DS8Uncovered #LuMa #BearCouple #DaggerSeries

CHAPTER 58: MOONBEAM

LUCIENNE'S POV

Napamulat ako nang maramdaman ko ang biglang paggalaw ng kama. I forced my eyes to open to look at my husband, who's holding his phone to his ear.

Madaling-araw na ako nakatulog at kung pagbabasehan ang madilim pa rin na langit sa labas ay mukhang hindi pa ako nagtatagal sa pagtulog. That's probably the reason why I still feel drowsy.

I stared at my husband as he talked with whoever was on the other line. I've been married to Thorn for years. One look at him, and I know the difference between an emergency that's about work and one that's about the family. Looking at him now, I have a feeling that it's the latter.

Pilit na kinalma ko ang dumadagundong na puso ko. Moments like this are when he needs me most.

Thorn's been the head of the family for years. He and his siblings might lean on each other, but it couldn't be denied that he took the role of being the eldest seriously. That's why, at times like this, I need to be strong so that he has someone he can lean on to.

"We'll be there. We'll just drop the kids off at Dagger."

Pinutol niya ang tawag pero imbis na kumilos ay nanatili lang siya sa kinauupuan niya habang nakayuko. I took a huge breath before I pulled myself up into a sitting position. I moved closer to him, and I hugged him from behind, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Magnus called."

"Okay," I whispered.

"Luna was unresponsive again."

Nangilid ang luha sa mga mata ko pero pinigil ko ang pagpatak ng mga iyon. I kissed his shoulder as I tightened my hold on him.

"This... this can't happen again." Thorn's voice broke. "She kept the family together, Lucienne. It wasn't me... it was her. I don't know what I will do without her."

"You don't need to do anything without her. She'll get through this too. Katulad noon."

He reached for my hand, and he pulled it up to kiss it. Sandaling pinadaanan niya ng hintuturo niya ang singsing na suot ko. "They're going to get married in a few days. Everything's set already, and she's been so happy planning it even though everything needed to be rushed. What if... what if—"

"No. She'll make it. She'll wear that beautiful wedding gown, and you're going to walk her through the aisle. She'll be there. Luna Alondra Dawson-Aquillan won't let cancer stop her from attending her own wedding. She attended her own funeral, for heaven's sake. She's not going to miss this." Bumitaw ako sa kaniya at tumayo ako para magawa kong pumunta sa harapan niya. I ran my fingers through his hair, and it took all my strength not to burst out crying when our eyes met. "Let's go. I'll get the kids ready."

Bibitawan ko na sana siya para gawin ang sinabi ko nang pigilan niya ako sa kamay at hinila niya ako palapit sa kaniya. He hugged my waist for a moment, and I let him until he was ready to let go.

When his arms loosened around me, I gave him a small smile, and I grabbed a hoodie from the loveseat in our room. Mabilis na sinuot ko iyon bago ako lumabas ng kuwarto at dumiretso sa kuwarto ng mga bata.

Instead of opening the lights instantly, I went towards Cookie's bed, and I gently kissed his forehead.

"Cookie, baby. Wake up, please," I whispered softly. Maingat na tinapik ko ang braso niya at hindi naman nagtagal ay unti-unting bumukas ang mga mata niya.

"Mama? Why po?"

"Can you wake up your sister for me? I'm going to get you and IC some clothes. You'll stay at Dagger in the meantime with the other kids." I could see it in his eyes that he wanted to ask something, but instead of doing that, he just nodded. He's growing up so quickly.

Dumiretso ako ng tayo kasabay ng pagkilos niya para gisingin ang kapatid niya. Dumiretso ako sa walk-in closet nila. I grabbed a duffel bag, and I put a couple of Cookie and IC's clothes inside. Kumuha rin ako ng dalawang jacket para suotin nila bago kami umalis.

It didn't take long for us to leave the house and arrive at Dagger, where Rage and Warrick were already waiting for the children. Sigurado akong parating na rin ang iba o baka nauna pa sa amin.

