Chapter 12

Reality

"William it is so good to see you awake!" Weatherby Swann exclaimed as he entered the room. He then looked to Bill who looked more irritated rather than overjoyed. Will smiled and squeezed Elizabeth's hand. She was still seated in the chair, but gave into Will's puppy dog pout and had extended her arm to rest next to him. Bill had just grunted in response to the display of affection and wished his son could contain himself for at least five minutes.

"I see you have lost some leashes my boy!" Weatherby continued, as he handed Elizabeth a tote bag full of clothes.

"They took them off this morning." Elizabeth reported as she peered through the bag.

"What he needs is restraints." Bill deadpanned. Weatherby chuckled, taking Bill's very serious statement as a joke.

"Will, I know I speak for Elizabeth and myself in that we are overjoyed you are doing so well." Weatherby shook Will's hand and claimed a nearby seat next to Elizabeth.

"Thank you." Will replied, as he settled back into the bed trying to ignore his persistent headache. He couldn't hide the brief pained look from Elizabeth as she quietly stood and excused herself from the room.


"Nurse Mary," she softly called as she approached the nurses station. Mary looked up from her charting with a smile,

"How may I help you Elizabeth?"

"It's Will, I know he has been trying to be strong this morning, but I fear his head is bothering him more than he lets on." Mary nodded.

"He had quite the injury and it is important for him to rest. He has come far, but he still has a long way to go." Mary replied as she picked up her charting.

"You don't think his injury is worse than initially thought?" Elizabeth questioned, the pang of worry once again bubbling up in her stomach. Mary shook her head and took a vial of medicine out of a locked drawer.

"I think Mr. Turner has had enough social time for this morning." She put a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder and pointed her back towards Will's room. "He is going down to CT soon and is long overdue for a morning nap." Elizabeth felt slightly guilty, but knew as long as she and his father were in the room Will would continue his charade and possibly set back his recovery. Mary followed Elizabeth into the room and Will's face formed an instant pout.

"Don't look at me with that tone of voice!" Elizabeth replied as she took a seat next to him. Will didn't respond and just looked up at Mary as she fiddled with his IV tubing.

"Mr. Turner it is time to get you ready for CT so we have to hook you back up for the time being." Will nodded and held up his hand so she could connect the tubing.

"I also need to give you some medicine to help you relax for the test." Will looked up at her with sorrowful eyes,

"It makes me lightheaded and nauseous." He replied grimly. Mary took the syringe of medicine and injected it into IV bag.

"It will go in more slowly with these fluids. Hopefully that will help with relieving some of the side effects." Will shifted slightly and looked to Elizabeth. She smiled and quickly leaned over his bed to kiss him on the forehead.

"I think we all should try and catch a nap," she looked to her father and Bill who both nodded in agreement.

"I've been looking forward to a little peace this morning." Bill replied, a tint of sarcasm in his voice. Elizabeth stood and took the bag her father had brought into the bathroom. A few minutes later she appeared again, wearing a fresh pair of jeans and soft tunic style top. Her hair had been combed and quickly tossed up into a messy bun. Will smiled at the sudden transformation, his eyes dropping heavily as the medicine started to take effect. Noting his struggle to remain awake, she decided he needed his rest and thought of a quick remedy. She took a seat next to him on the bed, and leaned back on her elbow so she was propped up slightly above him. Will couldn't help but lean softly into her chest as she ran her fingers through his hair, gently massaging his forehead and temples with each pass. Soon her affections were too much, and he gave into sleep. Bill and Weatherby watched Elizabeth work her charms and soon after Will closed his eyes they joined him.


Elizabeth remained at Will's side, enjoying the feel of his soft curls slipping through her fingers. A quiet knock on the door interrupted her ministrations and she gently slipped from the bed and around the chairs of the sleeping duo. Opening the door she was slightly taken aback to see Will's coach and assistant coach standing patiently in the hall. His coach looked equally surprised to see her,

"Is this William Turner's room?" He questioned, obviously not remembering their elevator introduction. Elizabeth smiled and stepped out into the hall to join them.

"It is but I'm afraid he is sleeping at this moment." She looked at the bag the assistant coach was holding. "He has another test this morning but nothing planned for later this afternoon." Coach Jones nodded,

"We can come back later." He looked briefly uncomfortable, trying to think of the best way to ask without looking inconsiderate…

"How is he doing?" He softly asked, looking down at the floor before looking back up at Elizabeth.

"He has continued to show great improvements. The doctors believe he will have a full recovery." The assistant coach, who obviously had less charisma, finished Coach's Jones thought out loud.

"When do they think he will be able to play again?" Elizabeth had to hide the wave of anger and frustration that washed over her with this statement. Had not Will just practically given his life for the team? Then now, not even a day later, they already want to place him at risk again!

"His injuries were severe, almost life threatening. Right now he needs to focus on healing, and not worry about football." Elizabeth replied coolly. Reaching out for Will's duffle bag,

"Thank you for brining his bag." The assistant coach handed her the bag and apathetically looked at Coach Jones.

"Would you please tell Mr. Turner that we stopped by and give Will our best wishes for a speedy recovery."

"I will." Elizabeth stated with the last of her composure as she slipped back into the room closing the door behind her. Bill was startled by the commotion and awoke to see Elizabeth with her back against the door, her eyes closed tightly.

