Chapter 3- One down 2 to go

Hey guys, this chapter will be just a couple days later.

….

Today is the day Emily was being released from the hospital and she is doing extremely well. The doctors were able to take Hanna back and finish her operation, she is still however in the intensive care unit. She has yet to wake up since her operation, she is on a respirator which is helping her breathe at the moment. The doctors informed Aria and Ashley that she still has significant brain activity and while she is on the respirator, it is not breathing for her, it is merely helping her to breathe. At the moment her condition while still critical, it remains stable. The doctors remain hopeful that if she continues like this or even starts to improve slightly she should be able to wake up in a few days or maybe weeks, it is all up to her. She is not done with surgeries however. Her arm and leg, while have been stabilised still needs to be reset and secured.

Caleb on the other hand is not looking as promising as Hanna. While his injuries at first seemed far less intensive than Hanna's he is in a much worst state. His leg had to be amputated the day before and since his initial surgery he has been on a respirator which is breathing for him. Because of the swelling in his brain, he had to have a Craniotomy and the swelling is still significant enough that they are unable to replace his skull cap. He is still in a medically induced coma and his health is declining. Both Ashley and Aria were hopeful that he will also make a full recovery.

…..

"Aunty Aria!"

"Yes sweetie."

"Today is the day that you are going to get Emily from the hospital right?" Rylie asks while they were having breakfast that morning.

"Yes sweetie it is. So my mom is going to come over to watch you guys while Ezra is at work and I go to the hospital." Aria answers

"Can't I come with you? I want to see my mommy and daddy." Rylie asks

Aria thought about it for a moment. She didn't want to scare the kids with all the tubes and machines that both Hanna and Caleb were connected to, but she has been telling them they can't see their parents for almost a week now and she couldn't bare keeping them away much longer. Not to mention she couldn't take how sad and disappointed they were every time she told them no.

"Ok only Rylie and Callie can come. There won't be enough space in the car for all the car seats." She told Kennedy and Sydney so they wouldn't ask to join also. Callie and Rylie's faces both lit up while Syd and Ellie pouted. "You guys can pout all you want the answer is still no. You have to stay with Grandma."

…

A few hours later Aria, Callie and Rylie arrived at the hospital. She bent down to their level to explain what they were about to see. "Ok girls I'm going to take you to see you dad first. Now he won't look so much like your dad and he'll have a lot of tubes and machines connected to him, but I don't want you to worry ok?" The girls nodded. "All the machines that you'll see are what are helping him get better. The same goes for your mom ok?" She asked again and once again the girls nodded enthusiastically, just glad to finally being able to see their parents.

"Also girls, be careful not to touch any of the machines."

"Yes Aunty Aria" Both girls answered simultaneously. She then took them by their hands and led them to the elevator. She pressed the button to the 3rd floor still clutching tightly to their hands. The elevator arrived and she existed and turned the corner making her way to the neurology intensive care unit and room 3405. She stopped just shy of the room and took a deep breath, bracing herself for what they were about to see, then stepping cautiously into the room.

Upon seeing their dad strapped to all the machines both girls stopped dead in their tracks with shocked and horrified expressions. Aria once again got down to their level.

"Remember what I told you guys downstairs?" She asks them.

Callie nodded while still trying to catch her breathe. "The tubes…and the…machines…are helping…him breathe?" Rylie still stood shocked and horrified so Aria pulled her close and reassured her once again.

Just then a nurse walked into the room. "Hi are you family? If you are not then you can't be in here." She informed them.

"Not exactly, his wife is one of my best friends and these are their kids and they just wanted to see their dad, but we can go if we aren't allowed to be in here." Aria replied to her and was about to pick up the girls and leave.

"Oh they can stay then. I'm sorry about that. I'm Nurse Olivia. You guys can stay while I change his IV but you are going to have to leave after."

"Ok thank you so much. Do you happen to know how he's doing?"

"Well his brain swelling is still significant but he seems to be stabilizing since they changed his medications last night." Nurse Olivia replied, whispering so as to avoid the girls hearing.

"That is good news right?" Aria asks

"Yes it is. It means he's heading on the track to recovery." Nurse Olivia replied.

