Chapter Seven
Stepping off the elevator, Gillian sees the guards posted at the door, and feels a wave of déjà vu rush over her. Their faces are stern and cold, and they stare back at she and Ryan with their arms crossed, and faces blank. This is the Intensive Care Unit, where Ryan had stayed after he collapsed in his cell, and Gillian had stayed when she was injured at Holiday's. She and Ryan exchange a look and she knows they're having the same thought.
"We've got to stop coming back here."
"Maybe some day they'll just give up and name this wing after us," he says sarcastically.
Gillian squeezes his hand tightly before he kisses her head and walks over to the door. Ryan quickly exchanges words with the guards, and walks inside.
Gillian takes a seat in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs, and waits.
********************
The room was dimly lit, save for a small fluorescent light at the head of the bed. It illuminated Braden's face, barely recognizable through the bruises. What wasn't bruised was cadaver gray, and whiter than the sheet that was covering him.
Ryan pulls a stool up next to the bed and sits.
"You can't hear me, but I just want you to know that I'm here….Gillian's here….we're worried about you and we'll wait. We'll wait for you to wake up, anytime that you're ready. You've taken worse beatings than this, right? This is nothing, nothing at all."
The maniacal beeping of the heart monitor threatened to push Ryan over the edge. He closed his eyes and willed the sound to go away.
"You probably don't think you have much to live for right now but you're wrong. You've got so much Braden--you're a great guy, you just get a little crazy sometimes. We'll get you some help, and…hey, first time I've said that without you telling me how full of shit I am. I know somewhere in there you want to say it…how about it Bray? Come on…what do I have to do? Make fun of your poetry? I told you I never would, but if that's what it takes…"
Receiving no response, Ryan's determination is only strengthened.
"You're never going to wear me down. I'll wait forever before I let you die."
*****************
"It feels like it's been hours, and I keep sitting here, praying that something will change, that Braden will wake up."
Hayley puts her arm around Gillian's shoulder. "What's your prognosis, do you think he'll come out of it?"
"I talked to Dr. Martin after Ryan left, and he says it could go either way. I've said some terrible things Hayley, but you know I never wished for anything like this to happen. I feel just awful about it."
"It's not your fault Gillian…" Hayley stops in mid-sentence as Ryan suddenly emerges from Braden's room.
She stands, and they hug quickly.
"Thanks for coming. I really appreciate it, Hayley."
"No sweat. I'd do anything for you and Gillian. I have done anything for you and Gillian" Hayley says, finally getting a smile from Ryan.
These past few months had been a rebirth for Hayley. Mateo had returned to San Antonio with Raquel and Max, and she had been left behind. Her broken heart was only now beginning to heal, but she found herself discovering an exciting new life and independence. She remained loyal to Ryan and Gillian, and the threesome carried a bond that would never be broken.
"Ryan, how is he?" Gillian finally spoke.
"I don't know. He looks real bad. Did you talk to Dr. Martin?"
"I did. He says there's hope. Braden still has a good chance."
She tries bravely to smile, but fails. The cold feeling that had settled into her heart hours before was growing, and when she tried to push it away, it only came back stronger.
[Hayley exits and heads for the coffee maker.]
"Gillian, you need to go home and get some sleep, please?" Ryan says, pulling her close.
"What about you?""I'm going to stay and wait for Braden to wake up."
"Ryan, you don't know when that could happen. It might be days."
"Then I'll be here for days."
There's no way to fight it. She knew that wild horses couldn't drag her husband away from here. She looks into his face. The sharp features of his jawline, that she traces now with her fingers, and those eyes. The eyes that burned straight through her, making her crazy with passion at the sight of him, and empty with sorrow when they were apart.
"I surrender. I'll see if Hayley can drive me home." She says, throwing up her arms.
"I love you."
"I love you too, you crazy American." Gillian says as she buries her face deep into his shoulder.
"Hey Gil, talk to her about the baby, alright? Maybe she'll come by and help you in the morning." Their child had been in his dreams and every waking thought, since the day she had told him. That afternoon, he had secretly ordered an antique baby bassinet from Lacey's department store, which he planned to spring on Gillian when she least expected it.
Gillian reaches for her coat, and Ryan slips it over her shoulders. The cool autumn days have descended, and soon there will be snow and mistletoe all over again. "Of course, I will be big like a house by then," she imagines as she shares one last lingering kiss with her husband before turning and walking away.
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