It was all happening too quickly, and in slow motion at the same time. That treacherous sound filled the room, mixed in with Dr. Thompson's panicked voice as he barked out orders, and Diana's scream. She felt an arm snake around her waist, and yank her back. She didn't resist, she went willingly with him, and stood in the back of the room, in his arms, and watched in horror as Dr. Thompson and the nurses tried to get that sound to stop. She heard Barba's voice as he basically bit the nurse's head off when she suggested they wait outside.
Dr. Thompson had both hands pressed into Savina's chest, pushing down, as a nurse placed a mask over her mouth and nose.
"Savina, stay with me!" he yelled.
Her vision suddenly became blurry, and for a moment she thought that her heart was about to stop as well. But then she heard someone's voice whimpering 'no' repeatedly. But it wasn't until she felt Barba press his lips to her temple as he tried to soothe her did she realize that it was actually her own voice. A scream tore through the room, and her head snapped to her left, where she saw a frantic Diana struggling against Lucia's iron grip.
"Clear!" Dr. Thompson shouted, and her head snapped back in his direction in time to see the paddles pressed to Savina's chest, her body jerking off the bed as the electricity ran through it. A strangled sob escaped her, her hand now pressed to her mouth, as they did it again…..and again…and…..
The continuous beep suddenly stopped, replaced by a rhythmic beat, one that was quickly gaining speed. She saw Dr. Thompson put the paddles aside and lean over Savina, her chest now moving again.
"Savina, can you hear me?" Dr. Thompson asked urgently.
"Yeah," she answered weakly, her eyes finally fluttering open. They weren't focused at first, blinking a couple of times, before they finally focused on the doctor's worried face.
Olivia was glued to the spot, Barba's restraining arms were no longer holding her to him as tight. They loosened, his hands now moving up and down her arm, as he whispered softly to her. Telling her repeatedly that it was over, that she was alive. She saw Diana rush to her side, her sobs turning into tearful, relieved laughs.
"Di," Savina whispered.
"No sweetie, that's what you nearly did!" the tearful teenager growled darkly. To Olivia's surprise, Savina actually chuckled, though it was so weak, it didn't even bother her broken ribs.
The nurses filled out of the room, closing the door behind them, and that was when Savina's eyes finally found Olivia's. Olivia was sure that every emotion in the spectrum was showing, and it didn't need anyone who knew her well to read them, since they were openly showing on her face. A small smile lifted Savina's lips, and Olivia's legs robotically carried her back to the bed. She saw Savina's hand lifting, and she quickly took it. And that's when she released a breath she didn't even know she was holding, though it sounded more like a strangled cry. She knew that she was supposed to give Savina some time to adjust, some space, not to force anything on her. But she had just seen her baby nearly die before her eyes for the second time, and she needed a little comforting. So before reason could sneak up on her and stop her, she leaned forward and pressed a lingering kiss to the top of her head. She ignored the smell of vodka, as her wavy brown locks muffled the sob that escaped her lips when she felt Savina lean almost imperceptibly into the kiss. She pulled back and found her smiling, albeit a bit shyly and guardedly. But she was smiling nonetheless. Her tired brown eyes holding nothing but comfort, and understanding.
"I'm fine, don't worry," she assured her, though her voice was too shaky.
"Flat-lining and fine are mutually exclusive!" Diana hissed, as Olivia gently lowered herself on the bed, a lot closer to Savina than before.
"Welcome back," came Barba's also shaky voice from behind her, and Savina smiled genuinely at him.
"What the hell was that?" Lucia demanded, and Savina's eyes cut to her, but she saw her eyes fixating Dr. Thompson with a glare that reflected her intent to commit homicide if the answer he gave her was not satisfactory.
"Her body is dealing with a lot, between the drugs and alcohol, it's not that surprising actually," he explained, his voice betraying just how exhausted her felt. "But you may have just earned yourself another week in our hospitality," he added, and she groaned.
"You have got to be kidding me!" she whined.
"This is your third time, Savina," he reminded her. "So how about you go 48 hours without coding on us, and then we'll talk?" he suggested, and she gaped at him.
"Third?!"
"You don't remember?" he asked.
"Remember what? Dying?!" she questioned in shock. "I don't remember anything after escaping, until I woke up here with Mrs. Morrison hovering over me," she informed him, and he nodded.
"Good, so let's keep this as the only one you remember!" he said, and she nodded. "Try to get some sleep, and I'll come check on you later," he added, and when she nodded once more, he took his leave.
Savina could barely keep her eyes open by then, her eyelids drifting shut every so often. Olivia's free hand found its way into her hair, and she gently ran her finger over the hair covering Savina's temple. "Get some sleep," she cooed lovingly.
"My ribs hurt," she whispered.
"Do you want to lift the back a little?" Olivia inquired, and she nodded. Olivia quickly located the button in question, and pushed on it, until Savina's barely audible 'stop' came. She put the pillow under her arm once more, and Savina smiled thankfully at her.
Her eyes drifted shut, and they didn't open once more, and soon enough, it was obvious enough that she had fallen asleep.
All four occupants of the room exhaled, just as Barba's phone rang. He quickly pulled it out, smiling apologetically at the identical glares he was getting from the three females in the room, but thankfully, Savina seemed too tired to even stir.
"Barba," he whispered into the phone. "Savina's sleeping," he said, then listened for a moment, before adding. "We're on our way." And hung up.
He looked at Olivia, and saw a tirade of objections were about to be fired at him. "Dodds is at your office, and Tucker is on his way. Amanda needs to take your statement, so they can officially take you off the case," he hastily explained, careful to keep his voice down.
Olivia cut her eyes back to Savina's sleeping form, the turmoil evident on her face.
"Olivia," Lucia called gently, and waited till the Lieutenant's misty gaze found her steadier ones, before she continued. "Go do what you have to do, I know you need to talk to IAB and Dodds, and Rafael needs to talk to the DA. So why don't you both get all that out of the way, that way they don't have to pull you away again?" she suggested. "I won't leave her side, I promise." She promised.
"Neither will I," Diana reassured her.
Olivia's eyes moved between them for a moment, before she finally nodded.
"We should be back in a couple of hours," Barba told them, as he picked up his and Olivia's coats.
Olivia's gaze lingered a bit longer on Savina's sleeping face, before she leaned forward and pressed another kiss to her forehead. Once she pulled away, Barba helped her to her feet with the least disturbance to the bed possible, and they both quietly left the room.
"Diana, you don't have to stay, I've got her," Lucia told the teenager, who adamantly shook her head.
"I'm not leaving her when she's like this," she argued.
"Do your parents know you're here?" Lucia tried again, and the girl shook her head.
"There's nothing you can do for her right now, so how about you head home now, so that they don't get worried, and I'll make sure she calls you once she's up for it," Lucia suggested, but Diana once more shook her head.
"I'll call my parents and let them know where I am, they know her well, and are quite fond of her actually, so they won't mind. I can go home once she's up," she shot back, her voice leaving no room for arguments, as she pulled her phone out of her pocket, and started dialing.
Lucia had to admit that the girl's loyalty was admirable, but she couldn't help but feel frustrated at her stubbornness. She had heard Barba's stories about how jumpy Olivia was, and how much she hated that people were walking on eggshells around her, babying her. And if the girl was anything like her mother, she may not like the fact that her friend waited for her to wake up. But she knew that with teenagers that age, sometimes an argument is nothing more than a waste of energy and breath, so she let it slide. Figured that her parents will probably not let her stay, and demand that she came home in a couple of hours.
Diana left the room to talk to her parents, leaving Lucia alone in the room with a sleeping Savina. She took the time to study the girl, she hadn't seen any pictures of Olivia growing up, but if she had to guess what she looked like as a teenager, she probably looked like that. Savina looked a lot like Olivia; same tanned skin, her silky locks were a lighter shade of brown, but they were wavy just like her mother's. And then of course there were the eyes. Even though Olivia never actually told Lucia that they belonged to her father, she took a guess that it did when she saw an almost identical set on little Olivia. And her son may have mentioned once in passing that Olivia wasn't particularly fond of her eyes, and Olivia had given her a tight smile when she mentioned them once. But she figured Olivia must feel differently about them at the moment, since they were no longer his eyes but rather her daughter's.
A weak whimper from the bed brought her back to reality, and she saw Savina shake her head, her brows furrowing, and her lips trembling. She frowned at her, not entirely sure what to do. Her hesitation, however, was short lived, when Savina jerked in bed, a strangled scream escaping her lips, as she thrashed in bed. Lucia was by her side instantly, taking both of her hands into her own.
"Savina, sweetie, wake up!" she crooned, as she gently shook her, but it only seemed to get worse. A blood curling scream shot through the poor girl's lips, her body now violently shaking and thrashing in Lucia's arms. Lucia took a calming breath, maneuvering Savina's hands so she wasn't holding them so tight, and moved a gentle hand to her face. "Savina, it's only a dream. You're safe, she can't hurt you," she whispered softly. "Come on, honey. Just open your eyes, you're safe."
As another scream tore through the room, her eyes flew open, and looked dazedly at Lucia. She wasn't thrashing like before, so Lucia let go of her hands, and moved her hand into her hair, stroking it soothingly. Her other hand still cupping her face gently, her thumb running repeatedly over her cheek, wiping at the cascading tears. "It's okay, mija. You're safe, I promise," she said softly.
Savina's eyes were darting around the room, a desperate attempt to get her hung over, drugged, and concussed brain to believe that she really was safe. They finally found Lucia's once more, and she slowly nodded. Her breathing was still erratic, her chest heaving, so Lucia did the only thing that made sense, and she moved on the bed, so she can pull the terrified girl into her arms. To her pleasant surprise, Savina not only didn't object, but she actually balled up against the older woman's body. Lucia wrapped her arms tightly around her, one hand still stroking her hair gently, as she whispered assurances into her hair. "It's okay, it's over. She can't get to you anymore," she assured her, and felt Savina's hands fisting around the fabric of her blouse.
Lucia started humming a Spanish Lullaby into Savina's hair, as the girl's breathing slowly returned to normal. It didn't take long, before she drifted back to sleep. Lucia, who barely got any sleep the night before, rested her own head on top of Savina's, and in no time, she too was fast asleep, her vine-like grip on the girl growing even tighter.
So a short chapter to solve that little cliffy ;) since I need to focus on updating my other fic as well, so the next chapter might take some time. Let me know what you all think please.