𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭🫀

Cardan paced the corridor outside the delivery room, his hands trembling as he clenched and unclenched them. The muffled sounds of machines and hurried voices filtered through the door, each second feeling like a lifetime. Moments earlier, Serena had been rushed into surgery, pale and unconscious, her body fragile from the stress of premature labor. Their baby boy, Damian, had been delivered—tiny and struggling—but the doctors’ focus shifted quickly when Serena’s condition worsened.

The door swung open, and a nurse stepped out. Her face was grim. “Mr. Montclair” she said softly, trying to mask the urgency in her voice. “We’re doing everything we can, but her heart has stopped. The doctor is trying to revive her.”

Cardan’s vision blurred. “Stopped?” His voice cracked, the word barely escaping his throat. “No… No, that can’t be. She was just here—she was breathing! She—”

“Please, sir,” the nurse interrupted gently but firmly. “You need to wait here. Let us help her.”

Cardan wanted to protest, to barge in and see her, to hold her hand and plead for her to fight. But his legs buckled beneath him as the weight of the moment crashed down. He sank onto the bench, burying his face in his hands, whispering, “Don’t leave me, Serena… Please.”

Inside the room, Serena lay motionless on the bed, her skin pale against the stark white sheets. The monitor by her bedside emitted an erratic, rapid beeping before flatlining entirely.

“Ventricular fibrillation!” the nurse called out.

“Let’s move, now!” the doctor ordered, pulling down Serena’s hospital gown to expose her chest. “Start compressions!”

A nurse stepped forward, placing her hands over Serena’s bare chest. She pushed down rhythmically, counting aloud. “One, two, three, four…”

The doctor grabbed the ambu bag and positioned it over Serena’s face, squeezing it firmly. Her chest rose and fell with each breath of air forced into her lungs. The room buzzed with urgency, the sound of the flatline a cruel reminder of how fragile her life had become.

“Charging defibrillator,” the doctor announced, his voice steady but tense. He squeezed gel onto the paddles, spreading it quickly before placing one on Serena’s sternum and the other on her apex. “100 joules. Ready—clear!”

Serena’s body jerked slightly off the bed as the shock coursed through her. Everyone stared at the monitor, hoping for a rhythm. The line remained flat.

“Again. Charge to 200.”

“Charged.”

“Clear!”

Her chest lifted higher this time, the force jolting her frail body. But the monitor stayed silent, its flatline mocking their efforts.

“Damn it,” the doctor muttered under his breath. “300 joules.” He glanced at the team, his eyes betraying the fear he fought to suppress. “Come on, Serena. Don’t give up on me.”

The paddles were pressed to her chest again. “Clear!”

Her body convulsed upward, the motion more violent than before. Everyone held their breath, but the line didn’t move.

“360 joules. This is our last chance,” the doctor said, his voice heavy.

“Charging,” the nurse replied.

The doctor leaned close to Serena’s lifeless face. “Fight, Serena. You have to fight. There’s someone waiting for you outside. Don’t leave him. Don’t leave us.”

“Charged.”

“Clear!”

The shock sent Serena’s body arching dramatically before falling back onto the bed, motionless. The monitor let out a low, unbroken tone—a flatline.

“Resume compressions!” the doctor barked.

The nurse immediately began CPR again, her palms pressing hard against Serena’s sternum. Each compression seemed to drain more hope from the room. Sweat beaded on their foreheads as they worked tirelessly, switching between CPR and defibrillation.

Minutes stretched into what felt like hours. The room grew quieter, the urgency giving way to exhaustion and despair.

The doctor stepped back, his hands trembling as he stared at Serena. “Call it,” he whispered, but his voice faltered. “Wait…” He stepped closer again, placing his stethoscope on her chest, as if willing her heart to beat.

Outside, Cardan sat frozen, his mind racing through every memory he had with Serena. The way she smiled, how her eyes sparkled when she laughed, the warmth of her hand in his. He couldn’t lose her—not like this.

“Please…” he whispered to no one. “Come back to me. You promised me forever.”

His heart sank when the door opened, and a nurse stepped out. Her face was pale, her eyes glistening.

“Mr. Montclair…” she began, her voice cracking.

Cardan didn’t wait for her to finish. He pushed past her and into the room.

“Cardan, you can’t—”

But he was already at Serena’s bedside. Her body lay still, her skin cold to the touch. The machines had been turned off, and the team stood silent, their heads bowed.

