Chapter Text
Vi grabbed the chair next to the hospital bed and turned it around, landing herself on the seat and resting her arms crossed over the back of the chair.
Tobias had been keeping Caitlyn company while Vi went and showered, cleaning her own cuts and rinsing away all the blood that had caked on her skin. She looked at her pink hands that had been covered in blood for 15 hours,
Cait’s blood
. She nearly scrubbed her skin raw.
Tobias was holding a clipboard, observing Caitlyn’s vitals on the other side of the hospital bed.
Caitlyn still hadn’t woken up since coming out of surgery 12 hours ago. Vi only knew that they were keeping her sedated for a little while longer to help with the recovery process. Her eye was a huge loss, there was no way that they could reverse the damage that Ambessa had inflicted. Vi made sure she looked away whenever that particular wound was being tended to, she knew Caitlyn wouldn’t want her to see it.
The bruising around her face had begun to change colour to a deep purple, her right cheek was especially bruised after taking several hits. The stab wound in her side is longer now after the surgeons had to cut it open further to repair internal damage that had occurred as a result of the blade. Her right knee was also elevated, just outside of the blankets from Ambessa kicking Caitlyn’s leg in, dislocating her knee. And then there were all the tubes and wires…
“Does she really need all of this?” Vi asked, softly. Tobias didn’t read the question as patronising, but more so as an uneducated concern. Vi was genuinely curious, and concerned, at the number of IV bags that surrounded Caitlyn.
“Yes,” Tobias confirmed, “we have fluids, an antibiotic, a liquid form of regular pain medicine, and this is a long-lasting pain medicine that will hopefully keep Caitlyn comfortable for the next 24 hours once it has been completely administered.”
Vi followed Tobias’ hand as he explained. He missed the fifth bag, but Vi knew it was blood. Caitlyn had lost a lot when she was on the battlefield. Everyone was frantic for blood in the triage tent in the town square. Vi begged the medics to take her blood for Caitlyn, but there was no way of confirming in time if they were a match, or even relatively close enough.
“It could do more harm than good,” one medic had said, but that infuriated Vi. Given the circumstances, shouldn’t it be worth the risk? Caitlyn was dying. Her wounds weren’t the only source of blood loss, the commander had started coughing it up, her neck coated in red.
Vi grabbed the medic by his shirt, their noses almost touching as she gritted her teeth and roared. This was absurd. Caitlyn needed blood urgently and Vi had blood to give, what about that wasn’t good enough?
“Dr Kiramman!” A medic bellowed as Tobias stumbled into the tent, frantically looking for his daughter.
“Where is she?” He asked, desperately. Vi let go of the medic that she had by the collar and pushed him away revealing Caitlyn behind them. Tobias pushed past to be at his daughter’s bedside.
One of the medics filled Tobias in on the extent of Caitlyn’s injuries; a stab wound with internal injuries, the damage to her eye, a possible brain injury - a concussion at least, a dislocated knee, broken ribs…
Vi’s attention started to fade, recalling Mel earlier confirming the same injuries, learning that they all were at the hands of Ambessa. One person did all of this damage while Vi was in a tower fighting two different armies. One person did more damage than two armies.
The moment the plan went out the window, Vi should have made it her priority to find Caitlyn. To fight alongside her, to protect her. Jinx would have followed. Maybe she would still be alive and maybe Caitlyn would be okay.
Coming back to the present, Vi followed the tubes back to Caitlyn’s resting body. The closer Caitlyn was to waking up, the less comfortable she was beginning to look and this broke Vi. She didn’t want Caitlyn to feel what was about to hit her.
“Back in the triage tent,” Vi began, “it was because I’m from the undercity, right? That’s why they wouldn’t take my blood?”
Tobias lowered his head, not making eye contact with the fighter. That was confirmation enough for Vi.
“So, my blood is dirty?”
“I wouldn’t put it so harshly, but you have been exposed to environments, bacteria, viruses, many things that could have affected Caitlyn’s body accepting the blood,” he stated, “we could use your blood to help injured soldiers from the undercity.”
