Chapter 1044: Wake Up

Theodore left the ward, leaving Besse and Oscar alone. A suffocating silence descended. Besse assessed Oscar's injuries, his weakness palpable, his existence seeming precarious.

Finally, she spoke: "Theodore asked me to see you." She couldn't lie, her emotions overriding any pretense of insincerity.

"I'm grateful for your rescue," she said. "Doyle and I are fine." Her tone was detached, barely acknowledging him as her savior.

"I never imagined you'd die, or be so badly hurt, saving me," she continued, her voice hardening. "As a commander and father, don't you have any responsibility for your own life? Have you considered Northfield? If you die, who will manage it? Theodore? Manuel? Salem? Or will it fall into someone else's hands again?"

Besse's words were icy, her demeanor mirroring their chill. "As a leader and father, Oscar, you don't have the right to simply die like this! If you die…" She paused, a hidden restraint barely audible, lost on Theodore outside.

He only saw a callous woman. Oscar had saved her and her fiancé. Theodore mused that in her place, he would have surrendered to Oscar's affections. This woman, colder than any he'd known, even Hannah, clenched his fists. He could have walked in and struck her.

Besse fell silent, then finished, "If you die… how could I hate you?"

She hated him. Silence again. She regarded him coldly.

Theodore remained outside, not urging Besse's departure. He wanted her with Oscar, even if he didn't survive the night. At least, Besse would have been with him. He couldn't guarantee Oscar's safety.

The night wore on. Besse, weary, said, "Oscar, staying this long is my limit. If you don't wake up… let it be."

Oscar remained still.

"After I recover, I'll leave Northfield and return to Jolencami with Doyle," Besse announced. "We'll marry when we return. I won't return to Northfield."

She wouldn't come back. Though there were things and people she couldn't relinquish, she would bury those memories and feelings.

She glanced at Oscar, then wheeled herself away.

"When you marry…" a weak, hoarse voice rasped.

Besse trembled. She turned. Oscar lay still, eyes closed, yet the sound had come from him.

As she confirmed his utterance, he spoke again: "Remember to send me an invitation."

Her eyes reddened, but she suppressed her emotions.

"No," she replied, her tone utterly rational.

Oscar seemed to chuckle, the effort evident in his weakened state.

"I don't want to be disturbed." The reasons for her refusal were painfully clear.

"Okay," Oscar said. "Then I wish you a happy wedding. I hope you'll be happy forever." His words trailed off.

Besse left. She walked toward the ICU exit, no attachment, no reluctance, at Oscar's awakening. It had simply reached her limit.

Theodore, unaware of Oscar's awakening, was about to explode at Besse's sight. "Oscar woke up," she said.

His anger flared, then stilled. "Oscar woke up," she repeated. "Can I leave now?"

Automatically, Theodore yielded. He watched her go, then turned back to Oscar, who opened his eyes.

"Damn it! It worked!"

Theodore quickly summoned the waiting doctors. The intensive care unit buzzed back to life.

Besse returned alone to her room, where Susan and Manuel waited. Susan slept; Manuel sat vigil. He nodded to Besse, receiving a similar acknowledgment. He gently roused Susan, then left with Besse.

"How's Oscar?" Manuel asked outside the room.

"He woke up."

Whether he would succumb again, she didn't know.