A/N- I'm so sorry. I know I haven't updated in forever, but life has been super busy for me since the last one. I hope you all are staying safe, especially since more and more states are lifting the mask mandate. I know my state just did two or three weeks ago, and let me tell you, it is so weird but nice to see the faces of people again. Anyways, enough of my rambles. This chapter is long overdue but shorter than the others. So, here's chapter 27.
Neal sighed as he looked at his reflection. His eyes were puffy and red from his nightmare, he had pronounced bags underneath them, his hair was disheveled and wet, and his clothes were soaked with his sweat. Overall, he looked like hell. He jumped when he heard knocking on the bathroom door.
"Neal, you alright in there?" Callie asked.
"I'm fine," he huffed, not making a move to open the door.
"Ok," Callie said. She didn't move from her spot against the door.
"What do you want?" he sighed as he unlocked and opened the door.
"We'll make it through this Neal," she said softly.
Neal's eyes started welling with tears again as those words brought him back to an old memory.
Flashback: years ago, foster home number ?
"Emma, will you sing me a song?" Neal asked. Emma and him had just gotten locked in their room because they didn't clean the house well enough for Mrs. Radcliffe.
"Of course little man, any requests?" she replied softly, stroking his hair as he leaned against her in their bed.
"No, just sing."
"Ok." Emma gave it some thought before the perfect song came to mind.
You're not alone, together we stand
I'll be by your side, you know, I'll take your hand
When it gets cold and it feels like the end
There's no place to go, you know, I won't give in
No, I won't give in
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through
We'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you can say, nothing you can do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holdin' on
'Cause you know we'll make it through
We'll make it through
So far away, I wish you were here
Before it's too late, this could all disappear
Before the doors close and it comes to an end
With you by my side, I will fight and defend
I'll fight and defend, yeah, yeah
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through
We'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you can say, nothing you can do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holdin' on
'Cause you know we'll make it through
We'll make it through
Hear me when I say, when I say I believe
Nothing's gonna change
Nothing's gonna change destiny
Whatever's meant to be will work out perfectly
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
La da da da
La da da da
La da da da da da da da da da
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through
We'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you can say, nothing you can do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holdin' on
'Cause you know we'll make it through
We'll make it through
Keep holding on
Keep holding on
There's nothing you can say, nothing you can do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holdin' on
'Cause you know we'll make it through
We'll make it through
As Emma sang the last line, Neal was fighting sleep.
"We'll make it through this Neal, I promise," Emma whispered.
"Love you Em," he muttered before falling fast asleep.
"I love you too Neal."
End flashback
Neal shook himself out of it when he heard Callie call his name.
"When are we leaving for the hospital?" he asked, evading the question he knew his sis—Callie, wanted to ask.
"As soon as we're ready."
Neal nodded his head as he pushed Callie away (lightly) from the bathroom door to close it so he could shower and get rid of the sweat.
"Neal?"
He paused, and Callie took it as a sign to continue.
"If you need someone to talk to, we're all here."
Neal stood still for a second longer before retreating into the bathroom to get ready. Callie figured he just didn't want to respond and stared after him until she heard Jude call her name. She walked to the stairs, stole one last look at the bathroom Neal had disappeared into, then resumed her walk downstairs. Callie must've been projecting her worried mood, because as soon as she entered the kitchen, Brandon asked what was bothering her.
"I'm just worried. I'm worried about Neal, about Emma, Mom, Regina and her family, and all of you guys," Callie sighed.
"You don't need to be worrying about me or your mom. We're going to be alright as long as all of you, including Emma and Neal, are alright," said Lena.
"I hope Emma wakes up soon," Jude said.
"Me too Bubba," Lena agreed.
"I think we all hope so," stated Jesus, getting nods from everyone.
"Is anyone hungry? I can scramble up some eggs," Lena suggested.
She got shaking heads from each of her children. "Alright, well does everyone have what they want to bring?"
Nodding heads this time. They sat in a morose silence for a few minutes until Mariana asked the question plaguing everyone's mind. "Is it possible she won't wake up?"
"The doctor said that was a very slim chance," stated Brandon.
