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Chapter Twenty-Four: Watching Over Her

The dull beeping of the heart monitor roused Vernon from his slumber, his ear twitching along to the steady tone. The tired wolf blearily opened his eyes. His vision was clouded, eyes still coated in the tacky goo left behind from a troubled sleep. He was still where he had fallen the night before, sitting in a chair, his head rested on side of the hospital bed where the now comatose Dawn Bellwether lay. His paw still clasped tightly over her hoof as it had been since he had passed out in the early morning hours. Vernon frowned at the still unconscious ewe, letting out a disappointed sigh as he finally raised his head off the bed. Glancing up at the nearby clock, Vernon let out another sigh.

"Two fifty-three?" The wolf grumbled. Vernon turned back to the sleeping sheep, his frown deepening. "Here I was thinking you'd be out of this by now Floofs."

Laying his head back on the mattress, he continued to stare at the ewe with sad eyes. "You can get through this Dawn, I know you can." He mumbled somberly.

As he continued to watch Dawn's chest rise and fall with each breath, his mind replayed the events of the night before.

Vernon couldn't remember exactly when he had fallen asleep in the squad car, the only thing he could recall was his brother Wade shaking him awake when they had arrived at GrizzlyFallsGeneralHospital. It had only taken the sleepy wolf a moment to recollect exactly what was going on before he took off like a flash, bowling his brother over as he rushed to the emergency room doors. There was an argument at first, the doctors and nurses were reluctant to tell Vernon anything since he wasn't a blood relative. Judy may have bluffed to her boss about the wolf being Dawn's contact, but he couldn't exactly bluff his name onto the adequate paperwork. One particularly snippy gazelle nurse was about ready to call in security when Wade and Mavsa finally entered the waiting room after Vernon. Another brief discussion, and with proof of the wolf's shared address and police backing the hospital caved to Vernon's desperate pleading. But despite the approval the wolf was still required to wait in the emergency room until Dawn was stabilized and de-contaminated.

What followed was the most agonizing two hours of Vernon's life, most of which was spent pacing a hole into the aged tile floor of the waiting room. Wade and Mavsa did their best to distract the wolf, although in retrospect Vernon chalked most of that up to adherence to police procedure. Wade had started by taking down Vernon's version of the events of the preceding nights, going as far back as the attack on Bug Burga that the wolf had failed to give a statement on.

Vernon did his best to gloss over the parts that featured him prominently breaking the law, such as basically ewe-napping Dawn and the high speed chase with officer Hopps and Wilde, instead trying to keep the officers focused on the rest of the harrowing tale. He would go on to explain the drive-thru attacks, the chase through the Rain Forest, getting knocked over the falls, and Dawn's heroic sacrifice in excruciating detail. Vernon did the best he could to keep his attention centered on telling the officers everything, but growing fear in him kept his eyes frequently falling back to the unmoving doors of the intensive care wing. As Vernon finally reached the point in the story describing Dawn's double cross, the wolf could barely keep it together. He whimpered and whined, choking back sobs at the memory of Dawn's shambling form lost in the blue fog. Mavsa had to grab the wolf's attention several times during that part of his report, the thought of Dawn's well being forcing his attention back on the unmoving doors, and the eternal waiting.

It had taken less than an hour to recount everything Vernon could remember. Mavsa, satisfied with the report called for her partner to pack it in for the night. But much to Vernon's relief Wade refused to leave him alone, offering to stay until they found out what happened to the little ewe. Wade told Mavsa to head back to the station and let the Chief know he had a family emergency, and to clock the wolf out.

After the arctic fox left, Wade did his best to make conversation. The two talked about old family stories, what was going on with the other brothers in the family, and what was happing in their own lives. Vernon tried to give Wade his full attention, but in truth he had only heard about half of what Wade said during most of their talk. Vernon's mind was far too focused on Dawn. 'Was she going to pull through? What if the doctors don't give their all to help because of who Dawn is? What if...' Vernon couldn't bear to think it. The wolf couldn't even entertain the idea of Dawn not making it through the ordeal. It didn't take long for Wade to call him on his waning focus.

"You aren't listening to a word I've said, are you?" Wade said bluntly.

"Wh-what!?" Vernon snapped his head away from the intensive care entrance and back on his brother. "I am, I am!"

Wade just stared at his brother flatly. "What did I say then?"

Vernon bit his claws, glancing back at the double doors one more time.

"Uh...police stuff?" Vernon said meekly.

Wade chuckled. "You really care about that lamb huh? A Bellwether?" Wade pat the arm rests of his chair idly.

