Almost Shattered Chapter 19: The Future, a speed racer fanfic

Chapter 19: The Future

Standing by the sofa, Speed held a very weak Trixie in his arms while numerous things ran through his mind as his eyes took in her frail form. God, how he wished he could go back in time and change what had happened. Why did she have to be the one who got shot? Why didn't I notice her step right in front of me?

Slowly, he began to carefully lay her onto the sofa. Not about to leave her, he knelt down next to her fighting the tears that wanted to fall from his eyes as he took her hand in his. Being strong for her was the only thing that was going to help her even though he felt just about immobilized.

Inspector Detector entered the room after leaving to call for help. Standing by the door, he said in a comforting voice, "Speed. An ambulance is on the way."

Still looking at Trixie, Speed nodded his head that he heard, but the distress on his face was more than obvious. Again he began to torture himself, wishing he would have known to push her out of the way. Taking the gunshot himself would have been much easier than seeing the person he was in love with like this - her life possibly in danger.

He hated seeing her so drained especially since she had been anything but that just moments earlier. Flashes of the passion they had shared ran through his mind making him recall how she had just about brought him to his knees and ready to do anything she wanted. His eyes had been totally lost in hers as she stressed how strong her love for him was between their kisses. He had been under her spell. She had made him weak, but now she was the weak one, but in a different way - fighting to hold on to her life.

Pops moved over to them and put his hand on Speed's shoulder as he looked at Trixie. He said in a very gentle voice that he rarely used, "Trixie. I know it's hard but hang in there for us, honey."

Trixie's eyes felt like rolling to the back of her head but she forced them to remain on Speed's. The beautiful blue they were reminded her of the sky when no storms were in sight. In her heart, she knew her pain would have been worse if Speed had been the one who had gotten shot.

Though crushed, Speed forced a smile as his free hand gently pushed her hair out of her now pale face. Tears glistened in his eyes as he gently began to untie his red scarf, which was still around her neck. "I need to borrow this," he whispered as he carefully pulled it free and then pressed it over her wound to try to stop the bleeding. The thought of losing her made him feel an agony he had never experienced before. It was even worse than the tremendous pain he had suffered when the look alike had tortured him. He couldn't remember when Trixie wasn't in his life, and he didn't want to find out what it was like.

Pops hated seeing his son looking so destroyed but he wasn't surprised. Trixie had been his partner in everything he did, his sidekick, his best friend, and most recently his girlfriend - the first very serious love he had ever had. Even though Pops hadn't heard a siren, he turned to the window to see if the ambulance had gotten there yet. Not seeing it, he thought of how upset Mom Racer would be if she knew what was going on. More than a few times he had even admitted to himself that Trixie was like the daughter he had never had. A tear trickled out of one of his eyes as he said, "Son. Just keep talking to her."

"Trixie," Speed said softly as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Talk to me, baby. Don't you dare leave me."

"I don't want to leave you," she whispered sadly, hinting that it might be out of her control.

Across the room, Racer X started to come to. He lifted from the ground and with his hand he felt the lump on the back of his head. "Oh, no. Speed," he suddenly whispered afraid of what the look alike might have done. However, turning his head, the Masked Racer saw a panic-stricken Speed kneeling next to the sofa over Trixie. After slowly getting up, Racer X walked over to them to hear Speed speaking softly to her.

"Hey," Speed said trying not to sound worried. "An ambulance is gonna be here any second now. You'll be all fixed up in no time."

Trixie continued to force her pretty green eyes to stay open as she stared into Speed's blue ones. His eyes said how upset he really was and she hated to see him that way. "I'm sorry, Speed," she whispered concerned. "It's just that he hurt you so much already."

"Oh, Trixie," Speed said turning away for a second as he felt an anger start inside of him. He almost wanted to tell her that what she did was wrong. That she shouldn't have stepped in front of him to take the bullet. Suddenly, he felt her hand on his face and he turned back to face her.

