Wolff

What Happened?

The next few days dragged on for what felt like forever, yet Ollie, Toto, and Susie were constantly in the company of Nala's sleeping body. Marley and Jaidyn visited often, as well as Lando, until he had to go back to England for training.

Ollie had noticed small twitches coming from her finger or the side of her lips, but they were tiny, almost unnoticeable. He'd watched her intently the entire time he'd been there, trying to somehow will her to wake up. He didn't want her to leave this world, even if the doctors had already told them she would hopefully wake up soon. But it wasn't certain, as Ollie took it. He was being cautious.

On the third day after Nala's scary cardiac arrest, Toto and Susie had gone out into the town to get some food, Ollie telling them to go relax and be with eachother and have some good food. They were hesitant at first, but Ollie insisted. And having proven himself over the last couple of days to be caring of their daughter, they trusted him and left for a few hours.

It was around 12:30 when Ollie noticed Nala's fingers twitching more than usual. He put his hand out, curling it into hers, like he had done previously when no one else was around. He didn't expect anything at first, but then he felt a light pressure squeezing his hand. He looked down and saw her hand move ever so slightly. It sent butterflies swirling through his body. He squeezed her hand back, ever so slightly that he thought she may not have felt it. But a moment later, there was that pressure again, and he knew now she was going to wake up soon. He would be able to see her gorgeous smile again, and her eyes that lit up when she talked about something she loved. An excited feeling crept its way into his heart and settled itself there, making him slightly giddy. Even though it had only been a couple of days, he really missed seeing that side of her. He didn't want to have to get used to seeing her still, unmoving body beside the faint rise and fall of her chest indicating her breathing. It was sad. And soon, Ollie knew that he would have to get back to work and leave her. So he hoped she would be up soon so he could see her.

20 minutes later, more signs of Nala waking were evident. Ollie could see her nose twitch slightly, and she was still holding onto his hand. Her breathing had become more obvious now, too. Ollie didn't take his eyes off her. He didn't want to until she woke up. So when he saw her eyes start fluttering, a lump formed in his throat, and he squeezed Nalas' hand a little harder this time.

"Hey...hey. Your awake", Ollie whispered gently as Nala's eyelids finally opened to reveal her beautiful emerald eyes. She smiled slightly, opening and closing her eyes still, and gripping onto Ollie's hand a little tighter as if she didn't want to let him go in case she fell back asleep.
"Ollie...where am I? What happened?", she croaked, her voice so small and practically gone from no use of the past few days.

"It's ok. You're ok. You just had a bad car accident. You're in the hospital, ok? And I'm here, so you are going to be just fine. Your parent's will be back soon, and I'll call Jaidyn and Marley to come up later when your ready", Ollie explained to Nala, who nodded gratefully.
"I can't move my legs, Ollie", Nala whispered a moment later, pain in her voice. Ollie's heart shattered at her words. He would have to say something.
"Nala...", his voice cracked, "You're paralysed". Ollie's lip quivered when he forced out the words, not wanting them to be true, but knowing it was. Then he saw tears form in Nala's eye, and she swallowed, hard, preparing to say something.
"W-what? Paralysed? B-but that means...I-I can't walk. Or drive", her disbelieving voice was so faint yet it was so pained as well. Ollie nodded, biting his lip as hard as he could so he didn't cry. But it was so difficult. He squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back, and it made tears spring into Ollie's eyes.  She put her arms out then, and he leaned forward and hugged her, and they stayed like that for a while, crying and hugging and Ollie reassuring her it was going to be ok.

Later, he went and grabbed the doctor, who came in and checked up on her. She received some water to relieve her throat of the dryness, and even though she was told to only take small sips, she drank through at least 2 glasses in a couple of minutes.

Ollie called Toto and Susie to tell them that Nala had woken up. In no time, they were back in their daughters' room, hugging and kissing her and telling her they missed her so much. Susie cried at Nala's bedside, telling her the story of how she had nearly lost her life and then had been put into a coma. Nala tried her best to comfort her mother, but it wasn't much use, both of them crying in eachothers arms by the end.

About an hour later, a knock sounded at the door, and soon Marley and Jaidyn walked into the room. Jaidyn broke into tears when she saw Nala there, sitting up slightly and looking at her, and she quickly ran over. "Don't ever get into a crash again, you hear me?", she cried jokingly, smiling at Nala through her streaming tears. Marley came to stand beside them, giving Nala the biggest hug he could muster.
"You scared the living shit out of everyone, Nals...We missed you", he whispered, tears forming in his eyes.
"I promise, not ever again, ok?", Nala replied, holding onto their hands and smiling up at them.

For most of the day, Ollie, Marley, Jaidyn and her parent's stayed in Nalas room. They all seemed like they had been so stressed, most of them had bags under their eyes, but now they seemed to relax a bit. Nala was awake, finally.

At around mid-afternoon, when Marley and Jaidyn, Toto and Susie had all gone down to the cafeteria for some food, it was just Ollie who stayed. Nala felt butterflies rush through her stomach as Ollie closed the door behind her parents and friends, and came back to sit beside her.
"Have you really not left the entire time?", Nala asked, catching Ollie by surprise because he blushes and looks down at his feet.
"No, I haven't", he says quietly. "I needed to know you were ok", he added a moment later. Nalas heart picked up its pace a little, and it showed because the machines started beeping quicker. She blushed then, embarrassed.
"Well, thank you...Your amazing for doing that, Ollie", Nala said with a smile, and she reached out for his hand and squeezed it, making him look up and grin.

A moment later, three knocks sounded at the door, and Ollie quickly got up to go and open it. To both of their surprise, Mark stood just outside the doorway with some beautiful white baby breathe flowers, his smile lighting up when he saw Nala on her bed behind Ollie's shoulder.
"May I?", he asked politely, and Ollie quickly let him through. Mark made his way over to Nala, giving her the flowers and sitting down beside her. "How are you?", he asked, seeming a little nervous.
"I'm as good as I can be considering the circumstances. But, Mark...I'm paralysed", she said, her face and voice faltering. Mark's expression dropped and he bit his lip.

"I actually came to talk about that. Umm...we didn't know this information before, but we had to think of some other drivers to take your spot just in case, either temporarily or permanently. But now seeing that your paralysed, permanently may have to be the case, unfortunately. You won't be able to drive", Mark stated, his voice wavering. Tears sprung into Nala's eyes, but she nodded, knowing this would probably happen in the back of her mind.
"We've, uh, considered many options for your replacement and chosen to go with Liam Lawson. We feel he will compete to our standards. I'm so sorry for having to do this, Nala. You were such an amazing part of our team. Hopefully, if you get better, we can have you back", he concluded, touching her hand lightly, then standing up and leaving.

As soon as Mark had left the room, Nala burst into tears. Ollie rushed over, holding her hand and trying to comfort her. But she was heartbroken. All her hard work she had put in and the opportunity she got, gone. Because of her. And she couldn't do anything about it.