The hours passed, and then the days, and Street still didn't regain consciousness.
The Swat members had to resume their job and their lives, but keeping their heads in the game was not so easy.
The thought of their friend unconscious in that hospital bed was always stacked in their minds, whatever they did.
The thought of him waking up alone made them feel uncomfortable.
They had to be with him, so they rearranged their life to make turns, so one member of his now large family could always be there, included Annie and some of Chris' cousins, there for covering for the Swat members when they were in action.
Even Munford and Rocker volunteered for watching on him when they were not on shift.
Grace herself had to start her new job, finally behaving like an adult, and starting a new promising life.
She also kept thinking about Street, visiting his hospital room whenever she could, showing him how grateful she was for having him in her life, and how strong she became, only thank to him.
The first week passed like that, with the family doing the impossible to be with him, even if he probably wasn't aware of what was happening around him, but Street still couldn't decide to wake up.
Then the second week was almost over, and the new routine was kind of the normal now.
They had the work, they had the family, and then they had to visit their friend at the hospital.
But all that couldn't really become the new normal.
The Swat family started to become impatient as the worry for their friend was consuming them.
Street had to wake up soon, for everyone's sake.
...
"Oh, come on! Wake up!" Chris tried to shake her unconscious friend with the loud sound of her voice.
"We can't wait for you forever!"
"Yelling at him will not make him open his eyes sooner..." Luca said, getting in, ready to relive his colleague in the guardian duty.
"Well, it was worth a try..." Chris tried to dissimulate her discouraged state.
"He is taking his sweet time, he had to know it's becoming too much time..."
She turned to Street again. "We can't continue to do your job, we need the sixth member of our team back, and we need it soon."
'Oh, come on!' she thought, not having the hoped response.
'I beg you, wake up! I can't stand this anymore...'
"Yeah..." Luca shook his head, chuckling, "No, I mean he never does what he's told to, you know," he glanced at his motionless friend.
"He is always having his own way, think about that, there's no chance he would do something just because you order him to, right?"
"Yeah," she slightly laughed, looking back at him, "He tends to do that..." she confirmed, turning to Street again to not let Luca see the little tear that was about to escape from her eye.
"Okay, my turn now, you should go take a nap, you look exhausted."
"Just one more minute..." she sighed, reluctantly getting up from the armchair she placed right next to Street's bed.
"Come on," she whispered to him, "I know you can do this, came back to us."
She hesitated another moment, then she made a couple of steps toward the door.
"You will page me if something change, right?" She looked Luca straight, making clear she didn't want to leave.
"Of course I will." Luca gave her another of his big smiles.
"And now go." he escorted her to the door.
"He will wake up soon, I can bet it. We just have to be a little more patient."
"Just a little, uh? Hope you're right..." she gave Street a last long look before finally getting out the room.
Luca watched her go, then he settled in, starting staring at the monitors.
"Can you feel how worried she is? How worried all of us are? Come on, we are waiting for you, little brother."
...
The days and the nights continued to repeat one like the other, and one after another, seeming fast and never-ending at the same time, without the minimum change in Street's conditions.
The 16th night was passing slowly, with Hondo distantly looking at his cell phone's screen, when a strange beeping drew his attention.
'What the hell is going on now?' He thought, alarmed, looking the monitors.
'Come on, what's that?' He asked himself, getting more and more anxious, trying to understand why the beeping became that irregular.
His concern grew more and more, till his glance dropped on Street's face.
His eyes were wide open, fixating his boss with a really confused look.
"Hey," Hondo said, relieved. "You're awake." He pushed the call button to make sure a doctor could quickly come and check on his friend.
'Thank God!' He thought, extremely grateful.
"What..." Street tried to talk, but his voice was stopped by the oxygen mask.
"It's okay, you're safe, you're at the hospital." Hondo reassured him.
Street closed his eyes back for a good moment.
"How..." He concentrated and took the mask off, "How long... have I... been... here...?"
"More than two weeks," Hondo said, forcing the young cop to put the oxygen mask back on his face.
"Mmm," Street objected, making the monitor beeping faster. "... let me... please..."
"Okay, okay, I think you can have it off for a little while." Hondo removed the thing from his friend's face before his heartbeat fastening could make the monitor explode.
'Wait... My mom? Grace? Chris... everyone...' Street thought, suddenly remembering all that happened when he got wounded.
"How's... how's everyone?" he said, not thinking even for a second to ask about his own conditions.