Silence lingered after that. Vi sat with her chin resting on her crossed arms, watching Caitlyn and Tobias stood, pretending that he was still checking Caitlyn’s vitals.
“How is your wound?” He asks, still not making eye contact.
Vi keeps her eyes on Caitlyn as she shrugs, “It’s fine.”
“We can remove the new stitches in a few days if you keep up with resting as you have been.”
Vi scoffed, “I’m not resting. I’m just not leaving Cait’s side.”
“Well, if that keeps you healing well,” he looked at Vi and gave a small smile.
She shrugs again. What does she care anyway? There was no way she could prioritise herself right now, not when the woman she loves is in such poor condition.
Tobias puts down the clipboard that had been used regularly over the past 12 hours to log Caitlyn’s vitals and moves towards the door to the hospital room, dimming the lights down. He noticed that Vi still hadn’t taken her eyes off of his daughter. Watching over her,
protecting her
, even when the war is over.
“It might still be some time before she wakes. You should get some rest too, Vi.”
“Maybe later,” she responded. With that, Tobias nodded and left the room.
The truth is that Vi was tired. There were a couple of moments in the past 12 hours where she drifted for just a moment and then came back, fearing that Caitlyn's health had declined in that time.
She had to stay now. She had to be here when Tobias couldn’t be. Caitlyn needed to wake up to see the face of someone who loves her with all their heart, not some nurse or doctor.
But her eyes were heavy and after an hour of listening to the monitors and oxygen hissing, she started to drift into a slumber with her cheek resting on her arms.
Suddenly it was 15 hours earlier. It was so loud that Vi was wincing at the noise and the sun was blaring down on her from up above. She used her arm to shield her eyes as she raced to where all of the commotion was happening. She had just gotten herself out of the darkness of the tower, out from under the heavy weight of grief she was feeling, that she still feels, but then she remembered she still had someone else she loved in this war.
Mel spotted her coming from a mile away and ran to meet her at the bottom of the steps, arms outstretched.
“Vi, just wait!” Mel begged, her hands on Vi’s shoulders now.
“Why?” Vi questioned, “Where’s Cait?”
“She doesn’t want you to see her this way,” Mel announced.
“What way? What’s going on?” Vi asked, growing increasingly frustrated now.
“Caitlyn and I went up against Ambessa together. I did everything I could to protect her,” Mel tried, her own emotions making her voice thick.
“Let me go!” Vi roared as she shoved Mel away and ran up the stairs.
“Vi!” Mel called after her.
The image at the top of the stairs was far worse than what she could have imagined. Caitlyn was half-laying on the ground, half-resting against Steb, one of the enforcers from her strike team. He had his arms beneath her armpits, propping her up and leaning her head upright against his body. In a moment, Vi found out why. Caitlyn was coughing, and gagging, up blood. Steb was trying to protect her airway.
There were two medics on her right side, tending to a deep wound. Her right leg looked stiff and odd, her face… there was blood all over her face. Cuts on her forehead, her cheek, and her left eye had blood consistently flowing from it, all of the blood that was coming from her mouth, down her neck, and meeting her shirt.
Vi was paralysed with fear. Her lungs were paralysed, she couldn’t breathe at the sight before her.
“Vi, breathe,” Mel gently prompted, placing a hand on the fighter's cheek. At the touch, Vi inhaled deeply, as if it was the first breath she had taken in minutes. She was panting now, panicking.
She stumbled towards Caitlyn, she was afraid to touch her.
“Cait?” She called, grabbing her hand and touching her shoulder, “cupcake, can you hear me?”
“Violet?” The fighter almost missed the faint response. The soldier’s right eye was unfocused and dazed. She probably couldn’t even see that Vi was right next to her.
