Doctor Boskovich says as he enters the room, already reaching for the chart, and one of the nurses hands it to him while he studies the monitors with practiced focus.
“Well,” he says after a moment, glancing down at Aiden again. “You certainly gave us quite a scare.”
He performs a few quick checks, shining a small light briefly into Aiden’s eyes before asking a few questions.
“How are you feeling?”
“Sore,” Aiden answers, his voice still hoarse.
But even then, his gaze drifts right back to me.
The doctor notices.
His eyes move between us, a small knowing smile forming as he takes in the quiet intensity of the moment.
“Well,” he says, clearly amused. “Looks like someone’s very glad you’re awake.”
“Good,” Aiden answers immediately.
His voice may still be weak, but the certainty behind the word leaves no room for doubt.
“I stayed alive just for her.”
The moment the nurses confirm that Aiden is stable and fully conscious, I step into the hallway with my phone already in my hand and call Nathan first, knowing he’ll want to hear the news so he can let Uncle Mike know right away.
“He’s awake,” I tell him the moment he answers.
The breath he lets out on the other end of the line carries so much relief that I find myself smiling.
“Well,” he says after a second, “that’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”
After that, I call April, who answers so quickly it’s obvious she’s been watching her phone, and the excitement in her voice is loud enough that I have to hold the phone slightly away from my ear while she celebrates the news with a string of relieved exclamations. I send George a quick message as well, letting him know the news, and within seconds, my screen lights up with his reply telling me he’s incredibly relieved and asking me to keep him updated.
Finn makes a few calls of his own while all of this is happening, stepping out into the hallway to inform the fire department andAiden’s captain that he’s awake. When Doctor Boskovich returns a few minutes later, he explains that they want to run a few additional tests just to be safe, including a chest X-ray to make sure Aiden didn’t inhale any water while he was in the ocean. A few minutes later, the nurses roll his bed out of the room, and as he passes, I lean close enough to promise him quietly that I’ll be right here when he gets back.
And I am.
When they return nearly forty minutes later, I’m sitting in his assigned room, my hands folded together in my lap and my eyes immediately finding his as he comes back into view.
Not long after that, the visitors begin to arrive, and since only two visitors are allowed in the room at a time, Finn and I step back out into the waiting room so the others can have their turn with him.
All the members of the marine response team who had been out on the water with Aiden begin arriving, their faces still carrying the strain of a day spent worrying about their crew member and friend. They go in two at a time, each pair disappearing down the hallway toward his room while the rest wait quietly in the chairs, speaking in low voices.
Captain Brewer arrives soon after and pauses long enough to thank Finn before taking a seat to wait.
While the firefighters rotate through their visits, Finn and I remain in the waiting room, watching the shift slowly cross their expressions each time someone comes back out of the hallway, the grim worry softening into quiet relief.
As another pair heads down the hallway to see Aiden, my attention shifts toward the hospital entrance, and that’s when I see April and Max, hand in hand, coming in, a big smile on her face.
April hugs me and hands me my backpack, which she has filled with comfortable clothes, a blanket, and just about every smallnecessity she could think to bring for me. I take a few minutes to change in one of the bathrooms down the hall, washing my face and pulling on the soft sweater she packed while Finn keeps April and Max company.
When I come back to the waiting room, Max has set up a small table with sandwiches, drinks, and napkins for Finn and me, somehow turning the sterile hospital space into something that feels almost welcoming. The sandwiches are made from the delicious sourdough bread Aiden baked for me yesterday.
Finn takes a bite of his sandwich and groans dramatically.
“Ugh,” he mutters. “Aiden made this sourdough, didn’t he?”
I nod as I take a bite.
