Veritas Vos Liberabit

[Georgia]

I loved it.

Aden is the most amazing boyfriend.

But I feel so sorry for Belle, and for Aden as well, because I know that it isn't going to end well

The interaction between Aden and Annie, and Amanda and Belle, had me in tears.

Update soon

Georgia

x

[sephy]

I read most of this chapter last night, but now, reading it again and whole, I have no words to say. The whole chapter was just so insightful, and so, so, so sad! I think I was near tears about 3 times, and actually in tears 2 more times. It was the scene with Amanda and Annie that just made them spill over. I cannot believe how you managed to make it work so well, and make it hit hard when on the show, there have hardly been any [recent] interaction between these two pairs. Brilliant! I really feel for Aden, which is weird because it's Belle who is ill. I guess knowing that she doesn't end up all well makes it easier to handle. I just really want to know how Aden kills her, and goes down with a murder charge. It's so clear that his heart is breaking at even the sight of her being in pain, so I can't imagine him hurting her at all. I still have no idea how it's going to end for Belle, but I can't wait to read it! Please update soon once again.

[Red Ranger 1]

Great update, I liked the characterisation of Amanda and Annie as well.Really looking forward to seeing how you manage to take this downhill...

[Lise]

That was amazing. I loved every word of it.

Aden is the sweetest boyfriend ever but I feel for him not being able to do anything. I liked Amanda - it's good that Irene rung her. Poor Annie, too but I'm surprised no-one thought of looking for her there.

I'm the same as Naomi - I want to say that I hope Belle's ok but obviously she's not and she wont be getting better.

[Taniya_K]

Thank you, once again, for the lovely comments. Sorry that I can't make Belle better, but it is the whole premise for the fic I hope this chappie lived up to the expectations. Sorry in advance for the length of it.

Thankies to Naomi for proofing it for me, and finally giving me enough confidence to post it.

Chapter 6

“Yes, I’m sure, Matilda. It’s fine.” Belle sighed through the phone from her hospital bed. “No, I mean it. I’m really fine. I’m getting better.”

Matilda continued to argue with her across the phone and, technically, from across the country. Keeping her mouth shut except to hum a few agreeing or disagreeing murmurs, Belle tried to ride out the pain that coursed through her body suddenly. She heard the door open just as she tilted her head back against the pillows to close her eyes. Without even opening them, she could tell by the gentle footfall and careful shutting of the door that it was Aden.

“No, they haven’t said when. Just that it should be soon.” Belle replied in answer to her best friend’s question as to when she should be going home only to receive more argument from her. “I know it’s been a week already, but like I said, it takes time, and I’m getting better. They did another scan today to check.”

The sound of metal scraping against linoleum grabbed Belle’s attention. She didn’t need to open her eyes to know that Aden was sitting in the chair next to her bed, staring at her with incredulity and annoyance at her words. She felt a hand rest upon her leg regardless, and Belle slowly inched the hand with the dialysis tube connected to it to lay atop of it.

“I dunno. Rachel said she’d let me know as soon as possible.” She carried on, feeling a small headache coming on, though she was sure the cause of it was more due to the tension of the conversation and situation than anything else. “I know, Mattie. But really, I’m fine. There’s no point in messing up your university life for it. I’ll see you soon, anyway. The holidays are in a month.”

More argument met her statement, and Belle wondered whether it was worth trying to comfort Matilda anymore. She was trying to focus her mind on something else, but she knew that if she began to will the pain away, it would let something on to both the girl on the phone and the boy next to her.

“Yeah, I will. You’ll be the first I’ll call when I get home, alright?” Belle assured her best friend. It seemed to make her give up on the insistence that she wanted to be there. Instead, a few jokes followed with light-hearted conversation like they had been use to having over the phone ever since Matilda had left for Perth. “Don’t worry about that. Trust me when I say Mum’s got all that covered. Plus, there’s this really hot nurse who work here on the night shift. And I mean really hot. He’s got to be the hottest guy I’ve ever seen, and the fact that he’s a nurse just makes him that much more sexier.”

She knew that the burning feeling that she felt to the side of her head were Aden’s eyes on her, but she also knew that it wasn’t only due to the fact that she was teasing him with what she was telling Matilda. It was more to do with the fact that what she had just told her wasn’t matching with what she was doing, as her hand slipped away from his to search for the little control next to her that would supply her with a minimal amount of morphine to help handle her pain at the push of a button.

“He is, Mattie. I’m telling the truth.” Belle laughed lightly, already feeling the effect of the painkiller in her body as the throbbing pain dulled to a little ache. She knew from experience that it would only last for about 20 minutes or so before the pain began to work up again until another 2 hours where she could have some more of the drug. “Yeah, he’s right here, why?” She opened her eyes to a crack to peer down at where Aden still sat, eyes focused on where he picked at the edge of the blanket that was covering her with a subtle frown on his face. “Yep, no worries. I’ll talk to you later then. Give Ric my love… I will, bye.”

Bringing the mobile away from her ear, Belle pressed the red button to disconnect the call while opening her eyes fully. She glanced up over at Aden, watching as his eyes met hers and his hand went still on the bed. The frown didn’t disappear when he set his jaw, nor when he reached out to take the phone from her hand and replace it onto the side table, knowing that it would hurt her to stretch that much.

“You shouldn’t have lied to her.” Aden finally said, sighing deeply and crossing his arms across his chest. His eyes were steely and a shade of blue that only reminded Belle of an approaching storm.

“I didn’t. Rachel said she’d let me know about the tests as soon as possible.” She replied slowly and innocently. “Or are you talking about the hot nurse?”

“You’re not getting better, Belle, and you’re not fine.” He told her strictly, ignoring her last sentence either out of irritation or annoyance. “And telling Matilda that you are kind of worries me.”

“I’m just trying to stay optimistic, alright? There’s not really much else I can do over here, now can I?” Belle snapped at him, the bad mood overtaking her quickly as it had been doing over the past week. “There’s not really much anyone can do except from the doctors, who all seem to be ignoring me lately. Want to tell me what that’s about, Aden, or should I just pretend to go along with it until you all break me the bad news?”

“It’s nothing.” Aden quickly replied, both his posture and voice softening at his words. He had been pretty sure that Belle would have noticed the difference between that day and every other soon, but he hadn’t expect it to have been when he was alone with her.