"Elizabeth dear is everything ok?" He whispered, standing to offer her his seat. Elizabeth couldn't stand the thought of Will playing football again. The image of him being tackled, then laying lifeless on the ground kept playing over and over in her mind. She regretfully took the seat offered, and wiped a few stray tears from her eyes.

"I'm fine, just a little tired." She replied after a few moments. Bill saw the duffle bag and looked back at the door.

"Did someone upset you?" He questioned with concern.

"No, Coach Jones stopped by to see Will and it just brought back some bad memories." She replied, her voice shaky with emotion. Bill looked back at the door then down to the duffle, trying to decipher what had just taken place.

"What did Coach Jones have to say?" This questioned was laced with deception. Bill knew that Coach Jones stopped by to check on Will, but couldn't figure out what he had said to upset Elizabeth. Thus the inquiry…nothing works better than an open ended question.

"He wished Will a speedy recovery." Elizabeth retorted with a bit of sarcasm in her voice. Bill noted the angst and decided to press on,

"That was nice of him, don't you think so?" Elizabeth let out an exaggerated sigh, and Bill could tell that her resolve was crumbling.

"It would be nice if he cared about Will's health." This statement caught Bill off guard,

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Elizabeth dropped her head to her hands, "all he cares about is Will playing football again. He doesn't care about his well being; just that he gets back out onto the field as soon as possible." Bill softly placed a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder.

"Elizabeth is this really about Coach Jones?" He carefully asked.

"I won't lose him again!" She blurted out, tears filling her honey brown eyes as she buried them in her hands. Weatherby startled in his sleep from the sudden outburst but didn't awake. Bill bent down to look Elizabeth in the eyes.

"Darling when you fall off the horse you get back on it again."

"This isn't the same…" Elizabeth replied in a mere whisper, "he almost died…it isn't worth it." Bill took his hand and gently placed it under her chin lifting it up.

"Elizabeth if there is one thing I have learned all these years is that life is short and we should live it to the fullest. No one can predict what tomorrow will bring. Wouldn't you rather experience the joy of each new day, rather than living in fear of tomorrow?" Elizabeth thought of what he had said, and slowly nodded her head.

"He finds joy in playing football." She stated softly.

"Who are we to deny him joy?" Bill lightly chuckled, "If it were up to me, he would be locked in his bedroom the remainder of his life-out of trouble and safe from his own mischief. Yet if I have him locked away, I would never experience grandchildren." He looked pointedly at her, "I look forward to experiencing his wedding first, then the grandchildren." Elizabeth couldn't help but lightly laugh at this statement and embraced Bill tightly.

"Thank you." She replied quietly as she released him. Bill handed her a tissue as the door to the room quietly opened. Nurse Mary stepped in and quickly noticed Elizabeth's tear stricken face.

"Do you need a few more minutes?" She quietly asked.

"No, I'm fine." Elizabeth replied as she stood and moved Will's duffle to a corner of the room. Mary looked to Bill,

"It's time to take him down to CT." She looked over to Will sleeping soundly, "I see his medicine has kicked in, and he should be comfortable throughout the test." As Mary approached Will, she accidentally bumped the bed. Will slightly startled, then settled back down. Mary looked slightly distressed,

"I only gave him a small dose of medicine since it made him feel so ill. If he continues to startle I will have to give him more." Elizabeth's mind raced, and then it came to her-

"Will's ipod!" She practically yelled. Will once again moved, but remained asleep. Weatherby on the other hand was now fully awake, and curious to see what all the ruckus was about.

"Elizabeth dear, indoor voice." He reminded her as he stood from the chair and slightly stretched.

"Will always listens to his ipod when he wants to relax," she looked towards the duffle, "especially before games. It would help block out some of the noise and be familiar to him." Mary smiled,

"I think it is a wonderful idea." She replied and started to unhook Will from his IV tubing. Elizabeth pointed to Will's duffle next to Bill,

"I'm hoping it is still in his bag from yesterday." Bill nodded and knelt down next to the bag, with his back towards them. As he unzipped the duffle the first thing he noticed was the mass of photos stuffed inside. Discreetly picking up one of the photos his mouth nearly dropped at the sight revealed.

"Is it in there?" Elizabeth questioned, momentarily breaking Bill from his current nightmare. He pushed the photos far down into the bag and continued the search, quickly finding Will's ipod near the bottom in its case.

"Found it." Bill replied nonchalantly, quickly zipping the bag and looking back up at Elizabeth. She merely smiled back at him and took the device from his hand. Completely unaware that anything was askew. It was at that moment Bill knew that Elizabeth was unaware the photos even existed. Having walked in on the couple more times than a father ever should, he immediately knew it was Will and Elizabeth in the photos. His son's naked bum was still all too fresh in his mind. It was wondering why Will had the pictures that disturbed Bill. He watched as Elizabeth placed the ear plugs and chose what she thought of as an appropriate play list. As Mary wheeled Will from the room, Elizabeth graced Will with one last kiss to the forehead. Bill didn't know what to say to the woman who one day he hoped would be his son's wife. Instead he chose to keep quiet on the matter at hand…that is until he had a chance to talk to William alone. He had a lot of explaining to do, and Bill wouldn't take apologizes for an answer.


I once again apologize for the delay! I greatly appreicate all the reviews and always look forward to your feedback : ) Hope you enjoy the chapter, Smiles!