Hey guys sorry it took so long to update. I really struggled with writing this last chapter and couldn't figure out how to end it. Endings aren't my strong point so I did the best I could. Hope you enjoyed it.

Once Clay was settled into his room the doctor went out to the waiting room to inform everyone that they were now able to head towards his room. As everyone stood up, Ray noticed Stella didn't move. He nudged Jason and nodded over towards Stella.

"You guys go, I'll Catch up" Jason told the rest of the team as he walked towards Stella and sat down next to her.

They sat there silently for a few minutes before Stella finally spoke up "I can't do this. I can't see him like this."

Jason leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees and looked at Stella "Look Stella. None of this is your fault. Clay knew what was going on. Normally he'd be able to handle it, come out on top..."

"Obviously not. Look where we are Jason." Stella interrupted.

"He wasn't on top of his game Stella. That last mission we were on he was hurt, got his bell rung pretty good. We both did, and I knew…" Jason paused as guilt consumed him. "I knew he was putting on a show, that he was hurt more than he was leading on but I kept my mouth shut. How could I sell him out when I was doing the same damn thing?"

Stella stared at Jason for a moment, taking in this new information. She had seen the cuts and bruises but had just assumed they were all Mike and Paul related. Knowing he was hurt when he arrived home didn't entirely help the situation but it did help her feel less guilty. "I didn't know he was hurt. I saw a few cuts on his face but figured they were just scrapes from something simple. I had no clue he had a head injury."

"He did, and he was definitely sore all over. Kid hides it well but you can't bullshit a bullshitter." Jason winked trying to make them both feel better. "I should have gone up with him. Any other time I would have but I was sore, tired and hungry. I just wanted to grab a bite to eat and get home."

Suddenly Stella knew exactly where Jason was going with this conversation. She wanted to tell him there was no way he could blame himself and she was about to until she realized he was making a point that she also couldn't blame herself. That the only people who could be blamed were Paul and Mike.

"He needs you Stella. He's gonna be laid up for a few weeks once he gets out of here and if he's anything like the rest of us he's gonna try to convince everyone he's fine and come back too soon. You gotta be there for him and keep your eye on him. Can you do that? Can you be there for him?"

Stella hesitantly shook her head yes. She felt a sense of responsibility but still wasn't sure how she was going to face Clay.

"Good, then let's go see our boy." Jason said as he stood up and they both walked to Clay's room.

About a week and a half later the doctors decided they wanted to start waking Clay up but they wanted to do it a little at a time. The doctors had successfully weaned him off of the ventilator a few days earlier. They then started slowly waking him up, enough for him to momentarily open his eyes but not quite enough for him to really realize where he was or what was going on.

Once his eyes were open everyone from Bravo plus Stella stood up from where they were seated. Clay's eyes slowly wondered around the room, stopping when they landed on Stella. Moments later his eyes closed and he fell back into unconsciousness.

"What's going on? Is he okay? Why is he out again?" Stella started to panic.

"Everything's fine. We still have him highly sedated. We will lessen the dosage every day until we get to the point where he will no longer need any sedation. It should only take a couple of days." The doctor informed everyone.

Once the doctor left the room everyone returned to their seats. They all spent their free time at the hospital with Clay.

It took almost four days for Clay to no longer need any sedation. Stella was constantly by his side. She no longer blamed herself to the point where she couldn't face him. She still felt a bit of guilt but also had a sense of responsibility that she needed to be there for him. Throughout this entire ordeal their relationship grew stronger and although it was a tough situation they both liked where things were going.

A few days later the doctors released Clay from the hospital under strict orders. "He's going to be quite sore for a few more weeks but we are very pleased with how everything is healing. I would like him to remain on bed rest for about a week. After next week, as long as things are still improving, we can put that ankle in a walking boot and get you up and moving around a bit. How's that sound?"

"Sounds like I'm ready for it to be next week." Clay joked anxiously. He was getting tired of being fussed over and laying around, but at the same time enjoyed the fact that Stella was the one doing most of the fussing.

During the ride home Clay kept trying to convince Stella to stop somewhere to grab a quick bite to eat. "Come on babe, just something quick. I'm gonna be cooped up for at least another week. One quick stop won't kill me." He pleaded, pulling out his best puppy dog look.

"I promised the doctors that I would take you straight home so that's what I'm going to do. I'll make you whatever you want when we get there."

Clay jokingly rolled his eyes and gave in. He knew she wasn't going to give in so he dropped the subject.

When they pulled up to his apartment Stella parked the car and ran over to get Clays door for him. Getting him into his apartment was a harder task than either of them anticipated but nonetheless they made it. As Clay opened the door he was surprised to see a big welcome home banner hanging on his wall and everyone from Bravo team and their support staff.

Clay was glad to see everyone and now understood the real reason Stella refused to stop anywhere on the way home. He turned to her, gave her a kiss and thanked her for planning this. Jason and Sonny then took Clay from Stella and helped him over to the reclining chair so he could relax. Davis had ordered enough pizza to feed a small army, which in a way she was, and everyone else had pitched in for the beer.

Clay sat back and observed his friends… No, his family… joking and carrying on in his apartment. He couldn't help but smile. Sure the welcome home party was because of shitty circumstances but he was ok with it. I'm a lucky man. I'm alive, I have the best job in the world with the greatest group of people I have ever met and the most beautiful girl by my side and as soon as I'm better I'm going to make sure they all know just how grateful I really am Clay thought as he snapped out of his head and back into the conversation that was going on around him. Things weren't perfect yet, but within a few weeks he had no doubt there would be.