“Fine.” She nodded, letting her head drop back against the pillows in an attempt to stop herself from screaming out. “Pretending to go along with it, it is, then.”

“Belle, don’t be like this.” He groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. Over the past week, there hadn’t been one second where he had done anything but worry about her. He had taken the week off of work, which Gibbsy had given him happily, and had spent the majority of his day, and night, in the very chair he was in right then. Either that or on the bed, but as the time went on it had became difficult for Belle to move much as everything took much of her energy up along with the pain.

“Like what?” Belle asked rhetorically. “It might be easy for you to sit there and think that whatever you’re keeping is good for me, but you’re not in my shoes, Aden. You have no idea how much I want to get out of this place and how much it screws with my head when people keep on hiding things until it becomes necessary.”

“We’re not hiding things-”

“Yes, you are!” She cut him off with a forceful reply. “You wouldn’t tell me at first how bad everything was, and then when they suspected that the infection was refusing to go away, you didn’t tell me. You didn’t tell me when they thought that it had spread, either.”

“Because you didn’t need to know the things that they aren’t sure about. You’re supposed to be focused on getting better, not stressing out on what could be going wrong. That’s why we’re here.” Aden informed her, trying his best to keep his voice on the level. When she kept quiet, he shuffled forwards on his seat and carried on. “Don’t you think that we want you to get out of here, too? Or that we’d step into your shoes if we were given the chance?”

“I’m stressing out regardless. It’s what hospitals tend to do.” Belle said dryly, looking away from him for a moment to add in a softer tone. “I just want things to go back to normal.”

“It will, babe. It’ll be back to normal soon.” He hurried assured her, resting a hand attentively on her stiffened leg before rubbing gentle circles on it with his thumb to coerce her to relax. “Just give it a bit more time.”

“No, Aden. It’s not going to be normal again. I can feel it. Something’s wrong and it’s not going away.” A small tear leaked from the corner of her eye and she tried to get rid of it as quick as she could, though she knew he had seen it. “I just wish I could go back in time, you know? Back to that stupid night and not go to the carnival. You didn’t even want to go, but I made you and you agreed just cos I wanted to. You always agree with what I want. You always-” Taking in a shaky breath as she fought away her emotions, Belle could feel the burning rise inside of her it threatened to break free. “You alwa-”

“Ok, ok, I know. I get it.” Aden interrupted her as she struggled to both speak and keep herself from crying. He knew that the latter wasn’t just a way for her to not seem weak, though that was a partial reason. It was also due to the fact that when she got worked up about something, whether yelling, crying or even laughing, it caused her a heart wrenching pain.

Getting up from his seat almost immediately, Aden was by her side and trying to calm her in an instant. Hushing her quietly and brushing a hand over her hair and face soothingly, he thanked God when her small sobs stopped and she no longer gasped in pain. However, it was also at the moment where he delicately wiped away her tears that Rachel had decided to visit along with a nurse.

“Hey, Belle. How are things going?” Belle simply nodded, trying to get her composure back again from her mini breakdown. “How’s the pain?”

“Bearable.” She lied while gripping onto Aden’s hand as she struggled to sit up straighter discretely. She saw the look of concern that he gave her from the corner of her eyes at her gesture but didn’t question it as she remained still.

“You took some painkillers 10 minutes ago, yeah?” The nurse asked her politely while checking the equipment around her. Once again, Belle nodded.

“So the pain’s bearable with the drugs, or it’s bearable without it?” Rachel asked her while checking through her charts.

“With.” Belle merely said, carrying on before anyone else could say more. “What did the tests say?”

“They haven’t finished yet, Belle. But I assure you, once they have, you’ll be the first to know. Naturally.” Rachel added a smile with the last word but Belle could see through it.

“Why’s it taking so long? It hasn’t taken this long before.” She pressed innocently.

“Belle,” Rachel began as the nurse left the room after taking the charts off of the doctor and filling in the necessary information. She came to stand by her side where the machines stood and exchanged a quick look with Aden before telling her what she wanted to know. “We’re running a few more tests that have become recently urgent.”

“Meaning…?” Belle prompted without seeming affected much by the new information that she was receiving.

“Meaning that we’re doing everything we can to find out what’s happening and to what extent. Which, subsequently, is taking time. But it shouldn’t be too long now, alright? Your doctor will be here with the results when they come.” Rachel explained to her with a light pat on her hand before excusing herself and leaving with the instructions to call someone if she had any more questions.

Letting out a heavy breath, Belle laid her head back against the pillow again and let her body relax. Aden’s hand was still in hers and his other one now pushed back her hair from her face. Just a glance at his face told her that he had known what Rachel had said, and more.

“There’s more.”

“You really want to know?” Aden questioned her in a whisper. In his eyes, she could see the hurt and slight anger that she didn’t know where from which forced her to take into consideration his feelings on this too for once.

“No, I just want to sleep.” Belle murmured with a ghost of a smile curving up her lips. “I’m tired all of a sudden.”

“Yeah. You should sleep.” He agreed, a hint of relief in his words that told Belle that she must have made the right choice if she wanted to get some sleep.

“Will you…?” Trailing off, she lifted up her other hand with difficulty to indicate what she wanted. At the beginning of the week, the ‘will you…?’ usually meant ‘will you join me and hold me?’, but now it was a simple ‘will you try and hold me?’.

“Just sleep, ok?” Aden smiled back at her, watching as she pulled the hand clasped in hers up to the pillow after he sat back down into the chair that he had moved as close to the head of the bed as was possible. With his other hand, he stretched out his arm and laid it gently over her waist, making sure that there was almost no additional pressure on her even if it caused his arm, shoulder and back to ache. “Belle?”

“Hmm…?” She mumbled without opening her eyes.

“That nurse…” He began slowly, watching as a smirk formed gradually on her lips when he paused. “The hottest guy?”

“Yup.” Belle replied without hesitation, finally opening her eyes too look at him and almost laughing at the look of disappointment on his face as she let them drift shut again. “Pout all you like, Aden; it’s not going to change anything.”

---

Belle smiled lazily as she realised what it was that was tickling her nose when she woke up. Still laying on her back, body tilted slightly to the side in the same direction of her head, there was a space next to her in her bed that would have been enough to fit another human being if they didn’t mind being squashed up with each other. But if that failed, there was also enough space for her green teddy bear. That idea, it had seemed, had clearly passed someone’s mind as she reached up a hand to softly stroke the toy and take in the comfort that it somehow managed to give her.

