Notes: Sorry about the delay in uploading this chapter; hope you guys have not forgotten the story! This chapter contains some medical stuff—I've tried to keep it as authentic as I could, but if there are any medical professionals reading this, please don't mind the inaccuracies!

As always, I look forward to your comments / feedback.

Chapter 20: One step closer

Jane found himself staring into Lisbon's kind green eyes, while Lisbon found herself tearing up and being a little overwhelmed as well. After all, she hadn't had the chance to see him awake in a very long time. Tears kept slipping through her eyes, and she couldn't seem to control them.

Jane started becoming more alert as the sedation had been stopped, but he soon realised that he couldn't speak due to the tube down his throat. The uncomfortable sensation down his throat started making him gag. His hands instinctively went towards the tube, and he tried pulling it out. Lisbon quickly realised what was going on, and before she could say or do anything, the anesthesiologist and the nurse stepped in.

"Mr. Jane, I'm doctor Jade Smith. You're in the hospital, and there's a breathing tube in your windpipe. I know it's uncomfortable, but this is only for a little while, okay?"

The doctor advised the nurse to make some changes to the ventilator settings so that her patient would stop gagging.

The change in the settings helped, and the gagging nearly stopped, but this agitation caused a change in his respiratory and heart rate. Lisbon pulled herself away from the scene as it was a bit too much for her to witness the struggle that was unfolding in the room. It took a few minutes for things to settle down before Lisbon could finally look at Jane. He was breathing slightly heavily, but his heart rate was stabilizing. She walked towards his bed while her own heart was hammering away due to the excitement that he was finally awake!

Jane didn't notice Lisbon walking towards him, as he was trying to make sense of what was happening around him and was at the same time trying to not gag due to the tube down his throat.

Something warm touched his cold hand, and he turned to look in the direction the warmth came from.

"Lisbon."

He looked at her, and a small smile formed on his face, but no words came out as the tube got in the way.

"Shh… don't try to talk; I'm here…"

Lisbon held his hand and went into full protective mode. He was getting very emotional looking at her, so his heart rate started climbing again.

Lisbon's heart wrenched seeing Jane getting all worked up. Wiping his tears away, she tried again…

"Hey, hey... shhh... shhh, it's okay. You're safe. I'm here with you."

She tried her best to comfort him as you'd comfort a young child. She felt him squeeze her hand shakily but with more strength this time. That small gesture got to her, and a couple of tears slipped from her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.

The time for the breathing trial was up, but neither the doctor nor the nurse intervened, as they wanted to give the two emotional people in the room their space for a little while longer.

Forty minutes had passed, and Jane was still on minimal ventilator support, but his vitals had been steady for a while, and that was a good sign.

99 – Heart rate 128/87 – BP 97 – O2 Saturation 25 – Respiration

The nurse switched off the beeping alarm on the cardiac monitor, which was indicating that the trial was over.

It had been 45 minutes since the trial had begun, and Jane was now showing signs of fatigue. His respiratory rate had climbed to 30, so the anesthesiologist decided it was time to stop the trial and give her patient his much-needed rest.

"Agent Lisbon, Mr. Jane has passed the trial successfully, so we are now going to let him rest. But you should know he has done exceedingly well in this trial, as he was able to sustain it for nearly 45 minutes. This means tomorrow we can try the breathing trial for a longer duration, and if he is able to sustain it, we can take him off ventilator support.

Lisbon was still a bit teary, but her face lit up when she heard the doctor say that Jane had passed the trial.

"You heard that, Jane? You passed the trial!" Lisbon was ecstatic as she conveyed the news to Jane, who now looked a little tired to her.

A very small smile formed on Jane's sweet face, and he tried his best to convey his feelings. Everyone in the room noticed it and felt a collective sense of relief.

The doctor came near Jane's bedside to talk to him.

"Mr. Jane, we are now going to increase your sedation a little, and we're also going to change the settings on the ventilator so that you can rest. Alright?"

Jane only looked at the doctor but was too tired to respond in any way. He closed his eyes but kept holding Lisbon's hand even if his grip was weak. He was already feeling sleepy due to the increase in the sedation.

The doctor noticed a slight increase in Jane's heart rate and saw his patient breathing more deeply, but he was glad the settings weren't causing any further gagging.

Lisbon's hand was still in Jane's hand, but Jane appeared to be falling asleep, though he was trying his best to stay awake! (Stubborn Jane, Lisbon thought to herself).

"Agent Lisbon, you can stay with him for 10 more minutes, but after that you will need to leave the room."

"Yes, doctor. I will. Thank you." Lisbon wanted to stay in the room for as long as Jane was awake. She hoped he'd fall asleep soon and not fight the sedative or the ventilator so that his body could get the rest it needed after that massive effort, but she also hoped that she wouldn't have to abandon him while he was half-awake.

The doctor left the room. The nurse wiped Jane's face with a wet wipe and then left the room too.

Finally, Lisbon found herself alone in the room with a very sleepy Jane, who was refusing to succumb to the pull of the sedative. She was a bit amused at how stubborn he was! A breathing tube down his windpipe and a mild sedative coursing its way through his body, yet here he was, trying to stay awake and communicate.

"Jane, I've got only 10 minutes with you; please close your eyes. I know you're tired."

Hearing Lisbon had only 10 minutes with him, he tightened his weak grip around her hand as much as he could and tried focusing on her sweet face through his sleepy eyes. Lisbon noticed it and moved closer to him while tightening her own grip around his hand.

