Session 35

Every now and then, Quinn hoped her heart would stop beating. She didn't want to die of course, but she did want the irritating beeping of her heart monitor to stop. The sound was pushing her limits, and Quinn wondered what would happen once she reached her edge. For all she knew, she had already reached it- or even gone past it. Maybe she was already dead; the hospital room felt like hell anyways. The bed was uncomfortable, the air was always slightly too warm, and despite how much pain medication she was on, Quinn had a perpetual migraine that tormented her all hours of the day. But anyways, whatever she was, dead, alive, in a limbo between the two, she knew she was unhappy, irritable, and desperate to get back on her feet again.

Quinn was trying her best to think optimistically, but the ability to produce a coherent thought was something she had been struggling with for days due to her medication. She enjoyed the numbing feeling it brought, but she hated how blank her mind was. For many, this high would've been enjoyable, but for Quinn, she was miserable. She wanted to think, she wanted to concentrate, she wanted her brain to work, but for all her waking hours, her head swelled with nothing but misty fog.

Despite the hell Quinn was living through, her recovery was going relatively smoothly. The cut she endured was nearly fatal, and the surgery she had to undergo was a tricky operation. Her stomach had been sliced open, and, as one could imagine, her entire digestive tract was affected because of it. From what Quinn heard, she had received a complete gastrectomy. It wasn't a common procedure, but the wound was so deep and so near fatal, it was impossible to simply stitch her up. Understandably, Quinn had been asleep for the entire process, and it was a miracle she had survived long enough to make it to the hospital.

For the first week and a half after surgery, she slept. All day and all night, she slept. There was no reason for her to be awake anyways; she couldn't eat, drink, or think.  For that first period of time, Quinn survived through a feeding tube in her stomach, and after the first week and a half of this, Quinn was able to be awake. Her body was still adjusting to her new organ, but it was adapting quickly. Soon she'd be able to eat and drink on her own. Quinn, although awake, was only awake for short periods of time. However, when she was awake, her medication made it incredibly difficult to concentrate. But, in between her constant undesirable head rushes and perpetual boredom, Quinn, although unable to hold coherent conversations, was able to accept visitors into her room. Even though communication (on her end) was limited, Quinn enjoyed the company from her visitors. Listening to her friends talk was almost therapeutic, and it always gave her something to look forward to when she was conscious.

When Spike visited, he was almost always completely silent. Sophie on the other hand, never shut up. Jet visited once or twice alongside Sophie, and when Faye came to visit, which didn't happen frequently, all she seemed to do was complain. Faye, formally unbeknownst to Quinn, was incredibly petty; more so than anyone Quinn had ever met in her life. But as annoying as she was, her rants were peak entertainment. If Quinn didn't know any better, she would have figured Faye was a wealthy socialite, ranting about everything and anything her money couldn't fix. It was amusing to say the least, and despite the occasional annoyance her guests brought her, Quinn was ultimately grateful for their company.

...

Thankfully, due to the advancements in healthcare, Quinn would be fully recovered within a month or so, and considering she had been in care for three weeks now, she was anticipating the day she'd be able to get up and walk again. Luckily, now that it had been three weeks since surgery, the doctors had lowered her medication doses and she was no able to think, speak, and concentrate. But now, more than ever, Quinn was bored out of her mind. Maybe she had taken the mediation for granted. 

...

"You could do more than just stare at me y'know," Quinn mumbled as she lifted her head up from her pillow.

Spike, who was sitting on an armchair adjacent to her, squinted his eyes mockingly before adjusting himself in his seat.

"We're gonna have matching stomach scars y'know," Spike replied through a cocky smile.

Quinn managed to muster a small laugh. It was nice to see Spike smile for once.

"I guess we're both victims of Vicious' blade now," Quinn replied as she sat up in her bed.

"By the way, how are Faye and Jet doing?" Quinn asked before running a hand through her tangled hair.

"They've been alright. Jet and Sophie have been spending a lot of time together," Spike announced, causing Quinn to raise an eyebrow.

"They're really hitting it off, huh," Quinn replied, happy that her friend had met someone as kind as Jet. Spike gave her a confused look.

"Well yeah, they have been for the last handful of months," Spike replied.

Quinn stopped for a moment. She hadn't been asleep that long, had he misspoken?

"Last few months?" She replied, puzzled by the expression upon Spike's face.

"Yeah, she's the girl I told you Jet was seeing- granted, I didn't know who she was until the day we came to rescue you- but, anyways, didn't Sophie tell you she was seeing him?" Spike asked, but Sophie had not told her.

"No- I mean, maybe she did, but I don't remember," Quinn replied awkwardly. Despite how close she and Sophie were, she realized they rarely ever got into each other's love lives, in fact, Quinn came to realize she had never even told her about Spike.

