Not Alone

Enid never visited Eugene in the hospital.

They weren't close, he was more Wednesday's friend than hers – more of a friendly acquaintance – but still, she was concerned about him after he was attacked. She had considered joining Wednesday during one of her visits to show her support – not just for him but for Wednesday too. To the average person, Wednesday didn't seem all too affected by his condition for the most part, but Enid could see how much Wednesday had blamed herself. Plus, she visited him almost every day, which spoke volumes.

Enid always intended to be there and see him, but when it came down to it, Enid always had an excuse to not go. The truth was, Enid hated hospitals and she was scared. She was afraid to see him in his state, the very thought made her squirm. She hated to see people hurt and didn't think she could handle seeing him in the hospital lying in a coma. Maybe it was selfish, but it was the truth.

So, when Enid approached the ICU she suddenly felt weak in the knees and was tempted to turn around and leave but fought that instinct. Wednesday needed her. She promised that she would not leave her side and she was not going break that promise if she could help it, and now the only obstacle in her way was her own stupid anxiety.

You're such a disappointment…

She took a calming breath and kept going. She was determined not to let her anxiety control her, not when it came to Wednesday, so she forced herself to take one step after another, pushed her way through the big double doors and entered the ICU.

When the doors closed behind her, Enid's breath caught in her throat in anticipation. She hesitantly approached the nurse's station and said to the woman behind the counter, "Um, hi. I'm here to see Wednesday Addams? She's a patient here. Where can I find her?"

She barely regarded her as she typed something into the computer, "And your relation to her?"

Enid swallowed hard, "She's my um… she's my s-sister."

She looked her up and down and gave a skeptical scoff, "You?"

"I was adopted."

She didn't seem convinced, but then another woman with silver hair wearing magenta scrubs appeared from an office and said, "Are you Enid?"

"Yes."

"I'm Lorraine, the head nurse. Your parents said I should be expecting you," she said, giving her a secret wink. "Come with me." She led her into a room close to the station where there were four beds, two on each side of the room, with curtains for privacy. The three beds she could see were empty and the fourth one, in the corner by the window was hidden by the curtain that was closed just enough to create a wall between the two beds. "She's in there," Lorraine said, inviting Enid to walk ahead of her. "We're fortunately not busy so she gets the room to herself."

Enid timidly stepped forward until Wednesday came into view and she grabbed the chair at the foot of her bed for support at the sight of her, "Oh god…" she whimpered, moving in closer, wanting to take her hand, yet afraid to touch her in fear that she might break.

Despite knowing that her condition was serious and had already watched her knock on Death's door twice in under two days, somehow, she wasn't prepared to see Wednesday looking so fragile and small. She was so pale that she practically blended in with the white sheets and her long raven-coloured braids and dark circles under her eyes and odd flush to her cheeks created such a sharp contrast. She wore a white hospital gown that had various tubes and wires poking out and it was open over her shoulder, which was heavily bandaged. They had ice packs placed around her body and one on her head. Her arm was in a sling, her right hand bandaged with an IV attached to the vein on the inside of her elbow with a port that administered a clear liquid and another port connected to a bag of blood.

But what upset Enid the most was the tube sticking from her mouth, connected to a ventilator that was breathing for her, and the heart monitor that showed that her pulse was still way too fast and the monitor that showed her temperature was still way too high. There were also wires attached to her temples connected to another machine that she could only guess was monitoring her brain activity.

Lorraine pushed the visitor chair closer to her and Enid sat down. She cleared her throat, wanting to ask questions, but was unable to speak.

"I know it's alarming to see her that way," Lorraine said, "but it's necessary."

"Is she…" Enid swallowed hard, "is she going t-to be OK?"

"I'm sorry honey, we don't know. It's too soon to tell."

That was not the answer Enid wanted to hear and Enid suddenly forgot how to breathe.

