Post by rsafan on Jan 19, 2007 6:51:35 GMT -5
Chapter 33
“Hope, what’s going on? Have you heard anything yet?” Bo asked as he rushed into the hospital, Shawn on his heels.
Hope shook her head, “She was already in surgery when we got here. We’re waiting for the doctor to come out.” She grabbed Bo as he approached her, searching his eyes desperately for some sort of reassurance, “She can’t die Bo; I have so much I still have to tell her, we can’t lose her.”
Bo simply held onto his wife, hugged her so close and tightly she thought her bones would break. The wait was the worst, they were all remembering a similar time just over a year ago; when they’d been standing here praying Zack would make it. He hadn’t and the fear was the worst thing, not knowing if she was okay.
By the time Chelsea came storming into emergency with Billie, everyone was on edge, “Dad, have you heard anything? Is she going to be okay?”
“Why do you care Chelsea you didn’t even like her.” Shawn spat.
“That doesn’t mean I’d want her hurt and besides Victoria and I got over our differences. I care about her.”
“The way you cared about Zack?”
“Shawn that’s enough!”
Shawn stared incredulously at his mother, “You’re defending her?”
Hope sighed as she dragged a tired hand through her hair for about the fiftieth time in as many minutes, “I’m saying that now isn’t the time or place.”
By the time the doctor left the surgery, almost the entire Brady and Horton families had convened in the waiting room, he removed his mask as he entered, “Are you Victoria Campbell’s family?”
They all nodded. Hope asked, “Is she going to be okay?”
“She has a concussion, two broken ribs more that are badly bruised. Her left lung was pierced by one of the ribs. And I’m afraid the baby didn’t make it. We tried really hard to save it, but she was just losing too much blood. We had to make a choice and … if we’d saved the baby there was a chance they both wouldn’t have made it. She’s extremely lucky she managed to swerve the car, if it had hit her head on, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“A baby?” Hope asked, she looked at Max for confirmation and he simply nodded. “That’s what…” but she didn’t finish.
“Where’s the bastard who did this to her? Has he been locked up?” Shawn demanded.
“Behind you.” Max said.
“What?”
“This is all my fault, if I had handled things better when she told me. She wouldn’t have been out on the road. She’d be okay now instead of lying in a hospital bed fighting to stay alive.”
Hope took his face between her hands, “Max, this is not your fault.”
“No, the person who slammed into her is responsible for this. Where is he or she?” Shawn wanted someone punished for his sister’s pain.
“Can we go in?” Caroline asked, choosing to ignore her grandson’s anger for the time being.
“She hasn’t regained consciousness yet, but you can go in. Only close family though.”
“We’re all family.” The doctor scanned the room, his patient wasn’t in critical condition; still she hadn’t woken up yet. She’d been unconscious since the paramedics had arrived at the scene, if anyone was likely to give her reason to wake up, it would be her family. The amount of people in the room, the amount of people willing her to fight was awesome, he hoped she new how much she was loved. He hoped these people’s presence was enough to help her.
“Then only two visitors at a time.”
Chapter 34
“She’s not waking up. It’s been over a week and she has yet to wake up.”
“The doctor’s said it might take a while.” Caroline reassured her.
Hope shook her head, “No, the doctors said she should have regained consciousness by now. Why isn’t she waking up?”
“She has no reason to.” Max stated.
“What do you mean? She has every reason.”
“She lost a baby, she’s mad as hell at me…”
“I’m sorry, I know this may not seem appropriate but has anyone contacted her family?” Mimi asked an obvious question but one no one had thought of, “Her adoptive family I mean, I think they’d like to know that she’s in the hospital.”
“You’re right Mimi. I can’t believe I’ve been this selfish, that I haven’t even considered contacting them. How would I get into contact with them? I have no contact details, Max?”
“Don’t look at me, she has all those numbers memorised. She hasn’t once given me a phone number for anyone…” he didn’t finish, simply walked off. In the twelve days since she’d been brought in, he hadn’t left the hospital once, merely roamed the corridors while others visited.
“Rex!” Mimi almost shouted.
