Masquerade

Five Days

Five. Days.

It has been five days since we last seen Charlotte open her eyes. Five days since she smiled at us or laughed at one of Angus's stupid jokes. Five days since she was able to do anything for herself. Now she is lying in a hospital bed, supposedly through the worst but still not fully here with us any more.

"Quintin, you need to sleep" Sang quietly tells me as she comes to stand beside me placing her hand on my shoulder but I don't lift my head off of Charlottes hand as I hold it in both of mine. "I know" I tell her exhausted, "but I can't leave her".
"I promise you she won't be on her own, the guys have all reluctantly left to head home too" she whispers and at this I turn to look around the room seeing the empty chair where Eli has been sleeping when his eyes would no longer stay open  with only a rumpled cover in his place, the couch empty where Angus and Murray sat and the single cot that Matteo managed to wangle from one of the nurses so that we could all take a turn trying to sleep but it just became another spot for us to rest in between holding Charlottes hand and willing her to wake up.

"When did they leave?" I ask hoarsely, which prompts her to hand me a bottle of water. "Not long, they're waiting for you in the car." She says sheepishly tucking some hair behind her ear. "I'll stay with her and if there is any sign that she's waking up we will call you straight away, I promise." She tells me and I know she will but I don't think I can even let Charlotte out of my sight. It feels like every time I do something bad happens.

"You know she's in good hands" Sean says from my other side and I see the rest of his team standing behind him all nodding at me and encouraging me to go. "You will be no use to her Quintin if you do not sleep and recharge. We will not leave her side until you all return. There is enough of us that no one will get anywhere near her and she will have her own personal doctor in the room the whole time. Go home, rest, eat and come back fully recharged and ready to help her when she wakes" Mr Blackbourne tells me in his no nonsense tone and I know he's right, especially when he's using my first name.

I look to Charlotte and gently move some hair behind her ear. She's so pale, he hair even looks dull, she has cuts and bruises all over her face and I don't even want to think about what's under the covers over her body or the scars from surgery. She's luckily only on an oxygen mask and IV drip now but I won't be happy until she is home and well. "Her vital signs are good, she is healing well, she's been weaned off of her sedative, we are just waiting on her being ready to open her eyes now. She is doing really well and is strong. It won't be much longer now. Go. We have her" Sean urges and with a kiss to Charlottes forehead and a long pull of her scent that lingers below the hospital smell I steel myself to prepare to leave her.

Pushing my chair back slowly, I gently release my hold on her hand looking to Sang who without any words takes her hand from me and sits in the chair I just vacated as Gabe pushes her back into place. "I won't leave her side I promise" she tells me and kisses Charlottes hand stroking it gently. "If there is any change you call me, even a twitch to her mouth or blink of an eye I want to know if anything changes" I tell them sternly "agreed" Mr Blckbourne says with a nod of his head as I nod back.

Leaving the room, I've never felt as if I was missing something as much as I do in this moment, knowing it was Charlotte that was my missing piece. Climbing into the passenger seat of the suv Matteo grips my arm with a weak smile. "We will be back very soon. Don't worry they will watch over her well" unable to say anything else I nod before fastening my seatbelt.

The drive back to the house is silent, no one wanting to shake the unstable foundations of hope that we all have that things are going to be okay. There's too many unknowns for my liking at the moment and I wish I could control something. Maybe getting myself cleaned up and packing some things for Charlotte is a good place to start? With a focus in mind I realise I'm the last to leave the car and head inside. Elijah heads to his studio and I know someone has to check in with him too to make sure he isn't slipping, placing my keys in the bowl that Charlotte made us I smile at the realisation looking around that little bits of her are all around our house. Not only in objects or her possessions but in the way she has brought life back into the house and us within it filling me with warmth and determination but also causing my heart to clench worrying that we will never have her back here! What happens if there's more going on in her body than the Drs think? No! Sean would always tell us the truth.