The next morning found Elly sitting beside Chloe, holding her hand. The respiratory therapist had come in a few hours before and adjusted the ventilator so Chloe would take breaths on her own, the therapist had said. If she did well, the doctors would come back and take out her breathing tube. The rest of the night had been uneventful, thankfully. The nurse came by a few times an hour to check on Chloe, but that was about it. The boys had gone to get some food and coffee after spending the night in the waiting room.
While sitting beside Chloe, holding her hand Elly's mind went back to early this morning, when the nurse had first taken her back to see Chloe. The room was eerily quiet aside from the steady beeping coming from the machines and the temperature was icy cold. Elly remembered the nurse warning her not to touch anything, letting her know she could touch Chloe but to be careful of all the wires and tubing. The nurse let her know that Chloe's hands were tied to the side of the bed in case she wakes up and freaks out, it's a safety precaution. The nurse let Elly know that she would be back later to check on Chloe and went out the door.
Elly remembered the heart stopping fear she felt when she finally looked at Chloe with tears starting to form in her eyes. Chloe thankfully had more color and her lips were a bit pinker than the last time she had seen her. She was asleep and there was a chest tube coming from the right side of her chest, a ventilator that was helping her breathe and her arms were tied to the side of the bed. Chloe was just lying there unmoving and asleep. Elly cautiously walked closer to Chloe's bedside and sat down. She took Chloe's hand in her own and placed a gentle kiss there.
Elly started to cry still holding Chloe's hand and closed her eyes trying to convince herself that this was all just a bad dream, and that all she needed to do was wake up. It wasn't working though and when she opened her eyes, Chloe was still just lying in the bed not moving. Her Chloe, her best friend, her rock. Her relationship with Chloe Brennan was complicated to say the least but she was never able to stay away. Even when Chloe had asked her for space so that Chloe's stupid heart could stop being stupid, but she couldn't give it to her it was just too hard not being able to be with Chloe. She couldn't imagine her life without Chloe, seeing her every day, going for a coffee or drinks, pajama parties and wine, she just needed Chloe Brennan, she just didn't realize how much. Seeing her Chloe laid up in a hospital bed and unconscious, made her rethink everything that had happened between them.
She thought about all the times they had confided in each other, all the hugs and the flirty banter. She also couldn't help but think about the Christmas card where Chloe had written that she was in love with her or the close moment they had shared at the pajama party. All these moments were on replay in her mind and she was seeing them differently. Now she was seeing that she was always smiling when she was with Chloe even during the bad moments because she just couldn't help herself. She saw all the little touches, the longer than necessary hugs and of course the kiss. That one kiss, the moment everything had changed between them.
Thinking about that moment made more tears come to Elly's eyes and she gently laid her head on Chloe's hand that she was still holding. "Chloe, I need you to be ok, I know that things have been strange between us and that's my fault," Elly tearfully stated. She slowly lifted her head and continued, "Please just wake up Chlo, I need to see those beautiful blue eyes of yours and your sarcastic smirk, I just need you Chlo, I love you" Elly had whispered the last word. She wasn't sure when her feelings for Chloe had turned into more than friendship but she knew that she loved her and wanted her to wake up.
A knock on the door pulled Elly out of her memory and back to the present. Mark walked into the room, holding a coffee in his hand and a white to-go bag. "Hey, I brought you a coffee and some food," he said, offering her the bag and cup. "Thank you," Elly said. "Why don't you go to the cafeteria and take a break," he suggested, "I'll stay with Chloe." Elly was torn because she didn't want to leave Chloe's side, but with the mention of food her stomach started to rumble. "Ok, I'll just take this to the cafeteria, eat, and I'll be right back," she agreed. Mark just smiled. "I'm going to be right here, and if anything changes, I'll let you know." Elly smiled back and nodded, putting her hand on Marks shoulder and walked out the door.
After Elly had left, Mark wasn't sure what to do so he just sat in the chair she'd been occupying. He was so happy that Chloe might be taken off the breathing tube today. He was still worried about his sister, but all things considered he was just glad she was alive. He was almost more worried about Elly. She hadn't said much to anyone, and as far as he could tell had just been staring at Chloe all night. He had hoped that physically seeing Chloe alive and breathing would help Elly cope with the situation, but she still wasn't being very vocal and any time he asked her if she was ok, she would just nod and brush him off. He'd decided to give her some space, maybe she'd be more settled once Chloe came off the breathing tube.
Back at the cafeteria, Elly arrived just as Aaron and David were finishing their breakfasts. "Hey," Elly said. The boys greeted her warmly. "How's Chloe?" Aaron asked once Elly sat down and prepared to tuck into her food. Elly stopped what she was doing to look at Aaron. "She's been doing decent, they said she's on the lowest settings for the breathing machine and there's a good chance she'll be able to come off the breathing tube today," she said in a nervous tone, "we'll know in a couple of hours." Aaron smiled back at Elly, "she's doing great El, try not to worry." "She really is," David chimed in, "considering what she's been through." Elly knew they were right, but she couldn't help but worry. She wasn't sure what to say, so she just nodded and proceeded to wolf down her breakfast.
