Chapter 24: Healing Part 2

Heya everyone. Thanks for the reviews of the last chapter. I'm glad you all liked that chapter so much =D

Now it's time for the disclaimer, as always. I don't own Digimon or any other copyright thing I mention in this fic. If I did then I would be able to afford a holiday to the Caribbean or somewhere else warm. It's freezing here in England.

It's now time for the final chapter!

Kari perched on the edge of the uncomfortable hospital chair with her arms folded and resting on the side of TK's hospital bed. She glanced around the room, noting that the daylight streaming through the windows gave the white room a bright and airy feel. Tai, Matt, Sora and both of TK's parents had left her in the room and had gone to get some food from the hospital café. The teen girl had decided not to join them because she wanted to stay by her boyfriend's side. Besides, the doctor had told her to limit her walking, even with her crutches, for a couple of weeks until her concussion had gone and her pelvis started to heal.

The brunette sighed and rubbed her almond brown eyes. They were still red and sore from all the crying she had done over the last few days. After rubbing her eyes, Kari refolded her arms and gazed at her boyfriend. She smiled as she watched him breathing slowly as he slept and recovered from his injuries. The teen girl then rested her head on her arms and closed her eyes. The headache and nausea associated with her concussion were still bothering her.

She perched in that position for several minutes, listening to the beeping of TK's heart rate monitor. The teen girl's smile grew as she remembered it was her blood that she had given to save his life that his heart was pumping around his body. She had managed to return the favour by saving his life after he had saved hers.

Kari then felt a hand rest on her head. She recognised the soft, gentle touch as it stroked her hair before carefully sliding down her cheek. Her eyes shot wide open as a beaming smile formed on her face. It was TK's hand.

The brunette girl clasped her boyfriend's right hand in both of hers and she looked up at him. She felt a massive wave of relief flow through her body as her gaze locked onto TK's now open sapphire eyes. Kari watched him return her smile while he continued to gently stroke her cheek with his hand.

"I'm so glad you're ok," TK spoke softly as he continued to gazing into his girlfriend's eyes. Fortunately the doctors had removed the pipe that was down his throat and most of the drips last night after his second surgery since his life was no longer in danger.

"Oh TK," Kari felt tears starting to well up in her eyes. TK always had to think of her over himself even while he was in hospital. "I'm fine thanks to you. You saved me again and I'm so happy you're wake, my hero. I love you."

Kari felt her emotions takeover as her tears started rolling down her cheeks. She stood up on her left leg and carefully lent over her boyfriend. She placed her hands either side of his blonde head, closing the distance between their faces as she did so.

"I love you too," TK replied as he tried to get up. "I thought Neodevimon was going to get you."

Kari used her left hand to push the blonde boy back down as she slid her painful right leg onto his bed. She replaced her hand next to the teen boy's head so it and her other limbs could support her weight as she lent over her boyfriend with her face centimetres from his. The brunette teen was being very careful because she didn't want to place any weight onto her right leg or TK's injured chest and left arm.

"He didn't thanks to you," Kari sniffled, trying to stop the flow of tears that were now dripping onto the blonde boy under her. "And forget about Neodevimon. He's dead. Magnaangemon stabbed him in the chest and placed him into the Gate of Destiny just after you saved me. We won … just. He nearly killed you."

"I'm still here. I promised you that I wouldn't get myself killed, didn't I?" TK said softly as his hand moved around to the back of Kari's head. She felt his fingers twitch as he touched the stapled up cut on the back of her head and a look of concern quickly spread across his face. "Are you ok? What happened?"

Kari sighed. She was somehow feeling annoyed and loved for at the same time because TK was worrying about her more than himself even though he was far worse off. She decided to tell him about his injuries before she told him about hers, despite it not being his original question.

