Tabitha and Timmy were walking through the park when suddenly Zombie Charity flashed them into the cave and caused the rocks to fall and barricade the entrance. "What's going on princess?" Timmy asked, quickly hiding behind Tabitha. "I'm not sure Tim Tim..." She looked around and saw the real Charity encased in a block of ice. "Well, well, well...It looks like my guests of honor have arrived!" Zombie called out; stepping out from behind the block of ice. Tabitha walked further into the cave, as Zombie Charity moved to block the entrance even more. Zombie started talking about what was going to happen to them. "You don't scare me one iota! I'm a certified witch and you're nothing but a zombie!" Tabitha snapped back at one time. Zombie straightened her jacket and smoothed the fabric down before saying: "Is that what you think?...Well, watch this!"
The next thing Tabitha knew, Zombie had zapped her with a spell and she flew through the air; making contact with the cave wall hard enough for the whole cave to shake. Timmy heard a bone-shattering crack echo through the cave before watching his princess slide down the wall and land on her side. He ran straight to her and asked, "Princess! Are you alright?" Tabitha tried to move, but the slightest movement sent pain radiating up and down her back. Timmy laid a hand on her shoulder as if to tell her not to move. She eventually asked "...how did you do that?... Zombies don't normally have those sorts of powers...Owww!..." Zombie walked over to lean against the ice block, before explaining "They do when your friends in the basement give me your old ones." Tabitha couldn't believe it and weakly asked "...What did you say?.." Zombie just laughed and told her "they didn't think you could handle them, so they gave them to me." Timmy tried to argue but stopped when he saw his princess close her eyes. Then he switched his priorities and said: "Tabby needs help...Please?" Zombie didn't do anything but stand there.
Outside the cave, Miguel and Kay were walking by when they felt the ground shake and then tuned in to hear voices. "Oh gosh, it sounds like someone's trapped in there!" Kay said. Miguel immediately ran to try and move some rocks out of the way, but they were a bit too heavy and he needed help. "Let's go get Reese and Jessica! It's gonna take all of us to move enough rocks to get inside." Miguel suggested. They both took off back the way they came towards the Valentine's day dance. When they got back into the ballroom, they were quick to find their friends. Miguel tapped on his shoulder and asked: "Hey, I need your help to move some rocks from the cave entrance please!" Both Reese and Jessica were confused, so kay added: "Miguel and I heard voices coming from the cave, and they sounded hurt." Once Reese heard that someone might be in trouble, he was fast to agree, and off they all went.
Back at the cave, Everyone was quick to start moving rock after rock out of the way, until they had a big enough entrance to walk through. It took them a shorter time than they thought it would because there weren't that many rocks in the way. Eventually, Miguel started walking through their makeshift tunnel with Kay, Reese, and Jessica following behind him.
Inside the cave, Zombie and Timmy heard voices and footsteps coming into the tunnel. She was quick to zap a spell to hide the frozen Charity from view. Timmy never left his princess's side but was prepared to tell Kay everything that happened and make Zombie Charity look like the bad guy in front of Miguel. He checked Tabitha's pulse just to be sure that she was still alive, and found she was still asleep. Knowing she was still with him, made him content to wait.
Finally, Miguel and everyone emerged into an open area and saw 'Zombie' Charity leaning against the cave wall on one side, and Timmy protecting Tabitha on the other. Kay yelled out "TABITHA! Timmy, what happened?" Miguel and Kay both ran straight for them and knelt down to check on Tabitha. "Charity lured us in here and started threatening princess...She got mad at something Tabby said and threw her against the wall!..I heard a really loud crack! She fell asleep!..She's hurt really badly, but Charity caused the cave in. We were trapped! Please help princess!" Miguel was quick to look up and ask "Charity, is this true?" Charity rolled her eyes and said "Yep!" Reese and Jessica were shocked and moved away from her to go call 911. Leaving Kay and Miguel to keep an eye on Tabitha.
When the couple left, Miguel noticed that Tabitha was coming too. He was quick to place a hand on her shoulder and say "Don't move Tabitha!" She agreed due to the pain but still managed to weakly call out "...Timmy...Is Timmy alright?...Charity...didn't hurt him...did she?.." Kay shot a glare towards her cousin, while Miguel reassured her "Timmy is just fine. Charity didn't hurt him...Did she hurt you?" Tabitha tried to shift but a searing pain shot through her whole body. When she was settled, she nodded her head as much as she could without causing pain. Miguel noticed bruises were starting to peek out from the back of her neck. Seeing this, made Miguel feel so much anger towards Charity and guilt for the pain that Tabitha was most likely in. Kay told her "I'm so sorry for what my cousin did Tabitha! Don't worry, help is on the way! I promise." Tabitha smiled and tiredly responded "...Thank you dear..." before falling unconscious again. Reese and Jessica came running back in, informing them that an ambulance was on the way and that Chief Bennett was following behind them and would be here soon. Miguel thanked them and went back to monitoring Tabitha.
A couple of minutes later, Sam Bennett came running into the cave through the tunnel and saw what the kids saw earlier. "Miguel, how is she?" He asked when he knelt down in front of Tabitha. Miguel gently moved her hair to show the chief the bruises that cascaded from the base of her head, down her neck, and who knows how far under her jacket and clothing. Sam leaned forward, to get a better look, and saw indicators of severe spinal and/or head injuries. "Keep her as still as possible and don't move her until the paramedics arrive, Okay? I'll be right back!" Miguel agreed. They watched as Sam walked up to Charity and said: "Charity Standish, you are under arrest for the physical assault of Tabitha Lenox." He produced his handcuffs and was quick to bring her arms behind her back and cuff her. Knowing she was secured, he had Reese make sure she didn't escape and went back to Tabitha's side. They waited for the paramedics to arrive when Timmy remembered someone else that would want to know what's going on with Tabitha. Sneakily, he leaned closer to Kay and whispered: "We have to tell Julian!" Kay was confused for a second, before remembering the same thing Timmy had just remembered. Being very gentle, Kay grabbed Tabitha's purse and found Julian's card that had his private number on the back. She was quick to input the number into her phone, and sent a text informing him of what was going on.
