I didn't sleep much because the nurses were in and out of the room all night, checking her vitals and such. I finally got out of the cot around 9 and went down the hall to get a cup of coffee. To my surprise, I passed Lemon in the waiting room.
"Lemon? What are you doing here?" She looked up at me, startled.
"Oh, Wade, I just felt so bad for what I said to you about Zoe when she came back and for not being so nice that I couldn't sleep. I got here at 6. I didn't want you to know I was here though, I thought you would be mad."
"Why would I be mad?"
"This is all my fault. I feel awful. I should've treated her better and accepted that she was back in town. The only reason I was so hostile was because I thought that she hurt you, but I realized that she was just as hurt as you were. I just wanted you to be happy again, which you are, but I don't know why I couldn't just be happy for you. I'm so sorry." Lemon blurted out as fast as she could. She was in a frenzy practically.
"Lemon, slow down. It's going to be okay, Zoe's going to be fine. The doctors are saying you have to stay positive, if not for you, then for her. She only needs to hear positive things right now. So why don't you calm down a little and then go talk to her? They told me that she may be able to hear what's going on around her." She just nodded and wiped her eyes. I took her with me to grab a coffee and we returned to Zoe's room.
"Hey baby, it's me. Lemon's here with me too. She feels awful about what happened and she's been here for a while."
"Hey Zoe, I know I'm probably the last person that you want to hear from right now, but I just wanted to let you know that all of Bluebell is waiting for you to wake up and come home. We're all really excited to see you awake and bossin' people around again." She took a seat in one of the chairs and looked kind of awkward.
"You should have seen them last night Doc, nearly the whole town was in the waiting room waitin' for news about you. They brought all their Planksgiving fixin's and was sharing them with everyone in the hospital. You would've gotten a kick out of it." Wade laughed at the memory.
"I heard the doctors say earlier that you're doing a lot better today, more responsive. That's great. I'm glad I have good news to report back to the people of Bluebell. Dash will have it all over his blog," She turned and looked at me, "Do you just talk to her all day?"
"Try to. I'm working on some new material though, I never was much of a talker, so this is new for me." I responded.
"You should see him right now Zoe, he's practically jumping up and down waiting for you to wake up he's that excited. I think you're doing the right thing torturing him a little longer. God knows he could use it." She let out a small laugh and I was glad to see that she was trying to be positive. We sat in silence for a little until she turned to me.
"So how's the house coming?"
"Slowly but surely. They say it should be done in the next month and then furnishing and everything will probably take another month. I'm hoping to be in by Valentine's Day."
"Planning big things already?"
"Valentine's Day is too cliché. What you're referring to definitely will not be happening on that day. I'm not that guy."
"I think that's what she loves about you, that you're not that guy. She doesn't love that guy. She loves you, and whenever you do propose it's going to be great and perfect and you two will live happily ever after. I have a feeling about it."
"How's Peter?"
"Good, I left him at my place, though."
"Lemon, you should go home to him. He's only in town for a few days and you should spend time with him. Trust me, Zoe Hart isn't going anywhere right now. And she isn't one to hold a grudge. She knows how you feel now. Go home. I'll call you if anything changes." She still looked hesitant.
"Okay, but promise you'll call," She stood up and hugged me. She walked out of the room, but peaked her head around the side of the door.
"Oh, and Wade? Don't stress too much over proposing. She may seem high maintenance, but all a girl really wants is a man on his knee."
"I'll keep that in mind, thanks Lemon." I smiled and waved before she left. This accident really had me thinking about proposing. It felt like I had her one moment and the next she had slipped from my grasp. I knew then that I couldn't live without her, and that faint second when I wasn't sure if she was still alive even was the worst moment of my life. I wanted her to be mine, sooner rather than later. I don't know how much longer I can wait. I've had the ring for months now, Earl gave it to me Christmas Eve before Zoe even asked me to consider being her boyfriend.
I grabbed her hand, which had an IV stuck in it.
