Tough Love

Chapter Seventy-Two

Chapter Seventy-Two

Eli

Dani is still asleep when Dr. Stone makes his rounds. He checks her vitals and changes the IV bag that has her medication and the fluids in. As he does this, I ask, “How's she doing, doc?”

“Pretty well, all things considered. I'm a little concerned about the memory loss, but it might just be her brain's way of saying it can't deal with the trauma right now. I can only imagine it was an extremely traumatic experience for her. Her vitals are good and she seems to be healing well. We will need to x-ray her arms and leg soon, to see if the bones have healed properly. If that's the case, then the casts can come off and she can start physiotherapy soon. We should get her up and walking as soon as we can. If Dani doesn't get any jogs in her memory in the next few days, I'll have a specialist look at her. How are you doing, Lieutenant? I bet it's a big relief for you, seeing her awake.”

I release a breath, “You have no idea. It doesn't feel quite real yet, to be honest. I'm concerned about her though. She seems very distant, more so than usual I mean.”

“I'm sure she's very confused and the drugs will cloud her senses as well. Give her a few days to settle down. Just give her some time. Everything seems fine here, so I'll leave you both.”

It's almost 7:30 pm when there's a knock on the door. I let go of Dani's hand to go and open it. I'm met with Ash, the Cap and the whole team. I'm shocked to see all of them, so I step out of the room and say, “Hey guys. I didn't expect all of you to visit.”

Ash smiles, “We were excited to see her. Is she really going to be ok?”

“It would seem so, yes. She's asleep at the moment, but I'll go wake her and let her know you're all here. Just give me a few minutes.”

They all nod eagerly and I close the door after letting myself back into Dani's room. I take her hand again and whisper, “Dani? Baby? The guys are here to see you.”

She stirs and I hear her mumble, “Poppa?”

I panic. After hearing she saw her parents when she was in a coma/technically dead, I'm worried she's going to slip back into that state.

“No baby, it's Eli. Can you hear me?”

She groans and her eyes flutter open, “Eli?”

I let out a sigh of relief, “Yes baby, it's me. How you doing?”

“I was dreaming.”

“You were? A good or bad dream?”

“I don't know. Sort of in between. My poppa told me to make everything right.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don't know.”

“Maybe we'll talk about it later. You ok to see the guys now?”

“Can I have some water please?”

I hold the cup for Dani to take a drink and then she says, “Maybe not everyone together, Eli...”

“No, of course not. How about Ash and the Cap first?”

“Yes sir.”

As I let Ash and the Cap in, I can see the relief wash over them and the smiles on their faces are contagious. I find myself smiling as well. Dani doesn't really return the smile though, and I'm not sure if that's because her face hurts or if there's something else on her mind. I decide to question it later, now isn't the time to do it.

I hear her whisper in Russian, “Which one is which...? I don't know, Danica, just ask... But then they'll know something is wrong...”

I stop her conversation, by going up to Ash and saying, “Ash, you spoken to Arrow?”

I see relief flash over Dani's features as she whispers, “Ash, that's him. The other one is the Captain. Ok, I can do this.”

Ash looks confused, but doesn't question it as he replies, “Not since yesterday. He's working on the case.”

I nod and whisper to him, “Sorry, she's getting a bit confused with names and faces. I had to help her out.”

He nods in understanding and turns his attention to Dani, “Hey darlin'. How you doing? I'm so pleased you're awake.”

Dani's voice is quiet as she says, “Hey sir. I'm ok, thank you.”

“We were very worried about you, Danica. The whole team has been thinking about you and hoping for the best.”

Dani turns to the Cap and whispers, “I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to worry you all. I'm ok now though.”

“Well, we sure are glad to see you're awake. It won't be long til you're out of here, I'm sure.”

“Hopefully, sir.”

I frown. She doesn't sound too thrilled at the prospect of leaving. Another thing we'll have to discuss.

Ash gives Dani a big teddy bear with a t-shirt on that says 'Get Well Soon', which makes her smile a little. He and the Cap continue to try to hold a conversation with her, but she's not very forthcoming with responses. Ash seems to understand something is bothering Dani, because he says, “Hey darlin', we're going to let the others pop in to say hi and then we'll let you rest. It sure is good to see you though.”

“Thank you.”

As I see Ash and the Cap out, Ash whispers, “What's with her accent? It's never been that thick before...”

I shrug, “I think some wires have got crossed or something. The doctors aren't worried about it, so I'm trying not to worry about it either... Guys, you can come in and say hi, but two at a time. Cain and Ben, you can go first...”

Cain and Dani's relationship seems to have gotten better, so I'm not particularly worried about letting him in the room. Besides, I'm going to be in there with them.

All the guys take turns in saying a quick hello, but I can tell Dani is getting tired, so I cut their time short to let her get some rest. Nurse Mandy brings Dani some dinner, but I have to feed her, because she can't do it herself. She's not particularly hungry though, but that's probably to do with the drugs more than anything.

We get through the weekend with no mishaps. Dani seems to be less confused about things, but she hasn't mentioned anything more about that day. I don't want to bring it up, because I don't want to ruin the calm she seems to be having right now.

My mom and dad visit on Sunday afternoon. Of course, my mom brings food with her. I hear her whispering to Dani something about the awful excuse for food that they serve in hospitals. I see a tiny smile form on Dani's lips, and she whispers, “It's not that bad, ma'am. But your food is way better.”

My mom smiles warmly at Dani and says, “You're such a dear. I have missed you very much. How are you feeling?”

“Sore, but ok. Do I look awful, ma'am?”

That shocks me. Dani's never really been concerned about the way she looks; only that her scars are covered and that she's not immodest. I hold my breath and wait for a response. My mom looks Dani over carefully and says, “Not awful, but you look like you've been through the wars a bit. Not to worry, we'll have you back to your normal self in no time.”

I see Dani send my mom a smile, but it doesn't reach her eyes. My parents stay for a couple hours before Dani starts to get tired and they decide to leave. I tell Dani to rest and that I'll be right here as she sleeps.