Chapter 35

The waiting room was silent as the whole McMahon family sat there anxiously waiting on any news about Paul. It had been at least an hour since they had arrived at the hospital and despite Stephanie's desperate pleading with at least two doctors, there was still nothing anyone could tell them about his condition. The scent of fear lingered in the small room. Although no one had voiced their concerns, deep down everyone knew that it was serious and Paul's life could very well be hanging in the balance. According to Jim Ross, Andrew had been ferocious in his attack hitting Paul twice in his head with the sledgehammer. Even after falling to the ground after the first shot, Andrew hit him a second time whilst he was lying unconscious in the ring. It had been a sick and vile act and by all accounts, Paul was lucky to still be breathing.

As an announcement crackled over the hospital tannoy, Paul's parents entered the room. They hadn't been at the pay-per-view as Patricia had just been recovering from the flu so Shane had called them on their way over to the hospital. As they walked over towards them, Linda could see the unshed tears in Patricia's eyes and she stood up immediately pulling her into a hug, sensing as a mother the pain she was going through.

Paul's father's expression was sombre as he looked at Shane. "Is there any news about Paul yet?"

Shane shook his head and sighed. "Not yet. They've got him in surgery now."

He nodded and took his wife's hand as she stepped away from Linda.

Patricia looked over at Stephanie who was sitting at the end of the row of chairs. She was silent and motionless and looked so small as she stared straight ahead. She was dwarfed by the large items of clothing she wore. Patricia recognised the track pants and t-shirt as Paul's. Her bottom lip trembled at the thought of her son and releasing her husband's hand, she made her way over to Stephanie taking the vacant seat next to her. Although she failed to acknowledge her presence, Patricia reached across taking her hand in hers. It felt like a chunk of ice and she squeezed it reassuringly as it rested in her lap. They just sat there alone with their thoughts until Stephanie's faint whisper eventually broke the silence.

"This is his favourite t-shirt you know. I had to wear it. It makes me feel like he's with me somehow."

Patricia swallowed hard pushing back the lump in her throat. She blinked back her hot tears determined to stay strong not only for herself but for Stephanie's sake. They had to stay positive and she had to remember to believe in her faith and her son. Licking her lips, she turned to Stephanie. The young woman's face was drawn and pale when she eventually looked back at her.

"Paul is with you, Stephanie and he's going to make it you know. Paul's got so much to live for. He loves you and the baby so much. He's not going to leave you. He's not going to leave any of us."

Patricia's bottom lip trembled and she bit down on it, letting out a shaky breath as her emotions got the better of her.

"I made a silent pact with him when I held him in the ring you know." Stephanie's lips lifted in a small, tight smile. "I told him that if he wakes up and comes back to me, back to us, he can name the baby."

Patricia squeezed her hand once more. "He'll love that honey."

Stephanie nodded and turned once more to stare blankly at the walls. Patricia left her in peace and just sat there with her holding her hand silently praying for her son.

But those prayers were quickly interrupted as the doctor walked through the swinging double doors. Everyone immediately stood up and watched him anxiously as he slowly approached them. He gave them a brief smile of recognition before turning his attention towards Stephanie. Her scared blue eyes stared back at him as her breath caught in her throat anxiously awaiting whatever it was he had to tell them.

"I'm pleased to be able to tell you that Mr Levesque has made it through surgery and in the recovery area waiting to be taken to the intensive care unit. However, he's in no means out of the woods and his condition is still extremely critical."

Stephanie blinked back her salty tears as she nodded to the doctor to continue.

"I'm very concerned about the swelling in his brain. We need this swelling to go down and fast and the best way to do that is to keep him in a coma-like state. We can do that with medication. We'll also hook him up to ventilator. That way, with the machine breathing for him, his brain doesn't have to work and this will encourage the swelling to go down much more quickly. And once the swelling has reduced and the risk to Mr Levesque is minimised, then we can take him off the ventilator and let him breathe on his own and eventually take him off the medication."

Stephanie stood silent in a trance-like state, her mind in a total haze unable to take in what the doctor was telling her and what it meant for Paul. As she stared at him blankly, she felt Patricia's hand on her shoulder and could only listen as she asked the doctor a few questions; questions she wasn't capable of asking for herself.

"What are the chances of Paul making a full recovery?"

"I honestly can't answer that question. Until Paul wakes up, there's no way we can assess what damage has been done, if any, to his brain."

"And how long will he have to be hooked to a ventilator?"

"Again, that all depends on how quickly the swelling goes down. I've had patients where the swelling has significantly reduced within a couple of days. With other patients it's taken at least a week. There's no time limit to this sort of injury I'm afraid."

Suddenly Stephanie had heard enough and asked the only question that was on her mind. "Can I see him? Please?"

The doctor nodded and gave her a small smile. "Of course. We'll be moving him to intensive care shortly. A nurse will come and get you once he is settled in."

"Thank you." she whispered.

The doctor nodded and looked around the six grim faces staring back at him. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to give you better news. If there is any change in Mr Levesque's condition, I'll let you know."

