Chapter 9

Waiting the week for Liz to come off the vent and wake up was torture to the team. Having been successful in splitting their time to be with each of them and their families and managing to shower, eat, and sleep was a wonder. Finally, she was taken off the vent, and the sedation was reduced slowly for her to wake up naturally. Before she woke up, the doctors wanted to make sure she was breathing correctly on her own, and if that was successful, she could leave the ICU, and the team somehow convinced the doctors to allow her to be put into Clay's room.

Clay was still, unfortunately, a guest in his hell, self-described as he hated hospitals and sitting around, not moving or being productive. He was known for his attitude and going big or going home moto, and the doctors soon realized this as well with his health, always trying to show off by being different and complicated. He had to stay in the hospital longer than expected as he ended up having an infection in his leg wound, and they had to take him back into surgery to clean that out, delaying his healing by a week. And they now want to keep him in the hospital for a few more days to ensure no other complications from the infection as his fever skyrocketed faster than average.

"Well, it's about time! Bam Bam has been alone miserable in Bedrock for far too long." Sonny teased as Liz rolled into the room.

As Liz was being transferred from the chair to her new bed by the nursing staff, Sonny made his way closer and hovered alongside the bed. "Be careful; you are not invincible; we have learned that you are very breakable when you want to be the hard way."

"Yes, Smother! I am fine." Liz rolled her eyes.

As Liz was settled in her bed and tucked in under her blanket by Sonny, as he would not let her situate herself alone, the rest of Bravo walked in with Clay and his walker from their lap around the unit. He was moving around a bit more now and going off to rehab in the hospital daily to ensure his muscles did not atrophy as they prepped for him to go home.

Liz snorted at the sight of Clay and his walker with the team surrounding him like they were afraid he would get lost if they were not within arm's distance. "Hey there, grandpa, where can I get one of those fancy rides?"

"I'm not much older than you; we are almost the same age, grandma. Your just jealous I'm vertical before you." Clay winked as his competitive side started to show.

"Oh, just you wait, give me a day and ill be walking laps around you and your walker." Liz countered with a cocky smile.

"Hey, now you two! This is not a competition, so I better not come in and see you two causing trouble for the nurses and trying to run around in your gowns, gaping bare ass in the wind." Trent scolded, knowing this double room may have sparked a healthy competition for healing, but these two do not know the meaning of limits. Trent made a mental note as well to bring them both some clothes from home to be more comfortable and covered up now that they both will be more mobile, as the last thing he wanted to see right now was Clay's white ass when he forgot to put on the backwards gown like a coat.

Jason walked up to Liz and gave her a look up and down, lingering on her throat too long as she noticed and played with her hair trying to hide, seeing the faint bruise was a reminder, mocking him of his choices. "How are you doing, Jellybean?" He asked as he pulled up a chair to sit beside her in the middle of her and Clay's bed.

"I'm good, just ready to be out of here and eat some real food. I'm tired of Jell-o and broth, and it's only been one meal since I woke up. I can't also wait to be able to dress in some normal clothes without needing help with these stupid ribs and useless sling." Liz pouted.

"Well, aren't you just relishing in the joys of a hospital Princess." Ray joked sarcastically and was greeted with a glare from her.

Brock was off to the side along the window close to Clay's bed and noticed his deminer shifted once he settled into his bed. He mouthed, 'Are you ok?' to Clay, knowing he would not open up in front of everyone but wanted to reassure him he was there if needed. This was the first time Clay got to see Liz since they were in the forest, and it was like he got punched in the gut seeing her and her injuries. Hearing about them and seeing her and how she was in pain deeply affected him and sparked a fire inside him. Clay returned Brock's unspoken question with a half nod as he grasped onto Cerbs fur again once he jumped up on his bed after thoroughly inspecting Liz to ensure she was ok and getting his daily kisses. Brock knew how he fisted the fur like he was holding on to the ground himself, Clay was not ok, but it was not something he was ready to discuss. It was a delicate art of knowing when to push and not push Clay to avoid him putting up walls and reinforcing them with bricks and mud that took forever to chip away at, if at all, regarding that subject. He tended to wall things up so deep they would never resurface.

…..

A few days passed, and Clay was more mobile as he only needed a cane to get around now, but Liz was still bedbound as her lungs required some more time to heal, and she got winded and fatigued fast. The team had to return to work, so they could not come around as often, although they were grounded. In contrast, the rest of their team healed as Blackburn pulled some strings to fight against a five-person team getting spun up and the rest of the DEVGRU teams were on ops or deployment right now, so no replacements were available. Missing their best snipers for training exercises, they still had to be on base for hours at a time each day and run through some training paperwork. Liz and Clay found it easy to occupy themselves during the day until the team came and brought dinner for everyone as they enjoyed each other's company for the evening. They had busy days filled with rehab, various tests, sleeping as that was one of Liz's favourite pastimes and being injured just gave her an excuse to indulge, watching movies on their laptop Davis brought in for them and playing cards and overall enjoying each others company. Neither one talked about what happened to them as they were not ones to dwell on the past and liked to put things behind them rather quickly, but they dreaded the day that Jason and Blackburn would walk in and ask for the full AAR every evening from the base.

Today was no different as the team and Davis walked in and found Clay on the end of Liz's bed with her table brought over between them as they played crazy eights. As easy as this game was with a lack of strategy, it tended to get their competitive natures running high, and it could turn into yelling, cursing, and backstabbing to win. The boys could hear their banter from down the hall as they teased and egged each other, slapping their cards on the table. Just as the team walked into the room, Liz yelled, "I WIN, Grandpa!" and slammed her last card down on the table and started to burst into a fit of laughter at Clay's face as he noticed the final card she put down would have made him pick up more cards and the use of the new nickname grandpa.

"Oh, hey guys, I hope you came to rescue me from her. I can't stay here much longer! Or at least brought a burger in that bag to shut her up for a few minutes." Clay teased as he shifted on the bed to face the team but did not move to show he was leaving her bed and heading back to his. Cerb took that advantage, jumped up on his empty bed, and settled for a quick nap.

Liz ended up leaning back against her pillows, sitting up, letting her legs stretch out from their crossed position, and resting them across Clay's lap like it was second nature. Clay shifted under her to get more comfortable, and he grabbed her calves and started to run his fingers along them and rub small circles with his thumb in a soothing affectionate manner. Davis noticed and smiled at his attention and laughed a little as Clay did not even know he was doing it. She thought to himself about her previous thoughts about the pull towards each other and how these two were too ignorant and stubborn to see it even if their bodies practically screamed out through uninitiated actions.

As the team settled in and had their food and beer, they snuck in this time; everyone settled in, having a good time bantering back and forth about tv shows and various topics. The team learned that Sonny had a secret guilty pleasure of watching baking shows that Davis slipped into the banter about the best late-night show they all watch when they can't sleep. Clay's phone went off beside him on the bed, and Liz stiffened as she glanced at the name on the screen from the four unanswered texts... Rebecca.