Chapter 53: Chapter 53

Blair

The next day we went to the hospital early and I refused to leave until the end of the day, managing to see Dimitri for a few minutes through the observation window, but by the second day I couldn't stand the situation anymore.

" Nadia, the doctor said that Dimitri is out of danger, right? " I walked beside the nurse.

Somehow I had managed to make friends with most of the staff on that floor, all of whom seemed to be moved by the story of our recent fake engagement.

" Yes, he is responding very well to the treatment and although he is always asleep when you see him, he has spent some periods awake," she reported without slowing her pace.

" That's great, isn't it? " I smiled, trying hard to keep up with her.

" Yes, it's very good."

" Good enough for me to spend time with him? " I tried.

The nurse let out a giggle, leaving me behind.

" Nice try, Blair."

I snorted, looking around before spotting my next hope.

" Good morning, Anna. You look especially beautiful today," I said, following another nurse.

" I overheard the conversation and there's nothing I can do about it," she cut me off.

I stopped in the middle of the corridor, wondering who could help me reach my goal.

" Natalya, hi. Is there something different about you, new perfume? " I tried to flatter one of the grumpiest nurses in the place.

" Yes, it's called a twelve-hour shift," she returned with a frown.

I didn't even bother to try, I couldn't get anything out of her. I returned to the waiting room, plopping myself down on the couch, drawing laughter from Dimitri's siblings who were there.

" Blair, isn't it easier for you to wait until they release access to him? " Yuri commented.

" Or I could disturb every single person in this hospital until I get it," I muttered.

" You said yourself that your mother did that and it didn't work, which makes you think…"

I didn't wait for Masha to finish her sentence as I saw Dimitri's doctor come out of one of the rooms. I stood up quickly, moving to accompany the woman.

" Good morning Ms. Ozkan, can I help you with something?"

She went straight to the point.

" Well, I wasn't going to ask for anything, but since you offered, may I see Dimitri? " I offered my friendliest smile.

The woman stopped walking, giving me a shrewd look.

" Sure you can, through the observation window, just like the other times," she assured me.

She started walking again, motioning me to follow her.

" But Dr. Pavlova, you said that he is out of danger and reacting well, and he has already been isolated for two days and…"

" There is a reason for this isolation, Ms. Ozkan."

" I know, but I just need to talk to him, hold his hand for a moment," I insisted, "I'll take a shower, I'll wear an apron, a cap, gloves, masks, whatever you want, just…"

She held up one hand, indicating that I should stop talking.

" Please," I pleaded.

The doctor stared at me for a few seconds before taking a deep breath, signaling Natalya to come closer.

" Help Miss Ozkan get ready to see Mr. Voitovich. She has ten minutes " she told the nurse to my delight.

The nurse rolled her eyes and walked towards some sort of changing room. I ran after her, barely containing my excitement. I would get to see him!

After many minutes of getting ready, washing my hands and forearms thoroughly and putting on all the necessary equipment, I entered his room, finding him unconscious on the bed. My heart was beating hard in my chest, and it was not so comfortable to breathe with the mask on, but I was there!

" Ten minutes " Natalya warned.

" Thank you," I smiled from behind the mask.

Approaching the bed carefully, I watched Dimitri as I brought my hand to his, feeling his warm skin, even through the glove I was wearing.

" How good it feels to be able to touch you," I sighed, stroking his hand.

That's when I felt his hand squeeze mine gently. I lifted my face, finding Dimitri's confused gaze locked on me.

" Blair?"

" Hey Commander, you startled me," I brought my hand up to his face, stroking it.

" Am I dreaming? " his voice sounded slurred, muffled by the drugs.

" No, I'm right here," I let out a small laugh, trying hard to hold back the tears and the desire to kiss him.

Dimitri blinked slowly, trying to sit up next, but I held him still.

" No effort, Commander. How are you?"

" Like I ran over another plane with mine," he forced a smile.

Good, he is well enough to make jokes about what happened!

" Well, at least your memory is unaffected. " I stroked his face again.

He frowned, bringing his hand to mine.

" You're crying," he babbled.

" I thought I was going to lose you," I admitted, "I love you so much and I thought I would never see you again."

A delighted smile lit his face as he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

" That's the best thing I've heard in the last few days," he commented, making me laugh.

" I couldn't wait to be able to tell you this, believe me. How are you really feeling?"

" The worst part is being alone," he admitted.

" I'll be here the whole time, don't worry, you won't be alone anymore, I won't let anyone take me away from here, and…"

I looked at the door, seeing Natalya approaching with the same closed expression as always.

" Actually, my time is up, that stinky nurse is coming to kick me out," I pointed, drawing something close to a laugh from him, which soon turned into a grimace of pain.

