Cooper's eyes flutter open slowly, blinking a few times to adjust to the brightness of the hospital room. He feels a weight on his hand and turns his head slightly to discover his mom holding onto him, her head resting on the edge of the bed.

He licks his dry lips, eager for a glass of water, before clearing his throat and muttering a croaky, "Mom?"

Her head shoots up in an instant, eyes wide as she drinks in her son's face. Tears begin pooling in her eyes as a smile tugs at her lips. Within seconds, she's grabbing onto his face and planting a sloppy kiss to his cheek.

"What's going on? Where am I?" He asks drowsily, taking in his surroundings. His eyes land on the flowers by the window, wondering just how many people have come to see him since he's been here.

His mother reaches for the call button next to his bed, summoning a nurse into the room. Her hand finds Cooper's cheek once more as she stares lovingly into his eyes. "We thought we lost you for a minute there. Your heart stopped but they brought you back. I should call your father. Your friends are in the hall; I'll go grab them. They must be eager to see you."

Before he has a chance to question her any further, she's pulling her phone from her purse and stepping out into the hallway. Unsure what to do with himself, he glances around the room once more, a fogginess to his vision. When he moves to sit up, a shooting pain comes from his abdomen, keeping him down. Wincing, he pulls the blanket off to observe his wound. Pulling his hospital gown up, his eyes find the long incision mark on his stomach, causing a sudden sense of worry to fall over him.

"Jesus Christ, dude," Brandon says, entering the room and immediately covering his eyes. "At least warn a guy if you're just going to be letting it all hang out like that."

Cooper covers himself up with his hospital gown before pulling the blanket up once more. "Why do I look like someone harvested my organs?"

Samantha and Nate step inside the room after Brandon, the three making their way over to the side of the bed. Cooper stares back at them, though they're backlit by the light from the window behind them. Nate tilts his head slightly, confused by the question. "Your surgery."

"What surgery?"

The nurse enters the room at that moment, a clipboard in her hand as she makes her way over to the computer. Brandon turns to her, a frown on his face. "He doesn't know he had surgery."

The nurse smiles reassuringly. "That's perfectly normal. He'll start remembering things soon. Don't worry."

"Where's Ellie?" Cooper asks, finally noticing that he hasn't seen her yet.

His friends exchange glances, none of them seeming to want to be the one to answer the question. With a sigh, Brandon turns back to Cooper. "What do you mean where's Ellie?"

"I mean, where is she? Why isn't she here?"

"Who's Ellie?" Samantha asks, her eyebrows pulled together.

"You've met her, Sam," Cooper says with a frown, pushing himself up slightly and wincing as the pain in his stomach shoots through his body once more. "If I had a surgery, then surely she would be here."

"You didn't want her to come," Brandon says, shaking his head slowly as if he's afraid of setting him off. "Sam and Nate haven't even met her. You never asked her out."

"What are you talking about? Of course they've met her." By this point, a clear irritation laces his voice. "She's my girlfriend. Why are you guys being so weird?"

Nate turns to the nurse, shoving his hands into his front pockets. "Is he okay?"

The nurse nods, her eyes scanning over the boy in the bed. She sets her clipboard down and makes her way over to Cooper's side. "Why don't you tell us who Ellie is, Cooper."

"She's my girlfriend," he says, just as his mother re-enters the room. Her smile fades when she reads the mood of the room, a look of concern making its way to her face.

"Is everything all right? Did something go wrong with the surgery?" She asks worriedly, making her way to the bed and grabbing hold of Cooper's hand.

"Mom, you know who Ellie is. Right?"

She looks up in thought before slowly shaking her head. "I don't think I've ever heard that name, no. Is everything okay? Should I know her?"

He pushes himself up from the bed, biting down on his lip to hold back a scream of pain, enraged by the way his loved ones are acting. The nurse gently grabs hold of his shoulders, easily guiding him back down. "You can't move, sir. You need to recover. You just underwent a serious surgery."

"I need to go find Ellie. I need you guys to stop staring at me like I'm crazy."

"We don't think you're crazy, Cooper," the nurse says, turning to the rest of the group gathered by his bedside. "He's been under anesthesia during the surgery. It's typical for patients to experience vivid dreams."

