Chapter Thirteen: Bumps, Bruises and Monitors
Adam paced in front of his grandmother and sister's boyfriend as they waited for news on Judy and Rayleigh. The nurse that had called them, had refused to give them any news though she had told them to rush to Toronto General. It just didn't make sense to Adam at all. The entire time he paced, he kept his eyes on the emergency room doors, hoping for a doctor to come through and let him know that his mother and sister were fine, that the nurse had made it out to be something that it wasn't.
"Rayleigh and Judy Copeland," called a nurse, from the nurse's station. Adam's eyes went wide and rushed towards the station as fast as his feet could carry him, leaving Mike and Nana Margaret to wait for him to bring them the news.
"The doctors in charge of their surgeries would like me to let you know that everything is going well," she explained to him, pulling out some papers, "We need you to fill these out, but everything is fine." Adam nodded and took the clipboards from the nurse. He looked them over. He hated this part, but he knew it had to be done.
"Puppy," Nana Margaret said to Adam, causing him to look at her, at the use of his childhood nickname, "Everything will be fine. Would you like me to fill out the forms?" Adam smiled at his almost a hundred year old grandmother. She had been a nurse, while his mother and aunt had been growing up, so she would know exactly what those forms were, but her eye sight was failing her and he couldn't ask her to do this.
"No, Nana," he said, "I can do them." Mike listened to their conversation. He was beside himself with worry. He had no idea what was going on and it scared him. He had no idea how bad the accident had been, or what had even happened. One minute Judy and Rayleigh were on their way to pick up Margaret's birthday present, and he and Adam were listening to how Margaret had fallen with her husband, when suddenly the phone was ringing and Adam was telling him and Margaret that Judy and Rayleigh had been in an accident. It just didn't make sense to him.
"Mike," he heard beside him, "Are you alright?" Mike looked at Margaret, who was looking at him worriedly. He couldn't lie to her kind face, he couldn't tell her that he wasn't scared out of his mind with worry for his girlfriend, when he was.
"I just don't want to lose her," Mike told her, honestly. She looked at him silently for a moment and then she smiled at him. The same kind smile, she smiled at him, when Rayleigh first introduced them.
"You know," she started, "You remind me of my Adam. My Adam would worry his head off, if one of the girls so much as got a scrape. Michael, you have nothing to worry about, Copelands are fighters, and Baby Ray she's a flesh and blood Copeland." Mike smiled, of course Margaret would recant her husband's words. Copelands were fighters.
"Michael," Margaret said, getting his attention once more, "Rayleigh's strong, she's like me and her mother, she'll get through this, they both will. Now, you stop your worrying, and you get me a coffee from the cafeteria. Two sugars, one and a half cream." Mike smiled once more at Margaret, before nodding his head and making his way towards the cafeteria. Margaret watched as he made his way towards the elevators, and once he was out of sight she turned Adam.
"I like that boy," she told him, causing Adam to look at her out of the corner of his eye, "Why are you giving him such a hard time? He doesn't seem like the other guys that Rayleigh usually brings home." Adam placed the pen on the clipboard and turned towards Nana Margaret.
"I just," Adam began.
"You don't want to see her get hurt again," she finished for him, "Adam you are your grandfather, flesh and blood, and I will tell you the same thing, that I told him, when it came to your mother. If he makes her happy, what's the harm?"
"Seeing as mom had two husbands that cut and run before their children were born," Adam said, "Then I think I have a right to worry."
"Adam Joseph Copeland," Margaret said, causing Adam to flinch at the use of his full name, "Rayleigh is not your mother and she won't make the same mistakes, seeing as neither one of you have met your fathers. She won't meet the kind of man who is just like him, seeing as the only father figure she has ever known is that nice Paul Levesque." Adam looked at his grandmother, she was one of only three people that could make him flinch, the others were his mother and his sister when she was angry. He nodded in defeat. He knew that Mike Mizanin was a great guy. He was nothing like his persona in the ring, and Adam could tell that be it on screen or off screen Mike genuinely cared for Rayleigh. Adam sighed deeply.
"Nana," he started, but was interrupted, by two doctors walking through the operating room doors. He stood up quickly, and walked over to them. They both looked at him and smiled, relieving Adam of every fear that had filled his body.
"Your mother and sister should recover just fine, but I do want to caution you, your sister's heel shattered in the accident, it seems there had been a small hairline fracture already, and the accident made it worse." Adam nodded, as the doctor explained to him, his sister's injury.
"Now I am quite aware of what you and your sister do for a living," the doctor said, raising his head, before Adam could speak, "She will still be able to wrestle, since I repaired her heel, but she will have a hard six months ahead of her, she'll need to go to rehab to gain the strength back in her foot, before she can even think about wrestling again." Adam nodded again. He looked towards Nana Margaret, who was now joined by Mike, who had brought them all something to drink.
"Can we see them," Adam asked, looking back towards the doctors.