“Serena,” Cardan choked, falling to his knees beside her. He grabbed her hand, pressing it to his lips. “No… No, no, no. You can’t leave me. You hear me? You can’t!”

Tears streamed down his face as he cupped her cheeks, his voice breaking. “You promised we’d do this together. You promised me…”

For a moment, the room was silent except for Cardan’s sobs. Then, faintly, the monitor emitted a weak, irregular beep.

“Wait,” the doctor said, rushing to her side. “We’ve got something. Weak pulse—start a line, now!”

Cardan froze, his tear-streaked face lifting in disbelief. “She’s alive?”

“Her heart’s beating, but it’s faint,” the doctor said hurriedly. “We’re not out of the woods yet. Give us space.”

Cardan stepped back, hope flickering in his chest as he watched the team work tirelessly to stabilize her. He whispered a prayer, clutching the wedding ring on his finger.

“Come back to me, Serena,” he murmured. “Please.”

________

I know there's some unrealistic practice here like you can't shock a flatline. but anyway,enjoy.

Liric and Quinn - Fairy Resus

Inspired by some wonderful art from my new friend @saphicresus, my first story. I may come back to this some day and re-write it to be a bit better, but I wanted to go ahead and get something published. I hope you like it!

Liric’s tail flicked in frustration as she paused- focusing her breath as she tried to stay quiet. To stay hidden. Her wings pulled in closer to her tiny frame, pointed ears able to pick up even the slightest of sounds but yet she didn’t hear a thing. She could feel her tiny heart racing in her chest, adrenaline rushing through, making every movement shaky and uncoordinated.

Quinn was after her. An enemy she had became under circumstances that weren't her own. She’d ventured into her families territory whenever her familiar, a large cane toad named Hieff, had went missing late in the night. The Brabblefern family was known to be skilled hunters, and vicious to their enemies. Where as Liric, the only daughter to the head of the Lotusfeet family, had a lot more peace and understanding to anybody who accidentally came around.

And now, she was in a situation she’d never been in. She was trapped in a Twoleg’s house. She hadn’t realized when she was flying- but had flown straight through an open window. They had both scrambled to hide whenever they heard the Twoleg enter, but now- she didn’t know where Quinn was, or the Twoleg that she couldn’t hear anymore. The tiny fairy moved some of her blonde strands from in front of her face before she heard shuffling- and her wings expanded, taking off quickly and darting out from the cupboard she was in.

“Get back here, you coward!” Quinn screamed angrily. Her features were much different then Lirics. She had the same body type, but her bare body was adorned with swirls of pigment that almost appeared as tattoos. It provided essential camouflage to her enemies. Her skin was much darker, and hair more coarse, currently in tight, firm dreads that had adorations of beads and small animal bones. They were successful, brutal, ruthless hunters. Deep scars showed just how brave she was- and she was quickly catching up to Liric.

“Please- just- leave me alone! Please!” Liric cried out, darting around a corner and ducking under a cabinet. Her eyes quickly scanned in any place that she could hide, she could see freshly cut vegetables on the counter, jars prepared with their lids off setting on the table. She was familiar with this kind of food preservation from her studies, but she didn’t know yet what to do- until she heard the sound of Quinn screaming in pain as she flew over a boiling pot of hot water, the steam having made her dip down into the floor. Liric looked behind her, her wings flapping quickly, still racing to find another open window- deep down, she was afraid that Quinn was hurt. ⁃ THUD! Liric slammed roughly into the wall, not having been watching where she was going. The small fairly fell down, falling into one of the open jars with a hazy thud, stars in her vision as she tried to regain her composure. She didn’t even realize she’d blacked out until she heard something rustling just above the jar, the sound of metal on glass.

Her dark eyes opend in time to see that Quinn had managed to pick up the lightweight lid to the old jar and began to screw it on the top. Liric flew up quickly, shoving her hands against the top- but she was no match. The lid was already screwed, she was just tightening it. She began to beat against the lid. “Quinn! Please- please! Let me out! Let me out!” She screamed frantically, trying to fly against the side of the jar to knock it over. But Quinn flew down, looking at the struggle as Liric began to tire out.

