Hi! Sorry for the break, I've had a lot of stuff to do so I didn't have time to write. I finally finished this chapter (at 12 A.M) so I'm sorry if there's mistakes. Not a native speaker anyway. I also want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter, honestly I love you. Hopefully you find this chapter interesting and please read and review, they really keep me going!

"Okay, sit down for me, please", a young OB/GYN smiled.

Elena sat on the examination table after changing to the hospital robe. It felt dull and rough against her skin as it slid over her belly. Elena threw her head back, leaning it against her seat, repeating the same matra over and over again in her head. It would be okay, everything's fine, relax. Nate was better at convincing her about this stuff. He knew what to say and never repeated himself. There wasn't a need to. He had made Elena calm earlier, but he wasn't there now.

"This is gonna feel a bit cold"

Elena closed her eyes as the single tear slid down her cheek. Did she even know what she was doing? Propably not. She must have been on her late 20s, tops. Elena worried if she was even educated enough to check on her. She didn't need another source of worry on the top of everything else in her life at the moment. She didn't want to think about that too. Elena shut her eyes tightly as the cold gel was spreaded across her belly when the she slid an ultrasonic device over it. The room was very quiet for a long time and Elena had the time to be afraid of the worst, just like she had imagined, until a rapid sound of a hearbeat filled the room.

Elena sighed from relief.

"There's her hearbeat", the gyn chuckled to her and paused the picture.

"It's strong, right?", Elena asked her voice full of concern, tears glistening in her eyes, "it's going to make it?"

"She", the gyn smiled, "it's a she. And yes, you have nothing to worry about. She's a healthy baby"

Elena looked back at the monitor as the tears fell down her cheeks. Relief.

Ever since Nate's 'accident', the baby had stopped kicking. Elena had been sick of worry, which propably wasn't helping the baby's or herself's condition. She had been too afraid to go to get checked out for a long time, but was finally forced to go by Sam. He had told her that he wouldn't be the blame then if there actually was something wrong. So she went, there wasn't a possibility to win Sam in an argument.

Sam and Sully had been visiting Elena every single day, helping her to fix the damage. The house was practically split in half from where was the burned, damaged area and where not. They were rebuilding it again by themselves.

"You can get dressed now"

Elena sat back up, opened the loose ponytail she was wearing and ran a hand through her hair. Time to head back home.

It didn't feel like home anymore. Home was where Nate was, and he certainly wasn't there anymore. He was home. Now it was just a house where she happened to sleep in. The house, where she had lost her husband. She talked about losing in this case. Surely there must've been people around the world who'd be thankful for the her situation, her husband wasn't dead.

But he would never wake up.

Elena had read an article about injuries caused by explosions. The consequences to those were severe, most likely causing death sooner or later. She had learned from Nate's doctor, that her husband wasn't only in a coma, he wouldn't probably ever wake up. Other than that, his injuries weren't supporting him; pierced through the abdomen, broken arm, severe burn injuries all over his body and a blast injury to the brain. Elena had learned blast injuries were classified to three sections; primary, secondary and tertiary injuries. Nate had all of those three types, which basically meant he had had the worst luck with it. He had burns, crush injuries, some respiratory injuries to his lungs and the brain injury from the blast, since he was right next to the grenade. That had put him in the coma. Referring to statistics, the doctors had been honest with her, he was most likely dying. Elena kept him in life support, unable to let go. He would never wake up.

Then she got the call.

His husband was awake.

Four weeks earlier

Elena sat on the side of his bed, talking about her day as usual. She didn't know if he even was able to hear her, but she liked to think so. The thought about a coma without any thoughts or hearing was depressing, she didn't want to think about it. She liked to think that Nate could hear her.

It had been four weeks since she had seen those blue eyes look at her.

She missed the look when he looks at her. She missed the love in his eyes when he tells her he loves her. She missed the look on his face when they made love. She missed him. She missed everything about him, his smart-ass comments about everything, his laugh, his smile, the way he kisses her, his warm body, his strong arms, the way he holds her in them. She missed him.

Elena smoothed his hair back with her other hand while the other held his hand.

"I love you", she whispered to his ear as she stroked his raising and falling chest, reminding herself he was still physically alive, even if a machine was breathing for him. It hurted her to see Nate, her Nate, so weak and vulnerable, unable to communicate. He had a tube going down his throat. He was attached to an IV and some other wires and tubes that she couldn't remeber the name of. It hurted her. Physically.

