Disclaimer: I don't own Aviation History magazine

Chapter 17: Waking Up

Scott woke up in the late afternoon to see the infirmary empty. He got up from the chair and walked over to the window which overlooked the house and the pool. He stretched and noticed John laying on one of the deck chairs watching Alan, Tin-Tin, Fermat and Gordon splashing in the pool. Virgil was on the deck with his painting easel painting another masterpiece with Lady Penelope watching him in amazement.

Scott walked away from the window and sat down in his chair beside Christine. He grabbed one of his old Aviation History magazines and settled down to some reading while holding Christine's hand.

Scott was half way through an article when he felt his hand being squeezed lightly. He dropped the magazine on the floor and turned to Christine. He saw her eyes beginning the flutter and prayed that she opened them.

Christine slowly opened her eyes and was greeted by her most favourite cobalt blue eyes. She saw that Scott was all disheveled like he just woke up and that he was about to burst into tears. She tried to raise her hand to touch his face to assure Scott that she was fine and to assure herself that this wasn't another nightmare, but she was too weak.

Scott saw how weak she was and held her hand against his cheek. They both smiled and he decided not to fight the tears any longer. "Hey sunshine, you decided to return to the land of the living?" he asked. Christine nodded and started to shed some tears of her own.

Scott bent down and kissed her gently on the forehead then touched his against hers feeling blessed that he was able to get lost in her fiery green eyes again.

"I guess I should tell everyone that you're awake" Scott said. He walked over to the intercom making sure that he wasn't leaving Christine's sight and called Jeff "Dad I need you in the infirmary"

Jeff arrived in the infirmary in record time thinking that it was another emergency and already called Brains to meet him there. When he arrived he wasn't prepared for what he saw.

Scott was sitting on the bed holding Christine's hand. He looked up and Jeff saw that his eyes were red from crying, but he wasn't sad. He actually was barely able to hide his smile. Jeff walked over and saw that Christine's eyes were open and she was smiling back.

"Looks whose finally decided to join us" said Scott.

Jeff stood there speechless for a moment in shock as tears ran down his face. He bent down and gave her a gentle hug "I can't believe you're awake." She smiled back at him regretfully not being able to talk yet.

Then Brains came rushing in and saw what was going on and sighed in relief that everything was fine. Brains walked over and greeted Christine with a huge smile then proceeded to check her vitals.

After a couple of minutes of silence Jeff spoke up "So is everything okay?"

"I still ne…n…want to do an EEG, CT scan and blood work to make sure everything is all right" informed Brains. "After 24 hours we can r…r…remove the catheter tube. Then if Christine c…can swallow and eat we'll remove the feeding and Tracheostomy tubes."

Jeff, Scott and Christine nodded in accord at Brains' precaution. Jeff gave Brains the okay to start the tests immediately and left to tell everyone the news, but not without giving Christine's hand a reassuring squeeze.

Scott turned to Christine "Do you want me to stay during the tests?" Christine slowly shook her head and looked at him appreciating the offer though.

"Christine's right Scott, m…mm…maybe you should tell your brothers the news and get something to eat. By then the tests should be d…done."

Scott nodded and gave Christine a quick kiss on the cheek "I'll be back." She smiled, but her eyes darkened a bit seeing that Scott had faint dark circles under his eyes knowing that he has probably exhausted himself to the fullest.

When Scott left he saw that Jeff was outside waiting for him. "I still can't believe she's awake" said Scott letting the realization truly sink in as they walked towards the living room.

"I honestly thought she wasn't going to wake up" said Jeff which made Scott do a double-take at his father's doubt.

"Well…she's awake and soon she'll be back being just as bad as the rest of us" said Scott clapping a hand on his father's shoulder. They both laughed and went to walk outside, but Jeff stopped. He turned to Scott with a mischievous glint in his eyes and Scott smiled back in understanding. Jeff magically made his smile transform into a sad frown and walked outside.

They came out to see Gordon and Alan tossing John off the deck chair into the pool. He came up sputtering and glaring at the two young Tracys.

"You're both dead!" he yelled.