Just as he's about to groan and protest that it wasn't a dream, Brandon speaks up, his eyes focused on Cooper's. "You didn't make Ellie up. She's real. You just aren't dating her."

The nurse walks over to Cooper's mom, whispering something in her ear before making her way out to the hall. Cooper's mom gives his hand a quick squeeze, mumbling, "I'll be right back," before stepping out after her.

"What do you mean I'm not dating her?" He finally asks, his eyes scanning over his group of friends, all of whom are wearing uncomfortable expressions.

"I don't know how much you remember," Brandon says slowly, looking down to the floor as his hand shoots up to rub the back of his neck. "I guess I should just start from the beginning."

He sighs, grabbing onto the chair behind him and pulling it closer to the bed before taking a seat in it. Nate and Samantha lean back against the window quietly, awaiting the story. "So when you got diagnosed with cancer, I was going to all your appointments with you. Do you remember that?"

Cooper shakes his head, eyebrows pulled together. "No. I went alone. I met Ellie in the lobby."

Brandon frowns slightly. "No. I went with you to all your appointments. You wouldn't admit that you were scared but I knew you were, so I decided to go with you. We went to one of your appointments and found out the surgery was an option because you only had stage one colon cancer—"

"I didn't have stage one."

"Yes. You did. And thank God you did because colon cancer is one of the hardest to beat." Brandon leans back in his seat. "Now are you going to let me finish this story or not?"

Cooper bites back a comeback and nods his friend on. "We met a woman at that appointment. She was doing chemo and we somehow ended up sat down with her and talking. This became a regular thing for us. We'd go and sit with her and chat about our lives. Do you remember Willa?"

A sudden sadness falls over Cooper as the name registers in his mind. "Ellie's grandma. She passed away."

Brandon raises his eyebrows, shaking his head slowly as he wears another frown. "She didn't die. She's still doing chemo."

"She didn't die?"

"No. We just saw her a few days ago and she wished you good luck with the surgery." Cooper's heart swells at the new information, but before he has a chance to ask any more questions, Brandon continues speaking. "But you're right about her being Ellie's grandma. She'd tell us stories about her granddaughter all the time and hint that you'd be good for her. Then one day, we finally met Ellie.

"She's a volunteer at the hospital. She came to check up on her grandma during her break and we happened to be there at the same time. Willa was right, you guys hit it off. Ellie started coming back more frequently, whenever she could find time to get away. You didn't make up your feelings for her. But you never asked her out. Your surgery was risky and you didn't know what the outcome would be."

"I didn't make her up?" Cooper asks, a sense of relief making its way through his entire body.

"Nope. She's very real." The frown finally fades from Brandon's face and a smile replaces it. "You just didn't want to ask her out until you knew you were better. Which you are now. Sort of, anyway."

Cooper's body freezes at his friend's words. "I'm better?"

"Yeah. Your surgery was a success. They removed the cancerous part of your colon. I mean, they have to keep an eye on you for a while and the recovery from the surgery is going to be a real bitch, but you're in remission."

For the first time since he's woken up, a smile lights up Cooper's face. He lifts his blanket, moving his hospital gown out of the way to observe his scar once more. He gently touches his fingertips to it before pulling them back at the pain his soft touch produces. Tears well up in his eyes as he continues staring at his stomach, the words, 'I'm better,' playing over and over in his head.

After a week and a half at the hospital and three weeks in his bed at home, Cooper finally has a chance to get outside and get some fresh air. While mostly healed, there's still a bit of tenderness in his abdomen, but it's nothing he can't handle. He finds himself surprised as he makes his way back to the hospital on his first day of freedom. But that surprise all but fades as soon as he sees the seats they'd met in during his drug-induced dream.

A little disappointed that Ellie isn't sat there waiting for him, he makes his way over to the elevators and presses the button to summon one. As he waits, he stares back at his reflection, surprised once again to see his usual blond locks instead of brown ones like in his dream. His surprise is brief as the elevator doors open and he steps inside, pressing the fourth floor button and beginning his ascend.

When the doors open, he makes his way out of the elevator and down the hall. Brandon gave him instructions and times, though Cooper said he wanted this meeting to be made alone. With a nervous breath, he pushes open a door to reveal Willa sat in a comfortable seat and reading away at a magazine. Her eyes shoot up just as he enters the room, a smile lighting up her face.

