A/N: In light of recent events I've decided to finish up this story. I hope you've enjoyed the story and don't forget to keep Phil in your prayers.
Jillian lay quietly in the ICU bed, she was surrounded by machines and her body covered with tubes. June was quietly brushing her hair around the tubing. She stroked her hand across Jillian's pale cheek, her skin was still cool to the touch even though she was covered by warmed blankets.
"How is she doing?" asked the Nurse as she entered the room.
"The same" said June.
The nurse took Jillian's vital signs and placed another bag of IV fluid on the pole.
"Her heart is beating in a good rhythm. She's a strong girl, hopefully she will be able to pull through this" said the Nurse.
"Me too, she's a wonderful girl" said June.
"We will keep her intubated until her blood levels show enough oxygen. These next 12 hours are critical to see how her body responds to treatment" explained the Nurse.
"Ok, her um husband should be here soon" said June. "I'll let him know what's going on."
"It's wonderful that her family is able to come stay with her" said the Nurse.
The hospital's policy of family only in the ICU had made June do some quick thinking about how she was "related" to Jillian. She was now Jillian's older sister which she felt wasn't too much of a lie. June really hoped Phil wouldn't be offended by her marrying him off to Jillian. June picked up one of Jillian's hands and looked at her nails.
"Well Jillian, how about I give you a much needed manicure before Phil gets here" said June.
She spent the next hour cleaning the grease from under Jillian's nails and washing her hands. Next she brushed her hair as best she could trying her best to avoid pulling out any of the tubes.
Phil let out a sigh of relief as the tiny plane touched down in Anchorage. He'd brought the Cornelia Marie into Dutch full speed. He'd called Murray who'd said he'd leave immediately to take over as relief captain. He'd left Freddie in charge until Murray arrived. Jake and Josh had both driven him to the airport telling him to give Jillian a hug from them. Phil grabbed his bag and headed out onto the tarmac. He hopped into a cab telling the driver his destination. He'd called June from the airport in Dutch to tell her he was on his way. She said Jillian's condition hadn't changed which was both good and bad news. The driver pulled up at the hospital and Phil paid the man twice the fare before hurrying inside. Phil felt a horrible sense of deja vu as he walked through the hospital towards the ICU. He'd been there before when he was sick, the nurse at the station even looked familiar. As he got closer the nurse looked up from her paperwork and smiled in recognition.
"Well if it isn't Phil Harris, you are looking much better than the last time I saw you" said the nurse.
"Hi, I'm here to see Jillian" said Phil.
"Oh yes, your wife's sister is in there with her. You can go in too" said the nurse.
Phil did his best to appear nonchalant but the truth was the nurse calling Jillian his wife had startled him. Deciding it was best to just go to Jillian, he turned away from the nurses station and started down the hall.
"She's in room 2" called the nurse.
"Thanks" replied Phil continuing down the hallway.
Phil opened the door of room 2 and his breath caught in his throat. Jillian looked tiny in the hospital bed and she had tubes coming out of her mouth, nose and both arms. Tears formed in Phil's eyes and he immediately walked forward to the bedside.
"Hi Phil, she's stable" said June.
Phil started, he hadn't even realized that June was in the room, even though the nurse had told him so moments before.
"Thank you for being here with her" said Phil his eyes never leaving Jillian.
"There is a chair on the other side of the bed if you want to sit down" said June.
"Honestly, if I could I would just climb in and collect her in my arms and never let go" said Phil.
"Well, I'm sure the nurses would have something to say about that" said June.
"Has she moved or anything?" asked Phil.
"No. The nurse says her oxygen saturation is almost normal and her body temperature is supposedly normal, but she still feels cold to me" said June.
Phil picked up her hand and rubbed it gently between his hands in an attempt to warm them. He moved around the bed to the other chair and picked up Jillian's other hand giving it the same warming treatment. Phil leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Jillian's forehead.
