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Sawyer and Mr. Randoff stand motionless outside the ICU room. Neither man dared to take their eyes away from the light blue curtain swaying behind the glass door. Sawyer is watching as the silhouettes seem to dance on the other side of the partition. It mesmerizes him, distracting from the terror he is feeling in his heart.
Abruptly the curtain is thrown back as the team rushes past the men with Hannah. She is urgently wheeled out of the room toward the surgical wing on the other side of the hospital floor.
“She is hemorrhaging, she needs surgery now. Go to the waiting room and someone will update you soon,” calls out a nurse who is running behind the bed. Sawyer and Mr. Randoff continue to stare after the scene before turning to sluggishly walk to the waiting room. When the men arrive, they are greeted by anxious friends.
“How is she? Is she awake?” Shelley questions before Sawyer takes a seat down in an uncomfortable green chair in the center of the room. Sawyer looks at his wringing hands in his lap.
“I didn’t go in with her. There was a problem and they just took her back to surgery,” he gruffly answers, not making eye contact. A hush comes over the room as what he has just announced sinks in.
“Mr. Randoff, did she say anything to you? How did she look, you know, before that?” Bryce asks.
The older gentleman sighs, rubbing his face roughly. “She wasn’t awake, she is on a ventilator. She is so small, frail, and cold. She looks just like her mother though, she’s beautiful,” he whispers as tears fill his eyes. Sawyer can’t bear to look at the broken man. He knows he will lose his resolve and break down. He doesn’t believe in showing weakness, so he is keeping all his fear and anxiety bottled up. He believes he should be stoic, even if it’s killing him inside.
“If it’s okay with everyone, I think we need to say a prayer for Hannah,” Scot tells the group as he steps forward. The room quiets as they look at him questioningly. The group cannot believe that Scot has suggested that they should pray. He is the last person they would ever think to request such a thing.
Sawyer stands up and walks to Scot, taking his hand in his own. Shelley joins Sawyer and does the same to him, eventually, everyone is standing in a circle as Mr. Randoff leads them in prayer.
Anyone who walks into the waiting room will find a group of tattooed, pierced, dyed people holding hands in a circle and praying fervently along with an older gentleman who is leading the prayer to God. He prays for his daughter to return to good health, quickly with no pain. He prays for the medical team to help her. Mr. Randoff prays for the officers and agents who are wounded and their families as they heal and move past this situation. He prays for the group with him in the room, that their love will help each of them heal together. He prays for the town to rally together and support each other. When he finishes the prayer, there is not one dry eye in the room. Everyone is touched by the sincerity of Mr. Randoff’s words.
Once everyone regains their composure, Chelsea attempts to lighten the mood of the room. She talks about the first time that Sawyer brought Hannah down to the parlor.
“He came down first and warned all of us to not cuss around her and to be on our best behavior. He really gave it to us. He has been protecting her since day one. He left and came back with this little bright eyed lady with a gorgeous face. She was so happy and joyful, completely opposite from Sawyer. He was usually so grumpy and moody, but when he met her he changed. He started laughing and cutting up with us. She changed him for the better. We all knew he was falling for her. We had even made a pool of when he would fall in love, right before he met her, then once she came along Scot collected big time!” Everyone in the room laughs except for Sawyer.
“You had bets on when I would fall in love with someone? Were you not busy enough at work, should I have had you scrubbing toilets or something?” he asks scornfully. The group unsuccessfully attempts to suppress their laughter, but Bryce is unable to hold back.
“Man, she had you whooped from the start. She is the best thing that ever happened to you. Don’t worry, she will be alright. I just know it. She’s family now, we are all here for her. We all love her, not just you,” the red-head says honestly.
Sawyer nods his head and resumes staring at his hands while others talk around him. He doesn’t feel like participating in their conversations.
Dr. Rogers enters the room and silences everyone with her arrival. Mr. Randoff stands to meet her.
“Is it alright that I speak to you here or would you like to go somewhere private?” she asks Hannah’s father.
“Here is fine, how is she?”
“We stopped the bleeding. She is still ventilated and has the chest tube to keep the blood in her chest cavity from building up again. She had a clot that was blocking the tube, causing the blood to build up. She is getting her color back and her vitals are stable. She is not out of the woods yet. It is touch and go for the next twenty-four hours. I’m hoping to remove the vent tomorrow, so her lungs can get stronger. The longer the vent is in, the longer her recovery will be. We will keep her over here in recovery for another hour or so before we move her back to ICU. Don’t give up hope, she is a fighter,” Dr. Rogers states as she returns to the recovery room. The room sighs in relief and hugs each other, thankful that Hannah is still here. Sawyer refuses to be happy. He will only allow himself happiness when she wakes up and is okay. He looks around, becoming infuriated as he witnesses everyone celebrating Hannah’s status.
“What is wrong with you people? She is still critical. How can you be celebrating that she just had a second surgery in one day? That she could have died just now, again. Yay, Hannah has a ventilator and a chest tube. Hurray. You people make me sick,” Sawyer lashes at his friends. They give him quizzical looks as they file out of the room. Mr. Randoff stays behind and sits next to him.