Everyone turned to her, “What?” Shawn asked.
“Rex,” She repeated, then explained herself, “he’d know. He’s in close contact with her family; he’s working on some prototype thingy for her father. He’d have contact details.”
“Who has contact details for Rex?” Hope asked, looking at Mimi as though she would.
Mimi glanced at Shawn and shrugged, “Kate? Roman? I don’t know.”
“Roman, right.” Hope nodded, agreeing with Mimi, “I’ll just give Roman a call.”
She looked at him, making sure he was actually talking to her, “Rex got in from Chicago a while ago; he’s still in there with her. Your mother told him to take all the time he needed.”
Shawn visibly blanched; Rex was back in Salem. He couldn’t help but wonder if Mimi knew. “He’ll probably be a while yet, they are really close. So instead of waiting around here, do you want to go and get a cup of coffee from the cafeteria?”
“Me?” she asked him stunned, it was shocking enough he’d actually talked to her as another human being, but coffee?
“Yes you, the coffee down there is much better than the drivel they have here.”
She nodded, “Sure.” And placing her jacket over her arm, walked with him to the lifts.
Five minutes later they were enjoying a cup of coffee, neither had said a word since they’d got into the elevator. Shawn decided he should be the one to ‘break the ice’, so to say. He was after all the reason they didn’t have a better relationship.
He put his cup down, “Its weird isn’t it?”
“What is?”
“I’ve spent the first twenty three years of my life not even knowing she existed and now, after nearly a year, I can’t imagine what my life would be like if she weren’t in it.”
She nodded, “I know, I keep thinking how much time I wasted being angry at her for being with Max. When you compare that to never seeing her again, it all just seems so petty.”
“Chelsea we’re going to see her again. She’s going to wake up and everything will be as it was before.”
Chelsea shook her head, she wished she could believe that but experience had proven otherwise. “No Shawn, it’s been two weeks and she has yet to come to, she’s not going to wake up. She’s going to leave me the way everyone else does.”
“No,” he said taking her hand, “she’s going to be okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“How can you say that? Even if she wakes up, even if she leaves here nothing’s ever going to be the same. She lost a baby, a baby Shawn that’s not something you get over very quickly. Maybe that’s why she’s not waking up, because she knows the baby’s gone. She’s all I have left.”
Shawn squeezed her hand, “That’s not true, you have me.”
She withdrew her hands, “You’re just saying that because she wanted us to be friends not because you mean any of it.”
“I’ll admit that a big part of it is doing what she would have wanted, but she was right Chelsea, we are siblings and nothing I do is going to change that. I already lost Zack and who knows when Victoria will decide to wake up, I don’t want to lose you too.”
She eyed him sceptically, he’d just said all she wanted to hear, but experience made her doubt the validity of his actions. Was he doing this out of guilt, because it was what Victoria had wanted or was he being genuine? She decided that she didn’t care, either way; she’d still have him in her life.
But Rex held onto her shoulders, making sure that she was steady and that Zach was unhurt, “Whoa there, what’s the rush?”
She blushed as she looked up at Rex, “Oh my gosh; I can’t believe it’s you. What are you doing here,” she hit her hand to her forehead, “Stupid question, it’s so good to see you.”
It had been well over a year since they’d seen each other and then it hadn’t been on friendly terms. He nodded and smiled at her, “And it’s great to see you and with a baby.” He said, glancing at Zach who was studying him intensely while eating his fist, “He looks nothing like the pictures Victoria sent.”
Mimi bounced him on her hip, “Yeah well they grow up pretty quickly.”
“So I’ve heard.” he took a hold of Zach’s free hand and was surprised when he held on, “He’s got a monster grip.”
“You want to hold him?” she asked.
He looked at the baby, undecided then shrugged his shoulders, “Sure, as long as he isn’t going to cry or anything.”
She handed the baby gently over, making sure he was holding the baby correctly, “He’s a sweet baby, he hardly ever cries.” She assured him. “So…uh I guess you’ve just come from seeing her.”
He nodded, “Yeah, its weird seeing her like that.”
