Chapter 12: Never Can Say Goodbye

Beep…Beep…Beep.

Vincent's mind was trying to wrap itself around that sound. What is that? Vincent thought. Everything was dark and but he felt someone holding his hand, he thought about Catherine seeing her dead immediately he got sad and he whispered her name seeing her face in his mind he didn't want to open his eyes. Knowing he couldn't see her face again he rather stay asleep and never wake again. How could he go on living without her? Who would have thought this young girl he saved years ago would impact his life so much.

"Vincent" he heard her voice Catherine's voice? That can't be possible he thought.

He slowly opened his eyes, the light in the room was extremely bright so he continued to open and close them until they adjusted. He saw a silhouette first, and then as his vision started to clear up he saw her face staring down at him.

"Catherine?" Vincent says in disbelief.

"Vincent you're awake, finally," she says as she squeezes his hand and kisses his forehead.

Vincent immediately sits up "Catherine," he says again and grabs her in an embrace. Pain shoots through his head and his muscles felt really weak but he didn't care he squeezed Catherine close to him tightly kissing her on her head breathing in her scent. Tears ran down his face he couldn't hold back how happy he was to see her alive. When he pulls away he looks at her and placed his hand on the middle of her chest where she had been shot the last time he saw her.

"Vincent are you okay why are you crying?" Catherine asks wiping away his tears. She had never seen Vincent cry before it was a new experience for her.

"Catherine, how are you alive? I thought I lost you yesterday what happened?" Vincent asks.

Catherine frowns confused "No Vincent you didn't lose me, I've been here for days waiting for you to wake up and return to me," she says placing a hand on his cheek.

"But you got shot, I saw it they told me you died," Vincent says confused as well.

"Vincent you must have been dreaming, you are in the hospital you have been here a week. You were in a coma"

Vincent put his hand on his temple as pain shoots through his head again.

"Are you ok?" Catherine asks with concern.

"My head is hurting but I am fine. How did I end up in a coma?" asks as he slowly lays back down.

"Do you remember hitting your head when you got into that altercation with Gabe at that bar?" Catherine asks him.

Vincent thought about it, trying to play out the whole scene in his head, and started to remember when Gabe had attacked him he tossed Vincent over the bar. Vincent does remember hitting his head but he was fine after that why did it take so long for him to end up in a coma he wondered. Then he thought about it, it was because he was a beast. He was a beast again, after not being a beast for a week he actually missed it and was sort of glad to be one again.

"Yes I remember hitting my head, I guess I didn't realize how hard I hit it," Vincent says looking at Catherine. He could tell she had been worried about him. She looked like she hadn't had much sleep in days. She still looked beautiful to him even more beautiful than he ever thought imaginable. He smiled staring at her he missed her.

She smiled back at him. "I missed you too," she said reading his mind. Vincent tuned out all the noise around them as he listened to her heart for the first time in days steady and therapeutic.

"How is JT?" Vincent asks remembering where he left off in this life.

"He is great actually, he got out of the hospital a couple of days ago. Tess has been taking good care of him" Catherine says smiling.

Vincent sighs happily his best friend has someone in his life and even better he doesn't have to hide a part of his life from her. Tess was just want the doctor ordered for JT even if they were total opposites they somehow completed each other too.

"I probably should call JT he has been worried about you," Catherine says as she reached for her phone in her pocket. "JT he is awake," Catherine says into the phone when JT answers. She smiled at Vincent as she listens to JT's reaction. She puts the phone on speaker.

"Dude you can't just disappear on me like that" JT says

Vincent laughs "I am sorry JT it will never happen again. Glad hear you are doing better buddy"

"Yes my girl is the best" JT boosts "sometimes I have to pinch myself to see if I am dreaming"

"Awe!" Catherine coos and Tess both say at the same time, she was in the background listening to JT boost about her.

"Women" JT and Vincent both respond at the same time. They all had a laugh.

Just then Vincent's doctor comes walking into the room. Catherine hangs up the phone with JT and Tess who promise to come by to see Vincent later today.

"Mr. Keller good to see you have awakened how are you feeling?" the woman doctor asks Vincent as she picks up his chart.

"My head hurts but other than that I am fine," Vincent says

She walked over to Vincent to check his eyes and his heart rate.

"That is to be expected at least for a couple of days you experienced extensive head trauma but your body did fine healing on its own. We will do one more CT scan and an MRI on your brain to make sure you are in the clear and you should be able to go home probably in a few days."

"Vincent smiled thank you, doctor," he says smiling at the news.

She then checked Vincent's flexibility and evaluated how bad his muscle loss is since he was in a coma he was definitely weaker than he was before. Even when Vincent stood up on his legs they felt weak he was just glad he could still walk cause if he couldn't they would have to keep him longer and that he didn't want.

"I've given you more medicine for the pain," she says as she switched his IV bag and then removed the tubs in his nose. "I'll send a nurse down in a little while to give you your CT scan and schedule for a physical therapist to work on getting your strength back," she says as she signs off on his chart and leaves to tend to other patients.

