summary: y/n was involved in a near fatal accident, and has to watch from afar as her boyfriend daniel struggles with her condition.

pairing: daniel x female!reader

triggers: hospitals, mentions of accidents/injury

link to original post: https://youngbloodseavey.tumblr.com/post/176856706983/come-back-to-me-daniel-seavey

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the gentle, steady beat of a heart monitor was all y/n could hear. it was the melody she lived by, the melody that kept her living.

and then, she heard it. the soft sobs beginning to ring in her ear. the unmistakable, angelic voice of her boyfriend, daniel.

"why can't you come back to me y/n," she heard him whisper, feeling the grip of his calloused hands on hers. "please, come back to me."

his fingers trembled as he brought his hand up to his beloved's pale face, feeling her cool, smooth skin underneath his fingertips.

i'm trying daniel, please, i'm trying.

she willed herself to open her eyes, but to no avail. she tried as hard as she could to even move a fingertip, but it was as if her entire body was concrete. she was trapped in her own body. her own personal prison.

"i just feel stupid, talking to you like you can respond." daniel mumbled, playing with y/n's limp fingers. "the boys say it's gonna help me get through this, so i guess it's all i have until you wake up."

i will wake up daniel, i'm trying.

y/n summoned every molecule of strength in her body, willing her eyes to open. and to her surprise, they did.

the bright lights of the hospital room blinded her for a few moments, rendering her confused.

"daniel?" she mumbled quietly, looking over to see her boyfriend, who had not yet noticed she was awake.

"i just want to see you smile again, hold your body and kiss your lips. i want you to be okay." the blue-eyed boy began to tear up again. he brought his hands up to his face, covering himself as he began to cry again.

"daniel, i'm right here. i'm okay," she reached for his hands, wanting - no, needing- to comfort her boyfriend.

she went to grasp daniel's calloused hands in hers, but her hands went right through them. she gasped in horror, her hand shooting back from her beloved's.

y/n took a moment to soak in what had just happened, studying her own hand like it was a foreign object. she moved her fingers, each of them moving like they always had.

maybe it's just my imagination.

she tried to convince herself, moving her wrist around a few times. y/n took in a deep breath, reaching back over to daniel. her hands went to cup his cheek, beckoning him to look at her.

but to her horror, her hand simply went through him as if he wasn't there.

or was it her who wasn't there?

y/n closed her eyes, before summoning the strength to stand up from her hospital bed. she felt lightheaded, her legs failing her for a moment before she steadied herself.

breathe in, breathe out.

she slowly pried her eyes open, looking at the hospital bed that she was previously laying on. and to her horror, she saw herself lying on that bed.

it was an odd sensation, realizing that she was looking at herself. her pale, cold, lifeless self. y/n stood in shock for a beat or two, before approaching her own body.

she circled the bed, tracing her finger on her own skin. she studied her sleeping face, which had a few cuts and bruises on it from the incident. her hands laid limp at her sides, the veins prominent through her paper pale skin.

her hair was sprawled around her head, creating some sort of ghostly halo around her face. iv tubes and wires came out of her arms, leading up to various machines and bags that were hung up.

a cannula was wrapped around her face, two little tubes stuck up her nostrils to help her breathe. she could hear the faint, gentle breaths exiting her nearly still body, the only thing indicating her life was the steady up-down movements of her chest and the beeping of the heart monitor.

her eyes caught the large, white cast cemented to her right leg, and she winced at the sight. that would take a while to heal.

this is by far, the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me.

"i wish i was there with you when it happened." daniel's voice cut through her thoughts. she had been so rigid with the shock of being out of her body that she had nearly forgotten the boy who was sitting right next to her form.

"maybe if i was there, it would've never happened. or maybe it would be me in that bed." his voice was soft, his bloodshot eyes never leaving her face. "i would give the world and more for it to have been me rather than you, you don't deserve this y/n. you never deserved this."

y/n's heart broke with each word, and she took a seat down next to daniel. and even though she knew he wouldn't feel it, she placed her hand on his. and to her surprise, this time her hand didn't fall through his.

she could feel his warmth, the comforting essence of him radiating through her body. she kept one hand on his and placed the other on his cheek, desperately wanting to wipe the tears that fell down his face. she gently ran her thumb back and forth across his smooth skin, just as she would if she was really there.

"don't say that daniel, never say that," she whispered, tilting her head so she could get a full view of his face. "what's done is done. nothing could've stopped it from happening. stop beating yourself up about it." she exclaimed softly, but in her heart she knew her words couldn't comfort the boy. hell, he didn't even know she was next to him.

"god, i'm your boyfriend! i'm supposed to protect you!" daniel leaped up from his chair in frustration, his fingers tangling themselves in his dark locks. "the one time you needed protection the most, i wasn't there. i wasn't fucking there." his last words came out as a whisper, his voice breaking.

his expression was broken, and he sat himself back in the chair, slumping over. his hands went up to cover his face as tears began to streak his features, daniel beginning to sob heavily.

"daniel? i just wanted to check up on you," a knock on the door sounded, corbyn's soft voice cutting through the air. the older boy came inside the room, his heart breaking as he saw the state daniel was in. "oh daniel,"

corbyn sat himself down next to daniel, one arm going around his shoulders in an effort to comfort the blue-eyed boy.

"i-i-" daniel started, but the words seemed to get stuck in his throat. his hand went up to push a stray strand of hair from y/n's physical face, which send a spark down her spine. "i just don't know what to do anymore. it makes me want to throw up and cry my eyes out seeing her like this. she doesn't deserve to be like this." daniel mumbled, taking a hold of y/n's physical hand.

corbyn moved his hand up and down daniel's shoulder in a comforting gesture, taking a moment to gather a response.

"i know it's a hard time for you right now, but you have to be here for y/n. and i know for a fact that both you and her want your face the first one she sees when she wakes up, and she will." daniel took a moment to soak in what corbyn had just said. he slowly began to nod.

"you're right." daniel whispered, gripping y/n's hand even tighter than he was before. "i have to be strong for her." his eyes locked on her comatose body, never once wavering from her peaceful features.

"i'm gonna give you some time alone, okay?" corbyn stood up from his seat. "the boys and i are just out in the waiting room if you need anything." he gave daniel a final pat on the shoulder, sending the blue-eyed boy a sad smile before exiting the room.

daniel sat in silence, words not coming to mind as he simply just gripped his lover's hands in his.

y/n's hand tingled as she watched him stroke his thumb back and forth across the back of her hand, and she simply couldn't take it anymore.

"c'mon y/n, you're gonna wake up for daniel and you're gonna do it right now." she pep-talked to herself, thinking for a moment before stepping next to her hospital bed and laying back down.

she herself up with her body, feeling her soul sink back into her body. her vision went dark again, but the rest of her senses felt on high alert. y/n felt surprised, she didn't know it'd be that easy to get back into her body.

okay y/n, you can do this. just a little bit of movement.

she summoned all her strength, trying her best to squeeze daniel's hand.

c'mon, even just the tiniest squeeze. you can do it. for him.

she tried again, feeling the tiniest bit of warmth enter her veins. a spark of determination flew through her veins, but faded as her next attempt went without avail.

just as she was about to begin her next attempt, she heard daniel's phone go off and his hand left hers.

"hey," she heard the scrape of a chair as daniel stood up. "i'll be right back baby, don't wake up without me." she heard daniel whisper into her ear, and he pressed a soft kiss on her temple before she heard his footsteps slowly padding away.

too bad daniel, i'm waking up now.

she summoned all of her strength, feeling every molecule in her body strain as she tried to wake up.

his footsteps were getting fainter now.

c'mon y/n.

she could heard him tiredly chat to whoever was on the other line of the phone.

do it for him.

she could hear the creak of the door as he began to open it to leave the room, and she gathered all of her willpower.

do it for daniel.

with one final push, she felt a wash of warmth flow over her. relief flooded her veins, and she gently cracked her eyes open.

immediately, a blinding white light flooded her vision. her eyes burned for a moment, and she blinked rapidly before attempting to open her eyes fully.

her y/e/c eyes scanned the room, seeing bleak, white walls and the complex machines she was hooked up to. she saw the chair that was pulled up next to her bedside, the one daniel was previously occupying.

daniel.

y/n's eyes swept to where to doorway was located, seeing that daniel was already halfway through the frame.

she wet her cracked lips with her tongue, clearing her throat softly.

"daniel?" her voice came out as barely a whisper, sounding rough and croaky after weeks of being mute.

but it seemed like daniel had heard her. his cerulean eyes went wide as he turned back around, seeing his girlfriend awake and alive as ever.

his phone slide out of his hand, hitting the floor with a resounding thud.

"y/n."