A hint of embarrassment came over her when she fully awoke and realised that if anyone was able to see her, it would look mighty strange to see a 20 year old so deeply entranced by the teddy in her bed. It was only then did she lift her head up to take in her surroundings only to find herself alone in the room.

Curious and confused, Belle shuffled around in her bed as gently as she could until she was able to push herself up to rest against the pillows and see the whole room easily. After looking at the time and seeing that it was now past 6 in the evening, she pressed the button next to her for some more painkillers. Then, as the morphine took an immediate effect, she searched around the room for any indications as to where anyone was.

Spotting the door for her room ajar, she was able to make the conclusion that someone was close by. At least close enough to hear her if she screamed or yelped for help. It somehow comforted her, along with the cardigan that was clearly Annie’s and the jacket that she knew as Aden’s that were hanging off the backs of a couple of chairs, indicating that they were still there.

Letting out a shaky breath, Belle had to admit that being alone for probably the first time in a week while awake was kind of unnerving. There had always been someone there when she woke up, if not by her bed, then by the window or door just waiting for her to awake. The first thing that came to her mind was that something must have happened before realising that if something had happened, it was most likely to do with her. She felt no different from earlier that day; the pain still the same, as with the restricted movement and the weight of nervousness as she still awaited the results for her tests.

The light creaking of the door claimed her attention as soon as it started, turning her head towards it to see who it was. With the small footsteps and the familiar tapping of sandal heels against the floor, Belle sighed when Annie entered the room and jumped to see her eyes focused on her.

“Hey, sorry. You scared me.” Annie apologized with a small smile.

“I don’t look that bad, do I?” Belle joked, watching as a blush rose to her cheeks at her words. “I was joking, Annie. But if I do, you really should tell me.”

“You don’t You look fine.” She told her before hurriedly carrying on. “I mean, as fine as you can be considering all. Not that you can’t be fine, but… Yeah.”

“Yeah, indeed.” Belle muttered, choosing to ignore her babbling as Annie walked over to the chair where she cardigan was. Curiosity ate as her once again as Annie turned around to pull it on, and after turning around, let her arms dangle by her side instead of having them crossed across her chest as they had been. “Everything ok?”

“Hmm-hmm.” Annie nodded, plastering a smile onto her face as quickly as she could as she answered. “How about you? Are you feeling ok?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Belle mumbled, giving up and leaning back against her pillow once again. Using her free hand, she pulled her teddy onto her lap to play with. “Where did this come from?”

“Irene brought it over. She thought it would cheer you up.” She said with a perkiness to he voice. “I wanted to get some chocolate cake, but then I remembered what Rachel said…”

“I could do with some chocolate cake.” She agreed, a faraway tone to her words making them both relax and laugh.

“When you’re better, it’ll be the first thing I’ll bring.” Annie insisted, taking a seat in the chair that she had now emptied from any things.

“So, what’s new?” Belle asked her casually. “Around the Bay, I mean. Any new goss you’ve found out for me?”

“Nothing yet.” She shook her head regretfully. “I did get to talk to Ruby, but with the drama in her life right now, it’s not really nice to ask her about anything else.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true.” Belle nodded, knowing how polite her younger de facto sister was. “Roman came in yesterday. With Leah. Something there?”

“Um…” Annie trailed off with a shrug. “Maybe? I’m sorry. I’m not really good with these things.”

“Tsk.” She tutted mockingly with a roll of her eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll teach you all the tricks of the trade when I get out of here, alright? We’ll make a gossiper out of you, yet.”

“Sure. Sounds… great.”

“What?” Belle asked her, detected the saddened change in Annie’s mood and the unsure tone to her words.

“Nothing.” She hurriedly told her.

“No, go on. If there’s something wrong, I want to know. You know you can always talk to me.” She assured her softly yet forcefully.

“It’s really nothing.” Annie repeated, tucking her hair behind both her ears that only exaggerated her innocence. Belle kept on looking at her with raised eyebrows, making it clear that she didn’t believe her at all. “I just… I can’t wait until you come home again. I miss you.”

“Oh, honey. I miss you, too.” Belle smiled, the prickling of tears stinging her eyes at Annie’s admittance. “I’ll be home soon. Things are just taking a bit longer than expected.”

“I thought you’d be home by now. But things are getting worse instead of better.” She confessed, a light sniffle joining the words. The last sentence, had Annie been watching her elder sister, made Belle’s eyebrows raise right up in surprise and concern, but she chose not to comment on it right then.

“Well, you know what I’m like. Always have to make the grandest of all events.” Belle replied, trying to keep her tone light and joke-like that seemed to have worked when Annie giggled. “Don’t worry, alright? You’re too young for stress.”

Annie laughed once again, and Belle felt a little lighter for some reason just by simply assuring her something that she didn’t even believe in. Before either one of them could say anything more on the matter, or even change the subject, the door to her room opened once again. Without a knock or bothering to announce themselves, Belle knew without looking that it could be only one person.

“What’s so funny?” Aden asked while entering the room to a comforting atmosphere and a smile on both their faces.

“Nothing.” Belle replied before Annie for the chance to.

“Yeah, nothing.” She agreed happily. Belle winked at her, but couldn’t miss the fact that Aden had headed straight to the corner of the room and threw something into bin before he had even came to talk to her. It was oddly suspicious but her train of thought was cut off before it could even begin when a loud voice from down the corridor, it seemed, rang through to her ears.

“Is that… Mum?”

“What?” Annie asked her in confusion, listening intently as Belle’s brow scrunched up in concentration to make out the words.

“Ignore it.” Aden told them both, walking over to the door that he had left slightly open to close it fully and therefore locking out the sound. Without another word about it, he rounded her bed and came to stood next to her opposite of Annie. “How you feeling? Teddy help you sleep?”

“Yeah, it did.” She smirked, running a hand over it’s head again and then looking back up at him, only to see him exchange quick glances with Annie. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, babe.” He smiled at her effortlessly and reaching down for her hand.

“Liar.” Belle mumbled, tugging lightly at his hand to straighten his left arm out. There was a red tinge at the crook of his elbow and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened. “The results came back, didn’t they?”

“No, not yet.” He replied, relaxing his arm once again.

“You both got tested.” Belle stated, looking over at where Annie sat as her hand unconsciously travelled to her own elbow at her words. “It’s not good, is it?”

