FicWad

The rest of the day was full of brief, hopeful moments. Ray woke again and this time his mom was there beside Christa. He remembered he was in a hospital and he remembered some of the accident. It was hard for him to keep his eyes open but each time he was awake a bit longer. Christa stayed at his side until his mom made her go with Alicia and Mikey to the hospital cafeteria to get something for lunch.
Gerard and Monica had just turned on the TV when her lunch tray arrived. She was a bit cranky from fatigue, the walk he had taken her on minutes before had been harder than she had imagined. "I'm not hungry," she said as he lifted the cover off her plate.
He frowned, "Too bad, you've got to eat."
"And you have to go home and get some sleep." She snapped in return then looked up from her tray to see him smiling. "What?'
"You said that sentence without stumbling over any of the words." He sat down in the chair still smiling. "It sounded so beautiful even if you are pissed."
Monica realized he was right. She giggled, "I did didn't I?"
"OK now as for that lunch, start eating woman." He watched as she picked up her fork and stabbed a green bean. "I want you to eat everything on your plate."
"Bossy" Monica called him with a smile to soften the word.
"For sure" he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. When he opened them again she had finished eating. He couldn't believe he had fallen asleep.
"Gee, go home and get some sleep." She wiped her mouth on the napkin, "and take a shower."
He pretended to be offended, "Are you implying I need a shower?"
"For sure" she laughed. He took her tray and set it on the table across the room. Turning back to her he grew serious, "I don't want to leave you."
She held out her hand to him and he moved closer to her bed, "Honey go home and get some sleep. Come back tonight with the girls. They had left an hour earlier with Bob to go pick up Kelly's boyfriend. The four of them were going to see a movie. Monica had insisted they go, she didn't want them to hang around the hospital all day. They would come back and visit her this evening.
Gerard slowly lowered himself on her bed and carefully lay down next to her, "See I can take a nap right here." Monica scooted over to make more room for him but the bed was too small.
She giggled, "Honey I really don't think this will work. As soon as you fall asleep you'll roll off the bed."
He sighed with happiness. She was speaking so much easier; it was music to his ears. "I just want to get you home." He whispered.
"I just want to go home." She snuggled to him, "I love you Gee."
"If you love me half as much as I love you I'm a happy man." He closed his eyes and started to drift off. "Oh hell you're right I do need to sleep." He rolled off the bed. "They need to make these things bigger."
"Go home and come back later. I'm gonna take a nap myself." She pushed the button to lower the bed. "Maybe when you come back we can ask the doctor when I can go home."
He leaned over and kissed her, "Yea, we will. I'll be back later. Do you want me to bring you anything?"
Her eyes were already closing, "Just you, that's all I need."
In Ray's room Christa was sitting with him just waiting. She had changed places with his mom who was now down having lunch. His mom was a sweet woman who had made her feel so welcome. She smiled thinking about how his mom had told her that she had known her son had someone wonderful in his life.
"You're smiling" Ray's voice was still very raspy.
Christa stood so she could hear him better. Each time he spoke she felt an overwhelming since of joy. "I'm smiling because I love you."
He smiled, "Love you, baby." He took a deep breath, "So tired."
Christa nodded, "That's normal. Oh Ray you had everyone so scared. There are so many people who love you."
"Sit up?" he asked slowly. It was hard for him to speak more than a few words at a time. He wondered why.
She pushed the button that lifted the top half of the bed. "Is that better?"
He nodded, "Yea, thanks. Tired of sleeping."
"Ray the doctor says you are doing much better than anyone expected." She reached out and took his hand.
"Got to" he said, "Can't let you face guys alone."
Christa laughed, "Oh, I've already talked to them, they're great. Frank wanted to know why you had been hiding me."
"Wasn't, wanted you all to myself" he closed his eyes again.
