It had been almost a week now since Raina had been in the accident and fallen into a coma. Her not waking up yet, still had everyone worried, since they had expected Raina to wake up after a couple of days. They hadn't expected her to be asleep for this long.
Damon didn't let the amount of time get to him. He knew Raina would wake up. She just had to.
This particular morning, Damon found him to be in a better mood. A really good mood.
He didn't really understand why he felt like this, since he didn't have much of a reason why. The girl he loves was still lying unconscious on a hospital bed, and here he was smiling to himself. He felt guilty, but there was something about this morning that just felt...different.
The route to the hospital and towards Raina's room, was one that Damon could do with his eyes closed.
Damon usually brought flowers whenever he visited Raina, changing up which ones every time. He found it weird how he knew so much about Raina, yet her favourite flower was beyond him, he had no clue, so each day, Damon just bought flowers dependent on how he felt that morning.
The day he finally confessed his love for Raina, Damon had brought her red roses. Today, he brought her sunflowers.
"Good morning," Damon greeted the nurse as soon as he got the floor Raina was at. "You seem happy, Jo," he then observed.
Jo was the main nurse that was taking care of Raina. Damon had the most interactions with her whenever he came for his daily visit, and Jo was always there to tell him kind words of reassurance.
Jo grinned as she saw Damon walk through, flowers in hand. "As I'm sure you're about to be," she then told him and he gave her a weird look.
"Uh, okay then," he replied, not sure on how exactly he was meant to reply to that.
As Damon neared the waiting room, he immediately spotted Sheila, who was sat with a book in hand.
"Morning, Sheila," he greeted her with a smile, and she grinned back at him. "Good morning, Damon."
Damon observed her for a second and then looked back, from where he had just passed Jo.
"Is there something in the air? Everyone seems a little happier," he asked. He thought it was weird for him to be in a good mood, but now it was even weirder that everyone else seemed to be as well.
"It's just one of those mornings," Sheila shrugged, but still with a grin on her face.
Damon looked around the waiting room. "Raina's Dad not here?" He asked.
Sheila then shook her head. "Jai went to go get some breakfast for us," he told her.
"Oh okay," Damon just nodded. "Ariel said she'd be here later with Rue," he told her and
Sheila smiled at him, "Alright."
Still feeling a little weird, Damon then shifted in his spot slightly. "I'm just going to go in to see her. Brought her sunflowers today," he smiled.
Sheila looked at the flowers, and then at Damon, beaming at him, a smile that went straight to her eyes. "They're beautiful," she said, and then looked towards Raina's room. "You should go in," she said.
"I'll see you later," he then told her.
Damon walked towards Raina's room, his smile still on his face.
There was indeed something different about the air he thought, he just felt...good. Usually there was an aura of melancholy surrounding his days, but today something had changed.
Damon opened the door, walking into the room and as soon as he did, it was as if the air was knocked out of him.
Sitting up on the bed was a smiling Raina, just like he'd been hoping and dreaming for a week now.
Her complexion was back to how it usually was, her lips pink and her brown eyes had that shimmering quality to it, with a glint of mischief. Damon had missed the mischief in her eyes so much.
There was pin-drip silence in the room, which Damon was afraid to break, in case this was actually a beautiful dream.
"Hi," Raina then said, and at the sound of her voice, Damon's grip on the flowers loosened and they dropped to the floor.
He hadn't even noticed, he was frozen in place, just staring at Raina.
Raina looked amused at Damon's trance-like state.
Her eyes roamed over his form, noticing the bags under his eyes, like he hadn't slept properly or at all, in a while. His hair, which Raina knew he was so particular about, was a bit of a mess. Instead of his usual look, he wore a white shirt with blue jeans, his dog-tag chain hanging out in plain sight. He was definitely a sight for sore eyes.
"Really? You dropped my flowers on the floor? You truly are a romantic," she playfully said to him, which managed to snap Damon out his statuesque posture.
"You're awake," Damon breathed out.
Raina nodded, "I'm awake."
Soon as the words left her mouth, Damon crossed the small space between the two of them and pulled Raina into hug.
She didn't even hesitate to wrap her own arms around him, wanting to feel him close, to feel his warmth against her.
When Damon tightened his hold on Raina, she couldn't help but wince a little. "Ow. A little too early to get rough."
"Shit, sorry," Damon then pulled away from her, but still holding her by her arms. He wasn't ready to let her go just yet, and she didn't want him to either.
Damon's eyes then looked all over Raina's face.
"You're awake," he said one again, still in slight disbelief, even though he was looking at her, talking to her and even holding her.
"I am," Raina smiled softly.
