Chapter Text
Aurora Vale Mysteries: The Smuggler’s Den
Chapter 11
Lara groaned and felt herself waking up, she was shocked, not expecting it, she had been sure it was the end for her, that she had drowned. Blinking her eyes a few times, she was nearly blinded by the whiteness of the walls. It took her a few moments to adjust her eyes and realize she was in a hospital room. At that time, Frederick was sitting in front of the door to Lara's hospital room, waiting and hoping something happened. Then suddenly he heard a noise from inside, like someone moving under a bed sheet. He slowly opened the door and looked into the room, where, to his delight, Lara was stirring and slowly opening her eyes Lara tried to sit up but stopped, she was clearly not ready for that yet as everything seemed to spin when she tried, that was when she heard the soft noise of someone carefully opening the door. Turning her head she finally made out the familiar face of Frederick looking into the room, looking relieved.
"F-Frederick, you...?" Lara managed to rasp out, her voice sounding rough.
Nervously, Frederick slowly come into the room and looked over Lara.
"Hey......How.....How do you feel?" He asked as he slowly approached
Lara grimaced. "Been better...I thought...I thought I was dead...that Tobias..."
Lara froze, remembering and looked at Frederick worriedly, She was worried now, worried about Tobias, he had been in the water with her, had drowned right in front of her.
"He...He hasn't woken up yet. but now that you're awake again there's more hope for him" Frederick answered slowly and looked at her.
He bit his lip as he noted to himself, even in such bad condition she still looked so perfect. Lara bit my lip but nodded.
"That's...that's something to hope for." She agreed.
Frederick nodded slowly and looked carefully at her.
"The others will be so happy to hear that you're awake again. We've all been excited for so long. We've all been waiting here since you were brought here. You were treated immediately. They used therapeutic hypothermia on you, which slows down cellular metabolism" Frederick answered as he sat down on the windowsill a little away from her bed.
Lara smiled softly hearing him getting all technical when explaining what happened to her and how they were able to save her. She was also relieved to hear that the others were alright too.
She smiled softly. "That's great, I um..."
She bit her lip, thinking hard.
As the room became quieter, Frederick could hear his heart beating faster. he didn't know if he should say something, cheer her up or comfort her in some way, or do anything else. He nervously looked down at the ground again
"Frederick, I...I had the strangest thought." Lara admitted. "When, I thought it was all over, before everything went black..."
"Yes, it's natural that everything turned black quickly. You see, when the body is submerged in cold water, the blood vessels in the extremities constrict, which is called vasoconstriction, to preserve core body temperature. But that can also cause hypoxia -lack of oxygen to the brain- which, well... that's why you lost consciousness so fast. And then there's the secondary drowning effect, where fluid can still accumulate in the lungs even after..." He answered, rambling but interrupted himself quickly, when he realized that he wasn't helping her with that and that she probably meant something else.
Lara shook her head, taking a deep breath, but she did smile at little at his rambling. "That's not what I meant...I mean, I had the strangest thought, that...that before everything went black, I saw someone swimming down to us. I mean it was obviously the person who rescued us. But to me, for a moment at least...it looked like you."
Trembling, Frederick looked up and looked directly at her.
"I...well....you...you must have been hallucinating.....It's actually a well-documented phenomenon. When...when the brain is deprived of oxygen , it can... create false images, memories even. You see....um....under stress, the hippocampus the part of the brain that handles memory, can... misfire.....so.....you.....you sure think you saw.....me?" He tried to explain, getting technical again, and he started to shake and sweat more. ‘What should I tell her? What will she think when she finds out that I risked my life for her’
"I...maybe you're right, forget I said anything." Lara said at last.
She had to admit, she was a little startled at how nervous he was acting.
"I...I...I'll probably get the others then" Frederick answered quickly and rushed out because he was getting more and more dizzy.
Once outside he collapsed into a chair and hit his head with his hand. That could have been the moment. But he screwed it up. A small tear slid down his cheek as he slowly breathed in and out.
XXXXX
When Tobias eyes slowly opened again, everything was still blurry. He could make out a white ceiling and some rustling voices that he didn't understand in his current position. All he knew was that the cold and dampness around him had disappeared. Spencer gasped when she saw the movement, then heard the soft moaning before Tobias finally opened his eyes, relief flooded her, tears stinging her eyes, he was alive, just like Lara.
"Toby!"
"W....W....Whh....What" Tobias moaned out, still weak and confused.
His vision slowly became clearer again and he could make out the outline of a person.
"It's me, Spencer...Toby, you're okay, you're alive, you made it..." She explained to him, watching his eyes clear as his gaze settles on her.
"Spe...Spencer? What are you doing here? Where am I?" Tobias asked her as he slowly came to.
He could see that he was lying in a bed, with devices around him. He had to be in the hospital. he could see a bed next to him, but not anyone in it.
"Where...Where is Lara? Is she okay?"
Spencer nodded, relieved to hear his voice. "She's fine, in fact...she's already awake, you were out for three days, we thought, we thought you...Lara woke up after one day, we were worried you weren't going to...When Frederick and the police got you guys out the water...It was horrible."
Tobias sat back, relieved.
"I'm fine...I think" He answered, happy that everything went well.
"Thank you for being here," He answered quietly and embarrassed.
"Me too." Spencer said and finally took the bold step and hugged him, he was startled but hugged her back, clearly glad to be alive.
XXXXX
“Well, this wasn’t quite the vacation we expected, huh?” Becky remarked with a grin.
The others laughed nervously, Tobias and Lara both nodded and gently brushed aside the concerns about their health from the others. They were free from the hospital and fully recovered, all of them were ready to head home from the resort now, having finished their vacation and they were packing up with their families, all the suitcases going into the cars, everybody happy and relieved that their children were safe and that Tobias and Lara survived.
“Nevertheless it’s good that the Smugglers were dealt with.” Lara remarked.
Frederick bit his lip. “Well um, maybe. I heard Anton escaped and, um...there might be other members of the group who haven’t been caught.”
Lara glanced at Frederick who seemed to be nervously avoiding her gaze. Noting this, Salama stepped up.
“Lara, can I have a quiet word, quickly.”
Lara was startled but nodded and they stepped away while the others discussed what the disappearance of Anton meant for his family, as well as the smuggling ring. Meanwhile Salama shook her head.
“Lara, I overheard what you and Frederick were talking about in the hospital.” She revealed.
Lara nodded. “Um, yeah, okay, and…?”
Salama quirked an eyebrow at her and admitted. “He lied to you for some reason, he was the one who dove into the water and saved you. It was only because Lt. Stern had also jumped in and got to Tobias that Frederick didn’t go and pull him up too.”
“Wait, what?” Lara gasped in horror.
“I’m sorry, I...I thought it’s best you know the truth.” Salama admitted.
Lara bit her lip but nodded and decided not to pursue it, but she couldn’t help but wonder about the reveal, it seemed to her that Frederick had feelings for her, but couldn't bring himself to say.
Still, it was a definite upshot for the group as they all got into their respective family cars and were driven home. They were now all closer than ever, there were definite signs of a crush between Tobias and Spencer and a similar one for Frederick and Lara. But to the relief of all the others, the biggest takeaway from this incident was Becky was thankfully back to her usual self.