The Moment I met you

chapter 25

Jennifer stepped inside and slowly closed the door behind her. She thought she was somewhat prepared for what she would see but as she took a small step inside the room and looked up her eyes landed on the hospital bed where the woman she loved laid and her heart almost stopped. Emily was lying motionless on the bed with all kinds of tubes and wires connected to her body. The only thing she could here was the different sounds coming from the ventilator and all other monitors that were surrounding Emily's bed. Tears filled her eyes as she inched closer and as she reached Emily's bed she couldn't hold it inside anymore. She pulled up a chair by the bed and sat down and leaned her head against the side of Emily's bed close to the other woman's hand and just cried. She gently took Emily's hand and pressed her lips against it as tears fell from her face.

"You have to wake up Emily... you have to fight do you hear me?...You can't leave me... please... don't leave me..." she whispered with a teary voice and kissed Emily's hand again.

Composing herself a little she stood up again and gently touched Emily's face with her fingertips. She looked so fragile and Jennifer was almost afraid to touch her, thinking she might cause her pain. Emily had a tracheal tube down her throat that helped her breathe and Jennifer watched as the ventilator filled Emily's lungs with air and then helped her exhale. Everything felt so surreal, like she was in a very bad nightmare and she desperately wanted someone to come and wake her up.

"How could this happen?... and why you?... God Emily... You have to live...I don't know what I'd do if I lose you...I love you so much..." she whispered and gently ran the tip of her fingers across Emily's cheek, careful not to touch the tube that was helping her breathe.

"I'm gonna be here till you wake up okay? I'm not leaving you...I'm never ever leaving you..." she wiped the tears from her face and slowly leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on Emily's forehead.

"I wish I could stay by your side but you need to rest and your mom is desperate to see you, but I'm not far. I'll be in the waiting room. It's just down the hall, I think if you yell I'll probably hear you." Jennifer said and smiled through her tears.

"I'm not leaving so you'd better not leave me you hear?" she pressed another tender kiss to Emily's forehead and leaned back slightly and whispered:

"Fight for me... for us..."

She brought Emily's hand up to her mouth and kissed it gently.

"I love you."

She didn't want to leave, God how she didn't want to leave but she had to let Elizabeth see her daughter. It killed her to walk out of the room and as she closed the door behind her she started to cry again. It was all too much too handle for one day and she was exhausted. She hadn't slept at all during the night, she couldn't, and she hadn't eaten in over 24 hours. She knew she needed to get something to eat but she had no appetite. She took a couple of deep breaths to compose herself and wiped the tears from her eyes before she started to walk back to the waiting room.

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Jennifer didn't say anything to neither Elizabeth nor Jack as she returned to the waiting room, she just headed to one of the couches and slumped down, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Elizabeth watched the other woman and she wanted to go over and comfort her but she also needed to see her daughter so badly.

"Go to Emily, I'll go check on her." Jack said sensing his fiancée's worry over his daughter.

Elizabeth nodded and walked out of the waiting room. Jack turned around and looked at his daughter for a moment. She was sitting on the couch, hugging her legs and just staring into space. She looked so devastated and Jack realized then that his daughter's feelings for Emily were real.