Fight to the Death

-Matt's POV-

I fucking knew something was wrong, why didn't I make her tell me? Why didn't I do something?

Moments ago I watched Jimmy take her away from me and tickle her like crazy. I already knew she was coughing but then she startedgagging coughing more and throwing up blood. I just stood there looking at her, I didn't know what to do. I was frozen with fear of what could be happening. Jimmy sank to the ground as she went limp in his arm. They were sitting there on the ground in front of me and there was blood all over her mouth, arm and clothes.

After I got over the initial shock I realized Zacky and Johnny were gone. I looked over my shoulder to see them running towards one of the ambulances parked in front of the burning building. 'Thank God there's one here already!' I screamed in my head in a bit of relief as I walked over and knelt down on the ground next to them. Syn came closer as well. She was still coughing but she looked like she was getting paler and paler and her breathing was noticeably slowing down. It was labored and rough as she sucked in breaths, anyone could hear her, but now they were becoming fewer and farther between.

Jimmy shifted her so that I could grab her and bring her small body onto my lap instead. He jumped up and ran madly in the direction the other two had just gone moments prior. I could only pull her closer to me. I was breaking to pieces watching her but I didn't know what else I could possibly do.

Syn leaned down looking between us as he spoke.

“She's going to have to go to the hospital. They only let family in and...” He shrugged and gave me a look. I knew what he was trying to get at, she didn't have any family whatsoever now. Well Nich, but he did disappear. I wasn't going to be able to be there, no one was for the very fact that she had no one.

He then fingered the rings on his hand, something clicking as he wrestled them off his fingers. He held out two of them. Both were simple, plain, silver circles only one also had what looked like a birthstone in it.

“You can pose as her fiancée. At least this way you can see her, and they cant not let you.” I nodded. Thinking it over, contemplating with myself, I gave in and quickly grabbed the rings out of his hand. Blaire laid her head on my shoulder as I put the ring on her as well as my ring finger. She whimpered in pain upon my doing so. I turned over her hand gently to see her left hand caked with blood and burnt. Blistered and the skin was peeling like a really bad sunburn...

That was when the ambulance started coming towards us at lightning speed. No need for blaring sirens or lights, it was only a few hundred feet. Two guys jumped out immediately from the back, the driver sat with the ambulance running but in park. The two ran towards us as she began throwing up more blood.

They made me give her up to them, then they wouldn't even let me go despite everything I said to try and convince the man as the other loaded her inside. I stopped begging when the man got in with her and the other paramedic and closed the door basically in my face. The one guy briefly mentioned to go into the emergency part of the local hospital, hell I forget the name he gave. Syn grabbed me by my shirt as he talked on his phone. Zacky, Jimmy, and then Johnny walked towards us with sad looking faces. The ambulance left quickly, blaring its siren and flashing its lights until I could no longer hear or see them in the distance.

“Ale's going to come here and pick whoever is going to the hospital. We all cant go because of well...” he motioned obviously to the still burning building.

“Matt, you and Syn go. We'll take care of this.” Zacky said. He walked up to me “Just take care of her. Make sure shes alright.” He whispered to me, and only me. I nodded even though I wasn't sure I would be able to keep that promise. We separated and when our separate ways. Three towards the building and Syn and I towards the gate at the end of the driveway.

About 8 minutes of impatiently waiting later, a jet black 2009 Porsche Cayenne pulled up. It was Ale, no one else would be coming here in a plain car as of now.

I got in the back seat and Syn got into the passenger side up front.

“Nice car Ale.” Syn mentioned.

Ale was deathly quiet and didn't say anything for the whole trip to the hospital and neither did we.

Staring off into the darkness was like an escape, watching the blurring buildings, trees, people, and lights all being left in the distance as we passed them.

“It's Blaire's not mine” Ale said quietly as we parked in the parking lot. Like he just then comprehended the words Syn spoke minutes before.

(Time lapse 18 hours)

After 14 hours they stabilized her enough at the hospital to move her to a hospital that could actually “help” her. Four hours ago they flew her by helicopter to a children's hospital about 45 minutes driving distance away. Once there she was rushed into surgery as soon as they got her inside the doors.

That's all she freakin' was... a child.

That was the point in time that it clicked in my head, she was only but a kid. So much more fragile than any adult. Even with her tough exterior, inside she's less immune... so much more easily damageable.

I've been sitting in the fucking waiting room for about 3 hours now with Syn and Ale. No one will let me see her, or anyone see her for that matter. Plain and simple they didn't believe the whole fiancée thing and she's also in stage 3 intensive care where there is limited access anyways. Only doctors can go in, and by chance every now and then a nurse... but that's it. I still don't know everything that happened, or whats wrong. All I know is that I'm stuck out here lying impatiently in the waiting room when I should be in there with her.

“Um, which of you is Mr. Sanders, Miss. Blaire's...” The woman's voice paused and almost choked upon seeing the next word on that clipboard of her's. “fiancée?” I looked up from staring at the tiles on the floor to see a doctor. She looked at me curiously, and with the smug way she said “fiancée,” I'm sure she didn't buy into the whole gimmick.

“Can I speak with you...alone?” She asked. I looked at Ale and Syn quickly before jumping up and walking with her into an office type of room. It had a desk and two chairs but other than that it was plain and unpersonal. Like a shared space. No one particular person could call it their own. They brought things in and took them right back out after the “conference” was over. I gulped as I sat across from the female doctor in the leather seat provided. Millions of questions ran through my mind, one though concerned me the most.