“The results haven’t came back yet. Rachel said they were checking them over as we speak.” Aden assured her while ignoring her other words, something that she picked up on.

“The doctor said it was what they were looking for. He said that they thought they’d stopped working completely which is why the tests were taking so long. To make sure.” Belle told him matter-of-factly, looking at him straight in his eyes with nothing but resolution in hers.

“When did you ask him that?” He questioned her. There had only been 3 times that he had left her side that day, and he had been pretty sure that none of them times were when she had been alone with the doctor.

“I asked the nurse to page him and to tell me what was going on.” She answered truthfully. “I wanted to know. I had the right to know.”

“We’re still waiting for the results.” Aden told her strictly and optimistically, though there was much more than just his voice that spoke to her right then. His eyes, darker than usual, and his stiffened posture told her that he was in his angry and protective mode, and his taught hand in hers told her that these was nothing he could do about it.

“Blood match came back negative?” Belle asked him, only for him to look away which gave her his answer. Sighing, she turned her head towards where Annie sat quietly in her chair, head bowed as if she had done something wrong. “You shouldn’t have gotten tested. I didn’t want you to.”

“I wanted to help.” She replied in a voice that was just a tiny bit louder than a whisper. “I wish I could.”

“You are. By being here, you are, ok?” She reassured her, making sure that there was no space in her words for her to argue back.

“Ok.” Annie mumbled, forcing a smile on her face to match the gentle one that Belle had on hers, although the latter’s one seemed more real that hers ever could be.

“So,” Belle began, looking from one to another when none of them carried on to change the subject. “What’s new?”

“Nothing really.” Aden shrugged, sitting on the edge of her bed with a sigh. “Nothing interesting, at least.”

“Aden, look at me. Right now, someone winning $20 on the lottery would excite me.” She told him dryly, causing him to smirk amusingly and Annie to giggle at her sarcasm. “I’m being serious.”

“Well, in that case-” He started, planning on telling her about the weird and wonderful things that had occurred in the Bay over the past 24 hours only to be cut off by a knock to the door that was then opened. “I’ll tell you later.”

Belle merely nodded and straightened up in her bed as Rachel and Amanda entered the room. With Aden’s help, she was able to get into a comfortable position without much pain, and was able to watch them both as they came to stand by her bed. Both Annie and Aden had stood up, while Amanda stopped by the end of her bed and Rachel to her side. She knew that Irene had left only an hour or so earlier again, but she wished that she had been there at the moment. There was a look and tension in the two elder ladies face that told Belle everything she needed to know.

“I know why the tests took so long, and I know everyone got tested.” Belle spoke up first, surprising herself when her voice came out without a hint of nervousness. Her eyes flitted over to where her mother stood, eyeing her arm carefully as if for a final confirmation.

“I’m sorry, Belle.” Rachel replied sincerely. “But we’re going to do everything we can as quick as we can. We‘ve already started.”

“So what now?” She asked her with a small nod, ignoring almost everyone but her as she spoke. “Do I have to stay in hospital?

“Until we can find a permanent solution, yes.” Rachel answered solemnly. “But you’re already on the transplant list and hopefully we’ll find something soon.“

“But I’m not really top priority, am I?“ Belle questioned her wryly, carrying on after getting a sceptical look from the doctor. “I read it on the net. There are other things that they can do to prolong the time between now and the time that I need the transplant by cos I’m young, and semi-healthy.“

“Your doctor will be in to talk to you soon about all this, ok?”

“I know. I just wanted to know.” Belle smiled weakly, taking her sidestepping of the question as an affirmative. “What else did the tests say?”

“You’re liver looks the same as before, so it’ll hold out until we get this transplant sorted. That way we can stop from putting excess stress on your body by having just the one surgery.” Rachel informed her with an optimistic tone that almost made Belle believe that everything was ok. “I wanted to be the one to tell you, and also tell you that there are many options still open. We’ll test all immediate family members and any friends too.”

“Ok.” She replied softly. Silent engulfed them afterwards when no-one else knew what to say. Even though she looked in the direction of where Annie and Rachel were, Belle was seeing nothing but her uncertain future.

“Right. Well, I need to go, but if there’s anything you need or if you just want to talk or ask questions, you know where I am.” Rachel told her, the tone of her voice caring and more personal than professional. “I’ll be back in later.”

Nodding at her words, Belle couldn’t even wince as Rachel squeezed her hand gently and then left the room. Even with the three other people in the room, she felt so faraway from another human being. No-one had any hold on her, which she found pretty weird, and no-one said another word until she spoke up again.

“Do you guys mind if you give me a minute?” She whispered, blinking herself back to reality and gazing over at Annie and then Amanda, who both came to life at her words.

“Of course, darling. If you really want us to.” Amanda said without a fight. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about anything?”

“No.” Belle shook her head. “I just need to think.”

“Ok. Well, we’ll be here, ok? Just call if you need us.” She approached her bed and pressed a delicate kiss to her forehead, brushing a hand over her loose hair before walking over to the door. Annie followed her without a word, but offered her a wobbly smile accompanied by the watery eyes.

“I’ll be right out-” Aden began to say, laying a hand gently atop of hers and backing away slowly.

“No.” She quickly cut him off, grabbing onto the hand and gazing up to him with a pleading look as the door was shut. “Will you stay? Please?”

“Yeah, of course.” He hurriedly assured her, resting his other hand on hers to clasp it in between his. “Whatever you want.”

Without another word, Belle shuffled in her bed, ignoring the pain and the wires around her until she was on one side of it. Using her free hand to reach for the teddy with a bit of difficulty, she held it out to Aden, who took it and placed it onto the chair behind him without a question. The space before her was enough for another person; at least someone who wouldn’t mind being squashed up with her. And as she tugged on his hand lightly and stared up at him with her tear filled eyes, it was pretty clear what her intentions had been.

Not letting go of her hand once, Aden managed to kick off his shoes so not to anger her even in the state she was in before climbing onto the small hospital bed to lay down next to her. He hadn’t even gotten to rest his head onto the fluffy pillow that he recognized as Belle’s own when she had buried her face into his chest. Wrapping an arm carefully around her waist, he placed his chin atop of her head just as he felt the warm tears begin to seep through the thin fabric of his t-shirt.

