Nora remained in a coma for a month. Frasier was there every chance he had and the grandparents stayed with his grandchildren. Kate and Michael were told to go back home and that they would be notified when Nora was going to be brought out of the coma. When that time came, they planned to visit for a few days and then talked to their individual families about making a longer visit once Nora was out of the hospital. Nora had been taken off of the ventilator before they had completely weaned her off of the sedation. Frasier sat with his wife as he waited for her to wake up. Relief washed over him when Nora opened her eyes.
"Hey darling," Frasier said softly, "I've missed you." He had pushed the call button to notify the nurses that Nora was now awake. They checked her vitals and gave her some water before leaving.
"How long have I been out?" Nora's voice was rough.
"A month," Frasier answered.
"Seriously?"
"You needed the rest."
"Tony is really alright?"
"Yes darling, and he's seeing a psychiatrist to help him work through all of the emotions."
"It doesn't count if it's you."
Frasier chuckled, "it's not me."
"Or Niles"
"It's an impartial psychiatrist."
"Frasier, I'm scared."
"I know," he responded, "but no matter what, I will always be here for you."
Nora smiled as a few tears fell down her face, "who's with the kids?"
"Your parents are with them."
"My mother is here?"
"Yep, came to help take care of the kids while you're in the hospital. Your grandmother is here, your step-father, Blanche, Rose, Michael, and Kate. Your brother and sister are just staying a few days but are planning to come back once you're released. Your mother and the rest are staying as long as they need to."
Nora fell asleep not long after and Frasier just sat there thinking about how terrified he was that one day they wouldn't get this lucky and Nora wouldn't wake up again.
Frasier wheeled his wife up the ramp in the garage that led to their home. It had been a month since she had been brought out of her coma. All seven Crane children were there to greet their mother. Stan, Dorothy, Lucas, Sophia, Blanche, and Rose were there as well. Nora was still in pain, but it wasn't nearly as bad as before. She was hugging a pillow to her chest and hooked up to oxygen. They saw the smile on their mother's face when she saw them, but they also saw the despair in her eyes. Frasier had the kids go upstairs for a while so that he could get Nora settled.
"Frasier, can I just stay in my wheelchair for now?"
"Sure, darling," Frasier kissed her cheek. "I just want you to be comfortable."
"It's just too much for me to move right now. I probably should have just gone to rehab. Then none of you would be saddled with all of this." Nora gasped and hugged the pillow to her chest. She had a pained expression on her face. Nora had said too much too quickly.
"Hey, it's best for you emotionally and mentally to be here with all of us."
"I'm so tired."
"Here, I'll help you onto the couch. I'll sit with you and you can nap." Frasier took Nora's pillow and placed it aside. He took her oxygen tank off of the back of her chair and placed it closer on the couch. Frasier helped his wife up the way the nurse showed him, "it's just a few feet, darling." Nora winced and hissed in pain those few feet. Once she was seated, Frasier reclined the section of the couch she was on. He handed her pillow back to her and covered her with a blanket before sitting next to her.
"I don't know how I got so lucky with you," Nora smiled.
"I feel the same way about you every day. Now, rest darling. I'll be right here with you."
Nora and Frasier decided to sleep on the couch for now because it was just easier for the woman.
"Mom!" Nora yelled one day while her husband was out.
Dorothy walked into the living room, "what do you need sweetheart?"
"Bathroom," Dorothy helped Nora into her wheelchair and then helped her in the bathroom. "Mom, can I sit with you and grandma in the kitchen?"
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt for you to sit with us until you have to take your pain pills next."
"Thank you," Nora was tired of that couch.
One day, Frasier had to go pick up more pain medication for Nora. He waited until she was asleep and told the kids to keep an eye on her. He was not prepared for what was going on at home.
"Mom, I really think we should wait for dad," Savannah could be heard saying.
"I don't care what you think," Nora was being nasty to her daughter which was out of character for her.
Frasier walked into the living room and found his wife sitting on the edge of the couch and his daughter behind her mother's wheelchair. It looked as if the girl had moved it further away. "What's going on?"
"Dad, mom wants to get up and I told her we should wait for you. She was going to try to get into her chair by herself but I moved it out of the way."
"Darling, I know this is frustrating and painful..."
"You don't know anything about what I'm going through," Nora cut her husband off. The rest of their children had made their way downstairs when they heard their mother yelling at their sister. Dorothy and Sophia walked in moments later followed by Blanche and Rose.
"Nora, Savannah is only trying to help keep you from hurting yourself." Dorothy could tell that her daughter had a lot to get out of her system.
Sophia decided to chime in, "why don't you just say what you have been feeling? Just scream and yell how you feel."