Vernon looked down at the floor, he could feel his tears welling up again. Wiping his eyes he looked back up at Wade.

"I-I.." He sniffled. "I love her Wade. Like really love her."

"Whoa." Wade looked surprised. "You do know she's prey ri-"

Vernon glared at his brother, severity in his eyes. "Don't you dare mister 'I really want to ask that cute giraffe cow who works at the coffee place across from my precinct out, what do I do Mr. Therapist?!'" The wolf chided.

"Hey, hey!" Wade leaned in, gesturing for his brother to quiet down. "I wasn't saying there's anything wrong with it." Wade cleared his throat. "I'm just surprised is all, you never seemed interested in prey before." The wolf dabbed his brow.

"I wasn't." Vernon sighed. "But then she came back into my life, and It just sort of happened. She's it Wade."

Wade stared at him, confusion on his face. "She's what?" Wade asked.

"She's the one Wade." Vernon chuckled weakly. "She may be prey, and I may be her natural enemy, but she's the one 'mam."

"Teeth to tails Puppy." Wade muttered in awe.

"And now I might never even get the chance to tell her that, the chance to see if maybe she feels the same, the chance to be together." Vernon's head sank.

"Hell." Wade replied somberly. "I...really didn't realize how serious this all was." Vernon felt his brother's paw begin to pat him on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry Vern. I really am."

After that the two fell silent for a while. Vernon simply had continued to stare at the floor as his mind pictured every terrible scenario involving the doctor coming out of the intensive care unit and telling the wolf the five words he couldn't bear to hear. 'There's nothing we could do.'

When the doctor finally entered the waiting room after what seemed like eons, Vernon nearly tripped over his chair in the mad rush to get to him.

"IS SHE OKAY!?" The wolf clasped the old goat, shaking him vigorously.

"EASY, EASY MR. HUNTER!" The doctor replied, gently clasping the wolfs wrists and pulling his paws away.

"She's stable." The caprid said in a serious tone. "We nearly lost her a few times, but she managed to pull through."

"CAN I SEE HER!?" Vernon yelped.

"Easy Vern, take it down a notch." Wade had now placed a paw on his shoulder.

The doctor cleared his throat. "Before you do, I need to explain the situation."

Vernon stared at the old, snow white billy in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I'm afraid Ms. Bellwether is a coma." The goat sighed, placing a hoof to his temple. "Much like the other cases of toxic night howler exposure, she's become completely un-responsive."

"D-does that mean...? Vernon trailed off, his lip quivering in fear.

"Well, unfortunately a high percentage of those who fall into a night howler coma tend to eventually succumb to heart failure, the constant flow of adrenalin from when they were exposed proves to be too much of strain. Ms. Bellwether was exposed to a lethal level of night howler toxin, it's a wonder we were able to stabilize her at all." The goat shook his head.

"B-but there's a chance? Please tell me-"

The old goat held up a hoof. "As I said Mr. Hunter, it's a wonder we were able to stabilizer her. But she is alive now, and there is a chance she could come out of the coma fine, however small that may be."

"So what now?" Wade chimed in.

"Well, I recommend spending as much time with her as you can Mr. Hunter." The caprid adjusted his glasses. "Many believe that having a close friend or relative around a comatose patient can help bring them out of it. I can't really say for certain, but at least if she doesn't wake up you'll be with her till..." The goat coughed awkwardly, and his eyes shifted uneasily before he regained his composure.

"Anyway, I'll walk you to the room. Follow me Mr. Hunter." The doctor said, turning from the pair and back toward the infirmary doors.

Vernon did his best to dutifully follow the doctor despite the urge to run surging through his body. The wait had been unbearable, and now that he was so close to seeing her the wolf found it almost impossible to suppress the need to charge down the hall to her side and shave off the remaining agonizing seconds. Luckily the trip had proved shorter than he had expected, the ewe had only been three doors down from the entryway.

Vernon couldn't help but let out a horrified gasp when he first laid eyes on the ewe. The lamb had cables running all over her. Heart monitor leads, an I.V. drip, several other devices that the wolf couldn't make heads or tails of, and topped off with a breathing mask strapped to her muzzle. Vernon began to silently cry as he made his way over to her bedside. To him, the ewe looked even smaller than usual, and so frail. As he sat down he grasped her hoof tightly, tears still streaming from his eyes.

"I'm so sorry." He mumbled. "I'm so, so sorry Floofs."

The rest of the night became a blur to Vernon. The only thing he could remember was that he hadn't moved at all after sitting down. At some point the doctor left, followed soon after by Wade. He was sure he had said goodbye to his brother, hadn't he? After that he simply continued to watched the slumbering ewe, his tears still streaming until at some point he finally passed out from exhaustion.

