(Haii!! I know alot of you were disappointed when I went over my one week deadline but I was really going through it mentally. In my announcement, I gave a brief explaination on my current situation, but I'm doing alot better now!! I give a huge thanks to these people:

💕 ShadoBunny 

💕 callsign_clutch

💕 -THEGHOSTS

Who are always checking in on me and I just love them sm. Their kind words helped me through a really tough time. Knowing people care is really a reminder that theres a light at the end of the tunnel. I love you all.)

*Also...I might've bagged an airsoft guy ...😏😏 ik right?? Enjoy the story!!*

-

CURRENT SETTING: Belle's hospital room

   I sat there in that cramped position crying for hours. By the time I recollected myself, the bandages that were covering the left side of my face were soaked and had begun unraveling. Sighing, I used the back of my hand to wipe away the remainder of my tears. I sat up and reached for the nurse button, pressed it, and sat back.

  I desperately tried to make it seem like I hadn't been crying, but when my favorite nurse came rushing in with her saccharine smile plastered on her face, I broke yet again. She made her way to my bedside, not even bothering to close the room door and immediately wrapped me in her arms, holding me while I began to sob yet again.

-

   When my cries had dialed down into mere sniffles, she took the chance to start asking me questions. "So, you're sayin' that big fella that was always here killed your assaulters in cold blood and now he's locked away in some asylum somewhere?" I sniffled and nodded. She had asked me what had happened prior to my meltdown, but I couldn't so much as form a proper sentence without bawling my eyes out, only ever managing to get out a few words at best. She continued, "And on top of all that you are just now recognizing your feelings for em?" I nodded again. I had to admit, it was quite impressive how she got that much intel just from the broken words that had left my mouth.

   She let out a long sigh, "Well hun, I don't know much about that fella, but he seemed to be off. Like messed up in the head type off or sumthin. I think it was for the best that he was put away." She scoffed and paused for a bit, and I took the chance to say something. "How...like in what way? I never.... I never noticed anything off about...him." Every word that left my mouth was covered in a disgusting croak. She hummed at my question and sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Well, it could just be me and my biased opinion, but he was a literal pain in the ass."

   I chuckled a bit and as a result, she started rocking me back and forth in a soothing, mother-like fashion. In a way, it kind of reminded me of how König used to calm me down. "I'm being serious! He really was an asshole!" I let a soft noise escape my mouth, "What did he.... do?" I asked. The nurse let out an exaggerated sigh, "Oh hun don't even get me started." I chuckled again, "No, tell me, I want to know." I prodded. The nurse groaned again, "Alright, alright. Well, when he first brought you here, he didn't want to put you down. In fact, he didn't want to cooperate at all. He wanted to treat you all by himself and when we told em that he couldn't do that -because this is a darn hospital- I tell you, he was madder than a wet hen! Cussin' up a damn storm in German."

   I couldn't help but laugh at the sudden emerge of her southern accent. "Heh, that's not even the worst of it. The real problem came when we saw that you had some major signs of trauma to your head, we knew we had to get you some help immediately, but that honker, he just wouldn't comply, so we had to use force. It took twelve of our strongest men to hold em down long enough so we could pry ya from em." I shook my head, trying to keep my laugher under control. I knew none of this was truly funny, but I couldn't help it; at least it was better than crying.

   She continued. "Dear god, it was a pure nightmare dealing with him I tell ya! He was violent at times and not only that, during your cheekbone inspection, he stood outside the operating room for hours hun. Hours. If he wasn't as wishy washy like he was, I would've said that he was a keeper!" I finally let my laughter erupt, wrapping my arms around my belly that I knew was soon going to start aching. The nurse let out a soft chuckle before continuing yet again, "But on a real note doll, he's definitely got some loose screws or some major attachment issues. It's probably for the best to let him go."

   My acute chuckles came to an abrupt stop. Even though it was wrong, butterflies filled my stomach to the brim. I had never had anyone care so much about me and it felt nice, even if it was a bit obsessive. As I took in the nurse's words, a knock on my room door's threshold caused both me and the nurse to look up. There in the doorway stood a silent Horangi. He lifted a hand and waved, now leaning against the threshold. I waved back, but quickly retracted my hand and briskly wiped away my tears.

   I was well overcome with embarrassment as no one from base, besides König, had seen me cry. The nurse pried her gaze from Horangi and tilted her head downwards, a sympathetic look plastered on her face. Without even using words, I immediately knew what she was asking. 'She wanted to know if it'd be okay for her to leave.' I nodded and she lifted herself from the edge of the bed, slowly pushing me to sit upright again. She let go of me, "I'll be right back hun, need to fix those bandages." I nodded and watched as she dashed out. Horangi and I sat in silence, neither of us bothering to say a word.

