CHAPTER TEN
On her 26th day, Alex was being discharged from the hospital with doctors orders to attend a physical rehab facility two times a week until cleared. The blonde was right by her side being Piper- practicing wound care, asking a slew of questions, ensuring that Alex was prescribed every as needed medication possible, and asking for multiple copies of instructions and all other paperwork. The day that Alex had told Piper to go home, the blonde came back to the hospital after a couple of hours with determination written all over her pretty face. Alex should've remembered how stubborn the blonde was. Piper has not left Alex's bedside and she was not planning to anytime soon. "I'm going to be with you until you are cleared whether you like it or not." the blonde informed the brunette.
"Piper, that's not necessary. I don't need someone to babysit me."
"Well too bad because I didn't ask you to jump in front of a bullet for me and end up in a coma."
"Too bad I woke up from my coma." Alex quipped.
Blue eyes narrowed at her, "Very funny."
Despite her protests, Alex was being wheeled down to the car in a wheelchair by Piper. "You got shot and had a tube in your lung. You shouldn't be overdoing it already and when we get to your condo, you have to take your medications with food and then I want you to rest."
"Yes, Mommy." Alex muttered.
" Piper can you drive a bit faster? You're causing traffic."
"I'm going at a safe speed. Do you want your brain to swell up and bleed again?"
All Alex could do was let out a long exasperated sigh.
After what felt like three hours, Piper put the car in park, grabbed a large luggage bag from the trunk, and rushed over to the passenger side to open the door for Alex and to help her out even though Alex was more than capable of doing it herself.
"I don't remember having that many belongings at the hospital-"
"It's my stuff. I'm staying with you until you are cleared."
"That is not necessary, Piper. I'm not a child!"
"You're going to receive my help whether you want it or not and I'm taking you to all of your appointments. End of story."
"Don't you have a job and a fiancé you should be worrying about?"
"I took care of business from the hospital and Polly is fine without me. And I'm not engaged."
"Wait. What?"
"I'm not getting married anymore."
Alex's heart race sped up. "Why not?"
"Because... He's not... Because I love-"
Alex quickly interrupted Piper, "You can stay in the guest bedroom upstairs or downstairs. Whichever one you want."
Alex didn't want Piper to finish her thought. All Alex wants to focus on is a prompt recovery and to start a new chapter of her life in Los Angeles. She knows that Piper is just confused and feels guilty about the incident and figures when the blonde is back to normal, she will go back to Larry because he is the socially acceptable choice. Alex doesn't want to let the blonde back in her heart again just to have Piper walk away again. Alex would always be the invisible woman and her heart could not handle being crushed again.
Sensing that Alex didn't want to discuss "them" at the moment, the blonde nodded, "I will take the upstairs room to be closer to you so I can check on you frequently and be nearby in case you need something."
"I take that back. Only the downstairs bedroom is available." Alex said teasingly.
Piper shoved Alex's arm.
"Oww!" the brunette hissed. "Are you going to be helping me or hurting me?" she joked.
"Oh my god! I'm so sorry Alex. Are you ok?...you were teasing...and I...I wasn't thinking...I'm so sorry!" the blonde apologized profusely.
"Pipes! I'm ok." More than ok, the brunette thought to herself as Piper drew soothing patterns over the area she had hit.
After getting Alex situated despite the brunette's protests, Piper started to unpack her belongings in the guest bedroom. Her blue orbs studied the room. It was spacious with warm colors which surprised the blonde since Alex tends to favor dark colors. Blue eyes lit up when they landed on a beautiful dark wooden bookcase with a variety of books. Studying the books, she realized that these books were the ones she had given to the brunette or books Alex had read aloud to her due to the blonde's insistence when they were together. Piper loved the raspy tones of Alex's voice and having the brunette read to her was one of her favorite ways to spend time with Alex. Alex would always dramatically pretend that she didn't want to read aloud and the blonde would pout causing the brunette to roll her eyes. They would get comfortable in bed or on a couch with the brunette sitting up with the book in one hand while the blonde laid her head down on the taller woman wrapping her arm around the older woman. Alex would always run her fingers through her blonde locks or draw patterns on the younger woman's warm body. Piper smiled at the memory. God, she missed Alex. She knew she had to talk to Alex and convince her to stay and give her a second chance.
