Stefan merely nodded and Victoria knew he wasn’t in a chatty, lift-your-spirits type of mood, but she wanted to stay positive for him and wanted him to know she was there.
“I know you’re trying to help,” he told her, squeezing her hand. “But you being here is really all I need right now.”
Victoria swallowed her fear. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
* * *
Stefan held on to Victoria’s hand as they made their way down the hospital corridor. The gleaming white floors and antiseptic smell did nothing to ease his mind. He wanted to see his brother. Wanted to see that he was going to be okay and know what the hell had happened. He and Mikos had practically been raised climbing those rocks in Kalymnos. They climbed the hardest, most dangerous rocks for fun, and people had always tried to warn them they were risking too much.
He couldn’t lose his last family member. He refused to believe fate would be that cruel to him.
As he approached the nurses’ desk to ask where his brother’s room was, Karina came rushing toward him, throwing her arms around his waist and holding tight.
“Oh, thank God you’re here,” she sobbed into his chest before lifting her tear-stained face to look up at him. “He’s out of surgery and so far he’s holding his own.”
Stefan held on to his sister-in-law’s slender shoulders. “What’s the prognosis?”
“Better than when he first arrived,” she told him, tears pooling in her red-rimmed eyes. “They didn’t think he’d make it through surgery. But since he has, they are monitoring him. He has...”
She dropped her head to her chest, sobbing once again. Stefan pulled her close, and as much as he wanted to know what the hell they were up against, he also knew the most important thing—his brother was alive. Karina had been here for hours all alone, and right now she needed someone to comfort her.
“I’ll go see what the doctor says,” Victoria whispered behind him.
He nodded and led Karina over to the sofa. “Would you like some water?”
Easing back from him, she shook her head and toyed with the tissue she had clutched in her hand. “No.”
“Have you eaten?”
Again she shook her head.
“Victoria would be happy to get you something, or you can go and we will stay here,” he offered.
“I can’t leave,” she told him. “I can’t even think of eating. I just want someone to tell me for certain that Mikos will be fine. That he’ll be able to walk again, talk again and not be a vegetable.”
That meant his brother obviously had a brain trauma.
Stefan took her hands in his. “Does he have swelling in his brain?”
Karina nodded. “They drilled holes to alleviate some of the pressure, but all we can do is wait. They put him in a drug-induced coma.”
Stefan closed his eyes. How many times had they been rock climbing in Kalymnos? Countless. It’s what they did. Anything to be reckless and adventurous.
“He’ll be fine,” Stefan said, squeezing her hands. “He’s tough, and there’s no way he won’t fight to come back to you.”
Karina sniffed. “I’m pregnant.”
Stefan sat up straight in his seat. “Excuse me?”
“I just confirmed with the doctor while Mikos was out climbing. I was going to tell him when he got home. What if...”
Again she collapsed against him and sobbed.
Dear Lord, a baby? Stefan couldn’t imagine his brother not pulling through, but even if he did, what would they all be faced with?
His baby brother was just as strong and determined as he was. So there was no way, even if he woke up and couldn’t walk, that his brother wouldn’t move heaven and earth to get back on his feet...especially with a baby on the way.
Victoria rounded the corner and took a seat across from them. “The nurse said the doctor would be out shortly to talk to us. He’s actually in Mikos’s room right now evaluating him again.”
“Thank you,” Stefan told her.
“Can I get you guys anything?” she offered. “I saw a lounge down the hall. Coffee, water?”
Both he and Karina declined and Victoria nodded as she eased back in her seat. In no time the doctor came down the hall.