Not Alone

The first thing Enid was aware of was a pressure pushing on her side, but no pain. Though her body ached, her side felt numb. Then she noticed a steady mechanical beeping noise and a dull, but throbbing pain in her head.

She let out a soft groan and her eyes fluttered open, only to be met with bright fluorescent lights that made her eyes sting and her headache worsen. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the light and noticed that her hand was tethered to an IV with a clip on her finger monitoring her vitals. She glanced towards where she was feeling the pressure and there was an older man in a white doctor's coat and mask working on fixing her stitches.

"Hello," he said, his voice friendly, "welcome back. My name is Dr. Tobin and I'm going to be the one looking after you today."

"What happened?"

"You fainted. Do you remember that?"

She nodded but groaned when the action rattled her aching head.

"And it looks like you tore some stitches here," he explained, "I understand that these injuries happened during the attack at Nevermore?"

"Yes," she said, hardly recognizing her voice.

"The bump on your head is much more recent," he added, "you gave us a bit of a scare young lady."

"How long was I out?" she asked, glancing around in confusion, taking in her surroundings as she gingerly brushed her fingers against the tender spot on her forehead, wincing when she felt a bump. She was in one of the ER beds, surrounded by a privacy curtain and was fortunately still in her pyjamas. The IV in her hand was connected to some clear liquid. Her backpack was sitting on a chair in the corner, out of Dr. Tobin's way.

"Not long," he replied, "but long enough to be of concern. Do you remember how you hit your head?"

The machine monitoring her vitals beeped a little faster as she remembered it very well. How could she forget? She let her emotions get the better of her and was almost arrested and the cop arresting her used far more force and violence than necessary even though she tried to be cooperative. All because he hated her for being an outcast. She dreaded to think of what would've happened had Santiago not intervened.

"Yeah, I do."

"Care to tell me?"

"Not really."

"I'm almost done here," he said as he worked, "whoever did these stitches before did a great job and would've held nicely if you didn't overexert yourself. Did they not tell you that you need to take it easy while you healed?"

"I wasn't exactly left with a choice," Enid said, trying not to watch him re-stitch her wound and focusing on something anything else to distract her.

To his credit, he seemed sympathetic, "I've been told that you've had a stressful couple of days. You have a friend who was brought in this morning?"

"Yes," Enid said, perking up, "Wednesday Addams. Is she OK? Can I see her now – er, when you're done with that?"

"Not so fast," he said, "she is not my patient, so I don't know. And we're not going to let you go until we know you're not going to faint again."

"But I'm fine."

"You lost consciousness in the ER after hitting your head and were out for the count for about twenty minutes, that's something we need to take seriously. You're also dehydrated so we currently have you on fluids. You're not going anywhere until that's done at the very least," he seemed to be finished and stood up, throwing his gloves in the trash and washing his hands in the sink.

He took a small penlight from his pocket and shone it in her eyes, "Well, it doesn't look like you have a concussion and you do seem to be coherent so that's a good sign. Are you feeling dizzy at all?"

"No." That was a lie, she was a little dizzy, but it wasn't bad. If she said anything though, Enid feared that would cause even more delays with being reunited with Wednesday.

He seemed skeptical, "I think I may want to do a scan to make sure."

"That's not necessary, I am fine, just…I'm exhausted and I'm stressed out of my mind which is probably the real reason I passed out in the first place. Please, just let me see my friend," Enid said.

"How has your sleep been?"

Enid laughed the kind of laugh that sounded like she was at the end of her rope, "Sleep? What's that? I've barely had any the last couple of days."

"How much would you say you've had?"

"Maybe a few hours here and there? What I did get didn't feel restful."

"Is it because of the pain from your injuries?"

"That's part of it."

"So what else is going on?" he asked gently, making her trust him.

Enid's emotions threatened to burst out of her but she let out a sigh to keep herself from breaking down into tears. "I've also been really worried about Wednesday – she's my roommate and was hurt bad – like really bad, but didn't want to go to the hospital so I tried to take care of her, but she took such a turn for the worse that…well…I'm really scared right now."

He nodded sympathetically, "I see. So perhaps you fainted because you've been too busy looking after her that maybe you forgot to look after yourself? When was the last time you ate?"

