{Chapter 17}
“Night, honey,” Candice said snuggling up in Hunter’s arms. He was staying at her place that night, not wanting to be alone. It had been nearly two years now that Shawn was in the coma. His hope was growing thin that he would ever speak to his best friend again. With a sigh he closed his eyes and let sleep take him.
“Stephanie,” Hunter called entering the small house they owned as he came back from a business trip with his father-in-law. “Honey? Where are you?” He looked around the living room and his heart constricted. The place was a mess.
“Aurora,” he called out to his daughter. “Sweetie, Daddy’s home.” He heard a noise coming from the back bedroom and headed in there. What he saw when he got there made him drop to his knees. Stephanie was sprawled out on the floor, face down. His four year old daughter was sobbing over her mother’s body.
“Aurora, baby, come to Daddy,” he said gruffly when he finally found his voice.
“Mommy’s sick,” she said softly as she crawled over to him. “She won’t wake up.”
“I know, baby,” he said pulling the child into his arms. She buried her face in his neck sniffling. “Daddy’s here now.”
He knelt there holding his daughter for what seemed like ages, unable to pry his eyes away from his wife’s lifeless body. Soon he felt Aurora squirming in his arms and felt a little pin prick in his neck. He pulled the child away from him, holding her at arm’s length, and gasped. Instead of his angelic little girl he was now gazing down on a demon.
“No,” he whimpered. “Not my baby.”
“What’s wrong, Daddy,” she asked his blood trickling down her chin. Hunter felt his neck and looked at his hand, deep streaks of red stained his flesh. “You taste good, Daddy.” She licked her lips, relishing the taste of his blood.
“Aurora,” he said as firmly as he could muster. He couldn’t understand what was going on or what had happened to his daughter and wife. “You were very bad to bite, Daddy.”
“Get down,” someone drawled out behind him. Unable to process the demand Hunter just stared at the two men before him blankly. “Shawn, get him out of here,” the older man with platinum blonde hair called. “I’ll deal with the child.”
“Don’t hurt her,” Hunter called as Shawn dragged him out of the bedroom. They hadn’t gotten far when gunshots rang out throughout the house.
Hunter sat up in bed. “AURORA,” he cried out. Tears streaked his cheeks.
“Hunter,” Candice gasped sitting up and placing a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong? Who’s Aurora?” Hunter ran a hand down his face. The dream had been so vivid. “Hunter?”
“Go back to sleep,” he muttered, brushing his lips against hers. “I’m all right. Don’t worry.”
She watched as he slid out of bed and headed into the bathroom. Moments later she heard the shower running. With a sigh she laid back on the pillows. Candice knew that if he didn’t want to talk about it he wasn’t going to.
Hunter stepped under the hot spray letting the water cascade down his tense muscles. Why after all this time had he dreamed about that day? He couldn’t understand it. He wished more than ever now that he could go to Shawn. He might not have the answers, but he would offer a sympathetic ear and some words of wisdom.
“Christ,” Hunter muttered as he ran his fingers through his hair. “I haven’t even thought about the night I met Ric and Shawn since…since Calaway killed Ric.”
~~~~~
Shawn found himself in a field of wildflowers. Everything was crisp and clean from the sky to the grass. There seemed to be no traces of darkness anywhere. Nowhere for vampires to hide.
As he walked around he looked down at himself and found he was wearing loose fitting white pants and a white tunic. No shoes were on his feet as he walked through the field.
“It’s not Armani, but it sure feels good on the skin, don’t it,” he heard a familiar voice drawl next to him. Looking up he came face to face with his fallen friend and mentor, Ric Flair.
“Ric,” Shawn said unable to believe his eyes. Flair sported the same outfit that he did. It dawned on him that he might be dead. “Am I…”
“Dead,” Flair replied. “No. You’re somewhere between. Stuck here as a matter of fact.”
“That couple,” Shawn muttered.