---

“I want some cotton candy.” Belle said, breaking the silence that was in the room. Following her words were a light chuckle as Aden glanced up at her from where he was texting on his phone. He was sat in a chair next to her bed, feet perched up onto another one opposite him and an elbow leaning on her bed. All in all, he seemed pretty relaxed.

“I didn’t know you were awake.” He smiled at her, bringing his feet to the floor and pocketing his phone. “But I guess it’s too bad you’re in hospital. I don’t think any of the doctors or nurses would let me bring you any.”

“I really could do with some, too.” She sighed, raising her unwired hand with difficulty to her cheek to brush away a piece of her hair. Her fingers skimmed over the oxygen tube that was now permanently connected to her nose to help her breathe easier. It had been just over 5 days since she had been told about the transplant, and with nothing having changed on anything regarding it, things had just became worse for them all. But if there was one thing that Belle had managed to do, it was to remain optimistic for as long as she could.

“I’ll tell you what.” Aden replied, shuffling forwards in his seat and resting his elbows on his knees as if to tell her a secret. “When you get home, I’ll buy you as much of that crap as you want. Deal?”

“Sounds good.” Belle shrugged with the shoulder that she wasn’t laying on. “Although you don’t really need to buy any more cos I still have some left over from the carnival.” She admitted, biting her bottom lip cheekily as he gaped at her in surprise.

“How?” He asked, shocked and sceptical.

“I didn’t finish the last one.” She answered a bit sheepishly. “I began feeling a bit sick.”

“So where did you hide it?” Aden questioned, laughter lining his words that made Belle smile. Over the past week and a half, there hadn’t been that many occasions where he had laughed or joked about something so freely. If he ever did, she was able to tell that it had only been for her benefit to make her relax and perhaps forget about her predicament.

“I’ll only tell you if you promise not to touch it.” She replied with a sly tone.

“I promise.” Aden said seriously, holding a hand to his heart as if to swear by it even as a smile curved his lips. “Scout’s honour.”

“Like you were ever a Scout.” Belle scoffed. “But it’s in my drawer.”

“Which one? How have I not found it yet?”

“Because I hid it well.” She told him, sticking her tongue out at the end at him childishly as he sighed mockingly. “I actually thought you knew about it.”

“How could I possibly know about it? Call me crazy, but I actually trust my girlfriend when she tells me that she finished it all.” Aden said sarcastically, and if she had the want or energy to move, they both knew she would have at least kicked him.

“Funny.” Belle replied dryly. “But no.”

“Then what?” There was a pregnant pause as she simply watched him watch her before she let out a breath and relaxed.

“You remember that night when you woke me up to take my meds, and I couldn’t get back to sleep again?”

“Uh… Vaguely.” Aden answered with a furrowed brow as he racked his brains for a clearer memory of the night.

“Well, when I couldn’t sleep, I got up for some more water and when I got back, you were still asleep, I think, so I ate some of it.” Belle informed him. “I thought you woke up and saw me, but I guess not.”

“Wait!” He suddenly exclaimed as he recalled the night. “Is that why you were acting so jittery?”

“I wasn’t jittery!” She defended herself. “I just couldn’t sleep, and I could still taste those horrible pills.”

“Yeah, sure, sure.” Aden commented, leaning back in his chair as he did so. “When I can’t sleep, I like to eat food with high amounts of sugar, too. Heck, if I was feeling really bad, I’d have coffee too.”

“Alright, alright. No need to be sarky.” Belle huffed, eyes drifting away from him momentarily as they both went quiet until she spoke up once again. “There was more to the story, but now, I’m not going to tell you.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re being mean, and you deserve to not know now.” She explained to him quietly.

“Aw, c’mon, sweetheart. You know you wanna.” Aden pleaded with her, half of his attempts actually genuine.

“Fine. But only because you called me ‘sweetheart’ and you look like you’re about to cry.” Belle huffed, raising an eyebrow as he pouted. “Later that night, when I still couldn’t sleep and you were totally knocked out, I got up again.”

“…That’s it?” Aden asked her incredulously, the pout vanishing as a look of confusion covered his face.

“No, that’s not it.” She told him. “When I got up, and you kept on sleeping, I tidied the room up a bit from the mess you had made. And then, I kind of ended up painting your toe nails.”

“You did what?!” He exclaimed, almost yelling in shock, all the while slipping off one of his sneakers. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I was bored, and you were sleeping while I couldn’t. Plus, my room was a tip from what you had done to it.” Belle justified herself. “And you were the one who woke me up in the first place. There wasn’t anything else to keep me entertained that late in the night, too.”

“The TV wasn’t enough?” Aden asked her in a low growl.

“You would have made me go back to bed if you did wake up. Besides, it would have woken up Geoff.” She mumbled in a way of explaining her actions.

“Why can’t I see anything?” He questioned her as he stretched out his bare foot and stared at it with narrowed eyes. “You better not be joking with me, Belle Taylor.”

“I’m not.” Belle rolled her eyes. “It was clear nail varnish, genius. Otherwise you would have noticed it straightaway, now wouldn’t have you? I‘m not that mean, either.”

“You, my love,” Aden began while shaking his head in amusement and began putting his shoe back on again. “Are a headcase.”

“It’s why you love me.” She simply replied sweetly and non-chalantly.

“True. But it’s good to have a few differentiating qualities. They say opposites attract.” He commented matter-of-factly. His sincerely words made the laughter bubble out of Belle’s mouth as she giggled uncontrollably until it got too much as she hissed in pain that it had caused. “Hey, you ok?”

When Belle failed to answer, he grabbed onto one of her hands, only for her to whimper in pain. Letting go immediately, concern overtook him instantly when tears leaked out of her eyes and she remained in the same stiffened position that she had been in ever since she had fallen asleep.

“Belle, talk to me, babe.” He whispered to her forcefully, scared to even touch her as he leaned forwards nearer to her.

“It hurts so much.” Belle cried slowly, keeping her eyes closed as she focused on regulating her breathing to help with the pain. “It always hurts so much. I can’t even move my hand to call for the nurse.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Aden asked her softly yet sadly. “Take some of the painkillers. Do you want me to do it?”

“No. It doesn’t help much or for long.” She told him in a low voice that Aden had to listen carefully to hear all her words.

“Maybe not, but it’ll help for now. We can talk to the doctor about it-”

“I already have.” She needn’t say more for him to understand that there was nothing else that they could do for her right then.