   That is until he suddenly pushed himself to stand-upright. "Good evening." He finally spoke, peeking over his shoulder, presumably looking for the nurse. "Evening." I croaked out. He looked back to me, "When do you...get discharged?" I sniffed and grabbed a tissue, dabbing it underneath my nose. "A week from now, maybe less, why are you here?"

   He grunted a bit before speaking again, "Just here to check on you. You didn't hang up the phone with the most enthusiasm, and I got worried. I know much König means to you. I used to watch you guys walk around base together, literally do everything together. I mean he's like a son to you. But yeah, long story short, I just wanted to see if you were okay. I really didn't think you'd take the news as well as you did."

   I scoffed and shook my head. 'Take the news as well as I did? Yeah right, I just finished crying myself into a skull splitting headache Horangi.' A small smile spread across my lips as I looked up at him. "I appreciate your concern Horangi." He hummed in agreement, cocking his head to the side to look behind him again. 'Is he in a hurry or something?' As if on que, Horangi cleared his throat and began speaking again.

   "It's not a problem ma'am. It's my duty to make sure you are in good health, I'm sure König would've wanted me to anyway." He chuckled. I hummed in agreement, all the while pretending that I didn't hear what he said. We shared a moment of silence, and when the nurse came back with more bandages, Horangi said his goodbyes and left; but not before asking me to call him when I was sure of the date I was set to be released. I inevitably agreed to it.

Time Skip: One week.

   The past few days had been tough. My sorrow never truly went away, but with the left side of my face being unveiled for the first time in a month and the new speech therapy sessions, I was never left alone to dwell in it. My favorite nurse made it her duty to always stop by and check on me, more than she already did. I was grateful to her for that, and that's why when it came time for me to get discharged, I couldn't help but shed a few tears. "Aww hun, it's going to get better I promise." I had collapsed to my knees in the middle of the hospital lobby, bawling my eyes out. She plopped down in front of me keeping her hold on me. I couldn't help but hate myself for the way that I compared her soothing gestures to König.

   Horangi stood behind us silently, not uttering a word. When my cries calmed to mere sniffles the nurse took her chance to ask, "You okay now hun?" I nodded quietly. "I'm sorry...about all of this." Embarrassment took over me and as a result she grabbed my face, pulling me to look up at her. "It's okay to cry hun, you hit rock bottom and that's okay. But now it's time for you to pick yourself back up. I'll be here if you ever need someone to talk to mkay?" Tears welled back up in my eyes and I nodded. She flashed a warm smile and stood up, extending a handout to help me up. "Now get back out there and live your life." I nodded and we gave each other a hug.

   I turned to Horangi. He gave me a nod and turned around, making his way out of the hospital's double doors. I followed behind him silently, but not before stopping and waving to the nurse who was more a mother to me than my actual blood mother. She waved back and I made my way out of the double doors. I dashed out to the parking lot, spotting Horangi with his arm out waving to me. I walked to his car, swinging the door of his Jeep open and hopping in. "You alright?" He asked as I closed the door. I nodded and he put the car in drive.

-

   And that's how we ended up here, at the entrance of George worth asylum. The drive itself was supposed to be 26 hours, but with both of our crazy driving habits it was shortened to 22 hours. That didn't make it any less grueling though, we had switched driving positions at least eight times. It was mainly a non-stop drive, only ever pausing at rest stops to snatch food and to use the bathroom.

   Horangi pulled into the parking lot and placed the car in park. As if on cue, both of us slumped back in the seats and looked at each other. We shared a quick laugh, "So, did you want to go in now or a little later?" Horangi asked. I turned to glance out of the window. It was nearly pitch-black outside, the asylum's light being the only source of illumination in the heavily forested area. "What time does this place close? And where do we go from here?" I asked, still looking out the window.

   "Well, our captain -Kortac's captain- is arriving here tomorrow. He knows you're coming, and he said he wanted to meet you." I glanced back at him with a confused look plastered on my face, he shrugged in response and continued, "I haven't been able to get in contact with Laswell, but I'm sure she's with Price. All of them are arriving here tomorrow morning." I hummed in acknowledgment, "It's 3AM right about now, what time are they arriving?" I asked.

   Horangi pulled out his phone, "Uhhhh, 6:00Am on the dot." He looked back to me. " What do you wanna do? We have a little under 3 free hours." I sighed and looked back towards the asylum, "We can catch up on some sleep, just set an alarm so we don't miss the arrival of the captains." Horangi nodded in agreement, and I reclined back in the seat. I shut my eyes, trying to get as much shut eye as I could, for I knew I was going to need it.

Tomorrow was a day I looked forward to, but it was also a day I dreaded the most.

(2160 Words)

✍ ( ◔◡◔ )

// I don't think she wants tomorrow to come... Also look at Horangi doing his job as König's sidekick lol. On a real note how y'all been...?//