"I'm sorry, Speed," she whispered again knowing he was torn up inside.

Again, Speed's way of thinking changed as he looked into her now teary eyes. "Shhh," he said just before kissing her cheek. "I know you did it because you thought I've been through enough and...you love me."

"I do," she whispered as her hand slid from his face back down onto the sofa.

"I really love you too," Speed whispered back not caring who heard him.

Upset for Speed, Racer X pulled Pops away from the young couple and whispered, "What the hell happened?"

Sadness made Pops shake his head as he said, "Trixie purposely took a bullet that was meant for Speed."

Racer X didn't find it hard to believe because of her devotion to his little brother, and he shook his head in despair. He then sadly said, "She put his life before her own. She's always been protective of him."

"And I'm a witness to what happened tonight," Pops said feeling as if he could cry as he pushed his hands into his pockets. "She saw the look alike about to shoot Speed so she stepped right in front of my son."

The Masked Racer turned to look at Trixie, feeling so much more for her than he had ever felt before. He knew she truly may have saved his little brother's life.

"Trixie," Speed said with a hopeful expression on his face. "There's still so much that we have to do."

Though her eyes were tired, she kept them open for Speed, listening to him.

"I mean if it's okay with you...I wanna marry you," he said with more honesty than she had ever heard in his voice before.

She smiled weakly and said, "Marry me?"

"You know that's not the kind of thing I joke about," he said with a loving smile while still holding the scarf on her wound.

Smiling herself, she remembered the many times he had said he would never get married. "Speed Racer married?" she whispered in disbelief.

"To you, you better believe it," he said positively shaking his head yes. "Can't you imagine us having kids together some day?"

She was already a bit lightheaded from her injury but now Speed was adding to it making her again give him a delicate smile. He hadn't known that she had imagined them having children together many of times before.

When the ambulance finally arrived, Speed hesitantly moved away from Trixie. He watched closely as the paramedics placed an oxygen mask on her face and as they began checking her wound. They then hurriedly got her into the ambulance in less than a few minutes, and let Speed ride with them to the hospital.

Once in the hospital, Trixie was rushed to the emergency room leaving Speed feeling helpless.

Pops had gone off to find his wife, who was to meet them there.

Speed was standing looking into the emergency room when Racer X put his hand on his shoulder.

Looking defeated, Speed faced his brother and said sounding so hurt, "Rex. Please tell me she'll be okay."

Rex smiled putting both of his hands on Speed's shoulders as he remembered another very unpleasant day. "I remember Trixie saying the same thing to me about you. In fact she had broken down in this very spot." He was speaking of that horrible day when Speed had been rushed to the emergency room, and Trixie cried like a baby.

Speed's shoulders slouched down as he sadly said, "She's always been so good to me." Then becoming angry he shrugged from his brother's grip and exclaimed, "Why did she have to put my life before her own!"

"She's one of a kind," Rex said calmly as he took hold of Speed's shoulders again as if to try to calm him down. "And I'm pretty sure that you would have done the same thing for her."

"In a heartbeat," Speed said as his eyes showed that he meant every word.

"Speed," Mom Racer called walking towards them.

"Mom," Speed said turning to her, needing his mother's soothing words.

Racer X left as Mom Racer hugged her middle child.

"I heard what she did for you," Mom Racer said as she and Speed backed out of their hug.

"It should have been me who took that bullet," Speed said feeling guilty as his eyes looked to the floor.

Thinking before she spoke, Mom Racer let out a deep breath. With her hand, she lifted Speed's sad face till his eyes looked into hers. "Speed. Please don't say that. No, I wish with all of my heart that she hadn't gotten hurt, but I really think the only thing she was thinking of is that she couldn't bare to almost lose you again. It's always been so obvious that she has tremendous feelings for you."

Speed backed away from his mother making fist with his hands. "That's all the reason more why I should have been protecting her better. I should have been the one shot," he said in frustration.

"Speed," his mom said lovingly as she moved closer to him. "The strength she had to move in front of you in the first place would have been strong enough not to let you push her a way."

