Ethan was the third person to see Kristina after she came out of surgery. He should know, he counted every minute from when Steven Webber came out to brief the family until he took his rightful place in the uncomfortable green plastic chair stationed by her bedside. Alexis had been the first to go in, taking exactly eighteen minutes to visit with her daughter. Sonny had been there for another twelve after that. Never had a half-hour seemed so long to Ethan, so agonizingly slow to pass by as he waited just to see for himself that she was okay. When it was finally his turn to go in, Ethan nearly ran over a nameless nurse on his way to her room. Now that he was here and had been there for going on seven minutes, he just wanted to relish the blessed sound of Kristina breathing on her own. The surgery had been successful.
Dr. Webber had warned the family that it would be a few hours before Kristina would regain consciousness, and only then would they be able to make further diagnosis. There was still concern about some internal bleeding in her abdomen as well as a small part of her brain that had swollen slightly since the accident. Kristina's family had been very quiet as Steve and Matt explained what they knew, what they needed to know and how all of that impacted their patient. Ethan hadn't really heard much of it. He had only focused on watching Alexis and her reaction. He knew that he would see everything he needed to see in the mother's eyes.
"Hey, Krissy, it's me again," he said softly. "You should see how many people are out there waiting to see how you're doing. Did you ever think your dad could be in the same room as Johnny again without killing him?" Ethan smirked for a moment as he thought about the bitter rivals planted in the same waiting room because of one certain brunette. "We have so much to talk about, but I can't think of a thing to say except one. And I kind of think it'd be better if you were awake to hear me say it for the first time…"
His voice trailed off as he covered his face with his hands. He was tired, more exhausted than he had been in awhile, and he just wanted to crawl into the bed next to her and sleep until they were both ready to wake up. "Part of me, just this tiny piece, doesn't want you to wake up because I don't want you to have to see yourself like this. Even now, I still think you are absolutely gorgeous, the kind of woman sent to earth just to take a man's breath away. But I know you. You won't see the perfection that I see. You'll just see the bruises and the cuts and the swelling and you'll remember." He was quiet for a moment as he reached for her hand. "You'll remember all the bad that came before the good, and I wish more than anything I could make it so that you'd never have to remember that again."
The fact of the matter was that this accident was just another hard thing that Kristina was going to have to endure. Her young life had been hard. She had nearly died as a baby, only to be saved when her own niece couldn't survive. She had been kidnapped by a psychopath mob princess and held hostage for weeks on end. She had survived being beaten by the boy she thought she loved. She had lived through a car explosion set into motion by her own father. She'd made it through a bus crash that left her with hypothermia and without one of her closest friends. She had done all that in her short eighteen years on the planet, and Ethan was damned if he was going to watch as a senseless car accident got the best of her.
He looked up at the observation window and saw Sam dawdling around in the hall. He had already been in there for fifteen minutes, and he knew that there were scores of other people waiting to see her. No one was allowed in to see Brook yet, so that made Kristina's visitors even more numerous. As selfish as he wanted to be, he needed to be equally selfless right now and let others have their time with her. Pressing one last kiss to her forehead, he whispered a promise that he would return and let himself quietly out of Kristina's room.
"Sorry I took so long," he apologized to Sam once the door had clicked shut. Sam waved her hand dismissively. "I just didn't want to leave, you know?"
Sam nodded knowingly. "I've been there in the past with Jason," she lamented. "You want to take all the time you can with them because you think you deserve it, but you know that there are other people out there waiting who love them just as much. And the part that sucks sometimes is that you know that as much as they love you, they love those other people too. They'd want them there."
"Let me guess," Ethan smiled. "Them for you is named Carly, and them is quite loud and demanding when anyone tries to stand in the way of her seeing her best friend."
"Something like that," Sam acknowledged before shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other. Ethan had seen firsthand the power his cousin had on Sam's boyfriend. He knew that it couldn't be easy to see a dynamic like that be shared with anyone when it came to the person that you loved. He wondered for a moment if that was how Maya felt all those weeks ago after the limo explosion when he had been so focused on Kristina. Shrugging it off, he stepped to the side and bid Sam a farewell before heading back toward the waiting room.
Tracey was waiting alone in the corner when he came back to where the families were still gathered. "How is she?" she asked softly before taking a long sip of her hot tea. How anyone had managed to track down a china tea cup at a hospital was beyond him, but even amidst tragedy, Tracey demanded nothing but the best. With sizable diamonds glittering in her ears and an even more substantial ring shining prominently on her left hand, she was every bit the lady of class one would expect her to be.
