Tangled Fan held her other hand out to me, and I stepped up on it. Every centimeter of my body was shaking violently.
"She's unconscious."
"She's not dead?" I asked stupidly.
"No. She's knocked out, is all. She might be really sore on her neck, and the arm and leg she landed on, once she wakes. Now, there's a chance that there will be something wrong with her; so keep that in mind. She's not outta the woods yet. We'll just have to wait to see when, or possibly if, she wakes."
I nodded, sniffling my tears back. "What do I do?"
"Nothing; it's just a waiting game. Just try to be here so you can keep an eye on her. I'll be back to check up on her in awhile."
I nodded again.
She carefully set the bundled up towel on the bed and then she left.
I stepped over and saw Rapunzel was wrapped cocoon-style in the towel, with just her head sticking up out of it.
I bit my trembling lip as I sat beside her. I was scared to touch her, for fear that something would somehow happen to her.
And so I spent the next five hours pacing back and forth, worrying and thinking about her and all the things I hadn't told her. Tangled Fan came back twice to check on her.
If anything else, having something like this happen to you will make you take a step back and re-evaluate how you treat a person. For one, I knew I'd do anything in my power to tell her everything I felt, and I wouldn't hesitate to tell her anything.
I was still pacing back and forth, still anxious and pumped with adrenaline, when I heard a whisper. And then a throat being cleared.
I whirled to look at Rapunzel. She was sitting up. She was awake!
I took one huge step and sat down beside her quickly.
"Sweetheart? You're okay?" I searched her emerald green eyes.
"My arm and neck hurt, but I...I guess so. What happened, exactly? Where's Jase? Hallie?" Her eyes widened. "Merida and Allie?"
I explained what had happened and that everyone else was okay, and then I stared at her, not sure what to do or say first.
I pulled her close into a hug, never wanting to let go. "I-I am so, so sorry. If I would've been there and caught you before you fell-"
"Don't worry, hon. I'm alright; you did fine."
I pulled away slightly and then touched her cheek. I leaned over to hesitantly touch my lips with hers, not wanting to hurt her. When she didn't act like she was in pain, I allowed it to become passionate. I finally pulled away and then brushed the hair from her face carefully. I stared at her, relieved. "I'm so glad you're okay, baby."
She gave me a small smile and put her hand on my shoulder.
"Now, can we go back to Jase and Hallie? Jase still hasn't gotten to ride Max-"
She had just woken up from being unconscious, and she was still worried about her daughter's wish to ride. Now THAT is admirable. I think. Either that or just plain insane.
"You are going home and you are resting, dear girl. Jase can ride another day. Besides, Tangled Fan needs to check you over before you leave."
I glanced down and rested my hand on the towel. I studied the towel as I tried to keep myself from crying. Then, I felt her small, cold hand reach over to bring my face over towards her, so she could kiss me. I stroked her silky hair and when she parted her lips from mine, I touched my forehead with hers, smoothing the hair away from her face.
"I didn't tell you this yet today, and I'm glad I got the chance to now. I love you. I-I don't know what I'd do if you'd-"
She smiled at me. "Love you too. Oh, no - what time is it?" She pulled away from me.
"Don't worry about it."
"You need sleep!" She exclaimed, jumping up suddenly. "Oh, ow, ow!" She hopped on one foot and kicked at the towel with her other foot to unwrap herself from the towel. "Lay down there and go to sleep. Or go back to the shelf and sleep. I'm fine."
I stood as she started to lose balance. I grabbed ahold of her and held her until she regained her balance on the bed.
"Don't worry about it. I'm fine, one day won't kill me. But thanks for the offer, sweetie," I told her, plopping a kiss on her forehead and then easing her back down onto the towel. I tended to covering her up with the towel again. "You're gonna have plenty of trouble resting, aren't you?"
She nodded carefully - I suppose it was because of her neck. "I suppose I will. But I'm NOT going to rest until you go to sleep!"
My wife can be pretty bull-headed sometimes.
"I've still got an adrenaline rush going, so I can't go to sleep. I promise that I'll go to sleep when I can, okay?"
She sighed, and her face grew white. It scared me. "Okay." she yawned and rolled over on her side, facing me. She studied my face until I sat down beside her and rested my hand on her slim shoulder.
I still needed something to do, though.
"Do you want me to unbraid your hair or something? It might be more comfortable."
She shrugged, but I jumped at the task anyway.
When I was done and her hair was loose, I sat back down by her, clasping my hands tightly together and resting them on my lap. I stared down at her face with concern on her pale color.
She nibbled at her top lip for a moment before she laid a hand across both of mine. I couldn't help the small grin creeping up on my face.