"Currently, we have her in a medically induced coma while she's intubated. She is unable to breathe on her own right now; the infection in her shoulder had spread to her lungs and there was so much fluid built up she was practically drowning. We're concerned about her kidney function and how long her brain had gone without sufficient oxygen and the strain the blood loss had put on her heart. We've drained as much of the infection as we could from the wound and her lungs and we've given her antibiotics, but so far, she has not yet responded to any of the treatments we've given her…but we're hoping that…" Lorraine stopped, "breathe honey…"

But Enid couldn't breathe. She didn't know how. Instead, she found herself hyperventilating, it was all too much to take in. She leaned forward, clutching her head as she tried to remember how breathing worked. It was supposed to be simple, in and out, but she kept sucking in air without the release and the pressure only grew. She vaguely felt a hand on her back and heard Lorraine try to soothe and reassure her, but the sounds of the beeping and whooshing of air from the machines keeping Wednesday alive drowned her out.

You're such a disappointment…

It was a small tug at the hem of her pants that had Enid opening her eyes and she spotted Thing who was hiding under the bed. The sight of him helped anchor her and she exhaled and tried to collect herself.

"I…I…c-can I have s-some water?" Enid whispered.

"Right away, hun," Lorraine said.

As she heard the footsteps of the nurse leave, Enid reached out her hand and Thing wrapped his fingers around hers and they held each other tightly for a moment, which helped Enid calm down. When they heard Lorraine returning, Thing retreated back out of sight.

"Here you go," Lorraine said, handing her a cup of ice water, "I know, it's a lot to take in, isn't it?"

Enid drank some of the water, which helped wash away the foul taste in her mouth from throwing up, and set it on the swivel table by Wednesday's bed.

"Is she dying?" Enid asked, "Tell me honestly."

"Right now, we're doing everything we can to prevent that," Lorraine told her, "but, and I'm not going to sugarcoat this, but her condition is critical and life-threatening."

Enid whimpered, her eyes welling with tears.

"An injury like hers is serious, but there was no reason it should've escalated like this, why was she not brought into the hospital when the injury happened?"

Enid glared at her sharply. Even though Lorraine's tone was gentle and not accusing, her words were a slap to the face. "She didn't want to go. She downplayed it and…she was afraid… I don't think she trusts normies and she didn't want a transfusion…because…well, I don't understand it but she never wanted it." She glanced up at the bag of dark red liquid slowly draining into her veins.

"Her parents said to avoid it if possible, but it was necessary to save her life so they gave their blessing to proceed," Lorraine said. "She had lost a dangerous amount of blood and she was going into organ failure. It's a miracle she's lasted as long as she did without treatment. She's a fighter, and she's still fighting now. We're hoping that given the fact she's young and was healthy, that once we find a treatment that works, she'll pull through – so don't lose hope."

"I should've taken her as soon as I knew…" Enid lamented quietly.

"Yeah, but there's no use beating yourself up about it now, you can't change what's done. And you shouldn't blame yourself, hun. I get it, you're both young and there was no way you could've known it would've turned into something like this," Lorraine soothed. "It did progress unusually fast. You didn't know this would happen."

"So…what happens now? What if…what if this new treatment doesn't work?"

"They may have to do much more invasive surgery to remove infected tissue as a last resort," Lorraine said, "but they're hoping to not have to take such measures as she would permanently lose the use of her arm and it would leave her disfigured and given her vitals, the risks are high that she might not make it through surgery."

"She's a cellist, she would be devastated if she can't use her arm," Enid murmured.

"I assure you, the doctors are going to do everything they can to save her life and her ability to use her arm, but saving her life will always be the priority," Lorraine said.

"Yeah," Enid agreed, but she was saddened on Wednesday's behalf at the thought.

"I'm going to leave you two alone now, OK?" Lorraine said. "We do frequent checks, but if you need anything, just ask. And remember, if anyone else asks, she's your sister."

"Thanks," Enid said, genuinely grateful, but it did not reflect in her voice.

Once they were alone, Thing emerged from his hiding spot and Enid picked him up with both hands and pressed her forehead to his fingers, "Oh, Thing…" she cried, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

He wiped a tear from her eye and told her she had nothing to be sorry about.

Enid set him on the bed next to Wednesday and as he scurried over to perch on her right shoulder, Enid gently took her hand. Her fingers were surprisingly cold considering how high her fever was. "I feel like I should have done more, acted sooner, something."

