Learning the hospital staff by name, both morning and night shift, wasn’t something Finn had wanted to do. He’d wanted Michelle to back home in her own bed, recovering and putting all this behind her like it was nothing. He wanted to return to his life and everything that had been put on hold. What he wanted and what he got were two very different things. Michelle was closing in on a week of being in a coma. Five days, thirteen hours, and twenty seven minutes to be exact. Almost a week since his life and been turned upside down. As he sat at the side of Michelle’s bed, he squeezed her hand in his hoping that this time she’d squeeze it back. He needed anything to know she was still in there and she was still fighting. The looks of pity had gotten worse, and the talk about having hope and not giving up were becoming less frequent. Instead now he was told that Michelle was special, and things happen every day. It sounded more like he needed a miracle and less like he needed to give it time.

Looking up at the clock on the wall and watching as the seconds ticked their way around the circle, Finn carefully set Michelle’s hand back down on the bed as he stood up from his chair. He’d gotten a little better about taking a few moments to himself a day. He knew he had to after he was positive he’d seen Michelle’s finger twitch one day. He’d called the doctor’s to rush in thinking it was only a matter of moments now, only to be told there was no change and pestered about how little he’d slept. Not being able to take another disappointment like that, Finn tried to sleep a couple hours a night, and reply on more coffee to get him through the rest.

Walking down the long hall way towards the cafeteria, he avoided eye contact with most of the nurses he passed. He wasn’t up for the forced pleasantries. It was exhausting enough to try and hold it together, he wasn’t capable of much else these days. Outside of his talk with Rachel a few days ago, Finn hadn’t shared much about how he was feeling. Since that day, he hadn’t shed another tear as he’d kept them locked away somehow in a vault sealed with denial and a shred of hope. Rachel had been the one that was able to break through his act just by being there. Despite the years that had passed and the heartbreak that she’d left him with when she’d gone, a part of him knew he could still rely on her. As he passed a couple rooms their doors slightly ajar, he caught himself wondering if it was hers, or if she was still here.

Hands buried in his pockets, Finn walked into the cafeteria to grab himself a fresh cup of coffee and to enjoy a change of scenery. A new set of white walls was hardly a beautiful sunset or a breathtaking landscape, but it was all he had. As he turned around, cup of coffee in hand, he spotted Rachel sitting at a small table by herself. He’d have been lying if he said he wasn’t happy to see the friendly face, but even feeling that way for a second brought on guilt to follow it. He didn’t’ want to feel happy, not when Michelle was laying in her bed completely cut off from everything. Even so, he found himself walking towards her anyway. He needed something familiar among the chaos. “Couldn’t stay away from the coffee either?” The corner of his lip turned up slightly as he pulled out a chair at her table and sat down at the table beside her. He could see now the signs that she wasn’t feeling herself. He assumed they were there the other day and he was too exhausted and wrapped up in himself to see it, but despite it all, she was still…Rachel.