"You nearly lost your left arm," she replied as she glanced at the mentioned limb. His arm was complete covered by a cast to make sure the bone in his upper arm, the torn muscle and the torn tendons all healed in the right places. "Neodevimon's claw cut straight through it after you pushed me to safety. It was hanging on by one muscle and some of your skin. It completely broke your arm. It was horrible. The doctors had to reattach several tendons and muscles as well as screw metal plates into your bone to fix it. You were in surgery yesterday and the day before that too."

TK glanced at his left arm and tried to move it. The cast stopped him from moving everything except his fingers. "Well, at least I can still move my fingers and I'm sure I'll be able to move the rest of it when the cast is off."

Kari shook her head in disbelief at the blonde boy's optimism before she continued to tell him about his other injuries. "You also have a deep gash down the left side of your chest. Neodevimon's claw broken five ribs and you were lucky that it didn't puncture your lung."

"I guess that's why I'm struggling to breathe properly," TK thought aloud as he carefully ran the index finger of his right hand over the cut on the back of his girlfriend's head again.

Kari's teary eyes then moved back to her boyfriend's face and locked on to the three large Band-Aid plasters that covered the stitched and stapled up slash down the left side of it. Her eyes then moved to the bruised and swollen bump above his right eye where the minor fracture was in his skull.

"You were also lucky that Neodevimon's claw didn't make anymore contact with your head. It's only a shallow cut but it runs down the entire left side of your face and will leave a scar," the brunette continued her assessment. "If it was any deeper it could have injured your eye or cut open your mouth. Then there's the minor fracture in your skull just above your right eye. You're definitely suffering from blood loss and you might have a concussion too. Do you have a headache and feel dizzy or sick?"

"Now that you mention it, I do have a headache and I do feel kind of dizzy," TK sighed and answered truthfully. He didn't see the point in lying about how he felt and what hurt since Kari already knew a lot more about it than he did.

Kari sighed again and looked straight into TK's sapphire eyes once more. "That makes two of us."

"Why?" The blonde teen quickly asked as his concern returned to his voice. He ran his finger along the cut on the back of Kari's head again.

"Well, we were both running at each other as fast as we could and, when you tackled me, we hit one another pretty hard," the brunette answered sheepishly. She didn't really want to worry her boyfriend with what she considered were her minor injuries. "I think your head hit my hip, which fractured your skull and gave me a minor fracture down the right side of my pelvis. I then hit my head hard on the ground and cut it open. I didn't really know much about either the fracture or the cut because I was more worried about you. I've been worried sick about you. Literally physically sick, although the doctor blames that on my blood loss and concussion."

"Blood loss?" TK repeated her words with his concern evermore present in his tone.

"Yeah," Kari continued. "The combination of the blood I lost from the cut and the blood I gave to keep you alive means I'm a little low on the stuff right now. Giving you my blood was the least I could do after you saved my life."

"Thanks," he replied and smiled gratefully as they continued to stare into each other's eyes. His smile then dropped and he sighed. "I'm sor…"

Kari cut him off mid-sentence by opening her mouth and placing her lips carefully over his. She wasn't going to let him apologise to her for something that was definitely not his fault. The brunette could feel him kissing her back as their lips slowly slid over each other's. They closed their eyes and opened their mouths slightly wider as they pushed in for more.

A wave that consisted of a mixture of relief and joy spread through Kari's body just because she could kiss her boyfriend again. Two days ago she feared she would never be able to kiss him like this again as he lay in the operating theatre with doctors trying to save his life. She could feel the large Band-Aid dressings that covered the stitching down the left side of his top and bottom lips as her lips slid over his. It reminded Kari of just how lucky she was that they both had survived Neodevimon's attack and just how lucky she was to be TK's girlfriend.

After a minute, the couple reluctantly pulled their lips apart and opened their eyes. They found themselves staring loving into each other's eyes as they tried to regain their breath. Kari found herself lowering her lips back down to TK's after only a few seconds. She wanted to feel his lips against hers again because it meant he was awake and therefore alive.

TK and Kari both closed their eyes and let their lips touch again. They slid their lips back over each other's as they gently pushed forwards for more. The couple were happy that they were both safe and felt this was the best way to express their feelings. After all, actions speak louder than words.

"Well TK's heart rate sure has risen a lot since we left," Matt's voice interrupted the two kissing teens. His tone was mixture of joy, relief and a slight hint of mischievousness as he gazed at the couple.

Kari's and TK's eyes shot wide open and they quickly broke the kiss. Deep red blushes rapidly spread across their cheeks as they realised someone had caught them kissing. Kari was still embarrassed about it even though she had told Matt and Tai about her relationship with TK. She quickly turned her head around and noticed Matt, Sora and Tai all standing in the doorway with huge grins spread across their faces.

"Matt! Tai! I…" TK groaned in pain as he tried to sit up. The pain forced him to stop mid-sentence. He had started to panic when he saw his brother and Kari's brother, as he didn't know that they already knew about him and Kari being a couple.

"TK," Kari's voice was full of concern as she spun her head around to her boyfriend. She placed her left hand on his right shoulder and carefully pushed him back into the bed. The brunette girl could see the worry mixed with panic and pain in his eyes. "It's ok, I told them about us so don't worry. Are you ok?"

Matt, Tai and Sora sprinted over to TK's side as soon as they heard him gasp in pain. The three older teens all lent over the boy with concerned expressions replacing the happy ones that they had on their faces just seconds ago. TK winced and took several sharp gasps of air before his breathing calmed down.

"Yeah, I'm fine," TK sighed as he relaxed in the bed and stared up at the four people around him. He eyes then locked back onto Kari's. "You could have told me that they knew. I thought Tai was going to kill me."

"I'm sorry," Kari gave him an apologetic look as she moved her hand off his shoulder and placed it back on the bed.

"It's ok," TK replied and gave her one of his trademark bright hope-filled smiles. He then slid his right hand from the back of Kari's head to her left cheek, wiping away the tears before wiping the tears off her right cheek too. Kari felt her smile return when she saw his trademark grin.

"So why did you think I was going to kill you?" Tai asked as smiles also replaced the worry on the older Digidestineds' faces.

"Because you're very protective of Kari," TK replied as he glanced from Kari to Tai. His eyes then returned to his girlfriend as he felt her shift.

The brunette girl carefully climbed onto TK's bed and lay on her left side with her head on her boyfriend's right shoulder. She felt him wrap his right arm around her back as she carefully slid her left arm under his neck and then draped it gently across his chest. The teen girl then cautiously took the blonde boy's left hand in her right hand and felt him entwine his fingers with hers.

"So are you," Tai stated in a matter of face tone as he replied to TK. "You nearly died trying to save her. Besides, if I had to pick someone to be her boyfriend then you would top the list. In fact you are the list."

"Thanks Tai," TK smiled gratefully at the bushy haired boy. He was glad that Kari's older brother approved of his relationship with her.

"TK can move his left hand," Kari interrupted, making everyone's eyes focus on the fingers that were entwined with hers.

Matt sighed in relief as he watched his brother wiggle his fingers before entwining them with Kari's again. "That's good. The doctors were really worried that you might have severed the nerves in your arm."

"They're fine," TK smiled at his brother before he glanced around the room. "Where are Patamon and Gatomon? Are they ok?"

"They're fine but they are really worried about you," Matt replied because he was the one who was sending regular messages to them. "I've been giving them regular updates mainly because Patamon won't stop demanding them. He sends me a message from your D-Terminal every hour. He really wants to see you but he can't just in case someone in the hospital sees him and thinks he's some wild animal."

"That's a shame," TK pursed his lips. "I really wanted to see him and thank him for killing Neodevimon."

"You'll get your chance soon enough," Kari said rather happily. "You'll be out of here in no time at all now you're awake."

"He was really upset about what had happened to you when Biyomon, Yolei, Hawkmon, Cody, Armadillomon and I went to see him and Gatomon straight after you were taken to hospital," Sora sighed. "Gatomon was comforting him because he was blaming himself for you being injured. It took us awhile to convince him that he couldn't have done anything more to help you than he did."

