"Mikaelson...Back to U.S. soil...You look a little dizzy...Your surgeries went well Ms. Mikaelson...Hit her with another dose, her heart rate's climbing...We're gonna let you rest to help you heal...You'll be on the mend before you know it...Ms. Mikaelson, your family's here..."
Hope hears snippets and phrases coming from doctors and nurses and staff at the hospital every now and then. They've been keeping her heavily sedated and medicated for the pain, but she hates how foggy it makes her senses. It's the weakest she's ever felt, and that's saying a lot.
When she blinks her eyes open, all she sees is hospital lights and the ceiling of her private room. She had barely registered that she was now off the plane.
She winces at the light, and she feels like her body is hardly her own. She can't move much of anything. Her lower limbs feel heavy, wrapped up with bandages. She feels a small strip on the side of her forehead, holding together a cut that was glued together. Her ribs feel bruised with every breath she takes. There's a pounding sensation in her head.
She takes a shaky breath, trying to remember how to breathe consciously.
She tries to lift her head up, but she finds that to be a difficult task, it ends up falling back against her pillow as she exhales shallowly.
My family's here.
She vaguely hears footsteps, expecting to hear Josie's voice momentarily.
She hears a voice that belongs to one of the men in uniform first, "Right this way..." showing her wife to her room, Hope presumes.
"Hope."
Hope's head shoots up from her pillow at the sound of that voice.
Her eyes widen, her heart dropping from her chest.
"What are you doing here?"
Freya opens her mouth to answer, but she's interrupted when MG vamps to Hope's bedside, leaning down to hug her gently, "Oh my god, Hope, you look like you got ran over by a freight train."
"Real nice, Milton," Lizzie scolds him.
Kol tries to ease the tension, noticing the way Hope's eyes never stray from their family, "Could've at least told us you got married." He chuckles, nervously.
Marcel chimes in, also trying to lighten the mood, "Yeah, congratulations."
Hope's jaw locks, until she feels a presence at her other side, and she turns her head.
"Hi," She lets out a breath of relief, starting to reach for her wife's hand, "Hi babe."
"Oh m-" Josie lets out a breath, her eyes scanning Hope's body, her eyes welling with tears as she finally meets Hope's gaze, "Hi."
She immediately leans down, leaving a brief kiss to her lips, filled with relief and intensity.
She not entirely sure why. But she blames it on the fact that they have company and they need to act like a real couple.
When she pulls away, she places a hand lightly against Hope's shoulder, as her wife's gaze returns to her family members, "I'm so sorry, baby," Josie says to her.
She apologizes both for Hope's current state and because Hope is obviously overwhelmed by her family being here.
"I never thought I'd see you here," Freya steps closer to the foot of Hope's bed, "like this..." She shakes her head at the sight, finding it all hard to believe.
Hope wants to scoff, but she doesn't. She only looks down at her hand that remains in her lap.
"Or in the Marines for that matter," Rebekah adds.
"Why didn't you tell us Hope?...We're your family," Freya asks softly.
That finally brings Hope's gaze back to her. She shoots her aunt an incredulous look, completely in disbelief at the sentiment.
"I don't remember us ever being a family...You made sure of that."
That seems to strike Freya's heart more than anything else, and she lowers her head. Josie thinks it's a act of regret or maybe guilt...
Finally the doctor walks in, and Josie hopes it'll relieve some of the tension in the air.
Marcel looks to him, "Could you give us the rundown, Doctor?"
The doctor nods and looks between Hope and her wife, "Look, this is going to be a long rehab, and your starting from zero. As you all already know, the damage done to your legs is significant, Ms. Mikaelson."
Hope runs a hand through her hair, letting out a sigh.
Josie asks, knowing it's a concern for Hope, "Will she be able to run again? Or fly? It's therapeutic for her."
She squeezes Hope's hand lightly, knowing she's growing more anxious.
"Let's get her walking first. Then we can talk about the rest."
Josie nods, "Thank you, Doctor." When the doctor leaves the room, Josie begins comfortingly running her fingers through Hope's hair, honestly relieved that she's seeing her wife, though she desperately wishes it was under different circumstances. She whispers to her, "You'll be healed up and running before you know it, baby."
Hope swallows thickly, sharing a glance with MG knowingly.
He doesn't know everything, but he knows enough to know that's not entirely true.
Rebekah shakes her head, mumbling, "Your mother would've been heartbroken to see you like this."