Vernon let out another sigh as he watched Dawn sleep, gently petting the hoof he had been clutching earlier. At the very least the sleep had cleared his head somewhat, a great deal of the tension washed away no matter how uncomfortable the sleep was. The rams threatening Dawn, the night howler, that was all over and done with, and the only thing left to worry about was the lamb's recovery. Vernon raised a paw to Dawn's face, gently caressing the side of her cheek.

"I'm here Dawn." He muttered. "You take all the time you need to recover. I'll be here the whole time." Vernon's voice trembled.

"Mr. Hunter?" The voice drew the wolf's attention to the door where a small lamb now stood. The ewe looked at Vernon with curious eyes. The lime green orbs that shown through her oversized cats eye lenses were hauntingly similar to Dawn's own. The sheep was on the smaller side, although still larger than Dawn with more of an off white color to her fleece. She was clad in a series of deep rose colored apparel. A dark dress jacket, with a frilly light pink blouse underneath and a deep brandy wine colored dress skirt. Though the most notable part of her outfit were the little green clover cufflinks, the bright green contrasting sharply against the rose colored clothing. Her voice alone told the wolf she was an older ewe, perhaps just edging into her sixties. The ewe looked far too much like Dawn to be a mere coincidence, leaving little doubt in the wolf' as to the lamb's identity.

"M-Mrs. Bellwether?" Vernon stared at the ewe in surprise, choking slightly on his words.

"Y-you" The ewe twisted a hoof. "You can call me Clover."

An awkward silence passed between the two, the entire time the lamb remained in the doorway as if she were awaiting permission to enter.

"I-u-uh." Vernon scratched his head. Quickly grasping another nearby chair, the wolf pulled it along side his own. "P-please come in, sit down." The wolf stuttered, patting the empty seat with his paw.

Slowly the small ewe made her way over to the bedside, and with help from Vernon, managed to get her way up onto the chair. She sat there silently staring at her daughter, her face morose and sullen. Vernon couldn't think of anything to say, the appearance of the ewe had stunned him into silence. Instead, the wolf simply stared back at Dawn.

The two silently sat for a while before Vernon managed to build the courage to speak.

"H-how..." Vernon muttered. "How long were you standing there?" The wolf asked.

"L-long enough..." the ewe fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable. Vernon sighed in response.

"Y-you know who I am?" Vernon stuttered.

"Of course I do. Vernon, c-correct?" Clover stated.

"How?" Vernon turned to look at the little sheep. She shrunk in response to the sudden attention.

"I-I first learned about you from Dawn when she was little, on that day she came home with the bracelet." Clover sighed.

"I knew your father growing up, before Aster I mean." The lamb looked down. "Also your father was often the officer on duty who had to respond to the domestic disturbances at my home, so I never forgot the name 'Hunter'."

"B-but now? How could you know I was around Dawn now? Aster didn't recognize me." The wolf replied.

"Aster could barely remember anything about anything." The ewe sighed. "He mentioned your name last week during one of his drunken stupors."

"He did?" Vernon asked.

The little ewe adjusted her glasses, puffing her chest in an attempt to seem larger. "D-dumb filthy wolf Vernon Hunter!" The sheep pantomimed a drunken swagger. "I'll show Dawn what you really are!" The ewe let the air out abruptly, causing her to slouch. "That was more of less what I heard, s-save for the slurring." She concluded, re-adjusting her lenses.

The wolf leaned forward onto Dawn's bed, his eyes watching the heart monitor as he rubbed his temples.

"D-did you know? About Ast-"

"Oh heavens no!" The ewe pleaded. "O-outside of our family I always assumed my husband was all talk. I-I had no idea what he was doing." The ewe let out a disappointed sigh.

The wolf glanced at Clover again. The lamb had now taken a similar position to his own, leaning her arms on Dawn's bed.

"My h-husband drinks a lot." She muttered.

"I've heard." Vernon grumbled, cutting the ewe off. Clover seemed to shrink for a moment before continuing.

W-well-" She stuttered. "D-drinking tended to k-keep him out of the house, so it just seemed normal t-to me. I didn't really think about it when h-he started staying out l-longer." She chuckled weakly. "In fact it was a relief." The small ewe idly rubbed her arm.

The ewe looked at the wolf with sad eyes, before staring back down at the bed sheet. She remained silent for a while, the steady sound of the heart monitor permeating through the room.

"Why..." Vernon broke the awkward silence.

The ewe glanced back at Vernon. Tears were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes.

"W-why didn't I contact Dawn?" The ewe stuttered.

