To Be With Friends
Nadine sat in one of her living room chairs with her feet up, a pillow tucked into either side of her and a blanket over her lap. She would've been beyond irritated at the over the top level of fuss, but she also knew that Matt had been beside himself with worry and really, she would do anything for him. Including, apparently, allowing him to host this little soiree in her condo.
She supposed it was only fair after what she'd put him, all of them, through.
She'd never once considered that the migraine and other symptoms she'd been ignoring had actually been klaxon warnings of a major medical crisis. They'd been travelling and all she'd wanted to do was go home to a quiet weekend alone, but her body'd been having none of that. Somehow she'd dragged herself, through little more than sheer stubborn determination, almost off the plane and onto the tarmac before her world had gone dark.
The true terror for her didn't come until days later when she'd woken up, not in her own home or even a hotel or any of the other places she'd slept in her life, but alone in a hospital room, bruised and bandaged, part of her hair missing. Her doctor had come in later and explained the severity of what had happened, where the clot had been located, how close she'd come. How lucky she was.
If they'd still been over the ocean, there would have been nothing her friends, her family, could have done to save her in time. If she'd been behind the wheel of her car, well, that wasn't promising either but with the added weight that she could have taken others out with her. And the worst idea of all- that she'd have made it home to her long weekend alone. Alone because she'd told Matt she needed space. By the time anyone would've found her, it would've been days later. Too many days.
It turned out, falling halfway down the stairs as she walked off the plane, in the presence of her family and the Secretary's capable detail, had been the best option of all. Even with the bruises.
After that, Matt didn't give a damn about her need for space. It was how she found herself sitting in her living room as the rest of the team turned up, celebrating her release and impending return to the office, though it seemed everyone had more than one opinion on that topic. But they were there, had made sure she never felt alone in her recovery, even on the days none had been able to visit, and she was thankful to have them.