"He's ok now. He's with Gatomon, Agumon, Gabumon and Biyomon at my place," Tai finished before a silence fell over the room.

It was Matt who broke the silence as he headed for the door. "I had better go and let Mom and Dad know that you're awake. Don't fall to sleep because I'll be right back."

The Sun shone brightly in the clear afternoon sky, bathing the Odaiba area of Tokyo city in light and warmth. A soft breeze gently swayed the green leaves of the trees as it made the temperatures bearable for the people walking the streets of the city. The streets themselves were bustling with people making the most of the great summer weather. The kids in the park were making the most of the hot dry weather before they had to return to school on the coming Monday.

Tai, Matt and Sora were walking to the same meeting point on a street corner near the Kamiya apartment. All three of them were coming from separate directions after finishing their various practices for the day. Tai had just finished his football training then showered in the changing rooms and headed straight for the meeting point. He had his red football kit bag, which was full of his dirty clothes, slung over his left shoulder. Sora had finished her tennis match before going home to shower and setting off to meet her friends. Finally, Matt's band had finished their practice early, which had allowed him to go home and drop off his guitar before meeting up with the others.

The three sixteen year old Digidestined were all meeting up early before they were due to join Mimi and Izzy in an hour's time. They were meeting early because they had decided to visit TK and Kari. It had been a month since the younger teens managed to defeat Neodevimon and they had spent that time recovering from their injuries. The two younger Digidestined were at the Kamiya apartment where Kari's and Tai's mother had been looking after them during the weekdays while TK's mother was at work. So, with this being a Friday, TK was with Kari at her apartment.

"Hi guys," Sora greeted the two teen boys as all three of them arrived at the busy street corner at the same time.

"Hey," Matt waved to Tai before he and Sora gave each other a quick kiss on the lips.

Tai chuckled as he watched his two friends. When they broke the kiss, they turned to the brunette boy with puzzled expressions on their faces.

"What?" The couple asked in unison before the group turned and started walking towards the Kamiya apartment.

"You two have been dating for about a year and a half and you still kiss like that when you meet," Tai smirked as he teased his friends. "Kari and TK have been dating for a month or so and they put a lot more passion into their kisses every morning."

"That's because we're out in public, Tai," Sora scoffed as she took Matt's left hand in her right hand. She then used her spare hand to clip Tai across the back of his head. "I bet TK and Kari also show more decorum when they're in public. We're not like you. We don't try to eat each other's faces or have a tongue wrestling match every time we meet, unlike you and a few of your ex-girlfriends."

"Yeah, Tai," Matt backed up his girlfriend. He glanced to his left at the two other Digidestined. "You see them kiss when TK arrives at your home, which is essentially a private place. It's not like they're meeting on a busy street corner like us."

"True," Tai pursed his lips and stared at the pavement as he admitted defeat. "They're both very well-mannered and I guess they wouldn't kiss so passionately in public either."

"Speaking of TK and Kari," Sora took this as her opportunity to move away from the subject of kissing. "How are they both doing? Are they going back to school on Monday like the rest of us?"

"A month isn't really long enough for either of them to recover, especially for TK," Matt sighed as a gloomy expression formed on his face.

"They're going to need awhile longer," Tai added in an equally gloomy tone. However, that changed as he thought about how quickly his sister and her boyfriend were healing. "On the plus side, they've both had the staples and stitches taken out of their wounds and they are healing fine. Kari's fractured pelvis is also healing fine, although the doctors still want her to rest it."

"Their concussions have gone too," Matt added, taking over from Tai. "As for TK's injuries, the fracture in his skull his healing fine and so are his ribs. The bone in his left arm has started to heal too but they will need to operate on it once more to remove the metal plate that is still holding it together. The doctors are still amazed by how quickly his muscles and tendons are healing and TK is very lucky most of his nerves weren't cut. He still can feel things in most of his arm and can still move his left wrist, hand and fingers without any problems."

