That’s what I keep reminding myself now as I sit beside his hospital bed, my fingers wrapped tightly around his hand while machines quietly monitor everything happening inside his body.
He’s still unconscious.
George, Cassie, and Rafi came earlier to check on me.
Cassie offered to drive me home so I could get some rest, but the thought of leaving this hospital—of walking away from the room where Aiden is fighting his way back to consciousness—is something I can’t bear.
They stayed for a while, keeping me company in the quiet room until it became clear there was nothing left to do but wait. Eventually, they said their goodbyes, George telling me not to worry about work tomorrow and asking me to call him the moment there are any updates.
My phone rests on the chair beside me now, lighting up every so often with messages from my sisters.
April.
June.
Nathan.
All of them checking on me and reminding me that they’re here if I need anything. I’ve answered a few messages, just enough to let them know he’s stable and that I’m still waiting.
Now he’s finally in his own room, and the nurses and doctors who have come in and out over the last hour have all been incredibly kind to me. I see it in the way they speak softly when they step inside, in the small, encouraging smiles they offer each time they check his monitors. It’s clear they want to see him wake up just as much as I do.
Doctor Boskovich, the doctor overseeing Aiden’s care, stopped by not long ago while I was sitting here, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder as he glanced at the monitors.
“His core temperature dropped pretty low,” he told me with a small, reassuring smile. “But they got him here in time. He’s stable now. We just need his body to warm up and recover.”
Now I sit beside him in the quiet room, his hand resting loosely in mine, the skin still cool despite the heavy warming blankets draped over his body, my thumb brushing slowly over his knuckles while I wait for the moment his eyes finally open.
The quiet hum of the machines is the only sound in the room when the door opens behind me.
I glance up.
Finn stands in the doorway in his dark blue Coast Guard uniform, concern written clearly across his face the moment our eyes meet.
I’m on my feet before I even realize I’ve moved.
The distance between us disappears in seconds, and I throw my arms around him, clinging tightly as relief crashes through me all at once.
Finn wraps his arms around me just as quickly, one hand steady against my back.
“Thank you,” I whisper, my voice breaking as fresh tears fill my eyes.
He pulls back just enough to look at me, his hand settling at the back of my neck the way he always does, his thumb brushing along my skin.
“You’ve nothing to thank me for, lass.”
The emotion in my chest tightens again, and I hug him once more, pressing my face against his chest.
“He’s here because of you.”
Finn doesn’t argue. He lets me hold onto him while the tension I’ve been carrying all afternoon slowly begins to loosen.
Sorry, it took me a bit to get back. They had me stuck at base, working through a pile of paperwork.
I pull back, nodding.
He gestures toward the chairs beside Aiden’s bed, and we both sit.
“When one of our own goes overboard during a response call, the reports get… extensive.”