They walked over to the chairs and took a seat, “I know; it’s hit everyone pretty hard. They’re all thinking about how they only just found her and Max is in hell blaming himself for the accident.”
“So are you here waiting for Shawn?”
“Sort of, we had a doctor’s appointment, I tried to schedule it as late in the day as possible so we can come and pop in here before heading home. There are not as many people around this time of the day so we sit with her for a while. Shawn should be around here somewhere though, he comes by after work.”
“She’ll wake up soon.” He reassured her.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I told her to, she usually listens to me. Even if she takes her own sweet time doing so.” He went back to playing with Zach and Mimi watched them intently, she couldn’t help thinking what her life might have been like had she done things differently.
Rex looked up and saw the look on her face, “Don’t, it’s in the past and nothings going to change it. Besides, we’re both happy right now so no ‘what-ifs’.”
She laughed, “Yes sir.”
Shawn and Chelsea chose that moment to make their entrance. Rex stood up to greet the two newest arrivals. “Your mom’s in there with her now.” He told Shawn.
Zach, having heard his dad’s voice, strained towards him eager to be held. “Hey big guy,” Shawn said as he took his son from Rex, “God I missed you today.” He leaned over and gave Mimi a kiss, “Hey. How did the doctor’s appointment go?”
Hope’s eyes snapped open, she’d been praying for a miracle and now she’d gotten it, “I’m here sweetheart.”
Victoria glanced at her and shook her head, “No. No I want my real mom, where’s my real mom?”
“She’s on her way Victoria, she’ll be here soon. She took the first flight out of London but Max is here-”
“NO! I don’t want to see him, promise me you won’t let him in. Promise me.” She begged till Hope nodded, “I just want my mom.” Her eyes where closing again and before long she was asleep.
Hope swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, she’d known Tory would ask for her mother but she hadn’t anticipated how painful it would be to be rejected. She laid a kiss on her daughter’s forehead and slipped silently out of the room.
The entire group was still standing outside the room door; they all fell silent when they saw her tears.
“Is she-” Shawn asked reluctantly.
“She woke up.” was all she said before sinking onto one of the chairs.
Rex grinned at Mimi, “I hate to say it, but I told you so.”
She smiled back, “Yes you did.”
Shawn turned and went to summon Victoria’s doctor or one of the nurses.
Gillian smiled at her daughter, “Yes Tory honey, its mom.”
“Oh mommy, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry for everything. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
“Of course not honey,” her mother comforted her, “Tory, I need you to tell me what it is you remember. Do you remember the accident?”
“I remember bright lights, bright lights and swerving my car and then pain. Mom, it hurt so bad and the baby…” She trailed off and looked to her mother for reassurance, she found none. “The baby, he didn’t make it did he?”
Tears were pouring down her mother’s face as she shook her head and squeezed her daughter’s hand, “I’m so sorry honey; they tried everything they could but…”
“It’s okay though, everything will be okay. Did daddy come with you?”
Gillian quickly hid her worried expression, “No honey, your dad is in Russia but he sends his best.”
“I missed you mom. I missed you so much.”
“I’m here now honey and everything’s going to be okay.”
“I know it is.” She smiled at her mother, “Mom, I want to go home.”
Gillian stared at her daughter not all that surprised. It was a habit she had she’d developed, whenever she was faced with a problem, she ran back home. She would have told her to stay, but her daughter had been through a lot and she’d missed her. Just this once, she’d allow it. “Okay honey, as soon as you’re released, you can come home.” She sat with her daughter till she fell asleep again.
“Hope, what’s going on? Have you heard anything yet?” Bo asked as he rushed into the hospital, Shawn on his heels.
Hope shook her head, “She was already in surgery when we got here. We’re waiting for the doctor to come out.” She grabbed Bo as he approached her, searching his eyes desperately for some sort of reassurance, “She can’t die Bo; I have so much I still have to tell her, we can’t lose her.”
Bo simply held onto his wife, hugged her so close and tightly she thought her bones would break. The wait was the worst, they were all remembering a similar time just over a year ago; when they’d been standing here praying Zack would make it. He hadn’t and the fear was the worst thing, not knowing if she was okay.
By the time Chelsea came storming into emergency with Billie, everyone was on edge, “Dad, have you heard anything? Is she going to be okay?”
“Why do you care Chelsea you didn’t even like her.” Shawn spat.
“That doesn’t mean I’d want her hurt and besides Victoria and I got over our differences. I care about her.”
“The way you cared about Zack?”
“Shawn that’s enough!”
Shawn stared incredulously at his mother, “You’re defending her?”
Hope sighed as she dragged a tired hand through her hair for about the fiftieth time in as many minutes, “I’m saying that now isn’t the time or place.”
By the time the doctor left the surgery, almost the entire Brady and Horton families had convened in the waiting room, he removed his mask as he entered, “Are you Victoria Campbell’s family?”
They all nodded. Hope asked, “Is she going to be okay?”
“She has a concussion, two broken ribs more that are badly bruised. Her left lung was pierced by one of the ribs. And I’m afraid the baby didn’t make it. We tried really hard to save it, but she was just losing too much blood. We had to make a choice and … if we’d saved the baby there was a chance they both wouldn’t have made it. She’s extremely lucky she managed to swerve the car, if it had hit her head on, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“A baby?” Hope asked, she looked at Max for confirmation and he simply nodded. “That’s what…” but she didn’t finish.
“Where’s the bastard who did this to her? Has he been locked up?” Shawn demanded.
“Behind you.” Max said.
“What?”
“This is all my fault, if I had handled things better when she told me. She wouldn’t have been out on the road. She’d be okay now instead of lying in a hospital bed fighting to stay alive.”
Hope took his face between her hands, “Max, this is not your fault.”
“No, the person who slammed into her is responsible for this. Where is he or she?” Shawn wanted someone punished for his sister’s pain.
“Can we go in?” Caroline asked, choosing to ignore her grandson’s anger for the time being.
“She hasn’t regained consciousness yet, but you can go in. Only close family though.”
“We’re all family.” The doctor scanned the room, his patient wasn’t in critical condition; still she hadn’t woken up yet. She’d been unconscious since the paramedics had arrived at the scene, if anyone was likely to give her reason to wake up, it would be her family. The amount of people in the room, the amount of people willing her to fight was awesome, he hoped she new how much she was loved. He hoped these people’s presence was enough to help her.
“Then only two visitors at a time.”
Chapter 34
“She’s not waking up. It’s been over a week and she has yet to wake up.”
“The doctor’s said it might take a while.” Caroline reassured her.
Hope shook her head, “No, the doctors said she should have regained consciousness by now. Why isn’t she waking up?”
“She has no reason to.” Max stated.
“What do you mean? She has every reason.”
“She lost a baby, she’s mad as hell at me…”
“I’m sorry, I know this may not seem appropriate but has anyone contacted her family?” Mimi asked an obvious question but one no one had thought of, “Her adoptive family I mean, I think they’d like to know that she’s in the hospital.”
“You’re right Mimi. I can’t believe I’ve been this selfish, that I haven’t even considered contacting them. How would I get into contact with them? I have no contact details, Max?”
“Don’t look at me, she has all those numbers memorised. She hasn’t once given me a phone number for anyone…” he didn’t finish, simply walked off. In the twelve days since she’d been brought in, he hadn’t left the hospital once, merely roamed the corridors while others visited.
“Rex!” Mimi almost shouted.
Everyone turned to her, “What?” Shawn asked.
“Rex,” She repeated, then explained herself, “he’d know. He’s in close contact with her family; he’s working on some prototype thingy for her father. He’d have contact details.”
“Who has contact details for Rex?” Hope asked, looking at Mimi as though she would.
Mimi glanced at Shawn and shrugged, “Kate? Roman? I don’t know.”
“Roman, right.” Hope nodded, agreeing with Mimi, “I’ll just give Roman a call.”
