"Hey, I'm with you, okay? Always."
Piper came back to consciousness slowly, not entirely sure where she was. She thought that maybe she was moving because the floor felt weird under her back, like it was vibrating, but she wasn't totally sure. She wasn't really totally sure of anything at this point.
Except the pain. The pain was quite certain. Her whole leg felt like it was engulfed in flames while knives stabbed repeatedly right up and down the length of it, the worst of it centred around her thigh. A strangled yelp slipped from her lips before she could stop it and she could feel tears pressing against her closed eyelids.
"Are you with me, petal?" The voice sounded distant and hazy, like she was hearing it through water. She tried to answer back but all that she could manage was a croak before her dry throat betrayed her. "Can you open your eyes for me?"
Where was she? That seemed like the most important question because she had a vague memory of being somewhere not so nice and —
It hit her hard, the memory. The chains holding her body upright as she was suspended from the ceiling by her bound wrists. The men hitting her repeatedly in the stomach to try and get her to share secrets. The baseball bat that had swung out at her leg and collided with a force hard enough that she'd heard the crack before she'd felt the pain, white hot and excruciating.
Piper's eyes shot open as the pain repeated itself in her mind, and she sucked in a gasping breath, immediately coughing as air rushed into her lungs. It took a moment for the world to right itself in her vision but when it did she recognized a couple of things: the ceiling of a helicopter, an IV bag hanging from a rod next to her...
And Harry.
He was right above her, his face blocking out some of the light so it was cast in shadows as his curls fell around his face. His smile, though, was positive and his eyes were vibrant in the dim light, catching hers and holding onto them. She let out a relieved sigh at the sight of him and almost immediately winced at the pain across her abdomen.
Harry's hands rested gently over her stomach, his long fingers stretching from end to end as his palms hovered on each side of her navel. "Gentle breaths," he coached in a smooth voice, low and deep and reassuring. "You've bruised almost all of your ribs, petal. You need to take gentle breaths."
She did as Harry had told her, taking short shallow breaths that didn't strain her sore ribs until she felt like she could breathe again. The whole time, Harry kept his warm hands in place on her stomach, murmuring encouragement to her as she centred herself.
Things started to become clearer as she did. She was able to see that Harry was straddling her hips, his legs tucked up around her sides. She could see movement over his shoulder though she couldn't pinpoint what exactly was happening. And god, the pain! It was indescribable.
"It hurts," she hissed as she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, trying to force her mind to dull the pain, to somehow make it stop hurting so damn much.
"I know, petal." One of Harry's hands lifted off her stomach, curving over her cheek instead. When he stroked his thumb over her cheek, she opened her eyes slowly, trying to ignore the way her eyes, wet with tears, distorted his image. "You're going to be alright. We're air lifting you to the nearest hospital and they'll get you into surgery to fix you up."
Piper tried to lean forward but the surge of pain in her abdomen was so incredible that she fell back with a huff. Harry tried to calm her, shushing her gently as he rubbed his hand carefully over her stomach to soothe the pain.
"My leg —"
"It's bad," Harry told her, not one to lie to her, not even in circumstances like this. "But you don't need to see it."
It occurred to Piper that Harry was sitting where he was to block her view. It must be pretty fucking awful if he wouldn't let her see. She tried to localize the pain in her mind and then asked, "my femur?"
Harry nodded solemnly and Piper cursed under her breath. That was going to take months to heal, if it did at all. She was going to be in a wheelchair or on crutches for a long time. There was a chance she'd never walk the same again. This was going to be a huge setback in her career. This was going to be a huge setback in her life.
She could feel tears pooling in her eyes and she sniffled, wincing as the action pulled all the wrong muscles in her chest and made her bones ache. The sound that came out of her then was horrible to hear, a keening cry that hurt, physically hurt. It sounded like desperation and hopelessness, blended into one.
"Hey, hey," Harry said softly as he leaned over until the only thing she could see was his face. "You're going to be fine, Piper. Niall is waiting back at the hospital already. He'll stay with you in the operating theatre. Everything will be fine."
Piper sucked in a gasp, wet and ragged with tears and snot. "Harry, I'm scared."
"It's okay." His thumb stroked over her cheek rhythmically, a soothing motion that helped distract her from everything else and keep her focused on him. "I know you're scared. But everything is going to be fine. I'm right here."
"You won't leave?"
"Never," Harry said firmly, unwaveringly. It only loosened the vice like grip around Piper's chest the smallest bit.
"But what if I never walk again? What if I'm in a wheelchair for the rest of my life? What if I can't work or... or I can't support myself —"
"Hey," Harry interrupted gently, his voice calm and gentle, "I'm with you, okay?" She nodded weakly and Harry smiled supportively. "Always. I promised you I'd always be there, Piper, and I'm going to keep that promise."
"Okay."
"Okay," Harry repeated back to her, his expression positive as he took her hands in each of his. "I've got you petal."
"I know," Piper said with a nod, swallowing hard around her tears. "I know you do."
"Good," Harry said as his hands tightened around hers just the slightest bit, a comforting pressure that reminded her that he was there, that she had Harry with her, and that no matter what happened, he wasn't leaving her side.
The helicopter jolted a bit and Piper could have screamed with the pain that shot through her leg. She tore through her lip instead, biting down hard enough to bleed. Her hands tightened around Harry's, squeezing as tight as she could to transfer the pain.
"'M sorry," she murmured once it had passed. She loosened her fingers from around Harry's and felt him wiggle them to get the blood flowing again.
"Don't apologize," Harry insisted. "You can squeeze my hand as hard as you need to. I can take it, I promise." He gave her a wink that actually managed to make her chuckle though she winced at the pain it brought to her ribs. Harry grimaced apologetically and then leaned in a little closer.
"Just keep your eyes on me, petal. We'll get through this together."