In Your Dreams

I need you now...

This chapter is dedicated to PaperGypsyDreams . I wonder if I ever cross your mind...

Tifani's POV

The phone rang and I could feel that something was wrong... Karen told me that they would transfer Stevie to L.A., and that she would come to pick me up, but she never did.
Emily and Mick are here helping me with the girls, and I'm beyond blessed for having them over.
"Hello?" I answer the phone, my hands shaking a little.
"Hello Mrs. Nicks. Miss Johnston asked us to call you and leg you know that your wife was admitted to our hospital a few minutes ago. We need you to come here to sign some paperwork! Mrs. Nicks had to be put into a coma, so her body can rest and make things easier for her while we are treating her." The person says and I just cry.
"I will be there as soon as I can. Thank you so much!" I say turning the phone off.

Mick took me to the hospital, I was too shaky to drive. "Stevie will be fine, Tiff." He gets choked up, and I stare at him. "I feel like it is my fault. If I hadn't get all the gold dust during our younger years, she wouldn't get hooked on in it. She wouldn't have to battle addiction, then klonopin, and cigarettes!"
"It was never your fault, Mick! You didn't force her to do cocaine. You made things super easy, but you never forced anyone." I dry my eyes. "I know you will always love her, and it's natural for you to feel guilty, but it's not your fault Mick!" He parks the car and we go inside, trying to find Karen.
We find her sitting on a chair, and it looks like she's praying. I walk towards her and place my hand on her shoulder, and she looks at me, her eyes telling me the whole story.
"She needs to be okay, Karen!" Im almost having a panic attack. "Stephanie needs to be okay!"
"She's strong, Tiff. She just needs you to be by her side!" Mick says, and I ask him to go call Emily to tell her.

It feels like hours have passed, I'm wrapped in my red winter coat, looking at it makes me think about the first time Stevie met my family.
'As soon as we are outside the cold air hits us, making me run inside and grab her my red coat.
"Thanks hun, but I really don't need it. I'll be inside the car, and Karen has my coat with her..." She is looking at the fabric.
"I know that babe, but that's one reason for you to see me again. I will need my coat back!" I give her a kiss, holding her as close as I can.
"You don't need to worry... I don't think I'll need a bigger reason to see you again!" Stevie says, biting her bottom lip...'
"Please babe, I need you to get better!" I whisper and start a silent pray, hoping that God will listen to me.

  I don't know for how long I'm sitting here, my mind flying away... I feel a hand on my shoulder and see Christopher staring at me. "Hey little one." He sits by my side and I just hug him, crying even more. I cry until I have no tears left. "I went to the house, then your dad told me that Mick drove you here."
"Who told you?" I ask and he points to Karen. "I'm so sorry; Chris. I totally forgot to call anyone after what happened, an-" a Doctor walks towards us before I can finish my sentence.
"Mrs. Nicks, your wife is stable now. We had to put her in a induced coma for her body to recover, and if everything works the way it is supposed to, she will be back in less than 3 days." He states and I just nod, Christopher still holding me. "I will let you go see her now, and a nurse will be there in a few minutes to check on her!" I shake his hand and walk toward the room he indicated for us to go into.
Stevie's body is connected to a lot of machines, her chest moves with the tubes that come out of her mouth and nose, she looks pale and  fragile. Her bare face looks peaceful, making a shiver go down my spine.
"Oh sis, look at you!" Chris chokes. "We need you, TeeDee. But we also need you to stop being so stubborn!" He dries his tears while caresses her hair. I just step back and watch it happen, feeling all the pain and love.
"She will be fine, Chris. She's super strong." I say and walk closer, finding it hard to believe in my own words.
After a while, Chris says he's going to go back home and I ask him to tell Karen and Mick that I'm going to stay for a while, so that they can go home and rest, leaving me alone with my wife.

———————————————————————————

A week has passed and Stevie is still in a coma. The doctors cut her medication off after 3 days, but she hasn't come back yet.
Karen and I decided to announce that the tour is going to be rescheduled as soon as Stevie is feeing better, and then we told the media that she was admitted to the hospital. It was a huge frenzy, but people respected the decision and understood it.
I'm back at the hospital, after going home to take a shower and grab more clothes... Lily is sitting by Stevie's side of the bed, and I just lay there for a while, just remembering the happy times.
I wake up to a knock on the front door, so I go downstairs to find my brother standing there. He has grown so much, and he became such an amazing person. "Hey sis. I called mom and she told me that you were home, so I decided to stop by and see if you need anything. I'm taking Lily to our house, so you don't need to worry about her." I just nod, trying not to cry. "You don't need to be strong all the time, you know? I know you too well sis, come here." He gives me a hug, and for the first time since it all happened, I allow myself to cry.
"Thank you so much, bro! I needed it." I say cleaning my face. "Are mom and dad at the hospital with the girls?" He nodded and I just got my things done and went to the hospital.
I slowly open the door to see the most beautiful and heartbreaking scene at the same time: my girls, one in each side of Stevie's bed, telling her everything about their day. "Mommy is so strong, Mamma. But we know that she misses you! We all do... we promise that we won't complain about you touring ever again!" Barbara said, and Robin just nodded, before adding. "We actually love when you come home with a bunch of cool things for us. We love you so much, Mamma!" She leans and gives Stevie a kiss on the forehead, followed by Barbara that does the same. My parents watch the scene with sorrow in their eyes, and when my dad sees me, he clears his throat to indicate to my mom that they're not alone.
"Hey sweetie, how are you?" My dad gives me a hug and whispers "Everything will be fine, baby." I just nod and give my mom a hug.
"Hey guys... so, how are my favorite girls today?" I open my arms and let my girls run towards me, almost throwing me to the floor.
"Mommy, we miss you!!" They both say and start telling everything they are up to. After a while, my parents take the girls to their house, and I'm alone with Stevie again.
I look around the room, and see all the paintings that the girls did. My heart fills with a weird sensation of hope, and I know that it's God telling that everything will be okay.
"The girls miss you, Stephanie. And they're not the only ones!" I run my fingers through her hair, looking at how beautiful she is, even being connected to all these machines, and feeling super drained, I just close my eyes, leaning my hand against her mattress, hoping that I will wake up to her touch.
   I hear a weird noise, and my anxiety makes me jump and check all the monitors that are connected to her machines. Everything looks normal for me, but I have a weird feeling. I look at the clock, and it's 1:15am. It makes me smile with the memory of Stevie singing "Need you now" with Lady Antebellum, so I start to sing into her ear:
"It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without, I just need you now..."

I have tears coming down my face, so I just say "Oh baby, I need you now! Please, come back to me Steph!"