"Mmm.." I pushed passed my grogginess as I faded back into reality, slowly opening my eyes to watch Deacon deep in his thoughts as he stared at the farthest wall in the room. "A penny for your thoughts?"

"You're awake." He gave me a brave smile, but deep inside I could see the worry in his expression. "How are you feeling?"

"Why does no one answer my questions."

"Sorry."

"Mhm." I tried to laugh at his apology, but it seemed like everything hurt when I did. "Pretty much the same-weak and groggy from all the medications pumping through me. "How long was I asleep?"

"Four hours."

"And the girls?"

"Are at home with Scarlett. She said she would bring them by after dinner."

"Alright. And how long have you been here at the hospital?" He shot me a little smile because he knew I him all too well. Oh man, if he only knew how much I wanted to erase those worry lines and tell him everything was going to be okay.

"For about three hours."

"You know they need you too."

"Hmm?"

"The girls. They need you as much as I do."

"No, actually they need their mother." He cupped my hand tightly in his like he never wanted to let go. "You always knew just how to take care of them, and I don't feel like I do. Honestly, I'm having a hard time with it."

"I wish I could do more."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be worrying you with all this. You should be focusing on getting better and coming home to us."

"You know that's not how I work." I tried to coax him to say more, but he just hung his head. "Hey, I may be stuck in this hospital bed, but I can probably help with whatever it is that is rolling around in that head of yours. Now, spill."

"I don't know how you do it. With the girls, the business, everyone around you. I feel like my head is constantly spinning and I'm never going to catch my breath."

"I take care of myself first. Or at least I try to. Have you ever heard the expression, you can't take care of anybody else if you don't take care of yourself?"

"I have."

"You're not thinking of drinking again, are you?"

"Trust me, I've thought about it. Mostly I lay there in an empty bed at night, too exhausted to move."

"That's because you're running yourself into the ground. You're driving back and forth to the hospital, home, Highway 65, and taking the girls to school. I know Scarlett is staying at the house, but are you letting her do anything?"

He chuckled softly, wiping at the tears caused by his laughter. "She does a lot actually. Personally, I don't think I could have survived this long without her. She does the dishes, makes sure the kids do their homework and keeps the house running."

"Mmm...sounds like she's a keeper."

"She's a lifesaver." Deacon smiled down at me, before glancing towards the empty doorway. "Why don't you get some sleep? I know the girls will want to see and talk with you when they get here."

"Sleep sounds great right about now." My eyes grew heavier, even though I longed to talk to him more. There was still so much I knew he wasn't saying; things he didn't want me to worry about because I was trying to recover. "I still want to talk about things later," I muttered, falling into a deep sleep once again.

As I woke up again, I blearily opened my eyes to see Daphne and Maddie sitting next to each other. Maddie busy reading her book again and Daphne was doing her best to concentrate and work on her homework. She was the first to see me, her notebook snapping closed as she set it down on the chair and walked up to the bed, while Maddie held back and set her book in her lap.

"Mom?"

"Hey, honey." I reached out my hand as Daphne sat in the one chair next to the bed. "How are you doing?"

"Okay."

"Yeah? You seemed pretty upset this morning." Daphne shrugged at me, pulling her hand through her sleeve and leaned her chin against her hand. "You want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"What about you Maddie, how are things going with you today?"

"Good. I think I aced my test, and I'm almost finished reading my book for English."

"That's great honey. Sounds like you're really on track with your homework."

"Thanks. I'm really trying to catch up on everything I missed. In fact, I think I'm going to grab a soda so I can stay awake long enough to finish it."

"Sure, honey." Getting out of her seat, Daphne tried to grab her arm, pleading for her not to leave her but Maddie mouthed talk to her and walked out of the room. Slightly disappointed, Daphne turned back towards me and sunk in her seat. "Daphne. Is there something you want to talk to me about?"

"I just wish you were home, that's all."

"Have a seat." Patting the empty place by me on the bed, she looked at me hesitantly before climbing up on the bed and putting her head on my chest. "I know things aren't easy for you, or your sister or for Deacon. As much as I want to be home with all of you, you know that's not going to be possible for awhile." I nuzzled into her, the sweet smell of her hair caused me to smile. "And even though I'm stuck in this hospital bed, I want you to know I'm still here for you, okay?"

"Okay." Was all she said as she nuzzled closer to me, her sleeve over her mouth as we sat there silently. No doctors, no nurses coming in made things seem pretty peaceful at the moment, and that's just the way I liked it when it came to my family. "Mom?"

"Yeah, honey."

"Do you think I could stay here tonight?"

"I would like to say yes to that question, but I don't think that ones up to me, sweetheart." Placing a kiss on her forehead, I felt her body tense up at my response. I knew she was disappointed without looking at her. I mean, how fair was it to have your big sister able to skip school and she wasn't able to do the same?

"I wish it was."

"I mean, we can ask-"

"Really?"

"Yes. Tomorrow is a school day, so no promises. And if he agrees, you and I need to really sit down and talk about whatever it is that's bugging you. Deal?" I held out my pinky, hoping she would take my bargain. Somehow I hoped Deacon would agree with this too, even though that meant he would have to come pick her up in the morning.

"Deal." Her pinky finger curled around mine, as I felt her smile and finally relax against me as we cuddled on the bed.