Natalia felt tears start to well up in her eyes as the words from the person speaking to her on the other side phone registered in her head after several seconds, she bit her lip to stop them from welling up further trying to regain her composure as she was still on the talking to someone on the line after all. Nodding a bit she ended the conversation a bit quickly, to be perfectly honest she didn't want to speak anymore right now. She attempted to keep emotions that were stirring in her gut and begging to be released from escaping right now at least. She moved to grab some things to go off to the hospital immediately, she certainly wasn't going to just sit around rather than visit Toris at this moment after all everything else could just take the back burner and deal with it.

Toris was slipping in and out of twilight. He remembered that he was driving and then there was a car. It ran the red light. They T-Boned him on the driver's side. And then he was asleep. He tried to focus his gaze but he only saw an array of dancing lights and heard shallow screams as if he were underwater and they were a million miles away. He could feel himself being jostled around and that it hurt. He tried to say so but he felt like he had cotton mouth. His eyelids fluttered and his heart was beating fast. And he felt quite wet. His left arm was numb and soaking with blood. Of course he didn't know that, nor did he care. The only thing that raced through his mind was Natalia. He had been on his way to pick her up for their date. And now he would be late. He cringed at the thought and he soon felt something jabbed into his right arm. The corners of his mind then grew foggy, then dim, and then he was under.

Natalia had probably driven over the speed limit she noted as she parked herself into the hospital parking lot, but she could care less, Toris was far more important to her right now than any possible fines she may have get. She locked the door of her car after stepping out, slipping her car keys into her pocket, reaching her hands up to wipe away a few stray tears she noticed had begun a small journey down her cheeks, before breaking out into a fast walk, that was more of a run than anything else, through the parking lot and into the moderately large hospital building.

Toris felt himself wake a bit as whatever had been shot into him earlier had worn down. He felt uncomfortably numb and it felt hard to breath. He tried to force his eyes open but they remained shut no matter how hard he tried. He sighed inwardly and tried to use his hearing now since sight was not an option. He strained to hear the beep of a monitor, no doubt making sure his heart was still beating. He could hear muffled noises in the hallway, probably nurses chit chatting. He could smell the sterile scent of the room and the smell of iron. He wondered what all had really happened to him and if it was serious or not. He hoped he wouldn't die at least. He needed to see Natalia, to hold her and tell her what he had been holding in his heart for a while now. He needed to tell her he loved her. And it seemed, he wouldn't be telling her for a while if he remained in this state. He tried moving any of his appendages, though he wouldn't have known if they were moving anyway since his nerves were shot. He quietly gave up, resting now as he felt a wave of euphoria through his I.V.

Natalia pushed the doors of the building open a bit harshly, uncaring of that right now, she immediately rushed forward, practically shouting at the woman at the front desk for answers as to where exactly the Lithuanian she sought was, among other questions that seemed to be lost in a mixture of English and Belarusian due to her somewhat anxiety and worry filled mindset. The woman told her to quiet down which she did a bit begrudgingly before she began to start answering the multitude of questions that were intelligible to her. Natalia frowned further as she spoke, merely being told that she didn't know much of the situation he was in right now, merely that he was in the ER section of the hospital and that she would have to wait until she got word on what was going on. Natalia let out a harsh exhale of air before stomping off to sit on one of the chairs closest to the front desk, her gaze digging into the woman's head, boring holes into it in her mind. She got tired of this soon enough, bringing her knees up to her chest to begin this waiting process that she was sure was going to be a painfully long lasting eternity.

Toris was now flying through his dreams, quite enjoying the weightless feeling. He was dreaming of Natalia, dreaming of her warm hands that held him tightly. He marveled at every wrinkle that adorned her hands, knowing she hadn't had such an easy life, knowing she had to work to get what she wanted. He nuzzled her hands, kissing the middle of each palm before placing them on either of his cheeks. His gaze turned to her face, his heart swooning as he stared into those familiar indigo eyes. Such a strange and exotic color they were. He could stare into them forever. He saw a smile grace her full lips and found himself smiling as well. Her hair waved around her as if they were under water. His senses were so heightened, everything was intoxicating. He opened his mouth to speak what he so felt but found the words caught in his throat, his air cut off. Natalia just smiled and brushed a finger to his lips, kissing him deeply and dragging him deeper into his dreams.

