“Yes, she’s still good.”
He pulled away to look at her. “Then why are you crying, baby?”
She shook her head, glancing down and away from him, but he lifted her chin, forcing her teary eyes to gaze into his. “Hey,” he asked, searching those beautiful eyes. “What’s the matter?”
Her brows pinched as she took a deep breath. “I just miss you so much already, but I can’t—”
“Shh,” he said softly, a mixture of hope and anxiousness washing over him.
All he needed to know was she missed him so much already she was in tears, despite the good news that Clair was doing better. He’d hold on to that, only he didn’t need to hear the additional “buts.” They’d get through this and be together—all three of them—in the end. For now, he’d just have to be patient and not push.
AJ kissed her forehead and hugged her even tighter. “I missed you too. Both of you. She’ll be out of here soon and back where she loves being: watching the team play. You’ll see. Don’t worry or think about anything else.”
For now.
She nodded then took another deep breath before pulling away. “Clair should be up soon. My parents will be here with Snickers soon too. He’s been staying at the doggy day care overnight but then is here all day.”
“Good. I’ve been looking forward to seeing Clair’s sweet eyes again.”
They quietly stepped into her room. To AJ’s relief, she didn’t appear so helpless anymore, and she wasn’t all tubed up anymore either. She slept peacefully but was beginning to stir just as they entered. AJ and Addison walked over and stood on either side of her bed. Without her glasses, she resembled Addison even more.
“Clair Bear,” Addison whispered, “ready to wake up, sleepy head?” Clair’s eyelids fluttered until she opened them slowly and glanced around. “Look who came to see you.”
AJ stared at her, feeling emotional all over again. “Hey, buddy,” he said, trying to hold it together.
Addison grabbed Clair’s glasses off the movable tray next to the bed and put them on her. It was an absolute relief because, before she’d put them on, Clair’s eyes were completely vacant—so not like the full-of-life eyes of the Clair he knew and loved. It’d scared the hell out of him, especially because of the warnings that she might have suffered brain damage. She still wasn’t out of the woods, but with the glasses on, she focused more on AJ; then the weak smile came and her eyes brightened. AJ had to wipe away the damn tear that escaped his eyes but smiled back.
Bending over a bit, he lifted her little hand and kissed it, unwilling to look up at her for a few moments. He didn’t want her to see him like that, but it was impossible to hold it in. He stared at her hand longer than he thought he’d have too, but the damn tears wouldn’t stop.
“I hear . . .” he started to say without looking up but had to stop when his voice betrayed him and gave out. AJ swallowed hard, clearing his throat before going on. “I hear you’re getting better every day.”
Wiping the tears away with his free hand, he finally looked up and met her eyes. Instantly, her brows pinched in an almost angry expression, and she shook her head, squeezing his hand. “There’s no crying in baseball.”
Addison gasped, a laugh bringing her hands to her mouth. AJ didn’t know whether to laugh or cry even more, so he did a weird combo of both. “Clair!” was all he could say.
“Talk to me, baby,” Addison said, lifting her other hand and kissing it too. “How do you feel?
Clair nodded at her mom then glanced back at AJ. “Groggy, otherwise good,” she said softly. “But I don’t like seeing you guys crying.”
Addison wiped her own tears and laughed softly. “We’ve just been so worried.”
“And now we’re so happy,” AJ added, still sniffling but thankfully way more composed.
“I’m calling the doctor,” Addison said, pushing the button on Clair’s bedside. “Don’t talk too much, Clair. As much as hearing you say full sentences is music to my ears, I’m not sure you should be exerting yourself.
Despite Clair nodding in apparent agreement to Addison’s request, she turned to AJ. “The only thing I remember is you carrying me out of the theater. My next memory after that is waking up here.”
AJ clenched his teeth but was glad she didn’t remember the horrific event. For him, it’d be something he’d never forget. “You stopped breathing, and the paramedics had to rush you to the hospital.” He felt his smile go flat as the memory replayed in his head. “They got you breathing, but you fell into a coma for a couple of days.”
“I couldn’t get my voice to work when I first woke up,” she said, touching her neck. “But it was the weirdest thing. I wasn’t worried at all. It’s like I knew just like moving my hands and understanding little by little why I was here—why I was sick—that I’d be able to talk soon too, and then I saw you crying.” Her expression went sullen suddenly. “Mom told me she’s pretty sure it was the ice cream. I hope you’re not blaming yourself, AJ.” Before AJ could respond to that, Clair turned to Addison suddenly. “It wasn’t his fault, Mom. I told him I’d be okay.”
“I know, honey.” Addison smoothed Clair’s hair. “It’s nobody’s fault. We just have to be more careful moving forward. We’re never taking chances like the one you did with the ice cream again.”
A knock sounded on the door; then the nurse entered. She spoke cheerfully to Clair as she took her vitals then assured Addison she didn’t think there was any danger of Clair overexerting herself. “The doctor’s on his way. You can ask him to be sure when he gets here.”
A few minutes later Addison’s parents arrived with Snickers, delighted to hear Clair talking. When they placed Snickers on her bed, he went crazy, whining and yelping at the sound of Clair’s voice as she coddled him affectionately. Once again, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
The doctor arrived soon afterward. He, too, was very pleased with Clair’s improvement. After he’d examined her and said everything looked great, Clair looked up at him with a hopeful smile. “Can I go home now?”
“We’ll have to run a few more tests just to be sure all the numbers are where they’re supposed to be,” Dr. Hiraki said as Clair’s smile faded. “I’d like to keep you here at least one more night for further observation, but you’ll certainly be going home a lot sooner than we anticipated you would.”
“She’s a numbers girl,” Coach Lara said with a proud smile then turned to Clair. “Those numbers will be spot on, Clair Bear. You’ll be out of here in no time.”
The doctor was in there for a little while longer, assuring Addison that, as long as Clair was up to it, she could speak as long and as freely as she wanted to. Once he’d covered Addison on everything they’d be testing Clair for, the doctor made his exit.
They brought Clair’s breakfast in, and AJ sat and chatted with all of them for a while. As expected, Clair wasted no time getting caught up on what she’d missed with the team, stats, and standings. They also spoke more about the upcoming playoffs, strategies, etc. It was so good to see how well she was doing.
Such an overwhelming relief.
Maybe now AJ could get some sleep. He’d hardly slept since this all went down, and it’d begun to affect his game. He was there for a couple of hours until Clair announced she needed to use the potty. Addison had told AJ that a couple of days prior when Clair had been coherent enough to realize she was wearing a diaper, even without being able to talk as much as she was doing now, she made it clear she did not want to be in a diaper. She’d been getting up and using the potty in her room ever since.
On that note, as much as he would’ve liked to stay longer, AJ thought he’d give them the privacy she needed. He had a plane to catch and some much-needed sleep to catch up with anyway.
Clair’s grandma offered to help Clair to the potty so Addison could walk AJ out. They were still afraid Clair might be too dizzy or weak to walk on her own. They stepped out into the hallway where, as soon as the door closed behind them, AJ took her into another crushing embrace. “Thank God,” he whispered, kissing her head.