Many hours had passed before the doctor was seen again and in that time the officer that had been waiting with her brought light snacks for her to eat and a glass of water to sip on. Unfortunately, despite his efforts both went untouched.

There were a few times when Lavendulan rose from her seat on the bench nearest Wolframite’s room to check on Tinaksite from the doorway. Still too upset to talk to anyone, she simply wished to reassure herself her friend was still breathing.

“Laven?” The officer approached her carefully and she turned slowly to face him. He noted her almost lethargic reaction before informing her of the update he had been given. “They’re preparing him now to move Wolframite into another room. You’ll be able to see him again soon.”

With dry swollen eyes she regarded him with a wordless nod.

“I’ll have an extra bed brought in so you can rest.” He offered, knowing from before that she would refuse to go home if asked.

“No thank you, a chair is all I need.”

“I know you’re not tired now but it will catch up to you,” he cautioned.

Before she could reply, the doors opened with a sweeping hush. One nurse held them open, two others rolled the gurney out into the hallway. It would be a lie to say that Laven wasn’t quite literally holding her breath in anticipation of hearing Wolframite’s voice quarreling with the doctor, demanding that they let him sleep in his own bed. Instead, her ears were met with the sound of a squeaky wheel rolling across the hall and quiet murmurs of the nurses as they glided past to the next room.

For the briefest of moments she caught a glimpse of Wolframite’s ashen pale face, his hair and fur were dull and disheveled. It was no less hard to see him now than it was hours ago.

“It’ll be a few more moments,” one of the nurses commented as she skirted around Laven.

Time was a relative thing at this point. Seconds… minutes… they all felt the same after waiting so long in worry. Eventually, they did step out of the room and the one who had spoken a moment ago approached Laven to give one word of warning. “For his safety, and ours, leave the restraints in place. His claws are dangerously sharp, there’s a high probability chance that if he wakes up he won’t know where he’s at. The last thing we want is for him to panic and injure someone or worse… himself.”

“I understand…” Laven responded with a vacant expression and a slight nod.

“He’s a fighter, he won’t go down easy,” the female nurse gave Laven’s arm a gentle squeeze. “Hang in there,” and with that, she left to fill out some paperwork.

For the first time in the last twenty-four she was finally alone with him. Never in her wildest of dreams could she have anticipated that this morning could have easily been the last time she would have seen him. Shortly after breakfast, she had gone to her office space in the castle to resume work on her research project. She had known that both Tinaksite and Wolframite had plans to go on patrol and had expected it being a long quiet night.

But not like this…

The silence in the room was heavy, interrupted only by the heartbeat monitor which, aside from the slow rise and fall of his chest, was the only indication she had that he was somehow managing to hang on. Multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, a normal man would have died before his body had a chance to hit the ground. But Wolframite was no mere mortal. He was strong, stronger than she was in more ways than his rank in the Negaverse could suggest.

Yet as he lay there motionless, save for the shallow breathing, he seemed so very frail.

“I’m sorry…” Laven took a hesitant step towards the side of the bed and with a gentle hand, she brushed her fingertips lightly across his brow, sweeping his long strands of hair away from his face. “I should have been there…” She lightly ran the back of her finger along the edge Wolframites ear hoping to see it twitch or an eye crack open and to hear him mutter something incoherent, but nothing happened.

Laven slowly lowered herself into the seat beside his bed then slid one hand under his paw. Her heart twisted painfully in her chest as she leaned her head forward to rest her cheek against the soft fur on the back of his hand. “I’m here now.” For all the hours of crying, one would think that there were no more tears left to shed but they returned all the same. “I’m right here... “ a quiet whimper escaped her unbidden. “Don’t leave me, please.”