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Author's Chapter Notes:
I know its been a very long time since I updated this! Hope you are all still reading!
Chapter 17

It had been the worst two weeks of Amanda's life...waiting for Nick to wake up again. She walked down the hallway of the hospital with a sense of quiet excitement. Today was the day Nick would be brought out of the coma. The doctors were finishing as she walked into his room and Amanda took her familiar seat next to his bed, taking her hand in his.

"Come on, baby..." she whispered, kissing it gently. Nick's eyes fluttered open a while later and he smiled at her.

"Hey." he whispered. Amanda laughed, half laughed and half cried....she was so happy to hear his voice again.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. Nick shifted a little and yawned.

"Like I took a really long nap." he said softly.

"Two weeks went by quickly, baby." Amanda grinned. He looked a little better than he had been, the bruising and swelling had gone down in his neck but he looked very thin. Nick had lost a lot of weight being in the hospital.

"I do feel a lot better though, it isn't as painful as when I woke up last time." Nick said happily. Amanda was relieved to hear this, she had been so worried about him when he told her how much his body hurt. Amanda stayed with him a few hours and then went home, feeling confident. Nick was going to get better, he was doing well already and she was happy.

"How you feeling, buddy?" Brian asked the next day. He had come to visit on his day off to see if Nick had woken up yet.
"Pretty good." Nick answered. His chest and stomach were sore but he still didn't feel too bad, and this made him confident he would go home in no time.

"You should eat something..." Brian said, eyeing the food tray in front of Nick.

"I hate hospital food. It doesn't fill me....I'm always hungry an hour later." Nick protested. He wanted real food....fried chicken...pasta...

"Hi baby." Amanda said, coming into the room and closing the door.

"What's that smell?" Brian asked, scrunching up his nose and sniffing. Nick looked confused. Amanda took out a Burger King bag and placed it in front of him, smiling.

"He shouldn't be eating that...." Brian scolded her. Nick grinned and took one of the hamburgers, eating and sighing contentedly.

"I saw Nick looks a little underweight. I am just looking out for him. He needs to eat more filling foods." Amanda said, sitting down as Nick ate the french fries.

"If the nurse saw this, she would not be happy." Brian whispered.

"But its so goood..." Nick said with his mouth full of hamburger.

"You shouldn't be eating this crap, its not healthy." Brian repeated.

"He will be fine, don't be such a party pooper." Amanda quipped. She and Brian sat there for a while before Nick finished.

"Thanks baby. You're the best." Nick said with a grin. Amanda stuffed the bag into her purse and they left him after saying goodbye.

"How did you get that in here anyways?" Brian asked when they had reached their cars.

"I have my ways." Amanda smiled. She came back to visit Nick again the next day, he was watching television.
"How are you feeling today, sweetheart?" Amanda asked, kissing him on the forehead as he kissed her on the cheek.

"Much better." Nick replied with a smile. He looked better than he had in quite a while, Amanda was very pleased at his progress.

"Baby...can I come home? I want to come home..." Nick begged after a few moments. Amanda sat in silence...thinking. There really wasn't any more the doctors could do and Amanda felt that it would help Nick if he were near his family.

"I will talk to the doctors and see what they think, okay?" Amanda promised. The doctor actually ended up agreeing with her and allowed Nick to be released from the hospital that afternoon. As the nurses prepared him for transport, Amanda rushed home to tell AJ the good news.

"Jay, where are the kids?" Amanda asked. AJ walked in carrying the baby, who had her head resting on his shoulder. Amanda thought AJ looked cute with a baby girl on his hip.

"Well this one just ate and Aaron is walking the dogs." AJ replied. Amanda and Nick had gotten dogs before the accident. Romy was Amanda's dog...a yorkshire terrier and Michelle was a golden retriever who took to Nick at once. Nick had named them Romy and Michelle after a movie.

"Look, I want the kids out of the way when the ambulance comes....Nick is coming home." Amanda said happily.

"Wow, that's great news!" AJ exclaimed.

"Jay, you're gonna have to help me take care of Nick because he will be bedridden until his arm heals and he can use crutches." Amanda pointed out. She had just realized this would be a challenge, everyone would have to help take care of Nick so he would heal.

"No problem, I can handle it..." AJ promised. Amanda looked pleased, she was so happy Nick was coming home, but at the same time she knew it would be different.