Enid opened her mouth to speak but then realized that the only time she had anything since the attack at the school was when Yoko brought them dinner from the cafeteria. But Wednesday was so delirious and Enid was so focused on getting her to eat and drink something that she ignored her own hunger and thirst, and by the time she had a moment, she had lost her appetite.

"I don't know," Enid said honestly. "I had a few bites of dinner last night, I guess but…that was about it."

Dr. Tobin nodded, "I see. You have been through a lot of recent trauma and based on what you're telling me I am now confident that your fainting spell was caused by a combination of minor blood loss and lack of food – both of which has contributed to your dehydration, high levels of stress, and lack of sleep – and all that is already a lot, but then we factor in hitting your head, it's no wonder your body just had enough."

Enid swallowed hard, "That sounds about right."

He continued, "I don't believe it's too serious, but it's a good reason for concern so I still want to run a scan, but we'll hold off on that for now and see how things go here. So, here's the deal, I am going to prescribe some painkillers and something to help you sleep and I will arrange for someone to bring you breakfast. You're going to eat something, and you are going to sit here and rest until that IV bag is empty and if everything goes well then you can go."

"And then I can see Wednesday?"

"I am going to see what I can do," he said, "but again, she's not my patient so I don't know and I don't want to make any false promises. It really depends on how serious it is – they might only be allowing family, or not. Either way, I will see what I can find out for you. In the meantime, look after yourself and we'll check on you in a bit, OK?"

"All right," Enid said, not thrilled about the plan but at least it was a real plan and didn't feel like an empty promise. And she really was tired, plus, even though she could tell that they had already given her something for pain, it wasn't very strong and could still feel the deeper aches in her body. Also, if she was to be honest, she didn't trust that she wouldn't pass out again if she tried to go anywhere. Taking some time for herself was probably for the best, but still… "Um, how long do you think that will be?"

"If I had to guess, at least an hour or so."

Enid frowned but quietly muttered, "OK."

"Is there anything I can do for you before I continue my rounds?"

"Um, actually, could you hand me my phone? It's in the side pocket of my backpack. I need to text someone."

He handed it to her, "Promise me you will let yourself rest and relax, OK?"

"I will try," she said.

"I'm going to hold you to it," he gave her a kind nod and turned off the light over her bed and left, closing the curtains around her.

Enid released a shaky breath as she unlocked her phone. She had a bunch of messages from Yoko, a text from Xavier, a couple of messages from Eugene and a recently missed call from her mom. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes with a sigh, not wanting to deal with any of them, and what would she even say?

She decided to look at Yoko's messages first. Yoko had texted that she had seen the ambulance last night and was worried about both her and Wednesday. She kept checking in periodically, worried because Enid never replied but promised she was there for her if she needed her and all she had to do was say the word and she would be there.

Maybe it was because she was so exhausted, but she was so grateful for Yoko's concern and care that she was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to cry but managed to keep it together as she typed her reply. She texted back that she was fine, but Wednesday was hurt worse than they originally thought.

Yoko immediately replied, stating she hoped that it wasn't too serious.

That made her eyes well up with tears because it was too serious. But Enid just wiped her eyes and texted back a 'thank you' and a promise to talk later.

She then sent a text to Wednesday's parents, apologizing for taking too long to update them and that she would update them on her condition the moment she knew more. It was past nine in the morning and it was around three when the ambulance picked them up. They had gone several hours without a word from her and were probably worried sick.

They replied a few minutes later, thanking her for the update and that they understood why she didn't text right away. They said that the hospital did speak with them and they had instructed them to keep Enid in the loop, that she was family and should be treated as such and asked her to keep them posted. Choking on a sob, her eyes fixated on the words 'you're family', Enid replied that she will.

She had to take a moment to calm herself. Even with Wednesday's parents giving them permission to include her in updates about Wednesday's condition, so far everyone had kept her in the dark. Why? Surely their word had to count for something.

Still worked up from that she scowled in anger when she moved on to Xavier's text. All he said was that he was officially released from jail and was back and that he really needed to talk to Wednesday and asked her to pass the message along.

He didn't even ask if she was OK. Enid knew it was a little unfair to be angry with him as he had only tried to help, but if it weren't for him, Wednesday would've been fine. Sure, he was rightfully angry that she got him arrested, but it wasn't personal. She made a huge mistake, he should know that was what it was, a mistake, she was only trying to do what was right and surely, even he had to agree the evidence against him was compelling, right?