"They're in ICU right now, but as soon as they're weened off the sedative and brought upstairs, you can see them," the doctor said. Adam nodded and thanked the doctors, before walking over to Mike and Margaret.
"What did they say," Mike asked, urgently, wanting to know exactly what the doctors had said about Rayleigh and even Judy.
"They didn't say anything about mom, except that the surgery went fine," Adam started, "Rayleigh had a hairline fracture in her ankle, that the doctors didn't pick up, and in the accident her heel shattered. She'll be able to wrestle again in six months at least." Mike looked at Adam, a little shocked. He knew that Rayleigh wouldn't like that. She had only been wrestling again for seven months, after taking two months off to heal from her miscarriage, the last thing she would want is to be out for another six months.
"How are we going to tell her," Mike said, "You and I both know she will not take this well." Adam nodded, he knew quite well how Rayleigh would take it. The same way he had taken it, when both she and the doctor had told him that he would be out for a year after he had injured his neck. This would only be half that time, but she would take just as hard. The WWE was everything that the Copeland Siblings had ever wanted for a career.
Mike sat with Rayleigh beside her bed, while Adam and Margaret visited with Judy, whom had just woken up. Rayleigh had yet to wake from the sedative. Mike continued to watch her as she slept. She was pale and had a deep gash with 15 stitches in it on her forehead. The last time she had been the hospital, she didn't look like this, but on the emotional level she had been worse.
Mike was deep in thought staring at the wall opposite his seat, when he heard someone come into the room. Mike looked up to see Adam.
"How is she," he asked.
"She hasn't woken up yet, but she's calm," Mike explained, while Adam took the seat on the opposite side of the bed.
"Mom and Nana Margaret really like you," Adam said, looking down at her little sister, "They think your one of the best things to happen to her."
"And you don't," Mike said, grasping Rayleigh's hand in his. Adam watched silently for a moment as Mike took Rayleigh's hand in his and rubbed his thumb across his knuckles. Adam looked from Mike to his sister and then back again.
"Mike," Adam started, "Rayleigh has always been my baby sister. I've always taken care of her, I've always threatened her boyfriends. Rayleigh has chosen so many guys that are bad for her and I don't want to see her keep getting hurt."
"I can't promise that I won't hurt her," Mike said, looking down at his and Rayleigh's clasped hands, and then looking back at Adam, "But I can promise that it will never be intentional. I don't like it when she cries, I wouldn't be able to live with myself, especially if I was the one that caused them." Adam looked down at Rayleigh, she looked like she was fast asleep.
"I swear Mike," Adam began, "You hurt her, I'll make sure that The Miz, won't even be mentioned in the WWE History Books." Mike nodded and both men went silent watching Rayleigh as she lay there.
"Adam," Mike said.
"Yeah?"
Do you have any idea, what I should get Rayleigh for her birthday," Mike asked, "Like I have an idea, but I'm not sure if she'll like it or not." Adam looked at Mike. None of Rayleigh's boyfriends had ever asked him for his opinion on what they should do for Rayleigh's boyfriend. As he thought about it, he knew that, that had been his fault, since he had given each and every one of them a hard time.
"Well what did you have in mind," Adam asked.
"I know she really likes Tinkerbell," Mike said, "And I saw this really nice diamond Tinkerbell charm bracelet." Adam looked at Mike in awe. He had really put thought into Rayleigh's gift, an amount of thought that not even he put into it.
"I think she's really like that," Adam said, "She doesn't have any Tinkerbell jewelry, so you wouldn't be buying her something she already has."
"That's what I thought," Mike said, being very careful just in case Rayleigh woke up, "It's just I don't know her size she needs to wear, I don't want to buy it too big or small." Adam nodded and thought about it for a moment. Rayleigh doesn't wear much jewelry, she never had, but she did have a few pieces that she wore whenever they went out, a certain bracelet in particular.
"I can get it sized for you if you want," Adam said, careful of Rayleigh as well, "She has this bracelet, has had it since she was born, she's gotten it re-sized a couple of times, so it should be her size."
"Thanks Adam," Mike said, "You don't have to do that though, I can-"
"Mike, for once I like my sister's boyfriend, and want to help him," Adam said, "So shut up."
"I can't leave the two of you alone, can I," Rayleigh asked with a groan. Both men looked down to the woman they were waiting for to wake up. She looked at them, looking absolutely miserable.
"Sorry, babe," Mike said, brushing Rayleigh's hair back, "How are you?"
"The pain medication is wearing off," Rayleigh said, slowing trying to sit up, "So I feel like I've been hit by a freight train, when I know it was just a stupid Ford Truck." Rayleigh paused and took in both Adam and Mike. Adam had that smile that told her, he was hiding something from her. She fixed him with a glare.
"Tell me," she said.
"Tell you what," he asked.
"You know exactly what Adam Joseph Copeland," Rayleigh said, causing Adam to flinch at the use of his full name.
"Six months," he told her. Rayleigh's eyes closed and she took a deep calming breath.