Speed actually began to smile at his mom's words. Trixie was one determined, tough, young lady. "I want her to make it so we can share a future together."

"I know you do," Mom Racer said tilting her head to the side. "Don't think that I didn't know that a serious love was involved when I caught the two of you up in your room that night."

Speed then fell into his mother's arms as he let her console him.

A half hour later, Speed was sitting in the waiting room as he stared at the wall across from him.

Elevator music was playing when Sparky recognized the song. "Speed," the mechanic said excitedly hoping he'd cheer his friend up. "Remember when you were singing at that party? This is the song!"

Speed looked at Sparky as he began to listen and then the memories came back to him. He, his parents, Sparky and Trixie had attended a cousin's engagement party. After a toast had been made to the future bride and groom, the potential groom asked when Speed would finally settle down, not now knowing just how good the young racer was feeling at that moment. Speed in fact had been feeling a little too good since he had eaten over a dozen chocolate candies not knowing that they had been filled with liquor. When Pops found out, he only shook his head knowing that Speed wouldn't be driving home that night. Because the young racer was in such a good mood, he insisted on singing his answer to the future groom's question with the band. The band knew the song Speed suggested so they agreed to play. However, they wished they hadn't when they heard Speed's singing voice.

Everyone laughed at the singing, especially Trixie and Sparky as Speed sang a song, which spoke of staying single forever. It had been the theme of his teenage life. He had made it clear more than a few times that being free forever suited him just fine. At the end of the song, he uttered how he only wanted to hang out with his friends. The girls at the party looked aggravated that they never had a serious chance with him after hearing the lyrics of his song.

When the song was fininshed, Speed plopped himself back down in a chair next to Sparky and as he looked around, he asked, "Where's my buddy Trixie?"

Sparky laughed at his drunken friend and said, "She was laughing so hard at your singing that she accidentally spilled a drink on herself. She's in the rest room."

"I swear, Sparky. I'm never getting married," Speed said looking a little too happy with his decision.

"So I've heard - especially tonight," Sparky said because of Speed's almost unbearable singing.

"That's right. I'm never tying the knot," the young racer said feeling the need to express his feelings again as he raised his hand to high five his friend.

Knowing the condition Speed was in, Sparky knew he could pry some interesting information out of him after their high five. "I'm not saying you will, but if you had to marry someone at this party, who would it be?"

Speed was more than willing to play the game as he smiled and let his eyes check out the females there. There were gorgeous blondes, red heads and brunettes everywhere in all shapes and sizes. Suddenly a particular brunette caught Speed's eyes as he watched her small curvy frame move across the room. In the state he was in, he happily said, "If I had to marry someone and spend the rest of my life with her, I would choose Trixie."

"What!" Sparky exclaimed almost falling out of his chair. "She's your best friend. Isn't that like incest or something?"

Ignoring Sparky, Speed stared at her and said, "I'd like to run my hands through her hair and knock that little bow right out of it."

Sparky saw Trixie heading over to them and figured that it had to be the liquor making Speed say those things. "Speed, she's coming! Shut up so she doesn't hear you!" Sparky said tempted to cover Speed's mouth with his hand.

"I'm going to tell her that to me, she's the finest girl here," Speed said shaking his head yes to Sparky with a wide grin on his face.

Just then Trixie walked up to them and sat down next to Speed. She couldn't help but notice Sparky's perplexed look and Speed making eyes at her. Looking a bit confused, she asked, "What were you two talking about?"

"Nothing," Sparky answered very quickly.

Speed on the other hand wasn't thinking straight and couldn't keep his thoughts to himself as he leaned in very close to Trixie. "I told Sparky that you're the finest girl in here and that I'd like to run my fingers through your hair and knock that bow right out of it."

Astonished, Trixie just stared back at Speed and soon remembered the liquor in his system. She then started to laugh as she said, "That's a good one, Speed. I think you need to go home."