"Well Doc, it looks like it's just me and you now." I felt like I was out of things to say though. I had told her all of the stories I could think of. I grabbed the newspaper, which was resting on the side table. I read to her all of happy stories, and left out the depressing ones like car accidents and riots overseas.
"I think you should be proud. I don't think I've ever talked this much for anyone. And I wouldn't for just anyone. But you Zoe Hart, you are special. I wasn't lying when I told Lemon that I can't wait to propose to you and have you finally, officially mine. I know we've skirted around the idea, but I'm done beating around the bush. I'm going to tell you what I want from now on, starting with marrying you. And I want to have little doctors running around our dream house some day. To be honest, I wasn't scared when you told me that you might be pregnant. I was nervous for sure that I wouldn't be a good parents, but never for a second was I scared to have a kid with you. That's what I want Doc. I can't wait for the day that we get married and I see you in a big dress. You'll look beautiful, I know it. Harley would have been insanely proud of you too. I know Brick is, and Lavon, but most importantly, me. I think you have accomplished so much in your short time here. I me, hell, you got the town playboy to settle down and commit. You are the best part of my life, so you better wake up soon so I can make sure you heard all of this because you deserve to hear how much I love you as much as you want." I ended my monologue and squeezed her hand, waiting for a response. I never got one.
Around lunchtime, her doctor came in the room.
"Hello Wade, how are you today?"
"I'll be better when she wakes up. Any kind of guess when that may be?"
"It's tough to say, but we did lower her sedative because the swelling did come down overnight. Now we're just waiting on her."
"I know you said talking really helps, but is there anything else I could do?" She thought for a moment.
"Well, there have been studies that show that patients with head injuries improved with music, like their favorite songs and things like. So that might be a good idea, like on an iPod or something. Hearing a few different voices helps too, often." She explained as she checked Zoe over. I nodded, taking it all in.
"If it's not too much of a distraction to the other patients, I usually play my guitar for her and sing, and she really loves that. Do you think that would help?"
"I think that would be great, everything helps, you know?" She approved my suggestion and I texted Lavon to bring in my guitar when he came in in a few hours. I sat in with Zoe until Lavon arrived with AB and my guitar.
"How's she doing today?" Lavon asked as he pulled the extra chair out for AB to sit on.
"They're saying better than yesterday, which is good. You guys want to talk to her for a bit while I go grab a coffee or something?" I asked and they nodded of course. I returned a few minutes later but stopped short of the door when I heard Lavon talking about me.
"You sure know how to drive Wade crazy Big Z. The poor guy is going nuts in here, you have to wake up soon. You remember that talk that we had the other day, about you and Wade in the long run? You remember how you said that you can't wait for him to just ask you already? Well you've got to wake up for him to ask." I couldn't help but smirk.
"Yeah, and if you asked me, this whole thing has certainly got him thinkin'. He's ready to ask you, gah I'm so excited! I love weddings, I just wish I would have one." I could only guess that Annabeth was glaring at Lavon. I snickered and he knew he was put in a bad position.
"Hey, I'm waiting for the right moment, alright?" Lavon stumbled over his words and I figured I should go and save him. I walked in through the door and asked them how it went. They both nodded that it was fine. I picked up my guitar and couldn't help but notice how small she looked in the hospital bed.
"If you guys don't mind, I'm gonna play for her. The doctor said that might help.
"Go for it." Lavon responded.
"I love hearing you sing Wade." Annabeth added before sitting back in her seat. I took the seat next to her and started strumming my guitar slowly. I kept the doctor's words about being positive in my mind and decided on a happier song.
Oh, this is the start of something good
Don't you agree?
I haven't felt like this in so many moons
You know what I mean?
And we can build through this destruction
As we are standing on our feet
The tempo picked up and my hands were strumming faster.
So, since you want to be with me
You'll have to follow through
With every word you say
And I, all I really want is you
You to stick around
I'll see you everyday
But you have to follow through
You have to follow through
I could feel the smile plastered on my face, but was unsure why. The love of my life was in a coma in the hospital and I couldn't stop smiling. I couldn't help it, I had a good feeling that she would be fine. Just looking at her made me smile.
