Though We May Fall {An Aphmau AU}

Time Moves On

**Aphmau's POV**

    When I opened my eyes, all I could think of was Ow. I quickly shut them again, the bright lights all around blinding me. I felt sore all over, everything hurting when I shifting even an inch. I couldn't remember, did I have a really tiring class with Anya yesterday? Did Ein and I work too hard on our showcase piece and now I was feeling the consequences? Why did I hurt so much? And why were all of the lights on in my room?

    It was when I tried to roll over onto my back that I remembered. I hissed, tiny bolts of pain shooting up my back and directly into my skull. Sucking in a breath, I coughed as my lungs ached as well. What the hell? I managed to force my eyes open, keeping them half-closed in order to protect them from the blinding white. Sliding my arms underneath myself, I pushed my upper body upwards ever so slightly so I could get a better look around the room.

    From what I could tell, I was in a hospital room. Everything looked either white or grey, causing the fierce light from above to reflect even brighter into my eyes. I tried to push myself up even higher in order to see more of the room, but the pain in my back prevented me from lifting myself more than a few inches above my bed.

    "Whoa there Aphmau," I felt gentle hands pulling my own out from under me, guiding me back to laying flat on the bed. Frowning, I managed to turn my head in time for my eyes to land upon a pretty young woman with soft brown hair and pale skin. She wore a doctor's coat over her blouse and skirt, and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She wore a name tag, but my vision was too blurry to properly read it.

    "Who-?" My voice cracked and broke after the first word left my mouth, leaving me unable to speak. The doctor smiled, turning around and leaving my line of sight.

    "I'm Dr. Allison Cameron. I've been taking care of you these past couple of months." She came back towards me, extending a glass of water with a straw towards me. "Here, this might help your throat a little." She had such a calming smile that I couldn't help but relax. I took the straw in my mouth and drank several gulps of water, the cool liquid running down my throat and soothing the dryness.

    "Now, I don't want you trying to move for the next couple of days. You just woke up, and we have no idea how your body is going to respond to the skin grafts or the pain it's been in for the past months." I frowned, spitting the straw back out and raising my eyes towards hers.

    "What... what do you mean?" My voice was scratchy and rough, almost like I hadn't used it in a long time. Either that or I had been screaming too much. Dr. Cameron smiled down at me, but I could see the sadness lingering behind her gaze.

    "Aphmau... what's the last thing you remember? Do you remember the fire?" I gasped as images flooded my mind, each one more horrific than the last.

    "I... I remember the explosion... I remember falling... I don't... what happened?" I'm not sure how she completely understood me, but her sad smile became even sadder. She knelt down in front of me, looking me straight in the eyes.

    "Aphmau, you were in a terrible fire and explosion that happened at the dorms at PAA back in February. Today's date is April 4th. You've been at this hospital for the past two months in a medically induced coma in order to ensure that you wouldn't feel the worst of the pain. The skin grafts were successful, and after a few days you should be able to start moving around again. I'm sorry." My head was reeling, and I squeezed my eyes shut. My heart began to race, my lungs working overtime as I tried to come to terms with what Dr. Cameron said was happening.

    "That's... that's impossible. There's no way..." I felt hot tears forming in my eyes, trailing down my face like runoff during a storm. My entire body shuddered, and I just wanted to curl up in a ball somewhere far away from here. I felt the bed sink next to me as Dr. Cameron sat down and began to brush my hair away from my face, doing her best to soothe me.

    We must have sat that way for several long minutes, Dr. Cameron brushing my hair while I cried over lost time. It was strange, I barely even knew her, yet she was helping me through one of the hardest times in my life. The whole time, I just couldn't wrap my mind over the fact that two months had gone by, two months where I had been asleep, two months where my body was in pain and healing and my mind was blissfully ignorant. Holy Irene, how is this real?

    "I've been taking care of you for the past two months," she began slowly, making sure I was comfortable with whatever she was going to say. When I didn't reply, she continued. "I normally work in the diagnostics division at the hospital with Dr. H— never mind, he's not important. But we weren't getting any new cases, so Dr. Cuddy, the head of the hospital, assigned me to your case. It was meant to only be temporary, but I quickly became attached to you. Seeing how many people came during the first couple weeks and how many people still wait outside your door or send cards or flowers, it really touched me. I felt I owed it to you to see you through to the end, until you were all better and I could walk you out the front doors of the hospital. I don't know, my boss says I'm too emotional, but I prefer being connected with my patients rather than being a complete jerk to them like he can be. I promise, I'm going to be by your side until you are completely healed, and I promise, the last two months weren't important. You didn't miss anything, only a lot of pain and time spent lying in this room. Everything's going to be okay sweetheart, I promise."

    I slid my eyes open, resting my gaze on her. She caught my eyes, reaching out and grabbing my hand to squeeze it softly. She smiled lightly, her eyes so full of sorrow and hope that I couldn't help but smile back. "Thank you, Dr. Cameron," I whispered, squeezing her hand back. My whole body felt weak, but I felt stronger than I ever had before. I knew that I could work through this, no matter how long it took. But those thoughts were floating away, for my mind was drifting off towards the land of sleep, a place I had just emerged from yet already longed to return to. Maybe then, I would truly wake up and none of this would have happened. It all would have been a dream.

    But this isn't a fairy tale. That never works.