I kissed my kids goodbye quickly, as Thorn did as well, before we were inside the car again to drive to the hospital. Dahil malapit lang iyon ay mabilis naming narating iyon.

Naabutan namin sa labas ng emergency room ang mga kapatid ni Luna maliban kay Coal at Domino. Pero sigurado ako na kasalukuyan na nilang pinalilipad ang mga sasakyan nila para lang makarating agad dito.

Napatigil ako sa paglalakad ng matanaw ko si Magnus. He had his eyes fixed on the floor, and the moment we arrived, he looked up. That's when I saw the expression in his eyes. They weren't just blank or anything. They almost look like... they're dead. That he's not here anymore.

"Stay with him."

Nag-angat ako ng tingin kay Thorn. "But—"

"I have my brothers. Right now, he needs a friend."

My lips trembled, but I nodded. He leaned down and pulled me against him to kiss my temple before letting me go. I crossed the distance between me and Magnus, and when I stopped in front of him, I hesitated for only a second before I stepped forward to hug him.

Sandaling hindi siya kumilos. I don't think it was out of surprise, but more of the fact that I probably felt unfamiliar with him. Because I know... I understand that at this moment, he wants nothing more than to have his wife in his arms.

"She'll be okay," I whispered.

"Not once did I stop believing that she would be," he murmured. "But I don't know, Lucienne. She's been different. She sleeps more, it's hard to wake her up, and she's been constantly whispering her mother's name in her sleep as if she's dreaming about her."

"Magnus—"

"Sometimes I will catch her just looking outside the window, and she'll stay there for hours, then there are times that she will just stare at me as if she's memorizing everything. Then she'll say something random, like I need to remember to water the plants in the garden or to schedule cleaning for our pit trap so we won't have plumbing issues. It feels like... it feels like I'm slowly losing her. Like she's preparing me for it."

"You're not going to lose her." When he tried to speak, I beat him to it. "You're not going to lose her this way. You believed for years that she'd get better. Don't stop now. Hindi ngayon na mas kailangan niya na may maniniwalang makakalagpas siya sa pinagdadaanan niya. Luna's getting weak, yes. There's no denying that. Kaya mas kailangan niya na magpakatatag tayo."

His jaw tightened, and his eyes were drowning in pain. "I'm fucking scared. I... I thought I could. I thought I could take it." He shook his head with a bitter smile. "But I can't. I love her too much. I can't let her go."

I bit the inside of my cheek. All I could do was nod. I feel like if I speak, I would shatter. Luna, you can't leave him like this. I know it's hard to fight, but not yet, please.

Hindi ko alam kung gaano kami katagal na naghihintay sa labas ng emergency room. It felt like forever had passed by when the door opened and a doctor stepped out. Mabilis na lumapit sa doktor si Magnus.

I went to Lia when, like Magnus, our husbands went to the doctor to talk to him. I managed to hear the word ICU and about the masses found in her chest. I glanced at Lia, and I found her already looking at me worriedly. A gaze we shared with the other women.

A few moments passed, and the doors opened again. I felt my heart squeeze when I saw an unconscious Luna being carted off by a gurney. She looks so pale and frail. Ang daming nakakabit sa kaniya. They even intubated her.

I wouldn't have been able to tell myself to look away from her if I didn't hear a whispered voice laced with so much pain that it took my breath away. I looked at the Dawsons father and the hold I had on Lia tightened when I saw tears falling from his eyes, his face frozen in a mixture of shock and grief.

"Liana," he whispered.

Liana? His wife?

He wasn't there when Luna was brought to the hospital. I don't think he ever saw her in the hospital. Until now. So I understand that this is new to him, even though he doesn't remember her.

But why is he calling his late wife?

I glanced at Luna, and that's when it clicked. This isn't exactly new to him. He saw this before. He saw his wife like this. Someone who looked so much like Luna.

Thorn said that their father only remembers the last days of their mother. Not the good days. Not what she looked like when she was healthy. Ang naaalala niya lang ay ang mga huli ng sandali ng asawa niya. And right now, Luna is in a similar situation.

