Lavender & Ice

32. Reunited

The next time Ashima woke, her hearing felt more clear. She took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. Dull pain throbbed but she wasn't sure where. She must be on painkillers, she assumed. After a moment she was able to get her eyes to blink. Once... twice... a handful of times. Relief flooded through her as she felt her eyelids part. The room was already dark this time, she noticed as her eyes put in great effort to focus on her surroundings. She was in a medical room of some kind, she assumed.

She closed her eyes, taking in another deep breath, already feeling tired from her efforts. So instead she left her eyes closed and focused on her other senses. There was something familiar in the smell of the room but she couldn't quite place it. Something that made her feel safe. She focused on what she could feel, noticing her face felt pain but her chest didn't really feel anything. They must have applied that miracle cream to the cut on my chest. She noted, wishing she had that in her life growing up. When her focus got to her midsection she winced as the pain there became apparent, letting out a quiet whimper. What had happened to her there again? Oh yeah... he punched her over and over. She felt tears stream down her face and she let out a small cry as the memories began to flood in more clearly.

"Shima?"

A hand gently wrapped around hers but she flinched at the contact.

"Ahhhh! No!" She screamed, trying to pull away from her attacker and off the other side of the bed. But his hands grabbed her upper arms and held her still. "Please! Stop, please!"

"Shima. Shima, it's me. No one is hurting you. But you must stay still, your injuries... please just lie still. Open your eyes, Shima. I'm here, no one will harm you."

"K...Ki?" She whispered, her voice crackly and her throat dry.

She heard him sigh as he squeezed her hand. "Shima." He breathed. "Come on, come back to me. Open your eyes, Shima."

"Her eyes fluttered and when she managed to open them she drew in a sharp breath at the sight of the familiar lavender alien hovering above her. But the next moment it was as if the resolve she had held herself together with over the past several days left her and she was able to allow him to protect her while she fell apart.

She leaned toward him and buried her face in his chest, grabbing onto his shirt as she began to sob. "Don't... don't leave... pe...please."

"I'm here." He caressed her as she cried. "I'm not going anywhere."

Three hours later, Ashima was waking from yet another round of sleep. She opened her eyes and searched the room. She found Kietnan's left hand holding her right as it lay beside her, his head resting on her lap as he slept, sitting in a chair beside her bed. She reached up with a shaky left hand and caressed his head lightly, breathing out a sigh as she lay there watching him. Slowly, he opened his eyes and they immediately searched for hers. When they found her looking at him, relief flashed across his features.

"Shima." He said as he sat up slowly. He was stiff, she noticed.

"How..." she stopped and tried to swallow, her throat dry.

"Here." He reached beside the bed and pushed a button that raised it up for her to sit up just slightly before grabbing a jar with water in it from the bedside table, opening it and holding it up to her mouth. She sat up slightly and took several sips before laying back against the bed, noting the pain in her abdomen at her movements.

"Thank you." She whispered, as that action alone made her feel tired.

"How are you feeling?"

She thought for a moment. "There's pain but I'm a bit numb actually." She commented.