“I’m going to press the button, ok?” He told her, standing up without waiting for any answer from her and reaching across her body for the little control that contained only two buttons. The larger one administrated the morphine via her IV drip, while the other one called the nurse in case of an emergency. Pressing the right one, he sat back down on his chair and waited until she visibly relaxed as the pain subsided a bit. “Better?”

“No.” Belle laughed without any humour before groaning. “Why can’t it just go? Everything. I hate this stupid treatment too.”

“It won’t be for long, ok?” Aden assured her, taking a hold of the hand that she had jerked to show him the tubes that were attached to it to perform the job to both substitute her kidneys and keep her well until the transplant. “I know you, Belle. You’re the strongest person that I know. In every way possible.”

“You’re not so bad yourself.” She murmured, sniffling lightly though more out of emotion than pain. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, gorgeous.” He replied, rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand, only stopping when she hissed in pain at the ministrations. “Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. My whole body is in pain.” Belle told him slowly.

“It’s going to work out, alright?” Aden told her forcefully. “I promise you, I’ll make sure you’re happy again by the end of all this.”

---

Aden fought back the tears that threatened to line his eyes as he continued to hush his girlfriend. It was little over an hour since the nurses had started her daily treatment for the infection and complete kidney failure, and it had also been a little over an hour since not a second had passed by without Belle moaning in pain. She had refused to let anyone else back into the room, leaving Aden with the heartbreaking job of having to comfort her when he knew it did no good whatsoever.

“Aden…” She finally moaned, eyes flittering slowly to his as her nails dug into his forearm at the pain that surged through her at the minimal movement. Her eyes were shot red with a tinge of yellow that had appeared slowly but surely due to her liver. The emotions that were held behind them were all overlooked by one single one; pain.

“Shh, I’m here, babe.” He whispered, running his fingers through her fringe even as the only sensation he could feel in that whole arm were her nails pressing into it. It stung, but he didn’t have the heart to remove them. Especially when he compared it to what she must have been going through herself.

“I want-” Belle began, gasping and closing her eyes as she tried to straighten her leg out slowly. “Get-”

“Get what? Do you want me to get Irene? Or Amanda? They’re both outside.” Aden informed her, trying, once again, to persuade her to let them help her in any way that they could.

“The doctor.” She answered, swallowing hard. Even asking for a drink of water wasn’t worth the effort, and getting into a position to actually drink it would be more pain than she even cared for. A dry throat was fine with her and at the bottom of her list of irritations right then.

“Dr. Harrison?” He questioned her to make sure. When she didn’t reply, he knew that he got it right. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Tell him-” Belle started before inhaling deeply and ignoring the ache it caused in her chest and abdomen muscles. “Tell him to stop the treatment.”

“Belle, you know he can’t. Without it, you’ll deteriorate badly and quickly.” Aden reminded her straightforwardly, albeit harshly, but lovingly enough for her to know he only said it out of care.

“Please?” She begged him, exposing her weaker side to him and only him. “I can’t take it anymore.”

“It’ll get better. A few more days, that’s it.” He told her even though he wasn’t entirely sure whether he believed in his own words or not.

“It’s not- It’s not worth it.” Belle told him, hissing in pain as she let go of his arm and moved her hand away from where his arm laid in front of her on the pillow. “The pain… Painkillers aren’t covering it. Please?”

“Ok.” Aden finally sighed, retracting his arm off the bed and sitting up straight in the chair. “But if I go, then I’m going to ask Irene and Amanda to come in here.”

“Ad-”

“Don’t argue with me, Belle. I’m not going to leave you alone.” He told her forcefully, staring at her straight in the eye to make her give in. “Take it or leave it.”

“Ok.” She repeated his simple word, closing her eyes once again. Aden could tell that she was trying to gather herself for when the other’s came into the room, and he didn’t bother to tell her again that neither one of them cared if she let herself show in front of them.

“I’ll be right back, then.” He told her, pushing back his chair and standing up. Leaning forwards to brush a kiss to her temple, he backed and walked away quickly and quietly towards the door.

The first thing that he saw and hear when he opened the door and then closed it behind him were the two ladies outside, both worried for the girl in the room. He explained to them briefly why he was leaving her, even for a few minutes, and wasn’t too surprised when they both argued the same thing as he had to Belle.

“I know, but it’s what she wants.” Aden shrugged, shoving his hands into his jeans’ pockets and hunching over a bit. “I’m gonna go see him anyway, just to see what he says.”

“Alright.” Irene agreed with a careful nod. “Poor girl. Must be going through hell if she wants to stop it.”

“You have no idea, Irene.” He said solemnly. Amanda didn’t say a word as she slipped past them into Belle’s room, not even waiting for the other lady to go with her. “You should go in there. I’ll be back soon.”

“Ok, darl.” She smiled softly, giving his arm a light squeeze before turning away and heading into the room where her eldest foster daughter currently was.

Watching the door shut behind her, Aden remained in his spot and gathered his thoughts. He hated to admit it, or even think it, but there was something inside of him that told him that what Belle had said was true. It was a part of him that was growing larger and larger with every minute that he spent with her in the hospital, and even more whilst she was in agonizing pain, telling him that the pain almost wasn’t worth it.

Scowling at himself and silently reprimanding himself, he began to walk down the corridor and along another one that he knew would lead towards the doctor’s office. Knocking on the door a couple of times, he prayed that he was in there. Raising his fist to knock once again, Aden paused as he spotted the doctor coming towards him from another room.

“Aden, what can I do for you?” He asked him politely, opening the locked door and holding it open to let him in. Dr Harrison was a middle ages man with a fair skin and hair to match. The only thing that made him seem so trustworthy in Aden’s point of view were the small wrinkles and lines that indicated age and experience.

“It’s about Belle.” Aden stated rather dumbly. “She wants to come off the treatment.”

“You know we can’t do that.” The doctor told him as he sat down in his chair. He pointed towards the spare one on the opposite side of the table, but Aden shook his head, wanting to stand up after having sat for most of the day. “Belle’s young and she had everything going for her. If we take her off it, then her survival rate without an immediate transplant would half .”

“She knows that. We know that.” Aden told him, crossing his arms and shrugging tiredly. “But she’s in pain and it’s not worth it for her.”

“I understand that, but she’ll appreciate it in the future.” Dr Harrison replied. He spoke in a manner that reminded Aden of Roman; able to make anyone calm down and see their point even when they didn’t want to.