Besides, she took an arrow for him and he couldn't even be bothered to ask if she was OK? Was he that obtuse? Did he really not know that getting shot with an arrow was serious? She could've died saving his ass – and for all Enid knew, she did and no one had the guts to tell her which was why no one told her anything so far.

Enid dropped the phone in her lap, overwhelmed, needing to stop that particular train of thought before it got out of hand. Wednesday was not going to die from this, not after everything she had been through. Someone would've said something, right? And Xavier, she was being unfair to him. He knew she was hurt, it was possible he felt guilty and wanted to check on her in person, not realizing she was in the hospital. Enid didn't know what was going on in his head, she knew her anger was misplaced, though it didn't stop her from feeling that way.

She decided to leave Xavier on 'read', not knowing what to say to him yet. Not when she was so upset and angry. She didn't want to say something she'd regret. Instead, she moved on to read Eugene's text.

Unlike Xavier's, Eugene's text asked if Wednesday was OK. He mentioned that he was worried about her because he knew she was hurt and then hadn't heard from her. She typed back that she was in the hospital and Enid would update him once she knows more but then deleted it before hitting 'send' and instead left him on 'read'. He was still recovering and she didn't want to say anything that would worry him even more. He didn't need the added stress. Enid was tempted to say that Wednesday was hurt but would be OK to hopefully put him at ease, but what if she was wrong and she wasn't going to be OK? Even if she survived, Wednesday's body went through so much trauma, what if she could never fully recover? What then? Enid didn't want to lie to him. She would hold off answering him until she knew more.

Enid almost sent Ajax a text, telling him briefly what was going on, but then frowned and changed her mind, disappointed that he didn't check in on her when he knew that she was going through something. He probably didn't mean anything by it, but it was disappointing nonetheless. Ajax was a sweetheart, but he was a terrible communicator and probably saw her try to avoid the attention at the assembly and maybe thought she wanted her space. She just wished that out of everyone who messaged her, her own boyfriend would've been one of them.

Finally, Enid stared at the missed call notification from her mom until her eyes burned and her phone screen appeared blurry. Why would her mother call so early? Unless…

"Oh no…" Enid groaned, her thumb hovering over the 'call' button. She had fainted in the ER. Her mother was her emergency contact. "Shit."

The beeping of the monitor next to her sped up as she anticipated calling back. What was she going to say?

"I need to rest," she said to herself to justify her intent to ignore the call. "Doctor's orders. She'll understand that."

She bit her lip, her knee bouncing as she stared at the phone.

"No, I'm not going to call her." She put her phone down and tried to get comfortable, "I can call her later…"

She closed her eyes and tried to relax. The painkillers that she had been given while unconscious was working enough that she might be able to ignore the lingering ache in her body and actually get some real rest and she needed to take advantage of that. She would be of no good to Wednesday if she had a mental breakdown and got herself sick.

Enid tried to focus on the white noises of the ER, the hushed conversation in the bed next to hers, the sounds of footsteps of busy nurses and staff, the steady beep of the monitor, the sound of her mother's voice criticizing her for not calling back right away…

"No," she whispered, thinking of what she would tell her to make her less upset with her for procrastinating on calling her back. Maybe she could tell her that she was unconscious for a while so just woke up…no, that would be a bad idea. The best damage control was to downplay everything and lying by saying she was unconscious for a few hours was not going to work. She might want to come down there and that was the last thing Enid needed. Her mother meant well, and only had Enid's best interest in mind, but she still stressed Enid out way too much.

Maybe she could tell her she forgot her phone? No, she would never believe her in a million years.

"Crap, crap, crap," Enid muttered, opening her eyes and feeling around for her phone. The longer she put off calling her mother back, the worse it would be for her so it was better to just get it over with. She took a deep, shaky breath and called her.

"Enid! Why didn't you answer your phone when I called?" her mother blurted the moment she answered.

"I…"

"I got a call from the hospital, what's this about you fainting in the ER? Why were you in the ER in the first place? Are you all right?" she asked.

"Um…yeah. I…I guess I was just really tired and scared…I got too overwhelmed."

"Scared? About what?"

"Well, my roommate, Wednesday is hurt," Enid said, "and it's bad. It's why we were at the hospital in the first place."

"I'm sorry, honey," her mom said, "I hope she's OK."