He walked back down the corridor and with heavy hearts everyone sat back down on their seats; everyone except Stephanie. She grabbed her black leather bag that sat on the floor and holding the strap, she fished around inside until she found the appointment card she was looking for. Her jaw rigid with her determination, she started to walk towards the reception desk.

Shane stood up as she passed by him and lightly grabbing her arm, he stopped her in her tracks. "Where are you going Steph?"

"I have to find a phone Shane. I need to cancel my appointment."

"What appointment?"

"My next ultrasound. I'm not doing it alone. I'm not doing it without Paul."

Shane saw the determined look on her face and gave her a smile. "I'll come with you. I'll get some coffee for everyone."

As they passed by their mother, Linda smiled at her son gratefully and watched as he accompanied Stephanie to the reception desk. She was extremely worried about her daughter. She wasn't sure how she would cope with Paul's injury even although she seemed to be in control at the moment. Still, she had the baby to consider and she needed to look after herself especially as it wasn't too long ago that Stephanie was in the hospital herself. She just prayed to God that Paul managed to pull through. She wasn't sure what Stephanie would do or how she would exist if he didn't.

Stephanie let out a shaky breath as her hand pressed against the solid wood door. It lightly creaked as she pushed it open and swung shut behind her as she made her way into the hospital room. It felt cold and uninviting despite the soft orange hues that filtered through the blinds from the setting sun. She lightly shivered as her feet timidly shuffled across the clean linoleum. Her lips parted in a silent gasp and she covered her mouth with her hand as she looked towards the bed where Paul lay. Her heart broke to see him lying there and despite his size, he looked so small, his body lost in the array of wires and machines. As she got closer to the bed, she felt the tears burning her eyes but she tried hard not to cry and not to focus on the humming of the ventilator that was breathing for him. She was determined to be strong for Paul. He needed her strength to help him pull through this and he had to pull through; being without him just wasn't an option for her.

Pulling out the small padded chair, she sat down at the side of the bed. Reaching for his hand, she took it into her own feeling reassured by the warmth of his skin, proof that despite his lifeless body, Paul was still very much alive. Kissing his knuckles, Stephanie smoothed back the hair from his face with her free hand. She tenderly brushed the strands behind his ear and felt a little at ease to see that despite the tube in his mouth, Paul actually looked at peace. But her stomach churned as she looked at his forehead and saw the reason why he was lying there. His forehead was covered in dark purple bruising and a thick row of butterfly stitches lay just above his left eyebrow. Stephanie brought her hand to her mouth and lightly kissing her fingertips, she placed them to his forehead as if to make it better. The machines beeped and hummed around her as she sat in silence just watching him as he slept. She was so grateful to be near him and be able to touch him. It killed her to be apart from him and have him lying in a room scared and all alone.

Shifting on the chair, Stephanie leant forward and her voice was so soft when she eventually spoke that it was barely audible above the machines around her.

"You know I've seen a lot of movies where they say that if you talk to a person while they are unconscious, they can hear you and it helps them want to come back from whatever place they are in while they're sleeping. So, I've decided that's what I'm going to do. Everyday I'm going to sit here holding your hand and I'm going to talk to you because I need you to come back to me Paul. I need you and our baby needs you. God. We love you so much honey."

Her voice wavered as the tears welled up in her eyes. One escaped trickling slowly down her cheek. She sniffed as she grabbed Paul's hand tighter, squeezing his fingers desperately.

"Besides we made a pact remember? You wake up and I'll let you name our baby. And I meant it Paul. I meant every word."

Her words echoed desperately around the small room. Her tears were now like water running down her face. Stephanie's devastated blue eyes stared at Paul sadly as she ran her fingers through his matted long blonde hair. She tried not to notice the small speckles of blood that still stained his soft strands.

"And I've cancelled the ultrasound today." she eventually continued. "I just thought it was best you know. Besides I refuse to see our child without you there beside me. Because you have to be there Paul. I don't want to do it without you. I want to see your face light up when the doctor tells us our baby is perfect. Because she will be perfect and she'll be beautiful just like you. She'll be just like her daddy just you see."

Her voice hitched with her sobs as her face crumpled with her emotion. Cupping his face with her hand, Stephanie moved closer, breathing him in as her other hand still gripped his tightly. He was so still and pale. Paul looked practically lifeless and it sent an icy chill to her heart. Because she couldn't lose him like this. Not now. Not when she needed him more than she ever had.

"God, this is all just so unfair! Why is this happening to us?" she cried as she gulped back her hot tears. "This morning we were so happy. I had everything. I had you. I had the baby. And now look? You're lying here and I don't know if you'll wake up. But you have to wake up. You have to come back to me because I need you Paul. And…..and our baby, she needs you too. We both love you so much and this family, well it just won't work properly without you. So you have to get through this Paul! Please! I don't know what I'll do if I lose you. I just can't be without you. I just can't."

Stephanie let out a strangled sob and her heart felt like it was breaking as she bowed her head and buried her face into his chest. Her whole body trembled violently as she cried. Gripping his hand tightly, she was determined not to let go. She wasn't going to let Paul go. Not ever. She needed him. She loved him. Now all she had to do was try and find a way to make him come back to her.