She understood that he still didn't quite believe that she was awake, especially with the way he was looking at her.
"I'm not dreaming?" Damon asked.
Raina shook her head gently. "You're not."
Damon then let his hands fall from Raina's arms, but held onto her hands instead.
"When?" he asked and Raina placed her hands around Damon's.
"Last night," she said and Damon's eyes widened, before he frowned.
"Last night? No one called me, I-I..." he trailed off.
He wanted to be there the moment Raina woke up, and now he was finding out that she'd be awake for a whole night, without him even knowing.
Raina could see the frown on his face and the slight wrinkle in between his brows. She knew he was upset that he wasn't there when she woke up.
Reaching up, Raina used her fingers to turn his frown upside down. "I told them not to," she said and Damon pulled her hand away, holding it instead. "Not because I was mad or anything, so don't you dare think that," knowing exactly where his thought process would lead him.
"Mum told me how you've been here, everyday. Sitting in that chair, talking to me, pleading for me to be awake. You needed some rest. I didn't want to be talking to a walking zombie. Besides, I looked horrible, I needed Mum to help me look a little better before I saw you," she told him.
When she woke up, Raina felt like a building had fallen on her. Every part of her seemed to ache and before she could fully register the pain, all the groaning she'd been doing had awoken her mother and in an instant she was being smothered.
Sheila had filled Raina in on everything, including how Damon had been by her side the whole time. Part of her, wanted her Mum to call Damon right away and so she could see him, but then she knew he needed the rest. Not to mention she felt gross, and didn't want Damon to see her like that, despite him seeing her like that for the past week.
Damon didn't even know exactly how to react, he was elated no doubt, but also cautious.
"Um, how are you feeling?" He asked her nervously.
She let out an involuntary groan. "Feels like a tonne of bricks fell on me, and then someone beat me with them."
Raina then looked at Damon. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I can breathe again," he said, and Raina smiled. "That...that was the scariest week of my life. Seeing you like that, I lost my mind," he said.
He looked at her face, and the fading bruises and cuts on her.
Raina couldn't help but laugh, a sound that Damon longed to hear. "Even unconscious I can still make you lose your mind," she said.
He shook his head, "Only you."
Damon sucked in a breath. "I lost it when I got that call about you, I thought I..." he couldn't even finish his words, the thought alone was too terrifying and he didn't want to say it out loud.
Raina gently cupped his face. "You thought what?" She asked him.
He leaned into her palm. "I thought I'd lost you. You scared the shit out of me. Even with you lying there, not talking to me. I've never been so terrified," Damon said, his eyes shut tightly.
"Why?" Raina asked.
Damon's eyes snapped open. "What?" He asked her in confusion.
"Why did losing me scare you?" She asked him.
Damon looked at her like she'd lost her mind and then moved from beside of her to stand up.
"What kind of fucked up question is that? Of course losing you would scare me. Hell, you being hurt in any kind of way terrifies me," he stared down at her.
Raina kept a blank expression on her face. "Why?" she asked him once more.
Damon opened his mouth to reply, but closed it again, resembling a gaping fish. "Because..." he trailed off.
Raina narrowed her eyes at him. That wasn't a good enough answer for her.
"Say it Damon. I want to hear you say it," she told and Damon knew to what she was referring at.
"I-" he hesitated once more.
"Say it," Raina told him.
Damon sighed, running his hand over his face. He moved closer to her, still standing, and gently cupped her face within his hands.
"You won, Raina. Okay? You won. I'm in love with you. So fucking in love with you, baby. I can't deny it anymore. You're all I want, Raina. You're all I've ever wanted and I've been the biggest idiot to ever keep you away. To ever think about keeping you away. You're part of me and I wouldn't want it any other way, so yeah, I love you, Raina. I'm irrecoverably in love with you," he told her, whilst intently staring into her eyes.
If she, even for a second, didn't believe his words, then he hoped she could see it in his eyes.
The confession had left Raina slightly stunned, speechless and breathless.
Every word Damon had said had sent her heart soaring and she was really thankful in that moment that the heart monitor was no longer connected to her. She didn't need it to know how frantic her heartbeat was right now, and she really didn't need Damon to know either, not to mention the sound of it would've been incredibly annoying.
That mischievous sparkle appeared within her eyes once more. "I won," she stated with a smug smile.
Damon groaned. "Seriously? That's all you can say? I finally tell you, confess my love to you, and all you can say is that you've won?" he asked her, fighting the smile that was trying to make it way onto his face.
"I won. You love me," Raina shrugged.
Damon let out another groan, placing his forehead against hers. "You're a pain in my ass, Raina," he mumbled.
