Tails, I Fall

Chapter 4

Peter shifted nervously on his feet, staring down at the woman who lay in the hospital bed before him and trying to ignore the others in the room. Carla was the love of his life and it killed him that he had broken her heart more than once. He couldn't help but wonder how things might have turned out had she given him a second chance. Would they still be married? Would they have kids? Would they still be living on the street? Ever since investing in the factory he held on to a small glimmer of hope that somehow she might find her way back to him. He was a changed man after all, and he had been trying his best to prove it to her. It didn't matter what happened in his life, she was always the one constant thing that kept him going. If only she had felt the same way. He clung onto the idea of them getting back together, that maybe, just maybe she was falling in love with him all over again, especially after they shared a kiss in the factory. But he knew she was engaged to Nick and he was a far better man than Peter could ever dream to be.

"I think you should leave. She needs to be surrounded with support and love when she comes round, not faced with even more mistakes that she's made in the past." Nick's words cut through him like a knife. He held up his hands and raised his eyebrows, not wanting to start a row. "Look, I know I've done some terrible things, but I need to be here. She would want me here.." the reaction of the others was not as he'd hoped. Michelle scoffed and glanced over to Johnny and Kate, placing her hands on her hips. "Did you hear that? Carla would want him here!" Peter rolled his eyes as she mocked, knowing he wasn't there to please anyone or tell them what they wanted to hear. He kept his eyes fixated on Carla, deriving comfort from the fact that she wasn't conscious to hear what was going on. "Since when did you ever care about what Carla would want."

It was at that moment that the doors to the room opened and the team of doctors appeared and the group fell silent. This was the moment they had been waiting for, after three long weeks it was finally time to take Carla out of the coma. Michelle grabbed hold of Johnny's hand who in turn held onto Kate's. They stood at one side of Carla's bedside, careful to leave room for the doctors, while Nick took his place at the other side. Peter remained at the foot of the bed, his eyes never leaving the wounded face laying before him. Despite her bruises, Carla looked radiant, almost as if she was glowing. "Alright folks, now just a word of warning. She could wake up straight away or it could be hours so if you're staying feel free to make yourselves comfortable. Now once she wakes up I'm gonna have to ask that it be two at a time just for a little while until we can get the specialist psychiatric doctor to come in and go over a few things with Carla." The doctor explained carefully, knowing that none of them were fully paying attention as they were anxiously waiting to see what would happen.

He carefully pulled the tape from around Carla's mouth which had been holding the endotracheal tube in place, waiting until her next exhalation before carefully removing the tube from her throat. A small cough emerged from Carla's mouth and it was almost as if everyone leaned forward at once, hoping she was awake but it seemed to be an involuntary reflex. The doctors were busy removing any other tubes and wires that were no longer necessary, leaving the cannula in her hand to continue administering fluids and antibiotics. They were finally able to see Carla's face in full for the first time since the incident and seeing how far the bruises had reached came as a shock to some of them as you could hear the quiet sobs echoing through the room. The doctors had finished explaining what they could expect to happen and had left the room, leaving them alone with each other again.

Seconds turned to minutes which then developed into hours without so much as a hint of Carla regaining consciousness. Michelle had been holding her hand and talking to her, coaxing her to squeeze her hand just so they knew she could hear them, but nothing had happened. Peter had been on numerous coffee runs, wanting to keep out of the way of Michelle and Nick in particular in hopes of avoiding a disagreement. Every time he left the room his heart leapt into his throat with anxiety, hoping she wouldn't waken while he wasn't there. Johnny hadn't spoken much, he just sat by Carla's side and stared, thoughts of Aiden running through his head, trying to piece together what had caused Aiden to take his own life and for Carla to want to. Kate had returned home to Rana with her father promising to call if there were any changes, no matter how small. Nick sighed and looked at Michelle, his eyes were tired and dull, the wrinkles on his face clearly prominent due to the stress of the situation. "What if she doesn't wake up?"

Just as he had finished speaking and small cough could be heard coming from the bed followed by a slight gasp. Everybody leapt to their feet, their eyes wide and smiles stretched across their faces. "Carla, can you hear me? We're here.. we're all here, darling." Michelle spoke softly, still holding Carla's hand in her own. Peter came through the door holding two coffees, outstretching his arms to give them to their recipients before catching a glimpse of Carla moving slightly. He sat the beverages aside and stood at the end of the bed. "When did she wake up? Has she said anything?" The excitement was crystal clear in his voice as he spoke. His questions were left unanswered as everybody was too focused on Carla as she slowly began to open her eyes and look around at the faces before her.

"Oh Carla, thank god. You're alright!" Michelle began to cry, leaning forward to kiss Carla on the forehead. She pushed a strand of her deep brown hair behind her ear, carefully not to disrupt the position of the bandage that was still wrapped around Carla's head. "You gave us a right scare. We're so glad you're okay." Johnny spoke as put his arm around Michelle's shoulders, taking a deep breath of relief at the thought that he wouldn't have to be burying another member of his family. Carla glanced at the other side of the bed where Nick stood before looking back at Michelle who was practically bouncing with excitement.

"Quit.. quit fussing. You're all hanging about here like a bad smell," Carla spoke weakly, her voice breaking slightly from not having been used in so long. Her mind was a hazy blur. She knew exactly where she was having been in the hospital so many times in the past but she couldn't piece together how exactly she had got there. She decided not to dwell too much on it for now since she had only just woke up and was happy to enjoy the company of her family. Nick grinned at her, a small spark reigniting in his eyes. He wondered did she remember the fight they had had before she left. Did she mean it or was it a defence mechanism so that she wouldn't feel too guilty for being up on that cliff? "I'm so happy you're all here. I hope you haven't given my lovely hubby too much of a hard time." Her mouth curled into a small smirk, her eyes still slightly squinting to readjust to the lights and she lifted up her hand shakily, beckoning him to hold it. "Well, not exactly hubby just yet.." Nick's voice trailed off as he involuntarily reached out for her hand but soon realised that she had not meant it for him. Peter felt the eyes of everyone in the room staring at him as he stood at the foot of the bed, not knowing how to respond. He looked down at her hand which was held out for him, wondering whether he should take it in his.