Song is "Like Me Better" ~ Pretty much my favorite song right now and listen to it whenever I am channeling Bass! It's him to a tee!

As promised here is the last chapter in Sebastian's POV (for a while). There will be bonus chapters ahead with the big guy, so don't fear!

We will be posting a chapter of Shelby's POV (taken from MM2 on here) to get us caught up to speed. Plan on an update probably every 2 days for the next two weeks!

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It was almost a half an hour drive from the cemetery to the hospital. Robin offered to stay while I visited with Shelby. Only I had no idea how long that would be.

"Hey, Sebastian," Melissa greeted me as I exited the elevators and made my way past the nurse's station where she sat. "I wasn't expecting to see you here today."

I turned once I hit the open doorway to Shelby's room and shrugged. "Yeah, well." What else was there to say? That I needed to see her? That I needed to make sure she was okay, even though I had no reason to think otherwise?

God, I was pathetic. Even thinking it to myself had me cringing. If this kept up, no doubt Mom would put me in therapy.

Melissa waved a hand at me. "Well, she's still in there."

"Thanks," I said with a slight chuckle.

The blinds in Shelby's room were open, allowing for the late afternoon sunshine to trickle between the slats. Rays of light landed on her wounded body, giving Shelby an ethereal effect. Almost like the angels were looking down on her. Or maybe three in particular.

My seat was still in its usual position, at the left side of the bed. I removed my suit jacket and tie, laying the items on the back of the chair.

All the air I'd been holding in released as I sat beside Shelby. I grabbed her left hand and laced my fingers through hers. Surely, if she were awake right now, she'd kick my ass for being this presumptuous—this forward. This so like me, as she would say.

"Hey," I said, breathlessly and waited. The constant beeping of the monitors attached to the leads on Shelby played as background music. Odd that it soothed me, but that and the combined whoosh of the ventilator meant one significant and vital thing.

Shelby was alive and here. With me.

"So," I him-hawed on that one word. Not like Shelby was going to counter and ask, "so what?" but I pretended that she did. Just for today. Just for now. "You missed out on a lot of stuff today."

"Like what, Bass?" I forced my voice to sound high-pitched like a girl, but nothing even close to hers.

"Oh well, let's see." My hesitation was apparent while playing back all the horrible moments of this day so far. "First, I had to go meet with the judge."

"Judge? What judge?" I interrupted myself with her imitated voice. Only I made sure to add a certain amount of disdain that Shelby pulled off so well when speaking to me. It was the little things like this that I strangely missed. Five days since I had seen her with her green eyes open. Five days since she smiled at me. Five days since I promised to tell her how I felt.

I huffed. "Shelby, I did something incredibly stupid."

"Oh, not you, Bass," I mocked as Shelby again.

If only it were this easy to speak to her when she was awake. Sure we talked. Well, I tended to mess with her. Flirt. Do whatever was needed just to get a rise; to get her attention. That included instigating shit and hazing her to the point that she usually got fed up and told me off. But that was us. Our thing. Our connection. My stupid ass immature way of letting her know I was in love with her without actually ever letting her know I was in love with her.

"Yeah, I know. So unlike me." I wagged my head. "But I went out and got drunk and almost did something unforgivable and completely idiotic."

I snorted as I aped a quick, "Like?"

"I blacked out when I was driving and ran Bert straight into a tree." The intentional pause was to allow what I just admitted to seep in, for her to digest it all. I pretended to glance away from her accusing eyes, loathing the fact that I hurt the precious car she named. Not like it would really bother her. She hated my truck because it was too tall for her get into by herself and it was yellow and loud, and it was ostentatious like me. And one of the main reasons I kept it and never traded it in as planned, was to piss her off—continually.

To pull this act off like she was truly awake and aggravated with me, I pressed her palm to my face and slapped it as hard as possible.

"I have to say, I've never seen a comatose patient abuse a visitor before," Melissa said from behind me. "So thank you for that. Now I've seen it all."

