Author's Note: I owe y'all a HUGE apology! I'm so sorry for making you wait so long! I think this is the longest it's taken me to get a chapter out, but life has been a little crazy.

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Chapter 36-We've Missed You

Over the next few days, the doctors began the process of waking Erin up. She was able to wean off of the ventilator, and Jay, Jenna, and Hank were overjoyed to watch her take her first breath on her own. After so many days of fear and uncertainty, they hoped they'd finally reached the time that Erin would come back to them.

Unfortunately, waking up was taking Erin longer than expected, leaving everyone nervous about her recovery chances. Jay barely slept, unable to leave Erin's bedside, determined to be there when she opened her eyes for the first time. He held her hand as he talked to her, begging her to wake up.

"Please Erin. Please open your eyes for me," he said, stroking her forehead. "I just need to see your eyes. I'm sure that you're scared, and you're probably hurting, but I promise you, we're going to get you better. The doctors are taking such good care of you, and you're a fighter, Er. You're the strongest person I know, and we…"

Jay stopped, no longer able to hold back the tears pooling in his eyes. He leaned over and kissed the hand he was cradling. "We still have so much life left to live together. I'm not…I'm not finished loving you yet."

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At Hank and Jenna's house, they were laying in bed, talking about the events of the day as they prepared for sleep. They were both feeling discouraged by Erin's lack of progress over the last couple of days. As Erin was weaned off of some of the medications, they expected to see at least some responses from her, but so far not much had happened. Jenna couldn't help a few tears rolling down her face. Hank reached out to gently wipe them as he rested his hand on her cheek..

"Please don't cry," he said softly.

"I'm sorry. I just…I miss her, Hank."

He nodded. "I know, babe. I miss her too."

Jenna put her hand on top of his. "I just wish there was something more I could do, for her, for Jay, for you. I'm just feeling so helpless."

Hank pulled her closer until their foreheads touched. "Your strength through all of this…Jen, you're the only thing that's kept me going. Jay, too. I don't know what we would've done if we didn't have you here to get us through this."

He kissed her softly. "I love you, so much."

"I love you Hank," Jenna said, pulling him closer and kissing him deeply.

They couldn't help themselves. The last almost two weeks had been so horrible, and the only comfort they were able to find was in each other's arms. As their kisses became more urgent and hands began to wander, they both wanted to just push everything else aside, the stress, the worry, the drama, and just be Hank and Jenna for awhile.

After a few minutes, things began getting more intense, and as much as he didn't want to stop, Hank knew that he and Jenna couldn't take things to the next level until they'd resolved the issues between them. He wished that Jenna would be the one to pull back, but when she reached for his waistband, it was time for him to put on the brakes.

"We can't babe," he said softly, putting his hands on top of hers, stalling them.

"What?" Jenna asked, pulling back to look at him.

He pulled her hands up to his mouth, kissing both of them. "Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are that I'm saying this, but we can't, not yet. Not until we talk."

Jenna sighed, pulling away from him to sit up, leaning against the headboard.

Hank propped himself up on his elbow, looking up at her. "You know I'm right, Jen."

"Yeah, I know, and I hate it when you're right," she said, smirking as she playfully pushed the elbow propping Hank up, causing him to fall back onto the bed. He sat up, moving to sit next to her against the headboard.

When they were side by side, the mood shifted as they both really acknowledged the time had come to have the big discussion they'd been putting off. If they were going to move forward, it had to be done. Hank took Jenna's hand, pulling it into his lap and intertwining their fingers. Finally, he turned to look at her.

"I'm so sorry Jenna."

Jenna nodded, wiping at the tears that were already rolling down her face. "I know," she said softly.

They spent the next hour talking, finally letting out the words and feelings they'd kept bottled up inside. While it was a relief to have everything out in the open, it was still an incredibly difficult conversation. Hank had always struggled with verbalizing his feelings, but he knew if he wanted to save his marriage, he had to do it. Although the conversation brought up a lot of hurt and anger that Jenna had tried to stuff down inside, she appreciated the effort Hank was making to right his wrongs and put their relationship back together. But she didn't hold her words back, needing to make sure that he really understood how she felt.