She hated waiting rooms, this was certainly a fact that she could state right now, and she had been waiting for god knows how long at this point, she hated waiting rooms to begin with, but now she could say that she would happily kill the person who designed such things. Her hand that were wrapped so tightly around her legs had grown accustomed to scratching incessantly down her calves, merely to busy herself and keep herself from dowsing off right now, the effect was beginning to loss it's toll though as she was now having difficulty keeping her eyelids from fluttering shut even with more applied pressure added. God, just how much longer was this going to last for, she wasn't sure how much longer she could stand such torturous waiting in this stupid room.

A nurse then entered the waiting room, calling for a Miss Arlovskaya. She looked about the room with a bored expression.

Natalia raised her head up then, her attention immediately perked and sleepiness worn off, as she stood up at attention, "Yes?"

The nurse looked at the blonde and blinked before looking at her chart. "Let's go see Mr. Laurinitus," she said, motioning for her to follow.

Natalia nodded, her hands tightening into tightly bound fists causing her nails to bite into the skin of her palms, following closely behind the nurse, resisting the temptation to practically jolt into a sprint.

The nurse led Natalia to the patient's room, stopping just outside the door to say something. "The patient is in a coma. His vital signs are good and there wasn't any brain damage but he has yet to wake up. We're lowering his dosage of morphine to see if he will wake but it all takes time. You may go in," she said, opening the door for Natalia and heading off to the nurse's station.

Natalia nodded again, feeling as if she had just been stabbed herself at the words, sucking in a breath as she walked into Toris' room a bit slowly, walking over to the bedside and looking down at the Lithuanian. She bit her lip as her tears stared to well up again, finding them a bit on the uncontrollable side, allowing them to be in a bit of a free fall for a few minutes before she managed to get them under control. She reached a hand forward slowly; lightly brushing some of his bangs to the side doing so with merely the tips of her fingers as if she was afraid she'd hurt him further in some way otherwise.

Toris felt like someone had just scratched the surface of his dream. He floated to the top, regaining a state of twilight but being in quite a bit of pain. He could hear someone else's shaky breath and tried to turn to the sound but his body wouldn't allow it. He again tried to open his eyes but his lids were so heavy. Damn his body! Why wouldn't it respond? A scent wafted past his nose and he felt something drip on his arm. He could smell Natalia. Oh no, of all the times she came it was now, when he couldn't even look at her. He again tried to open his eyes, trying to pry the lids open but again his body denied him sight. He felt terrible. Not only did his body ache but his heart was aching too. He hoped she would say something at least. He needed to hear her velvety voice.

Natalia wiped the tears off her cheeks with one of her sleeves, the air chilling the liquid causing a chill to her face that she didn't need to bother feeling right now. She pulled her hand away from Toris completely, going off to grab a chair in the room and drag it to his bed side, moving a hand to reach up and lightly run through his hair before moving lower to take his hand into both of her own. She looked down before taking in a breath before speaking then, despite the face she was quite sure such words wouldn't be heard by him let alone anyone else, but decided it at least needed to be let out anyway with her now complete acceptance of such feelings she held. "Toris, I," she paused a minute to take in a somewhat shaky breath, "I love you so much."