“Son, let it out. You can’t keep it all bottled in. Believe me, I tried and about had a nervous breakdown a few months after they were taken. Listen, I’ve been where you are, I’m there with you now. Lashing out at your friends and pushing them away isn’t going to help. You either need to talk or cry. Your choice,” Mr. Randoff kindly says.
Sawyer can’t look at him. He realizes that he has just behaved like a jerk and is now embarrassed.
“I just don’t want to get my hopes up. I know that’s wrong. I can’t let myself get excited about her being in pain. I won’t do it. They are making me so angry, I know it isn’t right to lash out. I just can’t lose her, I can’t make it without her. I love her, she opened my world up. She makes the sun shine brighter and the air I breath sweeter. Whatever is bothering me doesn’t even matter once I’m near her. I’m sorry to tell you all of this without her, but I know she’s the one for me. I believe God led her to me for more than one reason. I was meant to save her life, but actually, she saved mine.”
Sawyer exhales deeply and looks at the man next to him. He expects to find the man to be angry with him, after just telling him that he loves his daughter. Mr. Randoff, however, seems to be delighted. It takes Sawyer off guard.
“Sawyer, I have always dreamed of a man saying what you just did to me about my little girl. I’m glad she found you. I know you love her, and she must love you too. Everything will turn out for the best. You heard the doctor, we can’t give up hope. She is in God’s hands now. All we can do is sit back, pray, and wait.”
***
SAWYER APOLOGIZES TO his friends for his outburst. They don’t hold it against him and continue to support him. The first night Hannah stays in the hospital is uneventful after the emergency surgery. She gradually begins to recover. The ventilator is removed the following day since she can breathe on her own, though she doesn’t wake up.
Waiting becomes a torturous pastime for Sawyer. He wakes up in the waiting room, then waits for his love to awaken. He sits at her bedside gripping her small hand in his. He falls asleep every night the first week, hoping to see her dark doe eyes again. He alternates nights he stays with her in the hospital room with Mr. Randoff. They take shifts during the day so that she will never be alone. Shelley coordinates a list so that someone different can bring the men food every day. Bryce steps up, assuming the responsibility of making sure Blacked Out Ink is functioning well. He pays the bills and makes out the paychecks. He even pays Sawyer’s personal bills and makes sure his fridge is stocked with in date food.
The days they wait for Hannah add up slowly. It is the same routine every day. Sit and wait. Sawyer and Mr. Randoff are very well acquainted with the nurses on the floor, down to their children’s names and hobbies. The large, scary tattooed man becomes a fast favorite with the night nurses. They comment on how polite and kind he is, and how devoted he is to the frail woman. When Sawyer walks down the hallways of the hospital, he greets each staff member by name. Many of the staff promise to come to him for a tattoo when he is back to work. He enjoys the thought of seeing them again, though in a better circumstance.
Thirteen days after the incident in the gray building Hannah begins to awaken. Sawyer is sitting in her room, holding her hand while mindlessly staring out the window. He feels a twitch from her hand but doesn’t think much about it at first. When the same hand squeezes his, he jumps out of his seat, shouting for Hannah’s nurse.
“Maggie, Maggie come here!” he shouts at the older nurse on duty. The gray-haired, plump lady rushes in surveying the monitors in the room. She moves to where Sawyer is, reaching for Hannah’s hands. She squeezes them, checking the woman’s reflexes. Hannah squeezes back. Maggie pages Dr. Rogers then continues her assessment. She tests Hannah’s pain reflex by pricking her foot with a needle. Hannah’s face scrunches up in discomfort. Sawyer looks at the nurse, Maggie smiles at him in return.
“I believe your honey is trying to wake up sweetie. Dr. Rogers is on her way.”
Sawyer quickly texts Mr. Randoff and the man hurries to the room. When the doctor arrives, Hannah is attempting to open her eyes. She is moaning and whimpering, all of which make the men delighted. Her moans are like music to their ears. She is waking up, finally.
“Hannah. Hannah, good morning. I’m Dr. Rogers, I’ve been taking care of you along with a lot of other people. We are ready to see your pretty eyes. Why don’t you try now to open them? Your dad and boyfriend are here, they want to see them too. Come on Hannah, try for me.”
Hannah gasps at what the doctor is telling her. She grabs at anything close to her, Sawyer offers his hands which she tightly takes hold of. She squeezes them as she begins to blink rapidly. Once she finally has her eyes open, she then tries to focus in on the faces in front of her. Hannah begins to cry as she turns her head from Sawyer to her dad. Everyone in the room is overcome with emotion, even Dr. Rogers and Maggie have tears in their eyes.
“Daddy,” she softly rasps out.
Mr. Randoff reaches over and hugs her to him while laughing boisterously. She lets go of one of Sawyer’s hands and hugs him back.
“My little girl, I finally have you back. I’m not letting you go again. I love you so much. My little Hannah!” he softly speaks to her as he continues to hug and rock her gently. When he releases her, she turns her gaze to Sawyer.
“Hey you, you’re wearing my shirt,” she tries to laugh. Sawyer looks at her in amazement, still trying to comprehend that she is really talking with him. He leans over and kisses her on the lips, gently and passionately. He pulls away and looks down to see that he is indeed wearing the Led Zeppelin shirt that she had worn the first day she stayed with him. He knows at that moment that she will be okay. They will be okay.