The Struggles We Face (Book 1 in the Shine Bright Like a Diamond Series)

Chapter 31 - Recovery

4 hours had passed since Dani had been brought in after the fire. After having a CT scan to rule out any injuries, Dani had been moved to the ICU. She was sedated and on a ventilator so that her lungs could recover from the smoke inhalation. Travis had refused to leave the teen side – especially after the recent plans he had been making. By now most people knew as Travis had told them all as they were all getting checked out at the hospital. Upon hearing about the fire, Liam had rushed to the scene only to be told that everyone was getting checked out at the hospital. Ryan had been there and had informed Liam on what had happened to Dani. He had also offered to take Liam to the hospital. After checking in on everyone else, he was shown to the ICU by Alex and had been updated on her condition. He too, was now at by her bedside, waiting, as time passed.
"I heard what you're planning..." Liam said breaking the silence. Travis looked up at him and smiled slightly.
"She deserves to be happy. To have someone nice to live. Someone who actually cares. I'm glad that's you." Liam stated, looking up from Dani to Travis. He smiled slightly.
"She has you too. You'll always be welcome." Travis reassured Liam.
"I'm going to go get some coffee. Do you want anything?" Travis asked standing up. Liam shook his head.
"I'm alright thanks." He told Travis. Travis accepted that and walked away after glancing back at Dani.
"You take as much time as you need. We're all here for you. You have no idea what's waiting for you." Liam said leaning over and holding Dani's hand up near his face.
"I really need you to be okay Dani. Because I-I...I'm pretty sure I love you and I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." Liam said quietly. Unknowingly to him, Travis was still stood just outside the room. He smiled at the pair. He was glad to see that Dani had someone who she could truly be happy with. Travis smiled and walked away deciding to give them some time alone. He went to grab a coffee like he had planned before he went to call the others who had gone back to the station.
"Hey Vic...yeah she's alright. She's still sedated and on the vent but her SAT's have improved majorly and her overall condition is better. They hope to have her off the vent in the next 24 hours." Travis told his best friend as he knew that she would tell the others.
"That's great news. How are you?" Vic asked her friend though.
"I'm alright. This is just making me want to adopt her more." Travis admitted, knowing the adoption could go either way.
"She's tough. She'll pull through. Everything will work out one way or another." Vic convinced her friend.
"Yeah." Travis said as they alarm sounded at the station.
"Duty calls. Keep us updated." Vic called.
"Will do." Travis stated before he hung up.

Taking in the fresh air, Travis spent a few minutes outside before he headed back in. He chucked his now empty coffee cup in the bin, sanitized his hands before he walked back to Dani's ICU room. He stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw. Dani eye's were open and staring back at him and the ventilator was gone. Alex was in there as well taking some observations.
"You're awake!" Travis exclaimed happily, moving to the end of her bed and placing his hand on her leg.
"I was gone for 15 minutes and I missed you waking up..." He added jokingly. Both Dani and Liam chuckled slightly.
"How are you feeling?" Travis asked, sitting down in the chair next to her bed and Alex excused himself.
"Tired. A part from that I just want to get out of here." Dani answered honestly." Travis nodded his head.
"Well...you have to stay in for a few days at least. They need to monitor you as you took in a lot of smoke." Travis told the teen seriously.
"I know." Dani muttered quietly. Travis laughed at how Dani was sulking.
"It's not like I have anywhere to go anyways." Dani said sadly, already knowing that the fire was extreme.
"Yeah...they're looking into that. The youngsters have been re-home for the time being. It's just you and Dillan that they're struggling with. I've already offered up my place." Liam explained to his girlfriend. Dani nodded her head, suddenly finding herself sleepy.
"Rest up. I'll come back tomorrow to check on you." Travis told the teen, patting her legs reassuringly. Dani smiled.
"Hopefully if things look good you'll be able to go home." Alex stated from the background as he sat tapping away on his tablet.
"Thanks."

The next day, Dani was released from the hospital. She still had to wear her walking boot as her ankle was still recovering. As Dani and Dillan still hadn't been placed in another home, they were temporarily staying with Liam as he had his own place. Mike had come to pick the teen up and had dropped all 3 of them off at Liam's place. Only around half of Dani's belongings had been saved from fire. Dillan had insisted that he slept on the sofa and that Dani took the spare room as she had been the one in the hospital so when she got back to Liam's she sat going through her stuff, deciding what she wanted to keep or throw away.

After spending some time going through it all, Dani only kept around half of what had been saved as the rest either didn't fit her anymore, was old or she just didn't want anymore. Luckily, her laptop and school bag had been left at the firehouse the day before the fire as Dani had rushed off to physio and decided to just pick them up the next day. As the afternoon crept into the evening, Dani changed into a pair of leggings and one of Liam's tops before she settled down on the couch with the boys with pizza, snacks and a movie. Liam and Dani sat on the main sofa as Dillan slung himself across the chair.
"Thank you..." Dani muttered quietly as she cuddled against Liam's side.
"For what?"
"For everything..."
"Everything's going to turn out right eventually...." Liam whispered, as he knew about Travis's plans and Dani didn't. Dani nodded and snuggled closer to him as the film continued to play.

—————————————————-
A/N - Sorry I've been MIA Im just crazy busy with college right now. Hope you like it! x