Not Alone

“Mother?” Wednesday’s voice could barely make a sound, and the word came out scratchy and hoarse but it was also the sweetest sound Morticia could hear. 

Wednesday blinked heavily, a deep wince crossed her face. Morticia took her hand and maybe in her confused and groggy state she didn’t notice but she didn’t resist. Though there was still so much uncertainty, Morticia’s heart was full of joy with the small, yet monumental, victory.  Wednesday remembered her.  She remembered her!

“I’m here, darling,” she said with a relieved sigh. There was still such a long road ahead, but now she knew that the curse didn’t completely destroy her mind.  She was still in there.  Wednesday recognized them when she hadn’t before and that was a start.

“Father?” she whispered hoarsely. 

“Hey Storm Cloud,” he said, his voice breaking. “Welcome back.”

“What…” her barely-there voice trailed off, she tried to clear her throat but it seemed to cause her pain and when she tried to talk again no sound could come out.

“Don’t try to talk,” Morticia said, “they said your vocal cords were injured…but you’ll heal.”  She wasn’t sure how much to tell her.  Already she was starting to look overwhelmed by everything.  She didn’t know what Wednesday did or didn’t know or remember about her ordeal and didn’t want to accidentally say something that might trigger another panic attack.  Morticia never thought that would be something she would be concerned about with Wednesday but the one she had the last time she woke up still haunted her. 

This new unchartered territory of figuring out what their new normal was going to be in the foreseeable future and how to navigate it was going to be a challenge.

Wednesday blinked heavily, appearing to be fighting the pull of sleep.  She winced as she tried to make sense of her surroundings and furrowed her brow confused and anxious. Her heart rate increased and she seemed to be getting more and more agitated.  Morticia felt her fingers twitching and she gently squeezed Wednesday’s hand and Wednesday squeezed back.  She whimpered in distress.

“It’s all right Wednesday,” Morticia soothed, gently cupping her hand on her still-burning cheek.  Her fever still ran hot, not dangerously high, but still teetering on that edge. “You’re safe.”

“Don’t try to talk, just nod your head, yes or no, do you remember what happened?” Gomez asked softly.

She weakly nodded but then frowned, unsure and shook her head, scrunching her face as though in pain.  Morticia felt her hand trying to move so she let go and watched as she weakly attempted to sign in Thing’s unique language.  The cut on her hand was healing, but it was clear she was having trouble moving her fingers and she didn’t have the same range of motion to communicate as Thing did so it was hard to understand her but they watched her sign the words ‘stabbed’ and ‘dying’.

“Do you remember the arrow?” Morticia asked, curiously. 

Wednesday’s eyes widened and she signed that she meant to say ‘arrow’ and then her hand dropped and she was visibly exhausted from the effort. She took a wheezy breath and then signed the words ‘what happened’ and then it was clear she had reached the end of her endurance.

Gomez and Morticia exchanged glances, neither were sure how to answer that or where to begin.  Wednesday was somewhat lucid but still not quite herself.  She was clearly still out of it but with the added layer of fear in her eyes.  That look was so new and foreign coming from Wednesday and they still weren’t sure how to deal with it.  Did she remember what happened to her?  Maybe she remembered it as a dream. Ideally, she wouldn’t remember it at all.   Since she didn’t appear to remember, at least not in this moment, Morticia didn’t want to remind her.

“Your arrow wound got infected,” Morticia explained softly, “it was bad.  You’ve been seriously ill, but you’re getting better.  The worst is over, darling.”

She frowned confused, looking like she was trying to concentrate on remembering, but she also looked like she was in pain.  Her eyes took on a similarly haunted look as before and her brief moments of lucidity seemed to be fading.

“The worst is over,” she said again.

Her troubled and terrified eyes locked on hers and she opened her mouth to speak and seemed confused about why her voice didn’t work. Like she had already forgotten. The recognition in her eyes shifted to wariness and distrust.  Her body seemed to tense as she squeezed her eyes shut and her lips moved as though silently mumbling to herself.

“You’re safe, darling, you’re safe,” Morticia soothed, watching with sadness as she was no longer mentally present, but lost somewhere else entirely. Morticia gently cupped her hand over the side of her head and stroked her cheek with her thumb, something she used to do when Wednesday was little, hoping that it would give her comfort as her mind slipped away from them. 