Raina smiled, "But I'm your pain in the ass, and you love me."
Hearing Damon finally tell her that he loves her was something Raina yearned to hear. It was all that she wanted to hear and now that she had, she didn't want to ever stop hearing it. She had waited way too long for those three words to finally come out of his mouth.
Raina almost wanted to bless the man that crashed into her, but then realised how stupid that was.
Damon pulled away from Raina, narrowing his eyes at her, but the amusement in them was clear.
"I take it back," he said.
Raina then snorted at his challenge. "I'll just close my eyes again," she said, then went through with the action.
A look of panic crossed Damon, immediately he was by her side, holding her arms, which caused Raina to become wide-eyed.
"No. You're never closing your eyes again, you hear me. Never," he ordered her.
Raina eyes softened, realising how scared Damon actually was at her joke.
She then softly smiled at him. "Um, I'm going to need to sleep at some point, and blink," she said.
Damon shook his head at her. "If you sleep, you sleep with me," he said.
The casual tone was enough for Raina to look at him like he'd grown two heads.
"Whoa there lover boy, you just said I love you, now you expect us to sleep together?" She said, slightly leaning back, but Damon pulled her close.
Damon leaned in, his lips near her ear. "I remember the last time you said it, we did more than just sleep," he whispered and Raina had to fight back the shiver she felt within her bones.
"Fuck you, Damon," Raina replied and he laughed, still holding her close.
"No baby, I'm going to fuck you. Just wait till you get better," he said with a smirk, a look Raina had really missed.
Raina held her own smirk. "Thought you said you weren't good enough for me?" She asked him, reminding him of the words she'd heard from him over and over again.
"I'm not, but you make me good enough. You make me better, and I'm never letting you go. Never again," Damon promised her, and she felt like swooning.
Raina then leant forward, ever so slightly, "I love you," she whispered, her lips brushing against his.
"You're killing me," Damon groaned, placing his head down onto Raina's shoulder. "How long till you get better?" He asked her.
"I don't know. Some parts of me are still broken," she replied, looking down towards her leg, wondering how long she'd have to wear the ugly cast.
Damon's head then snapped up and he got off of the side of Raina's bed. "Wait here, I'm going to find a doctor" he said and she looked at him confused.
"What? Why?" She asked. Raina didn't even feel any pain and was confused on why he wanted a doctor.
"Because every time you tell me that you love me, it stirs something within me and awakens a certain part of my anatomy," Damon said, looking down and Raina's eyes followed his, then realising what he was referring to. "So baby, I really need to know when you're going to be better."
Raina couldn't help but laugh and then shook her head. "You pervert."
Damon grinned. "Only for you," he replied. "So you wait here, I'm going to go hunt down a doctor," he said and then made a move to leave.
Before he could reach the door, Raina called out to him. "Wait!"
Damon stilled and looked back at her, his eyes scanning her over in concern. "What? Are you hurt? What's wrong?" He asked frantically.
Raina then smiled at him. "Kiss me," she said and Damon was a little taken aback by her commanding tone.
Damon smiled, but then quickly frowned. "I don't want to hurt you," he replied and Raina gave him a bored look.
He'd been so close to her, their lips almost touching and Raina just wanted to complete the act.
"Damon," Raina then said his name in frustration.
He smirked and then walked across the room, gently holding Raina's face within his hands, and brought his lips down on top of hers. He could feel her smile against his lips, and it caused him to do the same.
Raina's hands moved over Damon's chest and then upwards, interlocking her fingers around the nape of his neck to pull him closer to her. She couldn't yet get out of the bed, but she had no problem pulling him down towards her.
Damon then moved one hand to grip Raina's hair, not too roughly, but enough to tilt her head upwards, after which she parted her lips for him. His other hand moved down to her waist and she let out a moan when she could feel his finger tracing patterns on top of the thin hospital gown.
This kiss felt real. They were in love, and they could both feel it.
The pair pulled away from each other before things could get too heated. Their heads rested against each other, both breathless and panting, but smiling nonetheless.
"Fuck baby," Damon let out, his voice now sounding hoarse.
"Not yet," Raina grinned, and placed a quick peck on his lips.
"Where's your damn doctor!?" Damon then growled out, and ran out the room, in search of the doctor.
Raina laughed at his urgency. "Damon!" She tried to shout after him, but he'd left the room by then and her laughter echoed in the room.
"What an idiot", she laughed and then thought, my idiot.
***
She's finally awake!
Hopefully you enjoyed this cute little reunion.
So this was the last chapter before the Epilogue. This was always meant to be a short story, since I didn't want to drag things out.
Hope you enjoyed the read x