Prevail

Chapter 12

"Good morning," Henrietta's nurse chirped a day later, waking Nico and Haze from their slight doze.

"Just coming in to check all of the numbers. The doctor should be here in a bit, and as long as that side looks better, Henrietta could probably go home."

"Thank you," Henrietta whispered.

"You're welcome, honey. Be back soon. Breakfast will be coming through in a bit."

Nico yawned, hunching over Henrietta's bed so he could rest his head.

"Did you sleep okay?" Haze asked. "Do you need anything?"

"I'm okay. I didn't sleep much. I still feel like I'm trapped," she admitted, feeling the pressure of tears behind her eyes. She was exhausted and hungry, but didn't want to sleep or eat.  "Are you really sure that Crow is gone?"

"Completely gone, never going to see the light of day again," Nico mumbled.

"He'll never hurt you or any other person again," Haze finished. "We promise."

A few tears slipped onto her cheeks. She whispered, "things will never be the same. How am I supposed to just go back to normal?"

Nico scooted closer, his head resting on her good shoulder. "Things will never be normal, but they will get better."

Haze dried her tears, pressing his lips to her forehead.

"You won't leave, right?" she whimpered. She couldn't even imagine being in her apartment alone. It was so scary, but so was her lack of independence. She used to be able to do everything on her own without any fear. She was mourning her old life, a life she took for granted just a week ago.

"We aren't going anywhere, baby," Haze soothed. "You're going to be just fine. Nico and I will go to class with you if we have to. We'll get you back on track. I promise."

She appreciated that they were willing to sacrifice their own lives for her own. It eased some of her nerves about being a burden, but she still didn't like it.

The doctor gave her the all clear, and she was ready to go home.

Her legs were weak, and she leaned most of her weight onto Haze as they walked to their car.

It felt weird being out, like it had been a lifetime since she had felt the sun and seen the world.

Her apartment was on the third floor with only an outdoor set of stairs. She couldn't even complete a set of them before Nico scooped her up.

"Do you have my keys?" she mumbled.

"Yeah, sweetheart, we've got them. We brought your car over here for you, and your backpack is already in the apartment," Nico answered, rubbing her back.

"Thank you," she told him sweetly, pressing a soft kiss to his jaw.

Nico set her on her couch, letting her soak in her familiar surroundings.

Haze noticed her lip trembling, and he sat down next to her, covering her in her favorite blanket. She squeezed the soft material in her fists.

Haze said, "You don't need to hold back, Henny."

"I'm tired of crying," she admitted. Her eyes burned and she rubbed at them harshly until Haze gently pulled her hands away. "But everything has changed."

"You just need time to process and heal," Haze told her.

Henrietta muffled her sob with her blanket. "I don't have time. I was halfway through my last semester. I've been working so hard, and it's not fair."

She reached for Haze, practically crawling into his lap and burrowing her face into his chest. Her cries weakened to sniffles.

"Nico?" she called, not knowing where he went. She couldn't twist much because of her cut, but she saw him sitting at the table. "What are you doing?"

He looked like so sad and pitiful. Henrietta pouted. "Come over here."

Nico did so, lifting her legs and sliding underneath them.

"I don't mean to upset you," Henrietta said, flipping herself around so she could lay on Nico instead. It was more comfortable laying on her left side anyway.

"You're not," Nico said, kissing her forehead head. "I'm just so sorry that we've caused this."

"I don't think there was anything you could've done differently, " she said, releasing a shaky breath. "I didn't appreciate being lied to, but it really did save me with Crow. He left me alone when he realized I didn't have any information for him."

"I'm sorry that we lied," Haze said. "We will never keep you in the dark about anything big again."

Henrietta was satisfied with that and she nodded. "You're not actually criminals though, are you?"

Nico chuckled, the sound was sincere and familiar. "No, we do private investigative type of work, usually hired by someone who has information but doesn't want to get involved."

"It's usually pretty secretive then," she concluded on her own. Haze gave a nod of acknowledgement.

"We gather the information and turn it in. Crow's case was one that we had been working on since we first started. He had been smuggling in drugs and weapons from overseas, but because he was a legally established businessman, it was difficult for anybody to actually pin him on something."

Henrietta gave another nod, releasing a small yawn. Nico had started playing with her hair as he spoke and she was getting sleepy.

"Why don't you nap?" Haze asked.

"Will you both lay with me?" she asked.

Nico helped her stand up, giving a yawn of his own. 

"Can you help me wrap this so I can shower first?" she asked, referring to her casted wrist.

"Of course, baby," Haze said, wrapping it in plastic just like the doctor showed him.

Henrietta hesitated, and Haze gave her a questioning look.

"What is it?" he whispered. "Did I do it wrong?"

She motioned him down, and he hunched so he was eye level with her.

She cupped his scruffy cheeks, pressing her lips to his, just a gentle peck.

"Thank you," she told him, turning to find Nico patiently waiting.

"That's two for him and none for me," Nico pouted.

Henrietta gave a gentle laugh, one that was beyond relieving for the guys to hear.

She reached up to give Nico a gentle kiss.