A shoulder to lean on

Part 8 - Rescue me

Running inside the hospital, Lindsey could barely catch his breath, having been crying the whole way there. "Stephanie Lynn Nicks! I need to know her room number!" he yelled towards the woman at the front desk, struggling to take out his wallet to show them ID. She had him whisked away by security and taken to her room, Lindsey stepping inside as he bent his knees, bending over to sob. She was in a coma and had fallen down the flight of stairs in her home, breaking four ribs and suffering from a severe concussion. Lindsey blamed himself, blamed himself for not being there! He also wanted to blame Roger, blame him for everything that had been done! This was not going to go over easy with when it came to his gut feelings earlier, now knowing that he had been right, but where was he? Where the hell was Roger?!

"Baby," wiping his nose with the back of his hand, then placing his palm to her face. She was battered and bruised, knowing there was more to this than a fall down the stairs. "I swear to God, angel, I will not let him get away with this. I'm so sorry," hand shaking while cupping her face, giving her lips a kiss and crying even harder when it was not returned. He's never seen her look so lifeless, so unresponsive, the heart monitor being the only thing that showed life. "I would trade places with you if I could, believe me," holding her hand to his face as he kissed her palm.

Karen walked in with a cup of coffee and a tissue, face strained from tears, Lindsey wanting to hear if there was anymore news! "They don't know when she'll wake up and when she does, she could have brain damage, maybe even trouble walking and speaking. Lindsey, I should have ignored her when she said to leave," crying in to his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Was Roger there?"

"Yes, he was, but he wasn't there when I returned."

"How long were you gone?"

"About an hour, maybe."

"So, she could have been lying there for God knows how long!"

"Please, don't mention that, I feel bad as it is!"

"I know, I'm sorry. I should have been there, too," turning with his hands on the back of his head, kicking a neaby trash can that had Karen jumping. "Fvck! Fvck!"  he cursed, more than anger filling him as he couldn't bare  to look at Stevie like this!

A doctor entered and started going over more of her tests, looking to be some extra fluid on her brain, having to take her in for a procedure as that only caused Lindsey to act out even more. He began to destroy everything in sight that was not connected to Stevie, security having to pin him down as he was injected with some sort of valium, being placed in to a chair as his heart rate began to slow.

"What will happen once they drain it? Is that going to affect her in any way?" asked Karen.

The doctor shook his head, "It shouldn't. We just don't want to take the risk of her having an aneurism. We'll be drilling a tiny hole around the area and letting itself drain, then she should be just fine. Did you hear that, Mr. Buckingham?" looking directly at him.

Right now, Lindsey just wanted her back, wanted to rewind those few hours so he could do what his gut had been telling him. He thought that it was just him overreacting, that he was becoming too protective, and he didn't want to start ruining what they had before they even rekindled. Now he knew that he'd never ignore that feeling again.

***

Weeks went by and Stevie was still in the coma, her other injuries starting to heal, but she was not coming around. Lindsey would not leave her side, having only left the hospital to shower and change. He ate in the cafeteria and slept right next to her on the bed, wanting to listen to her breathe as he forced himself to sleep. It was a heartbreaking situation and anyone that spotted Lindsey next to her would be drawn to tears, witnessing the undying love that he had for Stevie, wanting to be her angel at all times. This was love at it's finest and who was anyone to take that away? He was breaking so many hospital rules but kept being given a pass from the honorability he expressed.