"Pretty much the same, only breathing on her own," he said softly before leaning back in his chair. Tracey set her cup on the table beside her and reached uncharacteristically beside her to comfort her youngest stepson. Ethan relaxed under her hand on his shoulder. He had been missing his parents, the ones who had raised him all day. It wasn't that Luke wasn't great most of the time. He just didn't really know what to do under these kinds of circumstances. His parents had always been really great at this kind of stuff. Having Tracey there, however unconventional she was most of the time, actually helped. Catching her eye, he nodded slightly and smiled appreciatively. "Thanks…how's Brook?"
"Not much change, not really all that well," she admitted. Tracey played with her wedding ring, twisting it around on her finger absently. "My granddaughter, my only grandchild, is laying in that hospital bed, and there isn't anything I can do about it. We don't even get along most days, but Brook knows how much I love her. I admire her, Ethan, she's so strong. The truth is that she is one of my favorite people, one of the few that I admire outside my father. "
Brook Lynn could be difficult, Ethan knew that, but he also knew how much the two women adored each other. "The two of you might fight like cats and dogs, but I think it's just because you're so much alike. You've both been through a lot but have come out stronger because of it. You are also both fiercely loyal to your family and won't give up without a fight."
Just a few feet away, Nikolas was praying that Brook had that same mentality in whatever metaphysical state she was in right now. Robin and Patrick had briefed them twice since Brook's panel of tests had been completed, but neither of them were able to give any real definite news. They had indicated that there didn't appear to be any brain damage and that her body was still reacting to all the reflex tests as they should. That was a good sign that there wouldn't be any paralysis. Their main concern continued to focus on her throat and vocal chords. Apparently, the shards of glass had done extensive damage. Everyone knew what that could mean, but the last thing they wanted to do was say it out loud.
"I'm going to go back and sit with her for awhile," Nikolas told Tracey as he walked by. Sonny had just come from visiting with her, making the loop after being in with Kristina. The doctors were still adhering to their strict one-visitor-at-a-time policy. "Just come back if you want time with her."
"Thanks, Nikolas," Tracey said softly, patting his hand as he passed by. The two had come to a temporary truce for the time being. Without Ned and Lois in town, these were the two people responsible for her well-being. As much as it killed Tracey to have to compromise, she knew how much the Cassadine prince meant to her granddaughter. If ever it was worth it to bite her tongue, she figured now would be the time.
Robin was checking her vital signs when Nikolas came in. He watched his old friend work from the doorway for a few minutes before coming in. He bent over the bed and kissed Brook's cheek before looking back at the doctor. "How's she doing, Robin? I mean, really?"
She paused from making a notation on the chart. Questions like that always felt like a trap. The family usually wanted to know both the truth and not know the truth at the same time. However, Nikolas was one of her oldest friends, and she couldn't lie to him, not about this. "She is stable, which is good. Patrick is pretty sure that she isn't going to be paralyzed or have any long-term nerve damage. All of her brain activity looks so far, and Monica seemed pleased with all the tests we ran on her heart," Robin explained. "But…you know that the laceration to her throat went pretty deep. The cut is much deeper than we would like to see, particularly for that area. There is some damage there, but until she is conscious and attempting to talk, we won't know just how extensive that is."
"If she can't sing…" Nikolas let the thought drop. Thinking that way wouldn't do Brook any good. She believed in the power of positive thought, and even if Nikolas didn't always get the new age way of thinking, he believed in the power of Brook Lynn Ashton. "I need you to find me the best specialist in the field, Robin. I don't care how much I have to pay, what we have to do. I want them here waiting on standby."
"I've already started to call in some favors for recommendations," she grinned, knowing her friend all too well. He would get Brook Lynn the best care that very ample money could buy. "There is someone in Paris that I worked with while I was there that will probably be able to give me some great feedback. I promise that we will get Brook the best care possible. In the mean time, why don't you talk to her some more? I'm pretty sure she knows you're here."
Nikolas wasn't so sure about that either, but he was happy to sit by her side once Robin left them alone. Ignoring the slice across her throat, he stared instead at her soft curls and closed eyes. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he slid his fingers across the screen gracefully for a few seconds until one of her favorite songs came pouring out of its tiny speakers. Music filled her small hospital room, setting a mood that Brook wasn't present enough to enjoy. This was one of the first songs they had ever danced to and the absolute first one she had put on his phone when she had downloaded a dozen playlists for his listening enjoyment.
"Alright, Songbird, we're just going to listen to the music because I don't really know what else I can do for you right now," Nikolas confessed. Feeling powerless was hard to admit for a prince. "The only other thing I can do is remind you that I love you and my son loves you and we're both here waiting for you to wake up and come home to us."