Crush // Ian Somerhalder

95 - Real Life

Eight days.

That's how long it had been since Skye's crash. It was also the amount of days that she'd been unconscious, and since Ian's life had completely fallen apart.

It was all going so well. They were engaged, they worked together, they moved in. They had their whole life together to look forward to. They were going to get married, hopefully one day have babies. It's all they talked about, the future.

Now though, for Ian sat at her bedside it was like everything had frozen. Time got stuck. It wasn't sure whether to keep playing or to completely stop. One thing it couldn't do, one thing Ian wished it could do so badly, was go back, rewind. Rewind to a time when he had Skye in his arms, safe and well.

"Mr Somerhalder, the results of Skye's latest brain scan show that the swelling has gone down," one of the doctor's informed on the afternoon of the eighth day.

To say that Ian was frustrated was an understatement. He had managed to get hold of some of the best private medical doctors in the world to help with Skye. If he had to spend his last penny getting her better he would. Her wounds had been stitched, her shattered wrist pinned and cast. Her chest was getting better, her lungs now inflated and healing. So why no change?

"Why isn't she waking up then? Everything else has been dealt with. She's breathing on her own now, there's no bleeding, nothing. Why won't she wake up?"

"It's all down to Skye now, Mr Somerhalder. We've done everything medically possible to help with the coma but sometimes it just takes time."

"How much time?" Ian's Mom Edna asked in concern whilst holding on to his hand tightly.

"There is no way to tell exactly. Most coma's do not last any longer than 2-4 weeks."

"Most coma's?"

"There are some cases where patients can be in coma's for months, even years. I must stress Mr Somerhalder this is rare and all of the signs are good at this..."

"She will wake up won't she?" Ian interrupted, his mind working on overdrive.

"All of my medical knowledge and experience leads me to believe she will. She is strong and young. She has that on her side. It's all up to her now."

Later that day, after Ian had managed to process everything he'd been told he managed to convince his Mom to go back to the house, get some rest and then call around and update everybody. If he was completely honest he just wanted some time alone. Alone with his thoughts, alone with his worries, alone with her.

As it got dark outside and the after one of the nurses came to do her final checks of the day, Ian settled into place for the night.

Going over to Skye's bedside, he pulled up a chair, grabbed a blanket and took a seat as close to her as he could get.

For a while he just sat, holding her hand and looking at her chest going up and down. That was the only thing that kept him going the last couple of days.

The first time he saw her after the accident was a moment he'll never forget, not because he didn't want to but because it burned itself into his mind.

She lay there completely still, black and blue from head to toe. She had cuts and scrapes all over her bare skin. Tubes and machines surrounded her, helped keep her alive.