"You guys don't talk much about relationships, huh," Spike chuckled before digging through his pocket and pulling out a lighter. Quinn had never really thought about getting into relationship talk with Sophie- especially not after the incident with Mack. Quinn kept her mouth shut about the topic and strayed away from it at all costs, especially while she was at work. Quinn was so secretive about her status she realized it was most likely why Sophie hadn't mentioned anything about Jet. She probably picked up on the social cues and figured it was an off limits topic.

"I guess not," Quinn chuckled as she watched Spike fidget with his lighter.

"I guess you can't smoke in here, huh," Quinn added, causing a second thought to rush into her mind.

"No wonder Faye never hangs around for long," Quinn continued, and Spike nodded in response.

Between her friend group, Spike and Sophie they had been visiting Quinn the most. Sophie often visited on her days off just to make sure Quinn kept up with all the latest office news, whereas Spike seemed to be there the most, oftentimes just sitting adjacent to her on the armchair with a magazine. Occasionally, he'd fall asleep on the chair, and only leave when nurses told him visiting hours were up, but some days, he wouldn't visit at all. But then again, Quinn had only been properly conscious for the last week. She had no clue what his visiting patterns were like during her first two weeks.

"I can quit for a few hours," Spike shrugged, flicking the lighter on before blowing out the flame.

"I appreciate the efforts," Quinn teased as she watched him shift uncomfortably in his seat. His nicotine addiction was no joke, but at least cigarettes weren't nearly as harmful as they were in the earlier decades.

"You don't have to stay here for so long y'know," Quinn stated, slightly hoping Spike would reject her statement. She enjoyed his company the most, even when all he did was sit next to her in silence. Spike gave her a weak smile before opening his mouth to reply.

"I know, but I would've appreciated the company when I was in the same position as you," he replied happily before tucking his lighter back into his pocket.

"And, I would stay longer tonight, but Faye's got some plan for a hunt later, and I've gotta help her prep," Spike shrugged before standing up and adjusting his suit jacket. Quinn nodded.

"I'll be back on my feet in no time, and I hope to join you for another hunt sometime soon," Quinn proposed causing Spike to give her a shocked smile.

"Really? You'd be interested in that?" Spike replied, taken aback by her proposal.

"Yeah, I mean why not? I'm a bit of an adrenaline junky anyways. Each step closer to death somehow gives me more life," She laughed, causing Spike to roll his eyes in response.

"You are a resilient woman, Quinn," Spike returned before reaching into his pocket and producing a small, crumpled napkin.

"I wanna leave you with this," Spike announced, handing the napkin to Quinn who was hesitant to take it.

"This isn't some gross prank, is it?" Quinn ridiculed, and Spike shook his head as he laughed.

"No, It's something I wrote while you were asleep for those few days after surgery," Spike assured. Quinn accepted the napkin and held it gently in her hand.

"You wrote me something?" Quinn replied, flattered by his gesture.

"Well, what else was I supposed to do while I was here for all those hours," Spike shrugged playfully. Quinn stopped for a moment.

"Wait, how often have you been coming to visit me?" Quinn prodded, but Spike was reluctant to answer. He shook his head before shrugging his shoulders.

"Don't worry about it. I'll see you soon," Spike replied before turning to his side, and waving as he walked out the door.

Before Quinn had the chance to blush, her nurse walked in, nearly running into Spike who was on his way out.

"My goodness that man just can't get enough of you," Quinn's nurse stated as she came into the room with a tray of food.

Quinn, baffled by her statement, tucked the napkin under her pillow before accepting the tray.

"How often has he come to see me?" she inquired, and the nurse gave her a heartwarming smile.

"Oh dear, he's been here almost everyday," she replied happily, causing Quinn's cheeks to flush red.

Quinn thanked the nurse for the food before watching her slip back out of the room. She knew Spike was her most frequent visitor, but she didn't think he was there almost everyday. Being in the hospital really destroyed her concept of time. Days would sometimes feel like weeks, but sometimes they'd feel like hours. She placed some blame on the medication, but also she knew Spike's company seemed to make time fly.

...

Quinn had forgotten about the napkin. She was excited to read it of course, but somewhere in between receiving it, and eating her dinner, she forgot to open it up. She remembered the note when she went to bed. As she laid her pillow down and rested her head along it, she slipped her hand underneath and felt the napkin.

She quickly pulled it out and unfolded it. There wasn't much written on the crumpled piece of informal stationary, but Quinn wasn't too shocked by this. Spike was a man of few words.

You have been the hardest bounty I have ever hunted. Every time I catch you, I let you slip away. I'm frustrated with myself for losing you, but you know how much I like a challenge. I won't let you slip away this time. I promise. 

{A/N apologies if this chapter isn't quite as well written as my other chapters; I've been so tied up with my classes I haven't had time to write! Don't worry though, I'm not leaving this book unfinished! I'm in the process of wrapping this fic up, and I promise the next few chapters are gonna be awesome! Stay tuned! <3}