She glanced up as Enid and Pugsley entered.  Enid’s face was damp and red from crying but she rushed up to them, hobbling to Wednesday’s side. 

Enid sniffed, quickly wiping away her excess tears before leaning over, trying to get Wednesday’s attention.  “Wednesday?” she said, “It’s me, you’re safe.”

Wednesday glanced at her and her demeanour shifted as her eyes widened with recognition and tried to reach for her but she didn’t appear to have the strength so Enid grabbed her hand and held it to her cheek.

“You’re safe.”

Morticia took a step back to give her room and watched as she tried to say something to Enid but no sound came out except a few wheezy breaths.  She wasn’t sure what she was trying to say but Enid knew.

“No, no, you are out,” she soothed, “me and your family got you out.  You’re out.  You’re safe. It’s not going to hurt you anymore, remember?  It’s gone.” Enid glanced at Morticia when she said that, desperate for confirmation that she was not lying but none of them knew for certain. “Remember Wednesday?  We trapped it.  We found a way out.”

Wednesday blinked sluggishly and warily glanced back at Morticia, then Gomez, then Pugsley with confusion and back at Enid again.

“Me and your family.  You remember them, right?  They helped protect us…” an expression crossed her face that suggested she just had an idea and she glanced around the room, “Where’s the necklace?” Enid asked them.

Morticia nodded and grabbed her bag pulling out the silver and obsidian ‘W’ necklace, handing it to her.

“Remember this?” she held the chain but placed the pendant in Wednesday’s hand, holding her hand up for her to see it.  Wednesday looked at it curiously and then nodded.  Enid smiled, releasing a soft sigh, “It protected us, because of them.”

She glanced at them again and let out a soft, raspy whisper, “Mother, Father…” She looked at Pugsley and had a look of concentration on her face as she seemed to struggle to remember his name.

“It’s me,” he said, “Pugsley.  Remember me, sis?”

She nodded as a tear fell down her cheek and mouthed his name.

“Really?” he perked up.  There was something so bittersweet about the exchange.

Enid curled Wednesday’s fingers around the pendant and impulsively kissed her hand, lowering it to her side, “See? You’re out,” she repeated.  “We got you out.”

Having reached the end of her endurance Wednesday closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep as Enid soothed her.  Once her breathing and heart rate slowed down Enid breathed a shaky sigh.

“She remembered us,” Gomez said quietly.

“Sort of,” Pugsley said, not taking his eyes off his sleeping sister.

“But it’s a start,” he assured him, “it’s a start. Our Viper is still in there.”

Morticia heaved a weary sigh, full of relief and concern, she leaned over and kissed Wednesday’s burning forehead, “Indeed she is.”

“But she also remembers the mindscape,” Enid said timidly, “she thinks she’s still there.  Or she did…”

“But you helped her back,” Morticia offered. “She remembered Gomez and me briefly when she first woke, but it didn’t last long.  But she remembered you, she knows you from her reality in the mindscape and this one, and you helped her remember us again. I think you’re the key to helping her mind heal.”

Enid choked out a sob.

“Enid?  Dear? What’s the matter?” Morticia asked and it only then clicked that she had been crying before she came in.  She was still so exhausted it didn’t take much for her to cry, but this felt different.  This wasn’t from the understandable stress and worry and nightmares that had been plaguing her, this was something else. 

“I um…” her voice broke, “I…talked with m-my mom and…I’m sorry….I’m so sorry…I…I…” Morticia could see the tension in her shoulders build as she struggled to take a proper breath.  She gulped in air, but couldn’t seem to exhale fast enough.  “I c-can’t stay…” she cried, squeezing her eyes closed, trying to calm herself but she was hyperventilating.

“It’s all right,” Morticia soothed, pulling her into her arms as she fell into an anxiety attack, “breathe darling.” She urged her to sit and knelt in front of her, trying to meet her eyes. 

Enid’s words echoed in the back of her mind, concerned about what she meant.  If she had to leave then how would it affect Wednesday’s progress? But at the same time, that was a lot of pressure to put on Enid.  And if her mother wanted her to fly back home, which was the most likely scenario, it was not Enid’s fault or in her control.  But Morticia wasn’t going to ask her to elaborate until she was calm.