She placed a small kiss on his temple and smiled to him. He couldn't see it, she knew that. Elena wiped her tearful eyes and squeezed his hand firmly. She turned around to see Sam standing at the door.

"Can I speak with him for a moment?"

Sam thought like her too, then.

"Of course, I'll wait in the lobby"

Sam walked to his little brother and pulled a chair next to his bed. He felt awful. Sam had always hated hospitals. The white walls and the beeping machines made him uncomfortable. He had hoped after their mother's death that he wouldn't have to come to another hospital ever again. Now his baby brother was the one on the bed.

Who would've thunk this would happen? What if he was in pain? Sam bit his tongue until he tasted the metal and reached for his hand. It was all his fault.

"It's okay, little brother", he mumbled quietly, lowering his head, "I'm so sorry for blaming you about everything. You were right, okay? It's all my fault". He looked up again, hoping to see him looking back but was disappointed when he was met with Nate's still, pale but peaceful form.

"I… I didn't mean to make this happen. And I am so sorry.. But Nathan, you can go now, okay?", he whispered in almost inaudible, breaking voice. "Don't hang around for us. I'll take care of Elena and the baby for you, okay? We'll be fine. You can go.."

Tears were now sliding down his cheeks.

"You should see her, she's doing great. You'd be proud of her". Sam exhaled shakely. "I'm proud. I'm proud of you, Nathan"

He stood up and patted Nate on his chest.

"We came far, Nathan. You did good...", he sighned wistfully and leaned closer, "Goodbye, little brother. Meet me in paradise, okay?"

Elena felt numb. She was expecting to feel joy or exitement, but she didn't feel anything. She hadn't decided if she liked the numbness or not, but she felt like it didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

Elena walked through the hospital halls in a complete trance. She didn't see the man who walked past her, greeting her with a big smile. She didn't notice the woman, who had broken down on the floor, crying, as a doctor was trying to comfront her. Someone had died, probably. She walked the hospital halls, which had became too familiar to her. She knew the way by heart. She didn't have to think as she hurried in the elevator and pressed the button to the third floor.

She almost ran to his room when she saw the door. The numbness was replaced with pure fear. Fear for what was on the other side of the door. Fear for a false alarm.

When she busted through the door, she saw his husband's figure, still unmoving, very much coma-like. He didn't have the breathing tube.

"I thought you said he woke up", Elena heard herself whispering. She stared at the doctor checking his vitals, how uncomfortable his face turned by her comment.

"Well.. He did".

"Did?"

"He woke up about an hour ago"

Elena watched as the doctor continued his examination. He pulled his eyelids open and flashed a flashlight back and forth in front of his eyes.

"He woke up, but didn't seem to know where he was and despite the reassurance", he stroked at his jawbow and looked up at Elena, "he became violent. We had to sedate him"

Elena frowned at him. "Sedative doesn't put people under"

He shook his head, "no, it doesn't, we had to put him back under and intubate because his panic attack was causing him cardiac arrhythmia"

Elena's eyes widened and her heart dropped to her stomach. "cardiac what?"

"Cardiac arrhythmia. It's a state where the heart is bumping too fast and could lead to cardiac arrest– heart attack, in bad cases. We didn't want to take that risk, since he is very unstable right now"

"He had a panic attack?"

"Probably caused by the confusion and the sedative, because the he lost his ability to move. It's not the first time this has happened to a patient"

Elena stroked his husband's cheek carefully. It was good to see him without the tube. Now she was afraid he would go back into the coma"

"Is it possible, that he could go back to the coma now? Did he say anything?", Elena pleaded. Her eyes were starting to dampen to the thought of Nate suffering.

"It's possible, but not very likely, because he's breathing on his own now", he flashed a smile and tugged his hand in his coat's pockets, "But I don't want to get your hopes too high, because we don't know about his brain function, is he able to speak, for example"

Elena begun to feel lightheaded. She rubbed his temples, trying to understand the situation.

"We don't know if there's any permanent brain damage yet", he continued, "The drug should be wearing off soon, though"

Elena sat down on his bed and continued stroking his hair.

"Thank you", she mumbled, not facing the doctor anymore, but focusing on Nate. He should be waking up soon. It had been four weeks.