCHARD AS CAITLIN SWAN

JEFF GOLDBLUM AS MARK SWAN

JESSE L MARTIN AS DEREK SWAN