“Yeah, but she doesn’t really care about the future right now because she can’t even think around the pain. It’s all that she is. It’s all that her day is filled with.” Aden explained to him, a lump forming in his throat as he spoke. Willing it away, he vowed to not break down or let his emotions get the better of him yet.

“I know, and I’m really, truly sorry about that.” The doctor said earnestly. “However, taking her off the treatment would also mean she can’t take any painkillers or have any chemicals in her body at all at the risk of killer her. She wouldn’t have a future at all, then.”

“There must be something you can do, though. Up the morphine levels, or something?” He asked him, uncrossing his arms and digging them back into his pockets. To anyone who didn’t know him, he would have looked like a little lost boy, not the guy trying to ease his girlfriend’s pain.

“If there was something, we would. Same with the painkillers. I’m sorry, Aden. But we’re doing everything we can right now.” Dr Harrison explained to him before standing up.

“Everything doesn’t seem to be helping, though. Just making things worse for her.” Aden mumbled as he followed the doctor out of his office.

“The only other thing you can do is to sit with her and hold and comfort her until we get a match. It shouldn’t be too long, but with these things, there is no time limit.” He informed him, sympathetically smiling at him and his disdained look. “I’ll be in to see her when the session’s over.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Aden merely said, letting out a deep breath when he was alone again before turning to lean against the nearest wall and sinking to the floor as his legs refused to keep his weight up for any longer.

---

An hour later, and Aden was back in his nightmare that never seemed to end. Having returned from Dr Harrison’s office a good 20 minutes after the chat with him, having detoured to the bathroom to wash away any evidence of the tear tracks down his face, he had relayed what he had found out to the girl in the bed. Soon after, when Belle stifled cried of pain sounded in the room, Irene and Amanda had left once again, knowing that she didn’t want them there any longer. The door lock had just clicked when Belle had cried out, no longer keeping her distress to herself from both the pain in her body and from the news that Aden had brought her.

Now, the sounds of whimpering were all that hit his ear, along with his shushing her. There wasn’t much else he could do apart from following the advice the doctor had given him. Yet, even that didn’t help. There were times when Belle would refuse his comforting, or when a simplest of touched brought forth more pain that she had been in. But through it all, there wasn’t a second that passed where she wasn’t in agony.

Finally, when the pressure of not being able to do anything got too much for Aden to handle, he stood up from his chair. He wasn’t sure whether Belle had heard him or not; either way, she remained in her same position, curled up on her side while focusing heavily on her breathing.

Heading to the door, he opened it slowly to a small margin and stepped out inconspicuously. The corridor wasn’t a busy one, but nurses and doctors did tend to pass. Amanda and Irene had gone to get something to eat and drink, having missed dinner, and he was surprised to see that no-one was around.

Aden closed the door quietly before locking it. Hesitating, he took a step back, only to stop and then retraced his step and unlocked the door again. An adrenaline rush was overtaking him and he wasn’t sure why. There wasn’t anything frightening or exciting about what he was about to do, but as he swallowed and pushed away any negative thoughts from his mind, he wondered whether it was his body’s natural way of telling him to think things through again.

“Aden…?” Belle’s low murmur brought him back to action and he went back over to her, but this time on the other side of the bed.

“I’m here, sweetheart.” He told her, running his fingers through her hair to let her know that he was behind her so she wouldn’t try to search for him. “Everything’s going to be ok, alright?”

“I want to-” She began, only to gasp for breath before she could even think of the next word. “I can’t believe that right now, Aden.”

“The session’s almost over.” Aden carried on, tenderly brushing his fingertips over her clammy and tinted cheek. “Just another hour left.”

“Too long.” Belle whispered, tears sounding clear in her voice. “I can’t handle this anymore.”

“Ok.” He merely replied, leaning over to pressed a kiss just below her ear and soothing her gently with nonsense words. Once he was sure her tears had somehow stopped, most probably because they had ran out, he stood up straight and turned towards where the machines that administrated her medication were.

Two bags of fluid were hanging from the metal pole, while two other machines were situated under it. A larger one, that he knew as the dialysis machine, was on it’s own farther off to the side. Out of the two bags, Aden could read one as an anti-biotic, while the name of the other was almost unpronounceable by him. But, he knew, it was the liquid that the nurses had brought it to start her session.

Not having much to do when Belle slept, Aden had watched the nurses do their jobs over the past week. He had caught onto many tricks of the trade, including figuring out what the white clip along the tube coming out of the bag did. Touching it for the first time, he fiddled around with it until Aden managed to change it’s size. Swallowing again, he peered over his shoulder at Belle, still fragile with pain, before turning back to the clip in his hands and pressing on it.

The clip’s immediately and effectively stopped anymore of the drug from carrying on further than where he had stopped it. He wasn’t sure how long it was going to take to make an effect on Belle, but he was pretty sure that it wouldn’t be long. It usually took 10 minutes or so for her to start recovering from the pain slowly at the end of each session, and with another hour to go before the doctor to come in to check up on her, Aden was sure that it wouldn’t matter.

Belle, oblivious to his actions, remained still in her bed as Aden walked around to where his coat and bag laid on the floor in the corner of the room. Crouching down before it, he unzipped the main compartment to his backpack before digging in and unzipping the small pocket inside it. In it, there were plenty of tissues that covered up what he had been looking for.

The small glass bottle felt uncannily familiar in his hand, along with the plastic crunching of a covered syringe. He had managed to get his hand on the equipment the day before when, to his luck, a clumsy nurse had knocked over water onto the floor while reaching for a thermometer from the secured medical cupboard. Leaving it unlocked as she rushed for tissues, she had completely forgotten to lock it again, allowing him access to it once Belle had fallen asleep.

Now, after having seen a nurse do it a couple of time with saline fluid to cleanse the drip in Belle’s arm, Aden ripped off the plastic of the syringe and took off the safety cover. The shallow breathing from behind him told Aden all his needed to know about whether he was doing the right thing as he pushed the needle into the bottle and withdrew the clear liquid into it.

Going slowly, he waited until he got halfway before stopping. Replacing the bottle back onto the counter in front of him, he took in a cleansing breath to release all of his stress and worry. A whimper stopped him from exhaling smoothly, urging him towards her bed with the need to comfort and look after her.

Perching gently on the bed behind her, he hushed her soothingly and told her that everything was going to be alright before standing up again. There was a small lead in in the tube under the white clip that he had place, and he opened the back of it so that there was a space for him to carry out his plan. Once that was done, with no questions or fight from Belle, he placed the tip of the syringe into it’s hilt and paused.

