A/N: I will confess, I have not edited this chapter in the determination to get you a chapter today :) So all errors, are my own. More in A/N at end of chapter...Enjoy :)

24. Waking Up

It started with a twitch, Elliot had seen the slight expression pass across Olivia's face and sat up in the chair. He squeezed her hand in comfort and watched as he saw her eyebrows move again, pulling a concerned expression.
"Liv?" Elliot spoke up, standing up from the chair next to her and watching her face. He could tell she was waking up and would need help. He quickly rushed outside of the room and called for help from the nurses before moving straight back to Olivia's bedside. He held her hand and watched as her eyes fluttered open and she started to cough, obviously the tube down her throat was causing discomfort.
"Miss Benson, I want you to relax…we're here to help and we'll get your tube out in just a minute" One of the nurses explained as a second one pushed passed Elliot, brushing him back and out the way allowing them to work but Olivia's eyes were focused on him the entire time. He could tell she had very little idea of what was going on and was seeking some kind of solace in him being there. He gave her a small smile and found a place to stand the top of the bed, as the nurses worked. Olivia reached for Elliot's hand and held it tight as the nurses helped her remove the tube from her throat and worked disconnecting her from any unnecessary machines.
"Now Miss Benson, we will send the doctor by soon to talk to you but you are going to find your voice likely a little harsh and it hard to talk to begin with. Just make sure to drink lots of water and it'll become easier. Elliot, don't go pushing her too hard" One of the nurses reprimanded as Elliot nodded before they wheeled the ventilator out of the room and left the couple alone.

Elliot wasted no time, leaning in to place a soft kiss on Olivia's forehead. He had wanted to properly kiss her but he figured it was probably best to play it safe with a kiss to the head as Olivia was only just waking up.
"I'm so glad to see you" Elliot whispered as he pulled back from Olivia.
"Wh-Where am I? We…how did I come here?" Olivia asked, voice hoarse from so long in a coma.
"You're in the hospital? You were…You were shot and have been in a coma for almost a month" Elliot explained, unsure the best
"A coma?" Olivia asked before she started to cough and Elliot quickly moved to get her a drink of water.
"Yes, but the doctor will be able to explain more" Elliot tried to ease the concern which was now evident across Olivia's face.
"What about Hawaii?"
"Hawaii?" Elliot queried, unsure exactly what Olivia was talking about right now.
"We…We were going to Hawaii for our marriage anniversary as that was whe-…Did we get married?" Olivia asked when she noticed Elliot was giving her a confused look. Elliot squeezed Olivia's hand in comfort as he tried to work out the best way to explain the situation. It was clear to him that maybe when she was in the coma, she had thought that they had progressed their relationship in ways more than they actually had. He took a deep breath before speaking.
"No, we are not married…not yet but we have previously discussed it. But you remember that we couldn't get married till after my divorce goes through and I promise I'm working on that"
"Oh" Olivia replied, Elliot could see the sadness in her eyes over that idea but he thought nothing major of it. He knew that there was a lot of thought going through her brain right now and adjustments to what had been going on the past month.

The pair sat in silence for a couple of moments, processing everything that was going on right now and the reality of Olivia being awake from her coma, but confused over where she was and what had been going on. Everything she had before was a dream? She'd been in a coma and that was not her reality?
Doctor Ramirez came in a short time later and was simply thrilled that Olivia was finally awake and that all signs seemed to be pointing to a good recovery. He checked over her vitals and she seemed to be doing well with most of her vitals and her organs all seemed to be functioning normally. However, the concern came when Doctor Ramirez was assessing her mobility after being in bed for so long. Due to the shooting, with where the bullet was lodged and some of the complications, Doctor Ramirez was very concerned that Olivia's mobility or range of motion would be impacted. Everything was going well until Doctor Ramirez went to touch Olivia's feet and legs. He touched them and asked her a few questions but Olivia had no reaction. This was concerning. If Olivia couldn't feel her feet, Doctor Ramirez had to know where the feeling and sensation stopped, was it just her feet she could no longer feel or was it her legs too?

He slowly made his way up Olivia's leg, conducting the same reaction test but the feeling wasn't in Olivia's legs either, in fact Doctor Ramirez was pretty confident that Olivia couldn't feel anything past her waist which was a real concern and not something that he was familiar with. Elliot held Olivia's hand tightly in his and he could see from the expression on her face, she was as scared as he was right now. He just leant in and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head, hoping it would provide some comfort if possible but not sure how. He didn't even know how to help her right now but he wanted to.
"Why can't I feel my legs?" Olivia asked the doctor as he continued to seemingly run tests on where she could and couldn't feel anymore.
"I'm not sure" Doctor Ramirez answered honestly before he listed off different tests that he wanted the nurses to run on Olivia.
"You're the doctor" Elliot replied, concerned by this new development and the lack of answers that they were seemingly being given. Olivia just squeezed his hand, as if telling him to relax.
"We're going to run a few more tests and see if we can work out what's going on and then the best steps moving forward. But we are going to try and do everything we can and I'm sure we will come to an answer for you. I'll be back in a little while and in the meantime, if you need anything all you have to do is push the call button and ask for me" Doctor Ramirez apologised again before leaving the room, leaving Elliot and Olivia alone once again.

