Calamitous (Kaylor)

42

The first time Taylor woke up, it was dark. She couldn't see anything, but she could hear murmuring voices, too quiet for her to make out. Something was pressed over her face. Her body was sore and painful, and her lungs felt like they were giving up on her. She groaned quietly and thrashed a little, struggling to get comfortable and get enough air, which apparently drew one of the other people's attention. Footsteps approached her and she felt something cool run through her body before she lost consciousness again.

The second time Taylor woke up, it was to the sound of her mother screaming at a doctor in the hallway.

"I demand that you let me in to see her!"

"Ma'am, I already told you, only family members -"

"I'm her goddamn mother, now move!"

"The patient has no records of family -"

"Tell that to the emergency contact form that is literally the reason why I'm here." Suddenly, Martha's voice joined the mix.

"What's going on here?"

"This idiot won't let me see my daughter," Andrea huffed.

"You're TayTay's mom? Karlie said she'd found you, but I could hardly believe it. Come on, she's probably going to wake up soon."

"Just a minute!" the doctor interrupted, sounding annoyed. "I don't know of someone by that name. We treated a woman known as Catastrophe."

"Oh my GOD," Martha groaned. "Look her up in the system. Hurry up." The doctor sighed but pulled out a tablet.

"Full name?"

"Taylor Alison Swift," Andrea supplied. A minute later, the doctor spoke again.

"Ma'am, she's been dead for years. This isn't the place for jokes; I'll have to ask you to leave." Andrea started yelling again, and Taylor felt her headache returning. On top of that, anxiety that had been held back by sedatives for the last few hours began to rise in her. She rolled her head to either side, looking for any sign of her girlfriend, but was upset to discover that she was alone in the room.

Where is she? What if she didn't make it? The blonde heard a beeping noise and looked to her left, seeing a red flashing light that indicated her heart rate was too fast. She ripped the monitor off, silencing the beeping, and breathed a sigh of relief. The IV lines soon followed.

Freed, Taylor swung her feet over the side of the bed and moved to stand up. She swayed a little, her vision going blurry for a second, before she found her balance and could let go of the bed. Turning carefully, she unsteadily made her way over to the door, which she opened and stepped through.

Three heads turned to look at her in shock. "Mom?" Taylor said, stumbling over to the older woman.

"Oh, Sweetheart, you're okay!" Andrea said, tears in her eyes as she wrapped her daughter in a tight hug. "I almost thought I'd lost you last night. Don't ever do that to me again." Taylor nodded, bending to keep her chin on her mother's shoulder. She felt Andrea gently stroking her hair and a wave of comfort went through her.

"I would have been in to see you sooner if someone knew how to use basic technology," Andrea added, giving the doctor a stink eye.

"Whether or not an emergency contact form was filed with you listed as the parent, the alleged name of the patient is still one that was declared dead years ago," the doctor protested.

"Then un-declare it!" Andrea snapped loudly, making Taylor wince. Her mother sent her an apologetic glance.

"We'll get right on that, Ma'am," the doctor sighed, resigned. "But for now, Miss Swift should return to her bed. She's in no condition to be up like this." Andrea nodded and gently pushed Taylor off of her shoulder so she could walk.