His Tiny Dancer [COMPLETED]

XLIX

"That's a good first sign, he probably is starting to slowly wake up," I'm grateful that he believes me. "Keep talking to him. Once he does regain consciousness, he will be a bit groggy and confused at first so don't be alarmed if he's not completely coherent. It could take him a while to actually wake up, but let us know when he does, if there isn't already a nurse in the room" his doctor explains. The nurse stays nearby, only leaving the room to check on other patients. I try to ignore his presence since it makes me feel a little weird about talking to Noah.

"When you wake up, Cameron and Olivia are coming to visit. And I'll call Anne, so her and Melody can come visit too," I promise to him, hoping hearing their names will help him near consciousness.

"I can't wait to hear your voice Noah." I move more hair off his forehead and gently brush my thumb across his cheek. I nearly lose it and start bawling right then as his head turns towards my hand, squishing my fingers between his cheek and the pillow.

The nurse takes another check over all the machines to see if anything has changed, then tells me he's stepping out of the room to give medications to other patients, and of course to call if anything happens.

I sit back down in the chair which I've made my home these past few afternoons and hold Noah's hand in both of mine, pressing my lips to the knuckles of his fingers.

"When I sing softly," I begin to sing again now that the nurse has left and doesn't have to listen to my terrible singing voice. "Slowly... Hold me closer tiny dancer," I close my eyes as I remember Noah singing in the car on our way back from the beach the day that we first kissed. "Count the headlights on the highway," I sing, smiling at the memory.

"Your voice..." My eyes spring open and glue to his face. "Is so bad." It's safe to say that I've never been so happy to be insulted in my entire life.

"Please tell me I'm bad at singing again," I say, letting go of his hand and standing up to be closer to his face. His eyes squint and blink at the bright lights of the hospital room, but they're the eyes that I've been missing.

"You suck," he says with no hesitation, his grin only getting bigger across his face.

Without hesitation, I press my lips against his - something I've been longing to do for what feels like years. He kisses me back, and butterflies explode in my stomach.

He's back.

I pull away to look at his face now, relishing in his open eyes and emoting features.

"Why are you crying?" Noah says, a pout on his lips. Of course I couldn't manage to stay strong enough not to cry, and now he's worrying about me instead of the other way around.

"I'm just really glad that you're awake now. You scared me a lot," I respond as I rub tears off of my cheek.

"What did I do?" He says, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. For a moment I'm a little shocked that Noah doesn't remember whatever happened with his mom, but then I remember that his doctor said he will be confused and groggy after first waking up.

"Something happened with your mom," I say, hoping this won't upset him. "She's in police custody now. You needed surgery on your stomach, and you've been in a coma these past few days because you hit your head," I explain. "And then two days ago, on Sunday, your heart stopped. So I thought I was losing you." I can't help myself as another wave of emotion takes over me at the memory.

Noah visibly thinks for a moment, trying to figure something out in his head. Finally, he speaks, "I won't leave you Teresina. There's too much here for me to live for for me to just leave." I nod my head in agreement, but I get the feeling that I don't entirely grasp what he means. "Where's Melody, who's taking care of her?" He says then, almost in a panic.