*****
That afternoon, Shawn, having just gotten off work, made his way to the hospital, as was his habit these days. He knew that he’d have been kept informed of any progress she’d made but he still went over everyday to make sure himself and to sit with her for a half hour or so. When he arrived that afternoon, Chelsea was already there, she’d gotten into the same habit as Shawn. He hadn’t spoken to her since the day of the accident, hadn’t felt the need to but today he sat down next to her. “So who’s in there with her now?”She looked at him, making sure he was actually talking to her, “Rex got in from Chicago a while ago; he’s still in there with her. Your mother told him to take all the time he needed.”
Shawn visibly blanched; Rex was back in Salem. He couldn’t help but wonder if Mimi knew. “He’ll probably be a while yet, they are really close. So instead of waiting around here, do you want to go and get a cup of coffee from the cafeteria?”
“Me?” she asked him stunned, it was shocking enough he’d actually talked to her as another human being, but coffee?
“Yes you, the coffee down there is much better than the drivel they have here.”
She nodded, “Sure.” And placing her jacket over her arm, walked with him to the lifts.
Five minutes later they were enjoying a cup of coffee, neither had said a word since they’d got into the elevator. Shawn decided he should be the one to ‘break the ice’, so to say. He was after all the reason they didn’t have a better relationship.
He put his cup down, “Its weird isn’t it?”
“What is?”
“I’ve spent the first twenty three years of my life not even knowing she existed and now, after nearly a year, I can’t imagine what my life would be like if she weren’t in it.”
She nodded, “I know, I keep thinking how much time I wasted being angry at her for being with Max. When you compare that to never seeing her again, it all just seems so petty.”
“Chelsea we’re going to see her again. She’s going to wake up and everything will be as it was before.”
Chelsea shook her head, she wished she could believe that but experience had proven otherwise. “No Shawn, it’s been two weeks and she has yet to come to, she’s not going to wake up. She’s going to leave me the way everyone else does.”
“No,” he said taking her hand, “she’s going to be okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“How can you say that? Even if she wakes up, even if she leaves here nothing’s ever going to be the same. She lost a baby, a baby Shawn that’s not something you get over very quickly. Maybe that’s why she’s not waking up, because she knows the baby’s gone. She’s all I have left.”
Shawn squeezed her hand, “That’s not true, you have me.”
She withdrew her hands, “You’re just saying that because she wanted us to be friends not because you mean any of it.”
“I’ll admit that a big part of it is doing what she would have wanted, but she was right Chelsea, we are siblings and nothing I do is going to change that. I already lost Zack and who knows when Victoria will decide to wake up, I don’t want to lose you too.”
She eyed him sceptically, he’d just said all she wanted to hear, but experience made her doubt the validity of his actions. Was he doing this out of guilt, because it was what Victoria had wanted or was he being genuine? She decided that she didn’t care, either way; she’d still have him in her life.
*****
Mimi made her way to Victoria’s room. She just wanted to pop in for a while before heading home, Shawn was probably there and maybe they could go home together. Just as she turned the corner, she bumped into someone; “Excuse me.” was all she said before walking on.But Rex held onto her shoulders, making sure that she was steady and that Zach was unhurt, “Whoa there, what’s the rush?”
She blushed as she looked up at Rex, “Oh my gosh; I can’t believe it’s you. What are you doing here,” she hit her hand to her forehead, “Stupid question, it’s so good to see you.”
It had been well over a year since they’d seen each other and then it hadn’t been on friendly terms. He nodded and smiled at her, “And it’s great to see you and with a baby.” He said, glancing at Zach who was studying him intensely while eating his fist, “He looks nothing like the pictures Victoria sent.”
Mimi bounced him on her hip, “Yeah well they grow up pretty quickly.”
“So I’ve heard.” he took a hold of Zach’s free hand and was surprised when he held on, “He’s got a monster grip.”
“You want to hold him?” she asked.
He looked at the baby, undecided then shrugged his shoulders, “Sure, as long as he isn’t going to cry or anything.”
She handed the baby gently over, making sure he was holding the baby correctly, “He’s a sweet baby, he hardly ever cries.” She assured him. “So…uh I guess you’ve just come from seeing her.”