“I’m right here, I’m not leaving you,” Vi promised, kissing her hand. She looked at Steb and asked if she could take his place. They carefully maneuvered so that Vi could slip into his place without burdening Caitlyn too much. Vi gently pulled Caitlyn into her, one hand snaked under her left armpit and resting on her chest, above her breast,
resting on her heart
. And the other hand she placed just under Caitlyn’s chin, holding her head upright even though all Vi could feel was warm, thick blood and bloody saliva.
“I’ve got you,” Vi said, her voice thick with tears.
Vi could hear Mel yelling at the medics, asking why Caitlyn still wasn’t stable enough to move. They were yelling back, assuring the mage that the bleeding had almost come to a stop from the wound in the enforcer’s side.
Steb was splinting his commander’s right leg while the arguing continued. Vi lost herself for just a moment, realising that she had just lost her father and her sister again and now she was caressing her severely injured lover’s body while people were fighting over how to save her life. She was only a moment away from losing everything.
Vi was knocked out of her thoughts when she felt warm liquid pool over her hand beneath Caitlyn’s chin. While she disappeared for a minute, Caitlyn had gagged up more blood.
“I’ve got you, Cait, I’ve got you!” She repeated, tightening her grip on her.
“Somebody do
something
!” She roared, hitting her own limit with the arguing.
“She needs to be moved, now!” Mel agreed. At the same time, one of the medics confirmed the bleeding had stopped and the commander could be moved to the triage tent.
Just as fast as the order came, Vi was suddenly on the ground without Caitlyn. They had grabbed her and rushed her away in an instant. There was only a second to process her thoughts before Mel rushed back to pull Vi off the ground.
“Come on, they’re taking her to the triage tent,” Mel informed her. Vi ran after Mel as they followed the medical team to the town square where several triage tents had been set up. They were all chaotic and busy, swimming with wounded soldiers and only a couple handfuls of doctors and medics. The ratio was impossible. But luckily Caitlyn already had three medics with her, including Steb.
“What can I do?” Vi begged. There had to be
something
she could do. She didn’t need to hold Caitlyn up anymore, the bed was doing it for them. They were already unclipping the armour and cutting her shirt open. Two medics on either side cut her sleeves and started placing IVs in both her arms. Steb had put an oxygen mask over Caitlyn’s face.
Vi felt like she couldn’t even see Caitlyn anymore.
“Now we wait,” Mel said, standing next to the fighter.
“Mel…” Vi started, already so overwhelmed, “What happened?”
“Vi.”
The image of Caitlyn bloodied and bruised started to get further and further away from Vi. She began to panic, was she being pulled away?
“Vi.”
The familiar voice startled Vi awake. She pulled her head up from her crossed arms in an instant. She was back in the hospital room.
Cait’s hospital room.
“Vi,” the weak voice groaned one more time.
Coming out of her daze, Vi was at Caitlyn’s side in almost an instant.
“Oh my god, Cait!” She whimpered. She placed one hand carefully on Caitlyn’s left cheek and placed a kiss on her right, careful not to bump the cannula that was hissing oxygen through Caitlyn’s nose, “it’s so good to hear your voice.”
“Where..?” Caitlyn spoke, her breath short.
“You’re in the hospital. Your dad wants to transfer you back home with all the medical equipment you need as soon as possible, but we have to wait 48 hours first,” Vi explained, her thumb still lightly brushing Caitlyn’s cheek.
“Don’t let me…” Caitlyn began, exhaustion already starting to take over.
“What’s that, cupcake?” Vi asked.
“Fall asleep,” she finished, fighting her heavy eyelid.
“You need to rest,” Vi comforted her, “the more you rest, the faster you’re going to get better, Cait.”
Vi watched as Caitlyn tried to lift her left arm, but it was stiff with an IV secured in the crook of her elbow for the blood transfusions and another IV bandaged to her hand where the antibiotics were being pumped into her vein.
“Don’t let me fall asleep,” Caitlyn huffed one more time before succumbing to the darkness that started to engulf her again. Her head drifted to her right side, her left cheek leaving Vi’s caress.
Vi stood there for some time, watching the only piece of life that she had left rest and, hopefully, heal.
“I love you so much, Cait.”