Nora stared at her husband for a moment, "fine," she decided and ripped her oxygen canal off of her face. "I'm tired of sleeping all the time. I'm in so much pain that I can't take it anymore. I'm not comfortable sleeping on this couch and it makes my back hurt even more." Nora was yelling louder than her family had ever heard, "I hate that I can't do a damn thing on my own. I can't even stand or walk and honestly I just wish that I had died in that crash." Nora found herself out of breath and clutching her chest in pain as she cried. Everyone was beyond stunned by Nora's last statement.
Frasier ran over to his wife and tried to put her oxygen back on, but Nora slapped his hand away. "Darling, please, you need to put this on," Frasier begged his wife.
"Forget it, Dad," Charlie had said, "she doesn't care that Tony just ran out of the room upset."
"She doesn't care what her dying would mean for all of us," Henry added.
"She doesn't care about how much she upset Savannah," Ella said.
"She doesn't care about anyone," Nori finished and all of the children left. Dorothy and Sophia followed to try and console them.
Nora was in shock now and Frasier took the opportunity to put an oxygen mask on her. He handed his wife a pillow to clutch to her chest and helped her to lie back after giving her some pain pills. He held his wife and saw tears began to fall down her face. She was right that no one could understand all of the pain she was in physically and emotionally. Frasier was pretty sure if the tables were turned that he'd probably wished he had died too.
The next day Frasier gathered his children together in another room with the help of Sophia. Dorothy was keeping an eye on her daughter.
"I'm here to tell you that after much consideration, a discussion that did get heated at times, and my objections, that your mother has decided to check into a physical rehabilitation center."
The kids could all tell their father didn't like the idea. "You said that you objected," Henry brought up.
"Yes, I think it will be more beneficial for your mother to be at home at least psychologically. That's why the discussion got heated."
"Heated?" Sophia asked, "there was so much heat, you could have used it to heat my entire village in Sicily."
Frasier glared at Sophia, "perhaps I brought the wrong in-law in here."
"How long will she be gone?" Ella asked.
"That's up to her, but as of right now she doesn't want to come home until she is all better."
"How long could that take?" Savannah asked.
"Well, it took her a year to recover from her stroke. She has more injuries now and so she would probably be gone even longer." Frasier noticed that the kids didn't look happy. "She's doing this for all of you. She said that it would be better for you all if she were elsewhere during her recovery. Your mother heard every word you said yesterday. We can't understand what she's going through, and I bet if any of us were in her place that we would wish for death as well." Frasier turned and went back to his wife.
"Kids, I know that you feel as if your mother is being dramatic and overreacting. She can't control what's going on in her head. You were too young, but when she had her stroke she was frustrated as hell. She even asked me how I managed to get through mine. You have to think about what your mother was like before the crash and you'll realize that she's not herself. She would never intentionally hurt any of you. Think about that," Sophia said before leaving.
"What have we done?" Charlie asked.
"We made a huge mistake," Lenora added.
"We have to stop her from leaving," Tony said. All six of the children stood and went to the living room. They found their mother asleep and their father watching over her. "I have an idea. Come on," Tony led his siblings upstairs and they got to work on his idea. Frasier got a text from Tony that asked him to bring their mother to the playroom when she woke up. Frasier helped his wife into her chair and hung her oxygen tank on the back of the chair before heading towards the playroom.
"What's all this?" Frasier asked as they entered the room.
"We moved your bedroom down here so that mom wouldn't have to sleep on the couch anymore," Tony told them. Nora put a hand to her chest, "mom, are you okay?"
"I'm just really touched that you all did this for me," Nora felt tears begin to fall.
"It was Tony's idea," Savannah said.
"Everyone worked hard on it though," Tony added.
"Thank you," Nora said, "I appreciate this more than you will ever know."
"Does that mean you won't leave?" Ella asked.
"I think we can try this and see if it helps," Nora smiled, "I love you all so much."
"Dad, Uncle Sam is having the bathroom next door renovated. I hope you don't mind. I mean we asked him how we could change some things and he offered to take care of it," Charlie said.
"No, son, that's fine, but what is being changed?"
"Well, there is going to be a door that connects this room to the bathroom. They're also installing a walk-in tub with jets, but the fastest way to do that is to install it in here," Henry answered.
"That's alright," Frasier said.
"I'm sorry a yelled at you all yesterday," Nora said.
"That's alright," Tony said.
"No, it's not. Can you forgive me?"
"Yeah," the children all said. They all went up and gently hugged their mother as best as they could before going back to their rooms to work on homework. Dorothy and Sophia stood there moved by the grand gesture their grandchildren had made for their mother. Sophia gave her great-grandchildren a thumbs up on their way out.