A few hours later and Elliot had called both Alex and Don to inform them that Olivia was awake now and the news about the fact that she currently couldn't feel anything below her waist. Obviously concerned, both had come straight to the hospital. Now that Olivia was awake, the nurses and care team were still reasonably strict about limiting it to one visitor at a time but there had been occasions where they had managed to let things slip and some moments where Olivia had two people with her. Elliot was very hesitant to leave Olivia's side, even now she was awake and it was clear that Olivia didn't want him too. Even though she was still processing the fact that she had been in a coma and what she had thought was reality was actually not the case, Elliot's presence brought her a sense of comfort and confidence that they would get to the bottom of whatever was going on together.

Over the space of the past few hours, Olivia had been sent for numerous scans, blood had been drawn for several new tests they wanted to run and she had other specialist doctors seemingly come in and seem to assess her. But none of these tests or doctors seemed to have any kind of answers yet as to what was going on. This concerned everyone in Olivia's group and made Olivia very concerned about whether she was going to be able to walk again. They hadn't seen Doctor Ramirez again yet but Elliot suspected that the doctor wasn't prepared to come in again just yet if he didn't have an answer for them and Elliot didn't blame the man.

Don was currently in with Olivia and Elliot was out in the waiting room with Alex, giving father and daughter a few moments together and taking time to process his own thoughts. Naturally, Alex was concerned for what Elliot was thinking with everything happening right now. She knew that he would be just as scared about what was going on with Olivia as Olivia was but in a different way.
"If they can't give us an answer then I'll take her elsewhere" Elliot spoke up after the pair had been sitting in silence for a while. Alex didn't say anything but just looked over at him.
"If the doctors come in and say they don't know why Olivia can't move her legs or feel them then I'll get a second opinion as there has to be a reason" Elliot continued, Alex could see that he was searching up something on his phone and suspected it was doctors.
"What if there isn't one?" Alex asked
"I refuse to believe that, these types of things don't just happen and surely there has to be some kind of knowledge on what is going on so we can work on how to fix it…we were never told the bullet affected her legs or spine so there has to be a reason that she can't feel from the waist down now and I'm not just going to accept that they don't know" Elliot refused.
"I think the biggest thing we can all do for her right now is be there, especially you as I know she is getting a lot of comfort with you around"
"I'm not going anywhere and I will make sure she has the best care possible. I've already arranged a private room on the ward for when they move her" Elliot explained, thinking about the different things which he had arranged for Olivia once she was moved from ICU.
"Always looking out for her"
"Of course, she's too special not too" Elliot remarked as Don emerged from the room and came to find the pair.
"Just so you both know, I've discussed the baby situation with her and how she lost it. Elliot, she's asking for you. Now, I'm going to go back to Chloe but I expect to be updated with the results from the doctor when possible" Don explained and Alex offered to walk him out whilst Elliot made his way back into Olivia's room. She knew about the baby now and whilst Elliot was glad that Don had raised the subject with Olivia, he was glad she was asking for him to help deal with it.

Elliot wasn't sure what to expect from Olivia when he entered the room after Don had said that she was asking for him. He didn't know how Olivia would be handling the news that she had been pregnant and lost the baby. But the minute he was in the room, she reached for him and just collapsed in his chest as he stood next to the bed. Elliot's heart ached to see her so upset and he couldn't imagine how much was going through her head right now. She'd woken from a coma, unfortunately discovered her legs didn't work anymore with no explanation as to why and now been told that she'd lost a baby. It was a lot for anyone to handle. Elliot just held her close and whispered soft affections in her ear as she cried. Elliot couldn't help the tears that he let fall from his own emotions, finally accepting that he'd lost a child too. Whilst Elliot may have known about it longer than Olivia, he'd been so caught up in her condition in a coma that he'd never had the proper time to grieve his loss too.
Elliot wished that he could hold Olivia properly right now, he wished that he could lay next to her in the hospital bed and hold her properly. But he knew that with the current mystery around her legs and everything that wouldn't be an option. Standing next to the bed, with Olivia's head in his chest would have to do for now. Maybe when she was moved to the ward in the next day they would have more ability for that.