“Yes,” Flair replied. “You took a bad knock to your noggin, kid.” He smiled.
“How long have I been…you know?”
“About two years,” Flair replied. He grew very serious. “And Hunter is losing hope fast. He’s sinking into a depression, Shawn. You need to snap out of this coma.”
“Just like that,” Shawn asked. “If it was that easy how come I haven’t by now?”
“Maybe you needed a good friend to give you a swift kick in the ass,” Flair replied. “Are you ready, Shawn? Are you ready to go back and be the leader those boys need?” Shawn bit his bottom lip. “There’s a war coming, Shawn. More people will need your help as they head into battle.”
Shawn sighed, the place where they stood was so inviting. He didn’t want to go back to the harsh world that was his reality. “I’m ready,” he finally said making his decision. “If they need me I’ll be the leader they need.”
“Good man,” Flair said smiling and clapping him on the back. A flash of light exploded before Shawn’s eyes and he was blinded.
When he could see again everything was foggy, but he could hear the distinct sounds of machines beeping frantically. He fluttered open his eyes and the room swam into focus. He was in the hospital.
“Shawn? Shawn, can you hear me,” asked the blonde woman who came into view.
“Yes,” he rasped, his throat dry.
“Welcome back,” she said smiling. “I’ve paged Doctor Cena. My name is Ashley. I’ve been your nurse since you were brought in. Well…me and Candice. You’ll meet her later.”
“What’s going on here,” Cena asked entering the room.
“Hey, Doc,” Shawn said trying to smile though he still felt foggy headed.
“Holy shit,” Cena exclaimed. “Shawn. I never thought I’d see this day.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Shawn replied chuckling and then choking.
“Ash, get him some water please,” Cena said pulling out his penlight to examine Shawn. Ashley nodded and left the room to get a pitcher of water and a cup with a straw. “Jesus, if you needed a couple of years off from hunting you could have gone about it differently.”
“Ah you know me, Doc,” Shawn replied. “I never do anything the easy way.”
“You can say that again,” Cena said putting away his penlight and putting his stethoscope on. He examined Shawn for a while before he slung the stethoscope around his neck again. “Well, all your vitals check out, but I’ll need to run some tests to make sure everything’s in working order.”
Ashley came back with the water and held the straw to his mouth for him to drink. He took a good long sip. “Great, when can I get out of here?”
“Slow down there, Shawn,” Cena said. “I’m afraid you can’t just jump right back into hunting again. Your muscles need work. You’ve been lying there for two years without using them. You’ll need physical therapy to get back to the way you used to be…and even then you probably won’t ever be 100%. Muscle atrophy is not something to take lightly.”
“I don’t need my muscles to be a general in the coming war,” Shawn replied. Ashley and Cena exchanged worried glances fearing that Shawn had suffered some mild brain damage while he was in the coma.
“All right,” Cena said. “Ashley’s going to help you with anything you’ll need right now. I’m going to schedule those tests and call Hunter.” With that he left the room.
~~~~~
“Hunter,” Candice called through the bathroom door, rapping on it. He had been in there for nearly a half hour. “Hunter, Doctor Cena called. Shawn’s awake.”
The bathroom door opened revealing Hunter clad only in a towel. His hair hung loose and dribbled water down his chest and back. “Shawn’s awake?”
Candice nodded. “Doctor Cena would like to see you as soon as possible.”
Hunter’s face broke into a genuine smile for the first time in two years and he hugged Candice. She yelped when he lifted her off her feet and spun her around. “You always know the right things to say to cheer me up, baby,” he said pressing his lips to hers for a heart stopping kiss. When he set Candice back on her feet she felt weak in the knees.
“Any time,” she said weakly as she watched him gathering his clothes to dress and head to the hospital. She knew she shouldn’t be, but she was falling in love with him and she dreaded the day that he would inevitably end things. For the time being she told herself to enjoy the time with Hunter.
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