Chapter 23 A new day dawned and the sun was shining brightly through the window of Noah’s hospital room. In between the beeping of the machines and the ladies snoring in the corner you could just hear the chirping of the birds from outside, was this a sign of good things to come. The bed must have helped the pair sleep as it was gone 9am and they were still fast asleep, that was until a knock at the door woke Charity. “Come in”, Charity responded still half asleep. In walked Graham pushing Joe in his wheelchair, “sorry to interrupt your sleep, I just wanted to wish Noah good luck for his big day” Joe replied. “It’s fine, just keep the noise down Ness is still sleeping”. Joe made his way over to Noah, “hey buddy, you make sure you show those doctors whose boss today by waking up. Because I miss our chats and of course beating you at chess. I’m being discharged today, but don’t worry I’ll come visit as much as I can. I love you buddy”, Joe emotionally said. Charity had never seen this side of Joe before, he actually did have a heart. She could tell how much Noah meant to him, “you can visit anytime you want, he would want you here!” Charity replied. “Thank you. I’ve got everything crossed that he wakes up today”. “We both do”, Graham added. “As soon as anything happens I will let you know”. “Thanks, I’ll leave you to it!”. Joe responded as they both left the room to head back to Home farm. “That was nice of him, he seems to genuinely love Noah”, a little voice from over in the corner said. “Good morning sleepy head, it’s nice to see this side of Joe but there’s still something off about him, I just can’t place my finger on it”, Charity responded. “Well it’s nice to see you giving him a chance”. “A chance being the important thing, he’s got one chance. The moment he screws that up I’m done”. “That’s fair, do we know when the doctors coming?” “In about an hour and half I think, I’m so nervous I got throw up. What if he doesn’t wake up Ness?” “Then we wait a few more days and when the doctor thinks he’s ready to try again we will. And we won’t stop until he wakes up, ok?” “Yeah, you’re right!” “I always am, you should know that by now. I’m just going to go ring Dad and check that everything is ok with Johnny. I won’t be long”. Vanessa left the room, stepping just outside “Hey Dad, How’s my little man?” “Hey Teenie, he’s absolutely fine. Loving having sleepovers at Grandads”, frank replied. “That’s good to hear. I feel so bad not being around. Give him a big kiss from me and tell him I will see him soon. Oh and dad..” “Yes sweetheart?” “I know I’ve said it a million times already but thank you”. “Anytime, I love hanging out with him. He’s a joy”. “See ya, dad.” “Bye Teenie”. Vanessa was very relieved to hear that Johnny was ok and behaving himself whilst staying with his grandad. She felt like she was being an awful mother to him but at the same time felt like she was being a step-mum type figure for Noah. She made her way back into Noah’s room to see Charity half naked as she was getting changed, “damn girl”, Vanessa said in an American accent. “Ey, you like what you see?”, Charity responded in a mobster accent as she seductively turned around. “I sure do! But let’s cover up before someone else walks in”, Vanessa replied trying to avoid anymore embarrassment. “I seem to have lost function in my arms will you come help me put my bra on”, Charity said teasing Vanessa. Vanessa couldn’t resist getting her hands on her girlfriend, “Come here then”, she said sliding Charity’s bra straps onto her shoulders, caressing her skin as she clipped the hooks together on her bra. “There you go”, Vanessa said kissing Charity up her neck. “You can’t stop there!” “Yes I can, now put your top on before the doctors walk in”. “You’re no fun”. *knock knock* “we all decent”, Dr Noble joked after hearing what happened yesterday. Vanessa looked at Charity, “he knows we got caught” she whispered. “We’re decent Dr”, Charity responded. “Morning ladies, nice to see we have all our clothes on today”, he joked. “We’re really sorry about that, it should never of happened”, Vanessa responded in a very apologetic manner. “It’s not a problem, it’s nice to see two people in love and having some fun”. “See, no reason to be embarrassed by it”, Charity said aiming it directly to Vanessa. “Anyway, are we ready to see how Noah responds from us taking him out of his coma?” “Yes, so ready”, Charity replied. “I do have to warn you that there may be no