Crash
Chapter Three
Zebraboymom
Disclaimer: Not mine. Broken heart here.
Author Notes: Steve wakes up. What's the prognosis? Will he recognize Kono and the guys? Where do they start?
Over the next week Steve continued to open his eyes for longer and longer periods of time. Each time he opened them they would all encourage him, but he would drift off again. They weaned him off all the machines once he was aware and functioning on his own.
Today when he opened them it was different. He stayed focused and looked at Kono for an explanation.
She laid her hand against his cheek and looked at him compassionately. His eyes were focused on her alone, even though the room also had a nurse, Chin and Danny.
"Hey. I'm glad you're back sleepyhead. You were in an accident. You were chasing a bad guy and a car hit the two of you. Do you remember?"
Steve looked at her and then shook his head. He tried to speak, but he couldn't. His eyes drifted down to the restraints on his wrists.
"Oh, you aren't in trouble. Those are just to protect you. Sometimes you fight with the bed. The bed was losing."
She smiled at him, but he didn't get the joke.
"It's okay. We will work all that out later. All that matters right now is you're alive and you're awake and I'm so glad to see you."
Steve just stared at her, but when Kono reached her hand up to smooth across his forehead he immediately relaxed and closed his eyes again.
Kono hated that he had to be restrained, but at times he would thrash around in his sleep and the nurses had to put him in soft cloth restraints so he wouldn't pull out his tubing or hurt himself. He would make jerking motions sometimes as well and they seemed to be involuntary. The doctors said it was his brain rerouting information to his nerves and muscles.
When he would start to thrash Kono was always at his side instantly calming him.
On this particular day he winced trying to sit up and he pulled on his broken ribs. He looked at her questioningly. She slipped her hand under the blanket to rub softly across his chest where he had been taped up.
"You broke several ribs and when you move around it hurts doesn't it? It will get better in a couple of weeks, but you need to try not to pull on them. They will heal faster."
Kono watched as Steve slowly moved his hand to cover hers where it rested. He gave it a weak squeeze and relaxed. Kono's face lit up in a dimply smile. He was really understanding her and expressing emotion. That had to be good news.
Steve's eyes told her yes. Those eyes had become very expressive over the last week. It was his only means to communicate and Kono was starting to read them like a book. She knew when he was tired, angry or confused and she could tell when he was trying to tell her how much it meant to him having her a constant through all of it. It gave her all the more confidence that she had made the right choice.
Several days passed and Steve became more and more alert. He hadn't spoken yet, although he had tried on numerous occasions. They didn't know if he could walk yet either.
Eventually Steve was awake all the time during the day and he would follow Kono around the room, never taking his eyes off hers. In the mornings, each time he would wake up, he would search for her and physically relax when he found her. One of the nurses made a remark about it.
"He knows you're here for him. You ground him."
"You think so?"
"I know so. He gets anxious when you're out of the room and sometimes he gets angry and pulls at his restraints."
"Will we be able to remove those soon?"
"Once he can acknowledge directions and calm down, we will. They plan to move him to rehab in the next few days. After a month or so there, you'll be able to bring him home.
Kono smiled at Steve. He was sleeping right now, but it wasn't a coma induced sleep. He was actually taking a nap. Kono slipped her hand into his and gave it a gentle squeeze. Steve's eyes immediately fluttered open and he looked at her with those eyes.
They removed the restraints the next day and the doctor led Steve through a series of verbal commands. Kono watched as he struggled with each task. The good news was that with effort and patience, he could do almost all of them. Her heart soared as she realized he understood everything that was being said to him. His cognitive reasoning was in tact according to the doctor.
However, when the doctors asked him to raise both arms over his head and hold them there, after only a few seconds in the air they started to tremble and he dropped them. He threw his arm across his eyes and wept.
The doctors and the nurse stepped out of the room and Kono sat on the side of the bed. She reached for his arm and gently removed it from his eyes. His bed was raised to a sitting position and she pulled him to her and held him for the first time. He cried softly into her shoulder and she just ran her hands up and down his back and up to his head to rub over the soft fuzz starting to grow back in.
"Shh…it's okay. It will come back. I promise. You'll be stronger than ever in no time."
Kono finally pulled back and looked at him. He was trying to form words, but they wouldn't come and he hit his fist as hard as he could into the bed, but it was still weak.
"We will get through this. You. Me. Danny and Chin. Do you understand me? We will. I'm not going anywhere until you can pick me up and toss me out into the ocean. You got that?"
Steve nodded his head and sank back into her arms. They stayed that way for a long time until the charge nurse came in to check on him. She gave Kono a knowing smile as they pulled apart and Kono sat in the chair again.
Kono lay down that night with the realization that their relationship had changed forever. She watched him breathing softly on his own and remembered when he had not been able to do that. The reality of what he had survived finally hit her like a ton of bricks and she began to cry. Their connection was strong now and Steve was awake in seconds looking over at her with a questioning stare.
"I'm okay. Go back to sleep. I'm just a little emotional right now, okay?"
Steve shook his head and pulled on his blanket, pulling it back and patting the bed gently. Their eyes met for a moment and she knew he was trying to tell her that he was there for her now. That was what she needed so much. It had been her job to be the strong one for almost a month and it had taken its toll. She rushed over to his bed, slipped into his waiting arms and placed her head on his shoulder. He gently brushed her hair behind her ear before his arm dropped weakly to her hip. She felt his lips touch her forehead before she drifted off to sleep.
The next morning the nurse smiled at them when she found them locked in each other's arms. It was obvious that this strong woman loved him fiercely and hoped she was not wrong in seeing that the Commander felt strongly for her too. She hoped he made a full recovery and that the young man returned Kono's feelings once he did.
Over the next several days there were discussions about rehab, but no decision to move him. Kono was anxious about moving to this next step. They had promised it would happen already. What were the doctors not telling her? She finally confronted them. The two areas the doctors were most concerned about now were the lack of speech and the weakness of his legs. His arms were getting stronger by the day and that was encouraging. They tried to get him up to walk, but he collapsed into Kono's arms almost taking her down with his weight on her slim frame. He doubled up his fist and slammed it into the bed again scaring her.
Finally at the end of the third week the day came for the move. Kono was worried about Steve. The doctors told her she would not be allowed to stay with him at night once he was in rehab. Steve had his most difficult times at night. He would wake up disoriented and unsure about where he was and she would get up, tell him the story all over again of what happened and why he was there. This would calm him down and she would sit holding his hand until he went back to sleep. She hadn't been away from him for more than a few hours in three weeks.
That night she explained everything to him and tried to calm his fears about being alone at night. This part of his injuries was the hardest for her to handle. Steve had never needed anyone to take care of him and the fact that he needed her there with him at night broke her heart.
His eyes spoke volumes as he nodded that he understood. Just as she went to get up and cross to her bed, Steve caught her hand. Before she could turn back she heard it even though it was slow and soft.
"Kono…"
Her eyes shimmered with tears as she looked at him. He pulled the blanket back again and tried to convey his feelings with a look that made her heart melt.
"I'm right here Steve. I promise. Always."
They held each other that night and Kono went to sleep with the hope that he was going to recover heavy on her heart. It didn't matter to her though. If this was as good as it got, this was enough. He knew her name, he wanted her near and he was alive. That's all that mattered.
A/N: Next chapter…rehab.