"No one was hurt, don't worry." Hondo gently made him still, preventing him to pull out his stitches in his stomach.
"And that's also thank to you."
"Every...one... everyone is okay... then?" He kept striving his voice out, meanwhile trying to force himself to calm down.
"Everyone is perfectly fine, we were all just worried for you." Hondo said, watching him straight in the eyes, and keeping his both hands on his friend's shoulders.
"S-sorry." He heavily abandoned his head on the pillow.
"Hey, no need to be..." Hondo felt he could let him go, so he did, and sat back on armchair. "Not this time at least." He reassured him.
"But you know, you have to hurry back home, or Luca will definitely take posses of it."
"Ow..." Street took a hand to his stomach. "Don't make me laugh... please."
Seeing his friend suffering like that, Hondo had to force himself to not stop smiling at him. He knew he couldn't let him understand how concerned he really was about his physical state.
At that moment the doctor got in, and started checking on his patient.
"I'll be outside," Hondo reassured Street, getting out.
"I have to make some calls, there is more than someone who will be very excited to know the news on your awaking."
...
After Hondo ended all the calls he needed to make, he stood by the door, waiting for the doctor to finish his examination.
"So? How is he doing?" He said entering the room again, as the doctor gave him permission to come back in.
"The wounds are healing pretty well," the doctor answered, looking alternately at the two men. "His body is slowly, but regularly regaining its normal functions, and he will have his strengths back soon, I hope."
"You hope?" Hondo's tone let out his renewed concern. "What does that mean? You hope..."
"This..." Street cleared his throat, changing the subject, "This means I, I am good to go... go home?"
"This means you'll be here for at least two more weeks," the doctor said, putting the oxygen mask back on his patient's face.
"And on bed rest for even more... along with no solid food for a while." the doctor looked at him serious.
"So... I am not... going home... very soon... uh?" Street sighed, helpless, trying to control a the wave of pain that just came to him.
"Sorry, your body went through a lot in the past couple of months, this time I'm not taking it easy on you."
"Thanks," Hondo jumped into the conversation, wanting his young colleague to fully recover this time, before putting him back in the action. "That make two of us, then."
"Perfect," the doctor smiled at his patient's boss.
"Can I..." Street temporarily removed the mask again, "Can I at least... have some jelly? Please..." he closed his eyes, trying to mask another wave of pain that was hitting him.
"The red one is my fave..." he forced himself to act normal beside how he was suffering.
"Maybe later, we'll see. You need to rest now," the doctor looked straight at him, then straight at Hondo, as to make sure he won't keep him awake too long after he had left the two of them alone in the room.
"If you need more painkillers, here's the button, understood?" he put the thing in Street's right hand.
"Thank you..." Street nodded, laboriously swallowing, and immediately pressing the button.
"I'll leave him to you then," the doctor turned to Hondo, with a very serious tone, "Don't let him get tired, he needs to sleep."
"Count on me, he knows too well he has to obey my orders." Hondo nodded to him as the doctor got out of the room.
"You heard that?" Hondo turned to Street. "Get some sleep, you will need to be well rested when the rest of the crew comes to visit."
"Yeah..." Street whispered, as the painkillers started to work.
"My family is coming here..." he softly drifted away again.
Hondo smiled, observing him falling asleep, proud that he finally called them his family.
...
"So, the doctor said he will be good, right? Like he won't have any long term consequence?" Luca's voice reached Street in his drowsiness.
"Yeah, man," Street now recognized Hondo's voice.
"It will take a while, but he will be as good as new."
"Physically maybe, but mentally?" Chris added, giving a voice to everyone's concern.
"You really think he will put all this aside, and come back to work as nothing happened?"
"She's right," Luca added, "I saw how he was when he left the hospital the last time, and..."
Street listened to all those talking, without however having the strengths to open his eyes, and talk back.
"I feel you guys, and it won't be easy for him, no doubt," Hondo said, "But he is strong, he well demonstrated that, and I have a good feeling. We have to believe in him."
'Believe in me?' Street thought, starting to take back control on his mind.
"Of course we do." Chris said, still worried for her friend's state.
"It's just... I don't know how to help him now."
"You just be there," Deacon said, "Even if he says he doesn't need us, be there for him anyway. That's how we'll do that."
'They believe in me...' Street started emerging from his sleep. 'And they are choosing to be with me...'
"Wait, guys," Tan interrupted his teammates, "I think he's awakening."