“I…I…” she tried.

“Whatever happened, I’m sure we can work something out. Just breathe. Deep and slow. You’ll be all right…”

“Y-you don’t understand…” she choked out.

“Shh,” Morticia soothed, “just breathe…”

Enid nodded and closed her eyes, shakily trying to focus on her breathing.  When she calmed enough to speak she said, “My mom told me I’m coming home.  Now that classes are cancelled for the rest of the term… So far, I had been able to convince her to let me stay but not anymore… she said that my plane leaves first thing tomorrow morning and I have to be at the airport by 6 AM.”

Morticia glanced at Gomez, not thrilled about the news. Every time Enid spoke of her mother her demeanour would change.  Ever since the ritual exhausted and anxious became Enid’s baseline, but Enid’s mother always seemed to make it worse.  She didn’t fully know why her mother stressed her out so much, though she had an inkling based on their few brief interactions, but it broke Morticia’s heart to see.

“It’s OK, darling,” Morticia soothed, “I will talk to her.”

“They already bought the ticket though… and I’ve tried…”

“I’ll talk to her.”

“Really?”

“Of course.  Anything for you Enid, you’re family.”

Enid’s eyes watered anew and her chin quivered, “Really?”

“Yes,” she said.  She thought it was a given by now and not just something they said so Enid could visit Wednesday.  “After everything you’ve done for this family?  You’ve earned your place and then some.”

She threw her arms around her and sobbed into her shoulder. Morticia held her and rocked her gently. “What if you can’t convince her?”

“We could always kidnap you,” Gomez offered with a casual shrug like it was the most obvious solution. 

Enid chuckled lightly as she cried and it calmed her enough to sniff and wipe her eyes, “I don’t think she’d like that.  She might send the pack to go after you.”

“Then I say bring it on,” Gomez said with a wicked grin, his eyes lit up at the thought.

“Yes well, as much as I would love to go to war with a pack of werewolves, I don’t think that would be prudent given our situation,” Morticia said with an amused grin, “I think an alliance would be the best strategy. But I will talk to her.  If I can’t convince her to let you stay, then I guess there won’t be much else we can do...”

“But I don’t want to go, and what about Wednesday?  She needs me!  And I…” her voice trailed off a moment and she quietly added, “I need her…to be OK.  I need her to be OK.”

Morticia knew she was trying to cover up the obvious truth that Enid did need her.  They needed each other. 

“We’re her family.  She remembers you, but she’s on her way to remembering us, too.  We’ll manage.  She’ll get through this.  We all will.”

“But…” Enid looked down at her body, “Mom doesn’t know about my injuries.  She would’ve never let me stay if she knew… I was hoping that my werewolf genes would’ve helped me heal before she saw me.”

Morticia inwardly winced at that.  Most of her visible bruises and scratches had healed, though there were some lines on her face from the Hyde that still left thin marks, and her broken ankle was still going to take a bit more time.  Not as long as a regular human, but she still wasn’t there yet.  If she could only sleep more than two hours at a time maybe she would’ve healed faster.

Enid’s eyes widened and her breathing picked up again, “She’s going to know I lied…she might not let me come back… I…”

“Shh, it’s OK dear.”

“She’ll never forgive me…I’m on thin ice with her as it is…”

“I’ll talk to her,” Morticia said.  She didn’t condone lying, but from all the bits and pieces she got from Enid about their relationship, she also didn’t blame Enid either.

“I’m with Dad, we should just kidnap her,” Pugsley said.

“Let’s see what I can do before we resort to another felony, all right dears?” Morticia said.  “Plus, we don’t need another blood feud on our hands.  That horrible Laurel Gates woman and her followers are bad enough.”

“Wait…you guys were serious?” Enid asked.

They glanced at each other and shrugged.  That sort of thing usually was just part of their collective sense of humour, but when brainstorming a solution to a problem, no suggestion was completely off the table.  Sometimes the more extreme solution was the best solution.  Morticia was just glad to see that Wednesday’s small progress was lifting their spirits enough to joke again, though Enid’s predicament was going to be a challenge.

“I’ll talk to your mother,” Morticia said, “and in the meantime, maybe you should try and get some rest.  You need sleep, dear.  It will help with your healing.”

