New chapter! Yay! Not exactly a happy one, but soon dear ones. Let me know you think!

CHAPTER 25

The next time Harmony opened her eyes, light was streaming through the window. She turned her head slowly to see Oliver, slightly snoring in the chair by the bed. For a moment she watched him. She could see the dried tear tracks on his face. Why had he been crying. She was going to be fine, so there was no real reason to be upset.

Harmony went to shift in her bed to get more comfortable, but as she did, pain shot through her, causing her to groan. Hearing her, Oliver opened his eyes. He quickly moved closer to her and looked into her face.

"Hey baby. How are you feeling?" He reached out and stroked the side of her face. For a moment she didn't say anything. She wouldn't even look at him, but she knew she couldn't continue that way. Even though she feared the pity or pain that she would see in his face, she had to talk to him. She had to get this over with.

"I'm sore, but other than that I seem to be okay." She was surprised when she looked into Oliver's cool blue eyes to find only concern and relief, not pity or pain. He smiled at her, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles. It was a small comforting gesture, and it made Harmony hope that things weren't as bad as she had imagined.

"Ollie, I need to know… what did the doctors say?" She waited for a response, but Oliver didn't open his mouth. He only looked at her long and hard. How do you possibly tell someone like this?

Oliver sighed and looked away from Harmony out towards the window deep in thought. Harmony waited patiently for an answer. She already knew it was bad news and had accepted the worst, but she also knew that this was hard for Oliver and he needed the time to prepare his words. After a few long minutes of silence, Oliver finally turned back to her.

"Harmony, sweetheart," he paused slightly, "I spoke with the doctor after you were out of surgery and recovering. He said that the external wounds were not as bad as he had feared, which was good, but… the internal ones were not good. The deep cuts and burns to you caused a lot of damage. The cuts were not what he said were the problem though. It was the burns. He said that it caused some of the tissues to heal together. It took him and his staff several hours to repair as much of the damage as they could."

Oliver stopped speaking, letting the news sink in. He could see how her face had fallen. She didn't cry though or show any real emotion. He guessed that she had expected the worst. His heart broke looking at her. She was trying to be strong, but he could see how deeply broken she was. And he also knew that as much as he wanted to be there for her and help her, she wasn't going to let him in close for a while. All he could do is wait and be there when she finally did want to talk.

Harmony nodded and leaned her head back against her pillows. She couldn't even think of anything at the moment, so she just felt the physical aches and pains in her body. Five minutes passed before she looked over at Oliver again. She knew he was waiting for an answer or response from her.

"Okay, well… I guess I'll just focus on getting better and then once I'm out of here, I can find a place to stay and look for a job."

Her words shocked Oliver. What in the hell was she saying? Did she want to leave him?

"Baby, why would you need to get a place or a job?" Oliver's face was scrunched up in confusion.

"Well, I can't stay with you now can I? So logically I'll have to get a place of my own and a job." She didn't say anything for a moment, thinking over what had to be done. "And although I know you have gotten attached to Bobo, although you won't admit it, but he is all I have. I'm gonna take him with me."

"What?!" Oliver burst out loudly. "You want to leave me?" The pain shown in his eyes. He knew that there was a chance that she would want to leave him after all of this, but he sure as hell wasn't about to let her. "Is it so bad that you can't stand to be around me?"

Shock ran across Harmony's features. He blue eyes widened and her full lips parted slightly. "No Ollie. But I figured that you wouldn't want to be with me after everything. And now that Allen is gone, there is no need to continue to protect me."

"Harmony, I love you." Oliver stood up, and leaned over her bed. he placed his forehead against hers in an intimate gesture. "I promised forever with you and I don't go back on my promises." He gently kissed her forehead then pulled back to look into her upturned face.

"How could you still want someone so damaged and screwed up?" Tears pooled in her eyes and overflowed down her face.

"Yes you are damaged, but so am I. We are both screwed up, but that doesn't mean that we don't both deserve to be happy. And it doesn't mean that we run from each other when things get rough."

"Rough?" Harmony half laughed. "I feel like we keep getting hit by Mac trucks." She slightly up at Oliver.

"Yeah I know, but we'll make it." Oliver kissed the top of her head again, before returning to his chair. It wasn't thirty seconds later that the door opened and a middle-aged man walked into the room.

"Oh good morning Mr. and Mrs. Queen. Glad to see that you are awake Mrs. Queen." He said turning to Harmony. "How are you feeling? Any excessive pain or tenderness?"

Harmony shook her head, observing the doctor. His hair was dark peppered with a little bit of grey. He seemed to be in decent shape, like he enjoyed running half of his life. He was slightly intimidating standing over her bed, but his smile was soft and genuine.

"Well that is good. You seem to be healing quickly so we should have you out of here by the end of the week. But you will still have to take it slow. Did your husband tell you the extent of your injuries?"

"He told me some."

"Right. Well, as I told him, there was a lot of damage to some of the internal tissues. We did what we could to repair those tissues. You'll have to come in for a check up in a few weeks so we can assess how you are healing. Obviously until I give you the green light, you two will have to obtain from sex." He turned and looked between Oliver and Harmony as if guessing how hard that would be for them.

"Um, doctor?" Harmony spoke quietly.

"Yes?" he responded looking back to her.

"Will I ever be able to have kids?" She was blunt and to the point. He had expected this question, but never expected it outright like that. He sighed heavily before taking his glasses from his face and turning to her.

"Honestly, I can't tell. There was a lot of damage done, but if you heal well, there is a chance at children. But," he held up a finger and looked between the two of them, "in my professional opinion, I don't really see it happening." He watched as Harmony's face went from hopeful to broken. He reached out and grabbed her right hand and squeezed. "I am not trying to discourage you, but you need to know the reality of the situation. Yes, there is a tiny possibility that after you are fully recovered, you could conceive, but it is highly unlikely." He dropped her hand and looked to Oliver who had tears in his eyes, staring at his wife.

"I'll send the nurse in to give you some more pain meds in a few minutes. I have some more people to see, but if either of you need anything use the call button." After that he turned and quietly left.

So there was the truth of the matter. Yes she would heal, but she would probably never have children. The pain that she had been trying so hard to push away slowly sunk down into her heart. She didn't even realize she was crying until she felt Oliver's fingers wipe the tears from her face. She looked over at Oliver's face and realized he was crying too. She reached out and wiped the tears from his face as well.

"Are you sure you still want me?" she asked quietly.

"Always. Nothing could ever make me not want you." Oliver said firmly. Then he leaned down and gently kiss her lips.