Love Can Conquer All

chapter 83

Chapter 83

*Louis' POV*

I could see through the window that the boys had stopped the doctor to speak explain things to them. He looked through the window at me with a questioning glance. I nodded at him, giving him permission to explain to them what had happened.

I watched as their emotions shifted from worried to nervous, confused and finally relieved. They all looked at me as the doctor left and smiled. Liam gave me a thumbs up before mouthing that they had to go to the waiting room. I nodded and smiled understandingly. They were good guys.

I sat in silence for a few moments until the door swung open and a few nurses pulled a bed in. Aria was lying on it, still asleep and looking very pale. The nurse smiled at me before they lifted her onto the bed that was already in the room. I couldn't take my eyes off her. She looked so ill. I stood up, desperate to go and hold her hand or do something just to prove to myself that she was still alive.

'Please stay seated for a minute sir. We need to just hook her up. It won't take long.' The young woman smiled at me, her eyes understanding how I felt.

My wife was lying there, completely still as the nurses plugged all sorts of wires and tubes into her wrist and on her chest, under her white gown. I swallowed as the machine that monitored her heart rate started beeping at a steady rate. My eyes flickered straight over to it. The nurse must have noticed.

'That's a good sign. She'll wake up shortly, when she does press the buzzer. The doctor will come and speak to you then.' She smiled and left the room silently. It was just the two of us.

I pulled my chair over to be next to her. Only now I noticed the clear bag on the bedside table which contained the things she had with her; her phone, bracelet, watch and rings. I opened it up and pulled out her wedding band and engagement ring and stared at them, before slipping them back onto her finger. They belonged there.

I took her hand in mine and stroked her cold skin slowly with my fingers. I remembered the first time I ever held her hand. It was warm in mine and I thought to myself how she must be the one, her fingers slotted in mine perfectly like we were two pieces to a jigsaw. I squeezed her hand in mine, just to prove to myself that this was real, she was really here and she was most definitely alive, when her finger moved slightly in mine. I looked to her face, her eyes were still closed, but her fingers were definitely moving. And the tears, once again, began to pour down my face.

I reached out to stroke her cheek; it was slightly warmer than her hands. She must be waking up soon. I sat like that for about 10 minutes, whispering to her and stroking her cheek, until she opened her eyes and groggily stared at the ceiling.

'Aria' I gasped, suddenly choked up on emotion. Her eyes rolled to look at me and I could see tears welling in them. 'I'm here baby. I'm here and I'm never leaving you again!' I kissed her hand.

She opened her mouth, swallowed and tried to speak. She croaked out my name, before softly squeezing my fingers. I reached over her to press the buzzer to call the doctor.

'Lou' she whispered and began to gently cry. I dutifully wiped away her tears and held her fragile fingers in mine until Dr. Stein walked in.

'There she is.' He smiled. 'How are you feeling? I'm going to guess that you're in a fair bit of pain and quite groggy.'

Aria just nodded at him, I don't think she was ready to speak yet.

'Right, I have a few things I need to explain to you both, so get comfortable.' He sat down on the other chair that was on Aria's right side, I was on her left. He crossed one leg over the other and glanced at the clipboard in his hand before talking.

'I should probably start with how you're here. You received a gun wound to the abdomen. The police are still looking into who did this, they'll need to speak to you later, but I've told them you're not saying anything until you've rested. You just had serious surgery.' He was nodding as he spoke. 'However they seem to think it could be a relative of a witness or somebody involved in the case you're working on.'

'I suppose that would make a bit of sense' Aria whispered. Her voice was coming back to her, she was sounding better. 'I was warned people can get angry in cases similar to the one I'm dealing with.'

'Yes' Dr Stein nodded. 'Secondly, you've had your spleen removed; you lost an awful lot of blood but not enough that it became fatal, although you were dangerously close. This is going to mean you'll have to make some changes to your lifestyle. Not serious ones, but you will have to be careful to avoid infections as you have a greater risk of contracting them. If you go to a foreign country you have to take antibiotics with you just to be on the safe side and take them as soon as you become ill if you should do so.'

Aria nodded as he spoke to her. She was taking all this in which was a good thing, I was listening but all I could seem to think about was the fact she was alive and that some SOB had shot her!

'You'll also have to have the flu vaccine every year and any other vaccines recommended by your GP. I hope you're not afraid of needles.' He smiled.

She let out a quick laugh that felt like music to my ears. 'I'm not too afraid.' She smiled. She was sounding better and better each time she spoke.

'That's good.' He nodded again. 'And that's really all I have to say.' He patted the file on his lap. 'The nurses will be giving you pain medication when you need it and I'll come in to check on you again tomorrow. You'll be in for about a week and then hopefully you can go home.' He smiled. 'The police will be in to interview you later, don't tire yourself out. If you need a rest tell them.' He stood up, shook my hand and left.