Marc gently held Cassie's hand near her bedside, listening to the beeping of the heart monitor. An oxygen mask was pressed around her mouth and nose while an I.V. connected to her arm. Marc watched her chest rise and fall slowly, praying that one day, if he just willed hard enough, her eyes would open.

It had been ten days since the battle, and ten days since Cassie had entered a coma. Her family had arrived only a day or two after the battle and had been living at the cabin since, desperately waiting for their daughter to wake up, though Dr. Bradford had made it clear Cassie's fate could go either way. The power of the Guardians was clearly too much for her body to handle.

Cassie's other hand was bandaged after Dr. Bradford found some broken fingers. Marc was not sure how she had received such an injury, but he supposed Lynch was behind it. The man was dead, yet Marc still wished more revenge could have come to him for causing so much pain.

The bedroom Cassie rested in was empty for once. It was early in the morning, and the rest of Cassie's family were still sleeping. Marc had been awake for hours, hoping that she had woken, as he hoped every morning that he woke up. He was not surprised to find her still unconscious.

Marc rubbed his thumb over her hand, a few tears rolling down his cheeks. He had thought if one had them died in battle, it would be quick. The pain would be great, but at least neither of them would have to suffer. But now Marc was losing his mind each day when Cassie refused to wake up. It was worse than death, not knowing whether she would live or die.

"Please come back to me," Marc murmured. His eyes gazed down at the engagement ring on her finger. "I want to get married. We can finally do that now, Cass. I want to spend the rest of my days with you."

No response came.

Marc held back a sob and leaned forward to kiss her cheek. He thought she might move slightly, twitch a finger, but her body remained motionless.

"I love you," he whispered as he sat back down.

The door slowly creaked open. Marc whipped his head around to find Elijah entering the room, a picture book tucked under his arm.

"What are you doing up?" Marc asked. His tone came out more frustrated than he had planned it to.

The child shyly crept forward. "I-I thought if we read to Mommy, she might listen."

Marc let out an exhale. It was why he spent most of his freetime here or in his bedroom. He was afraid of letting out his frustration on anyone else, especially Elijah, but right now, he was the closest thing to a parent the child had.

Sharing that Irene had died had made Elijah ponder, but he didn't cry or act particularly sad. Marc had expected that reaction. To him, Cassie would always be his mother. And now he might lose her too.

"Come here," Marc said gently.

Elijah walked forward, and Marc lifted him onto his lap. The child opened up his picture book, allowing Marc to read. Elijah slumped his head against Marc's chest as Marc read softly. He knew this was more for Elijah than anyone else, though a part of him wondered if Cassie's consciousness might be listening.

When they had finished the book, Elijah peered forward, hoping Cassie had woken. Marc watched him frown when he realized she was still unconscious.

"When Mommy wake up?" Elijah asked.

"I don't know. You know, we talked about this already, but she might not wake up," Marc told him honestly.

Elijah pondered this thought for a moment. "Have you tried kissing her?"

Marc chuckled. "What?"

"Like in the storybooks!" Elijah exclaimed.

Even in such a dark time, Elijah still was able to bring a bit of joy to Marc's face. He felt his heart grow sad knowing Irene would never get the chance to see her child act with such a positive mood again.

"I already did try, but she won't wake up," Marc told him. "Why don't you go try?"

Elijah climbed down from Marc's lap and walked over to the bed. He stared at Cassie for a few moments before standing on his tiptoes to lean his face toward her cheek. Marc heard the slight sound of his peck before Elijah's heels dipped to the ground again.

"She didn't wake up," Elijah said bitterly.

"Maybe it just takes some extra time," Marc suggested. Not wanting the child to have to deal with this atmosphere much longer, he leaned down toward him. "I know Cherie is up. Maybe you can convince her to make you some pancakes."

"Okay!" Elijah exclaimed, leaving the picture book with Marc to run downstairs. Marc chuckled a bit to himself, forgetting for a moment the sight in front of him.

He only had about ten more minutes of silence when Cassie's immediately family and her uncle, John, entered the room. All of their faces dropped at the sight of a still-sleeping Cassie.

"I'm going to go get some breakfast," her father decided. "Anyone want to join?"

John and Cassie's mother followed, leaving just Marc and Diana. She pulled up a seat next to him and sat quietly beside him. There was an uncomfortable silence in the room, as they both stared at the motionless body of the girl they loved.

"When does Dr. Bradford come today?" Diana wondered.

"In the afternoon, I think," Marc answered, falling into silence again with that response.

"I really wish she would wake," Diana grumbled, obviously just as frustrated as Marc.

Marc quietly nodded.

"You know, I remember those two months she came back to us after that summer," Diana said. "When I did finally get her to spill the details about you, she was so flustered and embarrassed. I haven't seen her act that way when speaking about anyone before. I knew she really loved you."

"Why are you telling me this?" Marc asked.

"Because I don't think she'd leave this world without seeing you one more time. I know she loves her family, too, but she's made such great memories with us already. When I saw her for Christmas, she sounded really excited when I asked her wedding questions. She loves you. She loves everyone here. I don't think she can give up that easily. Cassie will pull through. She's strong," Diana assured him.

Marc stared at her. "T-Thanks," he stammered. His stomach was beginning to rumble, and he realized that he should probably be eating some food as well. Cherie had encouraged them all to eat away after battle, but he had been too worried to fully nourish his body again.

Marc stood up and pushed his chair away, allowing Diana to sit closer.

"Don't underestimate yourself," Marc told Diana. "I know she wants to see you just as much."

Diana grinned, then her face fell into a frown again. "Do you think Lillian will come see her?"

Marc shrugged. He had known that the girl had barely left her room in the past week and a half. If she was dealing that strongly with Irene's death, he couldn't imagine her reaction to seeing Cassie hooked up to machines.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see," was all he said as he left Cassie, hoping she would wake, but also knowing she would not, in the short time he was eating breakfast.