change in his condition, he might not wake. If that is the case then we wait, give him more time and try again another time. I am hopeful that he will wake, his vitals and test results show his body responding well to the medication. Do you have any questions?” “I don’t think so...”, a nervous Charity responded reaching out for Vanessa hand. The pair went and stood over the far side of the room out of the way of the doctors and nurses, so they could get on with their job. Charity began to shake, Vanessa wrapped her arms around Charity holding on to try and calm her nerves. “I’ve got you”, Vanessa said calmly and lovingly. “Noah, we are about to inject something into you which is going to hopefully help you wake. Go with the flow and don’t try to fight it. We are here with you every step of the way”. As the nurse began to inject Noah, Charity’s grip on Vanessa tightened. The medication was in Noah’s system and all they could do was watch and wait to see if it had any effect. “Come on little man”, Charity quietly said from the far side of the room. As the seconds ticked past the tension in the room grew, there had been no movement or sign of Noah waking up. “Because Noah’s vital signs are staying at a stable and consistent rate we are going to give him a couple of hours to see if they stay that way. If they do we will not be putting him back into an induced coma, we will let him come around in his own time”, Dr Noble told the pair. “So that’s a good thing?”, Vanessa asked as Charity was stood their frozen in worry. “It’s a very good thing, it means that Noah’s body wasn’t relying on all of the medication we were giving him. So with time he will wake up, it could take minutes but it could take hours”. “Thank you we will stay by his side and wait”. “I’ll leave you both to it! A nurse will be in every 10 minutes to check on him”. “Thank you”, Charity managed to say. “Babe this is such good news, your boy is going to be ok!”, Vanessa said holding onto Charity’s face in a loving manner. “I can’t believe it, he’s going to be ok!”, she replied leaning in to kiss Vanessa. “Babe do you mind calling Chas and letting her know”. “Of course not, want me to ring joe as well”. “If you could. I’d be grateful.” “No worries”. Vanessa made her way outside to give both Chas and Joe a ring to let them know the good news. “Vanessa?”, Chas answered. “Hey Chas, so I have some really good news” “Noah? He’s awake?” “Not yet, but they have taken him out of his coma and are hopeful he will wake within hours”. “Oh that’s wonderful news, I’m so happy. Give Charity a hug from me!”. “Will do, Umm you couldn’t do me a favour could you.. can you tell Debbie for me! I know things are not good between them at the moment but she deserves to know!” “You sure? Might not go down well with Charity!” “I’ll take the risk. Thanks Chas”. Vanessa said as she put the phone down. She knew telling Debbie would be taking a big risk but she felt deep down it was the right thing to do. Next she needed to let Joe know, but he didn’t answer his phone, so she decided to leave him a message. *”Hi Joe, it’s Vanessa. I just wanted to let you know that Noah is out of his Coma, he’s not awake yet but the doctors are hopeful that it should happen in the next few hours. If anything else happens I will let you know”*. As she hung up the phone she heard a shout from inside Noah’s room. “Somebody help he looks like he is having a fit”, Charity screamed. Vanessa along with Dr Noble rushed into the room to see what was happening. “Please do something”, Charity yelled as she was panicking. “This is a normal reaction when medication has been lowered, it should pass quickly”, Dr Noble calmly said. Noah’s body slowly started to stop shaking, it eventually stopped, his hand began to move. Charity quickly grabbed his hand, “Noah babe can you hear me?”. As Charity spoke to her son, he gently squeezed her hand, “you can hear me... he’s squeezing my hand”. “Noah I’m Dr Noble, can you open your eyes?”, Noah’s face began to strain as he tried to open his eyes, after a couple of attempts they finally opened. “Hey babe, it’s nice to see you again”, Charity said to Noah. “M...um”, he managed to say quietly. “Noah.. I’m here babe”, Charity replied as the tears streamed down his face. “I... lo..ve you”, he said trying to smile at his mum. Over come with emotion Charity dropped to her knees, Vanessa rushed over to embrace her girlfriend.
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