"I had no idea" Olivia sobbed as she tried to pull herself together again.
"You were only 3 weeks along, apparently it was very unlikely you would have had any clue about it and symptoms likely wouldn't have shown" Elliot offered support.
"I should have known…I should have protected it"
"Baby there was nothing you could do. Your body was trying to keep you alive and unfortunately couldn't handle keeping the baby alive too. We can make another baby, but we can't make another you" Elliot kissed the side of Olivia's face again. He couldn't imagine living if she'd died from all of this as she was everything he ever wanted and she made him the happiest he'd ever been.
"I love you" Olivia replied after a couple of minutes.
"I love you too and I'm so glad your back with me, back with us here. We'll make another baby when we are ready but I can't make another you" Elliot expressed as he looked Olivia straight in the eyes, cupping her face with his hands and leaning in to press a soft but passionate kiss on her lips. The first time he'd properly kissed her since she woke up. It wasn't surprising that they pushed the kiss deeper and Elliot felt Olivia pull him closer.

They were only brought apart by the sound of someone clearing their throat, clearly entering the room. Elliot stepped back from Olivia but kept her hand firmly in his.
"Sorry to interrupt" Doctor Ramirez admitted as he walked over towards the end of Olivia's bed. Olivia couldn't look him in the eye after being caught like that. Elliot could see her blushing and he smiled smugly, he wasn't sorry for the doctor catching them like that.
"I wanted to come and provide a bit of an update on what's going on"
"Do you know why my legs won't work?" Olivia asked, wanting to avoid small talk and get right to the main topic of conversation.
"I think so and whilst the news isn't necessarily great, I do believe it's something that is not permanent" Doctor Ramirez started which confused both Elliot and Olivia.
"When you were shot, you were shot in the back and whilst the bullet was not lodged anywhere near your spine or your spinal chord, we do believe there was bruising and possible swelling around the area and to your spinal chord due to trauma your body went through. So, after reviewing your MRI and talking to the orthopaedic surgeon here, we don't believe there is an instant fix in terms of surgery or anything. But we do believe that you will walk again"
"How?"
"Intense Rehabilitation and essentially re-teaching your body how to walk again. We suspect that the loss of sensation in your legs is due to the nerves being damaged in the shooting and they are still recovering. But we suspect that the sensation in your legs will come back over time and that with intense rehabilitation and physical therapy, there is no sign to say that you won't walk again"
"But there is nothing you can do?"
"Not yet. In a couple of days we're going to get the physical therapist to come around and work with you every day on exercises to get you out of the bed to begin with and your current life situation. Then as you progress, you will become an outpatient for rehabilitation every day"
"But she will walk again and she will get her sensation in her legs? You're sure?" Elliot asked, wanting to get a clear answer from the doctor rather than some estimation on how things will go.
"There is no signs to say that she won't. Her spinal cord was not damaged other than some bruising or swelling in the area and as that goes down and with physical therapy she should be able to learn how to walk again"
"Thanks doctor" Olivia replied and Doctor Ramirez took that as a sign that he could leave.

"I'm going to get a second opinion" Elliot spoke up the minute that Doctor Ramirez was out of the room. Olivia just raised an eyebrow towards him.
"Why?" Olivia asked, she was confused as Elliot seemed determined that what Doctor Ramirez was saying would be wrong. But she had no reason to not believe in her doctor.
"I don't feel confident with that diagnosis and I want to make sure that we're not missing anything" Elliot explained. Olivia appreciated what he was doing but there were so many thoughts swirling through her head right now with everything happening, she just wanted to be held by him. Elliot could put all the thoughts to ease, he could help her see things clearly and if she was honest, ever since she'd woken up into this crazy world from the coma – he was all she wanted.
"Honey come here" Olivia asked as Elliot stopped his pacing and looked at her. She was sitting up watching him and held her hand out towards him.
"Can you hold me? Please?" Olivia requested as Elliot took her hand again and she tried to direct him closer to her.
"Are you ok?" Elliot asked, face full of concern that he'd been so wrapped up in the news from the doctor, something else might be going on.
"There are so many thoughts going on in my head right now and so many different feelings but right now all I want is to be held by you" Olivia confessed.
"What abou-"
"It's probably against the rules and the nurses or whoever might get angry but, I want you here and holding me…please" Olivia requested and Elliot couldn't turn her down. If the nurses weren't happy then he'd take the blame but if his girl wanted to be held by him, that was what he would do. Elliot walked over and climbed onto the other side of the small hospital bed, watching out for the last few chords which were still attached to Olivia. He laid back against the bed and Olivia found her way into his arms, head resting against his chest and his arms wrapped around her. The pair sat in silence, focusing on the feeling of being back with each other and the comfort that brought. It didn't take long before both had drifted off to sleep, Elliot feeling like he can finally relax with Olivia next to him again and knowing she'd wake up again later and still be here with him.

A/N: Hi :) Sorry it's been so long since I last updated but working full time teaching means that I have very little time to write and edit and everything. But I've managed to find some time to write and post today and hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. I have a couple of weeks left before Easter break and hoping to write more for you and post then. Leave me a review and let me know what you thought/feel about this chapter. I've missed you all and I plan to give you more soon :)
Until Next Time :)