Hold My Hand (Sequel to Saved: Adopted by Brendon Urie)

Chapter 7

"Abby," Brendon said. "If it turns out you're paralyzed, we'll deal with it. I promise. I will give you the best life I can no matter what."

Abby cried more.

"I don't want to be paralyzed!" She sobbed.

"Sweetheart, we don't know for sure that you are. Please, let's focus on getting you well. Okay?  Then we'll worry about the rest. But right now, your job is simply to focus on healing and getting out of the ICU, then getting out of the hospital. Okay? Let's focus on short goals for now, until we know what we're dealing with, alright? Because right now, we don't know for sure what damage there might be to your spine. If any. They couldn't see well enough and they need, and want the swelling to all go down so they can assess that."

Abby looked thoughtful and nodded as best she could with the collar around her neck.

Zack and Kala came back into the room.

"Hey there sweetie pie," Kala said to Abby. "How are ya doing?"

"I don't know," Abby said, sadly.

"Aww, pumpkin. You're gonna be alright. And your dad is gonna make sure you get the best care for the best outcome, right?" Zack said looking down at Abby as she lay supine on the bed, her unmoving hands on the blanket, her head held mostly in position by the cervical collar.

Abby blinked a couple of times and then her eyelids drooped closed and she fell asleep. Brendon kissed her forehead and smiled.

"How did she take it?" Zack asked quietly.

"Take what?" Brendon asked.

"The news she might be paralyzed," Zack said, expecting Brendon would have known what he meant.

"Not great. But I reminded her that we don't know for sure what the final outcome is going to be. And we don't. They couldn't see her spinal cord through all the swelling and bruising. But I told her we'll focus on short goals. Getting her out of the ICU and then getting her out of the hospital. Regardless of how that happens, I promised her I'll still give her the best life I can."

Zack and Kala smiled.

Their conversation was interrupted by knocking on Abby's room's door. Brendon looked over and saw Nicole, Dan and Mike in the doorway with a gift bag.

"Hey," Nicole whispered. "How's Abby?"

Brendon got up and hugged his friends and bandmates.

"She's okay. She woke up this morning in a lot of pain, so they gave her a painkiller. She was awake a little while ago and we talked."

"Management is going insane fielding calls from press. Everyone wants to know what happened, what's the prognosis, how's Abby and most importantly," Mike rolled his eyes. "When and if you'll be back."

Brendon frowned.

"She hasn't even been in the hospital for 24 hours and they're already asking?"

"And speculating," Dan added. "Some say if Abby's injuries are really bad or life threatening, you won't return to music. Some say you will but you'll stop touring."

"Is management entertaining these theories?" Brendon asked. He needed to get in touch with his management team to make sure they didn't tell things they didn't know to be true and that they reminded people that Brendon's private life, and by extension, Abby's, was very much that. Private. Brendon gave his fans glimpses into his life and Abby's, but he was careful about what he put out there.

"So far they've been responding with," and Dan pulled out his phone. "'We ask for patience, space and respect as Brendon's daughter recovers from her injuries. We will make a statement updating everyone when the opportunity arises."

Brendon nodded. Good. They weren't giving anything away.

"What happened?" Nicole asked, sitting beside Brendon and looking over at Abby. "Like what exactly happened that she got hit by a freaking car!"

Brendon sighed.

"She was mad. I hadn't realized I'd not been making a point to carve out time with Abby. I let time get away from me and I forgot that just because she's 13 doesn't mean she doesn't need or want me around. We had an argument when she made a post on Instagram complaining, and she took off."

"Where was she going? Did you find out?"

Brendon shrugged.

"I don't think she had a destination in mind. And honestly, does it really matter?"

"I guess not," Mike said, shrugging.

"We brought her a gift," Nicole said, sheepishly holding out the gift bag.

"Hang on to it. You can give it to her yourselves when she wakes up. Unless you're in a hurry to leave," Brendon said.

"No. We came for a visit," Mike smiled.

The three of them found seats around the room and the six adults quietly chatted while Abby slept on.

A while later, their conversation was interrupted.

"Dad?" Abby asked. Brendon got up and moved into Abby's line of sight.

"Hey there sleepyhead. How're you feeling?"

"My nose is itchy and I can't scratch it," Abby said, wrinkling up her nose. "I tried."

"Okay, kiddo," Brendon said, lightly scratching Abby's nose. "Better?"

Abby nodded.

"You've got visitors," Brendon smiled.

"Who?" Abby asked, looking around the part of the room she could see with her limited movement.

Mike, Nicole and Dan moved to her bedside and smiled down at Abby.

"Hey, Abs," Nicole said. "We brought you something."

"You didn't have to," Abby frowned.

"Meh. We wanted to," Nicole smiled and put the gift bag beside Abby.

Abby stared at it for a long minute.

"Um," Abby said. "Dad? Someone? Could you open it for me?"

Brendon looked in the bag and then at his friends. He rolled his eyes and smiled. Out of the bag he pulled a blanket. It was a big, plush blanket with the band logo and the current album cover. They'd had it custom made, because no one sold a blanket like this.

"This is pretty cool!" Brendon said. "Abs?"

"I can't really see it. Can you hold it up?"

Brendon covered her with the blanket and then took a picture and showed it to her.

"Yeah. That is pretty cool," Abby smiled.

Abby's visitors stayed for quite a while longer before heading out. For now, they were staying in a hotel. They would probably head home in the next couple of days, but none of them would leave Chicago without seeing Abby.