But Liric couldn’t understand why she was getting tired until it dawned on her… she was running out of oxygen, and fast. She slowed down even more, her body feeling heavier then it ever had as she crumbled down to the bottom of the jar, her tail swishing slowly as she looked at the way Quinn smirked at her. The fairy’s long nails slowly tapped against the jar teasingly, her own tail swishing with something that resembled delight as she watched Liric try to gasp. But every breath she took seemed to starve her body further of the oxygen it needed, her heart beating wildly in her ears as if it would jump out of her chest all together. Liric’s hands clawed against the glass, trying to find anything to hold onto- anything to try and convince Quinn that she’d stay away from her territory. She understood why the other fairy was so violent, with how scarse food was, with some other fairies stealing and killing- she wasn’t mad at her… but she knew she didn’t deserve to be killed for her simple mistake. Quinn was several moons older then she was, she had more expirence, more skill, a bigger clan.

Her head began to pound, a headache like she’d never felt before aching through her body. Her vision was blurring even more, and she was getting disoriented, unable to speak. She was suffocating, and her body was starting to go through cyanosis. Her pale skin was turning blue around her lips and her face, the red that had washed over her was fading as her heart stopped trying to uselessly pump blood. Her tiny frame jerked invoulntarily as she slid further, her back hitting the back of the glass as she began to feel more tired.

She couldn’t explain the sense of.. calmness that she felt. Her tired, tiny heart was slowing it’s beats down. The tips of her fingers, and her toes were slowly turning blue, a paleness that was racing to her limbs. Quinn laid her hands on her hips in a satisfied huff. “You’ll never steal from us again, will you Lotusfeet?” She cackled, before jumping up- her wings splaying out and starting to flutter as she took flight again. Liric’s hand reached weakly out twoards the figure as one last plea before everything darkend within her vision, and Quinn flew out the still-open window, just narrowly avoiding the Twoleg as she walked back inside. Liric’s body had gone limp at the bottom of the jar.

Briela looked curiously out her window, her long brown hair dusting over her shoulders, the smell of fresh dirt on her knees as she took off her gardening gloves, setting the basket of herbs down on the small table that she’d collected. “Oh, butterflies this time of year already? I really need to plant those flowers..” She murmured to herself as she looked for the ‘butterfly’ she’d seen fly out her window. She shrugged it off, and moved to kick off her dirty shoes before going over to the sink to start washing her hands. She did so, patting her hands dry on the small towel as blue eyes glanced over to the pot of boiling water.

“Oh! I forgot about canning!” She cried out in surprise at the boiling water, moving to turn down the water a bit before looking at her jars, noticing the metal lid on one. Her head tilted in surprise before she saw it- the tiny, blue fairy within the jar. “O-Oh my! Oh my! Shit, shit shit shit!” She yelped as she quickly lifted up the jar, unscrewing it with ease as she looked into it. “Oh! Hey, hey- holy shit! Are you okay!?” She cried out as she dumped the fairy hap-hazardly onto the tea towel she’d just used to dry her hands, setting the jar back down quickly as she hovered over the tiny frame. Then it dawned on her- this wasn’t her skin color.. whatever this little, magical being was- this was the appearance of suffocating.

“Oh SHIT!” She yelled once she realized, lifting the tiny frame into her palms carefully. Liric’s body shifted coldly in her palm, her wings limp and splayed out, her tail draping past her palm, arms outstretched and hair messily covering her face from being dropped onto the tea towel. Briela quickly moved to turn off the stove with her free hand before running to her kitchen table, taking a quick seat as her thumb rubbed over the tiny fairy’s chest. “Oh come on, breathe! Breathe! You’re out of the jar now you’re okay! You’re okay!” She pleaded quickly, her own hands starting to shake before she rested her thumb over the tiny fairy’s bare chest, inbetween her breasts. She paused, trying to feel for anything. She moved to lay the fairy’s back flat against her palm, moving her fingers against her chest- trying to feel again.

Nothing… Liric’s body had given up it’s fight. It had been too long, her heart had beat so fast and she’d panicked so badly she had only sped up her demise. But Briela wasn’t a stranger to an emergency… but on something this small? She had to think fast, or else the fairy wouldn’t have a chance at all.

Briela quickly brought the small frame up to her mouth, sealing her warm pink lips against the tiny fairy’s face, trying to puff a breath of air into her useless lungs. She pulled back, and didn’t see a downfall, or hear one. “Okay- just hold on honey- just hold on.” She begged, trying again as she repositioned the tiny frame, letting her head tilt back in-between her thumb and index finger, right in the soft crook, and sealed her lips again, giving a bit fuller of a breath- this time she kept her other hand on the tiny fairy’s chest.

A slow rise. Air was going in now. She pulled back, letting the fairy’s chest fall- before lowering again, delivering another breath. Rise… fall.

