A/n: First of all, apologies - so many, you can't even imagine how mnay apologies I am giving to my reviewers. Second of all, an explanation to why I am giving such apologies. I wrote one chapter for this story, people liked it alot, I wrote more, then just stopped. School got in my way - life, frankly, got in my way - and in order to still continue fanfiction in smaller, more managableamounts, I put several stories on hold "until further notice", this being one of them. Finally, I am able to get back to it, and finally I got some inspiration for the last chapter. THIS is the LAST chapter, and once again, I apologize profusely for the wait. I hope you like it anyways, and the last thing I have to say is a warning: this is one of those 'mega-happy' endings, so ya. I hope you like it anyways. PLEASE leave me a review - even though I don't deserve one (sob). (Ahem) Anyways... enough rambling.
CHAPTER 7
Charlie sighed loudly. "My turn." he raised himself up from the comfort of Neil and Todd's room, where the others were seated as well. He scracthed his head absently, sighed again and headed for the door.
"Try to get something out of him, eh, Charlie?" Neil said. The others nodded.
Charlie sighed a third time. "Try, being the key word."
Seconds later, he opened to door ro Knox' room and entered. "How is it going?" he asked, not really expecting an immediate answer. "You ok?"
Knox barely moved his lips when he spoke. "Alive."
Charlie shook his head, shut the door behind him and sat down at the foot of Knox' bed. "That's the same answer you've been giving for over an hour. Why don't you just go make sure she's ok?"
Knox appeared mildly surprised to see Charlie there still trying to talk to him. He lifted himself up to a sitting position and swallowed. "Because I'm sure she's dead. And even if she's not..." his voice sounded oddly choked. "I will be if Chad ever sees me with her."
Charlie tried hard to be deeply sympathetic for his friend, but that was not him. Neil was the optimist, Todd was the listener, Meeks was the inventor, Pitts was the smart one, Knox was more often than not the pessimist, and he, Charlie was the funny guy, or more often than not, the realist. "Grow a backbone, Knox!" he said suddenly.
Knox looked at him with a hurt expression on his face and said nothing.
Charlie didn't want to hurt him, but he knew Knox well. A pep-talk from a realist was what he needed right now, until it was the optimist's turn to visit. "Who cares about Chad? The big ape obviously is very done with Chris. But you don't have to be! Stand up Knox, and go to the hospital and be with her."
"But what if... what if..." Knox stuttered, looking scared of the prospect of ignoring such a huge guy like Chad.
"What if what? Gosh, Knox! Where's the Knox I know? I said, stand up." Charlie gave Knox a prod in the thigh.
Knox resembled a deer caught in the headlights as he shakily stood up.
Showing no mercy, Charlie stood up also, and with his face inches from Knox's he gave him a hearty shove in the chest. Glad Knox was somewhat prepared for it, he watched his friend stumble backward a fair ways but not fall over.
Know regained his balance and looked stunned. "What did you do that for?"
Charlie felt like smiling, but he didn't. His buddy Knox had just been in a coma and was slowly waking up. "I said, where's the Knox I know?"
"But why'd you push me?"
"Do you love Chris?"
"I still don't see - "
"Do - you - LOVE - Chris!"
"Yes! Of course I do! You know that!"
"Then go see her."
"But - "
Charlie gave Knox another shove, and this time Knox was more prepared. He only stumbled a little bit, and looked a little startled and a little angry.
"Don't push me, man!" Knox said through grit teeth.
"Wake up Knox! You said yourself that Chris told Chad off because she loved you! Now tell me the reason why you are not at her bedside at this very moment?" Charlie leaned close to Knox. He knew he was pushing it. He knew he was being hard on his friend. But he also knew Knox. And any second now, the Know who wasn't depressed and mooning over his girlfriend would give Charlie a shove back.
"I am awake! What, do I look like I'm sleeping?" There was an angry edge to his voice, and Charlie half-smiled. It truly was like Knox was coming out of a coma or something.
"I asked you why you are not with her, right - " he gave Knox a shove " - now - " and another shove.
Knox suddenly lashed out and gave Charlie a much harder push back. Ready for it, Charlie moved back several paces, but just grinned. Knox breathed a little heavier as he stared at Charlie.
"What is your problem, Charlie!"
Charlie kept smiling, and held up his hand in the traditional Star Trek 'Live Long and Prosper' gesture. "Carpe Diem." He said, and exited the room.
Knox stared after him confusedly, then grabbed his coat. Mid-grab, it dawned on him, and he smiled to. "Idiot." he mumbled and also left his room.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw Charlie walking slowly back to Neil and Todd's room. He kept his face straight as he called over his shoulder,
"Thanks Nuanda."
Charlie's grin widened, although he did not look back. "You're Welcome."
Todd bit his lip as he stared out the window. He really hoped Charlie had gotten something out of Knox. Maybe even convinced him to see Chris after all. He had been gone a long time...
