Haruhi didn't know where she was. All around her was velvety blackness, save a small dot of white light in the distance. She was floating. She didn't know how, but she was floating towards the small white glow in the distance. She couldn't speak, she was paralyzed; but still she floated closer to the strange light. It seemed that the closer she got, the light grew larger and hotter. With every inch closer Haruhi floated towards the light, her skin started boiling. She was sure she would burst into flames if she floated any closer; the light was growing to a painful intensity and heat. And then, all of a sudden, Haruhi was yanked away from the light with an electric jolt coursing through her.
"Clear!" The doctor pressed the electric plates hard down onto Haruhi's chest, the ambulance swerving through the downtown traffic to the hospital. With a violent jolt, Haruhi's eyes popped wide open with a rattling gasp. The girl looked about her wildly, taking in deep raspy breaths: in her right arm was an IV, which led to a nearly empty suspended bag of blood, and three people accompanied her in the back of the emergency vehicle. One was a doctor, whom sweated profusely as he set the electric plates aside and looked about frantically for a fresh bag of blood. The other two in the ambulance were Tamaki and Kyoya, both talking in rushed and strained voices, their gazes shifting rapidly between the doctor and Haruhi. They were saying something, but all Haruhi heard was a high-pitched ringing in her ears. She tried to stay awake, she really did. But she was just too tired. So Haruhi fell back asleep.
"Doctor!" Tamaki cried, pointing at Haruhi's motionless, unresponsive form as the ambulance screeched into the hospital parking lot. "We're getting her to the ER right away, sir," the doctor snapped in response, the ambulance doors swinging wide open and the two men from the front seats quickly reaching in and grabbing the gurney. Tamaki and Kyoya followed after the men as they wheeled the gurney rapidly into the building, the doctor jogging after them. After the hospital staff and Haruhi passed through a set of double doors, a security guard stopped Tamaki and Kyoya. "I'm sorry, you two. Only personnel and patients are allowed beyond this point," the security guard stated firmly. Tamaki was about to protest before Kyoya placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head quietly. "Yes, of course. Would you please direct us tot eh waiting room?" Kyoya replied. The security guard kindly pointed them to a room filled with uncomfortable plastic chairs and a single TV. Tamaki and Kyoya reluctantly sat down in the empty waiting room. Neither of them spoke, they simply stared at the doors to the ICU.
The rest of the hosts all got phone calls from Kyoya at around the same time. All the businessman had said was "Come quick! Hospital! Haruhi!" before disconnecting. The lack of information put each of the hosts on end, all of them getting to the hospital just a bit after the ambulance carrying Haruhi arrived.
"What happened? Did you find Haru-chan?!" Honey cried out, the rest of the hosts bursting into the waiting room. Tamaki wiped his red, puffy eyes and shook a disheveled Kyoya awake from a fitful nap, replying hoarsely "We found her in an alley. We still don't know what happened to her, but she had lost a lot of blood by the time the ambulance came. She's stable now, but we aren't allowed to see her yet. The doctor said she probably wouldn't be fully awake for another few days." Hikaru promptly burst into tears at this news, and Kaoru just as promptly comforted him, even though he was clearly just as upset as his twin. Honey, ironically, cried silently and seated himself next to Tamaki with a reassuring pat on his knee. Mori's usually stoic expression was cracking by the second as he tried to hold back tears. The hosts all sat together and didn't speak another word.
Haruhi awoke for only moments at a time. When she did, she would look about her in silent bewilderment, a doctor would ask her some questions, and then she would fall back into the velvety blackness.
Seconds bled into an eternity for the girl, reality and hallucinations meshing into one exhausting nightmare. She never dreamed. She would sleep for hours on end, never even stirring. This continued for five days; but to the seventh host, it felt like an eternity.
It was a Monday afternoon when Haruhi woke up once again. Her eyelids fluttered open and she looked around, blinking once in astonishment when she saw a young blonde man asleep in a chair in the corner. He looked startlingly familiar, but his blonde hair was cascading down past his face, covering his features. "Sir?" Haruhi croaked, sitting up slightly, then cringing as her broken leg twisted slightly. The young man's head snapped up, and Haruhi gasped weakly. "T…Tamaki?" Haruhi whispered, smiling a bright genuine smile as Tamaki's eyes filled with tears. In a moment, the blonde king had the small girl in his arms, sobbing out quietly "We were all so worried…we thought we lost you!" "We?" Haruhi asked quietly, looking around curiously. As if on que, the remaining hosts rushed into the hospital room and gathered around Haruhi's bed; all of them in tears and babbling loudly over each other. For the first time since she could remember, Haruhi threw her head back and laughed.