Chapter Text
Hayley’s feet hit the sand before she knew she was moving. “Eden!” she yelled, dropping into the dirt next to her girlfriend. Coach Morgan followed close behind, and wasted no time to getting to work. She whipped a groom’s rag out of her pocket and pressed it to the head wound. Hayley tapped Eden’s shoulder. “Eden?” she shook it this time. Nothing.
“Eden, hey! Stay with me baby I’m right here,” she pleaded frantically, deep blue eyes searching her partners face for any response. “Please,” she whispered, grabbing her hand. “Please, baby. I love you. Please wake up.”
Morgan's gaze flicked to Hayley. She'd seen everything: parents wailing over ambulance sirens, horses hobbling with broken legs, riders unconscious in the dirt... This was different. She knew her students were close, but she didn't know they were partners. She pressed two fingers into Eden's neck, and her heart sunk. For a moment, nothing. There.
"She's still with us," Morgan said as evenly as she could despite the trembling in her shoulders.
The medics arrived quickly and loaded her into the ambulance. Hayley jumped into the back and they set off, keeping Eden stable. When they arrived at PMTC, Cassie McKay was ready and waiting along with Dana in the ambulance bay.
"Alright, whadda we got?" Dana stepped forward, ready to jump in as needed.
"Twenty two year old female rotational fall at an equine event. Horse rolled over and kicked her in the head. Helmet cracked on impact," the EMS explained, rolling her into the building.
"How long as she been out?" McKay asked, checking her pupils.
"Fifteen minutes. BP 102 over 64, heart rate 130, briefly stood but collapsed immediately. IVs established but no meds given," he continued as Dana ran forward to grab more hands. Santos and King snapped on their gloves and jogged over. Dana filled them in and they quickly set to work. King grabbed the trauma scissors and snipped through the show coat and white shirt as they finished taking vitals.
Hayley was quiet, but had a death grip on the rails of the gurney. Nothing the doctors said made any sense, but she listened in an attempt to not bawl her eyes out. As they moved her clothing out of the way, both Hayley and Santos's eyes widened as they noticed the same thing. Several red lines lined Eden's left wrist, as well as several flattened white scars. Trinity worked her jaw as recognition flashed across her features. Hayley caught it.
"Is that from the fall?" Cassie's blue eyes flicked to Hayley, concern washing over her.
Hayley shook her head. "N-no I've never seen those before," she stammered, voice cracking. How had she not noticed?
"Hey, we'll check in on that later. Right now she needs you," Trinity said softly from across the gurney. Hayley nodded, tears brimming her eyes as she looked down at her love. How could she not notice?
"Hmm?" Eden stirred. "H-hayl?" her hand lifted shakily.
"Yes, hey, baby." Relief flooded through her. "Yes, it's me. Just stay still, you're in the hospital."
"Cairo?" she choked out, eyes unfocused and cloudy.
"He's fine, he's with Morgan honey," Hayley gave a small smile.
"Alright, Hayley, you're going to come sit in this room, okay?" Dana caught up as Santos, McKay & Mel disappeared around a corner. "They're gonna take her to get a CT and she'll come back here when she's stable," the older woman smiled kindly. "Can I get you a coffee, something to eat?"
"No, thanks," Hayley swallowed and sat in the plastic chair, resting her head on her palm.
What felt like hours later, Hayley stood as Perlah and Santos returned with Eden, who was heavily sedated.
"How is she?" Hayley asked, reaching to hold Eden's hand. Her heart raced and she prepared herself for the worst. Trinity glanced at Perlah, who nodded and left the room.
"She's stable. Her injuries are moderate given the circumstances, but she's very lucky," Trinity began, sitting on the rolling stool next to Hayley. "She had a partially collapsed lung, but it's back to normal now. She also had a mild fracture in her cheekbone under the laceration, as well as a concussion. She may be confused and have some memory loss, which is normal," Trinity paused for a moment to give Hayley a minute to process. "There was indication of a minor brain bleed, but Neuro doesn't believe it requires surgery. We're going to keep her here overnight for observation."
"Okay," Hayley nodded slowly. "At least she's alive," she breathed, chest heavy with sadness.
"... What about her wrist?" she asked, a touch of fear leaking into her voice. "I didn't even notice... We were laughing at dinner last night, she was fine. I-" she squeezed her eyes shut as a tear spilled onto her cheeks.
"She probably wasn't trying to lie to you by hiding it," Trinity told her, hands folded together. Her gaze dropped, trying to find the right words. As someone who had relapsed recently too, she knew what it was like to lie to the people who loved her. The guilt, the queasy feeling in her stomach, the brushing it off and blaming it on a non-existent cat.
"It's a very personal thing... I assume you didn't know?" Trinity asked, tone softer than it usually was.
"No," Hayley shook her head again. "I had no idea... How the hell did I miss this? I thought she was always cold, I thought she was just upset and stressed with school. I didn't think she was in that much pain," Hayley sniffled, eyes glazed and far away.
"Most people who self harm don't want to hurt anyone else. Just themselves," Trinity confessed, mind flashing to the scars on her thigh. Years worth of pain she couldn't express any other way.
"Why would she want to-" she paused with a sigh. "She's so sweet, and kind, and loving... And so incredible, how- why does she think she deserves this?" Hayley looked to Trinity, hoping the older girl would have some reason to explain it logically.
"The human brain is crazy powerful. It can convince you that you're the worst person on earth... Or that you deserve the pain. But regardless, she's going to need a lot of support."
"I try," Hayley looked up and took another breath, trying to hold the flood of tears that were begging to escape. "I knew something was wrong, I just-" she choked on a sob, hand covering her mouth. "She said everything was perfectly fine so I just left it alone and-"
Trinity gently laid a hand on her knee and gave her a kind but small smile. "It's okay. Recovery is hard, but I can tell you really love her. She's very lucky to have a partner who cares this deeply." Hayley nodded and laid a hand over Trinity's.
"Thank you."
A/N: That's all for now folks! Might add on, might not. Hope you enjoyed! :3