𝙎𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙏 𝙎𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙏 𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀, 𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩

𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺

( t.w - mentions of blood & angst )

your hand gently shakes as you attempt to pick up the plastic spork resting on the wheeling table in front of you. "how much longer will i have to stay here and eat this?" you glance down at the styrofoam plate in front of you with a slightly disgusted face. you could barely tell what the beige mush consisted of, let alone how long the small side salad was left out for.

debbie glances up from her book at you with a sly smile. "not much longer, kiddo. you're almost outta here." 

you blow a strand of hair out of your eyes with a small sigh. you'd been in the hospital for a week now, stuck under the same fluorescent lights and the off-putting smell of the entire building. of course, you were appreciative of the doctors who saved your life and the kind-hearted nurses who provided you with nice care, but you were simply not a fan of hospitals -- or questionable mush. 

rose and tammy had brought you flowers and balloons, which gave the white room a pop of color and life. lou also had brought you and debbie flowers, which earned her a large smile from you and a kiss from debbie. debbie had refused to leave your side since the 'incident.' no matter how many times you tried to reassure her, or comfort her, she never left sleeping in the same uncomfortable-looking chair.

a small knock came from the door, which was propped open, revealing a small sliver of your hospital room. "come in," you chirped, eyes glued to the door.

a blonde-haired nurse makes her way into the room with a small souffle cup in her hand, containing familiar three pills. two red and one white. the painkillers you were prescribed after your surgery. to be honest, you never felt much pain, only when you went to lie down. it felt as if your chest was sinking into you, squeezing all the oxygen out of your lungs. she hands you the small cup with a gentle smile. 

"thank you," you muse, taking the pills from her. you dump the pills in your mouth, swallowing them down with a sip of milk. it wasn't spoiled, just oddly warm. 

"we're going to miss you around here, (y/n)," the nurse says with a small smile. she's opening some of the window curtains, allowing bright rays of sunshine into the room. 

"i'm going to miss you guys too," you respond sympathetically, returning her smile. "but no offense, i can't wait to sleep in my own bed."

the nurse lets out a laugh before taking the hardly touched plate off the table in front of you. "i'm crushed," she says, dramatically slapping the back of her hand over her forehead. "i'll check in on you later," she says, sticking her tongue at you. you do the same, waving her out of the room, just as tammy and rose walked inside.

"you're quite popular, aren't you?" tammy teases. she walks over to your bed, planting a kiss on your cheek.

"good morning, tammy." you smile ear to ear, seeing the two women enter the hospital room. they were frequent visitors who always brought the best stories and attitudes. it made you feel like you were still out and about -- living in the world.

rose follows after tammy, kissing your right cheek then your left. she beams down at you, wrapping her arms around you. "and what am i, love? chopped liver?"

you can't help but laugh as you return the warm embrace. "good morning, rose," you grin into her shoulder.

"hey!" debbie scolds. "be careful with her rose, we don't want her stitches rupturing." rose quickly releases you from her grasp, moving back from the bed. 

"aunt debbie, i'm fine," you try to reassure her. "i'm going home today and my stitches aren't going to rupture. i've had them in long enough for it not to cause me any discomfort or possible injuries."

debbie scowls at you, narrowing her dark brown eyes. "that's a lie, (y/n)."

you throw your head back, sighing as you close your eyes. "i was hoping i'd convince you."

"you convinced me," rose chimes in, plopping down at the end of your bed. you fiddle with the deep blue blanket covering your body. you hadn't really moved around much since you were shot. the doctors didn't want to risk your stitches rupturing or causing any more internal bleeding. you went on small walks around the hospital with debbie and you had been going outside with the help of a wheelchair. you couldn't wait to go home, finally.

your eyes narrow as you get out of debbie's car, holding a bag of your possessions from when you were shot and your phone. you weren't used to being outside in the bright sunlight, it definitely was something you'd have to adjust to. 

"you ready, babe?" debbie asks, placing a hand on your shoulder.

you look back at debbie, who had a smile plastered on her face. you return the smile. "yup." debbie walks with you up to the front door of the ocean's house, the familiar place you called home. she holds you by your waist, helping you walk up the three steps on the porch. you snap your head towards her. "i can walk up stairs by myself, debbie."

debbie frowns at you as she helps you up the last stair. "i know you can, but i don't want you to hurt yourself." 

you nod your head as you bite your lip. you knew that debbie carried around an immense amount of guilt regarding the kidnapping and shooting. she blamed herself for you getting hurt. she wished she was there for you more than she was, which was contrary to what you thought. nothing anyone said to her seemed to affect her thoughts. 

debbie opened the front door, where you were met with a large yellow banner dangling from the rafters, multiple balloons, a cake, and the beaming faces of everyone who lived there. 

"welcome home!" daphne cheered, blowing a green party blower. everyone else cheers. clapping their hands, blowing their party blowers, or whooping. 

you glanced up at the banner, which read: "welcome home (y/n)!" in white cursive writing. you smile at daphne, "thank you!" you grin at everyone.

debbie ushers you inside, closing the door behind you, as you hug everyone.

"takeout?" debbie asks, passing her phone to you. 

you gently push yourself up from the cushion in which you were sinking in, eagerly taking her phone. "real food?" you question, although it sounded more like a desperate statement. 

debbie laughs. "yes, kiddo," she ruffles your hair with a smile. "real food."

you order some chinese takeout, passing debbie's phone back to her. the welcome party had definitely calmed down some. everyone split into their little groups, having conversations with each other. you couldn't try to contain the smile you had plastered on your face, you were so unbelievably happy to be back home, surrounded by people you loved -- people that you knew loved you back. suddenly the couch dips next to you, causing you to snap your head over. "lou miller," you comment with a small smile.

