Night shift - Completed

Chapter 73

Calum's POV

I'm sure of it. Her hand squeezed mine, her fingers closed around my hand... she had moved. In the excitement, Jack had run out to find Mr Shine again and tell him what had happened. I clutched her hand in both of mine as I leant down and kissed it.

"Poppy, if you can hear me, I really miss you. I need you to wake up, to hear what I have to say to you. Jack passed your message on to me but I couldn't tell you mine. I really want to see your beautiful eyes and smile again, to hug you and hold you, to go back to how we were. I know it'll take time, but you're worth every moment. We can get through this." Silence greeted me once more. Silence and stillness. Her hand didn't move, nothing twitched or jolted. She was back to how she was. I bit my lips together as tears stung my eyes. Damn it Cal, why did you let yourself get so excited over one twitch? Maybe you even imagined it. You're so tired you probably dreamt it!

Jack rushed back in with Mr Shine who immediately came over to us.

"What happened?" He asked quickly.

"I thought I felt her hand squeeze mine but nothing has happened since..." I said, sounding downtrodden and depressed. Mr Shine went to work, feeling for her pulse and checking her breathing, listening to her heart and lungs, doing tests on her hands and feet to see if she moved. I didn't watch him, just Poppy's face.

"This is incredible!" Mr Shine said in disbelief, which of course made me look over at him wondering what he was talking about. "Her body is healing faster than normal. From completely shutting down, it's started up again already. Her nerve endings are working - just watch." He ran the tip of his pen lid up the base of her foot and her toes twitched. He did the same in her hands and they moved too. "She is breathing by herself, her blood pressure and pulse are practically back to normal. I'd say something in her mind and body is pushing her to recover quicker so she can come back to you guys. I'm going to call a nurse in to help me remove all these tubes. She will still need a couple of drips as she isn't awake yet but they'll be able to come out once she is awake and able to eat and drink again." Mr Shine almost skipped out of the room as he ran to fetch a nurse. My face lit up as I looked at Poppy once more. Jack came over and pulled me up, wrapping me into a hug. I retaliated quickly, both of us relieved and happy with what Mr Shine had just said to us.

"Thank goodness she's okay!" Jack said as he patted me on the back, pulling out of the hug. "I knew she would be. It was terrifying watching her in that ambulance. She's made a big impact on all our lives." He said with a smile finally on his face.

"You're telling me!" I said as I rubbed my hands through my hair, my eyes wide with excitement. "Honestly, man, this has been the toughest time in my life. I just want this chapter of it over so we can continue our lives together and be happy." Jack suddenly stopped still and looked straight at me, making my gut twist in anxiety.

"I didn't tell you, did I? Management put a formal complaint in and demanded action from the arena. They ran their cctv cameras from that whole day and found the guy who attacked you both. He was skulking around earlier that day, checking out the side exits and backstage doors. The police got involved and then traced cctv from surrounding roads and the stupid guy took his hood down and cap off once he'd left the building. They had a full on detailed clear image of his face. They posted it with a reward and someone ratted him out about five minutes later. He was arrested straight away. He'll be joining his mate in jail for a long time." My smile could not be wider.

"Are you serious?!" I beamed, holding myself from jumping up and down in happiness like an excited child. Jack nodded.

"Of course! That's all over. Once she's awake, you guys can focus on your future." He said, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I tried to play dumb as I looked back at him confused.

"Future?" I questioned. He just grinned.

"Come on, everyone ships you two. I think they call you team cappy or polum or something. You're telling me you haven't thought about spending your life with this girl? I know you Cal, when you fall for someone, you fall hard. This is the hardest I've seen you fall times a million. I'm convinced there will be a ring soon." He smiled suggestively. I let out a small laugh.

"Alright, maybe there have been thoughts about it but I'm saying nothing. Let's make sure she's okay first." I said with a smile on my face that equalled his.

The door suddenly swung open making us both jump as Mr Shine and a few nurses got to work on Poppy.

"I'm sorry guys, would you be able to stand outside for a second? This bit isn't very nice to watch. She'll be okay for you to see once we remove these." Mr Shine asked politely and without hesitation we nodded and headed out the door, closing it behind us but hovering beside it so we could hear everything we needed to. I twitched my legs and tapped my fingers together as we waited, anxiety taking over me purely because I wasn't in the room with her.

"I knew it." Jack said to me, distracting me with his grin.

"What?" I questioned as I waited for them to call us back in.

"You're going to propose to her." He said smugly, like someone that has been proven right. "I knew it was coming. Dave and I had talked about it before."

"Do you guys always gossip like teenage girls?" I asked, an evil smile on my face. Jack pretended to look hurt.

"Ouch..." He put his hand to his heart. "Sometimes yeah." I let out a laugh and our conversation died into quietness again.

"This is taking forever." I said as I went for the door but Jack held me back.

"Cal, they're professionals. Let them do their job. They'll call us back in when they're finished. They're not torturing you for fun." We fell back into silence as I leant against the wall, sighing heavily as we waited. Time felt like it was dragging, every second feeling like an hour, silence eating away at my conscience, thoughts suddenly clouding my judgment and making me think something was wrong.

"Calum?" Poppy's voice rang through my ears and I threw myself at the door again, Jack using all his strength to hold me back.

"They need to explain what's happened. Let them tell us when to come in." Jack ordered.

"Where's Calum? Is he okay?" She sounded scared, terrified, worried for me despite it being her that had just woken up. Every cell in my body was telling me to push past Jack but he wouldn't get me in. For now, I just had to sit and listen to her while the doctors sorted her out.