"Jillian, I'm here. You can wake up now so I can make sure you're ok" said Phil quietly. "I can't believe you volunteered to go on the salvage, you hate doing repairs on the water."
Jillian's hand twitched slightly on the blanket. Louise noticed and was just about to tell Phil when he started to speak again.
"I can't loose you. Please come back from wherever you are. It might be nicer than here but I promise you no one there loves you more than I do" said Phil.
He was openly crying, tears spilling down onto Jillian's arm.
Jillian felt as if she was underwater, her chest hurt terribly and every breath she took felt strange. As much as she wanted to surrender herself to the comforting darkness someone important was calling her and she felt compelled to answer. Summoning strength she didn't even know she possessed she opened her eyes. Everything in the room was painfully bright and Jillian immediately closed her eyes against the pain. She could hear Phil talking and although she couldn't really understand the words he was saying she could tell that he was crying. The feel of his tears on her wrist broke her heart a little. She wanted to comfort him, assure him that she was ok. She struggled to speak but something was in her mouth. Her hands flexed and she pulled her hand out of Phil's grasp and moved it up to her face. She touched the tubing coming out of her mouth and immediately her eyes opened wide and she started to panic.
Phil and June erupted in surprise at Jillian's movements. Phil lunged for the call button pressing it compulsively. June threw open the door of the room yelling for a nurse to come. The charge nurse burst into the room a moment later with the doctor on call. The doctor immediately approached Jillian who was still trying to tear the tube out of her mouth.
"Jillian, it's lovely to see your eyes open and if you give me a minute I'll get this tube out. But you need to calm down or you are going to do yourself damage" said the doctor sternly.
Jillian's forehead furrowed in consternation but she complied with the doctors request. She turned her head to look at Phil who seemed to be in shock at the turn of events. She tried to smile at him to tell him she was alright but her mouth was full of tubes but she hoped her eyes conveyed the message. Phil reached out and grasped her hand with both of his and squeezed, Jillian did her best to squeeze back as hard as she could. The doctor returned with a couple of nurses and a surgical tray.
"Ok, Jillian we are going to take that tube out of your mouth so you can talk to your sister and husband" said the doc.
Jillian just smiled benignly and opened her mouth for the procedure. She would ask June and Phil about their new relationships once she could talk.
"Jillian, this may hurt a little, but I want you to take a deep breath then blow out while I remove the tube" said the doctor.
The procedure was over in a moment and Jillian took a deep unassisted breath for the first time in 20 hours. Jillian's mouth moved but no sound emerged.
"Have a sip of water, your vocal chords are dry from the tube" said the nurse passing Jillian a cup with a straw. Jillian gratefully took a few sips before setting the cup on the tray.
"Alright, well we will send in a nurse to get some blood to check your oxygen level" said the doctor. "I'm glad you're back with us, you had us worried for a bit."
"Thank you" whispered Jillian.
The doctor and nurses smiled then left the room. Jillian waited a few moments to make sure they were out of earshot before she asked her first question.
"When did we get married?" asked Jillian, her voice nothing more than a horse whisper.
"I can't believe you don't remember" said Phil in mock horror.
Jillian just frowned at this pronouncement.
"Your sister was even here to witness it" continued Phil.
Jillian really looked confused as her eyes scanned the room. Her eyes passed completely over June then shifted back to her. June waved happily.
"I must still be unconscious" said Jillian to herself.
"You aren't, don't let Phil confuse you" said June. "We were only allowed in if we were family so we've exaggerated our relationships a little."
"Oh, ok" said Jillian her voice getting slightly stronger.
"I just married you for the money" said Phil.
"I'm afraid rumors of my wealth have been vastly overrated" said Jillian.
"I'll have to talk to Walt about that, he gave me some bad information" said Phil.
"Is the season over already? How long have I been out?" asked Jillian.
"No the season isn't over. When I heard you were hurt I drove the boat right back to Dutch. I had to be with you even if it was just to say goodbye" said Phil is voice chocking with emotion.