Alan and Gordon laughed and went to run away, but stopped in mid-step when they saw Jeff and Scott outside. Everyone else noticed Alan and Gordon's hesitance and saw why they were frozen in place.

"What's wrong?" asked Gordon with Alan nodding in eagerness.

"I want everyone to gather around" said Jeff sadly.

"What's wrong dad? Is everything okay?" asked John just climbing out if the pool.

"Scott do you want to tell them or should I?" said Jeff looking at his eldest and very quiet son.

"I…I'll do it. Guys…" Scott turned towards the group frowning "It's about Christine"

"What about her?" asked Virgil hoping it wasn't what he was thinking seeing the two older Tracys extremely depressed.

"She's…" Scott sighed trying to control himself. "She's…" then he couldn't control it anymore and smiled "She's awake"

It was the biggest up roar Jeff had ever seen in his entire life. Lady Penelope ran and gave Jeff a hug while everyone else started yelling with joy and jumped up and down hugging one another. By the time they calmed down Jeff could see that there were some tears that were shed during the little celebration.

"That's fantastic" said Lady Penelope.

"Can we go see her?" asked Tin-Tin.

"Not yet. Brains is just running some tests to make sure everything is okay and then you can go see her tomorrow."

Everyone smiled and nodded in agreement then went back to what they were doing to get rid of their nervous and excited energy.

"Hey Scott! You want to join us?" called John getting ready to jump in the pool.

"Maybe tomorrow, I'm a little tired" he replied and left to return to the house. Scott went to his room and had his first long shower in awhile. When he was done he went to the kitchen and ate a quick dinner before anyone else and returned to the infirmary to check on Christine. When he entered, Brains was just finishing up packing away some equipment.

"So, how is she?"

"Christine is per…p…completely healthy as can be, besides her n…ne…requiring some physical therapy to strengthen her muscles and her injured leg" answered Brains.

Scott smiled and hugged Brains gratefully which surprised him. "Is she awake?" asked Scott after breaking off the hug.

"No, she's sl…s…resting now" he replied "As you should too, Scott"

"I will I just wanted to see how she is before I went to bed" he smiled.

Scott walked over to Christine's bed. She appeared to be in a fitful sleep and Scott saw that Brains already removed the feeding and Tracheostomy tubes from her, guessing that she was strong enough to have them removed after the tests. Scott bent down gently tracing her jaw line with his finger and lightly kissed her. She mumbled something Scott couldn't comprehend and settled back down softly snoring which made him smile.

Right when Scott was about to leave he noticed that the heart monitor was beeping faster than normal. He turned to see that Christine was beginning to toss and turn in her bed. Brains ran over to see what was going on and Scott looked at him seeing that she was starting to have a nightmare.

"I'm sorry" she mumbled.

"Christine wake up" Scott said lightly shaking her shoulders, she wasn't responding.

"It...wasn't…fault" she said softly.

"What wasn't your fault?" Scott thought out loud.

"I…didn't…want…Mrs. Tracy…die" she said beginning to thrash "Noo! Scott…don't hate me"

Scott sat down covering his mouth in shock "I don't hate you Christine" he whispered.

Brains stood on the other side of Christine's bed looking concerned at Scott.

Scott looked at Brains "That's the fear the Hood used against her, wasn't it?"

Brains nodded slowly "I should of t…t…informed you , but I thought this w…was something Christine should say n…n…not me"

"Oh Christine" said Scott stroking her hair "After all of these years of you being there for me for my nightmares, I was never there for you"

"Don't say that Scott" said Brains "You have b…been there for her and even if you feel l…like you haven't, you are here for her n…n…now"

"Thanks Brains" said Scott smiling at his friends viewpoint "I'll watch her tonight so you can go and get some rest"

Brains nodded and tried to stifle his yawn, but it won and he smiled apologetically "You c…call me if she starts having another nightmare though" and left.

Scott grinned at Brains when he left and then turned to Christine now in a peaceful sleep. "I guess it's going to be my turn to bug you about your dreams now" he said aloud. Then he went to the empty bed beside Christine's and snuggled down to get comfortable. He watched Christine sleep and until he succumbed to his need for it.

(TBC)

Author's Notes

Sorry this took so long to post. The final chapter should be up soon I promise!