"Oh that is just wonderful to hear." Aria exclaimed holding her heart. "Ok girls why don't you go put down the pictures you made for your daddy on the table over there and we can go see your mom next."

"Their mom?" Nurse Olivia asks shocked

"Yes she's in hospital also. She's upstairs in General surgery ICU. They along with their 5 month old were in the accident on the main last week. Luckily the baby wasn't badly hurt and is being released today, that is actually why we are here." Aria informed the nurse

"Oh my God that is horrible. Thank God the baby is ok though." Aria nodded "So you have their 3 kids to take care of now until they recover? I'm sorry if I'm being inquisitive" Nurse Olivia apologised

"It's ok I don't mind. Yes I have their 3 plus my 3, all under 7. You see his parents don't live in the state and I have no idea how to contact them and my friend's mom, well she's in no condition to keep the girls." Aria replied

"Oh God bless your heart. I hope they both will be able to recover." Nurse Olivia tells her while they all exited the room.

"Thank you so much, and thanks for allowing the girls to spend time and see their dad. I think they needed it and they've been asking me to take them ever since the accident."

"Oh it's my pleasure."

Aria took hold of both girls' hands and made her way back to the elevator. This time she allowed Callie to be the one to press the button for the floor.

They got off on the 4th floor and Aria guided the girls to Hanna's room, room 4210. When they got to the room there were a bunch of doctors and nurses in there with her. Aria told the girls to wait by the door while she went in to find out what was happening.

"Hi Dr Francis" Aria called Hanna's doctor whom she had become familiar with in the last week. Dr Francis was the doctor in charge of Hanna's case. Dr Francis turned to see Aria and made her way to her.

"Hi Mrs Fitz I was hoping I would see you when you came by today. I would like to talk to you about Hanna's treatment options and her current state." Aria nodded and started to worry it was going to be bad news.

"Before you start Dr Francis I would like you to meet Hanna's other two daughters." Aria told her before introducing her to Callie and Rylie. She then had the girls sit in the room while she stepped back outside with Dr Francis.

The minute they got outside Dr Francis turned to Aria with a serious expression. "Mrs Fitz I have to tell you first of all that your friend is a fighter. She knows she has something to live for and she is fighting to live for it. We are currently removing the breathing tube, because when we checked up on her today she was breathing over it. This means that she can breathe strong enough on her own."

Aria sighed in relief, happy about Hanna's improving health.

"The swelling in her brain which was caused from the haemorrhage is starting to subside which means she may begin to wake up…"

Before she could continue Aria interrupted her with a shrilling scream. "Oh my God I'm so sorry about that. It's just so good to hear some good news." Just then Aria noticed the girls standing by the door looking worriedly at Aria. "Don't worry sweethearts aunty is fine, go back into the room"

The door closed again and Dr Francis continued. "As I was saying, she may begin to wake up. However, in the event that does happen, she'll be in a lot of pain and this could be hard for her body to handle. In that event, we would like to keep her sedated and possibly induce a coma so her body may be able to fully recover." She paused while Aria took in the information she was just given.

After only a short while she finally answered. "Ah shouldn't her mom be making these decisions?"

"Usually, yes but apparently after her mom had moved away she mad you power of attorney so it's your decision."

"Ok, ah just do whatever you see is best Doctor. While I'm sure her girls would love to have her be awake, I think it will be better that she be given the chance to recuperate at least a little before having to deal with the severity of her injuries."

"Ok, that is all we wanted to hear. This is a good sign though, it means she's on the right track" Dr Francis smiled before patting Aria on the shoulder and re-entering the room to instruct the nurses of what to do. Aria went in behind her then took the girls out into the hall while they worked on Hanna.

When they had completed all they were instructed to do and left Aria took the girls back into the room and had them talk to her. They then added the pictures they had made for her to the growing stack on the table by her bed then said their goodbyes and left.

They then got Emily discharged and left.

…

Once again thank you for reading. I know there were a lot of medical stuff in this chapter. If any of it was incorrect or inaccurate I apologize. The only thing I know about medicine is from what I've see on Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, House and some internet searches. Wow this is the longest chapter I've written for this story (Almost 2000 words)

-Cavine

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