Chapter 17 That afternoon , Elliot's parents arrived at Southport Hospital , with Claire accompanying them . Seeing Elliot lying unconscious in that stark white hospital bed left his mother , Helen Graves , completely heartbroken . Elliot had always been so capable . He became an associate chief physician at such a young age . So , how could Helen ever bring herself to tell him that he'd never be able to return to the operating room ? But they had to face the reality , no matter how harsh it was . It was a full week before Elliot finally opened his eyes . When he woke up , both his parents and Claire were there , but the one person he wanted to see most wasn't anywhere in sight . " Dad , Mom , have you seen Nora ? Did she … Did she come to see me ? " His breathing was still weak , and he struggled to speak clearly , but both his father , Henry Ward , and Helen heard his question . They weren't happy that Nora was brought up , but they held back and managed not to say anything in front of him . With tears streaming down her face , Claire leaned over his bed and pulled out her phone , as if trying to prove a point . She held it up to show him Nora's latest posts Her voice trembled with anger as she snapped , " You ended up like this because of her , yet you're still thinking about her . She's been busy getting married and enjoying her honeymoon , not even thinking about you anymore ! " Claire naturally didn't want Elliot and Nora to get back together . So , she tried to drive a wedge . between them , feeding Elliot every detail she could to make him lose hope in Nora . But she completely forgot that he'd just come out of a coma and couldn't handle any shock . Before Henry and Helen could stop Claire , Elliot was already looking at a post from the day of his accident . He stared at the photo of Nora and Lucas holding up their marriage certificate . His eyes turned red , and he just couldn't accept what he was seeing . How could this happen ? How could she marry someone else ? How could she move on so easily ? Did their six years together mean nothing ? Elliot didn't understand , refusing to believe it . He tried to sit up , wanting to go find Nora himself . But as soon as he pushed himself up , he was stunned . His eyes locked on the angry scar running down his wrist . A sinking feeling crept into his chest as he realized something was off with his right hand . And then , even worse , he noticed he couldn't feel his legs at all . He tried to pull the blanket away with trembling hands , but his parents quickly reached out and held it in place . Chapter 17 ( 2/2 Seeing the sorrow on their faces and how firmly they kept him from pulling back the blanket , het instantly understood what had happened . He was a doctor , and he hadn't lost consciousness right after the crash , so he had seen his injuries . But just after waking up , his mind was still foggy , not ready to face the truth He completely ignored Claire , who had been pushed aside . He just looked at his parents , hoping they'd say something different from what he already feared . " Dad , Mom , my legs and my hand … They're okay , right ? " he asked , his voice trembling . But they remained silent , still holding down the blanket to keep him from pulling it back . Helen , being the more emotional one , already had tears streaming down her face . The tension in the room was thick , and Claire finally seemed to sense that something was wrong . She quietly put her phone away and tried to comfort him , " It's going to be okay , Elliot . You'll get . better . I'll always be here for you . " She should have stayed quiet , though , because as soon as she spoke , Elliot's grief and anger exploded . He shoved Claire away with a strength she didn't expect . She stumbled backward , hitting her head on a nearby chair and collapsing onto the floor . Elliot didn't feel sorry for her anymore . He snapped , " It's all your fault ! If it weren't for you , Nora would never have left me , and I wouldn't be in this mess ! Get out ! Just get out of here ! " Claire's face turned pale , and her eyes filled with hurt , but she still didn't move . However , Henry and Helen were rattled by what he'd said . " Elliot , what do you mean by that ? "