Vernon simply nodded, it was a question he had wanted to know for a long time. Even before all of this mess, before he had come back into her life, why did Clover shut Dawn out? Aster he understood, but based on what Dawn had told the wolf Clover had seemed to be kind. Was she really just that meek that she couldn't stand to the domineering ram?

The ewe twiddled her hooves awkwardly.

"W-would you believe me if I said it was to keep her safe?" Clover muttered.

Vernon didn't respond, he simply continued to stare at Dawn.

"I-I suppose not." She sighed. "To be honest, I was a terrible parent." The ewe began to sniffle.

"I-I let Aster walk a-all over me, and then Dawn. I didn't do a-anything to help her growing up. I-" The ewe whimpered. "I w-was too weak."

Vernon turned to look at Clover. The little ewe looked pitiful, and the wolf's irritation faded immediately as he watched her start to shudder. Vernon leaned in closer to the ewe, placing a paw on her shoulder.

"I w-was so happy when Dawn left home." She chuckled weakly. "It's shameful isn't? T-to be glad when your child leaves home." She looked Vernon in the eyes, tears steadily streaming from her own.

"But I knew she was safer out there. S-she's always been so much stronger than I was, and outside of our little hell hole of a home I knew she would f-flourish." The ewe placed her head in her hooves.

"But she was still living my husband's dream, his desperate need to prove his worth to his Father had spilled over into her, a-and t-then..." The ewe began to sob.

Vernon gently pat the ewe's back.

"M-maybe it was fear." Clover turned back the face Vernon. "A-aster made his decree a-after Dawn was arrested that I w-wasn't allowed to speak to her." The lamb's sobs turned to chokes. "I-I had thought a-about s-seeing her in se-ecret b-b..."

"Easy Clover." Vernon cooed.

The lamb sniffled hard, doing her best to stifle her sobs.

"S-sorry." She sniffled, letting out a cough before continuing.

"I thought about s-seeing her in secret, but if Aster had found out I would have most likely ended up in the hospital." Clover wiped her eyes.

"But another part of me was ashamed." The lamb sighed. " M-my inability to l-let go of who Aster was threatened my daughters future, I stood b-by and let him ruin who she was."

"Worst of all, when she got out of prison she m-might have ended up back home. Back u-under Aster's hoof. I-I-" The ewe looked down. "I -c-couldn't allow that to be an o-option, for Dawn's sake."

"So that's why you decided to go along with shutting her out?" Vernon asked.

The ewe nodded weakly in reply.

"I hadn't even known A-aster was keeping tabs on Dawn until l-last week." The ewe rubbed her temples. "I h-had no idea what he was up t-too. I could only pray that y-you would protect her if he m-meant anything by his drunken rant." The lamb sighed.

"M-me?" Vernon sputtered. "What made you think I could protect her."

Clover stared back at Vernon, her eyes glassy with tears. Despite her apparent sadness, the ewe managed to give a weak smile.

"I knew your Father Vernon, he was a good mammal. We were rather close before I met Aster." The lamb's smile widened as she seemed to recall Dorian.

"Wait, you don't mean to say that you and my Father were sort of..." The wolf trailed off, his mind unable to fathom his Father being with a prey mammal.

Clover simply laughed. "Oh heavens no Vernon, we weren't an item." She flicked her hoof as if to shake off the very notion. "But we grew up in the same neighborhood, and he was very kind to me." The lamb let off a wistful sigh.

"Dorian was a lot like Dawn had described you to me when she was little. Energetic, friendly, and a strong sense of right and wrong. He always stood up for the smaller mammals." Clover smiled broadly.

"But our families found out about it, and broke it up." The smile melted away, slinking into a deep frown. "From then on, my family staunchly enforced against fraternizing with predators, and I fell quickly into that powerless roll I've become so used to." She sniffled hard, stifling another sob.

"But your Father never changed." The smile returned to her muzzle. "He never let society or his family change who he was. All those times he came over to arrest Aster for abusing me or Dawn, he was still the same kind, friendly, and caring mammal I had known for years before." The lamb let out another wistful sigh.

"I should have listened to your Father years ago. I should have pressed charges, took Dawn and left the bastard." The ewe chuckled weakly. "But love makes us do stupid things sometimes. And I really loved that ram..." Clover trailed off. "Well...who he used to be."

"But I'm not exactly my Father." Vernon stated, running a paw over his scalp.

"Please, you Hunter boys are all good. " The ewe pat the wolf on the knee. " I don't think Dorian could bring up a bad pup if he tried. I knew you would protect my daughter, just like you had when she was little."