"Emma's gonna be fine," Neal declared with a scowl as he finally entered the kitchen, causing everyone to cast guilty glances at one another. He had been standing there since Lena asked if anyone was hungry. He was curious and wanted to observe how they acted without him being present, but now he was wishing he hadn't been so curious.
"We know that honey, Mariana was just asking because while there is a small chance of it happening, it's still a possibility," Lena said, trying her best to smooth out the tension everyone could feel rising.
"No it's not," snapped Neal. "I know my sister, and she is going to wake up. I should've listened to her." He mumbled the last sentence to himself.
"Listened to her about what?" Brandon asked, his keen hearing (years of music) picking up on what Neal said.
"I should've listened to her when she said not to get comfortable here," he said angrily, pushing himself off the doorframe of the kitchen. "I'm gonna be in the car. Join me when you aren't thinking about all of the ways my sister could die." With that, he snatched Lena's keys from the counter and walked through the hallway to the front door. He shoved his shoes haphazardly onto his feet and opened the front door, the resounding slam causing everyone to flinch in their place.
"How do we always manage to screw up around them?" Callie asked incredulously, causing Lena to sigh.
"It doesn't matter. Is everyone ready to go?"
Everyone nodded and one by one, headed to the front door. They slipped on their shoes and Brandon grabbed his keys from his mama after she locked the front door, muttering a thanks before heading to the car, his siblings following.
"I'll see you all at the hospital," Lena said.
They all reciprocated, then clambered into Brandon's car. Lena got into the driver's side of the car, surprised that it was on and running. She looked back at her son who was in the same seat as yesterday, his seatbelt already buckled as he stared blankly out the window. Lena stared at him for a few moments longer before shaking herself out of it. She looked in her rearview mirror, and once Brandon was fully out of the driveway and beginning to drive down the street, she began backing the car out. After about ten minutes of tense silence, she could feel Neal's eyes on her through the seat.
"I'm sorry Mama," he mumbled.
Instead of speaking, she took one hand off the steering wheel and stretched it behind her. Neal took it and squeezed before dropping it so she could focus on driving, knowing that all was forgiven. Another ten minutes passed before they finally reached the hospital. Lena parked the car closer to the pediatrics surgery area this time, seeing Brandon had the same idea, as his car was a few spots away. She turned the ignition off, unbuckled her seatbelt, and got out of the car. Neal got out at almost the same time, and he shut the door before he clung to his mama's arm. She looked down and gave him a comforting smile before they made their way over to Brandon's car, where Mariana, the last one, was getting out.
"Ready?" Lena asked, and once she got confirmation, they all began walking to the entrance of the hospital. They got in the elevator and Jude hit the button for the correct floor. When the elevator dinged, they all stepped out. They had only walked a few steps down the hall when they saw Stef and their grandma. "Grandma!" Jude shouted, racing down the hall.
They all saw the two look up, just in time to see Jude rushing towards them. Sharon quickly stood up and embraced her grandson. Lena and the other kids were only a few feet behind him.
"Why hello there! How are my grandbabies?!" Sharon said brightly as the rest of the kids except for Neal rushed over and embraced her in a hug.
"We're hanging in there," replied Brandon.
"When did you get here?" Callie asked curiously.
"Last night after you all left," Stef stated as they trickled from their grandmother to her after Stef greeted Lena with a hug and a kiss. "She brought some food and sweets for you all." Neal let go of Lena and rushed over to his mom. "Hey sweets," Stef greeted Neal as he barreled into her and didn't let go. "What happened?" she mouthed to her wife as she wrapped her arms around her son.
"Nightmare," Lena mouthed back, not wanting to explain anything further right then.
Stef nodded in understanding. "Neal, this is my mom and your grandma. Can you say hi?"
Neal lifted his head from Stef's stomach, looked at Sharon, then buried it back into her stomach.
"Neal," Stef chided.
"Oh Stefanie, let the poor boy be. He's worried about his sister. We'll have all the time in the world for introductions once she gets better. In the meantime, why don't you dig in like Jesus."
They all looked over to see Jesus shoving the breakfast sandwich Stef hadn't finished down his throat.
"There's also doughnuts," said their mom, and then they were piling on top of each other to get to the bag. "Neal, do you want some?" she asked, running a hand through his messy hair after he shook his head. "Are you sure? I think there's a chocolate one with sprinkles just for you."