"hey stinker, it's been a minute," lou says, ruffling your hair just like her girlfriend did.

you scrunch your nose up as you turn your head. "yeah, yeah," you say with a giggle. then you pause, snapping your head back around. "stinker?" you repeat with a raised eyebrow.

lou smirks and laughs with a small shrug. "how's your..." she stops and points to her chest, where your stitches were.

you pull up your shirt, revealing the slightly red area. the bullet hit you between your ribs, so the stitching was pretty noticeable. the area was raised and puffy, with several black lines going through it. "i'm hanging in there," you say playfully. "you know how strong i am."

"the strongest," debbie chimes in. she's holding a wine glass in her hand, taking small sips as she watches you and lou talk. 

you shift on the couch, your back brushing against the plastic bag from the hospital. you turn around and grab it. "i'm going to go take all this upstairs," you say. "be right back." and with that, you take the bag and walk to the stairs. you slowly take a couple of steps, trying to be careful of your stitching. you glance over towards the couch where debbie and lou were sitting. lou was holding debbie's shoulders, keeping her sat. debbie watches you, her knee bouncing, and the wine glass to her lips. you give her a small nod, mouthing: "i'm okay."

you slowly push open the door to your bedroom, observing the familiar room. it definitely had been cleaned in the time you'd been at the hospital. you walk over to your bed, plopping down on the pillows. fiddling with the plastic bag in your hands, you look at all the objects in the bag. blood-stained clothing, a small chapstick, your shoes, and a small hair tie. you take a shaky breath as you open the bag, pulling out the white shirt you were wearing. dried blood almost completely covered the front of the shirt, along with a hole where the bullet hit you.

you bunch up the shirt, dropping it next to you on the bed as you continue pulling out the bag's contents. your bloodied jeans, the blue coat that was used to apply pressure to the wound, your socks, the chapstick, and your shoes -- which had some small blood stains on them. you placed them next to you in a pile, never really realizing how much blood you actually lost. a small knock comes on your door. you hurriedly push all the items back into the bag, closing it. "come in," you call out.

debbie and tammy both walk into your room with small smiles. "hey honey," tammy says. "we're just checking in on you." her eyes drift to the bag on your bed.

"i'm doing alright, just unpacking," you reply with a small smile.

tammy walks over to your bed, sitting next to you. debbie lingers by the end table. "then why are you crying?" she gently asks.

you didn't even realize you were crying, you quickly wiped the tears off your face with the back of your hand. "i didn't realize," you explain with a dismissive laugh. "probably allergies or something--"

tammy cuts you off with by wrapping you in a warm embrace. your breathing hitches as she gently squeezes you. "we're here for you, (y/n)."

"i know." you bite your lip to contain the sob begging to be released. you didn't know why you were so emotional.

tammy lets you go from the hug, firmly holding your shoulders as she gazes at you. she kisses your forehead before getting up from the bed. debbie clears her throat and tammy smiles at you. "i'm going to go back downstairs, but i'm here if you need me, alright?"

you nod your head with a small smile. "of course. thank you, tammy." 

tammy nods her head, leaving your room. debbie sits on the bed next to you as you fiddle with your fingers. "what's going through your head right now?" she asks after a moment of silence.

you slowly turn your head toward debbie. "i don't really know," you whisper. your eyes were brimming with tears again. "i don't know what's wrong with me."

debbie gently raises your chin with her thumb. "you went through something.. unimaginable. something traumatic. you're trying to process it and heal yourself."

your lip quivers as you close your eyes, burying your face into debbie's arm. "i'm sorry." your voice sounded so small -- so vulnerable. 

debbie wraps you in her arms, shushing you as you cry. "it's okay," she coos, rubbing small circle on your back.

"no," you sniffle. "not just for this, for everything. if i hadn't met up with victoria, if i hadn't lied to you, if i--" you pitifully explain into debbie's chest.

debbie cuts you off. "it's not your fault. it was a trap. a cruel trap."

"a cruel trap that i fell right into. like a stupid little kid."

"you aren't stupid, (y/n)." debbie quickly retorts.

warm tears roll down your cheeks. "a smart person wouldn't do what i did."

"of course, you wanted to meet your mother. you didn't have a father, you were isolated in that house for so long. it's only logical that you wanted to form a relationship with her."

"but if i just listened to you and.. and been smart about all of it.." your voice cracks as you whimper. "maybe i wouldn't have gotten shot, maybe you wouldn't have gotten hurt. it's all my fault."

debbie lifts you from her chest, lovingly looking at you as tears flowed down your face. "it's not your fault, (y/n). if you didn't fall for that trap, i would've. it was unavoidable. i'm not mad at you, nor do i blame you for anything that happened."

"but--" you start but debbie continues talking over you.

"the only thing i care about is you, and if you're safe. i don't care about heist plans or stained clothing." she points a finger at your chest. "you are what matters here. i took on that responsibility when i took you in and i'm going to stand by it."

you wipe the tears from your face with your hand, giving debbie a light laugh. 

"i love you, (y/n). i love you so much."

you give debbie another hug, squeezing her tighter. "i love you, debbie."

( a.n - hey lovelies, sorry for this super delayed chapter. it was my birthday last wednesday and i kid you not, i got covid two days after. i've been so deathly ill, it was miserable. but i'm back and i'm going to be updating some more! also, shameless self-promo... i'm writing a regina mills/evil queen x reader fic, so if you're interested in it, please check it out!  have a good day/night and drink some water. i love you & stay safe! )