Three Hours Later
September 23rd, 2004
1:50 A.M.
Christina's POV

Consciousness came back to Christina slower than usual but, when she opened her eyes, her vision wasn't immensely blurry anymore. She could see more clearly than when she had woken up in the hospital over a month prior; she was aware that her situation was much more severe this time around but she was surprised at the amount of energy she had in her all of a sudden. But she chose not to waste it, instead yawning a little and looking all around her, smelling the stale medicalized air of the room she was currently in.

She was very tired and just wished she could sleep in her own bed at the apartment; she could only picture how her sheets would feel when she collapsed onto the mattress... whenever she was finally able to be released from the hospital.

That reminded her of something and her heart stopped temporarily.

Sidney... she thought.

She turned to her left and reached out towards the wall to press the button that called a nurse into the room you stayed at.

Only... she couldn't touch it....

She tried again.

Nothing.

That was when Christina noticed that she didn't even have a left arm. Well, she did... but there was nothing remaining of her forearm. It was completely gone... there was nothing there now with the exception of her shoulder down to her elbow. All she could see was a stump wrapped tightly with gauze and medical tape.

Insecurity hit Christina like a brick and she withdrew her stump and covered it with her free hand, tears filling her eyes as her lips quivered. "Damn it..." she whimpered, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them back up.

She then reached across the bed with her right arm and just barely managed to press the red button and she heard it beep; right then, a small flare of pain coursed through the rest of her left arm and she hissed at how much it hurt, gritting her teeth. "Oh, fuck..." she muttered under her breath. She took a few deep breaths to let the brief agony subside, trying to stay strong.

"Fight like hell."

That's what she had heard Margaret say in her head when she had initially lost her arm, and she was brought back to a few hours ago when she felt the scorching heat of the sun against her. The words kept her going and she kept fighting to live and for the pain to go away.

I'll fight because you told me to, Mom... she thought to herself and even smiled a little, finally back to her full reality.

For once, she felt absolutely no pain thinking of her mother. She felt... happy. Not a single negative memory of a nightmare of Margaret plagued her brain and she actually grinned at that. Her heart no longer felt broken to pieces... it felt completely healed; still slightly damaged because she knew she would never truly get over her death, but healed.

She truly felt okay now... emotionally and mentally, anyway.

Physically, she was hurting like a bitch right now.

The door to her room swung open and an older woman in either her late fifties or earlier sixties with grayish-blonde hair walked into the room, clutching a clipboard with her left arm.

Lucky you, Christina thought, her sarcasm back in full force with her emotional healing.

"We're seeing a lot of you lately," the nurse said lightheartedly as she walked over to the bed. "How are you feeling, Miss Johnson?"

"Pretty sore," Christina replied without hesitation. "It's not as bad as it was earlier, though. Thanks for keeping me alive."

The nurse smiled down at the younger woman with a small nod of her head. "Of course," she mumbled gently and almost motherly. "You fought like crazy, you're really tough. I've had patients with a paper cut and they would cry like babies. With you... it was like nothing actually happened to you. You're a strong girl. We're going to wait a couple of hours before the pain is more bearable... then, we'll see what you feel about getting a prosthetic arm."

"Thank you, ma'am..." Christina whispered. Prosthetic arm, she thought. How lovely. "Um... is my family here? Michael Johnson, Sidney Johnson, Allyson Johnson, and Aidan Johnson..."

"Yeah, they are," the nurse answered her brightly. "They're in the waiting room currently. Would you like me to go get them?"

"Um, yes, please," Christina said timidly. "If you wouldn't mind, ma'am."

The nurse nodded her head happily after writing Christina's stats down on the clipboard. "I'll have them in here in a minute or so."

And, less than forty-five seconds later, Christina's family rushed into the room. The first to greet her was Allyson as her stepmother gave her a careful but tight hug that she didn't hesitate to return for once. She then greeted Aidan with a tearful smile, using her remaining hand to ruffle his light brown locks of hair.

"You're okay!" Aidan shouted joyously in that baby voice he still had.

Christina couldn't help but giggle at that, holding her little brother as best as she could. "Yeah, I'm okay..." she replied cautiously, blinking the tears away.

"You're not okay," protested Michael with wide and disbelieving eyes. "Your damn arm was melted off!"

"It doesn't hurt that much now..." Christina emphasized. Then, remembering something funny the nurse had told her mere minutes before, her eyes brightened slightly. "It feels like a paper cut now."

"I'll say," Allyson said.

Then Sidney was hugging her gently. "When are you coming home, Chris?"

"I'm not sure..." Christina answered her. "Hopefully, I'll be home by tomorrow. M.J's wedding is in two days... wait.... Where is she?"

"She went home," Allyson said with a tender smile. "John and her figured that she should get some sleep, try to recover from what happened. She's fine, just shaken up. She's tough."

"She's gonna have to be," Christina said.

Her mind then went over everything that had transpired over the course of less than thirty minutes a few hours prior. The memories were now more vivid than ever, and she remembered the worst pain she had ever felt where her left arm used to be, the cold metal of the chains she was tied up with digging into her flesh, her mother's voice encouraging her to keep fighting, the genuine remorse Otto seemed to have on his face before he drowned his creation – He died a hero, Christina thought – to save the city, and hearing Peter say they absolutely could not be together so she would be safe.

So much for that.

She wished she had the strength and the sanity to protest against what he had said, to say that she didn't give a shit that he was Spider-Man, that she still loved him regardless of who he was. But she had been too far gone to even try and say a single word. Damn it, she wished her arm hadn't melted off.

If she hadn't been dying, Christina would have snapped at Peter with the past confidence she once had building back up in her blood; she figured that her tough personality and 'no-fucks-given' nature came from her father. She would have told him that he didn't get to choose what she wanted, that only she could decide if she was okay or not, that she could choose what she wanted to pursue in life, that she could choose whether or not she could stay away from him.

It was her choice, not Peter's.

But he had made his choice.

And Christina had to deal with that.

Or she could actually do something about it....

A/N: i know this chapter was short as well, but i promise the next one will be much longer, as that is the last chapter of part two!

ANYWAYS, thoughts on this chapter, despite how short it was?

what did you think of christina's reaction to her no longer having an arm? i feel sad that she instantly became insecure. she's still beautiful!🥺

what do you think of christina's confidence and sassiness returning? she's going back to her happy-go-lucky self in part one! she's truly healed!

once again, aidan is being adorable as always!

did you like how michael was extremely concerned for christina? i wouldn't blame him.

predictions for the last chapter of part two? i want the predictions to be specific!

ONE MORE CHAPTER!!!! THEN ON TO PART THREE!

also, thank you guys for over 15K reads! i personally don't think i deserve that many reads on this book but i appreciate you guys for that!❤️

be looking forward to the final chapter of part two! you will not be disappointed!😁

-denbroughswife