"For what," she asked.
"Shattered heel," he explained to her, "The doctors didn't catch a hairline fracture and when you and mom got into the car accident." Rayleigh took a deep breath. She hated that she was back on the injured list.
"Ray," Adam said, causing her to look up at him, she cringed.
"There's more isn't there," she asked.
"No," Adam said, a small smile on his face, "I just want to make sure your okay."
"I'm fine, Adam," she told him, "How's mom?"
"Broken wrist and a slight concussion, but she's fine," Adam explained, "Nana's wedding china on the other hand...much like your heel, shattered." Mike watched as Rayleigh swore under her breath, never once taking her hand from his.
"I'm going to check on mom and Nana," Adam said, opening the door to Rayleigh's private room, leaving Mike and Rayleigh alone.
"So it looks like our storyline is over," Rayleigh said, Mike smiled and shook his head.
"They'll shelf it," he told her, "I've got some vacation time saved up, I'll stay with you and help you out until your cleared to wrestle." Rayleigh looked at him before shaking her head.
"Mike," she said softly, "I can't ask you to do that. You have to be there, you're The Miz-"
"And the WWE can wait," he told her, "It's not like they'll be able to do much anyway with you shelved for the next six months." Rayleigh shook her head stubbornly.
"They'll find you something else to do," Rayleigh said, "You don't need to take six months off just to take care of me and my shattered heel."
"You're right," Mike said, "I don't have too, but I want too. Face it, Ray, you're going to need help, you won't be able to walk on that feet for sometime and you'll need help." After a moment, Rayleigh nodded her head. It was hard for her to admit that she was going to need help, but he was right. While they had repaired her heel, she was going to need rest and then months of rehab before she'd even be able to walk on it properly.
"Do you need help getting into the truck," Adam said, as he walked beside Rayleigh's wheelchair towards the parking, with Mike pushing it behind her. Their mother Judy, had been able to leave the hospital two days ago.
"Adam," Rayleigh said, "I can barely walk on my foot, so I think jumping into that damn truck you rented is definitely out of the question. Stupid question." Adam shook his head. Rayleigh was grumpy. She had barely slept in her hospital bed.
"Do you want me to-"
"Mike will help me," she said, interrupting her brother, "You're getting on my last nerve. You would think, Mike, that he wouldn't be especially since I wasn't on his nerves when I was helping him after he broke his neck." Mike chuckled under his breath, as the two siblings, who barely bickered, bickered all the way to the truck.
"I don't get why you need to rent trucks, Adam," Rayleigh complained, as she was rolled up to it, "Especially since you know I wouldn't be able to get into without help." They could hear the bitterness in her voice.
"Let's get you home, baby sister," Adam said, grinning down at her, as she scowled up at him. Mike bent down allowing her to wrap her arms around his neck. Placing his arms behind her back and under her knees, he lifted her up and with some help from Adam, they got her into the front passenger seat of the truck.
"I hate this," she told them, "I hate not being able to do things by myself."
"We know, Ray," Adam said, starting the truck.
"But the sooner, you rest and hit rehab, the sooner you'll be back to doing things on your own," Mike said. Rayleigh's brow furrowed.
"I think I liked it better when you guys didn't talk," Rayleigh told them, crossing her arms across her chest and glaring out the windshield.
"Now you know how I feel," Adam said, "You and Beth are best friends." Rayleigh just looked at him.
"And if it wasn't for the fact that we were best friends," Rayleigh began, "You and Beth wouldn't even be together especially since I was the one that set you two up." She smirked at him, causing Mike to start chuckling in the backseat.
Rayleigh was growing impatient, as she watched day time television. There was nothing good on during the day that was for sure. All the good shows were on after the news and she was growing bored. On one hand, she had gotten use to be waited on hand and foot, but the lack of things to do while she was injured, was getting to her.
She had read every single book she owned twice and in the case of the Fifty Shades Trilogy, thrice. All the movies she owned now bored her and you can only play video games so many times before they grow tedious.
"Mike," she called, causing Mike to hurry into the living room.
"Yes," he said, smiling when he caught sight of Rayleigh's pout.
"I'm bored," she told him.
"Cards?"
"No, if we play crazy eights one more time, I will actually go crazy." Mike chuckled. One month after the accident and she had gone through every activity he could possibly think of.
"Well I guess it's a good thing that you're suppose to start rehab tomorrow," Mike said. Rayleigh looked up at him.
"Yeah, your doctor just called, your x-rays told him, that your able to start, so he set an appointment up for tomorrow," Mike said, smiling as Rayleigh squealed.
"Now, why don't we watch The Notebook and get to tomorrow faster," Mike said, settling himself down beside her. Rayleigh snuggled into him and they began to watch the movie together.
A/N: Let me know what think…
BTW I'm following what happened with my brother, when it comes to Rayleigh's injury, it took him only six months to heal, but I know that when it comes to the seriousness of a shattered heel anything could happen.
xo