"I'm not going anywhere, okay? I'm right here. Close your eyes, and I'll sing you the lullaby I used to sing to my brother."

A small smile formed on Jane's face, and he finally succumbed to the pull of his sleep.

Thursday morning

The day seemed brighter and happier when Lisbon woke up that day. She had slept well knowing that Jane's health was improving. Cho had stayed the night in the hospital as well. He too was relieved to know that Jane had done well in the trial. Jane was still receiving sedation, and he appeared to be sleeping peacefully, so Lisbon and Cho took the liberty of visiting the cafeteria.

When they returned, the doctor mentioned that the trial would begin at 12:30 pm and would go on for a longer duration of 75 minutes. If Jane passed this trial today without showing any signs of distress, he would be taken off the ventilator. Lisbon felt a little sad for Jane as she realised that a breathing trial can be very tiring for the patient, so she hoped that he'd be able to tolerate the trial much better today.

Thursday afternoon

Afternoon came far too soon, and Lisbon once again found herself in Jane's room. This time she was allowed to sit closer to him, as it was a longer trial. She met the respiratory therapist who was going to oversee the trial. There were a few guidelines that Lisbon had to follow. First, she could hold Jane's hand but would not be able to touch him anywhere else – this was to allow some sort of comfort for the patient but to not distract them in any way. Second, she could read to him but not have any conversations with him where he could feel distressed because he was unable to reply. Third, if she would need to leave the room during the trial for any reason, she would need to inform the respiratory therapist or the attending nurse before doing so – this was to ensure that the patient would never be left on their own. She was given a call button for that purpose. Lastly, she could play soft instrumental music if she wanted, as music had a soothing effect on patients.

Finally, the trial was underway…

The therapist and the nurse had left the room after adjusting the ventilator settings and after making sure Jane was alert enough for the trial. The therapist, Ms. Jones, was a kind lady, probably slightly older than Jane, but a medical professional who had the sweetest, calming voice that Lisbon had ever heard. She reassured Lisbon that she would be coming by frequently to monitor her patient. Lisbon felt a sense of relief.

Jane was still a bit drowsy when the trial began, but finding Lisbon seated near his bed made him smile. A small smile that grew a little bigger than the last time he had seen her. The first 30 minutes went by quietly without any complications. During the next 30 minutes, his vitals fluctuated a bit but were still considered within the normal limits. The last 15 minutes didn't go that well; the alarm on the monitor kept on beeping – sometimes due to his oxygen level dropping below 95 or because his heart rate climbed above 100… Those last 15 minutes were stressful for Lisbon. The therapist and the nurse stayed for the full 15 minutes and did their best to help keep Jane calm as much as possible, but Lisbon could tell that he was struggling a little. Even though the oxygen saturation didn't drop too low, for his weakened state, any dip in the oxygen levels was a bit of a concern.

Lisbon couldn't interfere while the two professionals were working with him to help him sustain the trial, but she desperately wished she could have stepped in to do the little breathing pattern she had tried out with him yesterday that had helped lower his heart rate…

Finally, the trial was over. Lisbon heaved a sigh of relief.

The respiratory therapist informed Lisbon that Jane had passed the trial. Even though there were fluctuations in his vitals, they were still within the normal limits for someone who was on ventilator support.

Lisbon couldn't believe what she had heard… Jane had passed the trial!

"That's amazing! So, what happens now, Ms. Jones?"

"Around 4 p.m. we will begin the process of taking him off ventilator support. After disconnecting the ventilator, he will continue to receive oxygen support for a couple of hours. If he is able to sustain normal respiratory effort for the rest of the day, then tomorrow we will conduct a decannulation trial."

"Ok, thank you, ma'am."

4:00 p.m. came too soon. Lisbon & Cho found themselves waiting outside Jane's room rather anxiously, waiting for someone to come and tell them that the procedure went well.

By 4:30 p.m. Jane was down one more tube and was alert when Lisbon and Cho walked into the room to see him. He couldn't yet speak due to the trach tube, but his smile was brighter than before, so that was a big emotional moment for everyone. Lisbon was very mindful of not letting her tears flow, as she didn't want to do anything that would make Jane overly emotional.

"Welcome back." Lisbon smiled as she stood beside Jane's bed and held his hand.

"Missed you." Jane silently mouthed his feelings and squeezed Lisbon's hand a little stronger than before.

Lisbon finally broke down; she couldn't contain her tears and feelings any longer as Jane was finally back with them. She quickly turned away from Jane and moved away from his bed to a corner of the room.

Cho took her place near his bedside and smiled at Jane.

"Good to have you back with us, Jane."

Jane smiled and motioned for something to write on.

Cho looked at the therapist in the room questioningly. She handed over a small whiteboard and a marker to Jane and asked him to write / draw what he wanted to say.

J ane: (Draws two question marks and a crying face)

"Why is Lisbon crying?"

Jane nodded.

"She's happy that you're awake, Jane."

Jane pointed to Lisbon and motioned for her to come near him.

"Lisbon…" Cho called out...

She turned and saw Jane asking her to come near him. Wiping her tears, she walked towards him.

Jane held her hand as she stood beside him and motioned to her to come closer to him. When she did, his hand went to her face, to her teary eyes, as he attempted to wipe her tears away.

"Don't cry." (He mouthed to Lisbon while his own eyes were tearing up.)

Lisbon smiled and felt a sense of relief knowing that he was going to make a full recovery; it was just going to be a matter of time…