Give Me Hope by Zoey Derrick

sedation medicine has stopped, which will take a couple of hours.”
    “Why so long?”  
    “We want to make sure that she doesn’t come out of it too fast, it can cause undue harm or stress to her and her body. Doing it slowly allows her a better chance to come out of it on her own. When she’s ready.”
    I nod slowly at her, trying to process all of this. “So now what do we do?”  
    “I’m going to go push a few buttons, and we wait,” she says with some hope in her voice.  
    “What are the risks of bringing her out now instead of waiting a little longer?” I’m not sure I want to know the answer to this, but I have to ask.  
    “Minimal. But there is still a chance she might not come out of the coma for a couple of days, and...there is still a very small chance that she may never come out of it at all.”

Twenty-Eight
    My heart starts racing and my palms start sweating.  
    “Relax, Mikah.” Dr. Alston and Seraphina say in unison. It’s rather obnoxious and I have the sudden urge to yell jinx.  
    Seraphina laughs.  
    “I’m trying.” I take a few deep breaths as Dr. Alston goes to work pushing buttons.  
    “I’m going to have Amanda come in with some new fluids and take some vitals in about twenty minutes, then about every thirty minutes or so after that. We will also be monitoring for signs of discomfort. If she is in pain we may see her heart rate spike, and as she becomes more conscious, we’ll see little things like finger twitches or a furrowing of her brow. If you see this, press the call button and we’ll come in. Okay?”
    “Okay,” I say breathily.  
    “I have complete faith that she’ll be alright. If I didn’t, I would not be doing this now.”
    “Alright.”
    She grabs my shoulder as she passes and squeezes.  
    “You alright, sir?” Red chimes in. Jeez, I forgot he was here.  
    I turn to look at him. “Yeah, I think so. Listen. The other apartment downstairs, the one Celeste isn’t using?”
    “Yeah, the one across from me?”  
    “Right. Look, get in touch with Rusty and get them in that apartment. Make sure that everything is working properly, get the water turned on...you know the drill. She’ll need a place to stay when she leaves the hospital and I’m no longer giving her a choice. Once we have a better idea of when she’ll be released, we’ll get it stocked up. Oh, and one last thing. Send Celeste on a shopping spree. Vivienne is going to need some new clothes, towels, linens, etcetera.”
    He nods. “Alright, we can handle that.”
    “Perfect. Thank you, Red. For everything.”
    “My pleasure, lad, you know that.”  
    I nod and he leaves the room.  
    Are you still there?
    I feel the fullness return once again. How does she do that?
    “I’m here. I do that by becoming one with your angel self. Something you too will learn how to do eventually. I was here the whole time, just distantly communicating with you.”
    “See, and here I thought my head was my own when you weren’t around.”
    She laughs. “Nope, I’m always connected. It’s just a matter of whether or not I want to listen to you.”
    “Hardy-har. Alright. Dr. Alston. Is she familiar with all this angel, otherworldly stuff?”
    “Not that I’m aware of. I can check. There are only a few common people that know – or at least think they know – that we exist. So it’s unlikely that she does, but I will ask.”  
    “No, it’s alright. She was just a little too cool about fast healing. Did you have anything to do with Vivienne’s healing?”
    “Nuh-uh. Nope. That’s all you.”
    “How me?”  
    “Your presence is enough. Your kindness, warm nature, your nurturing...and the fact that you’re an angel of course helps, too.”  
    “Huh?” I guess it is something else to add to my list of learning.  
      “Not really. I’m not entirely sure there is anything to learn. Her healing is a combination of just you being here supporting her and the natural aura of healing you