I know I know I seem to be lagging – but no worries I'm trying to get the chapters up when I can! There's only 3 more left after this one! And I'm really glad y'all are enjoying it so much! Thanx for the support!

~Maxine

Chapter 37 – The Waiting Game

Aqua eyes stared at the large 6'3 265lb Samoan in the hospital bed. She hadn't left his side since he'd been admitted 5 hours prior.

Everything at the arena moved in slow motion. Roman being double clotheslined by his cousins who admitted they probably put too much power behind it and forced him out of the ring more than gently flipped him out. No one noticed it until the instant replay as the medical team were getting Roman on a stretcher – his head snapped forward and gave him whiplash and the impact against the announcers table gave him a severe concussion.

Amaya remembered running over and kneeling beside Roman. They were scripted for a 'work' or 'fake injury' during the match so she knew it was a legitimate injury. She could feel herself trembling as she watched his eyes roll into the back of his head. The medical team got him to the ambulance and she went with him and stayed by his side. The hospital had taken him down and did a full body CT scan and an MRI.

5 hours and he was still unconscious.

5 hours and she still couldn't take her eyes off of him.

"Amaya…"

"Amaya, baby…"

Amaya looked over and watched as Seth walked into the hospital room. "What is it Seth?"

Seth sighed heavily as he squatted down next to her. "Sweet heart you need to get some rest. If Roman wakes up and you're not up to par you won't be able to do him any good."

Amaya shook her head. "I'm not leaving him Seth. I can't."

Seth nodded. "Yea well we're not going anywhere either. Zaria and Dean are in the waiting room on a couch. Do you mind if I join you in here?"

Amaya shook her head negatively as she watched him stand up and unzip his black hoodie before pulling it off and covering her with it. "Thanks Seth. I'm glad you're staying with. I don't want to be in here alone."

Seth lifted the chair and placed it next to hers before he turned all the lights out except the one above Roman's hospital bed. He didn't notice until then that Amaya's small hand was clutching Roman's large one almost like a life line.

In that one gesture Seth was suddenly aware that Amaya needed Roman right now as much as Roman would always need Amaya. Seth kicked his feet out; stretching out as he put his head back and sleep came faster than he thought it would.

Amaya couldn't stop watching Roman. He was damn near too big for the hospital bed they had him in and the hospital gown was a joke on his big body. They had left his hair down; it cascaded over his massive shoulders like black silk spun curtains. Her free hand went up and was lightly tracing the intricate designs of the tattoo that went from his shoulder to his wrist; his warm skin felt good against her icy fingers. She was just waiting for him to sit up and grumble at her about her cold fingers like he always did.

After 12 hours of Roman not waking up the hospital staff was baffled. Amaya was letting the worry start to melt into her body. She still hadn't left his side for anything other than going to the bathroom. Seth had brought her a sandwich from a local deli but other than that she didn't go anywhere; she couldn't. She tried to force herself but it just wasn't happening.

Once he'd been in the hospital for a full 24 hours, Amaya was officially scared to death but she wasn't about to show it. She kept his large hand in hers; her thumb rubbing against his soft skin just trying to will him awake. She just wanted him to sit up and argue with her or tell her to stop touching him. Anything would do at this point. But nothing was happening. The staff took him back into do a head CT and MRI.

Amaya watched as the doctor came in Roman's room again. She sighed heavily. "Please – Please – Please tell me something good."

The same doctor - Dr. Jensen that had been treating Roman since he was admitted the night before. He nodded. "Well good new and good; good news he's not going to be unconscious forever – bad news the brain swelling is what's keeping him in unconscious. Chances are his body is keeping him unconscious until he can fully heal. He may wake up tomorrow he may wake up a week from now. Only his brain can tell him when to wake up."