 Enid let out a short, frantic laugh, “I doubt sleep is going to heal my ankle overnight.”

“No,” Morticia agreed, “but it will help” She gathered Enid’s mother’s phone number and sparing Wednesday’s sleeping form a glance as Enid sat beside her and folded her arms over the rail of the bed and rested her head. Morticia placed a gentle hand on Enid’s shoulder before stepping out to make the call.

~~W~F~A~~

Three days.  Morticia had bought Enid three more days to spend in Jericho with Wednesday.  She had hoped to get more time but just getting three days was a challenge.  It took Morticia offering to pay for Enid’s unused plane ticket and buying her a new one and assuring her that Enid was under their protection and perfectly safe despite Laurel being out there somewhere to get Enid’s mother to reluctantly agree. Morticia said she had heard a man’s voice, presumably, her father quietly ask her to just let Enid stay with her sick friend a little longer.

Enid was grateful for her father intervening. He didn’t say much, but when he did it was usually to support or quietly defend her in his own way. 

For the rest of the evening and for most of the first day Wednesday drifted in and out of consciousness.  Sometimes, she had brief moments of semi-lucidity, where she seemed to remember them, but it took effort and it wouldn’t last long. More often than not she would drift back into a similar state as she was in the mindscape, lost, timid and terrified, only able to vaguely remember Enid as a source of comfort. Sometimes Enid was able to pull her back to reality before she drifted back to sleep, sometimes she fell asleep not knowing who they were.

Her fever had spiked that afternoon, once again reaching dangerous temperatures and more fluid was building in her lungs.  She seemed to be on the brink of a relapse but late that evening she improved again, her fever went down and they were able to drain the fluid in her lungs without incident.

It was late that night when Wednesday once again woke up. 

Enid and Pugsley were with her.  Pugsley was sound asleep on one of the chairs and Enid, having once again failed to sleep longer than an hour or two before the nightmares came was awake, keeping vigil at Wednesday’s side, the sound of her laboured breathing was painful to listen to and Enid was scared.  Scared that her fever would get worse again, scared that she wouldn’t get better, scared that she would never truly escape the mindscape and her mind was irrevocably broken and those brief semi-lucid moments were the best they could hope for.

But a soft groan next to her, one that vaguely sounded like the word, “Goody” drew Enid’s attention and she watched Wednesday’s eyes flutter and then open and blink sluggishly as she scanned the room with curiosity, seemingly taking note of the state of her body, the IV, her arm in the sling, the various tubes and wires poking out from under her white hospital gown. Finally, her eyes rested on Enid. She was groggy and confused, but her eyes were the clearest they had been since the whole ordeal started. 

“Enid?” she whispered, her voice hoarse and barely there. She seemed surprised by that and frowned as she swallowed, painfully trying to clear her throat.

“Wednesday…” Enid breathed, sighing with relief to see her looking like her normal, grumpy self, albeit extremely confused.  “It’s good to see you awake, awake.  How are you feeling?”

Her eyes fluttered as she tried to assess, she looked like she was in pain.  Thing gave her uninjured shoulder a light squeeze and she blinked at him and groaned, “It…why does it hurt to breathe?  What happened? Why can’t I move...?”

“How much do you remember?” Enid asked, needing to lean in to hear her.

She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head slightly, “Um… I was uh…stabbed in the stom…n-no uh, shot with an arrow…shoulder…” She swallowed painfully, “I… I stitched it…”

“Yeah.  And it got infected, like severely infected.  Do you remember that?”

Wednesday hesitated.  She looked like she was struggling to stay awake, “Um…vaguely. I…I remember that I um…” she winced, rocking her head, “told you no hospital…so why…’m I here?”

“Because the infection got that bad.  I had no choice.”

“I’m….fine…would’ve been fine without…”

Enid laughed nervously, the last couple of weeks flashing before her eyes, “No, you wouldn’t have.  You…” she paused, not sure how much to tell her when she just woke up. Sure, she was more like herself than she had been since waking from her coma, but it was still a delicate balance and she was afraid to trigger something that would shatter her fragile mind, “you stopped breathing, I had to give you CPR…”

“You broke my ribs?” she winced.  “Feels like something’s…broken when I…breathe.”

