Relentless

47

"Oh my god!" I yelled and snapped my head up, "what? Are you okay?" Colby asked as I looked at him in shock, "he's holding my hand!" I yelled, "dad?? Are you awake? Please be awake." I said as his eyelids danced.

"G-go get the doctor! Or anyone! Go!" I yelled and squeezed his hand. "It's okay dad, you're okay you can open your eyes." I cooed as his eyes opened.

His eyes widened as they darted around the room frantically, "it's okay dad, just relax. The doctor is coming." I said and rubbed his forearm as I heard Mia giggle next to me, "PAPA!" she yelled and reached for him.

"give him a minute, princess." Colby said with a laugh, "hey dad, welcome back." He said and smiled down at him.

The doctor came in quickly with Michelle following closely behind. "Good morning Dan. Don't worry we are gonna help you, relax." The doctor said as Colby and I took a step back.

"Mia, papa is waking up!" I squeeled happily and grabbed Colby's arm, "calm down baby girl, you're gonna pass out." He said with a laugh as they pulled the tube out of my dads throat so he could breathe on his own.

"Let me pass out! I'm so excited! He's awake! He's okay!" I exclaimed as Mia giggled.

"Is that Mia I hear?" Dad said with a scratchy voice, "papa!!!!" She squealed as we all laughed. "That means my squirt is here." He whispered as the doctor brought a glass of water to his lips.

"I'm here daddy, we are all here." I said and wrapped my arms around Colby's waist as he kissed my head.

"Okay, your vitals look good, I would say this is a miracle...we are going to keep you for observation for a couple days though. Don't get too excited, we can't risk another heart attack." The doctor said as my dad scrunched his brow, "I had a heart attack? Damn...sorry guys." He said with a small chuckle.

I missed him so much.

"We are just glad you're okay, Dan." Michelle said with a smile as she came over to kiss him. I leaned my head on Colby's chest as happy tears rose to my eyes.

"Come here squirt." Dad said and held his hand out to me as I wiped my face and walked over, "no more scaring me..."I whispered sternly as I leaned down to hug him. "I'm so sorry squirt, I'm sorry I scared you." He said as I sniffled and pulled away, "it's payback for when I almost died a million times." I said with a watery laugh as Colby came over.

"Hey dad, glad you're okay." He said and hugged him as Mia squealed in his arms.

"Hey son." He said and hugged Colby back. "And hello little bean." He said and put his hand on Mia's cheek, "papa!" She said and reached for him. "Mia sweetie, papa has to rest, he can hold you later." I said and reached over to rub her soft cheek with my finger.

She reached for me and giggled as my dad smiled weakly at us. I could tell the adrenaline of waking up was warring off, "we are going to let you rest, dad." I said and took Mia from Colby. "Okay, be here when I wake up?" He asked as Michelle and Stephanie stepped up. "I promise." I said and smiled at him before giving the girls a minute with him.

I smiled widely at Colby as he brushed my hair behind my ear, "there's that smile." He said quietly then kissed my head.

Colby, Mia, and I sat down while Michelle and Stephanie reunited with my dad. Mia eventually fell asleep in my arms which always warmed my heart.

After a couple minutes my dad was sleeping again and Colby was taking Mia from me, "hey, do you mind watching Mia while I go on a walk?" Colby asked Michelle as he smiled at me, "of course I can watch her, have fun." She said and opened her arms to take Mia.

As soon as she was safely in her arms he turned to look at me. "Wanna come with?" He asked as I  chuckled, "I'd love to." I said quietly as he took my hand.

As we walked down the hallway I couldn't help but feel a certain sense of deja vu. "Remember the last time we walked through these halls?" I asked quietly as he chuckled, "we were babies." He said as he nudged me with his shoulder, "we really were...if only we knew what we would become." I said with a smile as we walked past the waiting room.

"Holy shit. You know what day it is?" He asked as we walked outside. "August...oh my god. August 4th." I said and squeezed his hand. "The day we met." He said as I turned and put my hand on his cheek. "Best day of my life." He said and pulled me in for a kiss.

I smiled against his lips as he held my hips. I melted into him as the sky started pouring down rain. I couldn't help but chuckle and look up at the sky as it drenched up.

"Deja vu." I whispered as I looked into his ocean blue eyes. He smiled and swayed with me just like we did all those years ago.

"Cora Elizabeth Brock, I love you." He said and pushed my wet hair from my forehead, "Cole Robert Brock, I love you more." I said and kissed him again before skipping off and opening my arms up and looking at the sky.

"What are you doing?" Colby said with a laugh as I skipped around, "Come dance with me!" I yelled and ran over to him grabbing his hands. "Hey Cor?" Colby asked as he spun me around, "yes?" I asked as giggled.

"You bounced back." He said as I smiled, "I guess I did." I said with a giggle as we danced.

"What are you losers doing?" A familiar voice sounded from the parking lot, "SAMMY!!" I yelled and ran towards him, "AND KAT! What are you guys doing here!?" I yelled as they both tackled me with a hug.

"Don't forget about us!" Jake said as he and Tara got out of the car behind Sam and Kat, "oh my god!" I yelled as I ran towards them, "or us!!" Corey and Devyn said as they got out of the car.

I brought my hands to my mouth as they ran over to hug me, "what are you guys doing here?!" I blubbered as Colby laughed behind me.

"We thought you would need a bigger support system, plus we love your dad, we want him to be okay." Sam said and rubbed my back as I looked at Colby, "did you know about this?" I asked with tears in my eyes. " I might have." I said with a shrug as I made my way around the group giving everyone hugs.

"Thank you guys..seriously....it means so much to me." I said as Devyn wiped my cheek, "you're welcome, we should really get out of the rain though, we look like drowned rats." Tara said with a laugh as she wiped the makeup that was smearing down her cheeks. "Okay...yeah..come on." I said and took Colby's hand so we could all go inside.

"So...How is your dad doing?" Corey asked as we went up to the waiting room. "He woke up about an hour ago..he's going to be okay." I said with a sigh as I started ringing my hair out.

"That's amazing Cor! Make sure to give him some hugs from us." Sam said as they all settled in, "I will. I promise. We are going to visit him for a while, then we can all go hang out at the house...thank you so much for coming again." I said and sniffled as more tears filled my eyes.

"We love you!" Kat said and waved to me as Colby and I went to walk back to my dad's room. As soon as we were out of view I stopped and wrapped my arms around Colby's waist, "thank you," I whispered and hid my face in his wet chest.

"You're welcome baby girl. I'm just so happy he's awake, and I'm happy that you're happy. I just want you to know how unbelievably loved and supported you are. You never have to face anything alone. I promise." He said and kissed me.

I was seriously the luckiest person in the world.

My dad was alive. My friends were here.

And I had bounced back once again.