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 Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 12:04 pm
It was only a matter of time before Hafwen would wake up from her unnatural slumber. That was what the doctor said upon completing a thorough reassessment of her condition after the nurse had him informed of her awakening which resulted in the IV being prematurely removed. He did not have an apparent explanation for the change in the end. But what he did know was that she was simply resting at the moment and thankfully hadn't slipped back into the comatose state she was in as a result of the multiple injuries that had brought her to the hospital in the first place.
Three days had passed since then and still she slept just as she had the day before. That all was about to change when her fingers began twitching on their own, her breathing rate and pattern matching those of one who was about to awake as her eyes slowly opened to look about herself and the unfamiliar surrounding. "... where..?" She winced at the amount of effort it took to vocalise just that one word, coughing lightly a few times and quivering at the pain that caused to her previously dislocated shoulder.
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 9:13 pm
A warm, familiar hand gently took hers and squeezed softly. "Don't move, you're still recovering..." Darren said quietly, looking up from his chair that he had positioned near the head of her bed. He'd thankfully woken from his nap, but his eyes were red and it was obvious he hadn't slept well - or much - since the incident that had sent her to the hospital. Thankfully visiting hours were still ongoing - but he eyed the clock anyway to make sure he had enough time to answer enough questions if they arose. Because he was sure she was going to have them.
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 8:13 pm
The hand around Hafwen's was slightly larger relative to hers yet warm and gentle. Turning her head to where the other person was presumably located, she blinked, surprise evident on her face at the realisation as to who was watching over her at her bedside.
"Darren..?"
She wasn't expecting to see him at all. Maybe Corinth but the other Page wouldn't have any idea that she was at the hospital unless someone told him. But not Darren. He shouldn't be here as if things were still chummy between the both of them. Did Hywel tell him that she was here? That wasn't possible since the both of them had never met which meant that he owed her an explanation as to how he came to know that she was here.
"How did you get here?"
Could it be that Darren was actually stalking her and hoped to get her to reconsider the break up and let him back into her life again by doing all this? She tried to pull her hand away from his, her gaze averted as she mumbled softly. "Didn't we... broke up?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:11 pm
Darren smiled at her, a warm - gentle thing. His expression changed a little, to one of someone who had a secret to hide as his eyes scanned the room, then the door, as if to ensure they were - in fact, alone. "We did," he began, his free hand reaching up and brushing a stray-muddled hair out of her face and behind her ear as he leaned a bit more onto the bed. "I was crushed - and for a long time I wasn't sure what I was going to do with myself... If I should even continue to patrol..." His voice was quiet, just loud enough for her to hear clearly, but it wouldn't carry out of the room. "Then one night, I powered up, and I met with Dallol..." He said, watching her face as he spoke. "I told her that I'd lost a very, very important person to me, and.. we ended up hooking up." He smiled remembering that moment. "Then we agreed to meet up and trade civilian identities, but before that could happen... Dallol got hurt bad... And I, as Corinth... carried her here until he powered down on me..." His free hand suddenly moved to trace her lips with a single finger. "So imagine my surprise when I find out, that my Desert Rose was actually Hafwen - all this time." He smiled a little. "I love you, and I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you."
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Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2015 6:47 am
For a moment, Hafwen contemplated the option of hitting the call button for the nurse, pretty sure that Darren was about to any moment now admit to stalking her, even to the point of claiming to be her boyfriend so that the nurses would allow him access to her room to continue watching over her. In the right kind of context, such an act would be admirable. Romantic perhaps. But it was outright creepy if the attention was the unwanted kind.
"P-Patrol?"
Was that the term that he used to refer to his stalking activity? She gave a frown, not at all expecting the information dump that was suddenly given to her. It was as if her mind was working in slow motion after the long period of inactivity, at least two steps behind at assimilating everything yet without full comprehension. "No... it can't be. You're not Corinth. How dare you impersonate him..."
And when logic failed her, the only thing she had left was to adamantly deny everything even if he had already dropped a couple of hints here and there. Things that Darren couldn't possibly have knowledge of unless he and Corinth were one and the same individual. "I refuse to acknowledge this. Not unless you have proof..." She shook her head, becoming increasingly agitated as she tried to pull away even more from his touch.