Vincent looked over at Catherine who was staring at her hands deep in thought.

"Catherine you ok?" he asks smiling at his beauty.

"Yes I was just thinking"

"About?" he gave her a worried look

She sighed "Vincent you scared me that day I realized you were in a coma. I thought you were dead. Here I was lying next to you that morning after we had that hot passionate night together" smiled remembering and then became serious as she continued "and I tried to wake you by kissing your face at first I just thought we were in a deep sleep so I called out your name and shook you and you didn't move. Started to panic trying to figure out what was going on with you. I checked your pulse and you still had one so I calmed down and called JT but since he was still at the hospital himself I had no choice be to call the paramedics."

"I'm sorry Catherine I never want you to ever have to feel that way again," Vincent says hearing how her heart raced as she retold the story he could feel her fear as he thought of his own fear when he thought he has lost her as well. Since Vincent come back he keep hearing something different in Catherine's heartbeat it really low barely audible like a really fast humming sound. He studied her as she continued to talk could it be a heart murmur he thought.

"It's ok you didn't know, we both went up against Gabe and finally took him down never suspecting that you hit your head as hard as you did. I am just glad you are ok Vincent"

"Me too because I had the weirdest coma dream which is weird because in med school I learned people in comas don't dream but I remember everything"

Catherine frowned "I didn't know that I assumed they did dream, I mean that's how it is in the movies so I assumed it would be like that in real life"

"A lot of people think that" he sighed.

"So what happened," she asked as she climbed on the bed and lay next to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and listened to him talk about his dream.

Vincent started with how he first woke up next to Alex, Catherine frowned even though she knew she was his the idea of Vincent with Alex still made her feel some type of way. He told her about realizing he had a son. It slightly made him sad to realize Ryan was all a dream he knew he would have made a great dad, with beast DNA he knew in this life he was not likely which was very unfortunate. He told her about how confused he was and how JT reacted to his story. He even told her about when he first saw her how she didn't remember him and how she almost shot him when he came through her fire escape. Catherine smiled at that one. He told her about how different Catherine was in his dream how she was detached from her family had a chip on her shoulder and was vengeful. He then told her about their all-day date from Coney Island and them dancing on a boat restaurant. Catherine smiled listening to what would have been a perfect date for her and Vincent for real. He told her about when she found out he was married to Alex and how she did that flip move on him they both had a laugh about that. Vincent told her everything even about them making love for the first time which made her blush and smile at the same time. Her mind even wandered there for a sec thinking about their last encounter before he went into a coma he really was the best lover she ever had. He told her about what Alex had done how she kidnapped her gave him an ultimatum and then took off with Ryan. He told her how he found her dead and that was the reason for his tears when he woke up.

She grabbed his hand "I can't believe you dream all of that in a week, what is so surprising to me is that you dreamed you had a son and with Alex of all people. You sure you don't have some suppressed feelings for her" she joked.

He chuckled after what he had been through with the whole Alex situation in real life and dream that was a definite NO. "No Catherine you are the only one for me" he smiled as he pulled her toward him for a kiss. He passionately kissed her letting her know he wasn't going anywhere and she returned the kiss the same way as soon as they pulled away in walked JT and Tess.

"Ewww they're kissing again" Tess teased Vincent and Cat as she walked in giving Vincent a hug.

JT came walking in looking good as new he was still slightly sore from his injuries but could get around fine. With Tess's support, JT felt and looked like a new man Vincent could definitely tell he was happy.

The foursome sat around enjoying each other's company as Vincent told the story again about what he dreamed while in the coma. They all thought the story was somewhat funny except for the ending of course. Catherine being killed in the end didn't sit right with any of them yet they told themselves it was just a dream and that she is fine.

Catherine left when Tess and JT did she really needed to go home she hadn't been home in days. She was always at the hospital with Vincent and now that she knows he was alright she felt she could finally go home and get some real rest. Although she would do anything for Vincent sleeping in the hospital chair was doing a number on her body. Vincent told her it was ok if she went home he could tell how tired she was and he really wanted to go with her. He wanted to watch over her and make sure she was safe. Even though it was just a dream the thought of her dying and he not being able to save her was constantly running through his mind.

Vincent spend the rest of the evening watching TV, he was constantly flexing his arms legs, and fingers to get the weak feeling out of his body. He even went to the restroom a few times to just get his legs back in the groove of walking he didn't want to stay in here any longer than he needed to. After he finished eating his dinner a cheeseburger and fries which wasn't that bad for hospital food nurses came down and got him for CT scans and after that an MRI. Vincent was glad they finally came because while he sat there watching TV he made up his mind that he wasn't staying. After the doctor goes over his x-rays he was going to leave. As a doctor himself he knew he was ok and could leave if his x-rays checked out fine. He couldn't stand being away from Catherine any longer.

