SLEEP

"Olivia, it's a hospital, you can't run," Nina reminded me. I had already been warned twice – and yelled at once – after jumping out of the car while Nina was still driving. One could say I was a tad bit impatient.

"She's fine," Drew smiled. We were almost at her room. I was the first to walk in, but stopped suddenly when there was already a slim brunette woman sitting with Brianna. She looked up from the magazine she was reading and smiled.

"You must be Olivia," she said, extending her hand. "I'm Syd, I worked with Drew oversees."

"Right," I remembered Drew telling me about her once. "It's nice to meet you," I shook her hand.

"I've heard so much about you," she smiled. "I have a daughter about Brianna's age. I'm so happy I was able to come meet you both."

"Yeah, thanks for sitting with her," Drew mentioned, hugging his friend. I smiled and stood awkwardly to the side, stealing glances at my baby sister who was lying sound asleep in the hospital bed. Her breathing already sounded a lot better from the times I had visited her before.

"She's okay," Rick came up behind me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "She did great."

"She woke up briefly while you were gone, but she was still pretty out of it. Paul had the nurse give her some more medication and she fell back asleep quickly," Syd explained.

"Did she ask for us?" I worried. Syd shook her head.

"She was barely conscious, sweetie. She needs to rest in order to heal," she comforted. "I know this must be really scary for you."

"I've been through worse," I snapped, unintentionally. Watching my younger sister recover was nothing compared to watching my older sister die. Drew gave me a look telling me to cut the attitude, but Rick just squeezed my shoulder. Tonight was stressful for everyone.

"Why don't you try to get some sleep while we wait? I can't imagine the ground at the basketball court was very comfortable," Nina offered, pulling up a chair. Drew nodded and grabbed a blanket from the cabinet.

"We don't need two patients today," he commented, handing me the blanket. I really didn't want to fall asleep, but Nina was right. The small amount of sleep I had gotten wasn't high quality, and the adrenaline from it all was wearing off. It wasn't long before my body made the decision for me, and I was closing my eyes.

"Liv," someone nudged me. I groaned, stretching out, completely forgetting I was on a chair.

"Liv, there's someone who wants to talk to you," the woman nudged again. I opened my eyes and rubbed them. I looked over to see Bri wide awake in her bed, sitting and chatting with everyone in the room.

"Liv, I can breathe again!" She smiled, laughing. I joined her and walked over to the bed, giving her a big hug.

"You're freezing," she commented. I guess the blanket hadn't done much.

"Yeah, I kind of went on an adventure last night," I shrugged. She didn't need to know the details.

"How long have you been here? Did Liz or George drop you off?" Bri asked.

"No, Nina came to pick me up," I semi-lied. I didn't want Bri to think that Rick and Drew weren't here for her.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here when you went into surgery, Bri," Drew apologized, rubbing her leg from where he was sitting with Rick.

"I've already told you Drew, it's fine," she smiled. "My whole family is here now, that's what matters."

"That's right," Nina chuckled. "I'm going to go finish filling out some paperwork for you, Miss Olivia, and I will be back shortly. If all goes well, you'll be moving in with Drew and Rick by the end of the week."

"Are you serious?" I asked, shocked. The system never moved this quickly.

"Super serious," she winked. "Have a nice day, everyone. I'm glad you're feeling better, Brianna."

"Thank you so much, Nina," Bri smiled, giving her a hug. I could tell she was still sore, but she did a good job of hiding it.

"You did it, munchkin," I smiled, sitting on the bed while the adults all gathered at the door to talk. "You got your lung."

"Yeah," she sighed. "Have you seen the new house, yet?" She asked, changing the subject. I smiled.

"Of course," I chuckled. "Drew and Rick wanted to take me there to see it the last time I went to breakfast with them, but I told them I only wanted to see it with you. I guess if I'm moving in by the end of this week, that plan is going to be out the window, huh?"

"You deserve to be happy too, Livvy," Brianna reminded me, taking my hand. "We can both have a happy ending."

"I am happy," I smiled, wiping a tear out of my eye. "I'm very happy. We have a family again. There's nothing that could make me happier."

"Maybe a dog," Bri chuckled. My eyes widened.

"You don't know about the dog?" I questioned her.

"What dog?" She asked me, then turned to Drew and Rick. "Excuse me sirs, why did you not tell me you had a dog?" Drew rolled his eyes. I pulled out my phone and showed her a few pictures.

"Bri, meet Bear," I showed her the German Shepard. He was a trained police dog, and often worked with Rick, but he was also a big teddy bear. I had the pleasure of meeting him a few times.

"He's gorgeous," Bri gasped. "I'm even more excited now," she smiled.

"You need to recover, first," Drew interrupted. "You just had a major surgery. Take it easy."

"Bear will still be there when you recover," Rick smiled. It was smiles all around this morning.

"Well, I hate to break up the party, but I really need to sign my discharge papers and head home. Riley is with my Mom still," Syd sighed. "It was so nice meeting you two fine young ladies. I can already tell Drew and Rick are going to have their hands full."

"Are going to?" Drew teased. I nudged him.

"We're not that bad," I stuck my tongue out.

"No, you just run away and she takes advantage of my medical degree," he chuckled.

"Still, it could be worse," I mentioned. He shrugged.

"You're right," he agreed. "Syd, safe travels, and good luck in DC. I'll see you soon," he hugged his friend goodbye. I could tell this wasn't the last time we would be seeing her.

"Bye Syd!" Bri called to her.

"It was nice meeting you," I hugged her as well. She seemed to be one of the family. While Rick and Drew were preoccupied with walking Syd out the door, I hopped onto the bed with my sister.

"You're not supposed to do that," she whispered to me. I squeezed her hand, surprised to see up close how many tubes she was hooked up to.

"Shut up, or you'll get us both in trouble," I whispered back to her, smirking.

"I thought you said you weren't any trouble?" Rick chuckled once he turned back around. Drew had left with Syd for the time being.

"We're tired," Bri whined. I nodded along.

"Fine, but I'm not the one who gave you permission to be up there," he pointed at me and sat down in the chair.

"If we're all sleeping by the time he comes back he can't say no," I pointed out. Rick just shook his head and sat back down in his chair. I wasn't sure if he was going for it or not, but then I saw him wink and close his eyes. Brianna and I laughed for a second and did the same, faking slumber.

It wasn't long until I was out for real.