Here we go, here's the next chapter. Only one or two left and maybe an epilogue… really depends on where my muse goes with this :)
Later that evening, Jane woke up again. She blinked groggily, trying to get a gauge on her surroundings, but still having to rely on sound alone.
The familiar sound of Kurt snoring nearby, made her smile softly. She remembered waking up earlier, but her mind had been all jumbled. She felt a lot more aware of things this time around.
"Kurt?" she whispered, reaching out for him. She heard movement and knew he was forcing himself awake.
"Jane?" he breathed
Momentarily forgetting everything else, she smiled in his direction, her chin wobbling with emotion.
"Oh Jane." he said, wrapping her in his arms. "I was so scared."
Jane clung to him, hating that she had been the one to put him through such terrible pain.
He took her face in his hands, kissing her softly.
"I love you so much." she whimpered through her emotions. She felt his thumb rub under her eyes, brushing away the tears that had fallen.
"I love you too my love. Never do that to me again." he said, a relieved chuckle escaping his mouth.
She shifted in the bed uncomfortably, taking a few deep breaths when her body protested from the movement. Everything hurt.
Something in her brain clicked.
Everything hurt.
"Are you ok?" Kurt asked, sensing her agitation.
"Kurt my legs… they hurt." Jane replied, and the meaning was not lost on him. He stood quickly, making his way to the end of her bed. He pulled the blankets up, exposing her legs.
"Jane your toes…" he said excitedly. "They're moving!"
A relieved cry escaped her throat, and before she knew it, she was wrapped up in her husband's embrace again.
They stayed that way for a few minutes, just enjoying being near each other. Kurt shifted reluctantly.
"I should call your doctor." he mumbled, not wanting this moment to end.
Jane only nodded in reply. She body ached and she still felt quite sick, but she was content. She was alive. The cure was working.
Kurt pushed her buzzer, not making a move to get off the bed. He didn't want to let her go.
Doctor Thompson walked into the room some time later.
"How are you feeling, Ms Doe?" she asked kindly.
"I'm ok." Jane answered truthfully. In comparison to what she had felt last week, she was feeling bloody amazing. "I have some feeling coming back to my legs."
"That's great news." the doctor said approaching the bed. "I'm just going to run a few simple tests, if that's ok with you?"
Jane smiled.
"Of course." she said quietly. "I.. um.. I'm sorry for the way I behaved the last time you wanted to run tests."
"It's ok Jane." the doctor replied. "My colleague understood. What you were going through… I would have been more surprised if you didn't lash out."
Jane only blinked in reply, not sure how to respond.
"Right, first things first, lets see how your legs are doing." Doctor Thompson said. Kurt moved off the bed, giving the doctor room to work. Jane stifled a groan at that. She didn't like not being able to feel him close to her. Sensing that, he reached out, taking her hand in his own again. The doctor untucked the bed, lifting the blankets off of Jane's legs. She ran her pen up the inside of her feet. Jane twitched at the sensation. "You can feel that?" Doctor Thompson asked.
Jane nodded. "It doesn't feel normal… but I can definitely feel it!" She smiled.
"What do you mean by it doesn't feel normal?" the doctor asked, moving further up her legs.
"The sensation is kind of dulled… almost numb." Jane explained.
The doctor smiled at Kurt, seeing how excited her looked.
"I think that is to be expected." she said, laying the blanket back over her. "The connections in your brain will take a little while to rewire themselves."
"Does… does this mean you think I will get my sight back?" Jane asked quietly, after hesitating.
She felt the bed dip, as the doctor sat beside her.
"As I have said before Jane." she started carefully. "We have never seen anything like this in modern medicine. Everything that I have seen so far has been nothing but positive… Doctor Roga's medicine is working at an exponential rate… but…" she said patting her on the hand. "We will just have to be patient. I have every hope that you will make a full recovery, but I also do not want to give out false hope."
Jane closed her eyes, processing this piece of information. The fact that she had already begun to regain feeling in her legs, was a positive sign. One that she hoped would continue throughout the rest of her symptoms. But being patient was never one of her strong points.
"Right, let's see if we can get you sitting up." the doctor said, standing back up. "I would like to have a little listen to your heart and lungs.
With Kurt's help, the doctor maneuvered Jane into a sitting position. Seeing that she was tiring quickly, he sat beside her, so she could lean against his shoulder.
"Take a few deep breaths for me." the doctor instructed. Jane complied, inhaling and exhaling on command. "Good, you can lie back down now." she said and Kurt gently settled his wife back against the pillows. The doctor moved her stethoscope to Jane's chest, listening to her heart. "Sounding good." she said after a few moments.
The doctor picked up both of Jane's hands. "Right I want you to squeeze my hands as hard as you can. Come on… squeeze squeeze."
Jane scrunched her face in concentration. Just from the change in equilibrium and the strain of squeezing the doctor's hands was exhausting her.
"Good." Doctor Thompson said, laying her hands back by her side. "I'm just going to lay you flat now, and have a wee feel and listen to your tummy." she said, bringing the bed down. "This is the last thing I promise, and then I'll let you rest for a while."
Doctor Thompson pulled the blankets back and lifted Jane's hospital gown, exposing her stomach. Jane shifted uncomfortably, feeling suddenly very vulnerable. She knew she was still wearing the diaper, and she didn't want Kurt to have to see it. The doctor sensed this, moving the blankets up so her was covered from the waist down, with only her stomach exposed.
She knew she was being silly, that Kurt would never think any less of her, but on the same token, the notion was absolutely mortifying.
Jane couldn't help the moan escape from her lips when Doctor Thompson started pressing and palpitating her belly. She was still very tender and the movements were making her feel incredibly queasy. She closed her eyes, breathing through the discomfort, trying to focus on nothing but the rhythmic circles Kurt's thumb was rubbing on her hand. She felt the doctor place the chestpiece of her stethoscope onto her belly, the room falling into silence. At least the prodding was over.
Doctor Thompson removed her stethoscope and lowered Jane's hospital gown back down, before bringing the head of the bed back up into a sitting position. Jane's hand snaked under her covers, protectively clutching her now aching stomach.
"Everything is looking very good, Jane." Doctor Thompson said, taking a seat beside her. "Your progress is looking very promising. For someone who was in a coma less than twenty four hours ago… I'm very happy."
Jane could only reply with a small smile, the exhaustion crashing down on her in waves.
"Get some rest." the doctor said, patting her on the shoulder. "Tomorrow we'll try some bland food, and if your up to it, maybe let you have a proper shower."
Jane's smile grew at that. She felt sticky and horrible, her hair matted to her scalp. What she wouldn't give for a nice hot shower…
She sighed as another wave of exhaustion hit.
Doctor Thompson smiled at Kurt, seeing Jane nearly passing out already.
"Thank you Doctor." Kurt said sincerely, his smile reaching his eyes. The doctor turned, leaving the two of them in silence.
"Kurt?" Jane cried softly, fumbling around in the dark.
"Hey hey… I'm right here." he hushed, stoking her hair. "You just relax and get some sleep." he said softly.
Jane sighed softly, relaxing into back into the pillows.
Kurt watched as his wife fell into a deep sleep. He sighed happily, allowing the relief to wash over him in waves.
She still had a long road ahead of her, and they were still uncertain as to whether she would get her eyesight back or not, but so far everything was looking incredibly positive.
She was alive, and from the looks of things, was going to stay that way.
Thanks for reading!