Thanks for all reviews, favorites, and follows! You guys are amazing motivators!

(Callie's narration appears in italics)

1 Week Later…

Over the past week Stef and Lena had made it a point to make sure that at least one of them was always with Callie. She still hadn't woken up, but Dr. Gallagher was more optimistic that she eventually would. According to him, Callie's brain had a lot of healing to do. Callie's body needed to focus on healing her brain. Callie would wake up once her brain wasn't in need of so much energy.

This week has been the most boring week ever! I have done nothing but lay here! Nothing but lay here, allowing my body to "focus on healing my brain." Those were the doctor's words, not mine. I've heard him say it several times now to my moms. I would kill to do just about anything right now! Well, at least I've been able to hear everything everyone has been saying to me. They're talking to me like I'm actually awake, which is a little reassuring that I will at some point be able to wake up.

One good thing about being trapped in my own head is that I've had a lot of time to think about things. A LOT of things! One thing I can't stop thinking about is the accident. I keep wondering if anyone died. No one is telling me anything about that obviously. Brandon is okay; I know that much is true. He talked to me for a long time. I'm pretty sure he's mad at me. He seemed mad. I think he wishes he were the one lying in this bed. I think a part of him feels guilty for being okay. That's a ridiculous thought, but I would probably be thinking the same thing if I were in his shoes.

"Hey, Callie"

Mariana

"It's me, Mariana," Mariana spoke softly.

I know

"You look a little bit better today. Moms are talking to your doctor right now. I think they're trying to find out why you're taking so long to wake up."

My brain hasn't healed enough. Therefore, my body is keeping itself in a coma in order to give my brain the time it needs to recuperate. I would tell you this if I could, but I can't. I don't know why moms are asking that again. The doctor isn't going to change his answer.

"I'm pretty sure Dr. Gallagher is just going to say the same thing. You're just not ready to yet."

Oh no. She sounds sad. Please don't cry Mariana. I can't comfort you right now and if you cry I'm probably going to cry. Wait, can I cry? I haven't tried that yet.

"Please, Callie. Please be ready to wake up soon. I really need you to wake up." Mariana tried to contain herself as a few tears threatened to fall.

I really want to Mariana. You have no idea how much I want to wake up.

"I'm sorry. I can't cry. Moms told me to try not to cry in front of you. They're worried that might freak you out."

How do they expect you to do that?

"How can I not cry though? I mean, seeing my sister hooked up to a bunch of machines. Seeing you, but not being able to talk to you. Well, not being able to have you talk back to me." Mariana couldn't hold it back any longer. The tears that were threatening to fall were now streaming steadily down her face.

Don't cry Mariana!

"Please, wake up Callie," Mariana cried. "Now that I've had you in my life, I can't imagine it without you in it. So, you have to wake up! You have to!"

Mariana stopped in awe as she saw Callie's eyes slowly open.

Dr. Gallagher's office…

"It's been a week," Stef stated. "Is that normal? Do patients wake up okay after being in a coma for longer than a week?"

"Honestly, I've seen patients wake up fine after much longer. A week is nothing really."

"So, you're saying Callie could be in a coma for much longer?" Lena asked concerned.

"I'm saying it's really up to Callie now. Look, we don't know the extents of Callie's brain injury and we're not going to know the extent until she wakes up. When will that be? I wish I could give you a clear answer. But the truth is I don't know when she's going to wake up."

"So, we just have to wait and see," Stef sighed in frustration. The waiting was killing her.

"Unfortunately, yes. But, the good news is I do think that Callie will wake up. The fact that she's showing obvious signs that she can hear you is a good sign that she will. What concerns me is how she'll wake up."

"What do you mean?" Lena asked.

"Callie may wake up with deficits. She might not be able to talk. She might not be able to eat on her own. She might have to relearn how to do everything. She'll most likely need physical therapy. She could also suffer from seizures for the rest of her life. We just don't know at this point. Callie's brain bleed was quite large and we got in there as soon as we could. But that doesn't negate the fact that her brain withstood a lot of pressure for a great amount of time."

"You don't sound very optimistic," Stef stated with an edge to her voice. She was tired of Dr. Gallagher only focusing on worse case scenarios. If they had listened to him a week ago they may have taken Callie off of life support. Her daughter was a fighter and she would fight this. "I mean, what are your credentials anyway?"

Dr. Gallagher paused before answering. He understood why Stef would question him. This was their child he was talking about. "I can assure you, I am very qualified to be your daughter's doctor."

"Are you?" Stef questioned. "Because I'm pretty sure it was you that said she was brain dead a week ago. Now you think she'll wake up, but she'll have deficits."

"I said that she had very minimal brain activity and that it was unlikely that she would wake up, but your daughter has defeated the odds. She's been extremely lucky so far. I've seen patients with smaller brain bleeds than Callie that never make it off the table. I was not wrong about Callie's prognosis; I just underestimated how resilient your daughter would be."

Dr. Gallagher was definitely right about that. Callie was very resilient.

Before anyone could continue, the door swung open.

"Moms!" Mariana exclaimed.

"Honey, what is it?" Lena asked urgently.

"Callie's awake! She opened her eyes! She's awake!"

All reviews, feedback, and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading :)