Chapter 39

Another month passed and Jeff had settled back into a normal routine. He would still call the hospital on a regular basis to check on Lynn's condition but he only went to see her every other week. Mija seemed to think it pained him to visit her in person. It's amazing how not seeing someone made it better to cope with separation.

"You little bastard I think you're cheating," Mija berated as she threw her cards down on the table.

Jeff chuckled, "I am not cheating Mija I swear you just suck at poker."

She pointed at him, "Don't think I won't reach across this table and give you a good slappin'."

He was about to retort but was interrupted by the phone ringing.

"I'll get it," she stood from the table and walked to the phone picking it up. "Hello?"

"Yes, may I speak to Sheldon Sands or Mija Ramirez please?"

"This is Mija Ramirez speaking."

"Hello Ms. Ramirez I'm Doctor Jenny Houston from St. June's Hospital. I'm calling to inform you that a patient by the name Lynn Connors has come out of her coma."

Mija quickly turned to look Jeff's direction, "Oh thank God, is she doing alright?"

Jeff instantly knew who she was talking about and stood from the table and walked over to her trying to listen in on the conversation.

"Yes she's doing very well and we had instructions to give you a call as soon as she woke," the doctor said compassionately.

"Yes thank you so much we'll be down shortly," Mija hung the phone up and laughed. "By God that girl never ceases to amaze me!"

"Is she alright?" he asked worried.

"She's awake," Mija wrapped her arms around him and laughed with joy against his chest.

He brought his own arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head. He was so elated he couldn't move. I can't believe it...she's gonna be okay...

Lynn sat up in her bed and picked at the strawberry jello they gave her. She was craving a double cheeseburger with extra salt but the doctors insisted that she start off slow since she had been kept alive intravenously.

She put her plastic spoon down and looked down at herself. She had lost an awful lot of weight and she was very pale. Better than being dead I guess she thought as she held her hands up and looked at them. She could see old needle marks and closed her eyes for a moment. She felt dirty and wanted nothing more than to soak in a hot bath.

She rubbed her eyes and sighed as she carefully tried to step out of the bed. That's when she remembered the wound on her side. She lifted her hospital gown to see how badly scarred she was. She amazed to see that the scar was quit small compared to the wound she remembered. She dropped the hem of her shirt and grabbed the rails on the bed and hesitantly put her feet on the ground. She hadn't walked in five months her muscles were bound to be weak. She let her feet rest flat on the floor and slowly let go of the hand rails regretting it instantly. She tried to lock her knees to keep from falling but failed as she crashed to her knees then fell over.

"Ow! Dammit!" she pounded her hand against the floor and looked up at the door as she heard the handle begin to turn. Don't people know how to knock she thought as it opened. Her comment to herself faded away as she saw Mija and Jeff standing in the doorway.

"Lynn are you alright?" Mija rushed to her.

Lynn held up her hands, "I'm fine I'm fine just help me up please."

Mija took her hand and helped her back to the bed.

"You shouldn't be trying to move around by yourself darlin you're still weak," Mija berated caringly.

That's when Lynn noticed who was standing beside her bed. "Mija?" her eyes widened and she quickly pulled her into a hug. "Oh thank God you're alive!"

Mija rubbed her back, "I'm alive and well darlin." She pulled back and pushed a few strands of hair away from her face. "You scared the hell out of us."

Lynn looked past Mija and saw Jeff standing a few feet away. "Jeff?"

Without a word he walked around to the other side of the bed and gently sat down next to her and took her right hand in his.

Mija looked between the two and smiled lightly. "I'm gonna go talk to the doctor I'll be back," she patted Lynn on the arm and went to find the doctor leaving them alone.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as soon as Mija had shut the door.

Lynn nodded, "Amazingly enough, I'm a little tired. The doctors told me it's not uncommon for coma patients to be tired after being in comas for such a long period of time. The body isn't really resting when you're in a coma."

He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it letting it rest against his cheek. "I've missed you...so much," he sounded like he was about to cry.

She caressed his cheek lovingly, "Don't do this to yourself Jeff. I'm alive and I'm only going to get better."

He nodded and brought their hands to rest in his lap. "I know but it still doesn't change the fact of what happened," he reminded softly. "But what's important is that you're okay now." He leaned forward and found her lips without fail and kissed her firmly. He missed the texture of her lips and the heat of her mouth.

"I'm really okay," she whispered against his lips. She too missed his touch, the feel of his hands.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Ms. Connors...Mr. Sands?" the doctor asked as she poked her head through the door.

"Yes," Lynn acknowledged as she and Jeff parted.

The doctor stepped the rest of the way in the room and smiled at them. "Hi, I'm Doctor Houston I spoke with Ms. Ramirez on the phone earlier," she held out her hand to Jeff and he shook it in return. She turned her attention back to Lynn and folded her arms over her clip board. "How are you feeling Ms. Connors?"

Lynn gave a tight smile, "Better, I think I'm getting my strength back slowly but surely."

Doctor Houston nodded, "That's great and your strength will improve over the next few days until you're back to full strength. Until then while you're in bed you need to move your arms and legs to build your muscles back up. If you need to move from the bed call a nurse to make sure you don't fall and injure yourself."

Lynn nodded and looked at Jeff who seemed to be listening intently.

"If you continue to improve over the next three to four days we'll let you go home," Doctor Houston offered brightly.

"Thank you," Lynn nodded.

"Okay, if you have any question don't hesitate to call me or have me paged," with that she turned and left the room.

Lynn took a deep breath as she left the room.

"Tired?"

"Yeah, I think I'm going to get some sleep," she admitted quietly. She hated to go to sleep on him as soon as he got there but she had a sneaky suspicion he wouldn't mind.

"You take it easy, I'll be here when you wake up," he stood from the bed and pulled her blanket over her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she made herself comfortable.

He kissed her on the forehead, "Don't be baby...you just get better...so you can come home."

She was already asleep as he pulled away. He walked across the room and made himself comfortable in the fold out chair. He had a feeling it was going to be a long day...and night.