Aaron and David headed back to the waiting room after breakfast and Elly returned to Chloe's room. She lightly knocked on the door and entered to find Mark sitting asleep in the chair with his head resting on the bed. Elly knew he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before because they were all waiting for news on Chloe. She walked over and gently rubbed Mark's shoulder, trying to wake him up. After a few seconds Mark started to stir, lifting his head. "Hey why don't you head back to the house and recharge," Elly said, smiling at her sleepy fiancé, "there's nothing we can do now but wait. I'll call you if anything changes." Mark reached out for Elly's hand, "only if you come with me. You need to sleep too, Az and David can stay here and let us know if anything changes." Elly just shook her head. "I'm fine, I got enough sleep and I don't want to leave Chloe." Mark stood up and hugged her. As he was pulling away, he tried again. "I know your worried about Chloe, but you're right, there's nothing we can do right now. It would do you some good to get out of here and get some sleep, you've been through a lot and you need to take care of yourself." Elly shook her head again, getting a little frustrated. "I'm fine Mark, really, I'm just worried about Chloe and I'm not leaving, but you can go if you want to and I'll call you with an update." Mark just nodded and replied "alright. I'm going to head home for a nap and a quick shower, but if anything changes you call me." He gave Elly a kiss and headed out the door.
Aaron and David, meanwhile, were back in the waiting room discussing Elly and how quiet she had been at breakfast. "I really think she needs to talk to someone, to help her deal with what she went through," Aaron said to David as they were about to take a seat. "I don't know babe, she's been through a traumatic event - Chloe almost dying. I think it's just going to take time for her to come to terms with it" David replied. Just as Aaron was about to respond, Mark came up to the two looking a bit agitated. "Well I am going to head home for a shower and some sleep while we wait for word on Chloe," Mark said in an annoyed tone and started to turn away. "Hey wait, what's wrong?" Aaron interjected. Mark stopped and turned to his brother. "I don't know what to do for Elly," he said with exasperation, "she basically just dismissed me when I tried to get her to come home and rest. She's my sister, for God's sake." Aaron tried for a reassuring smile. "I'm sure she's just worried about Chlo and wants to be there for her, she was there when it happened and is probably having a hard time coping with it, she just needs some time bro." "Yeah, your probably right," he agreed, looking a bit less annoyed, "I'll just give her some time and try to be there for her. I'll be back in a bit." Maybe a shower and some good sleep would help calm his mind about Elly and everything that was going on.
Back in the ICU, Elly noticed that Chloe was starting to move on her own a little bit, although she still wasn't opening her eyes. The nurse came back not long after Mark left and told her they'd gone down on her sedation. "She's been doing well breathing on her own, we're going to turn off the sedation and then the doctor's will come by and see if the tube can come out once it starts wearing off." Elly was so happy to hear that Chloe had passed the test and could breathe on her own. While the nurse shut off Chloe's medications, Elly sent Aaron, David, and Mark a text letting them know that Chloe might be coming off the ventilator soon. Soon she'd be able to look into Chloe's eyes and see her beautiful smile again. Elly was still daydreaming happily when a resident walked in. He went over to the bed without speaking and shook Chloe by the shoulder. "Hey Chloe," he said loudly, almost shouting, "can you open your eyes for me? Open your eyes." Chloe's eyes fluttered briefly open and she twisted slightly in bed. The doctor let her lapse back into a deeper sleep. He looked up at Elly. "Hi, Dr. Morgan," he said, introducing himself belatedly, "what's your relationship to the patient?" "I'm a friend," she said, "going to be her sister-in-law, actually," she said with an awkward smile. "Congratulations, I suppose" he said, smiling. "We're waking her up now, as you can see. If everything goes well, I expect we'll have her off the vent within the hour." Elly looked at him nervously. "So, after she's taken off the machine, will she be ok?" "Most likely she will. And there are lots of good nurses and doctors here if there are any problems. We'll actually need the room for a while, if you don't mind," he added, "the lady at the front desk will let you know when it's ok to come back." Elly couldn't help taking one more, long look at Chloe before forcing herself to leave.
Elly found David and Aaron in the waiting room and greeted them with hugs. "They're planning on taking the tube out, they just took her off sedation now," Elly let them know in an excited tone. "That's great" Aaron replied. "I'm happy she's doing well," David added bittersweetly, "she's going to need her strength for the recovery." "Did you text Mark?" Aaron asked, but Elly ignored the question and looked at David. "What do you mean the recovery?" she asked with barely-concealed anxiety. "Well, she's going to need physical therapy and at home help at the very least when she's discharged," he said, "which might not be for a few weeks. That's assuming there's no major nerve damage, which we won't know until she's awake." He's a doctor, so he must know what he's talking about, she thought to herself. "What do you mean at home help?" David started going into the details before Aaron interrupted. "Did you let Mark know?" "Yes, I texted him when I texted you" Elly said curtly, annoyed at the being distracted from what David was telling her, "I haven't heard anything back." Aaron was visibly surprised at her tone. David shrugged and chimed in, "well, he's probably still asleep. I'm sure he'll head over as soon as he wakes up." Elly nodded absent-mindedly and went back to questioning David on what was in store for Chloe. Aaron listened silently to their conversation, still disturbed by Elly's behavior, when one of the women at the front desk called out, "Brennan family?" Elly was the first to respond, "yes that's us, is Chloe awake?" "I'm not sure, but I've been told to inform you that you're free to go back and see her" the woman responded, "I'll unlock the unit for you." Elly set off for the door and Aaron and David followed.