Hope can't even look at her. She's looks to her side, opposite of Josie, shaking her head lightly. She bites her bottom lip, trying to fight the tears of anger and pain threatening to escape her.
Freya notices though, and she clears her throat, looking at her siblings, "Come on guys, let's give them a minute," She ushers her head towards the couple.
Kol nods, soon followed by a reluctant Rebekah.
Lizzie thinks she and MG should probably also give them a moment of privacy, "Yeah, we'll be right outside if you need anything." She squeezes Hope's hand before letting it go and making her way toward the door, behind the Mikaelson family.
Josie nods gratefully and follows everyone to the door, shutting it behind them.
She hears a long sigh leave Hope's lips. Maybe a sigh of relief.
She turns back toward her wife to see that Hope isn't looking at her.
"I uhh...I'm sorry. I went to Freya, but the others were there, and I was just so worried about y—"
"You've gotta be kidding me, Jo. My family? Holy sh—"
Hope leans back against her pillow, trying to steady her breathing.
Josie's a little taken aback by Hope's tone with her, but she sees that Hope's family being here as triggered something for her, "Hope, it's fine, okay? You're gonna be—"
"It's not fine, Jo. I can't—I don't want them anywhere near you, Josie. I don't want them anywhere near me. I don't want to see them—"
"They haven't done anything to me, Hope. And they're not going to do anything to you. You can't possibly think they'd hurt their own niece—"
"You'd be surprised," Hope puts her hands over her eyes, "Oh my god, my heart's pounding right now."
"Here," Josie gets closer to her, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her and putting her hands to Hope's chest, "Hey, breathe with me, okay?"
Hope removes her hands from her eyes to place them on Josie's, trying to match her wife's breathing pattern. And eventually it begins to work.
She exhales deeply, and Josie nods, whispering, "You're gonna be fine, Hope. I'm gonna take care of you until you're better—"
Hope shakes her head, "Jo, you don't have to do that."
Josie furrows her eyebrows, "Hope, yes I do. I'm your wife."
She can tell Hope is about to argue that point, but Josie knows that Hope's family is standing right outside the door, and they're most likely able to hear them, so she shushes her, "Shh," She leans closer, cupping Hope's jaw in her palm, "Let me just take care of you, okay?"
Hope whispers back, "This isn't what you signed up for when you married me, Josie."
Josie takes her lip between her teeth before responding softly, "Actually it is. In sickness and in health. For worse or for better. Though the good times and the bad. Remember?"
Hope lets out a soft sigh, "Right."
Josie smiles weakly at her before pulling away a bit, hesitant to ask her next question, "Speaking of remembering...What happened out there, Hope?"
Hope furrows her eyebrows, trying to remember.
She vaguely remembers talking to Josie, then going to the hangar. They went over the parameters of the mission one last time. Maya and Kaleb were on standby. She and Raf took off, and—
Her eyes widen, "Wait, where's Raf? Did we finish the mission??"
Josie shakes her head, "Hope, I don't know. They hardly told me anything about you...You don't remember what happened?"
Hope shakes her head, trying so hard to just remember.
"I need to find out if Raf's okay," Hope tries to sit up, but Josie holds a hand against her chest.
"I'll try to call him, okay? You just rest."
Hope huffs out a breath, trying to push aside the radiating pain she suddenly feels after trying to move, while Josie walks over to go get her phone.
"This is gonna be just lovely. You're bossing me around already," Hope mumbles, though Josie clearly hears her.
She remembers part of her conversation with Josie before she had to fly the mission.
"How was your show?"
Josie scoffs, "Are you seriously asking me about a gig right now?"
"Yeah...?" Josie shoots her an incredulous look, "Or not...Forget I asked, we can talk about that later."
Josie doesn't respond, putting her phone to her ear and hearing the familiar ringing tone.
Josie sighs a moment later, "He's not picking up. It's nighttime here, so he's probably just working, baby. He'll call us back." She tries to assure her when Hope grows more anxious.
"I just need to know that he's okay..."
It breaks Josie's heart to see Hope like this. So broken down, vulnerable, bruised, and worried.
Her thoughts and Hope's worries are momentarily alleviated, though, when the door to the hospital room is suddenly opened, someone rushing in, and freezing at the sight of the Tribrid.
"Raf?"
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I wanted to give you all a little double update today. I know there are many questions right now, but I promise all will be answered.