Amaya could already feel the tears sliding down her cheeks as her eyes left the doctor as he left the room and went to the man lying in the bed. Amaya walked over and sat down next to Roman's bed again his hand going into hers as she touched his forearm once again. Tracing the pattern seemed to help keep her mind occupied so she wouldn't go off the rails. "You have to wake up Roman…please."

Seth walked into the hospital room; it had been five days since Roman had been admitted. The doctor had said he was showing signs of improvement, but he was still unconscious. Dean and Zaria had been there two and Seth had finally convinced them to go back to the hotel and get some proper rest.

Seth frowned as saw Amaya sleeping in the chair, he moved closer as he gently pulled roman's hand from hers and lifted her into his arms. He walked over and carefully laid her on the bed next to Roman's. It was the first time she'd slept since Roman had been admitted. There was no reason for her to not get a comfortable sleep. He pulled his zip up hoodie off again and laid it over her torso and watched as she burrowed into the pillow and bed. Seth leaned over and softly kissed Amaya's forehead. "Sweet dreams, Maya; rest easy. I'll watch over the big man for you." Seth pulled the chair between the two beds so he could keep an eye on both of them.

Zaria lay against Dean's chest as they were relaxing slowly. They had taken a shower when they got to the hotel and were now just trying to let the exhaustion seep into their bodies. They'd been at the hospital for the last five days. They'd already contacted Paul and Stephanie and told them there hadn't been any change in Roman's condition and they refused to leave his side before he woke up.

Zaria propped her chin on Dean's chest. "Do you – do you think he'll wake up?"

Dean's blue/grey sought out her emerald orbs as they locked. He licked his lips before rolling them together. "If he doesn't I don't know what's going to happen to Amaya. Did you see the way she reacted on Raw when he hit the announcers table? She loves him just as much as he loves her and that big idiot has been ignoring her for the last month."

Zaria shook her head. "She hasn't left the hospital either and she damn sure hasn't slept. She's been awake for five days straight. If he could only wake up for a few minutes and see her there – see how much she's hurting without him. I think it would repair the damage Seth did."

Dean's eyes looked up towards the ceiling as they danced around the beige color before shaking his head. "I think that ship has sailed. The pain Seth caused her has been replaced by the love she's suddenly noticed that she carries for Roman. Seth and I never noticed how much the big man loved her; not even when we were in FCW/NXT – I mean when we got to WWE it was Roman's idea to go down to the ring and take her contract, but we all three knew we wanted her working for us. We'd seen the way Cena treated her constantly and when we were still in developmental there wasn't shit we could do. But once we were kicked up to the main roster we damn sure could do everything in our power to help her."

"And you still never noticed how strong his feelings were for her?" Zaria asked.

Dean shook his head. "Girls were never our first priority. Besides not too long after that I was dealing with you and they were asking her to be both of their girlfriends at the same time. I think Roman realizes he made a mistake by not telling Amaya sooner about his feelings and waiting; of course he still hasn't told her yet. But I think he will when he wakes up."

Zaria frowned. "I just hope he wakes up soon. I don't know how much she can take. She's literally at the end of her rope and if something happens to Roman and he doesn't survive this – I'm afraid she won't survive it either."

Seth had noticed Amaya's sleep pattern had changed drastically since Roman had been admitted. She would stay awake for a few days and then crash on the spare bed next to Roman's. She was physically and mentally exhausted and was showing signs. She watched as his chest went up and down as he breathed easily. There had been no reason to put him on a ventilator because he was breathing perfectly fine on his own; he just wasn't waking up.

It had been two weeks since he was admitted and his parents and family members came and went but Amaya never left. Seth looked over at Amaya as she sat next to the bed once again. "So are you ready to admit how you feel for him yet?" Seth questioned with a raised dark eyebrow.

Amaya sighed heavily as she continued to let her thumb brush against his hand; still hoping some kind of touch stimulant would help pull him awake. "I guess I should be wondering the same thing of him huh. I overheard you guys talking the night of his accident. I knew I had hurt him when I broke things off but I didn't realize I hurt him that bad. I thought I was hurting myself more by walking away. I didn't – I didn't know he felt that strongly for me and certainly never meant to hurt him."