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Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2015 7:51 pm
Well she hadn't dived for the nurse alarm so that was a good sign at least as far as Darren was concerned. However, with her balking at the fact that what he was saying was true - he was going to have no choice but to put his proverbial money where his mouth was. He sighed - long and deep - as his eyes once again went to the door and then around the room as if expecting the enemy to be right around the corner. Then, summoning the powers that allowed him to change, he allowed himself to transform into Corinth. He sat there, drum in his lap, looking at her for a few moments. "Do you believe me now? Dallol?" He said, voice firm but... gentle. Then he powered down, watching her still. It was too risky to stay powered up for long - he didn't want to draw attention to her room...
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Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 5:30 pm
Darren was Corinth.
A part of her already knew because no one else was there on the rooftop that night when both Dallol and Corinth told each other of the breakup they recently went through and decided to give each other a chance at the relationship thing. Rebound or not. Darren couldn't have been another Senshi, Knight, Negaverse or Dark Mirror Senshi. Dallol and Corinth would have sensed the presence of another powered once they came within range. Everything he knew including the endearment that Corinth used to refer to Dallol that same night could only be explained by one thing alone.
But that was how Hafwen was like, especially when it came to something like this when just one mistake could be deadly and after everything she had been through. She felt her breath hitch the moment Darren powered up to reveal himself to be Corinth. Her throat and lips went dry. Tears welling up in her eyes as she quivered and nodded in response to his question as to whether she believed him, stretching out a hand to give his forearm a small squeeze.
There was no mistaking this. She couldn't deny him anything anymore.
"... this... why didn't you tell me? If I knew who you were, I wouldn't have broken up with you..." She sniffled, suddenly feeling like a big idiot for putting the both of them through the breakup she herself never wanted but felt was necessary in order to protect him as well as her. Imagine going through all of that, only to get back together unknowingly as knights. She was pretty sure that someone up there was laughing real hard at their expense right now.
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Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 12:09 am
Irony was a b***h. "I... did it to protect you," Darren said softly, moving his arm so he could take her hand in his own. "I didn't want you to get involved in all this..." He looked so tired. But it was obvious that he was trying to see the humor in all this. "I really wish it was easier to identify who was what you know?" But if it was easy then they'd all be at risk - and so would their families.... So really this was the only way. To wait until you trusted someone enough to share... Or just hope they were okay. "So... uhm... I know you're probably still woozy - but am I right in guessing that we're still dating then?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 7:45 am
"To think that we went full circle only to get back together after all the tears and heartbreak that we went through as Darren and Hafwen..." Hafwen didn't know if she should be laughing or crying at this point now that the truth was laid out between the both of them. Sniffling again, she lifted her other hand to try to dab at her eyes, not at all realising that it was broken and in a cast till the pain that shot through it caused her to stop and whimper softly.
Guess that meant that doing anything with that arm was out of the question for now.
"Well, I did that to protect you too. After that near death experience back at the mall with Buddingtonite and his comrade. I didn't want them to come back and finish what they didn't manage to back then." She looked up at Darren, her hand tightening its grip on his briefly as she tried to pull herself up, trying to get closer to him. "Me too. At least it would have saved us from having to go through that horrible experience." She felt her muscles quiver from what she was trying to make them do, weeks of disuse having made something that should be effortless to perform like this a task that now took almost every bit of strength she could muster.
Laying back on the bed with a frown at how weak she had become, she was silent for a while as she thought over his question proper and focused on catching her breath. "If you're still keen on having me as your girlfriend after all that I've put you through..." She looked at him with an unreadable expression on her face, not at all comprehending why he would even bother with her after all the horrible things that she had put him through since the day they met.
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Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 12:05 am
"I think you and I remember our time together quite differently," Darren laughed a little, giving her a smile before moving to help her shift and get comfy, even going as far as to dry her tears with a piece of the blanket on her bed. He would care for her - it was the least he could do... "But yes, I'm more than keen. Hafwen or Dallol - you're the same to me regardless of the name you wear."