Vernon sighed. The wolf placed his arms back on the bed, placing his head in his paws.

"B-but." The wolf began to sniffle. "I didn't C-clover. I d-didn't protect her." He sobbed, waiving his paw at the unconscious ewe. "Look at h-her."

Vernon felt Clover's hoof on his back. The ewe began to gently rub in an effort to comfort the wolf.

"My daughter is strong Vernon, very strong." The ewe smiled at the wolf. "I know she'll make it through this."

Vernon simply shook his head.

"And you are here giving her all of your strength." Clover continued to comfort the wolf. "The nurses tell me you haven't even left my daughters side since they let you in here."

"I don-"

"Shhhhh." The lamb placed a hoof to the wolf's lips. "If you are doting over her this much, I can't even begin to imagine what you've done for her over these last few days. Hell, even these last few months." Clover smiled.

"T-the nurses told y-you we?" Vernon looked down at the floor, an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"It said on the paperwork you were her roommate now?" The ewe flashed the wolf a knowing smile.

"I-I uh" Vernon looked away shamefully. He wasn't sure what to expect from the lamb in regards to his feelings for her daughter. "I mean, do you have a problem with-?"

"No, No." The lamb's eyes were starting to tear again, but despite it she smiled. "Unless you were in love with her, then we'd really have a problem."

Vernon's heart leapt into his throat as the room fell silent. He simply stared at the lamb, clenching his teeth as sweat began to form on his brow. Clover suddenly broke the silence with a loud laugh.

"I'm kidding Vernon, I'm kidding." The lamb laughed. "I never shared my husband's colorful opinion of predator, as far as I'm concerned whoever makes my daughter happy makes me happy."

Vernon let out a sharp sigh of relief, wiping his forehead with a paw before leaning back on the bed. The wolf turned his stare back to the sleeping Dawn.

"I do Mrs. Bellwether, I love her." Vernon sighed.

"Well it's a good thing I brought this then." The ewe suddenly took Vernon's paw. Vernon stared in confusion as the lamb wrenched his paw open and slipped something inside. Clasping his paw shut again, she shoved it back toward the wolf. Vernon slowly opened his paw to reveal a familiar bracelet, one he hadn't seen since he was little. The letters on the cubes were chipped in places, but still quite readable.

"P-puppy's best friend?" Vernon sniffled, staring at the lamb in disbelief. "H-how? Dawn said-"

"Yes, Aster did destroy it." The lamb adjusted her glasses. "And who do you think had to clean it up when we got home from the hospital?"

"I-I...This is..." Vernon couldn't find the words. His mind simply reeled at the fact that the bracelet still existed.

"He only damaged the twine, so it was fairly easy to fix." The ewe smiled. "I had to hide it for many years, but now I can finally give it back to my daughter."

Vernon nodded dumbly. With nothing to add, the wolf gently raised Dawn's hoof and slid the bracelet on. Gently placing her hoof back down, he patted the bracelet gently before clasping his paw back around her hoof.

"I-I can't even beg-"

"Don't thank me for anything." Clover shook her head. "If anything I need to apologize for what my husband has done to you both. I can never truly make up for it, but at least maybe that will help in some way?" The ewe looked at Vernon with pleading eyes.

Vernon nodded softly, smiling at the sleeping Dawn. "I'm s-sure it would mean a lot to her Clover."

"I hope..." The ewe said sadly.

Clover slowly eased off the chair, brushing her dress off as she stood.

"Wait, are you-"

"I-" The ewe turned back to Vernon, her head dipping in shame. "I-I've intruded long enough." Clover rubbed her arm awkwardly.

"Besides, I still have to go identify my husband's body."

Vernon stared at Clover in disbelief. "Y-you mean the night howl-"

"No, not quite." The ewe mumbled "He suffered a 'subdural hematoma', apparently from repeatedly ramming other mammals in a blind rage. "

Vernon resisted the urge to mutter the word 'good' more to respect Clover than anything else. The ewe turned and began to walk toward the door.

"When Dawn wakes up, j-just..." He could hear the ewe sniffling. "tell her how sorry I am. If she wants to see me after that...it's up to her. But I'll understand if she doesn't want too." The ewe rounded the doorframe.

"Mrs. Bellwether!" Vernon called out.

The ewe turned to look at Vernon one more time.

"And thank you Vernon, I know you'll give my daughter the life she deserves."

And with that, Clover Bellwether disappeared into the hospitals halls. Vernon's stare lingered on the door for quite some time before his attention drifted back to the comatose Dawn. Vernon grit his teeth, squeezing the ewe's hoof gently.

"I will Clover." Vernon murmured. "I will."