Nathan p.o.v

"Okay, chicken, tomatoes, pasta, pesto, union... hmm, what am I missing?" I spoke to myself. I was busy cooking dinner when I heard the front door being slammed shut. 

I stood straight and turned around to see Max walking in from work. He looked tired. For days he was walking around like a living corpse. He had to overwork these past couple of days and hadn't much time for his little activities, which made him even more tired and stressed. 

"Well hello to you too," I greeted him. 

Max grunted and threw his bag to the ground. I quirked up a brow. 

He may be tired but that doesn't mean the rules don't apply anymore. "Uhm, love I know you are tired, but rules are rules." 

Max started to whine. 

I decided to stay calm and comfort him first before I would lecture him. I walked up to him and gave him a big bear hug. He snuggled into my chest, trying to hide himself. 

My heart melted. He was just the cutest person I had ever known. I chuckled. 

"You are just a clingy pup," Max whined again. "I know, I know, I am so mean teasing you while you are tired. But I need my baby boy to pick up his bag and put some comfortable clothes on."

"I don't wanna," my boy muttered into my chest. 

I sighed. 

I wanted to be teasing and be slightly stern with him because he disregarded the rules many times the past week and I kinda let him, but tomorrow he would be free and there were no excuses anymore. 

On the other hand, I also just wanted to smother him.

"All right, compromise, I carry you and dress you. How about that?" My boy only nodded his head. 

I chuckled again and put him on my hip. He nuzzled his face into my neck and a sigh of relief escaped from his lips. 

I headed upstairs to our bedroom and sat him down on the bed. I looked into the closet and searched for some comfortable clothes. I decided on an oversized shirt with some oversized overalls. 

Max was practically a puppet, he had no strength in his body anymore. When he was fully dressed again, out of his uncomfortable and yucky work clothes. He looked more like himself. I had missed my little boy. 

I looked into another dresser for a paci and a clip-on. When I found it I clipped the paci onto his overalls. 

Max started to whine again. "I know you are most of the time a big boy Max, but you look like you need it. Don't fight it, sweetheart."

I popped it in and Max didn't argue it. I was proud of him. 

He put his hands up wanted to be carried again. I took him in my arms again and walked downstairs to the living room. I had put on a movie for him so I could cook in peace. 

When dinner was ready, I let him eat in front of the television. 

We were peacefully eating our dinner and watching Cars when my phone went off. I stood up and made my way to the kitchen where I had left it. 

"Nathan speaking." 

"Hello, this is Dr. Garcia from Greenwood Hospital Center speaking. Am I speaking to Nathan Hall?"

My heart stopped for a second. Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic. Please, please let Rose be all right. 

"Yes, I am Nathan Hall," I said, trying to not let my voice waver. 

"Ah good. I tried to call Mr. Idelson first but he didn't pick up. But that is not why I am calling you. I have some good news for you, Mr. Hall. Rose woke up an hour ago and she is in good health."

Holy shit, I had to hide my excitement as I wanted to scream to the world how happy I was. 

"If you want you can come to visit her, not for long, but if you have some time now you can come." 

"Yes, yes, we will be on our way right now. Thank you so, so much Dr. Garcia." 

I didn't catch anything after I said that, I only remember saying goodbye to her. My mind was fully set on letting everybody know and going to Rose. I wanted nothing more than that. 

I ran into the living room and picked Max up and twirled him around. He giggled, "Daddy, why you so happy?" 

"Because baby boy, Rose woke up," I said while kissing his face multiple times. 

Max cheered and clapped his hands. 

Within five minutes we sat in the car. I had already called Ellis and Anna and they both screamed into the phone. I might have some ear damage now, but I couldn't care. Rose was awake and nothing could ruin that. 

I tried to call Derek, but he didn't answer my phone calls too. 

So, the only thing we could do was pick him up myself. I may or may not have driven a bit too fast on my way to him, but he needed to know. He had his punishment and now it was time to move on. 

He needed to get himself together to make things up with Rose. 

As we drove up the driveway, I said to Max to wait as I got his Uncle Derek ready to go. 

Stella let me in and of course, I shared the good news with her too. She was delighted and as I told her Jack heard me too. It looked like the whole house came to life. Everybody smiled and the air felt less depressing here. 

I asked where Derek was and made my way to him. 

"Derek! Derek! Get your ass in the shower, we have to go to the hospital." I opened his office door and saw a defeated man sitting behind a desk. 

He looked terrible. 

I sighed. 

"Derek, wake up man. I have good news." He looked at me with dull eyes. 

"What can be possible good news?" Derek asked in a low voice. 

"Well, the hospital called and they told me Rose woke up an hour ago." The moment I mentioned 'Rose' and 'woke up' a sparkle settled into his eyes. 

"Really? You are not joking?" 

"Dude, I may be angry at you, or was, but I would never pull such a sick joke on you. Did you forget who I am? I am your best friend." 

"So, she is awake? She really is awake?" Derek's voice got louder and louder. 

"Yes, she is. So get your ass in the shower. You reek, I can smell you from here." 

He smiled and ran past me to his bathroom. 

In ten minutes that guy had gone through a whole transformation. His beard was gone, his hair was styled, he had some nice, crisped clean clothes on. After months I finally saw the old Derek again. 

It felt good. 

This was a good day.  

We were all on our way to the hospital. Ellis and Anna were already waiting at the entrance of the building. "Are you all ready?" I asked. 

Everybody nodded in excitement. 

When we got to the floor where Rose her room was located, Dr. Garcia was already waiting for us. "Hello everyone. I am glad you are all here. Unfortunately, Rose is still in a fragile state and you can't go in at the same time. We have to try first a small group and if she can handle that the others can go too." 

We nodded, understanding the situation. After a short discussion, we had decided that Max, Derek, and I would go first and then, Ellis and Anna. 

Derek didn't want to go as he was insecure about what was going to happen, but the guy was punished enough. He was in hell in the past weeks, and yes, every week he deserved it, but there were also times you have to forgive people. And I was at that stage where I could forgive him as long as he respected Rose her boundaries. 

Max held my hand while we walked to Rose's room, Derek following us suit. 

The door was open slightly ajar and we could see Rose with her eyes open laying down in her bed. It was such a rare sight, seeing her awake again. 

I noticed how Max got excited, I tried to withhold him so he wouldn't scare Rose. 

I opened the door further and we made our way inside. Rose her head snapped our way. 

"Hello Rose, it's good to see you again." I greeted the girl who had been in a coma for over four months. 

A/N: I hope you all are doing good and have a nice weekend. Thank you all so much for your support for this book. I really appreciate it. 

Rose is finally awake! What do you think will happen next? 

What do you guys hope to see in this book? 

Please let me know what you think. 

If you want to read ahead you can on my Patreon (see bio for link). Chapters 35, 36, 37 are already uploaded. I hope to upload another chapter this weekend too on there. 

Thank you for reading and have a nice day!

P.S. again the picture from above isn't mine, I found it on Pinterest. Didn't really know who made it.