*Short but sweet chapter with our first glance at some Willish interaction :)

Chapter 4 – "Waking Up"

Three days had passed since Ethan's accident and even though Leanne knew she was being crazy, she still couldn't leave his side. He had woken up a few hours after the rest of the team had left, groggy and confused. She reassured him that he was fine, but then she had broken down in tears and had left the room to compose herself. When she returned a few minutes later he had fallen asleep again. She had taken his hand and sat back down next to him, and that is where she had been every waking hour since then.

Leanne knew that Ethan was okay. She could see it with her very own eyes. The steady heart beat on the monitor, the quiet rise and fall of his chest, the way he would curl and uncurl his fingers from hers while he slept. She knew he was perfectly fine. And yet she couldn't help herself from looking up every 2 minutes to make sure. She checked his pulse manually over and over again. She would place her hand over his heart just to be sure it was still beating. She had even gone as far as to drop something on the floor to startle him just enough to wake for a few seconds before dozing back off. He was going to be fine. His injuries would heal and he would probably be hobbling out of here on his shiny new crutches by the end of the week. And yet, she couldn't seem to convince herself of that.

Every time she closed her eyes she was back in the ER 6 years ago. Hearing the words that her husband had died first. Feeling her heart breaking in her chest. And she couldn't get the images out of her head. Except now it was Ethan's body laying on that table in the morgue, not John's. And because of that, she couldn't sleep. She needed to convince her heart that he was fine, just like she had convinced her head.

Everyone was on eggshells around her too, making it worse. They all wanted to ask how Ethan was, but they were all afraid to get her upset, so they would just avoid the situation all together. She had even yelled at Elliot yesterday. Sweet, innocent Elliot. He had come up to check on her and asked if there was anything he could do for her or Ethan, to which she had screamed back that the only thing she needed was for him to be okay. Elliot had walked backward out of the room with his head down until he ran into Jesse, who quietly ushered him back downstairs.

Needless to say, no one but Jesse had come to check on her since then. Not even Rollie or Campbell. And poor Noa, who was a mess in her own right, hadn't been able to set foot in the room since their group talk. Leanne's heart ached for the poor girl. She knew that she loved Ethan like a brother, and she knew this was hurting the younger girl just as much as it was hurting her. She felt horrible. She felt horrible that she hadn't been able to look Ethan in the eyes when he woke up. She felt horrible that she was hiding behind the closed door of his room. That she had simultaneously pushed every single person that she cared about away. And yet she just couldn't help herself.

"Hey." The soft voice filled the quiet room and Leanne had to do a double take to see just who the voice belonged too. Looking up, she saw Ethan was staring at her, his right eye still slightly swollen behind the purple bruise that engulfed the whole top half of his head. He squeezed her hand gently and shifted a little, bringing himself to sit up a little bit more so that he could focus on her.

"Hi." She whispered back. She squeezed his hand in return, but she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye. She couldn't even bring herself to look at him, instead she focused her gaze on the spot where their hands were connected, resting on the white hospital sheets.

Scooting himself up more, Ethan let go of her hand and reached forward, brushing his thumb along her cheek gently. "What's wrong love?" The softness in his voice caused Leanne to tear up, again, and she shook her head back and forth to try and ward him off.

"Nothing." Her tone was flat, and she moved her now free hand to her lap.

Ethan let out a soft chuckle, wincing when he felt something pull. "You're a horrible liar." Again, his voice was soft, and Leanne felt her heart start to race. She didn't understand how he could be so calm and mellow about this situation. Shouldn't he be mad? Shouldn't he be screaming for answers and for justice and for some relief from all the pain she knew he must be in? But instead, he was here, wiping the tears off of her face and worrying over her.

"Sorry." She decided that being strong just wasn't in her nature anymore and she looked up at him. The soft smile that he gave her was what did it in and she didn't even try to stop the tears that came pouring out.

She moved forward so that she could sit on the bed, but Ethan had other plans. He scooted over slowly, patting the space next to him as he raised the blankets up. "I'm guessing you haven't slept since this all happened?" The question was soft, so soft that she almost didn't hear it, and she felt guilty for doing this to him.

"Not a wink." She whispered back, kicking off her shoes and climbing onto the bed next to him. She settled herself against his side and placed her head against his chest, as close to his heart as she could manage, and she finally closed her eyes.

"Hm." Ethan hummed softly, bringing his good arm to wrap tightly around her shoulders, pulling her close in the tiny little space. "Well you can sleep now babe." He dropped a kiss to her head and relaxed back against the pillow. "I've got you." With that, he closed his eyes and let the sounds of her breathing lull him back to sleep.

Leanne let out a sob, her hand fisting itself against the scratchy hospital blanket. She dropped a kiss right above his heart and finally let her body relax in his arms. She was asleep within minutes, her still falling tears staining his hospital gown.

**Don't forget to comment :)