A week passes and Street spent every minute he wasn't working at the hospital. But he couldn't just stay there. He needed that distraction and to be active too. So one night after shift he walks into the hospital and his phone starts ringing. The contact info for the hospital shows up and he just quickens his pace, sprints up the stairs, and slides to a stop at the nurses' desk.
"I was just calling you," the woman hangs up the phone and smiles at him. "What is it?" he blurts out slightly confused by the smile but when the smile broadens and the words "she is waking up," drift to his ears he smiles too.
The doctors had tried twice over the week to wake Chris up forcefully, but both times her body had reacted violently. So this time should be natural and if she were coming out of this… he can only hope for the best right now.
"Can I," he hesitantly asks and points to the room. "Yes, but be quiet the doctors are in there too to monitor her progress. It might be a good idea though for her to see a familiar face when she opens her eyes."
Street barely hears the kind words and is off hurrying to the door.
The room is dark and his eyes take a few seconds to adjust. The staff nods to him. They all have seen him around at least once.
Street lets his eyes wander over Chris and the first thing he notices is that they removed the breathing tube. If she is breathing on her own she is for sure on the path back. To him. To them all.
He contemplates for a moment if he should already inform the others but he decides against it. He wants to be sure Chris is back, and selfishly he wants to be able to enjoy the first moments with her in peace and quiet. Without their friends interrupting.
After minutes, that feel like an eternity the medical staff leaves the room. One of the nurses instructs Street to press the call button if anything happens. Good or Bad.
He pulls the chair closer and reaches for Chris's hand while sitting down. "I need you to wake up," he whispers while lightly squeezing her hand. Street feels himself choke up when there is a little spike in her heart rate. He holds his breath and stares at the monitor, prepared to press the button if anything erratic happens but no alarm sounds and everything continues as normal.
Street dozes off after a while. The day had been exhausting and with the dim light in the room, his eyes dropped shut, but he startles awake by something grazing his skin. It takes him just a few moments to realize Chris's fingers are moving under his.
"Chris?," he asks with a shake to his voice "Are you with me?" he squeezes her hand and then looks at her fingers. The second her pointer finger twitches his eyes lift to her face and he can see her eyelids flutter.
His free hand fumbles for the call button and he just presses it. Jim holds his breath and just stares at Chris.
The doctors ask him to step aside while they work and he stands off to the side. His back against the wall to keep from toppling over. She is coming back.
"Miss Alonso, welcome back," one of the nurses says and he hears Chris coughing lightly. Street turns his eyes back to the bed and can see Chris sitting up while the nurse holds her up and readjusts the backrest. They hand her some water.
Chris feels as if her whole body is aching. Every breath hurts. Every movement seems to drain all her energy. Even the few sips of water. She feels like just lying back down and sleeping.
"There is someone here to see you," a voice from her left tells her and a hand on her chin turns her head to the right. Chris struggles to recognize more than shapes in the distance, but then Street steps closer and into her view.
Her first instinct is to smile but then she is mortified. She can see it in his face. Something terrible must've happened. Chris furrows her brows and tries to remember, but nothing comes to her. She starts to panic and her innermost feelings immediately seem to be broadcast to the room.
An erratic beeping accompanies her panicky voice "What happened to me? How long have I been here? Why can't I remember?"
"Ms. Alonso, please try to stay calm. We will fill you in as soon as we can," the last remaining nurse says as soothingly as she can possibly. She leaves after one last stern look at Street.
He pushes his hands into his pockets and walks back over to the bed.
Controlling his emotions around Chris has always been a struggle but Jim knows he should keep it together right now. The last thing he should do is stress her out, so he forces a smile. Not really forced but he tries to keep his worries hidden.
"Hey," the softness of his voice threatens to betray him but Chris simply lifts her hand a fraction off the bed. The gesture unmistakeably meaning for him to come closer and reach out.
And if one thing is clear, you could never deny her anything. Street settles back into the chair he previously occupied and laces their fingers.
"How are you?" Chris whispers coarsely and coughs a bit again.
Street reaches for the water cup and hands it to her. "Better now," he tells her, and Chris's eyes focus on him.
"What happened?" she asks again and when he lowers his eyes and doesn't answer immediately the heart rate monitor starts acting up again.
Street squeezes her hand. "Chris, breathe. You need to stay calm, please," he pleads with her. The memory of previous, unsuccessful wake-up attempts still burned into his brain.
"Then answer me. I need to know,"
"Chris, I don't have all the answers," Street can't help the slight anger behind his words. They just couldn't solve this one. Their suspects all had lawyered up and were refusing to talk.
"Then tell me what you know," Chris mumbles, fighting to stay awake. Street can tell that she is about to fall asleep again. "I'll tell you, okay," he gives in but before he can really start he can feel Chris's grip loosening and sees her breathing evening out. She has fallen asleep again.
He quietly walks out of the room and asks a nurse for a pen and paper. Street places the folded paper on the nightstand and heads home himself after also finally shooting a text to all their friends.
When Chris wakes up again it is light out and the nurse tells her breakfast will be coming in a little bit. She tries to sit up on her own but she feels very woozy and weak. So Chris falls back against the mattress and stares at the ceiling.
Later that day the doctor comes and runs a whole battery of tests with her in bed first. "Why do I feel so weak?" she asks him after again falling back against the bed. Sitting up without support is draining all her energy fast.