Chapter 45
Hours passed, and the team had to come and go a few times for food, debriefing and seeing their loved ones at home, taking care of their homes, and being forced into naps and showers by Blackburn and the doctors. Liz ended up being held, against her will, which she would tell everyone at the hospital for the rest of the day and night to ensure she was hydrated, rested, and fed as her blood work returned a little uneasy. The levels were normal and did not raise any alarms but had a lot of levels on the lower side. Trent managed to convince the doctor to admit her for her own good. This way, she was close to Clay as they set her up in his room, but she also kept her safe as no one wanted her to go home alone, and she refused any company. She would not even let Davis come and crash at her place for some company. They all knew she would not go home and take care of herself. She would stay at Clay's side until he woke up and possibly end up back in that hospital bed, not taking care of herself.
Clay still had not woken up, and the team was getting worried. They were concerned about the possibility he would develop pneumonia or an infection, and of course, sepsis was always on the table with his fever history. There was no reason he was not waking up. He was not in a coma; his vitals were stable, considering how he came in, and he was not getting worse, but to the doctor's dismay, he was not getting better.
By day two, Liz was released from the hospital, and Davis forced herself into being Liz's new roommate. No one slept, ate properly, and was always under the scrutiny of Trent's glare. The team was officially on leave for two weeks and then assigned to base duty with a no-fly restriction so they would not be shipped out on missions.
…
Day four ventured on the same path as days two and three. Rotation of the team coming and going in shifts and stressing, not knowing why the kid was not waking up. Doctors were relieved he was staying stable but starting to worry about underlying causes or concerns and ordering every test under the sun.
By the afternoon of day four, Clay spiked a fever and was put under sepsis and kidney failure watched as he was pumped full of antibiotics and fluids. This complication brought in the full force of Bravo as the whole team piled into his room and set up for the evening and had everyone stay. They were rallying together as it was going to be a long night.
At some point in the night, the fever broke, but they were still not blessed with seeing the baby blue eyes they had been waiting for.
….
Day five. Today was the day.
Davis and Blackburn were called to help Alpha run an op as their TOC was overrun with the flu.
"You sure you have everything and will be ok?"
"Yes, mom. I am fine. You can stop worrying about me. I have been eating, sleeping, and caring for myself." Liz rolled her eyes as she stared down Davis, who was dropping her off at Jason's house.
The team was going over the top about not letting her out of their sight, so while Davis is out of the country, she would be bunking in Jason's spare room she has become overly accustomed to from her past. Sonny has been staying at Jason's as well; he had no one at home and was not doing so well, not having his best friend wake up. His new friend was a bottle of whiskey, and they liked to go a little hard. So, with the countless rides home from Jason, he just took him to his place to keep an eye on him and give Jack Daniels a little time alone.
"I know. I feel bad leaving you. I can only imagine some of what you are going through right now. And how am I supposed to know when he wakes up, and you guys can continue that hot and steamy kiss session? This is more about me not being ok over you." David joked as she tried to lighten the mood in the car and not keep the heat on Liz, as she knew these types of conversations about feelings were not her idea of fun.
"Trust me, mission or not, you will be my first call." Liz laughed as she shook her head, getting lost in the memory as her hand automatically lifted to her lips. She played that night on a loop in her mind once they got Clay back home. She would often catch herself in a daydream thinking about their past kiss, all the possibly new ones they could share, and how she needed to feel his lips again, his hands on her skin as he pulled her into him. The feeling of his hard body against hers seems to mould perfectly to her—the thought of not breathing as they kiss and the high that comes with the excitement.
"He's going to wake up. He's got something he needs to tell you." Davis was certain Clay would have said those three large words to her if Sonny had not interrupted them. No matter how often Liz would deny he shared the same feelings, that was more so her protecting her heart. But for the past few nights, they have gotten into some deep conversations alongside a bottle of wine and pizza while waiting for their shift at the hospital or for sleep. Davis needed to distract Liz as she knew if she had the opportunity, schedule be damned, Liz would be at the hospital all day and night alongside Jason and Sonny. Those three were not able to go home and stay easily.