Thing reminded her that it was thanks to Enid that Wednesday was still with them at all. He then gestured to the cotton ball taped to her hand where the IV had been, pointed to her forehead and asked if she was OK.

"Yeah… I'm fine," Enid took the tape off her hand, revealing a small bruise and puncture wound. "It was stupid. I hit my head and passed out."

He asked how it happened.

"I don't really want to talk about it right now," Enid said, her voice breaking. She never wanted to relive that moment she was almost arrested by someone who wished Wednesday dead and threatened to beat her for no good reason. "Is there anything that uh…Lorraine left out?"

Thing gestured that she pretty much said everything relevant.

Enid nodded wearily and glanced at Wednesday's face – at least the part that wasn't hiding behind the breathing tube and tape holding it in place. Her parents said she always looked half-dead, but they were wrong. Now she looked half-dead. If it weren't for the machines keeping her alive that seemed to make her look even smaller than she already was, she would've looked completely dead.

If – no, when, she recovered, Enid was going to do literally everything in her power to prevent having to ever see Wednesday on the brink of certain death ever again. Once was already too much, but this was almost worse. This time Goody apparently had no intention of saving her, unless for some reason she couldn't, but Enid silently begged her ghost to come back and save her again.

"I'm here, Wednesday," Enid said, gently squeezing her hand, hoping that somehow Wednesday could feel it and maybe it would give her comfort, "I'm here. I've got you. Me and Thing. You're not alone."

She had no idea if Wednesday could hear her, but Enid did not know what else to say or do. She could hardly believe that it was even real. Wednesday was one of the strongest people she knew, how could this have happened? How could things have gotten so bad, so unnaturally fast?

"Just hold on, OK? Please. We need you to get better. We need you. We're here…" she whispered, choking out a quiet sob, hoping that somehow she could get through to her because there was nothing else she could do.

~~W~F~A~~

A few hours later they kicked Enid out and told her that they had to run some more tests and suggested that she grab some lunch and come back in an hour. She didn't want to go, but she reluctantly did as they said. Knowing that Thing was not going to leave her side for any reason, helped.

Even though she knew she should eat something Enid wasn't hungry so she wandered to another part of the hospital onto a different floor.

She hesitated when she reached a set of doors to the wing where Eugene was staying. There was a lot she didn't really know yet about what all happened that night the school was attacked, but she did see Eugene there and guessed that he had something to do with the hundreds of stings on Thornhill's body. It was nice to see him up and about, but the last she heard was that he was not discharged from the hospital yet, so he had gone back.

Thanks to Wednesday, she knew where he was staying. Before she had left with Principal Weems for the train station after being expelled, she had encouraged her to go see him, saying that it would mean a lot to him, especially now that he was awake.

She felt like such a jerk for not visiting him. Hopefully, visiting him now might make up for it.

She headed into the ward and found his room and stepped in. He was in there with his moms, looking almost bored but when he saw her his eyes lit up.

"Enid! Wow, it's so good to see you!" he exclaimed, but then he really looked at her, "Are you OK? You look awful, I mean, not really, you look beautiful but…what I mean to say is, you look like…what happened? Are you OK?"

"Um…yeah," Enid said quietly, obviously lying but she didn't know what to say or even where to start.

"Moms, this is my friend Enid. She's the girl I've been telling you about. Wednesday's roommate," Eugene said, and Enid felt like even more of a jerk for not visiting him sooner. She had seen him as more of an acquaintance and he was telling his moms about her?

"Enid, we've heard so much about you," one of his moms said, "are you sure you're all right?" she gestured to her banged-up face.

"Oh, that's…nothing. It looks worse than it is. Just some scratches and bruises, nothing serious."

"How is Wednesday?" his other mom asked, "Eugene said that he was worried that she had been hurt in the attack?"

Enid's chin quivered as she tried to keep her composure. "Sh-she was."

"Is it bad?"

Enid nodded, "Yeah. It's really bad. She's in the ICU – her condition is critical."

"Is she going to be OK?" Eugene asked, his face fallen.