"I'm not a member of your unit. While I don't like that you speak to them that way, you're in charge, so you run the unit the way you see fit. But I'm not one of them, and you don't get to speak to me that way. You get that, right?" Jenna asked.

Hank nodded. "I know, and I'm sorry."

"It really hurt, Hank."

He put his arm around her, pulling her close. Jenna slid her arms around his waist as she buried her face in his chest. "I hate that I hurt you. I'm going to do everything I can to never hurt you like that again. I promise, Jen."

"Thank you," she mumbled into his shirt.

"I love you," Hank said, kissing the top of her head.

Jenna raised her head up, resting her chin on his chest as she looked up at him. "I love you too."

"Are we going to be ok?"

Jenna sat back up, moving to straddle his waist as she sat down in his lap, putting her arms around his neck. "We're ok. Just don't let it happen again."

"I won't," he said as his hands found her hips.

"Good," Jenna said as she leaned in and kissed him deeply.

They both felt a huge sense of relief after their conversation. While nothing would erase what happened, they loved each other enough to do the necessary work to move forward together. They would be ok.

Now, they just hoped that Erin would be ok.

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The next day, when Jenna and Hank arrived at the hospital, Jay could sense something different between them. When Hank stepped into the hall to take a phone call, Jay took advantage of Hank's absence to question Jenna.

"Is something going on between you two?" he asked.

"Is it that obvious?" Jenna asked.

"Something is different. Listen, I don't need details, but I want to make sure that you're ok."

Jenna reached across Erin's bed to squeeze Jay's hand. "Thank you for looking out for me, Jay. Hank and I are going to be fine. We talked everything out last night, and we're moving forward." She looked down at Erin. "Did you hear that, Erin? Things are much better around here, so it's time for you to join us."

Throughout the day, they all noticed new small movements from Erin, finger twitches, facial movements, and fluttering eyes. Every time there was a new movement, they all held their breath, hoping that would be the moment she would wake up. Every time that she didn't wake up, they would collectively let out a frustrated sigh.

Later in the afternoon, Hank felt restless and couldn't sit back and watch any longer, deciding to go for a walk. "Come with me?" he asked Jenna.

"Sure." Jenna squeezed Erin's hand and said, "Jay, let us know if anything changes or if you need us."

Hank and Jenna walked hand in hand down the hall. "The wait is killing me," Hank said.

"I know. I'm struggling with it too. It's got to be soon, Hank."

He sighed. "I hope so."

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Jay had almost drifted off to sleep when he felt Erin's hand move again. This time, the movement was harder, more intentional. Jay sat up, looking at Erin's face. Her eyes were fluttering more than before, and he felt like this might be the moment Erin finally came back to him.

He moved to stand next to her, squeezing her hand as he stroked her forehead, encouraging her to wake up.

"Come on, babe. I know you're coming out of this. Open your eyes, Erin. I'm right here with you. You're not alone, and you're going to be ok. Open those beautiful eyes. Come on, Erin."

Moments later, the crushing weight was lifted from Jay's shoulders when, for the first time in fifteen days, Erin opened her eyes.

Jay couldn't help the tears that fell from his eyes as Erin's met his. He struggled not to simultaneously fall to his knees sobbing and leap for joy. Instead, he sat down on the bed next to her, squeezing her hand as he stroked her forehead.

"Hi Erin. Welcome back. I've missed you so much." She looked at him for a moment before a wave of recognition came across her face, causing tears to pool in her own eyes.

Erin opened her mouth, trying to form words, but struggling due to her brain injury and swollen throat from the ventilator. Finally, she managed a small whisper.

"Hi."

"Hi," Jay said again before leaning over, resting his forehead against hers as his tears came harder. Slowly, Erin's hand found its way to Jay's cheek. He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch.

When he finally pulled back, Jay pressed the nurse's button, letting them know that Erin was finally out of her coma. Her doctors were paged, and Jay was asked to step into the hall for a few minutes while the doctors conducted an exam. He took advantage of the time out of the room to call Jenna, knowing she and Hank needed to know the new developments.

"Hi Jay," Jenna said, answering the phone.

Jay could barely speak, and his silence scared Jenna.

"Sweetie, what's wrong? What happened?"

"She's awake," Jay choked out, his tears coming harder.

"Are you serious?" she asked tearfully.

"Yeah." Jay relayed everything that happened, and Jenna promised she and Hank would be back to Erin's room in just a few minutes.

When she hung up the phone, Jenna rushed over to Hank, who was pacing outside while on the phone with Antonio. She put her hand on his shoulder, and he could see by the look on her face that something significant happened. He quickly ended the call, putting his phone in his pocket and grasping Jenna's forearms, trying to ground himself as he took in whatever news she had to give him. He couldn't bring himself to ask the question, hoping his eyes conveyed the words he couldn't form.

Jenna knew, so she didn't wait for his question. "Erin's awake," she said softly before leaning into him, sobbing into his chest. Hank cradled Jenna against him, fighting his own tears.

"She's awake," Hank said softly, closing his eyes as he processed the news.

Finally, Jenna pulled back to look at him. "Jay said the doctors are with her right now, but we can go back up there, and when they are finished, we can see her."

Hank took her hand, intertwining their fingers. "Let's go see our girl."

Jenna nodded, following behind as he led the way back to Erin's room.

When they reached Erin's room, Jenna rushed over to a tearful Jay, hugging him. When they pulled away, she asked, "This is real? She's awake?"

Jay nodded, wiping his tears. "Yeah. It's real. Finally."

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A little while later, they were allowed back in Erin's room where one of her doctors was still conducting tests. Jay took his place back beside her, but Jenna and Hank stood at the foot of her bed, not wanting to be in the way, but needing to be close to their girl.

Before anyone could speak, the doctor said, "Ok Detective, we're going to do a little test." He nodded his head toward Jay. "Can you tell me this guy's name?"

Erin gave a small smile. After a few moments, she whispered, "Jay."

Jay squeezed her hand and couldn't help the huge grin that came across his face. He was sure that hearing Erin say his name was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard.

"Great," the doctor said. "How about her?" Erin's eyes followed his finger over to Jenna.

Erin nodded. "Jen. Mom."

Jenna wiped at the fresh tears rolling down her face. "Hi, sweet girl."

Last, the doctor pointed at Hank. "One more," he said to Erin as he pointed at Hank.

"Hank. Dad."

Hank smiled, squeezing Jenna's hand as he fought to not cry. "Hey kiddo. We've missed you."

The doctor turned back to Erin. "Nice work. I'm glad to see that memory of yours is still functioning like it should. I know you're still a little groggy, so we'll get into the next steps later. Are you in any pain?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"I'm going to give you something mild. It may make you sleep, but you won't drift back into a coma." He looked up at Jay. "Don't worry if she falls asleep again. I know you have all been anxious for her to wake up, but she still needs lots of rest."

"We understand," Jay said.

"Don't push her too hard right now. Call if you need anything, but we'll let her rest until tomorrow."

The doctor gave final instructions for the night, including lots of quiet time for Erin, and asked Hank and Jenna to leave. They both whispered goodnights, I love yous, and promises to return tomorrow before leaving Erin and Jay alone for the night.

When they got into the hall, Jenna took Hank's hand, pulling him back to her as she wrapped her arms around him. She leaned against him as tears of relief fell hard. Hank held her close, burying his face in her hair as he allowed a few tears to fall. The last twenty-four hours brought so much healing and hope to their family that they were both overwhelmed. It was almost too much to process.

Their relationship would survive.

Their daughter was awake.

What more could they ask for?