"You don't know that."
"I do. I know he would not dare to try and leave his family and you. He knows a lineup will be waiting to kick his ass."
"He better."
As Davis pulled up on the street, the door opened, and two very disorientated bodies shuffled out the door towards them. No one seemed to sleep well, and Jason and Sonny could not hide their dark circles, bedhead and glare.
"Did you have to choose the butt crack of dawn?" Sonny complained as he ran his palms down his face and groaned.
"Well, hello to you too." Davis smiled, "It's nine am; you guys never sleep in."
"Well, we had the night shift at the hospital. When do you expect me to sleep? I need my beauty sleep, Miss Davis. I don't get this good-looking without it." Sonny huffed as he puffed his chest out and flashed his best killer smile. But he was too tired; it looked like a grimace or a baby trying to poop. Forced.
"You got everything you need? This bag seems light?" Jason asked as he opened the car's back door as Liz shuffled out of the vehicle with Sonny.
"How long do you think I'll be staying? I am not moving in! And we have used less out on an op. I think I can manage." Liz huffed as she rolled her eyes and leaned into the open window and thanked Davis and gave the warning to be safe or else.
"Bye, boys. Be good." Davis called out as she laughed and drove off to meet Blackburn for a much-needed distraction. But she also was not wanting to leave until Clay woke up, and they all knew he was out of the woods. She knew Blackburn was on the same page, and until the boys from Alpha stepped off the plane to begin their op, they all would be on their phones checking for updates.
"Alright, breakfast and coffee and then we can head in. I know it's Trent's shift, but I'm getting antsy." Jason called out behind his shoulders as he inhaled and held his head up to the sky, listening to the two younger teammates bicker like children over who will get the spare room over the couch and what they want to eat. Sometimes Jason felt more like the team's dad when Poppa Ray was not around and needed to home in the three children of the group. Two by age and one by immaturity. This would be a few days until things hopefully return to normal, and the team can be alone at home and not drown their anxiety in worry, stress and booze. Until then, they would all be paired up with one another. Brock has his girlfriend, Trent has his wife, Ray has Niama, and the kids and Blackburn has his wife. Davis and Liz seemed to team up, but he and Sonny were alone with his kids gone to school. So, until Sonny would not spend his nights with Jack and Liz in constant worry, they would be stuck like glue together.
….
As the three walked into Clay's quiet room, they saw Brock must have come in to keep Trent company, and they both were settled into the chairs along the window playing chess. Old men in the making. They had some old souls at times, but it kept them grounded. A trait the others on the team got jealous about time and time again.
"How's he doing today?" Jason asked as he nodded a greeting towards the other two teams' mates, settling into a chair alongside Clay's bed as Sonny and Liz followed his lead. Liz settled at Clay's head, with Jason in the middle and Sonny tight beside him, all angled into the bed.
"He's the same. No relapse on a fever but still a slightly high temperature. He did have some restless movement in his legs, but only for a second; nothing more came of it. The doctors are still closely monitoring him with blood work to ensure nothing else, but for now, it is just healing and a concussion." Trent turned into medic mode as he sat up straighter, giving his report.
"At this rate, he may sleep through all the concussion symptoms and pain and just be waking up to go straight to PT." Brock laughed as the rest of the team nodded, giving off a few breathy laughs.
"Of course, the princess would skip the hard part." Sonny pipped in, shaking his head. "Leave it to Bam Bam to take the easy route. He's always looking for a shortcut."
"Nah, your just jealous that he does not need years to get over something like your old ass." Liz joked as she shifted in her chair and put one hand on Clay's hand but then shot up and screamed. "HOLD ON!"
"What?"
"Liz?"
"What's going on?"
"Are you feeling ok? Faint? Do we need to get a doctor?"
"Brock, go get someone; Jason, sit her down."
