Chapter Text
It was long past visiting hours. The corridors were quiet, as quiet as a hospital could be, when a young man dressed in an orderly’s uniform pushed a cart used for collecting dirty laundry.
He had taken it from the staff-only section to look less suspicious—because he shouldn't really be there at all.
It was, without a doubt, one of his worst ideas. Reckless. Dangerous. But he couldn’t resist—he needed to see her. Needed to make sure… though he wasn’t certain of what exactly.
He felt something strange when he stopped at her door. No guards, no security, not the way one would expect after someone had tried to kill her. Or at least, that’s how it would look without the context—being thrown out of a window by a raging Hyde on the run from a psychiatric ward.
But things were often far more… complicated.
And who would know that better than Tyler?
The one responsible for her coma.
After a brief hesitation, he turned the handle, opened the door, and stepped into the hospital room. He looked at her with a mix of relief and bitterness. Closing the door behind him, he took two slow steps forward, then a third, his gaze never leaving her face.
He had wanted to see her the very first night, but his own injuries had kept him away. The only thing in his favor was how quickly he healed—much faster than a normal person. What wasn’t in his favor was the fact that, after killing his master, he felt… different.
Part of him had hoped that Laurel’s death would free him, but he quickly learned that nothing about this was going to be that easy.
Tilting his head, he studied her. He still remembered the fury - when she humiliated him, when she ignored him, when she turned her back on him. But just as vividly he recalled the fear and dread of not knowing whether she was alive. Those feelings lingered, because she still wasn't completely back.
If anyone had asked, he would have claimed that the only reason he was in the hospital was to steal medical supplies for his own wounds—like the time he broke into a veterinary clinic to patch himself up. After all, gunshot wounds weren’t exactly pleasant.
His mind had been spiraling into darkness these past days and nights, full of twisted dreams and hallucinations. But here and now, for a fleeting moment, all those demons went quiet.
Maybe that was why he was here—to find something to heal his wounds.
Because despite everything, part of him still had a weakness for her. More than a weakness, really. She was someone who could completely unravel him, sometimes in ways that were utterly destructive.
From the moment he first met her, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her.
Wednesday lay with her arms folded on her chest. The machines around her tracked her vitals, making it look as though she were simply sleeping—if not for the bandages and bruises from her fall.
And yet she didn’t seem fragile or vulnerable. Tyler could easily imagine her opening her eyes at any moment, her expression unchanged. Even in a coma, her face carried its usual, unyielding look.
But if he thought she was alone and vulnerable, he was mistaken, because The Thing was also hiding in the room, watching over Wednesday when no one else could.
Tyler didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, he gave no sign.
Thing tensed the instant Tyler entered. There was no one worse who could have come to visit. He was ready to spring from the shadows if Tyler made the slightest move against her.
But Tyler did nothing. Absolutely nothing. He just stood there, staring at her, his face torn between emotions.
When he took another step, Thing moved closer to the bed, creeping along the wall.
Tyler slowly raised his hand, as if to touch Wednesday. Not in the gesture of attack, it was—something else.
But after a short hesitation he pulled it back. Then he turned and left—just as quickly as he had come.
He knew it was insane, reckless, maybe even absurd—but he couldn’t give up those brief moments of seeing her.
Whenever he could, he slipped in among the hospital staff. Sometimes all it meant was catching a glimpse of her through an open door for a few seconds. But still, he kept coming back.
As if she were the only anchor holding him together, however loosely, in his fractured state.
Sometimes he didn’t dare cross the threshold of her room, not when the voices in his head grew too loud, whispering that he should end it all once and for all.
Sometimes he overheard the nurses or doctors talking about her.
One of those days, when he thought he’d only catch a brief glimpse of her, something else caught his attention. A visitor in her room.
Not family, not Enid, not anyone he recognized. And well past visiting hours.
A young red-haired girl with two braids sat by Wednesday’s bed, chattering animatedly about recent events while braiding one of Wednesday’s own dark plaits.
Tyler watched from the hallway. Something about the scene stirred an odd feeling inside him.
Maybe it was the strange longing that it could be him sitting there, touching her hair. Because he was damn sure that if Wednesday were awake, she’d at the very least threaten to break the girl’s arm for trying.
And then the girl noticed him. Her eyes widened in panic—and she vanished right in front of him.
At first he thought she had recognized him, but he had been careful. He always wore a mask when moving among crowds.
Then he realized. She wasn’t supposed to be there either.
It seemed Wednesday had a fangirl.
Not even two days later, he saw her again. This time, she stood before Wednesday’s bed, wearing clothes that suspiciously resembled something Wednesday herself would wear.
Tyler raised a brow, wondering what the hell was going on.
The braided girl seemed to revel in it, looking as though it were the best day of her life.
Apparently, Wednesday had a way of attracting the strangest people.
That night, Tyler finally dared to come right up to her bed. Leaning close, he whispered,
“It’s time to wake up. Tomorrow is Día de los Muertos… I have a little surprise for you…”
He was certain she would never know that he had pressed a kiss to her forehead—before disappeared back into the hospital corridors and back into the dark night of Jericho.