What If? Part 11
Authors Note: Not much more for this little tale. This chapter is slightly longer than the other ones though. Thanks for going on this adventure with me. Let me know what you think. I promise it's Keenler.
Ppppppppppp
Ressler slowly opened his eyes to the dim lights around him. He felt dopey but also stiff and sore. There was beeping and...
"Lucy?!" He called as he tried to sit up but his body wouldn't obey.
"Donnie?" His mom's voice called as she entered his sight lines.
"Where's Lucy?" Ressler asked, his mouth and throat dry.
"Liz has her, " Lisa Ressler explained. "Donnie, do you remember...?"
"How long have I been here?" He asked, moving his head to look around.
"They kept you in a coma for 6 days so the swelling..."
"Is Lucy okay?" Ressler asked, ignoring his own medical information.
"She's fine, honey, " Lisa smiled. "She was just visiting you an hour ago. Liz and I have been taking care of her with the help of Aram and that Samar lady..."
A tear escaped his eye.
"She's, okay? She's not scared or...?"
Lisa Ressler swallowed. She didn't need to upset her son even more. In truth, Lucy wasn't good until yesterday.
They tried to lie and say daddy was away for work but she picked up on their worry and maybe some of the conversations. Her little 3-year-old mind couldn't put it all together, but she knew something was wrong. That's when the temper tantrums started. She refused to be put to bed, and after much trying, crashed on the couch with Lisa that first night. Then she started to demand to talk to daddy. She wouldn't let anyone read stories, threw a bunch of plastic food at Liz, screamed and cried. After days of trying, they finally agreed to let her see Don yesterday.
They explained he had a sore head and leg and chest and she needed to be careful. They told her daddy just needed extra sleep to get better and he'd be home with her again soon. Lisa showed her pictures on people in hospital beds and talked about how all the equipment was there to make sure daddy got his medicine.
When Lucy first saw him, she seemed a little scared, but with coaxing, she crawled up into his bed and carefully snuggled her dad. She didn't want to leave. After an hour of her just patting Don's cheek and talking to him they finally convinced her to go on the promise she could return. Liz had to bring her back before bedtime because Lucy refused to sleep until she saw her daddy again. And, even then, Liz only got her to finally sleep at home that night in Ressler's bed with Liz reading her stories until she exhausted.
Today she seemed better with him; there were also fewer machines today. She skipped around the room, told him stories of daycare adventures, crawled into bed and climbed all over it, sang, and told everyone that daddy didn't smell like daddy but now smelled like the bottle he let her spray to clean mirrors.
"She made you a picture while she was here, " Lisa said as she picked up a crayon drawing and showed it to her son.
He smiled when he saw the orange dinosaur. She had been obsessed with them lately.
"She's okay?" He confirmed.
Lisa smiled. "We're taking great care of her but she'll be thrilled to see you awake."
He carefully moved his shoulders and arms.
"What are the doctors saying?" He asked as he noticed a piercing headache that, in his worry about Lucy, he'd missed when he first woke.
"You'll be in a full leg cast for 6 weeks, they're hoping you won't need surgery, " Lisa said. "The brain bleeding and swelling stopped but you'll need to be very careful about lights and noises as you recover. All the other bruises will heal and you broke 2 ribs so your chest will be very sore for a while."
He nodded. The warehouse bridge he had been running across in pursuit of a suspect had collapsed and he had gone down with it. He had been thinking about Cooper's offer to give him the task force when he announced his retirement in a couple months. Now, after this, taking that job was a no-brainer. He couldn't risk leaving Lucy.
"No one else hurt?" Ressler asked.
"No, you were the only person up on that walkway," Lisa explained. "I'm going to call Lz..."
Ressler watched his mother call Liz and her nod. Lucy was coming to see him as soon as Liz fed her.
"How's she been with Lucy?" Ressler asked.
"I think both she and I now understand how amazing you are as a dad," Lisa smiled at her son. "The pancakes that look like dinosaurs, the park rating with her, the theme days at daycare, the books and stories and games and..."
"She likes routine," Ressler said with a smile. He wondered how she was doing with bedtime. "She going to bed, okay?"
Lisa laughed. "No. We've tried a later time, bath, I think we've both read every story you own, she's slept with me and with Liz... honestly, I think she only goes to sleep out of exhaustion. "
He chuckled. Lucy hadn't mentioned the warm milk.
"I give her warm milk every night and spray lavender on her sheets. She gets all dopey and drops off. Once she's asleep she's gone for the night, but getting her to sleep... usually 3 stories on top of that. And I lay with her until she's out."
Lisa chuckled. Her granddaughter had mentioned every other routine but had left out the milk. The little bugger.
"Well, I'll tell Liz about the warm milk because she's on deck with Lucy tonight, " Lisa chuckled. "Honestly honey, I love my granddaughter like nobody's business but the last week between you at the hospital and Lucy has been exhausting. "
He smiled. He knew how tiring it was but wouldn't switch the exhaustion for anything.
"Your...uh, Rania came by with those flowers, " Lisa said awkwardly as she nodded toward some sunflowers next to him.
She knew her son and Rania were bedmates and nothing more. She, afterall, watched Lucy every Saturday afternoon and finally figured out why about 6 months into his... time with Rania. She didn't understand how he could sleep with someone for years and not love her. But it was clear from her interaction with Rania that she only saw Donnie as a friend as well.