"I don't know. I'm really scared. They say it's…it's too soon to tell if…if she'll…" she couldn't finish her words but she also didn't need to. They knew what her next words were going to be and while Eugene seemed both shocked and scared, both of Eugene's moms reacted with pure concern and empathy. If anyone knew what Enid was going through, it was them. It wasn't too long ago they were in the same position with Eugene. Wednesday too.

After Wednesday found Eugene in the woods and he was taken to the hospital, she had arrived the next morning, still covered in red paint and Eugene's blood, looking like she wanted to break something. She said nothing except to say that she was fine, she paced her room, she typed furiously on her typewriter, trying and failing to act like she was fine, and continued to insist that she was fine. Except she still hadn't changed out of her Rave'n dress or washed up.

She was on edge the whole day and once she was done typing, after burning everything she had written, she went onto the balcony and played her cello until her fingers bled. It was only when it got so cold that she could see her breath that she came back inside, shivering and practically hypothermic.

By then Enid had enough and insisted she take a shower and change because she was freaking everyone out. And it was true. Wednesday had only snapped at her, saying something about how she liked this new look, and that she was going to wear it like a scarlet letter.

Eventually, Ms. Thornhill came in and said that the hospital had called and said that while he was in a coma and had a long road to recovery ahead of him, they expected that he would fully recover in time. That was when Wednesday finally calmed down, showered and changed and returned to her brand of normal.

It was the most emotional that Enid had ever seen her, though she could only imagine how she reacted when Thing was almost murdered.

"Not knowing is the hardest part," one of his moms said, "isn't it?"

Enid nodded.

"Wednesday is very special to us, we hope that she'll make a swift and full recovery," she said. "If there is anything we can do, and I mean anything, just say the word."

"Thanks."

"Hey moms, do you think you could give us a minute?" Eugene asked.

"Of course, sweetie," they said and they left, sparing them both a glance before closing the door behind them.

Once they were alone Enid leaned back on her heels. "So…" Eugene said.

"So…" Enid repeated.

There was a long awkward silence before Eugene said, "Don't be a stranger, have a seat."

Enid sat down on the chair next to him. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm OK. I am looking forward to getting out of here."

"How much longer are you stuck here, now that you're awake?"

"Maybe a few more days, and then I have to do lots of therapy to get my strength back," Eugene said, "but they said that I'm healing well and they're surprised with how well I've been recovering and said that I've exceeded expectations."

"That's great! I'm so glad you're OK now – well mostly OK."

"Thanks," he said, "although yesterday I really paid for my excursion the other night when I left to help Wednesday. I might've bought an extra day in here with that, which kind of sucks, but it was worth it."

"It was very brave of you to leave the hospital and do that."

"I had to. She's my best friend!"

"Mine too," Enid said.

"Kinda funny for someone who keeps saying she's not friend material that she has two best friends," Eugene chuckled, but then his face fell. "What happened to her?"

"I want to ask you the same thing," Enid said, "your text said you knew that she was hurt."

"Yeah. There was so much blood on her, and she seemed dizzy and like she was struggling to walk straight. I mean she said she was fine but I didn't really believe her. I had no idea it was so serious."

"I don't think she knew either, to be honest," Enid said. "Did you see what happened?"

"No. It took a lot of me convincing my mom to let me go and to drive me there, so I missed most of the action," Eugene explained, "But she was scared for Wednesday too and I was going anyway with or without her help."

Enid smiled at that.

"She made me promise to stay out of harm's way but by the time I got there the fight was pretty much over, I think. The fire seemed to be out at least, but then I saw Ms. Thornhill show up suddenly and she had a gun and threatened to shoot Wednesday."

Enid flinched at the mention of her name, and the revelation that she intended to shoot her, "Her name's actually Laurel Gates. She is an evil woman. I saw her this morning..."

"Really? Where?"

"She's here in the hospital in this private wing of the ER, I think it was in the ER. She's in police custody," Enid stiffened at the memory, but continued, "She was covered in bee stings. Was that you?"

'Yep," he said, proudly, "I made them attack her."

"I didn't know you could do that," Enid said.

Eugene shrugged, "It's not a power I like to use. I love my bees, I don't think it's right to control them, but they wanted to protect Wednesday too so I mostly guided them in the right direction."

"She took good care of them while you were…here."

