Title: Say You Love Me Again
Author: And
Pairing: Mickie/Chris. Others appearing.
Rating: PG-13 at present.
Disclaimer: No where near being mine. All belongs to WWE.
Category: AU, Angst.
Summary: After their marriage was ripped apart by events beyond their control; a divorced Chris and Mickie find themselves thrown back together after a car accident. Can they put the past behind them and move on?
Notes: This is a re-write of a old fic called Un-break my heart. I'll be making changes to it as I go along. Flashback are in italics.
Chapter 1
Beep … Beep … Beep …
Mickie was sitting clutching the hand of her ex-husband like it was the most precious thing in the world. She's been there for hours, at his hospital bedside, silently praying that he would open his eyes or simply just move slightly. Anything to prove his was still alive and it wasn't just the machine breathing for him. There was going to be a test tomorrow and the brunette wasn't sure she was ready for the possibility that in a few short hours she could lose him forever.
Beep … Beep … Beep …
She wanted to rip out all the tubes attached to him and shake him till he woke but instead she sat in silence, wondering how things had got so messed up. Maybe she wasn't meant to be happy, perhaps it was her destiny to end up alone, poison anyone who got to close to her. First Kenny, then John and finally Chris; she had to admit Chris had been a surprise to her. She never expected to fall in love with him. He was her enemy and she was always told that she should never sleep with the enemy.
Beep … Beep … Beep …
Mickie ran her free hand through her hair in an attempt to relieve some of her frustration, it didn't help. The only thing that could help her right now was Chris waking up but that didn't look like it was happening anytime soon, hence tomorrow's test. Standard practice the Doctor had told her, a necessity after he'd been here for four weeks without any change in his condition. Four weeks was nothing in the grand scale of things, Chris was just being Chris, taking his time, secretly planning his awakening when she least expected it. Perhaps that was just the hope she clung to, the hope she needed to cling to.
Beep … Beep … Beep …
Somewhere along the line the former spy must have dozed off, she felt herself being shaken lightly awake. She sat up quickly, a little too quickly. Dizziness overtook her for a moment, "Did something happen?"
"I'm sorry to wake you Mrs Irvine," the nurse said apologetically.
"Its okay, what time is it?" Mickie asked unsure of how long she'd been asleep for.
"10 am, Dr Holt will be making his rounds soon in preparation for the test," the nurse replied.
"Of course," Mickie said, "We'll be ready, won't we Chris?"
No answer.
"I'll be back soon," the nurse said, before leaving them alone again.
Mickie sighed deeply, after four weeks of near permanent agony, she was finally finding out if their time together was coming to an end. She cast her mind back to the night when she found out about his accident …
Mickie was rudely awoken at 3 am by the sound of her telephone loudly. Her mind screamed at her to ignore it but she found her hand reaching for the handset all the same.
"Hello?" she said groggily.
"Mrs Irvine?" a voice asked.
She hadn't been called Mrs Irvine for a long time. Something was definitely wrong, "Yes."
"My name is Tina Shaw, I'm calling from the ER at St Peters hospital, it's about your husband."
"What about him? Don't tell me he's drunk himself into oblivion again and you need me to come pick him up. Cause let me tell you right now, that is so not happening." Mickie practically barked down the phone.
"No, I'm afraid to inform you that he's been involved in a serious car wreck. we found your details in his wallet. Are you willing to come down or would you like me to try someone else?"
Mickie felt sick to her stomach, when she heard the phone ringing this was the last thing she expected.
"No, I'll be there soon. Thank you," she said, disconnecting the call. Scrambling out of bed as quickly as possible, she crossed over to her closet and pulled out the first thing she could lay her hands on.
What seemed like hours later, Mickie was standing at the front desk in the ER, waiting for a doctor to take her to Chris.
"Mrs Irvine?" a voice said behind her.
Mickie turned around to find a tall man in his mid thirties, looking expectantly at her, "Yes."