Amaya combed her fingers through her hair. "I didn't want to walk away but the pain was so bad; I had to. I had to give myself a little time to heal. I don't even know why I'm here. He'll probably wake up and tell me to get the fuck out."

Seth stifled a chuckle. "I sincerely doubt that. He might ignore the fact that you're here, but he won't tell you to leave."

Amaya blinked as tears slid down her cheeks. "I just wish he'd talk to me; even if it was for three seconds to tell me to leave him alone at least he would be talking to me."

Seth frowned at her tears. He leaned over as he rested his elbows on his thighs before taking her free hand in his and kissing the back of it softly. "I know this is entirely my fault. Had I just been honest with you about what I was doing and where I was going; I could've saved both you and Roman a shit ton of heartache. No one fucked this up but me. And no one deserves to suffer more than me. Amyra is keeping me at an arm's length right now and I can't say that I blame her. I told her what happened between us and I told her the truth and she berated me and lectured me for a good hour and a half. Not that I didn't have it coming. I just wasn't expecting it from her. I more or less expected it to come from you."

Seth re-adjusted his all black hat on his head before handing her a tissue. "I know I can't say I'm sorry enough and I know sorry isn't really going to fix the damage I did. I know I can't take the hurt and pain away, but I wish I could. I wish I could go back and just tell you I was going to see Amyra; I mean don't get me wrong while I was with her I was still helping my mom over the phone and on the internet, I just wasn't in Iowa doing it. And I swear I never laid a finger on Amyra. I never touched her until after you broke ties with me; even then it's only to hold her hand."

Amaya nodded as she wiped her eyes. "You are right. Sorry doesn't fix the damage that's already been done. But it does help a little." Amaya smiled softly as she squeezed his hand. "You know – Amyra is going to be released to go home in about four weeks. I'm sure she'd like it if you were there to either take her home or meet her at the house."

Seth smiled. "Really; are you going to be there?"

Amaya returned his smile. "If I can get Roman to wake up long enough to tell him how I feel and hopefully get him to come with me back to Mendocino."

Seth nodded in understanding. "I never asked what does your sister does for a living."

"She hacks into banks and robs them blind." Amaya smirked as Seth's eyes widened before she giggled softly and shook her head. "I'm kidding. She builds websites for companies who want to expand their business on the web. She's quite successful at it too. She's done small companies like a wood chipping business and huge companies like a chain of hotels in California. She gets all their visions and then puts them together like a master artist and makes up these elaborate websites that look like they take hours and hours to make, when in reality she could do them in thirty minutes tops. A couple of years back Vince hired her to re-vamp and now look at it; it's freaking awesome."

Seth shook his head. "So she's a genius on the computer and I'm a genius in the ring." Seth chuckled as the bun at the nape of his neck was tugged on.

"Cocky much?" Amaya asked as she yanked on his hair.

Seth sat up straight and adjusted his t-shirt. "Always." He couldn't help laughing harder at her as she rolled her eyes and shook her head at his antics. He could only hope that they were getting back to the basics of being friends again. If he was going to be in Amyra and Safina's lives he had to be in Amaya's; he was sure that they would eventually get themselves patched back up.

A few minutes of silence from Amaya and Seth's eyes looked over and saw she'd fallen asleep. She was due for some sleep. He leaned over and gently pulled Roman's hand from hers like always as he carefully lifted her and walked over placing her on the spare bed next to Roman's and covered her with his sweatshirt before kissing her forehead softly. "It's my shift Maya; sweet dreams."

Around 3 AM Seth was pulled from his slumber in the chair between the beds when he heard some whimpers. At first he thought it was Amaya dreaming. Imagine his surprise as he looked over and the grey eyes from his best friend were squinting back at him.