"I don't want doughnuts, I want Emma," he said muffedly.
Stef thought her heart wouldn't be able to break anymore than it already has, but that sentence did. "I know sweetheart, I want her too," she mumbled.
"Hello everyone," Dr. Hill said as he approached the family, Laura by his side once more.
"Dr. Hill," Stef greeted. "This is my mother and Emma's grandmother, Sharon Elkin."
"I'm sorry we had to meet like this," Dr. Hill said as they shook hands.
"As am I," Sharon said before sitting back down.
"So, I came here to tell you that Emma's vitals are looking really good. She should be awake in the next hour or two."
"Really?" Neal asked, perking up slightly from where he was slumped against his mom.
"Really," Dr. Hill confirmed. "For now, the same rules as yesterday apply. Only two people at a time in the room, and the rest wait out here."
"Of course Dr. Hill," Lena breathed out.
He nodded and checked his watch. "If you'll excuse me, I have to head to another surgery. As soon as Emma wakes up, get a nurse and they'll page either me or Laura."
"Thank you," Stef said, getting a nod before he retreated down the hall, Laura following hot on his heels.
"She's really gonna wake up?" Jude asked.
"You heard the Doctor," said Callie.
"Mom?" Neal asked quietly as everyone else was chatting amongst themselves.
"Yeah sweets?" Stef asked just as quietly.
"Is Emma really gonna wake up?"
Stef looked down into his big and hopeful eyes, and she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Yes kiddo, she really is."
Neal gave her a blinding smile before cuddling in closer, and that small action began to mend her heart from the million of pieces it shattered into since the moment that car struck Emma.
"You want to head in there?" Stef asked her son.
"Can we?" he asked eagerly.
"Of course," she said.
Neal bounced up off his seat and went straight into Emma's room, his smile only dimming slightly when his eyes landed on the machines and wires, the ones he had momentarily forgotten about in his excitement about his sister waking up.
"I know sweetheart, but just think that soon, most of these will be gone," she told him.
"I know," he said as he plopped down in the seat and took ahold of Emma's hand.
Stef sat down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. They both sat there for God knows how long, staring at Emma breathing peacefully. After a while, Stef gave Neal's shoulder another squeeze before leaving the room. She told her family that any one of them could go in. She settled next to Lena and intertwined their hands, smiling softly at all of her children bickering over the last doughnut. She reached down and swiped it, taking a large bite. After she swallowed it, she smirked at their surprised faces, mouths agape.
"Mom, you can't do that!" Jesus exclaimed.
Stef raised an eyebrow and Lena chuckled. "Yes I can. I'm your mother."
"But that's not fair!" Jude whined.
"Don't argue with your mother," Stef said.
"Or your mother," Lena added, seeing Jesus' mouth beginning to open in protest.
Emma
The first thing I noticed were the muffled voices. The second was the smell of antiseptic. Hospital, I thought to myself. The third was the comforting weight of a small hand on top of my own. Even though my eyes felt heavy, I fought against it and my eyelids began fluttering open. The lights were blinding me, making it difficult to make them stay fully open. The final thing I noticed was the tube in my chest. My eyes flew open and I began struggling, panicking, trying to get rid of the thing.
"Emma, Emma sweets! Don't fight it, please!" a woman begged.
My eyes immediately focused on her figure standing above me, and I stayed staring into her relieved and wet looking hazel eyes.
"Water," I heard someone say in a raspy voice, realizing a few moments after that it was me.
"Here honey, drink this," someone said before I was being sat up and given a cup of water.
I slowly drank until the cup was empty, feeling slightly regenerated when my parched throat no longer felt so parched. I then focused my eyes on all of the people surrounding my bed. All of them looked relieved and had teary eyes, a few of them were crying. I hated to do it when they seemed so happy to see me, but I needed to. "I'm really sorry, but who are you guys?"
A/N- Please don't be mad, but this is where the writing took me. Also, quick shout out to everyone who has continued to leave comments and reviews asking when I would update. It definitely helps remind me that there are people other than myself that want the story to continue. Anyways, thoughts?
P.S. The song is by Ava Max and it's called "Keep Holding On"