Silently praying the way he had been doing for days now, he hoped that it would work and take away her pain as he pushed in the back of the syringe to let the morphine travel along the tube and into her body via the needle in her hand. Aden stopped three quarters of the way, leaving the rest of the drug when he became to fear about the possible consequence of her body not being able to handle it. He had read up on the internet how much was fatal for the human body, and so, he made sure that he had given her fairly less than that.

“Aden? What-?” Belle’s voice broke his thoughts, making him spin around to see her tilt her body back a bit to look up at him.

“How are you feeling?” He asked he gently, perching on the bed and rubbing her arm slowly. Hiding the syringe next to him, he waited in dread for her to question her about it.

“Better.” She replied, confusion seeping into her words as she spoke. “It’s not searing pain anymore, but-”

“I know, I know.” Aden cut her off, not wanting to hear how the pain she was in still topped the 1 to 10 scale. “Just try and relax, ok? I’m going to press the button for the morphine, ok?”

A minute nod answered his question as she turned back again, and he pretended to press the button for her. Getting up, he immediately loosened the white clip once again to start the treatment, still rational enough to know that he didn’t want to get caught out by it. But, with the painkillers already taking affect, Aden sighed in relief knowing that it wouldn’t cause her as much pain anymore.

Gathering up the mess from the counter, he threw it all in the medical waste basket, knowing that no-one would look in there, before washing his hands fervently and specifically. He dried them on the rough tissue paper that nearly scratched his skin off, dumping them into the bin next to the sink when he heard Belle call out for him worriedly.

“What’s wrong?” Aden asked, coming around to where he normally sat and took his seat in the chair.

“Something’s different…” She confessed to him, her voice still breathless but she was able to shuffle and stretch out her legs without cowering in immediate pain.

“What do you mean?” Furrowing his brow, he leaned in closer to her as if to inspect her from closer.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore.” Belle told him before trying to push herself up into a sitting position. She had managed to get her hands in the right places, but as soon as she had put the pressure onto them, pain shot through her entire body, making her cry out.

“Hey, hey. Don’t do that.” Aden hurriedly stood up, working a hand under her body to help her settle back onto the bed comfortably. “Just relax, ok? The doctor will be here in an hour. Everything’s going to be better soon.”

“Aden…” She began, finally taking him all in as he sat back down into the chair. His eyes had darkened, and the reassuring smile that always tinted his words when he tried to sooth her had disappeared. As he sat down, Belle could see his hands begin to shake lightly while he licked his lips in an almost anxious manner. “Aden, what happened?”

“What?” He questioned her, confused.

“You’re-” Belle started, cutting herself off as she reached out a hand for his, waiting until he reluctantly placed it in hers. It was oddly cold, but they were still the soft, tough hands that she always knew. “You’re shaking.”

“You’re feeling better.” Aden smiled as she tugged him closer. Getting up, he climbed up onto the bed and laid down next to her, making sure there was still a little bit of space between them. “You are feeling better, aren’t you?”

“Aden,” She sighed, running a hand over his cheek softly as she paused. It was true; she was feeling better. In fact, she felt better than she had since she had entered the hospital, which only made her more suspicious and worried. If there was one thing that she knew, it was that if something was too good to be true, then it usually was. She doubted her body had somehow miraculously healed itself, and having seen that she was still on the treatment, the only reasoning that she could believe was that there was another cause behind it. “What did you do?”

“Nothing.” He replied quickly, shaking his head as much as he could with it laying against the pillow.

“Aden, what did you do?” Belle asked again, this time her words laced with wariness and fear. There was more than just the way he was acting that told her that he was lying, and whatever the secret he was keeping was pretty big.

“Nothing.” Aden repeated, putting more emphasis on the word as his eyes begged her to leave it alone. It was that one simple act that confirmed everything that she needed to know that he had done something, and it wasn’t something good even if it made her feel better.

“Ok.” She whispered. A sudden heaviness fell upon her eyes, forcing them to blink at elongated periods that became harder to fight again. “I’m sleepy.” Belle murmured while moving closer to the guy on her bed until she was right up against him.

“Go to sleep, then.” Aden told her gently.

“I never fall asleep during the treatment.” She pointed out, eyes already closed as she buried her face into his chest. “I’m never relaxed and content enough to. It’s almost like being back at home.”

“That’s good.” He mumbled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as his eyes began to water at the happy tone to her voice.

“Well, your place, rather. We’re not so cramped in my bed.” Belle giggled softly.

“But it’s good, right?” Aden asked carefully.

“Definitely.” Belle sighed before squeezing his waist gently. “Now, shh. I need to sleep.”

“Ok, ok. Told you I’d make sure you’d be happy, didn’t I?” He murmured, loud enough for her to hear but he was pretty sure that she had lost the urge to reply to sleep. Instead, he twirled her silky hair around his fingers to keep her close and listened as she breathed in and out, in and out, in and out…

---

[xknomex]

as you know already i absoulty LOVED it..

I can't think of any words to describe how AMAZING that was.... it was just, WOW!!! seriously amazing. the way you captured everyone's thoughts and emotions were unbelievable. and you could almost feel Belle's pain,!!! i was in floods.

also LOVED that she painted his nails, made me giggle hehe x

Fantastic update!

[bradyell]

i really and truely do not know what to say!

That was just...... see i don't have the words!

As it got closer to the end i was literally in bits reading it through tears and my fingers covering my eyes!

AMAZING! AMAZING! AMAZING!

I'll have to leave it at that because you have left me speechless!

[hitmanfan]

I completely agree with Naomi - just amazing.

oh I just feel so for Aden, he really is trying to do what's best for Belle

nice that they managed to also have a few light hearted moments together as well

[Red Ranger 1]

Oh gosh.That was really well-written.I loved all the little touches, Belle's phone conversation with Matilda, her little chat with Annie, the teddy...And that ending was just unbearably tense because you just know it's not going to go well and I'm thinking Aden doesn't realise exactly what he's just done. Really looking forward to more of this.

[Georgia]

Just amazing Tan, purely amazing.

I'm in tears right now, because I want Belle to get better, but I know that she won't.

And Aden.. doing everything he can to help her. I have a feeling I know how Belle's death happens.. but I won't post it.

Update soon Tan.

Georgia. xxx