A Beautiful Instrument

66: Endlessly

"Jeremy?" I mumble as I fight to awaken.

"Get a doctor, Manny. She's waking up." I hear Alexis demand.

"Alexis, give her a moment. She is going to be shaken by what happened." Bart instructs softly.

"Where's Jeremy?" I ask more clearly.

"Hey Leigh. I'm so relieved to hear your voice again." Alexis continues to ignore my question. She looks rough. Like she's been crying.

So many images flood my mind. I recount them out loud to keep up. "The accident. His leg. There was so much blood and he got pale and cold. Please."

Alexis squeezes my hand and I see her lip quiver as she stares over my shoulder. Bart jumps in. "Ana, take it easy. You have suffered a concussion and only some minor scratches, but you still need to take it slowly."

He lightly grips my shoulder. I reach up, an IV stuck in my hand, and grip his fingers. I try to turn my head, but I'm in a neck brace. I turn as much as I can. "Bart, please. Please tell me he made it. I...I can't go on if..."

"Hey Sleeping Beauty." Jeremy's voice sounds from the doorway. I whip my head around despite the excruciating pain in my head and neck. Manny wheels Jeremy into the room in a wheelchair. My eyes flood with happy tears as I struggle to free myself and go to him.

"Mr. Connors! What are you doing out of bed? Do you know what it took the surgical team to get you to stop bleeding? You are putting yourself and Miss Taylor at risk! Miss Taylor, leave those connected!" A young nurse scolds us both.

"Give them a minute, okay kid?" Bart admonishes the nurse who is scolding us.

The nurse looks a bit peeved about being called a kid. "You get five minutes and only if he stays seated with his leg elevated and she keeps the IV line in."

Alexis grabs my hands and smiles at the nurse. Manny wheels Jeremy closer to the bed and he, Alexis, and Bart excuse themselves. I wiggle down in bed and grip Jeremy's face in my hands, weeping. When I finally get a hold of myself, I finally manage to lift my eyes to meet his. His eyes sparkle with tears, too.

"You said goodbye to me. I couldn't...I wouldn't accept it." I barely get the words out.

Jeremy starts and has to stop to collect himself before he starts again. "Leigh, I needed you to know in case...And now that I've survived, I am going to spend every minute of every day showing you."

I press my lips to his, kissing through the tears running down both of our faces now. We stay close and connected until the nurse insists that Jeremy returns to his room. The second he's gone I feel panicky and anxious. Alexis and Manny try to distract me, but it's no use.

Bart to the rescue. "I'll go see what strings I can pull. Haha, get it! I made a Dad joke."

As he exits, Christian comes in. He looks relieved when he sees me and then he sees the panicked look on my face. "Leigh, you're okay!"

"Of course she is. She's strong." Alexis comes across a bit defensive. She has been increasingly jealous of the time we spend with Monica and Christian, setting her on edge whenever they interact normally. She's really in mama-bear mode now.

Thankfully, Christian ignores her and comes over to hug me. "We would have been here sooner, but Monica didn't react so well to the news. It reminded her of..."

"Josie. I know. She has every right to that reaction. He almost died, Christian." I start to get worked up again, but Christian soothes me with his words and gentle touch. I swallow the lump in my throat and just focus on the fact that he didn't die.