What Happens After Vegas

19.We are Stephanie Vanderbilt's parents

The next day they left for London.

The atmosphere in the Vanderbilt's jet was undeniably tense, even though everyone knew how Steph was doing and that she was going to be okay again. Everyone was incredibly worried.

They touched ground in London after approximately 7 hours and went to the hospital immediately. Everything seemed to go by slower than it usually would, hiring a car seemed to take hours, the elevator at the hospital going up to the level of the ICU.

"Good afternoon, how may I help you today?" a perky receptionist asked.

"We are Stephanie Vanderbilt's parents," James Vanderbilt said eagerly.

"Oh yes, she's in room 2.53, at the end of the hall turn to your right, there you will find your daughter, but I am afraid that only two can go in at this time, the rest of the family has to wait here."

"Thank you," Samantha, Steph's mother, said gratefully. She turned her head towards the young adults, her precious daughter her amazing friends, "are you going to be okay over here?"

"Of course, Samantha. You and James go see Steph," Rory said to the mother of her best friend.

"We will let you know when there is any news," Samantha said and gave Rory a quick hug before disappearing with her husband through the doors of the ICU.

The young adults sat down in the small waiting room after getting coffee and emptying the vending machine. After four more hours Rory had fallen asleep in the chair, her head on her husbands shoulder who was softly caressing her soft curled locks. Another half hour later James came though the doors.

"Good news, the doctor says the swelling has gone down. They're removing the bolt from her head, and they're taking her off the ventilator, all she has to do now is wake up," he said quietly after noticing that Rory was asleep.

"Did you say bolt?" Colin asked getting worried.

"Yes, bolt. Her brain was swelling, so they had to relieve the pressure right away. That's why the doctors put her into a medically-induced coma, they inserted a bolt into her skull which would monitor the pressure and let them know if they needed to take any other action, which luckily wasn't necessary," James explained what the doctor had said.

"How long before she wakes up?" Rosemary asked.

"Days, hours, the doctor said we had to keep talking to her. She has severe traumatic brain injuries, so we have to be patient and manage our expectations. There could  be significant ups and unpredictable downs."

"What does that mean exactly?" Robert asked.

"The doctor explained that people with severe TBI may experience a headache that does not go away, repeated vomiting or nausea, convulsions, an inability to awaken, slurred speech, aphasia (word-finding difficulties), dysarthria (muscle weakness that causes disordered speech), weakness or numbness in the limbs, loss of coordination, confusion, restlessness, or agitation, and that common long-term symptoms of moderate to severe TBI are changes in appropriate social behavior, deficits in social judgment, and cognitive changes, especially problems with sustained attention, processing speed, and executive functioning. Alexithymia, a deficiency in identifying, understanding, processing, and describing emotions," James explained furter. "I have to get back. We will let you know when she wakes up."

And like that he disappeared behind the doors again.

"Should we wake up Love and tell her?" Finn asked everyone.

"Not yet, this is the first time in weeks she has gotten any sleep, she needs rest; I'll wake her when there is more news,"  Logan answered calmly.

"Colin? How are you holding up, mate?" Finn asked

"It's going to be a long road to recovery, but she is going to be okay, that's what matters," Colin replied.

James walked though the doors a while later when Rory had just woken up, "our Stephanie is awake and she is asking for you," he said to Rory. "Samantha is waiting for you there."

She had just woken up and was a little droopy, she jawned but as soon as she heard that Steph asked for her she immediately perked up, "thank you."

Rory stood up after she gave her husband a quick kiss on his lips and disappeared through the doors, leaving James there. When she got to room 2.53 Samantha was waiting outside the room for her, she gave her hug before going in together.

"Hi, Steph," Rory said.

Even though Rory knew in was a great possibility she was shocked and surprised when Steph started to mumble incoherently for a while until a very difficult, stuttering 'hi' came out.

It was hard to see her like this but the doctor said we had to keep staying positive for her, if she ever wanted the recover process to go as quick as possible .