Nicklaus stood, paralyzed and unable to move for a whole minute, he shook his head and looked again, and her eyes were still open.
"Beautiful…" his voice shook as he took extremely calm steps towards her, making sure not to make any noise, afraid that it might have been an illusion.
When he reached the bed, he touched her face, it was no longer as cold, it had warmth in it. Tears gathered in his eyes as he hugged her,
"God, I missed you, I missed you so much, so much ."
He cried, kissing her cheeks.
Tiana eyes moved weakly to look at him, there was no expression on her face, and she barely blinked.
Nicklaus reached his hands and pressed the emergency button, his eyes not leaving her for a second.
He couldn't explain this feeling. It was as though life had come back to him again. It was as though he had started living again.
''what happened?" they asked as they walked to her.
"she's awake."
Nicklaus said, the joy written on his face immeasurable.
"Oh my, that is great news."
One of the doctors said as he approached the bed. As Nicklaus had said, her eyes were open.
"Hello dear, if you can see me, blink twice."
He said and Tiana blinked twice.
"Good, that's good."
"If you can talk blink twice, if you cannot, blink only once."
Nicklaus turned to look at the doctor,
"Don't worry it's not a problem, her nervous systems are not yet fully functional, she'll start speaking in no time."
"Do you recognize him?"
The doctor said, pointing at Nicklaus.
Tiana's eyes turned to him slowly, and she stared for a long while but didn't say a thing.
The whole place became cold as the doctors stood speechless.
"If you recognize him, blink twice, if you don't blink once."
Tiana looked at him again. He was hugging her earlier. It seemed like he was someone close to her, her eyes traced his body and back to his face, but she still couldn't remember who he was.
Turning to the doctor, she blinked once.
"don't worry, her brain needs some time to process things properly. She had been asleep for a year, surely she wouldn't be able to remember everything in seconds.
You need to give her time."
Nicklaus who was confused for a bit, nodded briefly. He didn't want to think much of it, she just woke up. There was no need to stress her to remember, he had the whole time in the world.
He smiled.
"Alright, we'll run a few tests on her, you may leave the room now."
The doctors said and Nicklaus walked out of the room. In the hallway, he told his guards the good news and they couldn't contain their joy as they jumped happily.
Nicklaus laughed. For the first time in months, his laugh came from his heart.
Taking his phone, he called Elizabeth and told her the news.
"Oh my baby, she's awake. Tiana is awake! She screamed excitedly. I'll tell everyone, we're coming to the hospital now."
"Alright, keep it on a low, I don't want the public knowing yet."
"Okay. Okay." Elizabeth replied and Nicklaus ended the call.
After a while, the doctors walked out with smiles,
She's completely fine. She just needs rest and some food. No solid food for now, it would be too much for her digestive system. You can go in and see her."
Even the doctors were happy for Nicklaus. They knew how much he cared for her, and waited patiently. They were sure if she had slept for another year, he would have been by her side.
Nicklaus walked into the room, and the guards stood by the door,
"Boss can we come in,"
They asked excitedly, Nicklaus nodded and they jumped into the room before he could even breath.
Walking to the bed, they smiled, so happy as they stared at her. Finally she was awake. Throughout the time she was asleep they had watched her, sometimes they would come to see her and pray for her to wake up. Now, they couldn't contain their joy. It was as though she was their sister.
Tiana looked at them, she didn't recognize them, but they looked very happy to see her, she smiled faintly and closed her eyes.
"You can go now, she wants to sleep."
Nicklaus waved them off and they left hesitantly.
After he was left alone, he sat beside her and took her hand in his, kissing it.
It hurt him to know that she didn't recognize him, but it was okay, as long as she was awake.
His phone rang in his pocket and when he saw the caller, he smiles. Answering the call, he spoke before his PA could say a word.
"My wife just woke up, I won't be coming to the office today."
"Okay, sir."
His PA answered. "That's good news sir. Congratulations."
He said. He was happy for him.
"Thank you. Sort things out with the investors, you know what to tell them."
"Yes sir. I'll stop by the hospital later."
"Alright."
And in a few hours, the hospital room was filled with family.
Nicklaus sat at a corner full of smiles. He had not eaten a proper meal in months, Elizabeth smiled as she watched him eat the food she brought. This was the first time he had eaten so happily in months.
"You all should get going. You're disturbing her sleep."
He said, waving at them.
There was Grandma and Elizabeth. Henry was out of town, so he couldn't come. Diana and Michael, who sat beside Tiana's bed. And Nicklaus who was sitting on the other side.
"But we have not seen her open her eyes, that's what we came for."
Grandma glared at him,
"We'll wait here till she wakes up."
She said.
"but you have to stop talking out loud, she might be getting a headache from all the noise."
Diana laughed. He was so protective of her. Well, she wasn't expecting anything less, he had missed her so much.
Just that moment, Tiana opened her eyes.