Being in the mood Speed was in, he began to laugh as well, just before passing out on her.

Sparky and Trixie had agreed never to bring the night up to Speed so she and her best friend wouldn't feel awkward around each other. However, Speed did remember the things he had said but never brought it up either. He didn't want anything to change in his relationship with Trixie at the time, even if he had fantasized often that she was more than a friend to him.

"Excuse me, Speed," the doctor said bringing Speed out of his memories of that night.

"Yes," he said standing up quickly as his family gathered around. "Is Trixie okay?" he asked as his eyes expressed how worried he was.

"She will be fine," the doctor said and then began explaining what he had done in the emergency room.

As the doctor explained, Speed heard nothing. He only heard the doctor's words, "She will be fine," running through his mind over and over. He felt like jumping up and down from the relief he felt.

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

That night in her hospital room, Speed sat in a chair next to Trixie's bed and held her hand. He couldn't help but remember how she had been there for him when he was in the hospital.

Mom Racer too was there since she insisted on staying for a while. She hadn't told Speed that she wanted to say something to Trixie when she woke up.

Later when Trixie began to stir, she felt her hand in someone's. Opening her eyes, Speed's beautiful eyes stared into hers as hers focused. She then heard him say, "She's awake," to someone in the room just before he said, "Hi, Trix."

Trixie smiled at him as he kissed her hand. "Hi," she whispered back with a smile.

"You're going to be fine," Speed said happily with a wide grin on his face.

Suddenly Mom Racer was on the other side of her. "Hi, Trixie Dear," Mrs. Racer said with tears in her eyes as she took the young girl's other hand. "I won't say much, but I couldn't leave the hospital till I said something to you. I want to thank you for probably saving my son's life. So...thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Still feeling a bit out of it from the medication, Trixie only smiled back at Mom Racer.

"I knew she wasn't staying here to keep me company," Speed joked as his Mom stood up and left the room. He then looked down as if thinking of just what to say. Lifting his eyes back to Trixie's, he said, "I too have to thank you for probably saving my life."

"I'm glad you forgive me," she whispered knowing he was upset at her for taking the bullet.

"Trix. I'm so glad you're alive," he said very seriously. She was alive. He was alive. The look alike was dead. Things can't get any better, he thought, unless…"Trixie. Do you remember the things I said to you in Sparky's place before the ambulance got there?"

"Yes," Trixie whispered wondering just what he was getting at.

"Good," Speed said as he began to kneel on the side of the bed still holding her hand. He took time to stare into her tired yet alive, green eyes. After the long stare, he said very seriously, "Will you marry me?"

After putting her hand on his face, she stared back into his eyes for a few seconds and softy said, "Only you."

Speed kissed her hand then stood up to give her a sweet, tender kiss. He smiled knowing that it might be awhile before they actually got married, but just the promise of it made him feel so fulfilled. Being funny, he said, "I can't wait to freak Pops out with the news."

"We're engaged and we have…barely dated," Trixie said very slowly as she imagined being Mrs. Speed Racer.

"But, it's right," Speed said without a doubt. "We know each other too well."

Still feeling weak, she said, "Let's see if you…still want to marry me in a week, Mr. I'm-never-getting-married."

Pushing her hair out of her face, Speed said very seriously, "You know, a long time ago, I once told someone that I would marry you, and I meant it. I've been loving you for as long as I can remember."

Ten months later, Speed won the same race, which the look alike had disrupted everyone's lives in the year before.

Speed's fiancée ran right into his arms after he crossed the finished line. Their relationship was as strong as ever and their wedding was right around the corner. Life was good for the once just friends.

Trixie had been Speed's reason to live. He could have given up many of times when he was in the hospital but for her, he didn't. He put her first, as she put him first when she took the bullet meant for him. Now a future would start because of the strong love developed from the friendship between the two.

Author's Note: I know it was a crazy, mushy story, but please let me know what you think even though this story has been on this site for awhile now. Thanks, Jen