Breathe
Chapter 13
A/N: I thought that I needed to go ahead a write this, before the angry mob came after me...
The room was blurry and all he could hear were the incessant beeps of the machines that seemingly floated above his head. Tim opened his eyes widely and forced them to focus. Where was he?
" Timmy?" a worried voice called to him. By the nickname , he instantly knew who it was. He felt her hand on his face and he slowly reached out to her. She grabbed his hand quickly to let him know that she was there. " Hi, Timmy."
Finally his eyes focused fully and he saw Alexx sitting next to him. The worry was evident, was now starting to disappear. He tried to speak to her, but something was preventing that.
" No, Timmy, that's there to help you breathe. I'll call the doctor," Alexx said as she reached for the nurses call button from the chair. She didn't want to break contact with him.
In moments, the doctor came in and smiled brightly. He worked quickly , removing the tube down his throat and gestured for the nurse to give him a drink of water. Tim swallowed hard and closed his eyes. He was confused. The last he remembered , he was walking away from Calleigh for the second time. He saw the doctor as he motioned for the nurses to remove Alexx from the room.
" Hey," he said hoarsely, " where are you taking her?"
" I have to do an exam, and she has to leave the room," the doctor explained to him.
" I'll be right outside, Timmy," Alexx said as she walked out the door.
The doctor smiled again as he stood over Tim, taking his stethoscope and listening to his heart beat , " How are you feeling?"
" Confused. How did I get here?" Tim said as he tried to clear his throat.
" Don't do that , let it clear up on its own," the doctor warned lightly. " Take another drink."
Tim nodded as the nurse put the cup to his mouth and he allowed the cool liquid to flow down his raw throat.
" So you don't remember anything?" the doctor said as he waited for Tim to finish.
" I remember the jewelry store and falling to the ground, then looking up at my lieutenant, but that's all," Tim lied. He remembered a lot more than that.
" You were shot, in the chest, and by the time you reached the hospital, your lungs had collapsed and you were bleeding out profusely. You were actually pronounced dead three minutes after you arrived. But then by some miracle, you came back. It was a hard surgery, but you came through it and slipped into a coma. Where you have been until now."
Tim took all of this information in and blinked rapidly. He couldn't believe it.
" How long have I been gone?" Tim asked as his voice began to improve more.
" Four years. But you haven't been alone, your co workers all came to see you everyday. And your wife..."
"Calleigh?" Tim said as he lifted his head up. The world began to swirl around him.
" Yes, for the first month, she stayed by your side day and night. But then we started to notice that she was pregnant, so she wasn't allowed to stay overnight anymore. She never left before someone else came to sit with you. She wanted to make sure that you were never alone."
Tim felt the tears as they started to protrude from his eyes, the last he remembered of his wife, she was weeping over Trent's body. He forced the images from his mind as he turned his attention back to the doctor as he flipped his chart down.
" Well, if there are no more questions, we are done here. I'm going to want to keep you for observation to make sure that everything is on the up and up, but you should be ready to go home in a couple of days."
" Thanks, doc. Can you send my friend in?" Tim asked softly.
The doctor walked out and then Alexx walked back in, a beautiful smile gracing her face. How he had missed her.
" So, when can you leave?" Alexx asked as she sat down next to him and grabbed his hand again. He remembered her touch as he laid on the slab in the morgue.
" He said that it will be a couple of days," Tim stated as he smiled at her. " I've missed you, Alexx."
" Honey, you don't know how much I have missed you. The first couple of days, I didn't leave your side. I stayed right here, willing you to wake up, holding your hand. I wouldn't give up on you. Neither would Calleigh. She was also coaxing you to wake up. Now that you are awake,...Calleigh is going to have a fit," Alexx laughed. She then got somber once more and squeezed his hand, " There was a time, that we thought that you weren't going to make it. But you proved us wrong. You fought hard to stay..."
Tim smiled as he let go of her hand and motioned her over to him, " Thank you for being here," he said as he took her into a hug.
She returned it with a smile, saying, " You might want to get your rest, the rest of the gang will be here shortly."
Tim laughed at her and nodded laying his head down on the pillow. It had felt too real to be a dream. But here he was , back in the land of the living.
