AN: I know a lot of you were upset that I killed Shelby off. I hope this makes up for it. I told you that this was a Shelby Rachel story and I meant it. Hopefully, you all forgive me. :)
AN#2: I did not send this to my beta because I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer. So any mistakes are mine and mine alone. The next chapter will be longer and beta'd.
Enjoy!
After a couple of minutes of sitting over my mother, I decide to get up. I grab my things and make my way for the door, when the nurse pulls me into a hug. In the middle of the hug, the nurse screams. I turn around and look at my mother; she has to be the only reason to cause the scream. I see her arm moving, I look up to the heart monitor and sure enough there is a heartbeat, it is weak but it is there. I rush to her side and grab her hand. The nurse has run out to get Dr. Stevens, Marley, and Beth.
"Momma, come on momma. I know you can do this. Wake up." Almost as soon as the words left my mouth, my mom's eyes fluttered open. I instantly become a puddle of tears. I give it a squeeze and amazingly she returns the gesture, just not as strong. I look at her face and see a small smile grace her lips. "I love you so much, momma." She gives my hand a small squeeze again.
Dr. Stevens rushes into the room with tears in her eyes. She checks her vitals and everything comes back normal. She turns to me and offers a small smile. "I don't want to get your hopes up yet, Rachel. We need to take her to run a couple of tests before we let you know what is going on." I nod as they wheel her out of the room. Marley and Beth come in shortly after they leave with mom. Beth rushes into my arms.
"What happen, Rachie?"
"I am not sure yet, kiddo. After they removed the machines she flat lined. I was on my way out of the room when the nurse screamed. When I turned around I saw the heart monitor had a heart beat again and momma was waking up. When she woke up she squeezed my hand and smiled at me. Then Dr. Stevens ran in and whisked her off for some tests. That is all I know as of right now."
"You know, I have heard of this kind of thing happening before, but I didn't believe it was real." Marley says. I just nod and pull Beth closer to me. We sat in complete silence, all wrapped up in our own thoughts when they brought mom back into the room. Dr. Steven's was right behind the gurney. Beth jumps out my arms and hop on the bed with our mom, who is fast asleep…I hope.
"Rachel and Marley, can I speak with you in the hall?" Marley jumps up and heads toward the door and I am right on her heels. Before we step outside, I remind Beth to be careful and not wake mom up. I can feel my heart in my throat waiting for the news. "I don't know what to say, girls. In all of my years of working in the hospital, I have never seen this happen. The tests came back perfect, as if nothing ever happened. Your mother is perfectly fine, Rachel. I just, I can't explain it. We are going to keep her a few more days just to keep a close eye on her, but according to the tests, she should be just fine. I am so happy for all of you." I am in tears again. Looking over at Marley, I see that she was in tears as well.
"I do have a couple of questions, though."
"Okay, what's up?"
"How should we address this whole situation with her? Should we keep an eye out for something specific? Are you sure she is fine?
"Take your time, I would tell her everything, but so it slowly and cautiously. I would just keep an eye out for anything out of the normal. She may vomit, that is normal, just keep an eye out on the color. If it seems reddish then call a nurse right away, it could be a sign of internal bleeding as well. However, I do think she will be fine. According to all of the tests and her vitals, Ms. Corcoran is perfectly fine." I fling myself into her arms.
"Thank you so much for everything, Dr. Stevens."
"You are very welcome, Rachel."
Upon returning to the room, we see that mom is awake and laughing with Beth. Beth is cuddled into mom's side, clinging to her for dear life. Mom looks up and sees us walking back into the room. Marley runs to her side and grabs her hand, crying again.
"Oh, Shelby, I was so worried. I am so glad that you are okay. You scared me so much. I don't know what I would do without you. I love you so, so much."
"Marley Bear, I would never leave you girls." She says before looking up at me and winking. "I love you too. Could you take Beth to the cafeteria to get something to eat? She mentioned that she was hungry. Plus I would like to talk with Rachel for a moment."
"Sure, Shelbs. Come on Bethie. Let's let Rachie and your mom talk for a minute." Beth gets up after kissing mom on the forehead and hugging her one last time. She makes her way to me and motions to be picked up. Once I have her up in my arms, she squeezes my neck so tight and hug her back just a tight.
"Are you going to tell her what happened?" She whispers in my ear.
"I am not sure yet, kiddo."
"Okay. I think you should. I love you Sissy." I melt at the new nickname. I have to admit, she is a cute kid.
"I love you too, baby." Marley and Beth leave as I sit on the edge of mom's bed. She instantly reaches out and grabs my hand pulling me to her in a bone crushing hug.
"I love you so much baby girl. Thank you so much for still being here and taking care of my Bethie."
"You're welcome mom. I love you too. We were so scared when you went into the coma."
"I know you were and I know that you guys had to pull the plug, I could hear all of you but I just couldn't wake up no matter how hard I tried. I knew I had to fight for you girls. I wasn't ready to leave just like you girls all weren't ready for me to either."
"So you already know that we pulled the plug?"
"Yes, baby, and I am not mad. I would have done the same thing. I am just glad that I have this second chance with you, and this time I am never going to let you go. I need you in my life, Baby Girl; your mom is here to stay."
"Oh, Mommy. I am not letting you go, even if you wanted too." Mom pulls me into her again and I cuddle with her like a little girl. I lay my head on her chest and listen to her heartbeat. It is the most amazing sound I have ever heard.
"Go ahead, Baby Girl, go to sleep. Mommy is here to stay. I love you." I find myself slip into the most relaxing sleep I have had in a couple of days, if not a week.