Eugene smiled, "I believe it. She may seem like a grump, but she's a good friend where it counts."

"She is," Enid agreed, her eyes welling with tears. She couldn't lose her. She had to pull through or… Enid didn't know what she would do. She didn't think she could handle it.

"She visited me practically every day," he added.

"I'm sorry I didn't visit you," Enid said.

"It's OK. I wasn't exactly much company," he shrugged.

"Did you know? Or did people tell you?"

"What, that Wednesday visited me? Both."

"So…you heard her while you were in a coma?"

"Sometimes. I didn't always know what she was saying and I forgot most of it, I mean it's all kind of a blur, but I could feel her presence and I could tell when my moms were around. It was strange, but it was nice and I think it might've helped me, knowing I wasn't alone, you know? Why?"

"Wednesday's… she's… they have her in a medically induced coma, I just wanted to know if maybe she could hear me," Enid said.

Eugene swallowed hard, "It's really that bad?"

Enid nodded.

"Well, even if she can't hear you, she knows when you're there. I'm sure of it."

"What did it feel like? Being in a coma?"

"I'm not sure. I couldn't feel pain, but it was…strange, I guess. Like I said it's all a blur, but… you know when you're asleep and dreaming, but you're also…aware of it? And you're aware of what's going on around you but you aren't ready to wake up so it becomes part of what you're dreaming?"

"Kind of?"

"It's kind of like that, but not all the time," Eugene said. "So, what happened? What's wrong with Wednesday…besides…you know, being in a coma."

Enid told him what she knew, but didn't go into detail. Eugene looked really tired and she didn't want to worry him more than he already was and possibly hinder his recovery. She left out the part where she had been stabbed and then healed, and that she had stopped breathing and needed CPR, and that she hadn't been responding to treatment, so far. But she told him about the arrow and that the infection from the arrow wound was serious and spread quickly.

"Is it sepsis?"

"They never officially said, but I think so."

"Damn, that's awful," Eugene said, "people…people can die from that."

"I know, and I'm so scared," Enid whimpered, "and she had lost so much blood."

"She's one of the strongest people I know," Eugene sounded hopeful, but his eyes were distant with worry, "if anyone can beat something like that, it's her."

"I hope so," Enid murmured, balling her hands into fists as she tried not to think about how close Wednesday had already come to dying.

"When you find out more, will you let me know?" he asked.

"Of course."

"And will you promise me you'll take care of yourself too? You look exhausted," Eugene said.

"I can say the same about you," Enid replied.

"I get tired a lot right now," he admitted, "but I'm being well taken care of and I've been resting a lot. I'm kind of worried about you. You look like you're in a lot of pain."

"I'm a werewolf, we tend to heal fast. I'm OK. It looks worse than it is."

"How did it happen? Those scratches that is? I had to leave right away so I didn't really get the chance to see you after everything. I didn't even know you were hurt."

"I wolfed out," Enid replied, "and I fought the Hyde."

"Whoa, that must've been scary!"

"It was."

"I'm glad that you made it, but I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"I did it to protect Wednesday, so it was worth it."

Eugene smiled, "Yeah. I know what you mean."

"Anyway, you look like you're getting really tired, I think I should go and see if Wednesday's ready for visitors again. They had to do some tests but hopefully they're done now."

"I am tired, but I'm glad you came to visit. Tell Wednesday that I'm here for her too," Eugene said. "And take some honey with you. Honey has natural healing properties, so… it might help." He gestured to a shelf that had a few jars that Wednesday had harvested and given to him.

"Thanks, but I think she'll need a lot more than honey…"

"No, it's for you," Eugene said.

"Oh!" Enid exclaimed, "Um, thank you."

"But you can give some to Wednesday too if you want," he added, "when she's feeling better."

Enid smiled, wiping away some rogue tears, "Thank you. I will talk to you later?"

"I look forward to it," he smiled back.

Neither one of their smiles reached their eyes.

After Enid left she returned to the ICU but when she stepped into the right hallway, she froze. Alarms were going off and Enid watched as a bunch of nurses and doctors rushed into Wednesday's room. But if that wasn't terrifying enough, as they went in, someone else stepped out. Someone familiar. Officer Magnuson.