TS
Calleigh was looking at a bullet in the scope when her phone rang on her side. She sighed heavily and prayed that it wasn't the daycare again about Camille. She had gone through the terrible twos and the temper tantrum threes , but now she had no idea what was going on with her daughter. At four years old, she possessed her father's notorious mood swings as well as his calm and quiet demeanor. At any given time, it was hard to tell whether Camille was calm or irritable. She was a true Speedle.
Calleigh flipped up the phone without looking at it and answered, " Calleigh Speedle."
"Calleigh,..." Alexx said.
" Alexx? Has something happened to Tim?" Calleigh asked fearfully. Everyday that had past without news, had Calleigh grateful, but she knew that the more time passed, the more she lost him.
" Yes, I mean , no... I mean wait, let me catch my breath. Calleigh, he is awake!"
" Awake?"
" Yes, he's been up for almost ten minutes now. Get to the hospital."
" I'm on my way," Calleigh said as she got up from her chair.
" On your way to do what?" Eric asked as he stepped in the door.
" To the hospital. Tim's awake," Calleigh said as she tried to unbutton the lab coat, but was failing miserably.
" You are kidding me," Eric said exasperated.
" No, I'm not. If I can get this dang lab coat off," Calleigh said as she struggled more with it. Finally , she gave up on it and grabbed her bag and was out the door before Eric could respond. Calleigh had to get to the hospital , but she had to make a pit stop first.
TS
"What's been going on since I've been gone?" Tim asked as he positioned himself better on the bed.
" Well, Calleigh had Camille and it was a smooth delivery. Calleigh pulled through it like a trooper. Eric and Valera finally got married and are expecting again."
" Wait, again? He has one already?"
" Yes, she gave birth a month after the jewelry store shooting. It was a shock to us too, because she never showed. After Chris was born, they got married and she's expecting to deliver any day now."
" I need to be more observant," Tim said as he exhaled . His best friend was a father and a husband, he truly did miss out on some things.
" Horatio, well, he has been having a rough time. Between you getting shot and his brother coming back from the dead, he hasn't been himself."
" Raymond is alive?"
" Yes, but he and Yelina are gone. Horatio put them on a flight to Brazil after Raymond was flushed out."
" My god, the world just kept turning didn't it?" Tim asked before he heard the door open. He looked up to see Calleigh standing there holding a little girl's hand. He looked at her and felt the world disappear and felt the sudden need to feel her.
Calleigh walked quickly to his side and took him into a tight embrace. She didn't want to let go of him. Ever. Tim felt the urgency of her as she continued to hold on to him. After a moment, she hesitantly broke free of him, crying. For a while, the room was silent, as unspoken words and feelings were conveyed through their gazes. Then the little girl piped up.
"Mommy, why are you crying?"
Calleigh turned to see her daughter noticing she had a fearful look in her eyes. She reached out for her and pulled her close to her.
" That man looks like my daddy," Camille said as she locked eyes with him.
" He is your daddy. Remember I told you that something bad happened to him and he went to sleep for a long time?"
" Uh huh," Camille said as she nodded her head warily.
" Well he woke up today. Can you say hi?"
Camille broke her mother's grasp and moved to his side taking his hand into hers, " Hi, daddy, my name is Camille Elizabeth Speedle and I am four years old."
Tim felt the tears as they dropped from his eyes and they blurred his vision. He laughed as he wiped the tears away, " Four years old? You are a very big girl..."
" You're 'posed to tell me your name, daddy," Camille said wrinkling her brow.
" Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Timothy Speedle, but many of my friends call me Speed."
" Uncle Eric and Uncle Horatio say that. I'm going to call you daddy," Camille returned.
The room erupted with laughter and Camille glanced around as if to question their sanity. She then looked back at her daddy and asked, " Daddy? Can I have a hug?"
Calleigh put a hand to her mouth in attempts to stifle a small cry , and Alexx felt the tears coming as Tim nodded and opened his arms.
" For you, anything," Tim said as the little girl got on the bed and snuggled against his chest.
This was how his life was supposed to be.
A/N: I had to redeem myself... The epilogue is coming next...