"No, no, no," he whispered. "Moonbeam."

Napatakip ako sa bibig ko kasabay ng pagtulo ng mga luha ko. I wasn't the only one. I wasn't the only one watching, because I could hear the other women's silent cries.

Beside me, Lia's beautiful voice whispered brokenly, "He finally remembers her."

LUNA'S POV

The first thing I thought about when consciousness returned to me was that I'd slept for too long. The second one was that someone was holding my hand, and it felt unfamiliar. It wasn't my husband's.

I remember going to bed with Magnus to sleep, so to wake up with someone else touching me sent me into a panic. At the same time that my eyes snapped open, I tried to pull my hand away. But I was too weak, and I couldn't do it successfully.

"Moonbeam."

Moonbeam? My gaze went to the foot of the bed. I felt disoriented and dizzy, but it instantly hit me that I was in a completely different room. It isn't hard to understand where I am. Damn it. This is going to scare Magnus again.

"Luna?"

I turned my head to the sound of the voice, and to my surprise, my father was beside me, looking at me worriedly.

Binuka ko ang bibig ko at tinangka kong magsalita pero walang boses na lumabas doon. Humigpit ang pagkakahawak niya sa kamay ko at marahang pinisil niya iyon. "You're in the hospital. In the ICU. Everyone's outside, and we're taking turns going inside since we're not allowed to enter the ICU at the same time. Your throat might feel uncomfortable. They needed to intubate you, but they changed it to an oxygen mask awhile ago."

I nod my head once, as if telling him that I understand. He cleared his throat, and I thought he was about to say something. But instead, he just stared at me as if I was going to disappear.

"Are you okay?" I mouthed to him.

His jaw clenched and he let out a ragged breath. Imbis na sagutin ako ay isinubsob niya ang mukha niya sa kamay kong nakapaloob sa magkabila niyang mga kamay.

"I'm sorry."

Sorry for what? I wanted to ask him that but since he wasn't looking at me, he couldn't see the question.

I know he's been worried. He's aware that I'm sick. He hasn't seen me like this and in a hospital, but he knows what's happening. He even attended my mock funeral. He wasn't unaffected. He might not remember me, but he's the same father that I know who has a big heart and one who cares so deeply. Kahit na hindi niya ako maalala.

"I failed you once," he whispered. "Then I failed you again."

What is he talking about? How did he fail me? By not remembering me?

"I told you that everything is okay. I promised you that I would be safe. That I will come back, so you don't need to wait too long. But I didn't. I didn't come back."

My lips parted as my chest tightened painfully.

"When I did come back, I wasn't the person you were waiting for. I remembered everyone except... except for my little girl."

I felt something wet touch my hand that he was holding, knowing full well what it was. My own tears welled from my eyes as I listened to him, the meaning of his words dawning on me.

"I'm sorry." Nag-angat siya ng mukha at sinalubong niya ang mga mata ko. He kissed my palm. "I'm sorry that I'm late, little moonbeam. I'm sorry that it took this long."

"How?" I asked without a voice.

"You look so much like your mother, Luna. It wasn't the memories of her in a similar situation—the memories of her that I only have—that made me remember. It was the pain of seeing you that way too. Then it was like the times I had with you recently flashed in my mind, and it combined with the things that I had forgotten that I shared with your mother. When she was still full of life, when she wasn't giving up... when I wasn't losing her, that's when I remember you. Because that's what you showed me... even though I don't deserve it."

"Don't say that."

"She was so proud of it, you know? That you look like her twin. That I finally gave her a baby girl that looks so much like her. I could never have imagined that it would be the same reason why I would have forgotten you. She was erased from my mind, and so are you." A lone tear ran down his cheeks, falling to my hand that he's still holding. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

I pulled my hand away, and for a quick second, a different kind of pain crossed his eyes. One out of rejection. But it didn't last long. Not when I gently placed my hand on his cheek with a small smile on my lips.

"Papa," I mouthed. "Welcome back."

____________________________End of Chapter 58.