Wait For Me

It's A New Day, It's A New Dawn

A/N Thank you for all your lovely comments after the last few chapters :))

As the sun began to rise, the hospital room remained quiet as everyone slept. Charlie wandered along the corridor to check on Grace as he often did in the mornings. He was aware Connie had been here late yesterday and so would probably need the rest this morning.

He smiled to the nurses as he went by before slowing at the entrance to her room. Pushing the door open gently, he stepped inside smiling at the sight before him. Jacob had pulled the chair closer to the bed so that Grace could rest against him. Her head lay against his shoulder as his arm rest over her protectively. The blankets were draped over them both as they slept soundly, Jacob's position looking uncomfortable but none the less, he was still asleep.

Sliding his phone out of his pocket, Charlie quickly took a picture of the two of them before opening a message and sending it to Connie. With a final glance up at them, Charlie left the room wandering down to the ED to begin his shift. As nurses began moving about the department, Grace started to wake quickly feeling someone close beside her.

Rubbing her eyes, she stretched her arms out before her glancing over to see Jacob asleep in the chair. A wide smiled passed her lips as she saw him having expected it to be her Mum beside her. She thought back to the previous evening and remembered her Mum falling asleep on Jacob. Grace was happy he had stayed, it was different to wake up to him being there but it felt good.

A couple of hours went by and Grace had been checked on by the nurse. Jacob had smiled when they were told of the further developments in Grace's recovery, something they had all been waiting so long for to hear. "See firecracker, I knew you could do it." Her smile widened as he sat on the end of her bed looking to her. "And you promised you'd speak to Mum..." Jacob nodded with a smile as he reached out to take hold of her hand. "Yeah, yeah I did."

Grace couldn't deny how good the thought of her Mum being happy the way she was before the accident felt. It was as though everything could get better now, like they could all really try. She didn't expect any part of this to be easy, but at least things were going the right way now. "I've got to pop out, get changed, grab a few things... Anything you want?" "Choc-late?" Jacob smirked with a roll of his eyes as he picked up his coat.

"Just like your mother..." He leaned down placing a kiss to her forehead as he wandered to the door. "Jacob-" "I'll see what I can do." He winked as she laughed before disappearing from sight along the corridor. "Th-ank yo-u..." She slipped back down into the bed letting her eyes close for a while as she waited for him to come back.

Down the corridor, the atmosphere was a different story. Connie woke feeling the ache in her back from a night on the uncomfortable mattress again. When she didn't feel anybody around her, she frowned thinking that he would have at least stayed till morning after what happened. Picking up her phone she realised it had run dead over night, before releasing a heavy sigh.

She thought that opening herself up to Jacob again would change things, maybe mean she could stop waking up alone again. It was something she still hadn't got used to even after all these months apart. Sitting forwards, the covers fell to her side as she caught the jumper that had been covering her.

Looking down at it she frowned before realising whose it was. Her expression softened slightly as she sat on the edge of the bed thinking about everything they had said to one another over the last few weeks. Connie was far from being able to turn back the clocks and make their relationship what it was again, but she was pretty sure she was ready to start trying.

As she stood up, she pushed her feet into her heels before pulling on his jumper. She could still smell his aftershave on it as she pulled it tighter around her slim frame. Pulling the sleeves down over her hands she took a quick glance in the mirror, running her fingers through her hair and checking her appearance before wandering down the corridor.

A part of her was still upset he hadn't stayed, or even left a note to say he had to go. She was sure he had said he didn't have a shift today, so why would he disappear if he cared as much as he said he did? Running a hand across her face she tried to stop thinking about him as she came towards the nurses' looking after Grace.

"Morning-" "Good morning Mrs Beauchamp... Grace's test results show she's improving again, her levels are a lot better than last week." Connie couldn't help but smile as she quickly scanned her daughter's results. "I tell you, it's good to hear that little girl laugh after so long. Whatever it is he's doing, it's working." Connie frowned as the nurse walked away, looking across to her daughter's room before moving towards it.

From across the hall she could hear Grace's laughter, the unmistakable sound of her daughter music to her ears. Through the glass she had seen his back to her, sitting on the bed as he and Grace spoke. She had stopped herself from charging inside, instead savouring the sight of the two of them for a moment.

Grace's eyes lifted straight away upon hearing the door open. "Mum!" "Hey sweetheart..." Jacob had twisted her direction and she found that the look on his face was enough to take the little air she did have away. Kissing the top of Grace's head she looked across at everything scattered on the bed sceptically.

"I just thought that it might be good for Grace to have things to help with everything." Connie ran her eyes across the various image cards and games on the bed. She saw these sorts of things used all the time, they helped with speech development and although Grace was recovering they would definitely help her while keeping her amused. Her attention was torn down by her daughter as she tugged on her hand. "What's up baby?"

She picked up her tablet and turned it around so Connie could see it. "I put a few things on there that might help too..." Connie nodded before seeing pictures drawn on the screen. "What am I looking at?" Grace seemed to take a steady breath before her voice came out stronger than she had yet heard. "Jacob, said w-e, can g-get pizza..." She was unable to subdue the smile pushing at her lips and she was unsure she even wanted to try. "One step at a time sweetheart..."

Connie frowned looking down to the bed before arching a brow. "Things to help my daughter, involves chocolate now does it?" Grace and Jacob looked at each other before they both pointed at one another. "Jacob bought it-" "Grace asked for it." Connie sighed wandering across the room placing the rubbish in the bin, Grace and Jacob wincing at each other worried about what she would say next.

"One thing I'd thought you'd know, muscles, is that if my daughter gets chocolate in the morning, I want something too." She folded her arms against her chest as she stood before him causing both Jacob and Grace to laugh. "I don't know what you find funny, I'm starving!" She reached across to tickle Grace before Jacob smirked moving to take something from the side. "Like I'd forget you sweet cheeks."

Turning back around she took the muffin that he held out to her, stepping closer as she finally lifted his eyes up to meet his. "Forgiven?" Connie hummed as his arm moved around her waist slowly. "I guess that depends-" "It's chocolate chip." She laughed shaking her head before releasing a gentle breath. It seemed he was waiting for some sort of answer from her, but there was only one response coming to mind.

Leaning closer, she kissed him gently surprising both herself and Jacob. "Thank you, for dodgy breakfast and for staying with Grace." His arm dropped to take hold of her hand, squeezing it gently as she looked down. "This isn't going to just happen over night-" "I know... It'll take time, but I'm willing to wait." His words catching her off guard before she remembered Grace behind her.

Glancing back she saw the smile on her daughter's face before she rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's at least make some use of all this." "Okay whose up for a game." Connie watched as Grace nodded enthusiastically while she perched up on the bed beside her daughter, Jacob sitting opposite them. An understanding of everything they wanted between them, but also the realisation that it would be a working progress.