Declan

Chapter Forty Three

Declan~

Declan waited impatiently for Lexi to get out of surgery at the hospital. He and the rest of the team sat in the waiting room in complete silence unable to discuss the events of the day, unable to even breathe until Lexi made it out of surgery successfully.

When Lexi's surgeon finally emerged from the operating room Declan's breath hitched as he jumped to his feet.

Please let her be okay.

"How is she?" His voice was shaky and almost unrecognizable as he questioned the doctor.

"We got the bleeding under control. Surgery went well and she's now in recovery."

Declan's body sagged with relief and he could finally exhale the breath he'd been holding since she'd been taken.

"Can I see her?"

"Yes, but she's still unconscious. I need you to understand that she may be that way for some time. The amount of time she went without oxygen..." his voice trailed as Declan cut him off.

"I know the statistics, Doc," he said flatly, fighting his urge to yell at the surgeon who had just saved Lexi.

"Please, I just want to see her." The distress in his voice was enough to convince the doctor to shut up and lead him to Lexi.

*****

The lights were low in Lexi's room and Declan tried to quiet his steps as he approached her bedside.

A nurse placed a chair by the bed before leaving and giving him a sympathetic smile as he lowered himself into it.

He gently clutched her hand in his and brought it up to his face, brushing her soft palm across the scruff of his jaw. Closing his eyes he leaned his cheek into her palm as he soaked in the sensation of her flesh. He turned and pressed his lips on to the soft skin of her palm and inhaled the scent, her scent.

"Hi gorgeous," he finally said, speaking into her palm.

Removing her hand from his face, he leaned forward onto the bed with his elbows and held her hand against his lips as he kissed each of her knuckles one by one.

"You scared the hell out of me, but I am so damn proud of you." His voice cracked and he swallowed hard to chase away the tears that were threatening to fall.

"You fought so hard for so long, but baby, I need you to keep fighting."

His eyes drifted to the ceiling in an attempt to rid himself of the pools of tears.

"I need you to come back to me. I need to fight your way back to me."

His nose burned and throat ached as he fought back every single tear that had built up inside him over the past forty eight hours, but he was losing the battle.

With his shoulders slumped forward, he unleashed his pain filled tears and allowed himself to feel everything that had happened. His broad shoulders shook as he sobbed and processed every painful second that he had been suppressing.

Through his tears he relived each agonizing moment from witnessing her torture to holding her lifeless body on the dock. He felt it all right then, in that moment, and emptied his soul as he clutched her tiny hand and wept.

"I'm going to be right here when you wake up, gorgeous."

Laying his head on the bed next to her arm with his eyes still wet with tears, he took her hand in his and allowed himself rest.

*****

The next day doctors and nurses came and went, but Declan never left Lexi's side. She remained unconscious and unmoving all except for her left hand. Every so often it would tremble and shake causing concern and prompting an MRI that revealed a hypoxic brain injury.

Lexi's doctor assured him that it was mild and manageable with medication and physical therapy, but would never truly go away. That she would most likely have a periodic tremor in her left hand that would come and go for the rest of her life.

The news was troubling, but as Declan went down the list in his mind of all of the horrendous complications that Lexi could have, and probably should have suffered from, a mild hand tremor was definitely a blessing.

If he could only get her to wake up.

At around 10:00pm the following evening, Declan still hadn't left the room. Pierce brought him a change of clothes and some food and offered to sit with Lexi while Declan showered.

As he finished the fastest shower of his life, he towel dried his hair on his way out of the bathroom, but stopped short when he overheard Pierce's voice.

"You've gotta wake up, Lex. Please."

Pierce was holding Lexi's hand as he spoke to her.

"He...we need you to wake up."

Pierce reached up and grazed his thumb over her eyelid. It was an endearing gesture that Declan had tried a hundred times over in an effort to coax her awake.

"Open up your eyes, Doll." Pierce pleaded as Declan joined him beside the bed.

"She is going to wake up," Declan said confidently, hoping to sound more convincing than he felt.

*****

The next morning both Declan and Pierce had slept in the room with Lexi, but Declan had barely slept a wink.

Studying her eyes and face for any signs of consciousness was his full time job and one that he took very seriously.

Her eyes moved beneath the lids occasionally, sparking hope within him before settling back into stillness, but that morning they maintained their movement.

He leaned over and slapped Pierce on the chest, calling attention to Lexi's eyes that were now constantly and rapidly moving beneath her eyelids.

This is it. She's trying to wake up.

Her pulse picked up along with her breathing as her brows raised and strained to lift her heavy lids.

"There you go, baby. Open those eyes for me," he said eagerly as he leaned up and rubbed his scarred palm along the side of her cheek.

She leaned into his palm and an inaudible whisper escaped from her lips.

"What'd she say?" he asked with enthusiasm and desperation.

Declan leaned over her and placed both of his hands on the sides of her face.

"I'm here, Lex," he reassured her hoping she'd speak again.

His prayers were answered when she whispered once more.

"Heaven," her tiny voice rasped once more as she smiled and fluttered her eyelids open revealing her perfect hazel eyes.

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What do you think about Pierce's character development? Do you see him in a different light than you did at the beginning of the story?

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