"Umm." I straightened my spine and placed Shelby's hand back where it was originally (underneath the covers). But I didn't let go of it. Nope, that wasn't going to happen. Okay, so I was caught, looking like an absolute fool to someone who could tell my mom. Great. Just great.

She strode into the room, patting my shoulder. "It's okay, loverboy. I get it."

I narrowed my eyes at her while she changed out Shelby's IV. "You do?"

"Of course." Melissa shrugged. "You miss her. You want to interact with her. Trust me she knows that you're here."

How could she possibly know? From everything Mom told me, Shelby would have to remain this way for at least two weeks, maybe longer. Sure she could hear me yammering away about all this stupid crap, but that didn't mean she actually was listening. Did it?

Curious that it somehow was true, I asked, "How?"

Melissa deposited the empty bag into the trash and walked around the bed. "This is how I know. I can see it out there on her monitors every time you're here with her." A raised finger pointed at the steady peaks of Shelby's heartbeat. "Her pulse speeds up, just a little bit. Say something."

"What do you want me to say?" I asked and watched in amazement as her heartbeat quickened for a few seconds and slowed again after a short while.

"See." Melissa cocked an eyebrow, satisfied that she proved her point. "Some people might think that it's crazy, but what Shelby needs is support. That someone is here and cares for her. Loves her. Even if she doesn't know what's going on."

Sitting back in the chair, the continual rise and fall of Shelby's chest as the machine forced air into her lungs held my attention.

"But don't let me stop your little discussion." Melissa leaned over and flipped back the blanket, revealing my hand holding onto Shelby's.

I half smiled my thanks. Partly in understanding. The rest in appreciation. When Melissa left the room, she made sure to close the door so that we wouldn't be interrupted again. My eyes drifted around the room, staring at the corners especially to ensure there weren't any cameras recording all of this for future reference.

Cautiously, I kept my voice lower, just in case."So anyway, I had to see the judge, and he sentenced me to two hundred hours of community service. I have to meet with a probation officer once a week and complete an outpatient treatment program. All before school starts, meaning my summer just got really busy. Well besides basketball."

I sat back in the chair with my arm outstretched, still joined to her. Shelby faced the ceiling; eyes closed, nothing more than the machines connected to her filling the silent void.

"Okay, I get it." I shrugged my left shoulder, wincing from the pain as I tried raising a hand over my head. "You're disappointed in me, too. That's why you're not saying anything. Fine. Well, today has been bad enough on its own." Scooting forward, I rested my cheek on top of her hand. "As bad as this sounds, I'm glad you weren't there for the funerals."

A couple of tears had escaped before I had a chance to wipe them away. They rolled onto her hand, glistening in the overhead florescent light. For the next few minutes, I didn't move an inch. My breathing eventually fell into a perfect rhythm with the rise and fall of her chest. It was the calmest that I had felt all day. And it was because of her. Being here with Shelby.

A little while later, the door creaked open. "Sebastian, are you ready to go?" Robin asked as she stepped into the room. I guess she didn't go to the Ryan's house after all. Or maybe she went, and Mom sent her back to retrieve me. Regardless, my time was up for today.

No. "Sure," I lied and used the sleeve of my shirt to erase any proof that I'd been crying. I sniffled and wiped my nose, pretending that I had a cold or something. "I'll be right down."

"Okay." She paused, drumming her fingers against the doorframe. "Just don't take too long."

I nodded with my back turned and waited until her footsteps padded away from the room before standing. "Well, it looks like I don't get to stay for as long as I wanted." Shrugging back on my jacket proved a little more difficult. My left shoulder seized from the sudden movement.

I loomed there for a moment, watching her. She looked so peaceful. Even with all her bandages, swelling and bruises marring her body.

Before Robin had the chance to come back, I leaned over and pressed my lips to her forehead.

"Bye, baby. I'll see you tomorrow."

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