Marcus

Chapter Sixteen

 Caroline ~

Caroline opened her eyes slowly, wincing at the bright fluorescent lights in the room.

"Kill the lights." A deep familiar voice echoed from beside her, prompting the room to become darker almost instantly.

She'd know that deep voice anywhere and the sound alone brought her comfort, sending goosebumps up and down her arms. 

Marcus.

Shifting her weight to the side, Caroline tried to roll toward the sound of Marcus' voice, but groaned at the shooting pain that accompanied her sudden movement. Her side was on fire and any kind of pressure or movement was proving to be excruciating.

"Easy Red. I'm right here. You don't have to move baby, I'll come to you." Marcus said, scooting a chair closer toward her as he leaned onto the bed and took her hand in his.

"Where...where are we?" Caroline rasped, clearing her throat. 

"Germany." Marcus replied, running his hand up and down her arm in a soothing motion.

"They just removed your chest tube, here on this side. Said it's gonna hurt like a bitch for a while, not to mention you've got four fractured ribs. Good news is nothing's lacerated or punctured internally except your lung that will be able to heal on its own without surgery since the leak has closed."

Caroline felt Marcus use his massive hand to motion at her side, making it a point not to put any pressure whatsoever on her tender flesh, but wanting her to be aware so she didn't hurt herself as she slowly regained consciousness and started moving.

"Recovery time?" Caroline asked, grimacing as she tried to sit up slightly.

"Six weeks." Marcus said.

"Well shit." Caroline grumbled.

I could probably turn that six weeks into four.

"Eight weeks if you push it too hard." Marcus said flatly, giving her a knowing look that she deserved.

I swear that man can read my mind.

Still unable to wrap her mind around the fact that Marcus was not only alive, but sitting at her bedside, holding her hand and stroking her arm, Caroline stared at his face, unable to tear her eyes away. She wanted so badly to ask him a thousand questions and desperately needed to hear all of his answers, but she was exhausted knew those weren't going to be easy conversations to have. 

"Listen Red, we've got a shit ton that we need to talk about, but I want to get you settled and comfortable before we do all that. Doctor said you need to rest and can be discharged soon. Let me get you out of here and in a nice comfy hotel bed before we start those conversations." Marcus said, practically begging her to rest.

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. There were so many unanswered questions. So many things that were likely to be uncomfortable, confusing, or frustrating and this hospital setting wasn't the appropriate place to have those conversations.

"I need to talk to my supervisor." Caroline groaned, knowing how pissed Fox was going to be that she was out of commission for six weeks.

"Fox is out in the hallway." Cooper's voice sounded from deeper in the room.

Caroline lifted her head and looked over at Cooper who gave her a sympathetic smile.

"How ya feeling Liz?" Cooper asked.

"This side of me feels okay...but this side is dying." Caroline said with a laugh, wincing at the movement of her lungs and chest, regretting the decision instantly.