“I’m sorry,” Enid whimpered with sympathy, “but it saved your life.” 

“OK but I… told you not to… take me here,” her voice was soft and hoarse, barely audible and she was struggling to breathe, needing to pause to take a laboured breath every few words which took away the grumpiness she was trying to convey.  She closed her eyes and made a face as she tried to get up, but barely moved an inch before she collapsed in the pillow with exhaustion.  “Get me out of here…”

“You are in no condition to leave,” Enid said, "it's bad."

“Try…me,” she mumbled wearily, blinking heavily.  “They didn’t give me…a transfusion, did they?”

“You lost too much blood, they had to.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, disappointment clear on her face. She shook her head slightly, “No…I t-told you…”

“Wednesday…” Enid soothed, “they had no choice.  You were dying…”

“Should’ve let me…die then…”

Enid was taken aback, and flashes of waking up from the ritual just in time to see the doctors call her time of death consumed her.  “I don’t think you understand…”

“No…you don’t under…” she gasped for breath, “understand.”

 “I think I do,” Enid said, closing her eyes only to see the doctors trying to shock Wednesday back to life, watching as black fog and smoke crept into her psyche. “You’re afraid to lose your connection with your ancestors.” She opened her eyes, locking them with Wednesday who seemed surprised and nodded to Enid that she was right.  “Your parents told me.  It’s just a superstition.”

Wednesday looked like she was struggling to keep her eyes open, she was clearly in a lot of pain.  She winced as she muttered, “You called…my parents?”

“They called me…well, you.  Your mom had a vision that night and was worried.  They’re here, well, your mom and dad are getting some rest at the hotel but look,” she motioned to Pugsley who was still asleep.

“Pugsley?” she murmured. 

Enid couldn’t help but smile.  She remembered her family, she remembered her brother’s name without effort.  She seemed to remember everything up until she was taken to the hospital, which was a good sign.  Maybe it meant that the worst was truly behind them and she would forget the decades of torture she endured in her mind.  And with a bizarre pang of sadness, Enid thought that maybe that meant that Wednesday didn’t need her anymore.  But that would be a good thing so she inwardly scolded herself for indulging in that feeling for even a moment.  Enid was going home soon, Wednesday needed to heal without her.  “Yeah.”

Wednesday grimaced with pain, flinching slightly, looking troubled.  She weakly clutched her chest with her right hand.

“So much has happened,” Enid explained, still not sure how much to tell her.  “How are you feeling?  Do you need me to get the nurse?”

“Never…should’ve brought me…here,” she muttered breathlessly.

“You would’ve died if I hadn’t,” Enid said softly. “Wednesday, you… you’ve been seriously sick, you stopped breathing, you’ve been intubated and in a coma for almost two weeks.”

Wednesday gave her a sharp, incredulous look.

“You’ve been running a dangerously high fever, it’s still high, the infection spread through your body…you almost – no, you actually died.” Enid whimpered, feeling like maybe she said too much, not wanting to overwhelm her but she needed Wednesday to understand that she truly had no choice.  Wednesday was very clear about her insistence to not go to a hospital and just as she felt then when she had called the ambulance, Enid suddenly felt that she betrayed her, even though the decision literally helped save her life.

Wednesday stared off past her at nothing in particular, seemingly taking it in.

“They called your time of death and everything,” Enid continued, her eyes stinging with tears from the horrible memory.  “You almost lost your arm, you had multiple seizures and you were going into organ failure…” She tried to reign it in, but the exhaustion and nightmare of the last few weeks consumed her, despite her relief at seeing Wednesday awake and sane and she started to cry.

“S-sepsis?” Wednesday guessed quietly, her barely-there voice was fading.

“Something like that,” Enid said, “only…only it was much worse than that…”

Wednesday seemed to let it sink in and looked at her arm and then at Thing and back at Enid.  “H-how? What...made it...worse?” she whispered, her breath hitched and she closed her eyes in pain. Her heart rate was increasing and she clutched her chest tighter.

“Don’t worry about that right now,” Enid soothed, “you look like you’re hurting, I’m going to get Gina – she’s your primary night nurse.”

“D-don’t…” she murmured, her soft, hoarse voice sounded desperate.