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 5:31 am
Smiling at Darren's words, Hafwen nodded, clinging onto him as he helped her shift to a more comfortable position on the bed. "Let's just start over then..." She added, simply enjoying the comfort afforded by the act of leaning on him as she eyed the IV and the monitors that were beeping steadily in the background.
"How long have I been here?"
It was likely a significant amount of time if she was having difficulty performing simple tasks such as shifting into a more upright position on the bed. In any case, it would probably be safe to assume that she wasn't fit enough to leave the hospital anytime soon.
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 10:50 pm
"Awhile, I've lost track of the actual amount of time myself..." Darren said as he did his best to help her up and get comfortable. "I have tried to come by every day during visiting hours... And I'm glad I did... you actually woke up the other day... powered up and jumped out the window... Congrats on becoming a Squire by the way... Or at least that's what I assume happened, you definitely got stronger." He made a face at that, but he wasn't honestly jealous or anything - he just felt bad that he'd had to drag her back to the hospital when it was obvious that she had been feeling better. "But hopefully it won't take you long to get the green light to go home..."
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Posted: Sat May 02, 2015 10:10 pm
Was he serious?
Did Darren really sit down by her bedside every day, waiting for her to wake up for goodness knew how long?
"... didn't you have an aversion towards hospitals? How could you stand being here on your own for so long..." Hafwen frowned, not at all used to being the focus of another person's life like this. "I did what...?" When Darren started filling her in on what had happened, she closed her eyes to think long and hard on it. "I don't remember any of that. You sure you weren't hallucinating back there or something?" She gave a soft sigh, the fact that she wasn't able to recall any of that disconcerting in itself.
"I hope so too. I don't like these tubes that are sticking out of me..."
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Posted: Sat May 02, 2015 11:16 pm
"I... still do... to be honest I'm about ready to crawl out of my skin." Darren said, his voice actually shook a little bit but he made another face like he was trying to be brave. "I really don't like the tubes sticking out of you either... but until they give you the okay..." His voice pretty much stated that he would have stolen her out of there if he could - the only thing stopping him was the fact that he'd probably not get fifteen feet with her unless he powered up and he REALLY didn't want to have to try and explain that. He gave her hand a squeeze and it was obvious part of the sleepless look he had came from the stress of being in a place that was triggering a completely irrational fear in his head. As he watched her, his eyes were already starting to tear up as he finally was unable to hold back the emotions that he had been surpressing from sheer willpower while she'd been unconcious. "I... was really worried we were gonna lose you..." He sniffled, wiping his face with the back of his sleeve. "Like... the doctors weren't sure you were gonna wake up they said it was pretty bad and like you were in a pretty deep coma and I sat here and talked to you a lot but I didn't know if you could here me so..." The tears were streaming down his face pretty heavily now. "I'm... just really glad you are okay. I love you." His face flushed at that as he suddenly realized what he said, and then he slowly lowered his face into the sheets in front of him, red as could be and trying to hide his embarrassment of blurting that out loud.
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Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 4:15 am
It wasn't the most romantic setting to proclaim and reaffirm your affections to the girl of your dreams who kind of just came back from the very brink of death. But Hafwen was willing to let that slide this time given the circumstances and the fact that Darren still managed to come down to sit at her bedside daily in spite of his own intense dislike and phobia of hospitals. "I love you too. I'm sorry for making you go through all this because of me."
She gave his hand a squeeze with all the strength that she was able to muster at this point, her other hand reaching out shakily to gently pat the back of his head. "But I'm here now. I came back to you, didn't I?" She attempted at comforting him albeit awkwardly, this being the very first time she was placed in such a situation. "Everything's going to be okie from now on. I'll get out of here and then we can go on all the dates to make up for all the lost time okie?"
She gave his hand another squeeze this time, simply speaking whatever came immediately to mind on the spur of the moment while hoping that what she was doing was able to comfort him somewhat. "But first things first, you look horrible. Like you're one foot into your own grave already and we need you to fix that right now lest you collapse and end up in the next room." She ended with a small frown, not at all wanting anything untoward to happen to him because of all this.
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