She reveled in her soft King sized bed. It was so much more comfortable than the hospital bed and she breathed in the air of her room. No bleach smelling odors. No hospital smell. She buried her face into her soft pillow. As comfortable as she was, she couldn't fall asleep. She closed her eyes hoping that sleep would overcome her. Green eyes quickly opened when she heard a loud thud coming from the room near her. Piper's room. Figuring Piper dropped something, she closed her green eyes again trying to sleep.
Piper had been tossing and turning in the oversized, comfortable mattress. As wonderful as the bed was, Piper couldn't get comfortable and couldn't stop her mind from racing. She spent more than three weeks sleeping on the tiny springy hospital cot or in the chair she placed beside the brunette's bed and she was more comfortable than she was now. Accidentally hitting her head hard against the headboard while sitting up, she let out a yelp. It was then she realized that she could not sleep because she had spent 26 days sleeping in close proximity to Alex. It didn't matter where she was or how uncomfortable the seat or cot was, it was the comfort of hearing Alex's breaths and heartbeat that lulled her to sleep. It was the warmth of Alex's body that kept her warm and not the blanket draped over her. She doesn't know how she ever managed to sleep without Alex for the past eight years.
Creeping quietly over to the brunette's room, Piper gently opened the door and looked for a seat to place by Alex's bed. The lounge chair by the window was too heavy so the blonde decided to lay on the floor by Alex's bed.
Sensing that she wasn't alone, Alex sat up and put her glasses on scanning her large room. She looked down and saw Piper sprawled on the floor by her bed. "Piper, what the hell-"
"I'm sorry I woke you. I couldn't...I was trying to sleep but...I can leave...Sorry." Piper tried to explain as she got up to leave.
Alex knew why she couldn't fall asleep and maybe it was the same reason why Piper couldn't either. "Piper, wait. I wasn't sleeping. You don't have to leave. You can stay."
"Thanks, Al." the blonde said softly while going to lay on the floor again. "What the hell Piper? I have a bed that's quite large, you know." Alex pulled back the covers on the right side of the bed for Piper.
"Are you sure? I don't mind sleeping-"
"Shut up and climb in."
Piper smirked and moaned in delight when her body melded into the softness of Alex's bed. "This must be what heaven feels like." Alex laughed at the blonde's exaggerated love for the bed.
After getting into her ideal sleeping position which happened to be facing a certain brunette, Piper's eyes flickered to the woman lying beside her and she became overwhelmed with emotion. "I don't know what I would've done if you didn't wake up. I was so scared that I was going to lose you. I should've locked the store before closing up." Piper choked back tears. "Then you wouldn't have-"
Seeing how much the blonde blamed herself tore away at Alex's heart. "Piper, none of it was your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. Don't ever feel guilty. I would do it again. I'm here. I'm alive, Piper, and I will always protect you." Alex hugged the crying blonde and tried to sooth her cries with her fingertips running down the length of the blonde's arm.
Small rays of sunlight filtered through the blinds causing the brunette to stir awake. Her left hand was interlocked within the blonde's. They had fallen asleep with their fingers linked together. Studying the blonde's face, Alex fought the urge to kiss the blonde awake like she had done so many times when they were together. Light remnants of bruises stained the blonde's face and Alex felt a surge of hatred towards the man that inflicted those marks on Piper. More hatred made its way up her throat when she remembered him on top of Piper ripping her clothes off attempting to- .
A phone ringing brought those terrible memories to a halt and it also made the blonde stir awake. "Hello. Great. We will go to the station soon. Bye."
"What's going on, Alex?"
"The cops finally caught that jackass and we are going to make sure that lowlife stays locked up."
Piper looked down at their linked hands before bringing Alex's hand to her lips. "Thank you for saving me, Alex."
"Anytime, kid."
The police station was loud and the two women were brought into separate rooms to identify the suspect. Individually, each woman pointed out the scum immediately.
"His name is Chris and we also found some items on him. According to your statement from that night Ms. Chapman, we believe these items belong to you so let's have you take a look." the officer said while putting the items in front of the two women. It was her engagement ring and her necklace. Piper was ecstatic and immediately grasped the necklace. Alex looked to see what was more important than her engagement ring and her heart soared when her green eyes focused on the infinity shaped pendant necklace she had surprised the blonde with at the beginning of their relationship. She kept it.
"Great! And the ring?" Officer Bennett asked.
Looking into emerald eyes, Piper said with certainty, "the necklace is all I want."
AN:
Thank you so much for the reviews. You will never know how much they mean to me. I was extremely hesitant in writing this story because of my lack of writing skills. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing.