So I was looking for something else in my Google Drive today and stumbled upon this little thing I had written a while ago...I assume sometime after Lost Without You. I think I didn't publish it back then because I was thinking of making a longer piece out of it, but length has never been my forte. Anyway - seemed silly to just leave it sitting there.
The chapel was quiet. Peaceful. The two souls inside it were content to sit there holding hands and lean gently into one another. They were both exhausted. Shane hadn't slept in over 24 hours, and Oliver's sleep had come in short bursts in between prayers for survival and the opportunity to reunite with Shane. He knew that if they stayed there much longer they may very well succumb to the need to slumber.
Oliver broke the silence "I should check on my father. Would you like to accompany me?"
"I don't want to intrude," Shane said as she lifted her weary head off his shoulder.
Oliver looked into her eyes. "You couldn't."
Shane nodded and smiled, and Oliver kept her hand in his as he stood and helped her to her feet beside him. They made their way out the chapel door and down the hallway toward the ER in silence once again.
The nurse who had told him what seemed like hours ago that Shane and Dale were waiting caught sight of the two of them and flagged them down.
"They've moved him. He's in a room on the 4th floor. He's doing really well. Should be out of here tomorrow or Thursday at the latest. If you head up there, the nurse at the station should be able to tell you which room."
Oliver and Shane smiled and offered their thanks as they turned and headed back toward the elevators.
"That's incredible," Shane said. "I'm so glad he's going to recover. I know you have to be relieved."
"Quite. I'm not ready to lose him - not that anyone ever is, I suppose. I just...I just feel like we have so much to do still. Like you said, I've lost so much time with him already, and I'm responsible for that."
The ding that signaled the opening elevator doors interrupted Oliver's reflection and for the first time since taking her hand in the chapel he broke contact to allow Shane to enter the elevator first. She pushed the button marked "4" causing it to light up and waited for the doors to close. The wave of gratefulness that had overtaken her after his rescue was still strong inside her heart and mind as she stood watching him while the elevator carried them up to the fourth floor.
Oliver caught her staring and tried to make light of it. "I know, I know. I look terrible. Dale already told me."
Shane smiled a bit but was also a bit affected by the mention of the law enforcement officer. Her relationship with Dale had become complicated to say the least. She would be forever in the woman's debt, but she also still felt a slight surge of jealousy at Oliver mentioning her name.
"Where is she anyway?" Shane asked, attempting to sound casual but failing pretty miserably. Oliver noted the hint of something other than curiosity. He had tried to convey to her at the memorial that he and Dale were nothing more than friends, but she clearly wasn't completely convinced.
"I don't know," Oliver said looking directly at Shane as the elevator display indicated they had reached the third floor. "She was outside waiting when I last left my dad in the ER. She told me I looked terrible. I expressed my sincere thanks for all she had done," he paused, willing her to understand his feelings, "Then I asked her where you were."
Shane smiled brightly at him as the elevator doors opened revealing the fourth floor nurse's station. Oliver held his arm out to make sure the doors didn't close and allowed her to step out of the car ahead of him. Shane stepped forward and waited as Oliver spoke with the nurse at the desk unable to stop the smile that was forming. He had chosen her.