"Me too. I'm really wor—"

"Listen," her mother cut her off, "the hospital also said you had pulled some stitches? What stitches? What did you do to yourself? You should've been more careful. Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?"

"Oh, it was nothing serious, just some scratches," Enid said, really wanting to call her out on the fact that she rarely let Enid get a word in and certainly didn't the last time they talked and how upsetting it was to put the blame on her. But calling out her mom on certain things rarely worked in Enid's favour and was always risky – one she wasn't willing to make at the moment, "I didn't want you to worry."

"Didn't want me to worry? Enid, what did you expect was going to happen when I had to find out from your teachers that the school was attacked, and from the hospital that you were injured? I don't know what's the matter with you and why you don't call me about these things. I'm your mother, you should be confiding in me. You couldn't even bother to tell me the good news about wolfing out. I swear, Enid, you're going to send me to an early grave by shutting me out making me worry like this. That's unacceptable."

Enid heard her dad in the background, "Esther honey, give her a break, the girl's going through a hard time, no need to make it worse."

"She's going through a hard time and I'm her mother. She should be telling us these things, Murray," she said to him. "Is there anything else I should know about?"

"No. Can I talk to Dad?" Enid asked.

"Here, I'll put you on speaker…"

Enid wanted to protest, she actually wanted to talk to her dad more privately, he would listen to her, but then she could tell that it was too late and she heard his voice, "Hey kiddo."

"Hi, Dad."

"Is there anything we can do to make you feel better, sweetheart?" he asked.

"No, I… I'm fine," Enid said.

"Make her feel better? I'm worried sick right now. You know what? We should go down there," her voice suddenly got loud, like she was talking directly into the phone, "Enid, we're catching the next flight to Vermont…"

"You don't have to do that!" Enid blurted. "I'm fine, honest. It was just some scratches, nothing serious, I promise just don't…" she scrambled to think of a good reason why they wouldn't want to come, "uh, the pack needs you more than I do right now. I'm fine, I swear, the doctor said I just need to rest, that's it. So, you don't have to worry, OK? But thank you."

"Nonsense," she said, "I'm your mother, you need me."

"I'm honestly OK, I've got a great support system here," Enid insisted, "and I've got a lot of homework. I promise I'll call later and keep you updated, but I am fine."

"If you're sure honey," her dad said.

"I am."

"Murray!"

"She's a big girl, we can trust her."

"After keeping such huge secrets from us?" her mom snapped, "No, we're coming and that's final."

Enid cringed as she blurted out her next words, "But what about my Wolfing Out Party? I'm sure you're really busy planning that!"

Normally, Enid loved parties, but she hated the idea of a party to celebrate something that turned out to be so traumatizing, but it was better than having them around during a time like this. It was the only thing she could think of that would give her mother a reason to stay home. Wolfing Out parties, which were thrown to celebrate a werewolf's first transformation, were a big deal, and wolfing out for the first time during a blood moon was an even bigger deal, and her mother loved throwing elaborate parties.

"Oh shoot, you're right. I suppose I can do some planning remotely…"

"And let Aunt Cecelia take over the party planning? Mom," Enid scoffed, "you know she would."

"Well, if you're sure you're all right I suppose maybe we should stay," her mother sighed. "I'm sorry I won't be there for you. Oh, if only I could be in two places at once!"

"It's OK. I'm fine. Oh, looks like the doctor's here, I gotta go!" Enid said, "I'll see you in a couple of weeks! Love you both!" She quickly disconnected before her mother could say anything or change her mind. There was no one coming, but it was the best excuse she had to end the call.

She balled her hand that wasn't tethered to an IV into a fist and forced herself to calm down. The monitor for her pulse was speeding up enough that the alarm was beeping. That was too close. If her parents came, no matter how well-meaning their intentions may have been, she probably would have had a mental breakdown. But now that meant there was no avoiding a huge party when she got home.

Her muscles tensed at the memory of wolfing out. Watching Tyler nearly murder Wednesday, the jarring sensation of her body contorting and shifting and then immediately having to fight for her and Wednesday's life before she had even a moment to adjust to her new body…

The thought of having a party to celebrate that horrific experience made her feel sick to her stomach.

