(1) Katnis Swan: Lost

Chapter 32: Hospital

Beep ~ Beep ~ Beep

She could hear everything around her. The machines going off above her, the people walking passed her room, the nurses talking amongst themselves out in the hall. She could even hear the soft sounds of someone tapping their foot against the floor.

Very slowly she opened her eyes but the room was lit up with brightness, as she'd expected, but it was dark. The only light in the room coming from the television that hung above her at the foot of her bed. She turned her head slightly to the right and saw that both Charlie and Bella were asleep in chairs beside her bed.

Bella had her legs pulled up to her chest with a white sheet wrapped around her. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail. Katnis looked at her and smiled. She was glad she was alright and had not been hurt. Her gaze then drifted to her father who had his arms folded on the bed with his head resting on top of them. His hair was in disarray, his lips were twisted in a sad. She then took notice at how his cheeks sunk in and how pale his skin looked.

Despite all of that, she was just so happy to know that Victoria had not succeeded in hurting her family. With a small smile, she lifted her hand and slowly raked her fingers through her father hair, gently rubbing his scalp. His hair looked longer than she remembered and she wondered how long she'd been out of it. "Dad," she added a little pressure to his scalp as she continued to rub it.

When he didn't so much as stir, she slowly sat up in the bed and took a deep breath. She knew he must be really tired because it doesn't really take much to wake him. So, she would let him sleep. Both of them.

15 Minutes Later:

Katnis, after taking care of herself in the bathroom, turned out the light and slowly pushed open the door. "Katnis!" She looks up to see Charlie and Bella staring at her with wide eyes, tears running down their cheeks.

"Hey, Bella. Hey, dad," she says as she slowly makes her way towards her bed.

Bella, without hesitating, nearly jumps over the bed to get to her sister. She quickly wraps her arms around her and pulls her into her, burying her face into the nape of her neck. "Oh my, God! You're awake!" she cried.

Katnis could feel her hot tears running down her neck and over her collarbone. She wrapped her arms around her sister and held her. "I'm alright. I'm awake." she says trying to soothe her sister.

While holding her sister, Katnis looks up to see Charlie staring at her with tears still running down his cheeks. Now that she could see his face, she noticed that his eyes were a deep, dark red, his cheeks were sucked in far more than she'd realized and he had gray hair in the front of his hair. He looked liked he aged a few years.

"I'm never letting you go!" Bella cried.

Katnis chuckles at her sisters' statement. "Can I at least hug dad before you commit to that statement?"

Bella reluctantly draws back, then meets her gaze. "I love you, so much."

Katnis cups her face, then leans forward to kiss hair forehead. "I love you, too."

Drawing back she slowly walks around the bed to stand before her father. The closer she got to him the wider his eyes would get. "Kat - Katnis?"

She nods as tears or her own threaten to spill over. "Hey, dad."

He slowly lifts a hand to her cheek, a gasp sounding from him when he touched her. It had been so long since he has heard her voice, heard her laugh or touched her while conscious. "Wha - I " he was at a loss for words so he just pulled her into his arms, crushing her body against his. "Ph my, God!" he cried as he leaned down to kiss her hair.