These reeling emotions they just keep me alive
They keep me in tune
Oh, look what I'm holding here in my fire
This is for you
Am I too obvious to preach it?
You're so hypnotic on my heart
So, since you want to be with me
You'll have to follow through
With every word you say
And I, all I really want is you
You to stick around
I'll see you everyday
But you have to follow through
You have to follow through
I was singing a bit louder now, even though I knew I probably shouldn't be. I had some of the nurses gather around the door to watch, and I didn't mind having an audience.
The words you say to me are unlike anything
That's ever been said
And what you do to me is unlike anything
That's ever been
Am I too obvious to preach it?
You're so hypnotic on my heart
So, since you want to be with me
You'll have to follow through
With every word you say
And I, all I really want is you
(For) you to stick around
I'll see you everyday
But you'll have to follow through
With every word you say
An I, all I really want is you (For) you to stick around
I'll see everyday
But you have to follow through
You have to follow through
You're gonna have to follow
Oh, this is the start of something good
Don't you agree?
I ended the song quieter than before and when I finished I blushed because people started clapping.
"She sure is lucky girl." One of the older nurses said as she came in with her clipboard.
"I'm not so sure about that one, it's more the other way around. I think I'm the lucky one." I said quietly. She checked Zoe's vitals and then left. We talked for a while before dinnertime approached.
"AB, do you want us to grab you something while we're done there?" I asked as I stood with Lavon to go to the cafeteria.
"Yeah, that'd be great. I'll be fine with whatever, Lavon knows what I like."
"Lavon Hayes wished he knew what you liked." Lavon muttered under his breath so only I could hear him. I smiled and left Annabeth with Zoe.
"So how you really holding up? I know with the whole only positive things in there, but for real, how are you?"
"I'm scared, for one. They said they won't know the extent of her head injury until she wakes up. She could be brain dead, for all they know. I just want her to wake up and be okay so I can be okay again, and we can go back to the way things were before."
"Yeah, well she'll make it through, she always does somehow." He gave me a small smile, which I appreciated. We finally made it into the cafeteria.
"I just hate seeing her like this, it kills me. I was going to ask her to marry me on Planksgiving. I just thought that was the perfect time because we both love it, but it's not a sappy holiday and she wouldn't be expecting it. Planksgiving is special to Bluebell and I just thought it would be special for her, but now, here we are. This was definitely not how I planned this week going when it started. I thought we'd be engaged and happy, not unconscious in a coma." I confessed to him. Lavon had always been a good listener, so it wasn't hard.
"Do you have the ring with you?" I nodded and pulled it out of my pocket. I opened up the small box and showed him.
"Wow, Wade, is that your mom's?"
"Yeah, it is. I wasn't sure if she would want it though, ya know, cause it's kinda old and stuff."
"Wade, I think she will love any kind of ring she gets. She's getting anxious, ya know?"
"I just wanted it to be perfect, and now I have to think of another plan when she gets better."
"It'll all work out, I'm sure of it." He patted me on the back while we picked out sandwiches.
"I'm just worried, what if she never-" I started, stopped when everyone's head turned to see what the commotion was that was happening at the door.
"She's awake!" Annabeth yelled across the cafeteria. I dropped my sandwich and left Lavon at his spot. I ran out the door, dodging people along the way. I sprinted to her room and saw that the door was shut. I didn't bother peaking in, I barged in.
"Zoe." I managed to breathe out when I entered. Her eyes were on me, not surprising after the entrance I just made. I couldn't say anything else, but I made my way to her. I was crying now and I think she was too. I wasn't focused on that though, my goal was just to make it to her. I gently wrapped my arms around her, careful not to hurt her. Lavon and Annabeth trailed in after, and the nurse that was in the room was watching us, too.
"Wade, what happened?" She asked as I held her.
