Episode 50: Scene Six

Trace gently tapped on the door before entering Kim's room. Her head did not move, but her eyes did. Trace's lips broke into a smile as he saw the beautiful sight of Kim alive and well. For so long, doubts had plagued his mind about Kim's health, but now...now he could be assured that all would be okay.

"Hey, babe! How's it cookin'?" Trace managed to fall back into his normal carefree attitude. "I bet this hospital put a cramp in your style, eh? Hey, don't worry. As soon as we bust out of this joint, we'll head over to Rodeo Drive or even down to the Big Easy! Whatdya think about that?"

Kim began laughing, but it quickly turned into a joke. Though her eyes were heavily watering, she managed to smile. "Nothing could ever keep you down, could it?" she asked in a dry, raspy voice.

"Nope," Trace shook his head firmly, "Never could. But I must admit that it's been pretty rough, with you being in here and all. Now that you're getting out, though-"

"Trace, please don't say that. I'm not out yet. Besides, I bet there are others lined up to see me. Where are my parents?"

A cloud passed over Trace's face. He patted Kim's hand before saying, "I don't know, babe. We haven't heard from them yet."

Kim let her head fall away from Trace. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes, but she didn't want him to know it. "Well, that's okay. My dad's probably busy with all of his clients. Being a lawyer isn't easy, you know."

"No, I guess not. But hey, you've got me here," Trace laughed. He stroked Kim's hair gently. "You gave us all quite a scare, you know."

"Yeah, I bet," Kim began coughing. Noticing Trace's fearful look, she smiled as she calmed down. "People cough, Trace. It's a part of living."

"Yeah, I know," Trace had suddenly quieted.

Kim began coughing again, but this time she couldn't stop. She continued coughing. Every cough got louder and more violent than the one before it. She coughed until Trace was really scared.

"Kim, please stop. Coughing's okay, but this isn't!" Trace pleaded. "Kim, please stop! Stop it Kim!"

Two doctors and three nurses rushed into Kim's room. Taking one glance at the computer monitors by Kim's side, their faces all because serious. One nurse took Trace to the side.

"I'm sorry, son, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Why? What's wrong?" Trace's eyes darted back and forth between the nurse's eyes and Kim.

"We won't be able to find out until you leave. Please be a good boy and wait outside," the nurse gently tried to escort Trace out of the room.

"No! No!" Trace shouted, jerking his arm free of the woman's grip. "I have to be here for Kim!"

The other two nurses rushed over to Trace. "You have to go now." Each man took one of Trace's arms and began trying to push Trace out of the room.

"I'm not leaving her! I'm not leaving Kim! No, I won't leave her!" Trace yelled, fighting the nurses every step of the way. "You can't make me leave!"

"Get out of here now before I have to call security," one of the male nurses said.

The other nurse finally got Trace out of the room, then slammed the door shut before he could get back in. Trace began beating on the door wildly. He looked over at Kim's heartbeat monitor, and was terrified when the beeping began slowing down. "LET ME IN! LET ME IN!" Trace shrieked, tears flodding from his eyes.

The heartbeat got slower and slower until...it stopped.

From then on, everything seemed to go into slow motion. The doctors attempted reviving her, but all of their attempts failed. After several more tries, they dropped their equipment and hung their heads. The nurses looked at each other and then at Trace, each trying to delegate the task of telling Trace the news to the other one. Finally, the female nurse began walking away from the group and towards the door.

When she got outside, Trace hit her with a barrage of questions. "What happened? Did the machine stop working? Don't you need to restart it? What happened?"

The nurse put a hand on Trace's shoulder, her eyes full of intense sorrow. "I'm sorry, Trace. Kim went into an unexpected coughing spurt. The lack of oxygen coupled with the frequent and spontaneous movement of the coughs caused her to go into cardiac arrest. We did all we could."

"NOOOOO!!! OH GOD, NO!!!" Trace screamed, finally breaking down into a wild sob. Looking up at the ceiling, he shrieked, "YOU CAN'T TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME!!! I WON'T LET YOU!!!"

Trace continued screaming as he slid down the wall, finally falling down into an unshaped, convulsing heap of tears and shrieks. Reality slapped him hard in the face:

Kim was dead.