It was near nine when the doctor finally came in to show him the x-ray. He smiled once he looked at the pictures everything was fine. His doctor knew Vincent was a doctor so she could tell he knew before she explained everything. He asked her if he could leave and she told him that it wasn't a good idea yet, she wanted him to be visited by a physical therapist first so they can help him learn to get his strength back but Vincent wasn't having it. Soon as the doctor left out the room he grabbed his bag and clothes Catherine left for him and took a shower then got dressed and left. He left just as visiting hours were over so the nurses were barely paying attention they assumed he was a visitor leaving.

Vincent blur run his way through New York to Catherine's apartment, he could feel the strength in his legs returning as he ran faster and faster. He felt like his old self again which made him smile. He got to her fire escape and looked into her window expecting her to be in bed but she wasn't. He listened and realized she was in the bathtub. He tried to lift her window up but she had it locked. He had also heard Heather walking around in the kitchen so he walked around and came to the balcony doors. Heather was sitting on the couch in her PJs and robe engrossed in a movie when he tapped on the balcony door. Heather jumped and then smiled when she saw Vincent.

"Hey!"She says as she opens the door for him and gives him a hug. "I am so glad you are ok you almost gave Cat a heart attack. Aren't you supposed to still be at the hospital?"

"Yea but I couldn't stay there any longer. What are you watching?" he asks changing the subject.

"This really good movie on lifetime, it's a mystery movie," she says as she sits back in her spot on the couch. "Cats in the bathtub, by the way, she said her muscles were aching. Do you want me to get her?"

"No that's ok I'll wait for her to come out let her relax some" Vincent says as he takes a seat next to Heather. It wasn't long before he was also engrossed in the movie too. The main character in the movie was trying to find out who murdered her best friend. It had them both trying to figure out who it was so many people seemed guilty. Vincent not a fan of Lifetime had to give this movie props it was pretty good.

Vincent could hear Catherine's phone ringing in the distance and that's when he realized he was supposed to be here to see her. He listened to her conversation and realized she was talking to someone from the hospital. They had called to tell her he left and that they recommend he come back and at least get evaluated again in a few days. Vincent immediately got up and walked to Catherine's room he walked in just as she hung up the phone.

"Vincent," she says when she turned to see him walking in and closing the door behind him. Catherine was standing wrapped in a towel which made Vincent's mind have a flashback of his dream when he had come into the room she was on a towel just like before. The thought of her on top of him and how he felt inside her made him quiver. He shook the image out of his head trying not to get aroused.

"Vincent, what are you doing here? You should be at the hospital" she says worriedly

"I am ok I couldn't stay there anymore, I wanted to be here with you to make sure you are ok," he says.

"Vincent I am fine you should be laying down and getting rest to make sure your head is fine," she says as she grabs her lotion from her vanity. Vincent walks over and takes the lotion from her hands.

"Here let me do that, Heather told me you said your muscles were aching let me massage that pain away for you" she smiled slightly and sat down on the bed.

Vincent sat at the end of the bed he started with her feet first resting her feet on his lap and massaging them. She lay back with her eyes close relaxing and loving the feeling of Vincent massaging her feet. Vincent's hands started to not feel as weak as he massaged his way up my legs and first her calves and then her thighs. It was hard for Vincent to not get aroused as he massaged her thighs although her towel covered her when he would run his hand along her upper thigh the towel rise slightly showing her toned firm behind. Vincent bit down on his lip just thinking about grabbing it and squeezing it in his hand. Vincent listened as her heartbeat went up slightly he could tell she is definitely sensitive to his touch in her inner thighs.

He finally told her to turn over so he could give her back the attention it needed. She pulled her towel down to her lower back keeping her lower half still covered he worked his hands a crossed her back. Catherine lay with her eyes closed enjoying her massage too much it felt so good she was starting to drift off to sleep. Her body definitely needed this massage she smiled thinking how lucky she is to have a guy like Vincent he left the hospital just to take care of her. She definitely was going to have to find a way to make it up to him. She tried to think of something she could do for him but the lavender lotion and Vincent's firm hands massaging her aching muscles soon had her asleep.

Vincent could tell Catherine was asleep by her slowed-down heart rate and soft breathing. He continued massaging her back any way he was wide awake and didn't mind. Again he kept hearing this soft barely audible sound coming from her. It was like an extra sound in her heartbeat when he had the chance he was going to drop by JT's and get his stethoscope to make sure she was ok and didn't have some kind of heart problem. Once she was in a deep sleep he stopped and covered her up in the blanket on her bed. He took off his shoes and pants and then climbed onto the bed next to her. He watched her sleep breathing in the lavender lotion he put all over her body. His head started to hurt again a mild migraine in the front of his head. He closed his eyes fighting off the pain he pulled Catherine closer to him burying his face near her neck. He drifted off to sleep happy he was with the love of his life.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaddddddddddddddd!" Vincent heard Ryan's voice screaming.

AN: Hope you still enjoying my story I reread my story all the time wondering what you guys see in it. Some days I read it and say ugh I don't like it then other days I say yea this story is good. I guess I am my own worse critic. Anyways that extra sound Vincent hears what you think it is? hmm, what is that sound? (wicked laugh) Keep reading... REVIEW REVIEW Please!