Complications

Lauren's breath caught in her throat as she watched helplessly, still finding it hard to reconcile herself to the reality staring her in the face.

Inside the hospital, time seemed to stand still as they waited anxiously by the theater door.

Lauren felt a hand wrap around her shoulders and turned to stare into the face whose eyes were laden with compassion.

"He's going to be alright, my friend," she heard her dearest friend whom she had not seen for over a year say to her.

With a slight nod, she continued staring at the light on the theater door, clinging to the flickering hope that Steffan would eventually survive.

Hours later, the doctor finally emerged from the operating room, his face etched with exhaustion but his eyes alight with a glimmer of hope. "He's stable," he announced, the words a balm to their frayed nerves. "But it will be a long road to recovery," he added.