Zack walked into the hospital room, and Neorch stared at the monitor. "Go home, Neorch."
"No. I can't do this. I want to be here when she wakes up. Please don't do this."
"She isn't going to wake up for a while," Zack said, sitting beside Neorch.
"She went through hell. They found her rips shattered. Trauma to the back of her skull and many, many stab wounds. This is a miracle that she's breathing at the moment."
"Whoever did this will pay, right?"
"Let's hold off on revenge for right now, okay? Go to the penthouse. Get some rest, okay? I know it will feel different without Astarte, but at least get some hours." Zack patted Neorch's shoulder. Watching him pause for a moment "driving her car without her feels wrong" Zack heard before watching Neorch stand and walk out of the hospital room.
Zack grabbed Astarte's hand before letting tears run down his face. "I didn't protect you."
"I love you, Astarte. Please fight for us, okay?" Zack released Astarte's hand, watching a nurse walk in. "If you will step out, please." They requested, watching him leave the room and shut the door behind him.
Astarte heard someone talking to her, barely understanding them. She tried to open her eyes, but her body felt trapped. She wasn't sure if this was another dream or if she finally escaped hell. Astarte was able to move her fingers. She tried to tell the voice that she was alive. She didn't know that it felt like she was moving her fingers. The Nurse was unable to see anything. No movement at all. The Nurse watched Astarte let out a sigh. She smiled. "I know you are there, Astarte. I feel you. Build your strength."
A week passed
Jaycee was getting dressed, hearing her father yell for her to hurry up. Neorch is standing right beside him, excited but worried at the same time.
"I'm here!" Jaycee ran out of her room, slamming her shoulder into the wall. "Ow! God damn it!"
"You okay?"
"Yeah, Let's go," Jaycee said, following them into the elevator.
Astarte began to panic, watching doctors fill in the room. "No, no, no." Astarte said
"No, I don't want to do this again. Please."
"Do what?"
"I was already in a hospital room. It felt so real. I even gave one of my knives to the doctor. She said she was going to be back. Then I woke up chained and shit.."
"Glad to know you are fluent in speaking." One of the doctors commented
"I promise whatever that is. This is real." Astarte watched one of the doctors grab her hands.
"Where is my sister.." Astarte said hoping she would walk in any moment.
"They are on the way."
"Oh my god.." Astarte began to cry, realizing that maybe this was all real. And she did survive hell.
"I'm alive.." The doctors smiled, watching Astarte realize this all. "You did have a lot of stab wounds. Broken ribcage And blunt force trauma to your skull."
"I'm alive.." Astarte kept repeating before watching Jaycee, Neorch, and Zack enter the room.
Astarte watched Neorch stop in his tracks before breaking down crying. "I'm here now," Zack said, watching the doctors leave the room.
"Baby.." Neorch said, grabbing Astarte's hand. Finally, feeling Astarte's strength, she grabbed his hand back.
"How close was I.." Astarte said before Zack answered the question. "You died 9, I believe, ten times in total."
"you should've left me for dead."
"Baby, no. After what you went through. You deserve to be alive."
"Don't start wishing you were left for dead. I can't explain the range of emotion I went through when I arrived all the way when they kept updating us that they brought you back to life." Jaycee said before pushing Neorch out of the way and hugging her. Astarte relaxed herself, hugging Jaycee back.
"You fucking survived. You did it. And now you have a cool story to tell." Astarte smiled at Neorch's attempt to lighten the mood.
"How long was I gone for?"
"Like from start to finish?" Neorch asked
"When I got grabbed until now."
"It's been maybe.. three weeks?"
"Three weeks??" Astarte said, sitting up before being pushed back down.
"yeah.."
"Oh my god... This is a lot to take in." Astarte said watching the nurses keep their hands pressed against Astarte.
"Maybe you should take a break, Astarte," another nurse said, walking into the room.
"I'm Nurse Tylina, your main nurse, If they would excuse me." Tylina said watching the other nurses walk out of the room before making a decision.
"She needs to get some rest. Let's not stress her out."
"Wait, no. Please," Astarte begged Tylina
"Astarte. You do not need to be stressed. It's bad for your health. Critical, if anything. Your heart rate is already spiking." The Nurse said staring at the vital machine.
"Can I keep Neorch, please.."
Tylina thought for a moment before agreeing.
Neorch watched Tylina walk out of the room after doing some tests and checking Astarte off her list.
Neorch sat next to Astarte, holding her hand and feeling the rings on her fingers.
"What happened, hun. If you are comfortable telling me."
"Well, starting in the bar with you, I saw them and told you...Whatever I told you. It's all fuzzy. They chased me to the backdoor, where more of them were. One of them grabbed me and slammed me into the concrete... that gave me a wake-up call." Astarte laughed a little before continuing.
"I think I passed out? I got kicked in the stomach and moved into a car. I kept waking up a little bit here and there. I was spitting up blood a lot."
"Oh my god.." Neorch said lowering his head tightening his grip on Astartes hand.
"I had a dream where we were playing blackjack.. and then I was at the hospital? I thought it was real. I woke up chained in this dark room, Zipties and such. It's all a blur from there. He stabbed me and slammed a baseball bat into my chest. And he reminded me that I killed his brother. The last time he stabbed me when I'm sure he just left me for dead, he told me, 'if god helps me if you survive or something like that. Hell has more than one ring, and I'll be back," Astarte said, watching Neorch's body language. "What did you see.."
"I don't want to explain, but Jesus Christ, you lost a lot of blood."
"Figured."
"Listen. We are going to sort this out. You are going to be back in no time. We are going to sort this out, okay?"
"Yeah.." Astarte said attempting to remember what leaded her to this point.
"I think we should leave it unsolved right now...I think I got the message.." Astarte said remembering during a point in downtime, the doctor that kept her alive.
"Get some rest moonlight. I will be here when you wake up." Neorch stood kissing Astarte before sitting back down.
"I love you.."
"I love you too. Thank you for fighting for us."