"I'm Dr. Holt, I've been treating your husband," he said.
"How is he?" Mickie blurted out after a few seconds.
"To be honest, not good, the next 24 hours are critical. If you like to come this way to my office and I can give you more details," Dr. Holt explained as he started to walk off.
Wordlessly, Mickie followed him into a side room off the main corridor.
"Please take a seat," he said, sitting down behind the desk.
Mickie sat down in the chair, "Do you know what happened?"
"A truck was coming along the freeway and the driver lost control. Your husband's car was hit from the side, sending it into the central reservation. He had to be cut from the vehicle by the fire crew. He's not been conscious since he was brought up and I have to warn you, he flat lined soon after his arrival. The brain was starved of oxygen for vital seconds. There is no way of telling if he's suffered any kind of brain damage …" he trailed off at seeing the distressed look on Mickie's face.
"Brain damage?" Mickie asked weakly. This couldn't be happening.
"At this point it's hard to tell, if he wakes up, we'll be able to assess any damage. He has also broken his right leg in two places," the doctor said.
"You said if he wakes up?" Her voiced cracked on the last word. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, in an attempt to stop the tears that were forming in them from rolling down her cheeks. It didn't work.
"Like I said before, we don't know anything for sure yet," he replied. A couple of seconds later and his pager was going off. He looked down at it, "I'm sorry, I have to go. If you'd like to go back to the main desk, I have a nurse update you on his condition." He got up from his chair and promptly left Mickie alone.
Mickie was snapped out of her thoughts by someone entering the room. Still holding Chris's hand, she looked up to find Dr. Holt.
"Hello Mickie, how are you feeling today?" he asked.
"Same as always, terrible," Mickie replied honestly, "Are you here to do the test?"
"Yes, I presume you want to stay?" He already knew the answer to the question but felt the need to ask it all the same.
"You bet," Mickie replied, releasing Chris's hand. She moved back from the bed, allowing Dr. Holt full access to him. Before she knew what was happening three more people were around the bed.
"Pupils are not responsive," Dr. Holt reported, flashing a small torch light in Chris's eyes.
"Remove the tube," one of them said.
"Okay, switch off the ventilator," Dr. Holt replied.
Then there was nothing but silence. Seconds slipped by, still nothing but silence. A lump formed in Mickie's throat. This was it, she'd lost him forever.
She looked up and to her surprise the nurse was smiling at her, "He's breathing by himself."
Mickie rushed forward, not believing what she'd just heard. She felt the tears again but this time they were tears of joy.
Dr. Holt turned towards her, "I'm still worried by his non responsive pupils but the fact he's breathing by himself is good progress. I'm going remove the sedative line completed."
"I thought you'd already done that?" Mickie asked.
"No, it was lowered enough so he would have been able to wake," Dr. Holt corrected.
"Oh," she replied.
"I've also switch the ventilator onto the backup system, it will only kick in if he stops breathing by himself. I have to carry on with my rounds now, if there is any change, you know what to do."
Mickie nodded. "Thank you, Doctor."
The next few days passed uneventfully. Mickie spent most of the time at the hospital. Chris had shown no signs of waking. Despite this, she felt better than she had done in weeks. The ventilator had been removed, that alone had been enough to lift Mickie's spirits.
It was lunch time; Mickie had been to the canteen and picked up a sandwich. She just finished eating and had thrown the rubbish in the trash when she thought she saw Chris's hand move. Unsure if it actually had or it was just her imagination playing tricks on her, she picked up his hand in her own and squeezed it. "Chris?"
No reply.
"Damn it, Chris, I'm not asking for much!" she snapped without thinking.
"I'm glad about that," a weak voice replied.
Mickie's head snapped finding Chris looking at her.
"Oh my god, Chris, I thought I'd lost you." She flung her arms around him, hugging him tightly.
Chris coughed under her weight and she pulled away from him.
"Evidently, I just have one question. Who are you?"