A Perfect Storm

Epilogue.

D'Angelo woke up out of his coma with Storm on his mind. Yeah, he had the usual confusion and agitation when he woke up, but Storm was running through his head too.

He couldn't really articulate that though, because everything was murky for him.

He couldn't find the words, nor remember much other than Storm.

But the fifth day after he had awoken from his coma, it all came back to him.

D'Angelo bolted awake from his sleep, his heart beating rapidly.

"Whoa, whoa, baby calm down," His grandma said, standing up as his mama looked at him concernedly. He rubbed his eyes, taking a breath before looking around at the hospital room. There were a few doctors in there, his mama and grandma. He looked over at his mother & grandmother before rubbing his eyes again.

"M-ma," D'Angelo rattled, and his throat felt like it was on fire. D'Angelo's mom immediately got emotional and the tears welled in her eyes as she stood up & walked over to him.

"Oh baby," She said, cupping his cheek. "My baby. You're okay." He gave her a weak smile before he looked over at his grandmother.

"G-Gran-ny," He forced out, not wanting to not acknowledge his grandmother. His grandmother placed her hand over her heart, grateful that her grandson had made it.

"He may be a little thirsty," The doctor pointed out, and a little was an understatement. D'Angelo's mother quickly poured him some water before handing it to him. He tried to reach for it, but it was hard for him to lift his arm up.

"I got it baby," His mama said before lifting the cup to his lips & D'Angelo immediately drunk it down, his throat feeling much better. "Better?" He nodded before looking around again.

"Where's Storm?" He asked, his voice still hoarse, but not as bad as before. D'Angelo's mother & grandmother looked at each other before looking at the doctors.

"Mr. Patterson," His main doctor, Dr. Booth, spoke up. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I was shot," He replied before trying to clear his throat.

"Yes, and you slipped into a coma." D'Angelo paused for a moment.

"How long?"

"A little over seven weeks." D'Angelo paused again.

"Okay, so where's Storm?" He just knew that Storm would have been the first one he would see when he came to.

"We'll talk about Storm later," D'Angelo's mother said as she stood up. Why couldn't they talk about her now? He opened his mouth to ask but the doctor spoke before he could.

"So Mr. Patterson, we're going to go through a few tests to make sure that there is no damage. So to start..."

They ran tests on D'Angelo for a couple of days, and that kept him busy enough where he didn't get a chance to ask about Storm.

But, D'Angelo's mother and grandmother knew that they couldn't avoid his questioning for much longer, so they knew they had to be prepared when he did ask.

One night, about three days after D'Angelo became fully conscious (technically seven days after he first awoke from the coma), D'Angelo's mother was fluffing his pillow as he sat by the side of the bed in his wheelchair. He watched her fluff the pillow for a few moments before speaking.

"Ma." She paused for a moment before looking over at her son. He had that look on his face. "You can't avoid telling me the truth forever. Where's Storm?"

She bit her lip nervously before standing up straight.

"Angelo, I don't think you should be worried about that right now. I think your recovery should be your main focus."