When Love Heals - A Niall Horan Fanfic

Chapter Thirty.

Niall waited a few hours to call the boys, since it was still the middle of the night. When it had gotten to a reasonable hour (if you could call seven a.m. reasonable), Niall phoned Louis and told him of the predicament he was in with Carmen. Louis promised to rally the other boys together and get down to the hospital with some gifts to make the young girl's birthday special. After they said their goodbyes and hung up, Niall took a few moments just to reflect on his life. He was so glad that he had been put in that band only three short years ago, he couldn't imagine his life without these four boys, these four brothers. They meant so much to him and he would never be able to thank them enough for always being there when he needed them.

He went to sit by Lydia's bed with Karen whilst they were waiting for the boys. He didn't know whether to bring up the whole 'how did you forget your own daughter's eighth birthday?' thing. He didn't want to sound pushy or judgemental, and he knew Karen would feel awful when she remembered. He just didn't know how to say it in a kind, subtle way. So he remained silent.

"I can't explain how grateful I am that you're here." Karen said after an hour of silence. She was stroking Lydia's hair back from her forehead, and Niall couldn't help but feel irrationally jealous of her. He wanted to touch her, to kiss her cheek, to whisper that he loved her. But he didn't want to cross a line. He didn't want to push Lydia too far, and he didn't know what kind of conscious state she was in, so he remained in his seat, his hands clamped under his thighs so they couldn't reach out and touch like they so dearly craved.

"I know you're busy, Niall." Karen continued. "I know you have a hectic schedule and it must have been difficult to get here. But I really," she looked up to Niall with shining eyes, "I really can't thank you enough for coming."

Niall didn't know what to say. He could see unshed tears in Karen's eyes and they made him uncomfortable so he just glanced down to the floor in shyness.

"I'd do anything for her," he replied softly.

And there was nothing else to say but that. So they sat. And they waited patiently for the girl they both loved endlessly to wake up.

***

Karen left to get some coffee soon after that. Niall was a little worried about her, reassuring her that she could go home and get some sleep but she refused.

So Niall was sat on his own with Lydia in the room when she woke up. He was tracing over his left wrist with his fingertip, a thought on his mind. It was a stupid thought, he knew that. An irrational one. But one he was determined to go through with, if only Lydia would take him back.

He was only brought out of his thoughts when he heard a soft intake of breath interrupting the steady breathing that had come from the still girl in the bed. He glanced up in shock, and watched as Lydia's eyes began to flutter open.

Lydia couldn't explain what it felt like to be in the coma. It wasn't one of those experiences when people could hear and feel and knew of all their surroundings. She just hadn't been aware of... well, anything. It had been just darkness.

But then suddenly, her consciousness was calling to her and she was feeling like there was a light pulling her towards it and for a second she started to panic, thinking of the moments when people said 'don't go to the light!' and she started to think that maybe this was going to die.

But then she regained movement of her limbs and her eyelids and she desperately tried to force them open. Finally, after a few seconds of tense panic, she could see again. She blinked, clearing her blurry vision. She almost cried with relief when she saw the familiar sight of Room 206. She wasn't dead. She wasn't gone.

And then, as if in slow motion, her eyes moved of their own free will to the left hand side of the room, where a figure was sitting, staring at her with wide eyes.