Change of Heart [a Damian Priest story]

19 Wait and plan

Damian POV

Slowly, but surely, the constant beeping of the machines lulled me to sleep. I spent so much time here in the hospital that I no longer had a proper day and night rhythm. Even now I could only say that it was day. But that was already it.

I spent the hours here talking to Blair about everything that came to mind. The doctor said it would help her to hear a familiar voice. As often as I could, I read to her from books she had already read. Never in my life would I have thought it possible to touch a Nicholas Sparks book. But here I was.

I also played her a lot of music. Everything that was familiar. Especially now that Christmas was approaching. I had even started decorating her room here festively because I knew how much my girl loved this holiday.

"Hi Damian. How are you doing? Anything new?" I heard Rhea's voice say.

I sat up straight again and wiped my face. I hadn't even heard the door open.

"Oh hi, nightmare. I'm hanging in there. The doctors have taken her off the meds to see if she responds. But it will take a few more hours for the effects to wear off. Did you get everything?" I asked as I got up and gave her a quick hug.

"Yes, it's all at your house. I brought you something to eat. You're probably tired of the food here at the hospital. If you ate anything at all. ...

Hi, Blair. We miss you, sweetie. You better wake up soon. D's already freaking out because he hasn't heard your voice in so long. And someone needs to tell him to take a shower. Because he won't listen to any of us." Rhea said first to me and then to Blair as she gently squeezed her hand.

"Very funny. You hear how mean she is to me, baby? Tell her I took a shower yesterday," I replied.

"How's that surprise coming along? Do you need my help for anything else?" she wanted to know after a few minutes of silence.

"No... all I need is for her to come back to me. Everything else is done. I hope she'll like it." I said as I gently stroked Blair's forehead with my hand.

In the three weeks she had been here, the bruises and cuts had healed nicely. And since she wasn't moving, her arm was healing well. The further examinations showed that it was only a hairline fracture. Another 2 weeks and it should be healed as well.

All that needed to heal now was her brain. The swelling had gone down. The surgical scar looked good. And the brain function was also increasing. Blair just needed to wake up. But that could take a while even without the medications.

According to the doctors, our baby was doing excellent. He or she had survived the accident unharmed and the medication had not affected the baby either. I was asked if I wanted to be present for the ultrasound, but as I thought about it, I realized that I wanted to share the first glimpse of our little miracle with Blair. I didn't think it was fair to do it without her.

She was now 11 weeks along without knowing it. And my need to finally tell her was increasing with every passing minute. Often I even dreamed about how overjoyed she would be when she found out about the baby. It was hard to keep it a secret. But it was important for me that Blair knew first. After all, it was her body and her most longed-for wish.

But at the moment all I could do was wait. And plan.