“Come on..” She whined, pulling back and moving her thumb into the center of the tiny fairy’s chest, pushing down awkwardly. The angle didn’t do her much of a favor, but she gained a small ‘huff’ from the fairy’s agape mouth. Briela moved to set her against the cold wooden kitchen table, her head lolling to the side, wings splayed under her and her tail in-between her legs as Briela tried another angle with her thumb- another useless huff. She was growing frustrated, but tried again. This time, she used two fingers, both on her sternum, before she pressed down.

Now that felt like a compression. Her body responded just as a human’s would, and she set her pace. “One… two… three… four!” She counted, Liric’s body shifting under each thrust into her still heart. Briela had calmed down- and now she had deep focus, her other hand carefully ready to scoop the tiny fairy up when she needed to give breaths again, resting against the kitchen table. Each thrust made her feel that more scared that maybe she was too late.

“hu-huh-huh-huh-huh” Liric’s body responded in small, quiet huffs with each compression, limbs failing slightly as she was picked back up off the table, Briela sealing her mouth against the fairies once more. She puffed out a small breath of air, causing Liric’s cheeks to expand fully, her lungs expanding quickly, huffing out air as the Twoleg pulled away. Another breath, rise, and fall- and then another.. just for good measure. She didn’t hesitate, carefully lowering Liric back down, her fingers finding their place again as she began to compress.

“huh! huh! huh!” her body responded more defiantly, as Briela didn’t worry as much about the depth- she worried that if she went too soft she wouldn’t be able to save the fairy. She counted softly under her breath, legs shaking with each thrust as her ribs flared out with each deep, methodical compression that was slammed into her unmoving muscle. Another round, and another set of breaths. She could see that some of the blueness had faded from the fairy’s body but she wasn’t yet responding to her- a quick feel against her chest gave her nothing in return, but Briela took the small frame from her table and back into her palm, her fingers moving to rub her sternum desperately.

“Come on, little one- please take in a breath!” She quietly whispered, deeply rubbing her sternum- trying to get any response, before using her thumb, cupping the tiny fairy in her hands as she began to deliver compressions again. These were harder, deeper into her chest- crushing her heart with each beat as she squeezed the tiny form. Her breasts jiggled with the movement, ribs flaring out- open mouth huffing out the air that kept seeping into her lungs. Her legs and arms shook with each beat, the warmness from Briela’s palms starting to take away the coldness that the kitchen table had only caused to get worse. She was desperate, her mouth sealing again over the tiny fairy’s face, forcing in air even as her thumb continued to press, feeling the way her chest rose up and huffed out quickly with the next beat. Her belly jiggled with each compression, expanding and shifting under the weight until- a tiny gasp echoed.

Briela paused for a moment, her thumb resting over Liric’s sternum. The marbling of bruises and redness made her feel horrible, but Liric tried to gasp again, but her eyes weren't opening. Each gasp was deep, struggled. Agonal. “Come on honey…” Briela pleaded as she rubbed against her sternum firmly, not getting any kind of a reaction before she began to compress again. She knew that this breathing wasn’t a real sign of life- and even though she wished she had a AED , she knew there was no such thing for something so small.

Each thump against the sloshing muscle further pushed blood throughout her system that was trying so hard to fight. Briela’s careful grip, and thumb centered square in her sternum- didn’t give her heart any choice. It would beat, and it would beat to the rhythm that it was set to. Briela moved back down after only fifteen, bringing the tiny fairy up to her mouth once more, sealing over her face and blowing quick breaths of air- over and over again, her tiny chest expanding quickly as her thumb rubbed against Liric’s chest, making her chest shift and bounce before her limbs came up suddenly, starting to move and gasp.

“Oh! Oh my goodness, you’re alive! Okay, it’s okay little one- breathe for me, just breathe!” She guided softly as she pulled back, feeling the quick thudding of Liric’s heart as she regained consciousness, the tiny fairy looking terrified as she realized what was going on. “I-It’s okay, it’s okay, I saw you got trapped in a jar- I saved you, you’re okay.” She pleaded, hoping that the fairy understood what she was saying. Liric didn’t have the energy to move, yet, but Briela was already standing, looking through a pile of sewing supplies on her kitchen table until she found a small square of soft fabric, wrapping the tiny frame in it, and laying her down carefully on a old plushie. The tiny fairy’s body rested against the softness and warmth, and Briela didn’t take her eyes off of her.

She’d done it. She’d saved the fairy!

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3 months ago