Toris felt a wave of awe as he heard those sweet words. She loved him. She loved him. He felt himself tearing up a bit and felt a hot tear slide from his eye. He felt the same way. He loved her so much. He wanted to tell her that himself, he wanted to hold her tightly and kiss her and tell her but he was having a hard time having his body cooperate. He felt the weight of her hands over his own, the warmth shooting up his arm and into his heart. He swallowed, feeling so morose. He wanted to speak to her. He tried to open his eyes again, this time having a tiny success in a sliver of light though it burned. He tried to wiggle his fingers and toes but all that came of it was pain. He tried clearing his throat but only barely hummed. Inside his mind he was thrashing about, fighting his body for consciousness but he only felt tired. He stopped for a bit, repeating the words out loud, hoping they would somehow reach her. "I love you too. I love you so much," he repeated in his mind like a mantra. On the outside of his body, the hand she was holding struggled to hold back, weakly holding her hands. The tears came running out of the corners of his closed eyes and all the while his jaw clenched and unclenched. He was fighting for all he was worth and it showed on the outside.

Natalia felt the tears come again, not bothering even attempting to fight them again as no one was going to see anyway, allowing them to fall and cascade in small streams down the apples of her cheeks, she couldn't remember the last time she felt such a stir in her gut or if she even had before. She blinked rapidly as she felt the small movement in his hand which she held, her eyes snapping up to Toris' face then catching the small movement of his jaw, her throat tightening like a vice as she suddenly felt the slight loss in ability to breath comfortably and an almost complete loss in ability to talk. She lightly tightened her grip on his hands, running her thumb over the skin gently as possible. Natalia allowed his name to come from her throat in a somewhat choked out whisper from the tight choking feeling in her throat.

Toris heard his name and felt his pulse quicken. He started to fight to awaken though his body protested such actions. He once again tried to open his eyes, his eyelids fluttering as they opened a little more than last time. Despite being so exhausted, he continued trying to awaken for Natalia. All he saw was bright. He closed his eyes again, at least knowing he could get them somewhat open. He gritted his teeth, his hand squeezing hers a little more now as his breathing increased. Again he opened his eyes, wide enough to be considered awake as his blurry vision settled on the ceiling. He gasped quietly, the real pain of his injuries hitting him like a freight train now, tears of pain springing from his eyes. His emerald orbs rolled to Natalia, seeing her form but not quite every detail yet. He blinked slowly a few times, letting his head loll to the side, ignoring the whiplash as he stared at his lover. "...hey..." he murmured, his voice thick and low. He tried to smile and he closed his eyes, resting them for a bit before opening them again and seeing Natalia clearer this time.

Natalia merely stared at Toris, watching every movement of his closely, feeling the grip on her hands tighten mimicking the action, her hands clinging onto his almost desperately, never really wanting to release it from her grip now. As his eyes opened she felt hers squint slightly when the tears that had begun to well up once more, but she quickly blinked them away, not wanting to separate her gaze from Toris either. She felt the choking on her throat increase further when he looked towards her, this only getting worse once he actually spoke, she tightly bit her inner lip and felt more tears fall from her blue irises. She managed to smile despite this however, swallowing a bit to reply to him, "Hey..."

Toris felt his eyes well up with tears. He smiled weakly, giving her hands a comforting squeeze. "I... love you too..." he whispered, his smile growing wider and warmer." I love you too," he reiterated, the tears in his eyes making it a bit hard to focus so he blinked them away.

She felt her own smile grow a bit further, lifting one hand up to brush them aside, the other staying in place and moving to interlock fingers with his. "I-I . . . I'm happy to hear that, Toris," she replied, but this was oh so very much so an understatement right now as she was far from merely being happy. Her now free hand moved up to cup his cheek after gingerly pushing a strand of hair aside, lightly rubbing her thumb over the skin of his face, smile blossoming further again.

Toris reveled in her affection, moving his face so her thumb lay upon his lips. He kissed it sweetly, gazing up at her with nothing but reverie. He wished he wasn't so fucked up so he could kiss on her and hold her and make love with her like a normal boyfriend would. He would forever curse the driver that put him in this situation.

Natalia let out a small giggle at the action, rubbing and tracing her thumb lightly over his lips, her own still smiling pleasantly as she looked at him, her gaze reflecting the amount of happiness and love she felt towards the Lithuanian at this moment. Such emotions making a stir of euphoria in her gut.