"I'm so glad you're here" said Jillian her eyes filled with unshed tears.
The nurse bustled into the room a few hours later and was shocked to see Phil in bed with Jillian, both of them fast asleep. This was completely against hospital policy and probably over the weight capacity for that tiny hospital bed. However, the two of them looked so sweet together she was hesitant to reprimand them. She sidled up to Jillian and began prepping her arm for the blood draw. The moment the cold alcohol pad hit Jillian's skin her eyes snapped open. She saw the nurse pulling out a huge needle and her body tensed. This caused Phil to stir in his sleep and pull her closer to him while he slept.
"It's ok, sweetie I'll make it quick. We just want to get a blood sample to check your blood oxygen level" explained the nurse.
"Ok, but I really don't like needles" said Jillian.
"Oh please I saw you on Deadliest Catch. You had 15 stitches in your arm twice without even a flinch" said the nurse.
"Fine" said Jillian thrusting out her arm and turning her head away.
Phil opened his eyes and he felt Jillian shift, he noticed her eyes were squeezed shut and saw the nurse taking a vile of blood from her.
"It's almost done, sweetheart" said Phil comfortingly.
"I don't like needles" said Jillian.
"Well I have no sympathy for you when I was sick I had to inject myself in the stomach 3 times a day with a huge needle" said Phil.
"Good for you" said Jillian with a pout.
The nurse finished up and scuttled out of the room without a second glance at the pair on the bed. June had left to go back to the hotel to take a shower and call Sig. Phil and Jillian slept for another few hours together before the doctor came in.
"Hi Jillian, Phil. I've never seen two people on a hospital bed before" said the doctor.
"I have some good news" continued the doctor. "Your oxygen level is back to normal, you will still have some decreased lung capacity so no more scuba diving. We of course are going to keep you for at least a week, you almost died out there and we want you in tip top shape before we release you. Do you have any questions?"
"What happened to me?" asked Jillian. "The last thing I remember was being in the engine room trying to keep my head above water."
"Marco said that the coast guard rescue swimmer found you in the engine room and brought you into the helicopter, you weren't breathing and didn't have a heart beat. You were technically dead. They resuscitated you in the copter on the way to Cold Bay then brought you here. You arrived here less than 2 hours after you were pulled from the water. By the time you got here you had a breathing tube and your heart was beating on it's own. We brought up your temp, ran a lot of tests and then sat back at let your body do the rest. You are very lucky to be alive" finished the doctor.
Jillian said nothing, hearing the whole story was completely overwhelming.
"I want to take you for a scan to check your lungs again, it's just to make sure there is no severe damage" said the doctor.
"Ok, whatever you need to do. Thank you for saving me" said Jillian quietly.
"It seems you have a lot to live for" said the doctor.
The doctor walked out of the room leaving Phil and Jillian on their own again. They said nothing to each other just found comfort in each other's arms.
Jillian spent the next 10 days in the hospital before Phil took her home with him to Seattle. During the entire hospital stay Phil never left her side, not even to smoke. Back in Seattle Phil settled into his role as nursemaid taking great pleasure in fattening Jillian back up and making sure every desire was satisfied. One afternoon Phil decided that it was time to get out of the house. He picked out an outfit for Jillian and laid it out on the bed for her. She reluctantly dressed and followed Phil out to the garage. He settled her on his Harley and drove her up to his favorite mountain look out. They stood together in front of a beautiful sunset and said their vows of love to each other. No rings were exchanged only true sentiments from their hearts. That night Phil made love to Jillian as gently as if she was spun glass sealing their vows in action. The season eventually ended and everyone stopped by at one time or another to pay a visit to Jillian. Phil proudly showed off his new domestic skills by whipping up dinners and lunches for whoever visited. Opie season came and went with Phil back captaining the Cornelia Marie to their most successful season yet. And so it went.
And they lived happily ever after.