"Liz!"
"Calm down! I'm fine. I felt his hand move and squeeze mine." Liz shot out as she put her other hand on Clay's head and stroked his hair as she peered at his face looking for any movement.
"Clay? You there?" Jason coaxed, "Come on, buddy, it's time to wake up."
"Bam Bam, I think you've done enough sleeping. You're going to come out looking prettier than Pebbles here. She's going to get jealous." Sonny grunted as he stood with the rest of Bravo as they gathered around the bed and gently squeezed Clay's leg, avoiding all injuries or strong movements.
As the team stared at Clay, waiting for anything to their words, they kept talking, trying to get some response. After a few moments, they were about to give up and sit back down, thinking it was just a twitch on Liz's hand; they felt a stir and movements on the hospital bed. Then a flash of blue darts around the room, taking in every detail and looking overly confused, unable to focus entirely. Finally, Clay was awake.
As the kid's movements in the bed continued and got more frantic, his face distorted in pain, and he could not form any words but get out a few groans of pain.
"Hey Clay, you need to stay still." Trent tried to catch Clay's attention as he waved his hands before his face, "You must stop moving. Son gets a doctor and tells them Clays is awake and needs pain meds. He may blow a stitch if he does not stop thrashing out."
"Clay, stop," Jason ordered, hoping the boy in front of him would calm down. As much as he was confused and disoriented, he was a soldier deep down, and an order will be one thing he would understand.
With that order, Clay froze and blinked a few times, looking at the faces hovering over him, slowly taking in his surroundings, and returning to himself. The trash panda was going back into hiding. Jason took this moment to step away half a step to pull out his phone, send a quick group text to get Ray here, and let Blackburn and Davis know Clay was awake.
"You are safe—you are back home in the hospital. We got you. I won't sugarcoat it; I know you like it straight. You have some cracked ribs, a concussion, cuts, and scrapes all over your body. They are healing nicely, and you underwent surgery to get the bullets out and fix your shoulder. You were hit in the left upper chest, left side and upper thigh. A dislocated shoulder needed surgery to fix, so you'll be in a sling for a while and then some PT for that and both your legs. You had a fever from infection and have been on antibiotics for a few days, and they are worried about late-onset pneumonia from the water inhalation. You are in rough shape, but we got you. Don't try and talk, and we will get you some water. You have been asleep for five days with an intubation tube off and on, so your throat is going to be dry and scratchy." Trent gave the run down to Clay, who focused on his face first. Trent knew Clay did not like to beat around the bush, so it was best to give him all the information upfront and let him sift through it and gain an understanding. Cope with everything up front and no secrets were Clays M.O.
As Brock returned to the bed with a small cup of water and straw, he leaned into Clay as Trent slowly raised the bed while holding a pillow onto Clay's torso to help his ribs absorb the movement. Sonny came barrelling into the room, followed by a nurse who administered a dose of antibiotics and pain meds into his IV line, checked his vitals, and returned to report to his doctor.
"Lookie here, you finally decided to wake up. It's about time, Ken doll." Sonny grinned as he stood at the end of Clay's bed, unable to wipe the smile off his face.
"I….. was….. tired!" Clay croaked out as he grimaced between words swallowing roughly.
"YOU WERE TIRED? Do you know what you put us through for five days? All because you needed a NAP?" Jason bellowed out as he stood there, gobsmacked with his jaw open.
"Yeah." Clay coughed out as he flashed his cocky grin laying his head back on his pillow and closing his eyes, trying to hide from the bright lights overhead. He could still feel Liz's hand in his holding on, and he gave it a small squeeze of reassurance as he started to rub lines on the back of her hand with his thumb. He could not get to man words out, and keeping his eyes open hurt too much, but he needed to reassure her that he was ok. That he was here for her and needed her.
His response was met with silence, wide eyes, and slack-open jaws. No one knew what to say to the cocky kid who put them through hell for days because he was tired.