The Swat family stopped talking immediately, and assembled around Street's bed.
When he finally opened his eyes, Street found all his teammates there, silently observing him.
"Hey..." he whispered, looking at all those still concerned faces. "Why are you all staring at me? Do I have something on my face?" He tried to joke around, but still maintaining a straight tone.
"No," Chris slightly chuckled, "You always have the usual stupid expression." She said, shaking her head with a giant smile on her face, and making all the others laugh.
"Yeah," Street started vaguely laughing too.
"Ouch..." he then started coughing, feeling like he was stabbed in his stomach, again and again.
All his friends instantaneously jumped toward him, concerned by his whines.
"Hey, slow down... slow down." Hondo immediately intervened.
"What do you need?" Luca jumped in, whiteout thinking a single second. "Some water?"
"No. I'm..." Street laboriously swallowed, "I'm fine..."
"You sure?" Tan asked, still worried.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Chris hurried to apologize, approaching his bed, and trying to help him in some way.
"No..." Street was holding his breath.
"I'm, I'm good..." he gradually took a deep breath now, "I'm good, thanks." He nodded to her, feeling all his teammate's looks on him.
Deacon and Hondo exchanged a worried look, then they turned their attention back on the young member of their squad.
Street closed his eyes for a moment, succeeding in restoring his cool.
"Seriously guys?" He said reopening his eyes, finding all his friend's once again alarmed expressions in front of him.
"I'm fine, you don't have to worry anymore."
"We will always worry about you!" Deacon said, "You are a real troublemaker, and you know that, right?"
"Yeah, I, um, I'm sorry..." he didn't know what to say more than that.
"Hey, bud," Luca changed the subject, trying to make the tensed atmosphere go away, "I can't wait to have you back home..."
"You mean to his home, right?" Tan interrupted him, rearing from all a good smile.
"Yeah, yeah..." Luca cut him short, "And since I heard you can't still eat solid yet," He turned back to Street, "that's the perfect excuse to make you my famous chicken soup, it's, it's delicious you will see."
"Since when you can cook?" Deacon raised his eyebrow.
"Don't want to disappoint you, but... uhm..." Street tried to hide his own discomfort remembering himself he was not going to go home very soon.
"Hey, you don't trust me?" Luca interrupted him before he could finish the sentence.
"Don't run Luca," Hondo intervened, noticing Street uneasy expression.
"Yeah, what the hell do you have in your mind?" Chris added, "Don't you understand he won't be able to leave the hospital still for a while?"
"Oh, yeah, I didn't considered that, I'm sorry man..."
"It's okay..." Street nervously smiled to him.
"I... um..." he started babbling like a child that can't repeat his lesson straight.
"I really need to, to thank you," he felt like if he didn't say it now, he would not say it at all.
"You all..." he forced himself to look every one of his friend in the eyes, "You all being here for me... all this time... I..."
"Hey," Chris hurried back, putting her hand on his shoulder. "It's what family does! Right guys?" She turned to the others, waiting for approval.
"Yeah, you can say it," Luca immediately added.
"I'm ready to be part of it now... I want to..." Street muttered, a little embarrassed by the open heart conversation in front of everyone.
"What are you saying? You already are." Luca severally said, kindly punching him on the shoulder.
"I'm ready to do my part, I need to start doing my part..."
"Hey, you already started!" Hondo intervened. "And you did it even when no one expected you to. You were brave in there, we all notice that."
All the squad members nodded at him, smiling and with proud looks on their faces.
"I'm ready to come back now."
They all looked at him puzzled, glancing at the IV's, the monitors, and all the other things he was attached to.
"I mean, not now, I'm clearly not that ready, but..." he tried to explain himself.
"I feel ready to jump back on the horse." He said in one breath. "I really am now."
"I'm sure you will be soon," Hondo said, with his most reassuring tone, "But in the meantime, let us take care of you, alright?"
They all couldn't stop smiling at him, relieved he could finally let them be a part of his life, and glad he was going to be a part of theirs for a long, long time.
.
Author's note: This is the end!
After this, Street will completely recover, and will go back to work.
The swat family will be united as it never was, and they will continue to catch bad guys even better that they've ever done.
Grace will be a constant part of Street life, consolidating their brother-sister relationship, and continuing to grow together.
Thank you all for reading and reviewing my story.
I sincerely hope you enjoyed and appreciated it.
See you next time.