For a moment, she was frozen in place, but he spotted her and gave a crooked grin and everything about him screamed "danger". The look on his face had the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end and her claws instinctively came out.

Something was wrong with Wednesday, and he had literally just been in there.

The need to protect Wednesday overrode Enid's fears and she marched forward, "What's going on?" she demanded, her body trembling from both fear and rage. She was a werewolf, but he had all the power. He could assault her and arrest her again and make up any reason for it and this time no one was there to stop it and if she were to fight back to defend herself, it would only get her in more trouble.

Still, she positioned herself between the door to Wednesday's room and Officer Magnuson and stood her ground. She spared a quick glance inside but she couldn't see what was going on and she fought the urge to go in there. She would only be in the way, and she had a new mission at the moment.

"Seems to be some sort of seizure," he shrugged casually.

"What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," he smirked, glancing around the hallway and finding it empty before he added quietly, "yet."

Enid stiffened, "You touch her and I will…"

"You'll what? Are you threatening me? I can arrest you for that," he said with a wink, reaching for his baton to tap the ring on his finger against it, sending shivers down her spine. "It would be my word against yours, who do you think they'll believe?"

"Stay away from her," Enid warned her voice low.

"I'm just doing my job," he held his hands up, "and I think I got what I wanted. For now." He leaned in uncomfortably close, "You might want to be careful. There are dangerous people out there who have it in for outcasts you know." He grinned, reaching his hand to the bump on her forehead but she flinched, backing up a step. He shook his head with an amused chuckle and walked away, lightly shoving her aside. She stumbled back into the door frame of Wednesday's room, her heart pounding and body shaking from adrenaline as she watched him leave.

She then turned her attention towards Wednesday, grabbing the door frame for support as the small team of doctors and nurses looked after her.

The moment that she was allowed, Enid didn't hesitate to return to Wednesday's side. She looked the same as before, though she had fresh bandages on her shoulder and hand, and her hair was a little more dishevelled. One of the nurses explained that she had a seizure but she was stable now, but the latest tests showed that her condition overall had not improved. While she wasn't getting worse, aside from the seizure, she was not responding to treatment and surgery was becoming more likely.

Enid took in their words, but she was in such a daze and overwhelmed that none of it truly registered. She sat down, unable to stand and lightly placed her trembling hand on Wednesday's and closed her eyes, holding back tears.

When the coast was clear Thing emerged from his hiding spot behind some equipment, resuming his vigil at Wednesday's side.

"What did he do?" Enid whispered, between her fear for Wednesday, her anxiety and her determination to keep Wednesday safe had her on the edge, and Enid wasn't sure she could come down.

Thing said that he didn't do anything but apparently take a couple of pictures of her injuries for their police investigation. But he must've gotten close and may have touched her or brushed against her and somehow triggered a vision.

"So, it was a vision, not a seizure?"

Thing seemed pretty sure.

"And he did nothing that might have…" Enid hesitated, "caused her any harm?"

Thing said that he hadn't as far as he could tell and asked her what was wrong.

Enid squeezed her eyes shut as she touched the bump on her forehead from her first encounter with Officer Magnuson and she relived that moment in her mind. She firmly believed that if Santiago didn't show up when she did, he would've beaten her, and she could hear his voice in her head clear as day.

I hope your friend doesn't make it.

Maybe she was being paranoid. Maybe he was just some outcast hater who took some sick pleasure in messing with her with his thinly veiled threats and had no intention of actually acting on them. But either way, she had good reason to be afraid of him and did not want to take any chances. And if Wednesday had a vision while in contact with him, that had to say something. As far as Enid knew, Wednesday's visions weren't random – assuming it was a vision and not a seizure. And she wasn't sure which was worse.

Even if Enid's instincts about him were wrong, it didn't change the fact that Laurel and Tyler weren't working alone. Who was to say that her accomplices weren't already planning to finish what she started? And how many people were actually involved in Laurel's scheme?

She glanced at Wednesday's comatose form, feeling sick to her stomach, hating to see her so vulnerable and helpless and so uncharacteristically fragile. She wondered, if Wednesday did have a vision then what did she see?

"I don't think Wednesday is safe here."