Saving Grace (Narry)

Twenty-Four

Twenty-Four

Our eyes followed Dr. Payne as he walked into the room. He still had his hair cover over his hair but changed back into his white coat and had clean hands. When he came over to the both of us we quickly, but still hesitantly, stood up, greeting him with handshakes before he invited us to sit down. We took our seats and Dr. Payne sat on the table with all the articles on it.

My mind was unraveling thoughts as I kept my eye contact to Liam, wondering about all the things that had happened in the operating room and if Grace was still going to be okay afterwards. I wanted everything we were about to hear to only be good news.

Before he spoke, a smile spread across the young doctor's face, giving me instant relief. He wouldn't be smiling if something terrible had happened. I even let out that breath and Niall and I shared a nervous chuckle afterwards, Niall taking my hand in his to get me to calm down so Dr. Payne could actually talk to us.

"She did really good. I was able to make the repair that I graphed out from her ultrasounds and various scans. The hole was actually relatively small so I was a little bit surprised that it hadn't healed up all on its own." He paused as I nodded along with him like I couldn't control the movement.

"The nurses have brought her into an ICU recovery room for the time being. They'll do their best to make her comfortable when she comes around." He continued on and that made me heart sink with a burning pain.

"She might take some time to wake up and when she does come around I'm sure she's going to be awfully tired because she's so small and she was under for a rather long amount of time. We're working to get her CO2 levels down since they were a little high. That happens sometimes and with that we're really attentive after surgeries with them." Dr. Payne scratched at the side of his neck and I wondered if he was a little annoyed that Grace wasn't as fine as he first said she was.

I wanted to cry but not in front of him and the other families around me. I trusted the doctor not to lie to me, telling me she had done so well but now their having a little trouble waking her afterwards. My chest was still hurting but I had to keep trusting the doctor and his team.

"I'd wait about another 20 minutes until you go in to see her. One of the nurses will come in and lead you to her room, as well as give you an update on Grace. She could be just waking up by then. In the ICU recovery wing, the hospital rule is only person in the room with the patient at a time. It's really only to stay out of the way just incase anything happens that we need to act immediately on.

"Other than that, I want Grace to stay at least 3 days in the hospital with us just so we can monitor her progress and keep her stress down, especially because she a cardiology patient." He licked at his lips before he stood up.

Niall and I rose from our seats after him, Niall reaching out to shake Dr. Payne's hand one last time. "Thank you so much for doing this for her." Niall told him with his full gratitude in his voice.

The doctor smiled again. "Of course, I was more than happy to do it. You both should really be the ones thanked for what you've done for her. I would never have had the chance if you didn't decide on me. Grace is going to have a wonderful rest of her life ahead of her. We'll always keep doing what we can to make that happen.

Then Liam shook my hand, reminding us that we had to wait before seeing Grace. I was more than ready to see her at this point. If I could be drastic, I'd steal a nurses' uniform just so I could be in the room with her.

I looked to Niall once the doctor left, a huge sigh of relief leaving my lips before I pulled him in for a hug, my hand patting him on his back. We had made it out on the other side and it brought me fear and joy at the same time. I remained in Niall's arms until I slipped out of them with a small smile on my face. He returned it and I couldn't help but lean forward to give his lips a quick kiss, not caring about the other people in the room because we were allowed to celebrate the news about Grace.