Chapter Nine- Recovering
Jake jumped out of his limo and ran into the hospital's entrance. After getting directions from a nearby nurse he sprinted down the hallway and into the waiting room. Jake saw Mr. Stewart, Jackson, Lily, and Oliver already sitting down and walked over to them. "How's Miley doing?"
Mr. Stewart looked down at some of the paperwork he'd been filling out, "She had to go into immediate surgery to remove the bullet from her leg. But the doctor's are optimistic that she'll come out of it fine."
Jake nodded with relief and took a seat by Oliver and Lily. "How long has she been in surgery?"
Oliver glanced down at his watch, "About fifteen minutes, they said it would take about an hour."
Jake sighed and picked up a magazine next to him and began skimming through it, this wait was going to seem like eternity.
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Beep Beep Beep
Miley slowly opened her eyes. The machine next to her was giving off a steady beat, ensuring her heart was functioning properly. She winced slightly when she saw her leg wrapped tightly with a bandage. It didn't hurt too bad now, but she knew if the morphine wore off it would.
A nurse walked into the room and smiled when she saw Miley was awake. "How are you feeling?"
Miley shrugged slightly, "Ok, I guess. My leg's a little stiff."
The nurse nodded and began checking her vitals, "That's to be expected. We successfully removed the bullet from your leg. With a few months of physical therapy you'll be back to your normal self in no time. I'm going to need to draw some blood and run it through some simple tests to make sure everything's running smoothly."
Miley groaned, she hated needles. Make her sing in front of millions of people. Make her share a room with Jackson forever. Make her do anything, so long as it doesn't involve a needle! "Alright. When can I see my dad?"
The nurse smiled as she prepped the needle, "Oh, you can see him AND practically the rest of the waiting room right after I'm through with this."
Miley grinned, her friends must be here. She looked back at the nurse who was throwing away a needle and pulling her gloves off. "Wait, I thought you had to take my blood."
The nurse laughed, "Honey, I already drew the blood. You were so caught up in your thoughts you didn't even flinch."
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Mr. Stewart stood up as the doctor walked out. "The surgery went fine, your daughter is awake and finishing up some post-op vital work. You can see her in a few minutes."
Mr. Stewart smiled and shook the man's hand, "Thank you." The doctor nodded and walked out of the waiting room.
Not two minutes later a nurse walked up to them, "You can see her now, but only for about tens minutes, she needs her rest."
The others nodded and followed her through the double doors and into a room. Miley looked up from the magazine she was reading and smiled warmly, "Hi daddy."
Mr. Stewart ran to her bedside and gave her a light hug, not wanting to hurt her. "Oh, Miley, I'm so glad you're safe."
Jake stood in the doorway for a minute, just taking in the scene. Lily and Miley laughing about some inside joke. Oliver talking with Jackson and planning a surprise welcome home party for the injured girl. And Mr. Stewart, intently watching his daughter with a look of love in his eyes Jake had never noticed before.
He finally snapped out of his musing when Miley called out to him. "Earth to Jake, anybody home?"
He smiled and walked over to her, not saying a word.
She looked at him quizzically, "What's wrong? Say Something."
He shook his head, that stupid grin still spread across his face. "Miley…I thought I'd lost you…I thought I'd never see you again…but that doesn't matter anymore, because you're safe now."
Miley smiled, her eyes began getting heavy.
The nurse re-entered the room and began to usher them out, "Alright folks, it's time for Miley to rest, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
They all nodded and began walking out the door as Miley fell into a peaceful slumber. Jake turned and walked back to the bed, looking at the sleeping girl once more. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, "Sleep tight."
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A/N I am sooooooooooooo sorry it took me(looking at the calendar) a long time to update! My life's been crazy since coming to college and I just haven't had the time with tons of essays to write(I find fanfics much more enjoyable to write btw). Well, I hope you liked it, sorry if it's short. I think I'll still do at least one more chapter to finish this story out. BUT, in order to get this last chapter, you have to do one thing: REVIEW!!!!!!!!!! Do this small task, and I will finally close out this fic. Thanks for reading!