Desolation

Chapter 10

Sorry Guys that all the other chapters have been so short. I kind of wanted to make them longer but couldn't find more ideas to make them interesting! Not promising anything but I'm trying to make them longer! 

Don't forget to like and comment your thoughts! It would mean the world to me.

Slowly Erin opened her eyes, her whole body felt numb, like she had been sleeping during the day. Yet she couldn't remember falling asleep.

"Erin, I was so worried.", a very familiar voice said and that was when she realized someone was holding her hand. The touch felt reassuring. A tight grip, but not to keep her restrained, just to make her feel the connection. A fatherly touch. One she had been longing for for such a long time.

"Hank. What happened?", she croaked hoarsly. Erin was thirsty but she couldn't bring herself to say the words. Hank would let go of her hand to get her the water and most likely, he wouldn't take it again and she wanted to enjoy the moment as long as it lasted.

"You fainted twice today, and the doctors wanted to keep you for observation. Are you feeling better now?", he interrogated and looked her deeply in the eyes. 

Erin knew he would detect a lie 2 miles away so she decided to just go with the more than embarassing truth.

"I overheard some nurses talking about a dead policeman and I just assumed it was Jay and lost it. I don't know what happened then but I remember someone telling me it wasn't Jay.", she admitted and shoved a loose strand of hair out of her face. Her hair was all over the place, the tight bun came undone some time ago.

"You really care about him, don't you?", Hank sighed, knowing how hard this situation must have been for her. First she was basically forced to leave the town overnight and then she got a call that jay's life was on the line.

Tears welled up in Erins eyes, she had surpressed them for such a long time and now that she was weak, they just forced their way to the surface. Unable to talk, she nodded and wiped them away.

"Hey, Erin, Erin, don't cry.", he tried to shush her but gave up soon after, as he realized that his words wouldn't be enough to soothe her. So he got up and hugged her really tight. She was like a daughter to him and he just wanted her to be happy again. "Everything's going to be just fine, Erin. He'll wake up and you'll get your chance to make things right. I'm so sorry it had to get this far."

"I really really really couldn't cope without him. Being in New York is hard enough but him dying. I can't even think about that. It just breaks my heart.", she hiccuped, still very close to Hank. This man had been her saviour and she definitly didn't want to spend any more time away from him.

There was a faint, polite knock on the door, before the rest of her former unit barged in and ended the moment between Erin and her father.

"I'm fine guys, don't worry!", she shouted as she saw their worried faces. "Really, I'm fine. You should be with Jay!"

"That's the thing. We wanted to be the ones to bear the news.", Kim started and Erins stomach dropped. "He just woke up. And his vitals are looking good.", Adam chirped in.

Tears welled up in Erins eyes again, but this time they were good tears. Tears of relief. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders and she could finally breathe again. And it felt so good that she started giggling uncontrollably. She just couldn't bring herself to stop.

Her old colleagues looked at her with almost bewildered looks in their eyes. This wasn't the Erin they were used to. Sure she was fun to be around and laughed but she never giggled like this.

"I'm going to go, see him.", she announced and tried to get up, but Hank pushed her back down into her pillow. 

"No, you wait until your doctor clears you. He's awake and stable and thats more than we could have hoped for in such a short time.", Hank ordered her and the look in his eyes told her to stay put and not to object. "He'll be there after."

"I'll go to his room and tell him you're here, okay?", Kim asked and was out of the door before Erin could say a word. 

Shit. She didn't want him to know she was here yet. And most certainly, she didn't want him to worry about her. But that would imply that he still cared about her. She could make the biggest fool of herself, flying here and collapsing next to his bed. She blushed bright red and covered her face with both hands. Hank had let go of her hand as the team barged in.