We stayed that way for a few minutes, but then I took one of my hands and stroked her hair, and rubbed my thumb on her cheek. I wanted to kiss her again, but I didn't want to overdo it or seem weird or something - I was just beyond relieved.
After a little bit, Tangled Fan hurried through the door. "Awake again, are we?" She added a question about how she was feeling.
"They're okay," she said quickly, referring to her arm, leg and neck. I shook my head at her. "Fine. My neck hurts, my arm's kind of sore, and when I tried to stand up on my leg, I almost fell down."
Tangled Fan picked her up and poked and prodded at her. Finally, she set her back down. "You need to rest a few days. You should be okay then. I'd prefer to keep you elsewhere to make sure you rest-"
She cut her off with a quick no. She shook her head vigorously, but then gasped.
My heart drummed with concern. "I'm going home with my husband, to my girls."
They went back and forth a few minutes, but my wife won.
And then we were cleared to go home. I had no clue how to get down off the bed with my wife limping like she was. And Tangled Fan had just left us to our own devices. Wonderful.
When we got to the first jump out of two, I tried to pick her up; even though I figured I couldn't make the jump that way. I could try, though.
She yelped at me to put her down, so I did. I stared at her, thinking. Then, I jumped down and turned, holding my hands out to her.
"Slide down; I'll catch you."
She did with not much hesitation, and I carefully caught her around the waist and set her down.
"Thanks," she said.
The next jump was substantially farther. I jumped down first, and held my hands up to her. She bit her lip and let herself drop down over a foot until I caught her, stumbling backwards.
I set her back down, and then we were back at the bookshelf within minutes.
We stepped inside, and Merida looked at us. Her face brightened and she grabbed my wife up into a hug before shaking her shoulders gently, babbling with relief.
Then, she let go of her, and my wife stumbled back. I grabbed her good elbow and then when she got balanced again, I slid my hand down her arm to link my fingers tightly with hers.
Jase ran over and threw herself at Rapunzel. She picked her up and held her, talking with her. For a few minutes, anyway. Jase spotted me and immediately wanted me to hold her. I took her into my arms and my wife went over to pick up Hallie.
I heard her talking quietly to her, and I glanced over to see her sitting, bent over Hallie. Both had sweet smiles on their faces. My heart squeezed, but then I decided that I should try to make a more comfortable bed for Rapunzel. Seeing as we just sleep on the floor of whatever shelf we're on, I didn't think it would be very comfy for her. I took Jase with me, and found a couple of Tangled Fan's old shirts.
When we got back, Jase and I made the bed very meticulously. I started to wonder who was more obsessed with making the shirt lay smooth: Jase, or me. I kid you not.
When we got done, I sat down to talk with Jase.
She chattered about all the things Merida did with them while we were gone. Apparently, the fact that she'd been hidden behind a box with three others for awhile, because her Momma was being chased down by her psycho ex-foster father, had not affected her very much. Which I was glad about, mind!
After awhile, Rapunzel came over to me and hugged me from behind.
"I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too awful long, okay?" she whispered in my ear, leaving her arms draped around my shoulders. I nodded and put a hand on one of her arms. She gave me a quick peck on the cheek.
"Good night, Jase," she told her, and Jase paused her chatter to tell her goodnight as well.
I sat up with Jase until her chattering stopped and she announced she wanted to go to bed. Merida, Hallie, and Allie were all already asleep, as well as my wife. I put Jase to bed and then crept over to our corner.
I minced behind Rapunzel, who was sleeping on her side, out like a light. I lifted the shirt that I'd intended as a blanket, and worked my way down until I was laying down, and applauded myself for not waking her. I carefully slid an arm around her small waist, feeling like I needed to be close to her. I was still shaken from this afternoon, and needed to know she was really okay. I thought she was still asleep, and I released a tired sigh, realizing how tired I was, since I'd crashed from my adrenaline rush. I shifted around a bit until I was comfortable...and then I heard Rapunzel let her breath out all in a rush. She put a hand on the arm I'd put around her, and turned her head hesitantly to look at me in the darkness.
"Did I wake you?" I whispered, feeling downright terrible. I couldn't believe I'd woken her up!
"It's fine, hon," I saw her smile through the darkness.
"Okay," I whispered to her before I cupped her chin in my hand and leaned over to give her a kiss goodnight.
After that, she gave me a small, yet adorable smile; sighed, curled up again, and was asleep within seconds. I figure she didn't hear me when I whispered an I love you, but that's fine - at least she'd finally decided to sleep. I was asleep myself within minutes as well.
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