Suddenly, the paramedics rushed into the cave with all of their equipment. They asked Chief Bennett what had happened. He very officially told them "Thrown against the cave wall! Evidence of deep bruising, indicative of a potentially severe spinal and/or head injury; most likely both with how hard the impact was. She's been in and out of consciousness. Pulse is weak, and body temperature is falling." Knowing everything that was going on, the paramedics were quick to jump into action. They started by slowly rolling her onto her back. They placed the neck brace against her neck and slightly tilted her head up to keep her spine straight. They didn't want her back to be on the rugged cave floor any longer, so they were able to move her onto the stretcher before rolling her onto her left side. Sam told Miguel and Kay to bring Timmy in the ambulance and go with Tabitha. He was going to bring Charity to the police department and then would go onto the hospital from there. Everyone agreed, and off they went through the tunnel, into the park, and straight into the ambulance.
They arrived at the hospital and rushed into the emergency room. Eve was running towards them when she motioned for the paramedics to wheel her into the curtained room that was closest to her. A nurse kept Miguel, Kay, and Timmy outside before going back into the room. They stood in the waiting room and hoped that Tabitha would be alright.
Back in the room, Eve was fast to enlist the medics to help in removing Tabitha's jacket without causing any more damage. Once the jacket was off the medics left, and the nurse took over in helping cut Tabitha's clothing off and replacing them with a medical gown. As soon as the skin on her back was visible Eve instantly saw the bruising that ran from the base of her skull, down to her tailbone. "I need an X-ray STAT! Priority one! Potential spinal cord injury as well as neuro injury." She called out to the nurse, who left to secure a room. Just a few minutes later, the kids saw Eve and the nurse wheel Tabitha out of the room. When they turned the corner, Miguel and Kay saw that the bruises were worse than they originally thought. They were gone in a second, and that's when Julian came running into the Emergency Room area.
Timmy called out "You're here!" and ran to him. He scooped him up into his arms, and walked over to Kay and Miguel; asking "What happened? How is she?" Miguel answered "Charity threw her against the cave wall really hard. They just took her out of her room." Kay interjected and added "It was probably to get some X-rays. She should be back soon." He nodded and moved to sit down in the seating area with them. Timmy sat right next to him, and he was all right with it. In his head, he loved Tabitha just as much as she loves Timmy and how much he loves both of them. Sam arrived a bit after they sat down. Julian let Kay fill him in. Sam told him that Charity was in lockup at the station right now. Julian was content for now, and all that was missing was good news.
Four hours later, Eve walked into the waiting area and watched as everyone shot out of the chairs, except for Timmy. Julian asked "Where's Tabitha? Is she alright?" Eve cleared her throat and said: "Sorry for the delay in giving you news, we had to get Tabitha into surgery as soon as possible. She has a severe spinal cord injury, some fractured vertebrae, and a concussion. We got her settled in a post-op room just a little bit ago. She is probably gonna be out for a while longer, but I can let one person sit with her. I don't want all of you at one time until she is well enough for visitors." They all nodded and let Julian be the one to follow Eve to Tabitha's room.
As soon as he stepped into the room, he saw that she was laying on her left side. When he stepped closer, he saw the bruises, bandages, and the pillows halting her movements. Eve mentioned "Those pillows are there to keep her from rolling onto her back, and the neck brace is to help keep her spine straight. If she wakes up, keep her still, and page me. Okay?" He nodded and moved around the bed to sit in the chair, facing her. He watched her sleep so peacefully. He felt terrible that this happened, but knew he would be by her side for the rest of time. Without thinking, he took one of her cold hands in his free one. He sat like that for a while waiting for her to wake up.
The next morning, Julian woke up just in time to see Tabitha starting to stir. "Tabitha! Come on! Open your eyes!" He pleaded and was happy to see her eyes fluttering. Weakly she called out "...Julian..." He smiled and leaned in closer to give her a peck on the cheek, before saying: "I'm right here and not going anywhere!" She smiled and tried to roll onto her back, but was stopped by the pain and pillows. Julian was quick to stop her and say "Eve told me to keep you still. Your back is very badly hurt!" She understood and didn't move again. "...Why are you looking at me like that?.." She asked after seeing that he had so much more love in his eyes than she remembered. He took her hand again and said: "I'm just happy you're awake!" He watched as she cracked a small smile, and her free hand painfully moved to rest against her stomach due to the pain.
Julian gently stroked her arm and told her "I don't know how long, but I do know that I love you with all my heart. I think Timmy is gonna be thrilled that you're alright!" Mentioning her Tim Tim, sent her jerking in pain asking "...Timmy...Where is Timmy?.." He stilled her and calmly told her "He's perfectly fine. He should be on the way to the hospital soon. Kay took him to her house for the night." She sighed and finally relaxed. Julian secretly hit the page button to summon Eve, before asking "Will you let me and everyone help you recover? You're going to need serious help for a while." She looked into his eyes and found love, hurt, and sincerity. "...I guess they can help...Thank you for being so considerate..." He shot her a wink and sweetly said: "I love you, Tabitha!" She chuckled lightly and replied "...I love you too Julian..."
The End