Jay had lost track of how long they had been sitting there. It seemed like an eternity. The medical team was on their way back, not that they believed they could do anything more to help Elle. She looked like she was already gone, her skin was as pale as snow, with little red spots everywhere from bleeding under the skin. The only motion in her body was the steady rise and fall of her chest and that was from the machines breathing for her. The only sign of life, the faint beeping of the heart monitor, beeps that were much, much too slow. Jay wanted to pray but he didn't know what to ask for. He wanted her to live but he wasn't sure that she would want to in the condition she was in. Finally he settled on praying for her not to suffer, no matter what happened.
Kay carefully held her hand, silently trying to will some of his strength into her shattered body. The doctor was wrong. He knew the doctor was wrong. This wasn't her time to die. He carefully stroked her fingers, silently promising not to let her go.
Just then the doctor came in and moved to her bedside, carefully checking the machines. "I may have some good news for you," he said in a neutral tone. He didn't want to get their hopes up yet. He probably shouldn't even be telling them, but at this point he was sure they needed a little encouragement. "The last blood tests we did showed an decrease in blood clotting time and her platelet count is coming up slightly."
"She's getting better?" Jay whispered.
"It's too soon to say for sure," the doctor said carefully trying to hide his own excitement. After the second surgery, he hadn't expected this woman to survive. "She's not out of danger yet but if she keeps improving, I do think she'll make it." The doctor smiled as he gave them the news. He was always thrilled when a patient started to recover, especially when the odds had been stacked so high against them.