Zombies 6

When Nightmares Become Reality

Pain. That was all Addison could feel. She tried to open her eyes, but the heaviness of her eyelids and the fog clouding her brain made it impossible.

Then, she heard voices. Loud, quick talking voices that seemed to come and go. Suddenly, her body began to shift and move. The pain flared, she tried to scream, but all that came out was a loud moan. The pain of the movement was dizzying, nauseating even. Then, what little consciousness she had, faded out.

🙈

It was bright, too bright. That's what Addison had thought when she first opened her eyes. She blinked slowly, trying to bring her vision back into focus. Where was she? What was going on?

Suddenly, Addison heard the sound of someone shuffling around nearby. She tried to turn towards the sound, only to find her head felt too heavy to move.

"Addison?" A familiar voice called out. "Oh Addy. Dale she's waking up!"

"M-Mom?" Addison questioned, her voice dry and raspy.

"I'm right here sweetie." Missy replied as Addison felt a hand squeeze hers. "You had us so worried."

"What happened?" Addison asked as her parents' faces came into focus. "Where am I?"

"You were in a car accident." Dale explained gently. "Now, you're in the hospital."

"What?" Addison replied as she tried to recall what they were saying. She remembered stopping at the intersection. The light turned green, Zed started moving the car forward, then... nothing.

Zed. Addison's eyes widened. "Where's Zed? Where is he? Is he okay?"

Missy and Dale shared a solemn look before turning back to their daughter.

"Zed's still in surgery." Missy explained softly. "His side of the vehicle took the initial  impact when the other car struck yours. The doctors told us he's in critical condition, but we won't know the extent of the damage until he's out of surgery."

Addison felt the tears running down her cheeks. "Is he going to die?"

"Oh honey." Missy replied in a consoling tone. "I'm sure Zed will be fine. He's strong."

Dale nodded. "And we all know he's not going to leave you without a fight.

"But you don't know for sure." Addison replied meekly.

Missy glanced at Dale then back to her daughter. "No, we don't. But what we do know, is that as long as Zed is breathing, there is hope. That is what we must hold on to."

Addison nodded numbly as a knock was heard at the door. A female doctor with curly red hair pulled back into a tight bun, blue eyes, and a kind smile stepped inside. "Hello Addison, I'm Dr. Anne Shepard. I will be the one in charge of your care. I'm glad to see you are awake."

"When can I see Zed?" Addison asked. All she could think about was seeing her husband.

"He's still in surgery." Dr. Shepard replied, repeating what Addison's parents had already told her. "Dr. James McCoy and Dr. Bryan Andrews are overseeing his care. They are doing everything they can to help him."

Addison nodded slowly, relaxing a bit upon hearing Dr. Andrews' name. If he was with Zed, then she knew he was in good hands.

"I would like to talk about you though." Dr. Shepard continued. "How are you feeling?"

Addison didn't answer right away. Instead, she took the moment to examine herself instead. Her left arm was in a sling, there was a wierd compression belt wrapped around her stomach, her chest and waist were sore, and her head ached.

"Most of me hurts." Addison replied, looking down again at her arm. "What's wrong with my arm?"

"Your left shoulder was dislocated." Dr. Shepard replied. "However, we were able to successfully put it back into place. You will need to wear the sling for a few weeks and limit your mobility with that arm, but it should heal nicely."

Addison nodded. "And the rest of me?"

Dr. Shepard glanced down at her notes. "Other than the shoulder, you made out with only some severe bruising around the areas where your seatbelt tightened around you during the crash and a laceration to your head most likely caused by your head striking the car window during the impact. Thankfully there was no concussion. You will be sore for a while, but in time you will see a full recovery."

"So what is this wierd compression thing around my stomach?" Addison asked. "Cause if it's supposed to help with the soreness, it isn't working."

Dr. Shepard chuckled. "Its a monitor dear, so we can make sure the baby is okay. Stress from an event such as this can be difficult on a pregnancy."

"B-Baby?" Addison choked out, her eyes wide with shock. "But...I'm not...I can't be..."

"Pregnant?" Dr. Shepard finished. "Well my dear, I hadn't realized you didn't know, but you are. See that monitor there? That's your baby's heartbeat, strong and steady. Congratulations."

Addison stared at her stomach, then the monitor, watching the line bounce across the screen at the beat of her baby's heartbeat. Her baby.

A wave of emotions overcame her all at once. Excitement, concern, adoration, and fear overwhelmed her. She and Zed had talked about starting a family in the near future, but she hadn't expected it to happen now.

Zed. Addison felt the tears pool in her eyes once more. He was supposed to be a part of this moment. He was supposed to be here so they could celebrate their joy together. She couldn't do this without him.

"I'll give you some time to process everything." Dr. Shepard replied gently. "When Zed us out of surgery, I'll have someone notify you."

Dr. Shepard left, leaving Addison with her parents and her thoughts.

"Addy?" Her father's voice called out gently. "Honey, are you okay?"

At his words, Addison crumpled, choking out a sob as she collapsed against his chest. Everything was happening too fast.

"I'm scared, I'm so scared." Addison cried as her father cradled her to his chest, stroking her hair softly. "I can't do this alone."

"Addison." Her mother's voice was soft as she wrapped her arms around her, joining the hug. "You aren't alone. You have us, Zevon and Zoey, your friends, your brother, your cousin, we're all here for you. We'll get through this together, I promise."

"Okay." Addison replied, wiping the tears from her eyes before they suddenly widened in realization. "Zevon and Zoey! Do they know what happened? Are they here?"

"They're here Addison." Her mother reassured her. "They cane to see you when they first arrived but you were still unconscious at the time so they went to the waiting room to wait for news on Zed."

"I understand." Addison nodded. "But did the doctor tell you, or them, about the pregnancy?"

Missy nodded. "The doctor told us, yes. We didn't say anything because I didn't want to upset you if you weren't ready for us to know."

"I didn't even know." Addison sighed. "What am I going to do?"

"Right now," Missy replied. "Just rest. Your body needs time to recover. Once we get more information on Zed's condition we'll discuss things more in depth. But for now, just focus on you and the baby."

Addison laid back and tried to relax, but her mind was still reeling as tried to digest everything she had learned. The worst part, was that despite her parent's best attempts to comfort her, she still found herself desperate for Zed's warm embrace.

She needed him to live. She needed him to be there for her and their baby.

She just needed Zed.

Author's Note

I'm really proud of this chapter. Good night people.

                        -Meloetta246