“Is she okay?” I asked raspily. I haven't talked to anyone in those 18 hours since they took her away. The woman doctor folded her arms on the desk and leaned towards me.

“We aren't sure yet, she's still in pretty serious condition.” She leaned back and put her thick black rimmed glasses on before flipping through the file sat down in front of her. “We haven't been able to get in touch with any family so I'm going to need your help. She is going to need your help...” she looked up at me, I nodded so she looked back down to the paper. “Normally we aren't able to do this, but we have no choice. A decision needs to be made now before its too late. We don't have any time to spare...” I gulped. 'She's dying isn't she, slowly.' I thought, and I have to decide what to do... A tear escaped my eye for the first time. Not that I cry often...

I was frozen before. But slowly as she was talking, I began unfreezing and the emotions I've been holding in started seeping out. She handed me a tissue, obviously noticing the single shed tear. I held onto the flimsy object for dear life as my eyes became glassy and watery without my really wanting them to.

“Her lungs have been severely damaged due to the amount of carbon monoxide and smoke being brought into them. Her throat is damaged as well but it isn't a main concern as of now since we have her hooked to a breathing tube. She had weak spots in her lungs from her body trying to fight the chemicals virtually destroying her lungs in the process...it caused massive internal bleeding into the lungs. We do however, for now, have that under control but we need to maybe start thinking about getting her on the transplant recipient list as soon as possible.”

“How badly does she need a transplant?”Shakily I asked.

“There is about a 20% chance she will live without it...” She was being blunt. Bad news, the worse outcome hoping for much better... it helped me out none.

“So she needs it? No matter what.” I mumbled only to myself.

“There is a chance that she may not if her lungs start responding and healing properly, but otherwise...yes she will. Now I also need to discuss possible complications.” I gulped and looked away from her. I couldn't stand to think about anything that could go wrong, I just couldn't. It hurt to much to think she could- a few tears rolled down my face again. I quickly wiped them away with my borrowed hoods sleeve while she continued.

“Once on the list there will be a wait, it all depends on the compatibilities and other on the list. A first come, first serve sort of game if there is even a match. There is also cost...the money is needed up fro-” I cut her off.

“I have the money...How long would she be waiting?” I looked up at her sad face.

“The truth is Mr. Sanders it could be hours, or years.” my heart sunk to the ground “I feel the need to tell you this too. It may not be the best option for her in the end...”

“What do you mean you want her to fucking die!” I snapped and jumped up.

“No, no, no! Of course not... please. Set down, Mr. Sanders.” she said calmly I did only because my legs seemed to be turning into jello “Valencia seems to me to be a fighter. Although damage is extensive I have a good feeling with her. We wont know for sure until she's awake but compared to others she seems to be fighting to get better. Her lungs are responding in a less than preferred, but still a remarkable degree for someone of her age and with the amount of damage that had taken place. And her breathing is getting stronger on her own. It isn't much hope but..” She had no clue obviously but her words were entirely true. Blaire was a fighter. In more than one way...and it is hope, more than she realizes. “the transplant. It could kill her, her body will fight the foreign objects and attack them like before with her lungs. There is nothing we can to do stop that natural reaction. And she is weak as it is... What I'm getting at is that for her, the transplant may ultimately do more harm than good. There's a 40% success rate in these conditions with previous patients worldwide.” She sighed. “I know this is a lot to take in, but we need you to decide what to do.”

“Can I see her yet?” I looked at her hopeful. She nodded and smiled a little.

“Of course. Follow me.” She got up, taking the clipboard with her and walked out of the room. I followed close behind her.

We walked one in front of the other, down a long hallway, though a set of doors and down another hallway until it branched off about three separate ways. The doctor turned and slid a card through a machine and then opened the door... Intensive Care 3.

First we needed to stop at the main little clerical area to the left of the door. She made me don a mask as well as a gown before she allowed us to carry on further. We finally walked down that hallway (which was much shorter than the prior ones) until we were in front of room #7. I saw V. Blaire scribbled on a small dry-erase board attached to the door. She opened the door and pushed it open, ushering me in.

“I'll give you some time alone. Don't worry I'll be around, I just need to check on a few patients. I'll be back in a little while to check on you two.” I nodded and walked in.

Blaire was laying in the stark white bed with blankets laid neatly over her. A single, rather large clear tube came out of her mouth and was hooked to a breathing machine thing; she also had numerous other wires and tubes everywhere else coming off of her body in many different places. I looked over my shoulder a second to see the door entirely closed before I walked slowly over to the bed. Like I was walking on thin ice in the middle of an ocean. I moved a chair over to the right the side of her bed from the wall and just stood there, taking every feature in.

She looked helpless even more so than I've ever seen her. She was pale and had dark circles under her eyes among the many other bruises and cuts all over the part of her body I could see. A bandage also engulfed her left hand in thick layers.

Despite how broken she was, she was beautiful. It hurt me to see her like that but I couldn't take my eyes off of her out of fear that she would die in my presence. Before my eyes. A tear escaped my eye as I leaned down and kissed her forehead and then her cheek. I quickly ripped off her dog tag necklace from around my neck and gently wrapped it around her right, unscathed hand. I collapsed in the chair still holding that hand in my own. I kissed the back of it as tears leaked more abundantly from my eyes. I then leaned my elbows on the white bed, looking at her unconscious body.

“What do I do baby?” I could barely even hear myself whisper that question. The loud beeps and deep breathings sounds that echoed throughout the room, muted my own words...