Overexposed

Ch. 34 Awake

Juice's heart was racing as he paced outside of the room. For just a few short seconds, Angela had come back to him. Her fingers had curled around his, and her eyes had opened as she struggled to breathe around the tube in her throat. He'd seen the fear in her eyes as she gripped his hand. He'd held her hand tightly, pressing the alarm inside the room to get help with his free hand. He hadn't really believed Jo when she'd said Angela's hand had moved the night before when Evie had been talking to her. Not until he saw himself. He'd always loved her hands. Loved her pretty fingers that she kept perfectly manicured, painted all sorts of colors. Colors he loved to choose for her, a job he'd passed along to his daughter when she was old enough. The strength in his wife's fingers had always astounded him, especially when they were working out the hard knots in his back or clinging to him in the throes of passion. He loved the ink on her ring finger the most. His initial. The one he'd put there himself on the night of their wedding. He knew every inch of her hands, every scar and mark as if they were his own and to feel them squeezing his hand back for the first time in what felt like ages had made him feel like he could fly.

Chloe jogged towards him, stopping just short and pressing a hand to her lower back as if she was in pain. "Heard the alarm," she said, trying to catch her breath. Her hazel eyes were wide with fear. "Is she okay?"

He nodded, grinning widely at her. "She's...she opened her eyes, and she was...like breathing around the tube and choking and...that's good, right? It didn't sound good, but it is good, right?"

"Holy shit! Yes! That's amazing!" she exclaimed, practically bouncing. "Juice, that means she's breathing on her own!"

He nodded even more emphatically. "I know," he replied, the words coming out choked by the lump in his throat. The sense of relief was overwhelming. All the fear and grief he'd been experiencing was slowly starting to melt away. She was coming back to him. Everything was going to be okay.

The doctor walked out of the room, a small smile on her face as she nodded her greeting to them. "She's made a remarkably quick recovery. The tube was removed, and we have her on oxygen for now. We'll monitor her breathing for awhile to make sure she does okay without being intubated, but she seems to be breathing on her own with no issue."

"Is she awake?" Chloe asked, happy tears shining in her eyes.

"She's sedated for now. It made it easier to extubate without causing her more pain," the doctor explained, looking over her shoulder.

Juice swallowed hard at the lump in his throat. "But she'll wake up?"

"Yes, Mr. Ortiz. I'm very confident she'll wake up. Probably in an hour or so when the sedative wears off."

The relief that washed over him was overwhelming. A little breathless, he leaned against the for support before slowly sliding to the floor to sit. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It was all too much.

Chloe said thanks to the doctor then squatted down so she was face to face with him. "You good, dude?"

He nodded, swallowing hard as he searched for words. "Yeah, I just..." he trailed off, unsure of how to put words to his feelings. "It doesn't feel real, Chlo."

She grinned at him. "It is. Toldja she wasn't going anywhere. Thank God you spruced up a bit. Think Ang would've freaked if she saw you all stinky and grubby."

Juice knew it was her attempt to distract his thinking a bit. He still didn't quite know what had possessed him to shower and shave the day before. When Jo said she'd seen Angela's hand move, he'd found the motivation to clean himself up a bit. He'd taken a quick shower in the hospital locker room, trimmed his facial hair, and tamed his hair as best he could in the setting. It'd made him feel more like himself than he had in days. "I never stunk," he muttered, shaking his head. "Did I?"