"They should both be fine after they've finished their physiotherapy," Tai finished brightly before a smirk formed across his face. "Although I'm not entirely sure Kari is over her concussion. She's taken a liking to watching basketball on TV when TK is around and she actually knows a lot about it."

The three teens burst out laughing at Tai's joke about his sister's liking of basketball. They all knew about Tai's football addiction and now there could be a clash of sporting interest between the two siblings.

After half a minute or so, the smile faded away from Matt's face as he thought about when his brother could start playing basketball again. "The doctors have told TK he won't be playing basketball until at least April next year."

"I wonder how he'll take to sitting in the stands watching the games because he'll still have to be there to write the articles for the school paper," Sora thought aloud with her sympathy clear in her voice.

"TK will be with Kari so he'll be fine," Tai replied with a smile on his face as the three teens turned right at a familiar stone wall and made their way up the concrete steps to the main entrance of the apartment building.

The group didn't pay any attention to a random man that they passed in the lobby as they headed to the elevator. The man had blonde hair and his eyes were covered by black sunglasses despite him being inside. He wore a white shirt, black suite and black shoes that must have been cooking him in the hot weather. The man watched the three Digidestined teens as they entered the elevator before he left the building.

Tai pressed the button for the floor that his apartment was on and the clunky metal doors closed before the lift set off. The doors reopened on the correct floor and the three teens stepped out and made their way down the corridor towards the Kamiya apartment. When they reached the main door to the Kamiya household, Tai pressed the door handle down and was surprised to find it was locked.

"My Mom must be out," the bushy haired boy assumed as he pulled his keys out off the left pocket of his shorts and unlocked the door. He opened it and the group stepped inside. "Anybody home?"

The group was met with silence as they closed the door behind them and took their shoes off. They placed their shoes on the wooden rack by the main entrance and made their way over to the living area of the apartment. The three teens paused and smiled as their eyes set upon the two couples sleeping on the sofa.

TK and Kari were lying on the sofa in a similar position to the one they were in when TK first woke up in hospital. TK was lying flat on his back with his right arm wrapped around Kari's waist. Kari was lying on her left side with her back against the back of the sofa and her head resting between her boyfriend's neck and right shoulder. The brunette's left arm was wrapped around TK's neck and then carefully draped across his chest. The fingers of her right hand were entwined with the fingers of his left hand, despite his left arm still being in the white cast. Kari's crutches were lying on the floor next to the sofa to keep them out of the way.

Sleeping at the teens' feet were Patamon and Gatomon. They were curled up together too, with their arms wrapped around each other's backs as they slept peacefully. The two Digimon had announced that they were officially a couple a short time after word got out about TK and Kari. They had decided to stay on Earth for a while to try and do everything they could to help their human partners recover from their injuries.

"Aww, aren't they cute," Sora said quietly as she and the others stood at the bottom of the sofa. Her eyes studied TK's face, noting the swelling had gone from over his right eye. There was also a light pink scar down the left side of his face. It was noticeable but not in a grotesque way.

"Hi Sora," TK greeted her as he opened his sapphire eyes and moved his head so he could look at the older Digidestined. "Hi Matt. Hi Tai."

"Hey guys," Kari added as she opened her mahogany brown eyes and tilted her head slightly so she could see the others better. "How are you?"

"We're fine, thanks," Sora replied with a beaming smile. "What about you two? How are you both recovering?"

"We're fine and getting better, thanks," Kari replied for herself and TK as they both returned the smile.

"Did we wake you up?" Matt asked in an apologetic manner, hoping they hadn't disturbed the young couple.

"Nah, we were just enjoying each other's company. They're the ones who are asleep," TK smirked as he nodded towards Patamon and Gatomon who were sleeping by his and Kari's feet.

"Aww, you two make such a great couple," Sora complemented them, making a slight blush form across both TK's and Kari's cheeks. "And I'm glad you're both on your way to full recoveries."