Toris smiled when he heard her bubbly laugh, he himself feeling euphoric despite the nagging amount of pain throughout his body. "So, when can I get out of here?" he whispered, trying to clear his throat so his voice didn't sound so husky.

Natalia furrowed her brows slightly although her smile didn't falter in the least as she began stroking his cheek again, "Ah, I'm not sure, любіць, we'll have to ask the doctor, but hopefully soon enough."

Toris nodded and swallowed, trying to get his mouth and throat wet enough. They probably had stuck a ventilator down his throat so that's why his throat was so fucked. He blinked, now looking around the room for the first time, seeing it was just as a hospital room would seem. He looked back to Natalia and to her hand that was laced with his fingers. He gave it a nice squeeze, lifting it and kissing the back of her hand affectionately before nuzzling it.

She evicted another small giggle at the affectionate action, moving her hand from his cheek, allowing it to hover above him slightly before brushing through his hair slowly, careful not to roughly go through any small tangles there were in the strands. She looked him over for a moment, a little curious of the complete extent of his injuries that she was unable to see, but moved her gaze back up to his face knowing that she didn't need to stave it right now. ". . . I love you," she stated finding the words to come out much simpler than when she said it earlier.

Toris felt a bubble of happiness well up in his throat and he chuckled a bit, kissing her hand again. "I love you too, Natalia," he said with a warm smile and a glint of happiness in his eye. His heart was beating so fast. It would only beat for Natalia now. He closed his eyes, nuzzling her hand a bit before he turned his gaze to his body, inspecting any injuries he could see. A broken left arm and possibly some cracked ribs he thought. It was hard to breathe without a sharp pain in his side. "Why don't you climb in with me?" he whispered, craving to be closer to her. He tried scooting over as best he could, inhaling sharply as he did so. It burned like something awful but he wanted to hold Natalia.

Natalia smiled brighter at hearing his reply, her own heart rate increasing a bit from her own welling up happiness. She blinked at the question, smiling a bit, herself wanting to be closer to Toris as well, wanting nothing more than to be in one another's embrace and heal every one of the wounds that he had. Her smile faltered a bit at his sharp inhale, but nodded still, releasing his hand a bit slowly as she stood up and pulled the blanket back a bit to slide herself in bed next to him.

Toris felt her warm body beside his and he grinned, wrapping his good arm around her and pulling her as best he could to his chest. He nuzzled her hair, smelling her all-too-familiar scent and sighing with content. He kissed her forehead and nose and then her lips, sweetly yet deeply, his heart monitor beeping incessantly now.

Natalia allowed her eyes to flutter shut, sigh happily through her nose and kissing Toris back gingerly, pushing herself a bit closer into him, careful not to do so with any real pressure just in case. She moved one of her hands up, gently raking it through, enjoying the feeling of the strands tangling around her fingers.

Toris felt goosebumps rise on his arms as she played with his hair, nuzzling noses with her for a bit. "Let's take a nap," he offered, extremely tired from all the fighting to awaken. Just as he closed his eyes, a nurse entered, checking to see if Mr. Laurinitis was dying or not. She smiled nervously, seeing the two in bed and quickly checked his vitals, not wanting to be a bother. She whisked herself out, leaving them alone again and Toris just smiled.

Natalia smiled and let out another giggle when he nuzzled noses with her, giving a small nod at the suggestion, all of the emotional turmoil she had to go through being a bit exhausting of all of her energy. She blinked at the nurse when she entered, but looked back to Toris smiling back at him when she exited, happily planting another kiss on his lips.

Toris accepted the kiss happily, pulling her closer (if that was possible) and soon drifting off into sleep.

Natalia found herself gazing at Toris for a minute or two placing a kiss on his nose before cuddling into him and drifting off to sleep as well.

tastiestcookie: well, there you have it. The funniest part about proofreading this was when spell check stopped on the word 'Laurinitus' and asked if I meant 'laryngitis' xDD