Lisa would never understand the younger generation. Liz gave birth to Lucy and seemed good for a while with once-a-week visit. Donnie obviously loved Liz but did nothing about it and kept having sex with Rania. Liz, the way Lisa saw her look at Donnie... she was pretty sure Liz was in love with him but did nothing about it and knew he was sleeping with Rania. Recently though, she noticed Liz seemed to want to be more involved with Donnie and Lucy. And this last week, despite the exhaustion, Liz seemed to be thrilled to have all this time with Lucy.
"They're nice, " Ressler said as he looked at the flowers and noted his mother's awkwardness. She didn't get friends with benefits.
"A woman Nora came by as well..." his mother broached. She didn't know who this woman was but she said she and Donnie were old friends and had just gone out two nights before his accident. "The plant is from her."
Ressler nodded. He'd kept in touch with Nora off and on over the years and when she was back in DC from New York for a few days he'd offered to take her out to dinner and another day bring her with Lucy to a museum. They'd had a great dinner that made him wonder why he hadn't made more of an effort with her. The evening ended with an intense make out session that ended abruptly when Cooper called. Lucy was crying and had woken with an upset stomach.
"Where's my phone?" Ressler asked. "I should probably text her to thank her."
"Destroyed in the crash, " Lisa said. "Aram dropped this one off when he visited. He's taking Lucy to the zoo tomorrow with Samar."
Ressler nodded and reached for the cell.
"Lucy loves the zoo," he smiled.
"Who is this Nora?" His mom asked.
"We worked together years ago, before Lucy. We've kept in touch even when she was living in Vietnam and Cologne and now New York. I took her out to dinner the other night. "
"And you like this woman, romantically?" Lisa asked.
She knew her son was intensely private but women seemed to be coming out of the woodwork lately and he really just needed to open his eyes and see that Liz...Lisa wasn't stupid. Liz hurt her son immensely years ago. Lisa had not been impressed with her lack of interest or involvement with Lucy in the early days. But from the time Lucy was one Liz had stepped up. And this last week, she'd helped out with Lucy immensely and, Lisa had learned, spent all the time she wasn't with Lucy at the hospital with Donnie; worried and getting information from his doctors. She looked exhausted and scared for Donnie.
"I do, ma," Ressler said honestly as he texted. "She is a really great person. "
Lisa nodded.
"I don't know what I'd do without Liz," she said, hoping to sway her son toward her. "She's either been with Lucy or here with you."
Ressler nodded and swallowed hard. He couldn't go down that rabbit hole again. Liz only wanted to be his friend and he needed to accept that and move on with his life.
"I'll have to thank her," Ressler said as he looked up from his phone and saw that his mother was trying to play matchmaker. He was surprised because she hadn't liked Liz much at first.
An hour later, a very excited Lucy was barreling into her father's room with balloons flailing behind her. His mom had updated him on what the doctors had said, an intern had visited him, and he got the scoop on Lucy's last week.
"Daddy!" she screamed as she tried to climb up onto his bed.
Lisa hoisted her up with warnings about not hurting her dad which were unheeded as she launched herself at her father. Liz saw him gasp in pain and was about to pull Lucy back when she saw Ressler smile and wrap his arms around his little girl.
After Lucy was happy with her father's awakened state, she snuggled into his side and started talking about the last week; as if he needed to be appraised of every detail of her life in whatever order it came to her.
Liz took a moment once she was settled to lean over Ressler and kissed him briefly , telling him how happy she was to see him awake. He smiled at her but his attention was torn back to Lucy.
An hour later Ressler was yawning, despite himself, and both Liz and his mom were telling Lucy it was time to go. The temper tantrum that took place was one he hadn't seen before, but one Liz and Lisa had grown used to this past week.
"Lucy," he warned her loudly as he watched her screaming and crying.
She stopped for a brief moment and then leveled up. He saw Liz trying to promise her she'd come back, Lisa talking about daddy needing rest, and Lucy having none of it.
So, despite his tired state, his headache that was getting worse, and his incredibly dry throat, Ressler said her name loudly and harshly. He hardly ever yelled, and usually didn't raise his voice to his daughter, but when he did she knew he meant business.
Lucy stopped.
"Unless you want to spend the rest of your day on time out and not see me until I come back home, you will stop!" He said in a voice that meant business.
Her chin quivered and she looked like she was going to cry.
"Do you want to have fun with Liz tonight?" He asked.
She nodded and sniffled.
"Do you want to see me tomorrow?"
She nodded and wiped at her one cheek.
"Luce, you can't do this at the hospital, people are getting better, you understand?"
She nodded.
"Daddy!" She cried before she threw herself against his bed and tried to climb up.
Liz lifted her and Lucy snuggled into Ressler again. He patted her hair and kissed her wet cheek and told her he always loved her, but he didn't like her behavior when she yelled like that.
"I love you sweetheart," he said softly. "No more fits like that, at home or in the hospital, you understand?"
She nodded against him. He felt his own eyes tearing up.
"I know you were scared, daddy will be okay, I promise, " he reassured. "I promise, Luce."
Lucy cried a little harder, nodded and hugged him a little tighter.
"Who are you?" He asked in a whisper.
"Daddy's girl, " she whispered as he wiped snot away from her nose and the wetness from her cheeks with his one hand.
"Always and forever, " he smiled at her before he leaned in and kissed her forehead.
She nodded and smiled.
"I'm glad you woke up daddy," Lucy said softly as she kissed his cheek.
"Me too, baby," Ressler said as he cuddled her in close to his chest. "Me too."
To be continued...