With more strength than he thought he had... he heaved a couple of doctors out of the way...
There she was ....awake....... her breathing tube gone....her breath coming in deep rasps...
Nick glanced at Cora...concern evident...
Cora smiled... "She pulled it out herself!"
Nick looked from Heather to Cora and back again .....he smiled and whispered "Thats my girl"
Heathers eyes screwed up against the light ..she struggled to focus on the body in front of her ..
He smelt familiar ...he was now sat on the bed ...leaning into her ....she thought she should be afraid.........her last memory had been of great fear ...but she wasn't afraid
She could feel the warmth coming from him.... and even though she couldn't see him properly.... she knew he wasn't gonna hurt her ..
Her eyes would not focus all they would do was fill with tears ..frustration at her own incapacity crumpling her features
Nick brushed the tears away with his thumb........his fingers soft on her mud ingrained skin
she thought she knew him.... "Please baby ....don't cry..... it 's ok ...I'm here"
Something deep in her brain stirred.... she knew this man...she knew him!
Her throat was still sore from the scream she had let loose as that wall of mud came towards her
but right now she didn't think of that....she simply echoed the name she had screamed as it hit her… her voice a whisper ........she spoke"Nicky?"
Nicks throat constricted with raw emotion...he held it back and followed his instinct to never let go of her again..
Pulling her into a close and tight embrace...her head pressed tightly to his chest he whispered back... "Thats me honey...your Nicky......"
Nick kissed her hair and gently rubbed her back.........
In his arms Heather let her tears fall....all her memories of life with Nick began to seep into her conscious mind...
She felt a safeness here...and she wanted it to last...
The sound of Nicks heartbeat pounding in her ear lulled her to sleep...
Unbeknown to Nick or Heather ...Cora had ushered the 'white coats' from the room..but she herself had remained nearby watching a life coming back together...
Twenty minutes had passed and still Nick held on tight...he hadn't spoken again ..
He couldn't find the words to express what he was thinking...
How do you express the joy that comes from seeing the woman you love wake from a coma and speak your name..??
He simply held her close and rocked gently... his tears held back for now...he didn't want her to see them....not now! ..he already realised he had to be strong for her..if she was to recover she would need him that way...he had to be her pillar of strength!
Nick’s eyes opened suddenly as he felt Coras hand on his shoulder.. "She's asleep Nick...lets lay her down shall we?"
Nick didn't want to let go..but he trusted Cora..he had to ...there seemed no one else to trust right now
Obeying ...he gently laid Heather back on her pillows...
She sighed deeply but did not wake......
Nick brushed a few stray hairs from her forehead and fussed with her sheets and blankets
covering her and rearranging them..
"Nick...I'll be here...okay..you should get some rest"
Nick stared at Cora "what you mean ..leave?"
"Yes I mean leave...you need sleep honey....I'll call you the minute she wakes"
Nick gazed at his sleeping girlfriend...and for the first time noticed her engagement ring was missing
He opened his mouth to speak but Cora beat him to it..
"Her fingers were swelling Nick...it was better to take it off... or cut it off!"
Nick simply held out his hand....
Cora pulled her keys from her pocket and opened a small locker on the wall...
She handed him a sealed envelope with Heathers name on it..
He ripped it open and the familiar ring slid out onto his palm...
He stared at it for a moment...listening to Coras voice tell him it had been cleaned because of the mud.
He looked up
"Uh?,...sorry ...Uhm..thanks ...thanks for cleaning it...thanks"
Cora watched as Nick seemed to struggle with the question of putting the ring on her finger now or not.
Her heart went out to this young man....she had realised from the moment Nick had arrived at Heather bedside and held her face so gently that she was witnessing something very special..
Her voice interrupted his thoughts.. "Nick...maybe it would be better to wait until she wakes?"
Nick nodded his head....
"Yeah...you're right...I erm......"
"Why don't you go get that sleep I was talking about?"
"I can't leave her Cora...I just can't "
Cora laughed quietly... "Lord save us from a man in love"
Nick blushed deeply...
"Okay you can stay...but you are gonna sit in this recliner and you are gonna sleep... you got that!!"
Cora pushed the recliner next to Heathers bed and pointed to it ..
Nick saluted and grinned ....for the first time in days!
"Yes ma'am"
He slumped into the chair and let Cora fuss over him....
she covered him with a blanket and dimmed the light over the bed just a little.
From under the blanket Nick slid his hand over to Heathers fingers ....careful not to disturb the intravenous line that fed into her hand.
The contact soothed him and as he drifted off to sleep he whispered.."I'm right here baby..always"