Here's the chapter everyone's been waiting for. Is Katie alive or dead? And please don't forget that I work better with reviews. Enjoy!
The others came to see Katie one at a time because Howell refused to leave the room, all except Jess. Howell guessed her absence had more to do with him being in the room than her not wanting to see Katie. More likely it was that Becker wouldn't let her be in the room with him until he knew Howell had calmed down. Rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous gesture he watched as Abby spoke quietly to the silent woman on the bed. It was hard to watch the woman he loved looking so still, and pale. Her legs were covered with a blue hospital blanket, but he knew that her left leg was encased in a cast. The doctors had been amazed that it was her only broken bone. On the outside she was relatively unscathed, a few cut, scratches and bruises from when the airbags deployed. It was the internal injuries that had nearly killed her. The doctors said that the car had smashed the steering wheel into her chest, making her rib cage fluctuate back into her chest, causing massive internal bleeding.
After about fifteen minutes of talking Abby left the room, pausing only to set a comforting hand on Howell's arm and giving it a squeeze. He nodded his thanks and waited for the door to close behind her to sink into the now empty bedside chair. His body was slowly crashing in exhaustion now that his adrenaline was wearing off and he gave up on his usual military posture and slumped down in the chair.
"Adrenaline crashes are the worst," Becker said from behind him, making him jump to his feet again. Becker held his hands up in apology and leaned against the door jam, "How are you holding up?" Howell instantly felt a wave of shame rush over him at how he spoke to Jess earlier. He shifted his weight from side to side, actually nervous about apologizing to Becker.
"Sir, I uh…," he started, not really sure what he was doing, "When I said… what I said, I wasn't thinking and I'm sorry." He sighed his relief when Becker nodded in understanding.
"I'm not happy about it, but I understand," He said, "Jess wanted to see her, but she fell asleep waiting." His grin widened at the thought of his pregnant wife sleeping in the other room. Both men were silent for a moment before Becker pushed away from the wall, he clapped Howell on the shoulder.
"I've got to get back to Jess," he said, looking Howell in the eye, "Let us know if you need anything." He left before Howell could say anything else.
Howell locked the door before anyone else could come in. It drove him insane how everyone was acting like she was already dead. Every time they came to the door they said they were "paying their respects", it was something you said when someone was dying. He'd hidden it well when the others were here, but his resolve was slowly deteriorating along with his energy. He returned to the chair next to Katie and slumped down again, his eyes never leaving the still form lying on the white sheets.
"I wish I could be mad at you for doing something so selfless, and stupid," he said, "but I can't. I can't be mad at you when you're lying there looking like you're moments away from dying." Howell's voice was breaking as he spoke, tears streaming freely down his face. "All I can do is wish that you'll wake up. I'll go back to annoying the hell out of you, and pretending there's nothing more between us than friendship. I will do anything you want, but you have to wake up." Howell stumbled back to the door to unlock it, knowing that the doctor's would need to get in if something happened and returned to the chair that had been his home for the last few hours. The exhaustion he'd fought since yesterday caught up to him and he dropped his head to lay nest to Katie's uninjured hip.
The lights felt like needles stabbing into her eyes as they fought to open. Katie blinked a few times as her eyes finally opened and the first thing she saw was the sterile ceiling of a hospital room. That makes sense, she thought. She wanted to find out what had happened to Jess, but she knew she had to figure out what was going on with her first. She moved her limbs one by one to see if they worked, starting with her arms. She breathed out relief when they twitched under her command. She brought them up to feel the tube she guessed was in her mouth, and sure enough it was there. At least I'm not dead, she thought. Tears started to fill her eyes at the relief that she would see the people she loved again, and Howell was the first name on that list, but she fought them back knowing that tears and a trach tube were a bad mix.
Her legs were the next thing she tried to move, but stopped when spears of agony shot through one and the other hit something. Luckily her bed was reclined enough that she could look down, something not easy to do when you have a foot long tube in your throat, to see what she had hit. As soon as she saw the unkempt mop of dirty blond hair resting next to her hip she knew it was Howell. She nearly started crying again, wondering how long he'd been here, and reached out to set her hand on his head. Her fingers managed to brush the top of his head, and his hair felt like heaven against her skin after thinking she'd never feel it again. She moved her hand father towards him to run her fingers through his hair and felt him jerk awake. He looked up at her, surprise and pleasure written all over his face.
"Katie," he whispered as if he didn't believe what he was seeing. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes before returning to stare at her in disbelief. For a moment that was all he did, and Katie took the opportunity to observe him as well. The bags under his eyes made it obvious that he hadn't gotten much sleep, and she wondered how long she'd been out. His hair was messy making her think of how it must look when he wakes up in the morning, and she realized that she wanted to find out.
"I'll go get the doctor," he said quickly, starting to stand. Katie grabbed his wrist before he could leave and tugged him back down. He looked at her, his face full of concern and confusion. Her finger beckoned him to come closer and she wished that she could talk, but she wasn't ready for him to leave yet. Even if it was just to get the doctor.
"Alright," he said sitting back down, "I'll just hit the cal button." He reached around and hit the button on the side of her bed, alerting the nurses that they were needed inside. Katie slid her hand down until it was gripping his, not letting go even when the nurses came in and hurried to find the doctor when they saw she was awake.
It was all a blur to Katie. The doctors came in, took the tube out which burned like hell and asked questions until she buried her head into the pillow. She heard Howell talk to the doctors and the sound the door made when it opened or closed. Her hair was brushed aside and she looked up to see Howell looking at her in concern, his fingers hovering near her hair. The next thing Katie knew she had her arms wrapped around his neck and he'd buried his face into her neck, inhaling deeply as if he was trying to memorize her scent.