"Where's Mom gone?" Tai interrupted and for once willingly saved the couple from a potential discussion about their relationship. He slung his red kit bag down on the chair as he glanced around the apartment.

"She's gone to the shops to get some food for us," Kari glanced over to her brother before answering his question.

"I think we should leave you two in peace," Matt suggested as he looked at his brother and Kari before glancing at Sora and then Tai to see if they agreed with him.

"No, it's ok," TK said before both he and Kari started to shift their bodies so they could sit up.

"Stay how you are," Tai's words stopped them from moving. "We only dropped by to see how you were and so I could drop off my football kit. We've got some plans for tonight because some of us have to be back at school on Monday and we want to make the most of our free time."

"We're going to meet up with Mimi and Izzy in a bit," Sora added as TK and Kari relaxed and retook the same position they were in moments ago.

"Have you noticed that Izzy and Mimi have spent most of their time together since Mimi moved back to Japan?" Tai asked as the thought came into his mind. "They're spending way too much time together to be just friends."

"You're reading too much into it, Tai," Sora shook her head in disapproval as the others laughed at Tai's suggestion.

"It's only an observation," the bushy haired teen defended himself. "Those two are behaving just like TK and Kari did before they started dating."

Matt shook his head as he glanced at Tai and chuckled. His gaze then left his best friend and fixed onto TK and Kari. "On that note, we'll leave you in peace."

"Ok, see you later," Kari replied as she waved her goodbye to her brother and older friends.

The group exchanged their goodbyes as Tai, Matt and Sora made their way over to the main entrance of the apartment. The older Digidestined then slipped their footwear back on before leaving the couples on the sofa in peace.

Kari found herself breathing in TK's scent and it made her think over everything that had happened during the summer. It made her think about the return of Neodevimon to his eventual defeat and about her relationship with TK moving beyond friendship to where it was at now. Then a particular thought came into the brunette's mind and made her smile.

She shifted her position on the sofa and moved her right hand to her boyfriend's face. Kari tilted his head so she could stare into his hope-filled sapphire eyes, gently stroking his cheek as she did so. She placed her nose and forehead against his as she thought about how to word what was going through her mind.

"You know these couples who say that they don't know where they would be without each other?" Kari started with a rhetorical question. "Well we will never be one of them because I know I would be dead if you weren't in my life. I know I've said this before but, Takeru Takaishi, you are my hero and I love you."

"I love you too, Hikari Kamiya," TK replied softly as he gazed lovingly into his girlfriend's big brown eyes. "And I also know that I would be dead if it wasn't for you."

The couple's hearts started to pound in their chests, pumping adrenaline around their bodies. They started to close their eyes and tilt their heads so their lips could meet. The teens opened their mouths and gently pushed their soft lips up against one another's to once again feel the joy that their kisses brought. TK and Kari pulled back slightly before opening their mouths a little wider and pushing forward for more. The two teens started adding more passion, deepening the kiss with every movement of their lips. Both of them could never grow tired of this feeling and every kiss they shared always seemed to be better than the previous one.

Well, that is the end of Better the Devil You Know. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and the rest of the fic. I know I've really enjoyed writing it and I can't actually believe it has come to an end. I also can't believe this fic passed 100,000 words and that I managed to finish it within a year. I'm feeling kind of emotional about it.

I would like to thank everyone who has read this fic and left a review. I'd like to say a super big thank you to all of you who have left regular reviews for this fic. Your support gave me the motivation I needed to keep writing this story! I'm honoured by some of your comments and I'm grateful for all the tips I've received while I've been writing this fic. Thanks again guys =D

Just out of interest, does anyone want me to write a sequel? I've got an idea for one that I could write if you guys are interested. I'll probably start it after I've finished some short fics and one-shots that I plan to write over the next few months. I'll put some information about it in my profile if you guys are interested in a sequel.

Please let me know what you thought about this chapter, the story as a whole and the idea of a sequel by clicking the blue button below and leaving a review. Thanks =D