Chapter 49- Awake
Monica kept making a fuss over Danny. She fluffed his pillow, brought him a new heated blanket, and checked his temperature every five minutes. Willow was quiet, even when Monica would converse with her, and after about a half hour she left to go check on Franklin. Danny suspected that Drew upset her though.
After a while, his mom came in, still in her nightgown, had bed head, and her eyes were puffy and bloodshot. Monica hugged her, then left to go check on Scout.
Sam wrapped her arms around Danny and kissed the top of his head. "Are you okay, buddy?"
"Yeah. Is Scout?"
She sat beside him and held his hand. "They're slowly raising her body temperature, just like you. And she has a heartbeat, so that's good. She hasn't waken up though. But she will, I know she will."
Danny lowered his gaze. "I hope so. We thought the worst happened…"
"Well, she didn't have a heartbeat. The doctors thought she was gone. When I went in, I felt so hopeless. I felt the same way when I thought you and Willow died when you were both born. Then I begged God to bring her back to me. Then she got a pulse."
Danny smiled a little.
She scrunched her face. "Did Willow go home?"
He nodded. "She's checking on Franklin."
She sighed. "Your dad told me he yelled at you guys. He feels really bad."
Danny shrugged. "Not a big deal. Well for me… Willow didn't deserve it though."
"Was she upset?" Sam asked.
"Well… we thought Scout was dead at the time, so I'm pretty sure that had something to do with her being upset. But yeah, I think Dad probably upset her more."
"Lucas is almost done his shift. He's going to let your grandparents know, so I'll have him go check on Willow on his way. I can't leave Scout right now," Sam said. "And did your dad upset you too?"
He paused for a moment. "I'm glad Scout's gonna be okay."
"We all are… but your dad, he's concerned about you. He hates the way he yelled at you and Willow, but he doesn't want you putting yourself in danger like that. And frankly, I don't either. Even though I understand it more than anyone."
"You and Jason?"
She nodded.
"Angelica's not Jason though, and I'm not you," Danny argued.
"No, but the situations are similar," Sam said. "And actually, I do think you are a lot like me. Probably more than your sisters."
Danny raised an eyebrow.
"Which is why I want you to do better," Sam said. "I don't want you to go down the same path I did. You saw what my life… our lives were like with Jason. He's changed, I've changed. But being with him hurt you and Scout. It's not just Angelica, but all of your choices in life, just consider the consequences and how it will affect other people."
Danny looked away from her. "You blame me for what happened with Scout…"
"No. And neither does your dad…" She choked up. "It's our fault."
He turned back to her. "What?"
"We just slept through and didn't know any of you left. And you were sneaking out for months, but we didn't notice."
Danny stared at her.
"Doesn't mean we're going to disregard you sneaking out," Sam said. "We'll decide when Scout wakes up how we'll deal with that. But we don't blame you for what happened to Scout."
He started crying and she kissed his forehead.
"And you can tell us all about Angelica too," Sam added. "But we really need to focus on Scout right now."
"I know," Danny said.
She touched his cheek. "I'll send Grandma Monica back in to sit with you. I'm going to talk to Lucas about checking in on Willow."
"You don't need to check on me." Willow walked in and placed a hand on Sam's shoulder. "I'm right here. And I want to help any way that I can."
Sam turned and held her hand. "We thought that Drew upset you."
She nodded a little. "At first, I was upset, and my initial response was to run away. Then I realized how selfish I was being. Scout almost died. Drew gets to be upset. I know he didn't mean it—he's a good father… and stepfather. Maybe I had to run from things in the past, but I don't want to run from my family. And I can't make this about me. This is about Scout. I love her and I want her to be okay. And that's not fair to you either. Danny and Scout are in the hospital… or clinic… you shouldn't have to worry about me too. So, I took Franklin and his food over to Jax and Josslyn's, so we don't have to worry about him right now. I want to help, even it's just sitting with Danny so you can focus on Scout. You've really been here for me and helped me adjust these past five months. So, now it's my turn. I'm here for you… Mom."
Sam smiled and teared up again. "You called me Mom."
Willow smiled a little. "Well, I think you've earned that title more than Harmony has. You're the only mom I want now."
Sam rose and threw her arms around her.
Danny smiled, even though it was a little cheesy in his opinion…
Willow teared up a bit. "And now I'm making it about me again. I should be focusing on making you feel better."
"You are." Sam let go, but cupped Willow's face in her hands. "You are making me feel better. And Scout's going to be okay, I just know it."
And sure enough, Lucas ran into the doorway, out of breath. "She's waking up. Scout's waking up!"
Sam's face lit up even more. She hurried to the doorway but turned back. "I love you both." She followed Lucas to Scout's room.
Willow pushed away her tears with her thumbs and turned to Danny, who was climbing out of bed.
"Please don't talk me out of it," Danny said. "I want to see Scout."
Willow sighed. "Okay, at least let me get you a wheelchair." She ran into the hallway and returned with a wheelchair.
"This really isn't necessary," Danny said as he sat down in it.
Willow pushed him and his IV out to the hallway and stopped at the doorway of Scout's room. Monica and Lucas stood at the side, while Sam and Drew were sitting next to Scout, holding each of her hands.
Scout kept moving every so often, but her eyes were still shut.
Sam stroked her hair. "Come on, baby, you can do it."
"Mommy and Daddy are here, Princess," Drew said. "Please, wake up."
Scout looked so tiny and innocent. Her mouth moved up and down ever so slightly. And finally, her eyes shot open, and she looked from Sam to Drew, breathing fast.
"Oh, baby." Sam rose from her chair and kissed Scout's forehead. "Everything's okay. We're right here."
"Scout?" Drew said. "We love you so much."
Scout looked between them again, and her eyes focused on Sam. "Mommy?"
Drew and Sam smiled at each other.
"Yes, baby, it's Mommy," Sam said.
Scout turned to Drew. "Daddy?"
Drew kissed Scout's forehead. "Yes, it's Daddy too. I love you, Princess."
Willow smiled down at Danny, and Danny held her hand giving it a soft squeeze.