Fix My Feet When They're Stumblin'

Chapter 20

    Now that she had finally at least seen Brandon, awake and alert if not...remotely what she had expected, Tana allowed herself to breathe and returned to the waiting room, keeping what had happened to herself. There's no point in worrying anyone else about it, if it's only a temporary thing anyway. She could worry enough for everyone, after all - his frightened, angry eyes stared back at her every time she closed her eyes.

    But he was only trying to protect me, he thought we'd both been kidnapped or something, somehow...he didn't even hit the nurse on purpose, he was just trying to protect himself and keep her from hurting him. No matter how she tried to reassure herself, the incident kept replaying over and over inside her head, a loop from a horror movie she wanted no part in.

    When evening fell and the waiting room once again began to clear out for the night, she asked Olivia to drive her back to the hotel with Ronnie and the boys, met with a cheerful "Of course, hon, not a problem at all! You need to rest!"

    They picked up some take-out for dinner on the silent drive, and when she stepped through the door of the suite she and the boys were staying in, a wave of fatigue crashed over her. She served dinner and ate without even noticing what the food was, threw the containers in the trash and the dishes in the sink, and sent her children to bed. Finally facing a proper bed herself, Tana fell into it with a deep sigh, asleep almost before her head hit the pillow.

    Early the next morning, her cell phone rang shrilly from its place on the bedside table. Groggily, she fumbled for it, dropped it on the floor, and groaned and leaned over the edge of the bed to snatch it from the green and grey patterned carpet, answering while still hanging halfway out of bed, strands of her tangled blonde hair in her face. "H'lo?"

    "Hi, this is Amy from Saint Luke's hospital, calling for Mrs. Tana Flowers?"

    Suddenly, all traces of drowsiness fled and she righted herself, sitting upright in bed and running her free hand through her hair. "That's me, is Brandon alright?"

    "Yes, ma'am, no need to worry! We thought you'd like to know that Dr. Mavis, his neuropsychologist, re-assessed your husband this morning and he passed the post-traumatic amnesia protocol - he's lucid and coherent, he knows where he is and what happened after we explained it to him, even if he can't recall the incident himself. He recognizes his nurses, and he's asking for you. We're not sure how long he'll be able to stay awake. Patients with brain injuries need a lot more sleep than you or I, so if you can come to the hospital as soon as you can, you can see him."

    "Oh! Oh, thank you so much! We'll leave right now, thank you!"

    She hung up and shot out of bed, running to the bedroom with double beds shared by Ammon, Gunnar and Henry and knocking on the door rapidly. "Boys, your dad's awake! Get up and shower, quick! We've got to go, they said he might not be awake for long."

    She showered herself and dressed as quickly as she could manage, then debated with herself for a moment about whether to call Ronnie. She decided she'd rather not wait for them to get ready, and sent a quick text instead informing them of the call and that they were headed back to the hospital.

    Tana called the front desk for a taxi and waited by the door as one by one, her children emerged from the bedroom, bleary-eyed and damp-haired, but brimming with excitement and unable to stay still. "All good, everybody ready? Let's go, we've got a taxi downstairs."

     She herded them through the hallways into the elevator. The taxi ride flew by in a blur, and suddenly she was back in the familiar waiting room. The red-haired nurse from the day before was waiting for her, very chipper despite the grey bruise forming across her cheek and the bridge of her nose. "Just one visitor at a time, please," she asked as soon as she saw their little group. "We don't want to overstimulate him."

    "Don't move," Tana ordered her children with a smile, and they just waved her on, huge grins on their faces. "Go, go mom!" Gunnar said, bouncing in his seat in excitement.

    As she walked briskly through the hall, she could hear Brandon's voice, loud and clear, slightly irritated: " - don't want to, I w-want to see my family! I'm not - I'm not hungry anyway. Please, did you...d-did you call them?"

    "Yes, Mr. Flowers, we did, I promise. I'm sure it'll just be a few more minutes, your wife was very - " the nurse's voice broke off as the door opened " - excited!"

    "Tana!" Brandon cried, his face lighting up like bottled sunshine as he caught sight of her. She ran to his bedside and then stopped cold, glancing nervously at the nearest nurse.

    "Sorry, can I - can I hug him? I'm not gonna hurt him?"

    Not waiting for an answer, Brandon just giggled and took matters into his own hands. He grabbed her gently and pulled her closer with his good arm, burying his face in her peach-scented hair, still damp from the shower. "God, I missed you," he murmured, breathing as deeply as he could. Tana hopped up onto the edge of his bed and hugged him fiercely, reminded of his injuries only at the slight grunt and gasp when she squeezed.

    "Oh, I'm sor- " Brandon had interrupted her apology with a tentative kiss, smiling against her lips.

    "It's o-okay. I'm okay, I-I won't break," he whispered, pulling away to stare at her face, as if it were water and he were dying of thirst in the desert. He raised his hand and touched her face lightly, and she noticed his hand was trembling, and although he would look at her face, he seemed to be avoiding direct eye contact, looking near her eyes instead. "I love you."

    "Mm, not more than I love you," she countered, running her hand gently along his arm. "God, Brandon, we were so scared. We could've...they said you still don't remember what happened?"

    He shrugged slightly, lopsided with only one usable arm. "I remember we had a - a show the n-night before, and Ronnie...w-wanted to do something...to de-stress," he said with a sudden wry grin and the ridiculous, childish giggle she loved so much. "Funny, right?"

    "Yeah, real funny, Brandon. And then what?"

    He just stared at her, seeming confused, so she prompted him. "What happened when you and Ronnie went hiking?"

    "Oh. We went up the mountain and Ronnie f-fell, he hurt his...his..." Brandon's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he gestured downward vaguely and began twisting the edge of his blanket between his fingers in agitation. "...I d-don't know, his leg?"

    "His ankle?" Tana asked gently, watching him.

    He lit up as soon as she said the word. "Yes, he hurt his a-ankle. And I tried...I tried to c-call for help but - b-but my phone wouldn't work...and he d-dropped his when he got hurt."

    Brandon paused, his face falling, a shadow lurking in his eyes. He raised his hand and rubbed his face wearily. "I went to find it and, um...I d-don't remember anything else until like...right now. I don't...I d-don't know what happened. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know," he repeated, shaking his head aggressively, tears in his eyes.

    "Oh, baby, it's okay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Tana whispered shakily, hugging him gently again, mindful this time of his ribs and injured shoulder. "It doesn't matter what happened anyway, it just matters that you're okay, right? You're gonna be okay, Brandon. I promise." Her voice became thick with emotion, tears in her own eyes, and Brandon returned her hug, squeezing tightly with his good arm.

    "I love you," he said quietly, and suddenly they were both crying in earnest, hugging each other as if they would never let go.