She wakes up into an empty and unfamiliar room. It wasn't the room she had been occupying for the past few weeks. There's an insistent, and quite annoying, beeping sound to her right, and there's also an oxygen mask snug on her face. Scanning her immediate surrounding weakly, she could see a blood bag added to the usual IV bag connected to her.

    She couldn't feel anything, not even pain. It scares her. It feels like she's already dead.

    Her father's worried face came into view. He's in a scrub suit, his head covered with a cap as well. She realizes that she's in an ICU. Well, that's a first.

    "How are you feeling? You've been sleeping for two days."  her dad cooes, eyes twinkling with barely suppressed tears. 

    "Maybe that's why I feel so hungry." she says, voice raspy and not even above a whisper.

    Her father managed to grin, a tear slipping from his left eye. "That's your fault you know. You were snoring for two days. How can you eat?"

    She managed to let herself smile. "Lu--Luhan?"

    "I sent him home. He hadn't had a wink of sleep ever since you..." he stops before smiling lightly, "Rest some more, okay? Don't worry about it. He'd be here when you wake up."

    She's scared to sleep. 

    She might not wake up and see Luhan again.

***

    Luhan was there when she woke, sitting by her bed dressed in causal jeans and shirt. He was supposed to be in his shift but it seemed like he wasn't. It boggles her a little since he is her doctor and he's supposed to be in his shift because she's here.

    He smiles at her softly when he noticed she was awake, running a hand through her hair gently. He seemed to realize that she was looking at her weirdly through half-open eyes. "You might be wondering why I'm not looking awesome as usual in  my scrub suit."

    She might have retorted but her limbs felt heavy, the sedatives working too well on suppresing her sensory receptors.

    "I asked to be relieved for a week or two." Luhan says, "I couldn't concentrate treating other patients, not when I am always thinking about you."

    She let's out a sigh when Luhan takes her hands and squeezed them lightly. "Jamaica said she'd come over today after her check up, and I'm actually expecting her any moment now. Joy said she would also come over. Sehun and Janelle arrived yesterday, and they apologized for not being able to visit sooner. Even Franchia had roped Kai into taking care of the twins today to visit you. Looks like there will be a party here soon."

    Just like that, Luhan keeps talking softly to her, not really waiting for a reply but keeping her involved. It lulls her, comforts her, but she longs to be able to actually answer him, share everything with him. She regrets now why she pusehd him away all those times. She could have had long conversations with him, she could have spent a longer time with him. How could she had been so naive?

    Tears started gathering in her eyes, falling unhindered. She wished she could have been wise enough to have done things differently. Now... it seems to be too late.

    Luhan noticed of course, immediately wiping them with his thumbs. "Don't cry, honey. Sshh... I know Chanyeol can be scary sometimes and there is a huge chance that he'd break some apparatus in here if we don't keep an eye on him, but I'm pretty sure Lani won't let him wander unchecked. It's okay."

    She cries even more with how Luhan was suppressing his own tears as he wipes her eyes, kissing them comfortingly, whispering assurances that everything will turn out fine eventually. How could he have so much hope? How can he have so much faith when she had already given up herself?

    "I'm sorry..." she struggles to whisper. She feels so sorry for ever meeting himin a way. If she hadn't, then Luhan wouldn't be carrying this burden. He won't be hurting this way. 

    "Don't... please don't..." Luhan says, leaning his forehead on hers, eyes tightly closed as he squeezes their hands together tightly, "Don't give up yet. For your dad. For all your friends... for me." he says, "We're still going to have that happy ever after, right?"

    She cries even more. Life is cruel. So cruel.

    The door opens, familair faces started pouring into the room. Luhan slowly detaches himself from her, reluctantly letting her hand go. He excused himself as the visitors settled in and she could see the telltale signs of tears starting to fall from his cheeks as he slips out of the room.

    "Hey..." Jamaica smiles as she walks over and sit on the chair Luhan had just vacated. "You don't look too good. When is Luhan going to let you see the sun again? You look like a vampire, being cramped up in this room for too long." 

    "You need tanning lessons from Kai." Franchia jibes, peering from Jamaica's head with a smile. 

    Sien smiles even through the fatigue. She looks at her friend's faces. They all look so happy, she's glad. Even after everything all of them had gone through, they ended up happy.

    "I'm... happy..." she struggles, heaving a little even after just two words. "To meet... all of you... I'm happy."

    Lani pouts, "You sound like you're already saying goodbye! Don't!"

    Sien just smiles. "I just... wanted to... let you know." 

    "Don't say things as if you're going to leave us already." Jamaica sniffles, mood swinging dangerously due to  her pregnancy, "I've already listed you as my baby's godmother. You have to be there, okay? On her first birthday, and the next as well. You are going to see her grow up into a beautiful girl, write her own story as how you did mine and Tao, you understand? You can't..." she started crying , "You can't leave."

    All the others around her bed were discreetly wiping their own tears, struggling not to cry out loud.

    A familiar warmth enveloped her, the weight of the person pressing her unto the bed as his soflt locks tickeled her chin. Her chest suddenly felt wet and she realized that the person laying his head on her chest was crying.

    "You promised to write me a story, remember? You pinky swore. You can't break it. I don't care if I have to wait for a year or two, even three. You have to write it." Chanyeol says through his silent tears. "I don't even really care about the story... just be there."

    Sien couldn't help the tears anymore, "I'm sorry..." such a pitiful and useless word. But it's all she can say.

    She didn't know how to say goodbye.