"You have me all to yourself, Ray. You own my heart and soul." She wasn't sure if he had heard her cause he had slipped into sleep again. She sat down and watched him. The doctor had been very pleased with his progress however Ray still had a long way to go. Because he hadn't been in the coma long his chance of a full recovery was very good. But until he actually could stay awake for longer periods of time they wouldn't know if there would be any lasting effects. The doctor who had come in had explained that the disabilities that could occur after being in a coma could be physical, such as partial paralysis. He also said that there could be changes in Ray's personality or mental ability. He had smiled and told her that people who suffer a coma from head injuries tend to recover better than other coma patients. It was the thought of Ray suffering from paralysis that had truly frightened her. She loved him with all her heart and had decided that no matter what she would stay by his side. She wanted to see him back on stage doing what he loved.
Monica was sleeping so soundly that she was started by the sound of her metal lunch tray hitting the ground. She opened her eyes and started laughing. Bert stood looking down at the tray, "Well shit, I'm so cool." He looked over at her, "Sorry, I was just trying to move it over so I could set these down." He was holding a large bouquet of roses.
"Bert, it's good to see you." She sat up straighter, "thanks for the roses."
He walked over to her bed, "Yea, well you know me and you have a history of flowers. So how are you? Fuck, I couldn't believe it when I say the report about you and Ray on MTV."
"I'm gonna be fine. Ray has started to come out of the coma."
"Shit, that's great" He took a seat, "What the fuck happened? I know it was a hit and run accident but I heard something about it being a relative of yours."
Monica had been dreading the moment that the press found out that bit of information. "It was my sister-in-law. She blamed me for my husbands death and I guess finally went off the deep end." She was still speaking slightly slower than usual but if Bert noticed he didn't say anything. "She had been sending threatening notes and even tried to take Kelly from Donna's house when I was away with Gee."
"Well shit, didn't you report that to the police?" He asked.
She nodded, "Yea, we did. Gee even had Brian hire people to follow Kelly and Kara to watch over them."
He sat up straighter, "But not you?"
Monica sighed, "I threw a bitch fit and told him I didn't want anyone following me. Now I wonder if I hadn't, would they have been able to stop her from trying to run me down and almost killing Ray?"
Bert reached for her hand, "Hey, who knows? Don't blame yourself. So why were you with Ray?"
"Gee and I found this house we love and the chance to buy it came up quickly." She paused then continued, "Gee was giving an interview so Ray drove me to the house. I went back to the car to get my purse and his phone when Jenn tried to run me down." She looked away sadly, "Ray saved my life. He ran out into the road and pushed me out of the way."
Bert wasn't surprised, "Toro is that kind of guy. I've always liked him even if he thinks I'm a piece of shit."
Monica looked at him strangely, "Why would you think that?"
Bert snorted, "Cause of Gee-Man. When he and I stopped being friends all the band members stopped having anything to do with me. I mean they are civil to me now but not like before. I guess that's just how it has to be."
Monica tried to cheer him, "Come on who wouldn't like you?"
"Man, would you like the list alphabetized?" He grinned, "I'm not always the easiest guy to get along with."
"Say it ain't so" she giggled, "Well I like ya Bert especially your insane giggle."
He smiled and leaned back in the chair, "So tell me about Ray?
"He came out of the coma this morning. It's a slow process but each time he is conscious it's for a little bit longer. The doctors are very optimistic about his chances for a full recovery. He doesn't seem to have any memory loss, which is really important. The first time he woke up he knew Christa."
"Christa, who's Christa?"
Monica smiled, "His girlfriend." She explained, "and he knew Gee. He has spoken a few more times and it's all been good."
"I glad to hear that." Bert said, "So what about their tour. Weren't they supposed to start that soon in Europe?"
Monica realized she had forgotten all about the fact the Gerard was supposed to leave on Wednesday morning. "Yea, I don't know what they're gonna do."
"My guess is they will get a replacement for Ray and go. Now that he is out of the coma and getting better, I can't see them missing the whole tour. Shit, it's what they live for, especially Gerard."
"Yea, it is" Monica said slowly. Would Gerard leave her so soon? Was it wrong, she wondered, that she didn't want him to leave?