Back in Town

Chapter 16: Awake!

-*-*-

Alec shouted, "Nurse!" then looked back down, a huge smile across his face, even though tears were streaming down. "Oh, you're beautiful, you know that? And you're awake. Thank God you're awake," he said, repeatedly kissing her hand between words.

"How—how long?" she gasped out, then started coughing.

"Eight days," as he spoke this time he heard a gasp behind him from one of the nurses, who quickly came close and started checking Liv over.

Liv weakly tried to fight off the nurse as she flashed a light into her eyes. "Alec—Alec, it was Jim—"

"Sssh, calm down, love. We already got him. You're safe and he's locked up now."

-*-*-

Several hours later, Liv's bed had been adjusted so that she was sitting up more. The feeding tube had been removed and she had drunk some water, much to the delight of her nurse. Alec sat on the edge of the bed facing her, and her hand rested on his bent knee. She was still quite groggy, because of pain medication, but was lucid enough to converse with him.

"So you—you tackled him?" She grinned.

"Aye, he was already down after tripping over a trolley of bedpans," he chuckled out the last part of the answer. "But I wanted to be sure he didn't get any farther."

"Liv!" Daisy exclaimed as she rushed into the room. Alec stood right in time for his daughter to swoop in and sit in his place on the bed, leaning in to hug the woman as best she could.

"Woah, gentle there, darlin'," Alec said to his daughter. "She's still in quite a delicate state."

Daisy shifted to try and not lean too much weight on Liv, but she had broken down, weeping into the woman's shoulder. Liv used her one 'good' arm that was available to her to stroke the girls back. "Oh, there, there, darlin'. It's okay now. I'm okay."

"But Liv, I thought—I thought you might never wake up. And I was so scared. And Dad wouldn't let me see you. And I just prayed and prayed that you'd be okay." Daisy rambled on as she cried into the woman's shoulder.

"Sshh, hush now sweet girl. I am okay. It'll be a long road, but I'll be just fine." Liv sighed, then cringed as she felt a pang of pain in her wrapped shoulder.

"Okay, Daisy, darlin'—I know you've missed Liv, sweetie, but you need to get up now. Liv needs to take her pain medication and let's give Ellie some time with her, okay?"

Daisy nodded and sat up, allowing her father to place his arm around her and escort her away from the bed where he hugged her. Ellie came up and sat in the chair by the bed, smiling at her best friend.

-*-*-

Two days later, Liv had been moved into a regular room. She would be given a few more days of recovery in the hospital before being released home. There she would receive regular visits from nurses and physical therapists to ensure she continued to recover.

She was scooted over to right side of the bed, Alec sitting to her left on the bed as they chatted. He was continuing to update her on the events of the eight days she had been comatose.

"Tess showed up!?" she said in disbelief.

Alec nodded his head. "Aye, it was as much a shock to me as you."

They sat in silence a few minutes, Alec had her left hand in his, stroking each finger individually for a few moments before speaking again. "I was scared, Liv. More scared than I've ever been before—honestly. When they wheeled you into surgery—I thought—I thought I had lost you."

"But you didn't," she said quietly, head turned towards him to look at him. She was so busy watching his face, she had missed him slipping one hand into his pocket and coming back out. It wasn't till she felt something slip onto her finger that she glanced down and gasped.

"I thought I had lost you without telling you how much you mean to me, Liv. I want to spend the rest of my life reminding you every day how much you mean to me. If you'll have me—" He looked down at the ring, shifting it on her finger a bit to see that it fit perfectly. "It looks good on you." He then looked back up into her eyes. "Will you marry me?"

"Oh Alec, you amazing man. You really mean it? You really want to spend the rest of your life with me?" she said in a whisper.

He nodded. "I've had the ring for weeks. Just couldn't seem to find the right time to ask. If there's one thing I've learned it's that there's no time like the present. So—is that a yes?"

She nodded and smiled wide at him and he leaned over, kissing her deeply for a moment before moving back. "If I could, I'd call Paul Coates in here right now and have him marry us. Sadly, the law won't allow that."

-*-*-

Four days later, Alec and Ellie walked by the hospital porter as he wheeled Liv's wheelchair out the front doors of the hospital. They were expecting what they found ahead of them, several news station cameras and reporters were huddled in a crowd waiting on their exit.

"Olivia! Liv! Do you have something you'd like to say?" one of the reporters shouted as she approached.

"Yes, I do." She smiled as Alec took over from the porter and wheeled her up to the crowd, Ellie at his side. "Contrary to rumors, and much to the disappointment of my ex-husband, I am still alive and on the mend. It will be some time," she said, slightly lifting her cast-encased arm. "Before I am typing away at my upcoming book. But I'm headed home for some rest and recovery, under the watchful care of my fiancé." She grinned up at Alec, then turned back to the crowd. "Thanks to everyone for their concern and well wishes."

Alec spoke then, "DI Miller will now share with you some information regarding the case. Thank you." He then nodded to Ellie who took over speaking as he rolled Liv away towards the car park where his car was located nearby.