Ricardiana

twenty three

"Diana! Diana! She's waking up! Nurse, nurse!" I hear Delaney's voice call. A hand leaves mine and I hear shoes hitting the floor.

My eyes open, and boy does it burn. I look up at the ceiling, the white light reflecting off of it makes my eyes and head hurt, and I groan in pain.

"Oh my god, D. You're awake." Liam.

I start to cry. He comes over to me and squeezes my hand tightly.

"I missed you so much." He says, kneeling next to me and rubbing his thumb over my knuckles and then kissing the back of my palm. "I can't believe you're awake, this is so crazy. Diana, they were going to pull the plug on you later tonight."

"What?" I cry, looking into his eyes.

Those beautiful, brown eyes that melt into flecks of amber and honey. He smiles and chuckles a bit as Delaney and a nurse, and a doctor walk in with a clipboard and those little flashlights that they use to look down your throat.

"Diana, glad to see you're awake." The doctor says. "I'm Doctor Jackson, I was taking care of you while you were out. Can you tell me the last thing you remember?" He asks.

"Walking home from school and it was raining a lot. Struck by lightening." I mumble.

Doctor Jackson chuckles, "Luckily, you weren't actually struck by lightening. You were actually hit by a car, resulting in you breaking your legs and an arm. Do you know how long you've been out?"

I shake my head no.

"Three months, your parents were going to pull the plug tonight." He informs.

"So I've been told." I mutter.

Liam chuckles as Doctor Jackson walks towards me and uses his little flashlight thingy to look in my eyes. He scribbles something on his notepad and then has me open my mouth, feels my throat and checks my blood pressure and my breathing.

"Well, Diana, everything seems to be fine. We can release you in two days once you get used to using your legs and arms again." Doctor Jackson smiles. He and the nurse leave, leaving Delaney, Liam and I alone in the room.

"Where is Charlie?" I ask, looking straight into Delaney's eyes.

"At home with Mum... How did you..." Delaney asks, and then gasps. "You heard that Mum had the baby right?"

I nod and look at her. "Can I tell you both something?"

They nod and hand me some water, letting me take a few sips before I tell them about Ricardiana and Dean and Julian and Charlie. Delaney sets herself at the edge of my bed, by my feet, as Liam sits next to me, holding my hand.

"Liam, do you remember Ricardiana?" I ask him. He nods. "I was there, and both of you were too. My dream world for my English project, it came true." I say.

"What do you mean?" Delaney asks.

"You were there, and you were pregnant with Count Julian's baby! We had a little brother, Dean, and he was a pain in the butt at first but oh my gosh, I loved him so much, I still do. And you," I say, pointing to Liam, "you hated me at first, but then I grew on you after Juliet and I met you. I made you run into the forbidden forest with me and I was chased by faceless men, and after Julian and I broke up, I realized I was in love with you and oh my gosh..." I say.

I was still in love with him, even in the real world. He was my Liam, my William Edward Bennett, and he was here and he was tangible and perfect in every single way possible.

"I still am in love with you." I mutter quietly.

"Who is Count Julian?" Delaney asks, "and why did I get pregnant with his baby? I only want Toby's kids."

"Count Julian is my English teacher!" I say.

"Mr. Julian was a Count in your dream world?" Liam asks.

"Yeah, and he was courting me and tried to rape me in the west wing tower, after holding Delaney hostage because I told him to leave me alone after Delaney confessed to me that Julian was the father of her baby." I tell them.

"You had an eventful dream, eh?" Delaney asks.

"It wasn't a dream, it was real!" I cry.

"Alright, D. Whatever you say, baby." Liam says.

+

As I get in the shower for the first time in months, I think about everything that's happened to me. My reality at the time was different from Liam and Delaney's. Everything was different from what I was used to.

I step out and wrap the hospital towel around my body, and Liam brings me fresh clothes, then walks back into the room, leaving me alone in the bathroom. I look at my reflection; I looked different. I looked older, like I've lived, and my eyes seemed greener. I slip on the pants and shirt Liam brought me and walk out as Mum and Dad are signing the release forms.

Liam is standing there, editing my paper, and Delaney is standing next to Toby, who is holding Charlie. I sigh and look at my family and best friend, and smile. I walk over to Delaney, and Toby hands me my little brother, who is smiling happily. His eyes were a bright blue, like mine and Dad's, and he began to giggle.

"Diana, are you ready to go home?" Mum asks, looking at me.

"Give me a minute." I say, and everyone heads out, leaving me in the room.

This was my Ricardiana. I look at everything and spin in a circle slowly, looking at everything. Liam comes to the door and smiles at me. "You good, Ana?" He asks.

"Yep." I smile, and head out.

a/n: one more chapter oh lordy pls let me not be an emotional wreck

btw, a pun for you all: i didn't like my beard at first. but then it grew on me.