"Hello, Cooper Clarke," she says, setting her magazine down on her lap. "Boy, am I happy to see your smiling face again."

He has to hold back the overwhelming urge to cry as memories of burying her dead body resurface. Even in his dream, he knew she was special. He just didn't know how close he'd been to the woman until he woke up from his surgery. He walks over to her, wrapping his arms around her in a hug but being careful to not hit any of the important IVs around her.

"Oh, wow," she says with a laugh as he pulls back from the hug, taking a seat in the chair next to hers. "You look well."

He smiles, his eyes studying her features to be sure she's real and not just a figment of his imagination. "I missed you, Willa."

"Good. I'd be offended if you hadn't." She pauses, adjusting slightly in her seat. "So how was the surgery? Everything went well?"

"Yeah. It went well." He lifts his shirt up to reveal his scar, looking down to view it himself. "I have this nice battle scar."

"Cooper Clarke, put that shirt down. Don't tempt me, you know I'm much too old for you." She shoots him a playful wink. "Besides, my granddaughter would be quite upset with me if you and I ended up together."

He laughs, his gaze leaving hers to scan over the room. He hadn't realized he was holding his breath but as the thought of seeing Ellie again sinks in, he's become fully aware of his unsteady breathing. Willa places a gentle hand on his, earning his attention once more. "She's just down the hall. Go find her, I'll be here when you get back."

He nods, gulping as he pushes himself up from his seat. He stands still for a moment before turning back to Willa. "It's really good to see you again."

"You too, honey." A warm smile pulls at her lips. "Now, go on."

He wastes no more time, taking off down the hall in search of Ellie. A worry that he may not recognize her begins to creep in, realizing that his dream may have fabricated how she looked, making her unrecognizable in reality. But when his eyes finally do land on her, his worries fade in an instant.

As if sensing his gaze, she looks up, a shocked expression making its way onto her face before it's fading and she's quickly making her way towards him. A blush sneaks onto his cheeks and his hands hang awkwardly by his sides, nervous thoughts dancing around in his mind. As he's in the midst of considering how to greet her, her arms wrap around his neck, pulling him in for a tight hug.

"I've missed you so much," she whispers, her grip loosening slightly so she can pull back and look at him. As her eyes search his stunned face, she drops her arms completely, clearing her throat. "I mean, I'm really happy to see you again."

"I've missed you too," he says, an easy smile forming on his lips. His eyes search her face, relief crashing in as she looks exactly how he remembered her, giving him hope that she is exactly how he remembers her.

"I have to admit, I was a little worried when you didn't reach out to me after the surgery." She laughs nervously, dropping her gaze briefly before returning it to his. "I thought maybe you'd forgotten about me."

"Trust me, just the opposite."

A red tint takes over her cheeks. "So you're better then? The surgery was a success?"

"Yeah." He nods, another smile gracing his lips. "All better."

"Good. I'm glad." She looks away shyly and Cooper notices her foot tapping up and down, a clear sign to how nervous she feels.

"Hey, El?"

Her leg stops bouncing, her eyes widening a fraction at the nickname before returning to a normal size. "Yeah?"

"Do you like coffee?"

Her lips tug upwards. "You know I love coffee."

"Right." He laughs, biting down on his bottom lip to cover up his embarrassment. "Do you maybe want to grab a coffee with me?"

"You hate coffee."

"But you don't."

She stares back at him, her eyes lighting up as their gazes meet. Any nerves Cooper felt fade away in that moment, sure that Ellie is exactly who he thought she was. Sure that she's still the girl he fell in love with. But now, they have a shot at a life together.

"Okay." She smiles sweetly. "We can go when my shift ends."

"What time is that?"

She looks down to the watch on her wrist, eyes squinting as she reads it. "Thirty minutes. Does that work?"

Joy bubbles up inside of Cooper as the reality of the situation sets in. He was just saying his goodbyes, ready to leave everyone he loved behind. But instead of goodbyes, his life is now full of new beginnings. A fresh new mindset, and a new love and appreciation for the simplest thing life has to offer, a beating heart. His life will no longer be wasted, instead it will be lived to its fullest extent. With a content smile on his lips, he nods, his eyes staying trained on his first new beginning.

"When your shift ends. It's a date."