Where do we go from here?

A glimmer of hope

"Thank you for coming so quickly." Dr Whale said breathlessly.

"Is everything okay?" Will asked.

"Yes, I have some good news for you." Dr whale said as a grin appeared on his face.

"Around 15 minutes ago I was alerted by a member of staff that Madeleine had begun to choke on her breathing tube. I made the decision to remove it and she regained consciousness shortly after."

She's awake?!" Rachel exclaimed, her heart racing.

Dr Whale nodded.

"She's tired, confused and in a lot of pain but all of that is to be expected after what she has been through." Dr Whale explained.

"Can we see her?" Will pleaded.

"Of course but just take it easy with her. She's still very weak and we are still ascertaining what mobility and cognitive reactions she has. We are by no means out of the woods yet." Dr whale reiterated.

"Of course." Will agreed.

Dr Whale then lead them to Madeleine's room. The young girl was sat slightly upright in the bed, holding on to an Elsa soft toy.

One of the nurses had been in and had kindly plaited her hair.

Since she had been in the hospital for so long, her hair had begun to grow and had now reached the start of her shoulders.

"Baby..." Rachel said as her eyes filled with tears as she ran towards the little girl.

"Mama?" Madeleine said, her eyes wide.

"Daddy?!" She cried out as she tried to lift her arms up for a hug.

"Oh our baby!" Will exclaimed as he sat the opposite side to Madeline.

"We love you so so very much." Will spoke as he kissed Madeleine's forehead.

Madeline winced slightly as her parents sat either side of her.

"We're here baby. And we are never, ever going to leave you." Rachel said softly as she held on tightly to Maddie.

This was everything.

"Sorry to disturb you but I have some results." Dr whale apologised as Will and Rachel both nodded.

"When Madeleine first woke up we tested her neurological function and her mobility. We then repeated the same tests 30 minutes later. Having consulted with some of my colleagues I can confirm that Madeleine has regained all neurological function and has no memory loss. Her mobility however has been significantly affected." Dr whale explained.

"What does that mean exactly?" Will asked as he glanced over at Madeleine who was snuggled up against Rachel, asleep.

"It means that at the minimum Madeleine will need physiotherapy, and it's likely that she will need the assistance of some form of a walking aid. In the beginning, she will be bound to a wheelchair. As she gets stronger and continues to recover we would want her learning how to walk and again, using an aid." Dr Whale explained.

"So she's disabled?" Rachel asked.

"Yes. However given her age and how well she has recovered thus far, we don't see her being disabled as a long term issue." Dr Whale finished.

"We hope that within twelve months she'll of regained at least half of the mobility that she had prior to the accident. Then as she grows we anticipate her mobility coming back gradually." Dr whale added.

"This is a lot to take in and it's been an emotional day. Get some rest and I'll see you both soon." Dr whale said as he left.

"I don't want to leave her." Rachel said as she started to get emotional.

"Neither do I." Will said as Madeleine whined.

"So we won't." Will said firmly.

"Maddie needs us more currently. Finn has the twins and he knows their routine. I'm sure he'll be okay to look after them for the night." Will said as Rachel agreed.

"I'll text him even so." Rachel said as she yawned.

R: Hey, can we ask you a favour?
F: Sure go ahead!
R: Maddie's awake. But she's lost a lot of mobility and is fairly unsettled currently and we don't feel happy leaving her when she's so unhappy.
F: I'll keep an eye on the twins. Don't worry; we were going to have a Disney movie night anyways.
R: We seriously don't deserve you Finn. You genuinely are a godsend.
F: I have no idea what a godsend is but sure! You're welcome. Give her a hug from me and get some rest. See you both in the morning.

"Finn's happy to have the twins." Rachel smiled as Will grinned.

"That's good. Now let's settle down. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night." Will groaned as Rachel giggled.