Rachel opened her eyes to see Adam sleeping with his head on the bed. He's going to be sore when he wakes up, she thought. Her eyes widened with the knowledge that she was actually awake and seeing. Her throat felt raw with the tub stuck down her throat. She ran a hand through Adam's hair as he slept. She wish he were awake. She almost woke him, but thought better of him. There would always be later, she was tired herself.
She wanted to sleep, but she was afraid if she closed her eyes again she would never wake up.
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Michelle woke to her cell phone ringing madly. She answered it, in hopes that Chris had decided to call her. She rolled off the couch with a thud on the floor. "Hello??" She answers as she lays on the floor.
"Did I wake you?" Kurt asks. "How about meeting me for breakfast. I know this killer waffle place just around the corner."
"I promised everyone here I would cook breakfast. You're welcome to come over, one more mouth to feed wouldn't hurt." Michelle says, as she tries to get off the floor.
"I'll be there in a few minutes then." He says, and hangs up the phone. He was in the mood for a home cooked meal, he thought.
Michelle ran into the kitchen, hoping she hadn't overslept. She didn't even notice she had put her shirt on backwards. She pushed tried to push the pantry door shut, and almost knocked Jeff to the ground.
"HEY, watch what you are doing!!" Jeff snapped at her.
"Oh sorry!" Michelle says, as she notices she is too late to cook breakfast. "I was going to cook."
"Too late." Jeff says, as he hobbles over to the table on crutches.
Matt walks in and grabs a piece of sausage. "What's wrong Michelle?" He asks.
"Nothing." Michelle says with a frown. She walks out of the room, and onto the front porch to wait for Kurt to arrive. Maybe they would go out after all, she thought.
Beth and Amy enter the kitchen sniffing the air. "Is this Michelle's cooking I smell?" Beth asks.
Matt places a plate of food in front of Amy, and she follows it to the table. "I could eat a horse." She says laughing.
"Ma'am, we don't serve horse here." Matt says with his country accent.
The phone rings, and Matt answers it. "Hi Lily." Matt says, as he sits at the table.
"Oh.. Matt, HI." She says, trying to think of who she actually called for. She had to get over these jitters. "Is Amy there?? Is Adam at the hospital?? I have to talk to him about work."
"If you go to the hospital, we may see each other later. Ah well, here's Amy." He says, and hands the phone to Amy.
"Did Michelle cook breakfast?! Beth asked Jeff, as she made her plate.
"No, I did." Jeff said, as he ate his eggs. "Why?"
"She was going to do it as a peace offering." Beth replied.
"Peace offering?" He asked with a smirk.
"Peace offering." His dad said, as he entered the room. He gave Jeff a look that made Jeff's smirk vanish in seconds.
--------- Adam woke up to find Rachel's hand resting on his own hand. Had she woken up, he wondered. He laid her hand back to her side, and buzzed for a nurse. If she had woken up, he wanted to be there when she opened her eyes again.
----
Rachel woke up to hear the Nurse and Adam talking. She listened for a minute before she tried to speak. "Adam?"
The nurse and Adam turn to her in shock.
"Rachel?" Adam says, and sits next to the bed. He smiles at her, as her hand touches his bristly face. He had meant to shave sometime soon, but didn't. "You're awake." He said, almost unable to speak. He started to cry and put his head on Rachel's bed. He was full of emotion that he could express no other way.
Michelle and Kurt entered the room to see Adam crying. "Adam, what's going on?" Michelle said, almost in a panic.
Rachel turns to her, and stares.
"She's dead!!" Michelle says in horror and leans against Kurt.
Rachel starts to laugh hoarsely.
"Rachel!" Michelle screams and throws her hands to her face in shock. She was so happy. "Does anyone else know.. Hand me that phone, and I will make sure everyone knows." She says laughing.
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Chris sat on the horse that the Bakers had given him, lost in thought. What had he been thinking of to go off and be AWOL from his job. He probably was fired. Maybe he could spend more time with his Fozzy project. Part of him really didn't care if he got fired, because he was having so much fun with the Bakers. Then part of him wanted to get back to what he had worked so hard for. He'd give it one more day, he thought. He kicked the horse into a gallop and rode back to the stable.
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It was nice to see everyone, Rachel thought. She couldn't remember anything about being shot. Adam retold the night to her in every detail. He had not wanted to, but she insisted.
Jeff was the first one to enter the room after Michelle called. He struggled to give her a bouquet of flowers as he walked on his crutches. The last to visit was her dad. He had stood outside the door, while everyone else visited. As soon as he entered the room, he put his head on the bed and wept like a baby.
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The night went by too fast, Chris thought. He still wasn't ready to leave, as he waved good-bye to the Bakers. He wondered what he was going to find when he made it back home. First he was going to visit Rachel. He wondered how she was doing. Maybe next time he should answer his phone, he thought.
The flight only lasted a couple of hours, barely giving him time to think of things. He was grateful for that. He walked into the hospital room expecting to see Rachel on tubes and wires. What he greeted with was a smile.
"HI!" Is all Chris is able to say. He stands at the end of the bed smiling.
Adam looks at him, and is about to ask him where he was, when the doctor walks in. "I need to speak to Adam and Rachel in private." The doctor says to Chris.
Chris exits the room in a daze, and almost trips over Jeff's crutch. "What happened to you?" Chris asks.
"I should be asking you that. I fell, what's your excuse?" Jeff asked in return.
"Well..." Chris starts, but is interrupted by a loud squeal. Jess jumps on his back, and almost chokes him. "Get off!!"
"You're alive!!" Jess yells.
Michelle walks up to them, wanting to do the same thing as Jess. She had missed him too, but was afraid to go to him. Her heart ached for Chris.
"Hey buddy. Nice to see you back." Kurt said, as he shook Chris' hand.
Chris turns to see Michelle standing behind Kurt as if hiding. He smiled at her, and then brought his attention back to Jeff.
Michelle said a weak hi, as he turned his back to her. If Kurt hadn't taken her hand, she probably would have started to cry, again. Would she ever be happy again, she wondered.
The doctor finally came out of the room after a few minutes, letting them back in to visit with Rachel.
"What's wrong?" Michelle asks, as she notices that Adam and Rachel had both been crying.