"Mommy?" Carrie looked up from her computer when she heard the small voice calling her name.
"Yes baby?" She closed her laptop and stood up from the couch, quickly making her way to Maddy's bedside.
"It hurts." She mumbled, turning her head slightly to look at her mom. It had now been two days since Maddy had woken up from the coma and she was still sleeping the majority of the time.
"What hurts now?" Carrie caressed the top of Maddy's hand with her thumb.
"My head again." She whispered. Her head was always hurting, they couldn't seem to get enough pain medicine in to stop it. "Can I have more medicine?"
"Not yet sweet pea, you just got some two hours ago." Carrie sighed.
"But it hurts mommy." She started to cry, making Carrie's heart break again. She wanted nothing more than to take the pain away from her daughter. "I wanna go home."
"I know baby, I know." Carrie whispered, laying down beside Maddy and pulling her into her arms gently. She rubbed Maddy's back and whispered soothing words in hopes of calming her down.
"I know this is all sucky right now, but every day you get a little bit better and every day we get closer to going home." Carrie said, stroking her daughter's back as they sat talking.
"Am I ever gonna be better again?"
"Yes, it's just going to take time. It's going to take a long time to heal, but one day, you'll forget this even happened." She assured Maddy.
"Promise?" Maddy looked up at her mom with teary eyes.
"I promise baby girl." Carrie said, hugging her tightly and kissing the top of her head.
___
A knock on the door woke both Carrie and Maddy. They'd fallen asleep together in bed two hours ago.
"Come in" Carrie said, adjusting her position so that she was sitting up. Maddy was still laying against Carrie and Carrie's arm was draped around her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Ivey appeared-flowers, cupcakes, and a milkshake in hand.
"Ivey!" Maddy tried to cheer, but it came out weak. Immediately, Maddy's mood changed and she seemed to be the happiest she'd been.
"Hey buttercup" Ivey cooed, a large smile across her face. This was the first time she'd come to visit Maddy since she'd woken up.
"I brought you a milkshake, and some cupcakes for when you're feeling a little better." Ivey smiled, placing the vase of flowers on the table along with the multiple other vases. Everyone had flooded the room with flowers, cards, and balloons over the past week.
Carrie helped Maddy sit up enough to drink the chocolate milkshake Ivey had brought.
"Mmm, that tastes good." Maddy smiled, taking a sip. The breathing tube had left her throat dry and sore, making it hard to chew and swallow hard food. Soft foods felt better on her throat and soothed it.
"I'm glad." Ivey smiled. "It's nice to see you smiling again."
"Do you wanna sign my cast?" Maddy said excitedly, remembering the large pink cast on her arm.