"You had an accident, you fell off the gazebo and hit your head pretty hard. Do you remember any of that?" She slowly shook her head no. I looked to the nurse who sympathetically smiled.
"That's not unusual for head trauma patients to not remember their accidents. What is the last thing you remember Dr. Hart?"
"Um, I don't know." She was panicking, trying to remember.
"That's okay, we're going to take you down to get some more tests done, alright?" She nodded and looked to me. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to help her.
They wheeled her out of the room. It was just Annabeth, Lavon, and me again.
"Wade, I'm sure it will just take some time, she just woke up from a coma, ya know?" Annabeth reassured.
"Yeah, just give her a few hours." Lavon added. I sat down in the chair and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. What if she never remembers? Well she knew me, so I guess that's a good thing. They told us to wait in the waiting room while they assessed her, but were only there for about 30 minutes when they came out to get us.
"Alright, so it looks like the brain swelling didn't have any permanent repercussions, but she does have a severe concussion. We're going to keep her overnight, just for observation. She seems to remember most of the events leading up to the accident, but things are still a bit fuzzy. She's in a lot of pain so we gave her some painkillers, but she's still awake. So you guys are free to go in and see her." Dr. Bradshaw told us and we went straight to her room.
"Hey, how ya feelin'?" I asked her softly and she slowly moved her head to look at us.
"I've been better, but alright considering. I just feel like I was hit by a train. What happened? How long was I out for?"
"You've only been out for a little more than 24 hours. They had you under pretty heavy sedation because your brain was swollen. Well Lavon signed us up to set up for Planksgiving and Lemon recruited you to attach the streamers to the top of the gazebo. You got up there, did a great job and you were about to come down, but you lost your footing and fell straight off the gazebo and hit your head. Brick was there when it happened and called an ambulance and that's pretty much the last of the excitement." I explained to her.
"Oh, okay." She took in all of the information and nodded.
"Well when can I go home?"
"They said probably tomorrow. But you're going to be really sore tomorrow." Annabeth added.
"Thanks for coming you guys, you didn't have to do that."
"Oh my gosh, you should have seen the waiting room. Nearly the whole town was there! They brought their food and everything."
"Damn, I can't believe I missed Planksgiving!" She said, a bit upset.
"Yeah, tell me about it." I jokingly rolled my eyes, but Lavon knew what I meant.
"Hey, Wade, get over there, we need a nice recovery photo for the town to see, ya know, so they know you're okay."
"Well should I take my shirt off, or…" I joked and Lavon got a look on his face.
"Man, just get in the picture." He waved me over. I leaned down next to her and Lavon counted down.
"Alright, 3, 2, 1." On 1, I leaned in and kissed her. She started to laugh and Lavon was upset that his picture was ruined.
"Now we're gonna have to take another one. Of course, you're awake a total of an hour and already causin' trouble." Lavon said while fooling around on his phone.
"Actually, the photo is pretty cute. It's all lovey." Lavon gushed. He was a closet romantic.
"Well any picture with me in it is pretty cute." She quipped back. Her comebacks have greatly improved since she moved here. Lavon obviously rolled his eyes and it felt nice to have Zoe back. We had a conversation for a few more minutes before her eyes started getting heavy.
"Hey you, why don't you rest? I'll be here when you wake up." I told her.
"As much as I'd love that, you stink. Go home babe, eat an actual meal. Shower." She ordered.
"I don't want to leave you here though."
"Well guess what, you're gonna go. You can come back in the morning. I'll be sleeping anyway." She explained. I reluctantly gave in because she was right, I was in desperate need of a shower.
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. I love you and I'm really glad you're okay."
"I love you too." I kissed her head and gathered the things I had with me, including my guitar. I closed her door after turning out the lights. We were on our way out, Lavon, Annabeth, and I, when all of our phones vibrated.
"Oh, she's going to hate you." I laughed as I saw what it was.
"I didn't think he would send it out as an alert!" Lavon defended when he saw the picture he had taken earlier on his phone from Dash. I just shook my head, he had so much to learn about women.