“I’ll be right back…”

She blindly grabbed Enid’s arm, her grip was weak but Enid could tell she was holding on for dear life.  “S-something’s…wrong…”

“What?  What is it?”

She shook her head slightly, her pale and gaunt face seemed to get even paler.  “Don’t know… It’s like….” She gasped for breath, “why do I…feel like…s-something’s on my ch-chest…” her eyes watered, “feel…trapped like…can’t move…”

“Your body has been through a lot,” Enid soothed, trying not to let her worry show too much. “You’re still very sick.  It will take time for you to get your strength back.”

“No…it’s… get me out of h-here,” she wheezed, wildly looking around the room at her surroundings, “please…”

“I’m sorry,” Enid murmured, “you’re still very sick. You almost relapsed this afternoon, I’m sorry.  I know you never wanted to be here but… we almost lost you.”

“I…I can’t…stay here,” she looked Enid in the eyes, her grip on her sanity was fading.

“It’s OK,” Enid soothed, “you’re safe.”

“N-no…” she choked out softly.

“You’re out... you’re safe.  We got you out, remember?”

“Wh-what’re you…talking about? Out?”

Enid was taken aback but relieved that she didn’t seem to remember the Mindscape, at least not this time around.  Maybe it was best not to tell her, at least not now.  “You’re safe here, they’ve been taking good care of you and you’re still so sick… I know you want to get out of here, but you’re not in any condition to leave just yet.”

“Why do I… feel like there’s…s-something y-you’re not…telling me?” she gasped.

“When you’re better I will tell you everything, but I’m getting the nurse, OK?” Enid said, looking her in the eyes.  Wednesday made a soft sound of pain and panic, tightening her grip on Enid’s arm.  Enid decided to take her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Don’t go…” she mumbled, her voice desperate and strained. She was now looking at something just past Enid’s shoulder. 

“I’ll be right back,” Enid promised, “Pugsley…” she turned to call him and then said softly, “You won’t be alone.  Pugsley, wake up, she’s awake!”

He slowly stirred but the moment it registered that Wednesday was awake he jumped up and hurried to their side, “Hey sis,” he said carefully. “Do you uh, remember me?”

Wednesday frowned and nodded, “Of course I do… why wouldn’t I?” she looked at Enid again as though seeking an explanation.  Enid was just glad she was still lucid, even if she was beginning to panic again.  This seemed different.

“Your um, memory was kind of fuzzy for a while,” Enid said.

Pugsley grinned, “You’re back!  I was so worried it wouldn’t be you anymore!”

“Why…w-wouldn’t I be…me?” she seemed more confused and that only fueled her quiet panic, her heart beating faster as she struggled to breathe and it wasn't clear how much of that struggle was from her anxiousness and how much was from her weakened lungs.

“It’s a long story,” Pugsley said, “we’ll tell you all about it later, I’m just happy to see you finally awake, awake, sis.”  Pugsley looked at Enid, torn between happy and worried because of how Wednesday seemed to be in distress and in pain and clearly trying to get control of herself despite her confusion and fragile state.

“I’ll be right back,” Enid promised, giving Wednesday’s hand a squeeze before reluctantly letting go to get Nurse Gina.  She spared Wednesday an apologetic and reassuring glance when Wednesday’s weak voice tried to call her back.  Leaving her side, even if it was just for a moment, especially in her current state, it physically hurt. 

She tried to reassure herself.  It was bad, but there was still progress.  Wednesday was showing signs of her mind improving.  Sure, she was not even close to being back to normal, still struggling to put the pieces together, still uncharacteristically anxious and panicked, something they said was common in coma and ICU patients – even if they never showed signs of being anxious before, but it was a good sign.

The most important thing, the one thing that Enid held onto was that she was not the broken thing from the Mindscape, she was Wednesday. It was a struggle, but the Wednesday they knew was finding her way back to them.  Twice now she woke up and remembered who she was, she remembered who her family was and she thankfully, at least for now, did not remember the cursed entity that tortured her for decades and nearly destroyed her body, mind and soul. 

Hopefully, she would never remember. 

But considering how much it still affected Enid, she feared that it would come crashing back to her and when it did, Enid wouldn’t be there to guide her back to herself and to reality.

She only had two days left before she had to leave.

Enid blinked back tears at the thought.

She was just going to have to make the most of the time they had left together.