Chapter 27: Lexa
I can't believe she finally woke up only to call me a cry baby and tell me that I stink, but you know what, I don't care. She can call me anything she wants as long as she stays awake. I didn't want to leave her, but apparently, I stink. Then she said she loves me. What am I supposed to think about that? Did she mean it, or...did she just not know what she was saying because she just woke up from a coma.
I have so many questions, but I just want to hurry up and get back to her right now. There will be plenty of time to talk later. But, right now, I just want to hold her in my arms. I quickly finish my shower and throw on my clothes. When I get to the room, Abby sits in the corner, and Ash stares at the ceiling deep in thought.
I head straight for her and kiss her. Not long after, Blake shows up, and we all sit around talking. Of course, Abby has told Ash about Ahmed, so she wants to hear the story. After a while, I can tell Ash is getting tired, so I run everyone out and put her in bed before crawling in with her. This is what I have missed the most, just laying in bed with her. It isn't long before she falls asleep on my chest.
When I wake up the next morning, I just lay there and run my fingers through her golden hair. I could get used to waking up like this. I can't wait to get out of here and start a new life, hopefully with Ash. Finally, I turn just enough to kiss the side of her head. I heard Ash moan, then she says, "Good morning, babe."
"Good morning to you. Are you hungry, thirsty? Do you need anything?"
She looks up at me and smiles, "Yeah, for you to stop asking so many questions this early in the morning."
"Ha-ha, someone is grumpy. I would think that after being asleep for four months, you would be happy to be awake."
"I would like it if you could talk Abby into taking out this catheter so I can try to walk."
"I'll see what I can do if you promise to behave while I go find her."
"I will try my best," she said with a smile.
I give her a quick kiss and then go to find Abby. I walk into her office and find her going over charts. She looks surprised to see me and asks if everything is okay. I tell her that Ash is getting antsy and wants to know if she can remove the catheter. Abby says, "let's go take a look and see how she's doing."
When we get to the room, Ash is sitting with her legs dangling off the side of the bed like she was contemplating getting up. I yell, "Ash, what the fuck are you doing? I told you to behave." Of course, she thinks it's funny and laughs. I look at Abby, and she just shakes her head.
Abby says, "Okay, Fletch, Lexa says you want the catheter taken out. However, I will agree on one condition, that you do not try to walk without help until you are cleared by a physical therapist."
Ash replies, "Fine, how soon can you get a physical therapist in here to clear me?"
Abby says, "I will get someone by here after lunch to evaluate you."
Abby walks over to Ash, squats down, tells her to take a deep breath, and then pulls the catheter out. Abby gives Ash another exam to check her reflexes before saying she will return in a few minutes with some food.
As soon as Abby is gone, Ash tells me to help her stand. I walk around and stand between her legs, then I lean down and put my hands on her cheeks and kiss her deeply. When I pull away, I tell her to put her arms around my neck, and I wrap my arms around her under her armpits and lift her up. Once I have her standing, I put my hands on her hips to steady her. After that, we just stand there, forehead to forehead, staring into one another's eyes for a few minutes.
I break the silence by asking, "Are you okay?"
She replies, "I'm fine. I could stand here looking in your eyes forever."
I feel my cheeks heat up and look at the floor. She lets go of my neck with one hand and lifts my chin to look her in the eyes again, and then leans in to kiss me. I reach down and cup her butt cheeks and pick her up. She wraps her legs around my waist, and then she leans in and kisses me. It starts off slow and sensual but quickly progresses to a kiss full of need and want. Before we can go any further, Abby walks in with breakfast. I walk over and place Ash in the chair so that she can eat.
Blake stops by to say good morning before he heads out on patrol. After eating, Abby said that someone from physical therapy would get Ash in about an hour. She also said that until she was cleared by PT, there shouldn't be any of whatever she walked in on. I turned red and looked at the floor, embarrassed. On the other hand, Ash just laughed and said, "Abby, why must you take away my fun." Abby just shook her head and walked out.
I moved the table, picked Ash up, and sat down in the chair with her in my lap. I just needed to hold her and keep her close. She just laid her head on my shoulder and said, "We really do need to have a conversation about what happened at Omar's and also what is going to happen once I am released from here."
"I know, but I'm just not ready to have that conversation yet. How about we wait until after you finish with PT, and then if you still feel up to it, we will discuss it then, okay?"
She gives me that smirk and says, "Whatever you say, babe."
We just sit here holding each other until there is a knock on the door. I say, "come in," and in walks a hot woman with short black hair and dark eyes pushing a wheelchair. I wrap my arms around Ash a little tighter without realizing what I'm doing until I hear Ash chuckling. The woman introduces herself as Raven from PT. She says she is here to take Ash for physical therapy.
Ash looks at me and smiles, then leans in and whispers, "You don't have anything to worry about, babe. I promise to behave." Then she looks at Raven and says, "That would be me. I'm Ash, and this, this is my girlfriend, Lexa. Lex, can you help me out and put me in the chair for the nice lady."
I can't believe it. She introduced me as her girlfriend! I stood up with Ash in my arms bridal style, walked over, and sat her in the wheelchair. Before I stood up, Ash pulled me in for a kiss and said she would be back after Raven finished torturing her.
I snapped my head up, looked at Raven, and said, "You better not fucking touch her. The last guy that touched her lost body parts to my sword." Raven looked at me wide-eyed like I was crazy.
Ash said, "Babe, I was just kidding. She isn't actually going to torture me. I will be fine; she is just going to put me through a workout and see how I do. I promise she isn't going to hurt me."
"I'm coming with you to make sure."
Ash looked at Raven and said, "Can you give us a minute, please?" She nodded and left the room in a hurry. Ash then took my hand and pulled me toward her, "I'm sorry, Lex, I shouldn't have said that. I wasn't thinking. I was just joking around. I have been through PT before, and it isn't fun, but it is necessary to get better. I will be fine, but I want you to stay here. I don't want you to see how weak I am, okay."
"Ash, I don't see you as weak. I could never see you as weak. You are the strongest person I know, but I would feel better if I came with you. I don't know her, and I just got you back."
"Babe, I will only be gone for an hour or so. How about you wheel me down there and see where I'm going to be, and then you will feel better about leaving me there, and when I'm finished with the workout, you can help me take a shower. But only if you let me go by myself."
"Fine, but I'm walking you down there, and I will be waiting in this room for you to return, and if you aren't back in two hours, I am coming to find you."
Ash smirked and said, "Deal, now let's go."