He nodded, “Yeah, its weird seeing her like that.”
They walked over to the chairs and took a seat, “I know; it’s hit everyone pretty hard. They’re all thinking about how they only just found her and Max is in hell blaming himself for the accident.”
“So are you here waiting for Shawn?”
“Sort of, we had a doctor’s appointment, I tried to schedule it as late in the day as possible so we can come and pop in here before heading home. There are not as many people around this time of the day so we sit with her for a while. Shawn should be around here somewhere though, he comes by after work.”
“She’ll wake up soon.” He reassured her.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I told her to, she usually listens to me. Even if she takes her own sweet time doing so.” He went back to playing with Zach and Mimi watched them intently, she couldn’t help thinking what her life might have been like had she done things differently.
Rex looked up and saw the look on her face, “Don’t, it’s in the past and nothings going to change it. Besides, we’re both happy right now so no ‘what-ifs’.”
She laughed, “Yes sir.”
Shawn and Chelsea chose that moment to make their entrance. Rex stood up to greet the two newest arrivals. “Your mom’s in there with her now.” He told Shawn.
Zach, having heard his dad’s voice, strained towards him eager to be held. “Hey big guy,” Shawn said as he took his son from Rex, “God I missed you today.” He leaned over and gave Mimi a kiss, “Hey. How did the doctor’s appointment go?”
*****
Victoria opened her eyes; she glanced around the unfamiliar room. Where was she and how had she gotten here? She imagined she was still in Chicago because she could’ve sworn that she’d heard Rex, but he wasn’t in the room instead she saw someone sitting by her bedside, she couldn’t be too sure who it was because she was still so tired. “Mom?” she asked groggily.Hope’s eyes snapped open, she’d been praying for a miracle and now she’d gotten it, “I’m here sweetheart.”
Victoria glanced at her and shook her head, “No. No I want my real mom, where’s my real mom?”
“She’s on her way Victoria, she’ll be here soon. She took the first flight out of London but Max is here-”
“NO! I don’t want to see him, promise me you won’t let him in. Promise me.” She begged till Hope nodded, “I just want my mom.” Her eyes where closing again and before long she was asleep.
Hope swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, she’d known Tory would ask for her mother but she hadn’t anticipated how painful it would be to be rejected. She laid a kiss on her daughter’s forehead and slipped silently out of the room.
The entire group was still standing outside the room door; they all fell silent when they saw her tears.
“Is she-” Shawn asked reluctantly.
“She woke up.” was all she said before sinking onto one of the chairs.
Rex grinned at Mimi, “I hate to say it, but I told you so.”
She smiled back, “Yes you did.”
Shawn turned and went to summon Victoria’s doctor or one of the nurses.
*****
When she woke up again, she was more lucid than she had been before and if she wasn’t mistaken, her mother was in the room. She reached out her hand to hold her mother’s, “Mom?”Gillian smiled at her daughter, “Yes Tory honey, its mom.”
“Oh mommy, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry for everything. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
“Of course not honey,” her mother comforted her, “Tory, I need you to tell me what it is you remember. Do you remember the accident?”
“I remember bright lights, bright lights and swerving my car and then pain. Mom, it hurt so bad and the baby…” She trailed off and looked to her mother for reassurance, she found none. “The baby, he didn’t make it did he?”
Tears were pouring down her mother’s face as she shook her head and squeezed her daughter’s hand, “I’m so sorry honey; they tried everything they could but…”
“It’s okay though, everything will be okay. Did daddy come with you?”
Gillian quickly hid her worried expression, “No honey, your dad is in Russia but he sends his best.”
“I missed you mom. I missed you so much.”
“I’m here now honey and everything’s going to be okay.”
“I know it is.” She smiled at her mother, “Mom, I want to go home.”
Gillian stared at her daughter not all that surprised. It was a habit she had she’d developed, whenever she was faced with a problem, she ran back home. She would have told her to stay, but her daughter had been through a lot and she’d missed her. Just this once, she’d allow it. “Okay honey, as soon as you’re released, you can come home.” She sat with her daughter till she fell asleep again.