Breathe in… breathe out…

Enid focused on allowing her body to relax as she focused on her breathing until the alarm on the monitor stopped and her pulse evened out. She closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep, but it was next to impossible from being interrupted when the nurse came to periodically check on her and a volunteer bringing her a tray of gross-looking food that vaguely resembled bacon, eggs and toast. Plus, she could not quiet her own anxiety, nor could she stop worrying about Wednesday and no one had any answers or updates on her condition or whether or not Enid could even see her. How could she possibly relax under these conditions?

Eventually, the IV bag with fluids was empty, triggering an alarm to alert the staff and a nurse entered.

"Hello Enid," the nurse said, "how are you feeling now?"

"Much better actually." That was a lie. She felt terrible, but at least she felt well enough that she wouldn't faint again which she couldn't say an hour ago. That had to count for something. "Am I allowed to leave now?"

"I see you haven't eaten anything yet," the nurse said as she removed the IV from her hand, "Dr. Tobin stressed that you don't leave until you have something to eat."

"It's cold."

"I know, hospital food is not the best, but if you could just eat the toast and juice, that's all we're asking for," the nurse said.

"Any word on whether I can see Wednesday?" Enid asked.

"I'm sorry what do you mean? Today's Wednesday…" Then she realized her mistake, "Oh! Your friend! Yes, Dr. Tobin and the deputy…Santiago I think her name is, said that you were to be updated. Last, I heard she was transferred to the ICU."

ICU? That sounded bad. "Is she going to be OK?"

"That I cannot tell you," she said apologetically, "but she is in good hands, I promise you that."

"So, can I see her?"

"Well, only immediate family is allowed to visit patients in the ICU…"

"Please! Her parents are driving in from New Jersey and they explicitly said that I wasn't to leave her side," Enid grabbed her phone and showed her the texts.

"I'm sorry, it's not my call," she said. "I'll be back to check on you shortly."

Enid let out a frustrated growl and tried to eat some of the cold food that had been given to her. The toast was dry and felt like cement in her stomach and she almost immediately wanted to throw it up, but she washed it down with orange juice and that seemed to help a little.

As far as Enid was concerned, she did her part. She talked to the police, she followed the doctor's orders, well, mostly, and so far, she had been patient despite the fact she wanted to throw a tantrum and scream at the top of her lungs until she could see Wednesday, or at least get an update on her condition. Was she going to be OK? Was she dying? Was she already dead? They had to tell her something. Knowing she was in the ICU, while it wasn't a surprise since she had stopped breathing, gave her no comfort and only added to her worry.

After about ten minutes Dr. Tobin came in and smiled, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Can I go now? And do you have any news on my friend?"

"Well everything seems to look good, you just need to promise me you'll take care of yourself and get some rest. I'm prescribing something for sleep and pain, and if you feel dizzy or nauseous, or overall not well, come back. Promise me?"

"Yeah. Any word about my friend Wednesday? I heard she was in the ICU. Is she going to be OK? Can I see her now?"

His face darkened ever so slightly, and Enid knew that he knew something and that it was grim.

"What is it?" Enid asked, her voice small.

"You must be a special young lady to have people willing to bend the rules for you," he said kindly, "Both Deputy Santiago and your friend's parents insisted that you get to see her. The problem is, since she is in the ICU currently, only family is allowed. However, the head nurse in that ward, Lorraine, she is going to make an exception for you but if anyone asks, you're her sister."

Enid wanted to hug him, but instead, all she said was, "Thank you."

After he said goodbye and left Enid was left to change so she could leave. She threw out her bloodstained pyjama top and tore off her hospital wristband and changed into her regular clothes and quietly left, feeling shaky and exhausted.

Her stomach churned. The toast and juice she had been told to eat was not sitting well and she left to find a bathroom where she ended up throwing it up. Hands shaking, she splashed water on her face and choked out a sob at her appearance in the mirror. She looked as bad as she felt. The scratches on her face were scabbed and bruised and the new bump on her head, just along her hairline was surrounded by an ugly yellow and purple bruise that she knew was going to look worse before it got better and her hair was a mess.

She finger-combed her hair as best as she could and tried to style it to make the scratches and bruising less noticeable but quickly gave up. It didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was finding Wednesday so she could be by her side like she had promised her and her parents.

Taking a deep, calming breath and shaking away some of the tension built up in her body, Enid headed for the ICU, apprehensive and terrified of what she will find out once she was reunited with Wednesday.