" Don't laugh," I ordered.

" I thought no one could get you out of here."

" Have you seen her size? If I try to face her I'm sure I'll lose," I scoffed, "but I'm going to keep bugging everyone until they let me back in, and anyway, I'm going to stand there on the other side of the glass."

He nodded, bringing my hand to his lips, kissing it tenderly.

Natalya waved from the doorway, causing me to sigh resignedly before leaving him. I didn't even have time to tell him about our impromptu engagement.

After getting rid of everything I put on to get into the room, I returned to my Siblings-in-law, who were locked in a small argument.

" What have you gotten yourself into? " Masha asked.

" They let me spend some time with him," I declared, satisfied.

The information took the two of them by surprise and they soon began to pepper me with questions about Dimitri's condition.

" Then I'll stay for a while in the glass, so that he doesn't feel so lonely," I reported after sharing all that had happened, "Maybe I can get some papers and a pen, do they sell them at the hospital store?

" What do you want these for? " Yuri frowned.

" So I can talk to him," I pointed out the obvious.

" Let's take advantage that he's awake," Masha urged her brother to get up, while I went off in search of paper and pen.

It took me a few minutes to get it, and I bribed the girls at the reception desk promising some goodies in return, but when I returned to the floor where he was, Masha and Yuri told me that he had fallen asleep again.

I sat down in dismay, noticing a news report about the accident on TV.

" What's going on? " I asked as I noticed Masha's frown.

Before she could answer, I recognized Dimitri's voice. He was speaking in Russian to someone else so I understood the situation.

They have released the contents of the black box!

" What are they talking about?"

Yuri cursed before standing up in irritation, walking away after punching the wall.

" What's going on? " I insisted as my sister-in-law blinked in a daze.

" All this time you were saying that you didn't know why Dimulya went to that airstrip without authorization, but he was sent there," she stammered, "they sent him there, the airport people almost killed my brother."

" The flight controller sent him to a Landing Track that I was being used for takeoff?"

" Yes!"

I felt a chill run down my spine as I remembered an accident in the early 2000s where something similar had happened and there were no survivors from either aircraft. I realized that the story had attracted special attention from the people who worked there, especially those who were taking care of my boyfriend.

" They tried to blame my brother," Masha growled, "They made him look like a lousy and irresponsible professional, when in fact everything would have been worse if he hadn't been a good pilot."

One of the nurses approached my sister-in-law, saying something in Russian to her. I left them both trapped in a nonconformist conversation, sitting down to absorb this information. Dimitri, as well as all the passengers, could be dead now. The other pilot did not survive. Dimitri could have been killed.

I stood up, going to the observation window, watching over his sleep, even if from a distance.

I was given another chance with him, and I wouldn't waste it for anything!

I stood there the whole time, waiting for him to wake up. When he finally woke up, I was there for him. Dimitri looked in my direction, offering me a small smile. That's when I remembered my initial plan. I propped the sheet of paper on the wall, writing in big letters.

"I hope you dreamed about me."

He took a few seconds to read, before I wrote again on the other side of the sheet.

"If the answer is no, please lie"

That made Dimitri smile, nodding affirmatively.

"Your parents are coming to see you, but until they arrive I will keep you company"

I spent the next few hours telling him random things, just to distract him. I didn't want to bring up the subject of the accident or anything related to the two of us when he couldn't answer me.

When his parents arrived, his mother managed to spend a few minutes in the room with him, making me say goodbye and return to Dimitri's apartment with Masha.

I had a better night than the previous ones, feeling more at ease having seen Dimitri.

I awoke the next day to Masha knocking on my bedroom door.

" Blair, are you up already?"

" Yes, come in," I murmured, turning over in bed.

She came in with a strange expression, a smile plastered on her face, as if she had been caught doing something wrong.

" Did something happen?"

" No. Why?"

" You look like you slept with a coat hanger in your mouth," I yawned, sitting up.

" You know I'm your favorite sister-in-law, right?"

I found that conversation strange. What is going on with this woman?

" Masha, what have you done?"

" Nothing you didn't know, but…"

She motioned for me to follow her into the living room, where the TV was on. I was surprised to see a picture of me and Dimitri printed there, but I didn't quite understand the content.

" What's going on?"

" Well, after yesterday, Dimitri basically became a national hero," she explained.

Well, he is a hero. But how do I fit into this story?

" And because of that, they decided to find out all the details about him," she continued, "and someone ended up telling the story about your engagement, so…"

It took me a few seconds to process what she had said.

Does she mean that everyone in the country, with the exception of the supposed fiancé, knows about our fake engagement?