• July 02, 2017 •

Kara had come straight to the hospital soon as all the survivors were rescued and the fire was extinguished. She had hastily changed out of her suit because she couldn't go there as Supergirl. But being Kara Danvers at that moment came with a lot of limitations.

As Supergirl she could have reached the hospital at almost the speed of light but in her ordinary civilian identity, she could not manage that unless she risked exposure.

And right then each second that passed was making her anxiety increase because she knew Zach had been terribly injured and his chances of survival would be low. The sooner she got to him the slightly greater her chance would be to see him.

She had asked Connor to inform Zach's family and Ava of the situation while she had herself changed hastily out of her suit, putting in the contact lenses that were her key to keeping the identities of Supergirl and Kara separate. Just like Clark's spectacles, her lenses helped in disguising her, not letting people point out that she and Supergirl were one and the same.

The hospital wasn't crowded when she reached because only the survivors had been brought in by then and their families were gradually being notified. So she was able to track Zach out easily and registered her name as a friend of his while telling the staff that his family would be there soon.

She managed to convince them to let her see him but she was made aware of his critical condition and asked to be cautious. Kara's eyes were constantly welling up even though she had never before gotten that overwhelmed to cry in any situation.

But right then she had no control over the tears making her vision blurry. Soon she was let into the ICU, beside the bed where Zach was kept, bandaged and breathing but not conscious.

His injuries couldn't be treated by bandages alone and surgery would be required so when she was asked who would fill the form, she told them that his parents would be there soon and that was a decision she couldn't take by herself.

Right then, Zach had been stabilized and the pain he must have been going through was temporarily numbed through painkillers. But just seeing him as such harrowed up her soul.

At that moment, she had no doubt in her heart that Zach wasn't just someone she was temporarily attracted to. The main reason she had been scared of commitment was that she didn't want to get committed without being fully sure of her feelings.

But standing on the brink of losing Zach was making her realize how much she valued his presence. It was making her realize that all her uncertainty was a barrier she had held up herself.

The truth was that she had fallen for him just as he had fallen deeply in love with her. When and how, she didn't remember. But all she knew was that she loved the boy with her heart and soul and parting with him was what she could not afford anymore.

Her feelings were no different from his own but she was scared that it could be too late for her to be realizing it then. And she didn't want it to be late, not at any cost.

She was praying that he would make it through the injuries and tribulation that had befallen him.

His left side was wrapped in bandages, the red soaked in and peeking through at several places. And his right hand was lying limp on the bed close to her, his upturned palm empty yet seemingly beseeching her to hold it.

After a lot of thinking, she reached forward, taking his hand in hers. She was being extremely careful as even his hand had burn marks and was battered up, just like the rest of him. 

To think that the person lying unconscious on the bed in such a dreadful state was the same Zachary Smith who lit up their lives daily was nothing short of painful.

The tears in her eyes were making it difficult for her to see him and even the lenses had started to irritate her. As there was no one else around at the moment, she took off the contacts, putting them in the small container she always kept with her.

Her vision cleared up but she wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to take off the lenses just then because now she could see all his injuries despite the bandages. All the bones in the left portion of his body were affected, especially his leg which was almost crushed.

In that case, there was no way he could compete in the upcoming World Championships. But right then just getting the assurance of him being able to recover would be more than enough for them.

She didn't realize how long passed as she sat beside him but when she felt his fingers twitch in her grasp, she looked down at him. He had started to gain consciousness and his heart rate that had been unnervingly still earlier was spiking up gradually.

Kara looked around to call for a doctor to check up on him but everyone was busy as more survivors had been brought in. 

"Kara...?"

The hoarse but familiar voice redirected her attention towards Zach who had realized that she was beside him. His vision was a haze and he couldn't see clearly but he knew the hand holding his was Kara's.

"Zach," she leaned closer, seeing that he wanted to speak to her but was clearly struggling with it, "I'm here with you."

His brown eyes were out of focus as the painkillers and the mild anesthetics were making him dizzy, "I... Where am... I?"

"You're in the hospital," she explained, "the trade center got blown up and you were brought here along with the other people who got injured."

"Oh... So I'm... Injured..." His voice dropped low as he was fading out of his consciousness again, "it hurts..."

She tried her best to reassure him that everything would be alright but it was proving to be quite hard for her as well as for him to understand in such a fragile state.

Eventually, his eyes adjusted to the white light of the ICU and he tilted his head to look at her. But he felt as if something was obstructing his vision still because even though he knew the girl sitting beside him was Kara, there was something different about her.

Something that either he had never noticed before or she had kept concealed from him. But as he was injured and partially numb, his observation wasn't at par with the usual.

He let that feeling slide for the time being, accepting that he wasn't alone and Kara was beside him. Back when the building had gone up in flames, he had almost accepted that he would never get to see her or any of his loved ones again.

"I feared that... I won't see you... Again..." He would have tightened his grip on her hand if he could but he felt drained out.

She cut off his words, pain churning through her to hear him say that, "Zach, please don't say that." 

A doctor had finally dropped by to check on him and adjusted another IV, noting down his condition and vitals info.

As his senses had started to awaken from the numb stupor, the pain had also begun to kick in and along with it came a bitter realization. His eyes took in the bandages covering him and the scariest part was that he could neither move his left arm nor leg. The whole of his left side seemed to be frozen.

He had realized by then that he might never be able to achieve his dream due to the current predicament he was stuck in. And that realization was tearing him apart.

"Kara, everything... Everything has gone so wrong... I can't... I don't want to... I... What's the point in living when... When I can't..." 

"Hey, that's not what you should be thinking about right now," she had gotten alarmed to see his eyes flicker in uncertainty and sorrow, "you're going to be alright. Everything will be alright."

"But... It won't be how it was..."

"Zach, you were the most optimistic person I had ever known," she mumbled, one last attempt to make him look for the hope he had always so easily found among stormy clouds.

"Optimism is not the answer always... Sometimes... We have to look at things... Realistically..."

The worst thing to witness was the time when an unbelievably optimistic person as Zach also had nothing left to hope for.

He might not know the full extent of his injuries but he knew enough that he could no longer compete in the Olympics. He knew that he was standing on the brink of life and death and chances of survival were very low for him.

He had been optimistic his entire life but right then he couldn't deny reality.

That moment between them was like a contradiction of their natures because Kara was trying to give him hope while in the past it had always been the other way round. And even Kara was in a conflict, concerned for him extremely yet finding herself helpless in that situation.

"I... I've been so stupid. All the time you were with me, I kept finding reasons not to fall for you, not to get involved deeper with you because I was scared of so many things. Even though we got together, I gave you a million reasons pushing you away," she mumbled, tears streaking down her face, "yet you kept coming back all the time. And now that I want you to stay, you... You..."

Her voice broke at the last words and the tears poured even more though his fingers gently wiped them off her face, a pained gasp escaping him as he moved his right hand too. But his eyes were focused on her taking in each slight flicker of expression and his brow was furrowed as if trying to let her words sink in.

He spoke the one sentence that he thought he had misheard, "you want me to stay?"

"Yes."

"But... But why?" The surprise on his face was evident as he asked.

Kara looked at him and took her decision, confessing at last. "Because I love you."

Zachary froze, his eyes wide in disbelief and his lips parting slightly but no words escaped him. He was just looking at her baffled and it seemed as if the thought of her confessing was downright unbelievable to him.

"You do...?"

"Yes. And I won't ever give you any reason to go away from me. I promise. Just... Just promise me you'll make it through this surgery. Promise me you'll come back."

He looked at her as if in shock but after a while of silence, the words sunk in and realization crossed his features.

"I... I'll try," he breathed out and her eyes connected with his soon after, "I'll try my best to make it through."

His hand still lingered on her cheek but she gently brought it down, interlacing their fingers together.

However, they were interrupted when the nurse came in telling them that Zach's parents were there and wanted to meet him. Kara stood up, wiping off her tears then looked back at Zach.

"Can't you stay?"

"I want to but your parents are here and they should meet you too. Don't worry I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right outside."

He nodded, his hand still reaching out towards her. So before leaving with the nurse, Kara took his hand in hers and kissed it.

"Everything will be alright, trust me. I am holding on to this hope and I want you to do the same."

***