The door opened and Charlie walked in, a triumphant grin on his face. Neil, Todd, Pitts and Meeks all jumped up and immediately peppered Charlie with questions.
"Where's Knox?"
"Is he ok?"
"You were gone awhile. What happened?"
"What'd he say?"
"Did he even talk?"
"What'd you say?"
Charlie held up his hands to stem the flow. "He's back."
Todd looked from Charlie to Neil, and back to Charlie. Apparently he wasn't the only one who was confused by Charlie's answer.
"He's what?" Pitts said.
"He went somewhere?" said Meeks.
Charlie shook his head. "No. He didn't go anywhere." He shrugged. "Not physically." He smiled as he pushed past the confused guys standing around him and settled on one of the vacated chairs.
None of the others sat down. Neil shook his head. "Charlie, what do you mean?"
"He's going to see Chris. He's back." Charlie paused. "Back, from merely being alive."
Knox swallowed and stared at the number on the open door. Without going in, he could see one bed near the door, unoccupied, and one bed down towards the widow, the curtains pulled so one couldn't see the occupant. He didn't need to see who was laying there, however. He already knew, because she was the reason he was here at the starched white hospital.
He tried to take a steadying breath, and reminded himself that he loved her with everything he had, and she had said she loved him back. She was in there, possibly asleep, all beat up and he needed to see her. He needed to imagine he was Neil. Neil never had any fear.
Another deep breath, and Knox took the plunge.
He walked down the short aisle in one of the intensive care rooms, glad the other two beds in the room - the two he couldn't see from the door - also had their curtains drawn. He reached the last bed, the one he knew was Chris's, and slowly pulled back the curtain.
There she was, badly bruised, with oxygen tubes snaking from her nose and IV cords twisting off her arms. Her blonde hair looked a little tangled, but clean excluding a little bit of dry blood in her hairline above her eye. Although her face was swollen enough so that it seemed like she was asleep, she must not have been, for she managed a very small smile, and what Knox thought was a blink.
"Knox..." she said, her voice quite and raspy.
All the fear and guilt and sadness Knox had previously felt just melted away at the sound of his name coming from her mouth, and he felt as though he was truly "awake" from those emotions which had been holding him captive all morning. He rushed right to her side and gently took her hand.
"Oh Chris..." his voice too was raspy, but not because he was tired or swollen and needed a drink, but because he was so happy to be with his love again that emotion was clogging his throat. He gently kissed her hand, which was covered in scratches and small band-aids.
"I knew you'd come." she said, and again there was that small smile that Knox knew would be bigger if she could manage it.
Know smiled as best he could back, as tears welled up in his eyes, and he imagined Charlie slugging him gently in the back and saying, "Oh, you old softie."
Neil put a finger to his lips unnecessarily as he and the others moved quietly through the white and yellow room. They just wanted a peek, and then they'd head back to the Academy. It was almost dark outside, and Knox still hadn't returned, so the boys had decided it was about time they checked up on their dear friend and his dear friend.
He leaned cautiously around the curtain and smirked happily. Just like Charlie had said.
He moved out of the way to let Meeks look, then Pitts, Charlie - who had to rush out of the room and laugh loudly in the hallway - and lastly Todd.
Todd timidly took his turn looking around the curtain, thinking of the others' reactions, and not sure if he wanted to invade on Knox's privacy. But as his eyes alighted on the scene before him, he saw why all the others had come away grinning.
There was Knox, laying on threes chairs set closely side by side to form a short, uncomfortable bed. And these chairs were set right up against the bed, which had been lowered so the chairs and the bed were the same height. Knox was clearly asleep, a sheet pulled all around him. He was facing Chris, and there was faint smile on his face. Chris was laying flat on her back, though close to Knox's "bed" then the other side and her face was turned toward Knox's. She too had a trace of a smile on her face as she was wrapped comfortably in her sheets and blankets.
Sitting on top of the two beds, exactly in the middle, was Knox's hand, sweetly holding Chris's scratched up hand. And, on Chris's ring finger on her left hand, which was gently placed on top on her stomach, was a large brown band-aid. And on that band-aid, in very familiar capital letters, were the words, "MARRY ME".
Todd turned to face the others and waited until they were out in the hallway and walking out of the hospital before he said,
"Apparently she said 'yes'."
THE END
A/n: Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and especially to review it. If I can apologize anymore for not updating sooner, I am now (just imagine a list of 'sorry's going on for infinity). Please gimme a review (just no swearing please), it'll make my day. Check out my bio, there may be something new there. And I know now that it's Welton's not Wellington's, but that's one of those things where you just KNOW its the other one until somebody corrects you and then you slam your head on the desk, lol. Anyways, thank you and I'm sorry, ONCE AGAIN. Oh, and I hope there weren't too mant typos...
Have agreat summer:)