Walsh carefully dressed in the sterile clothing that they gave him so he could go see Taylor. He took a deep breath before entering the room.
"Hey. I thought you weren't here anymore." Taylor said with a rasp voice.
"Nope, I've been in the waiting room getting up the courage to come in here." He admitted
"Billy you've seen burn patients before. You rescued me remember?" She asked
"No, this is a little different." He said
"The only thing different is that it's me laying in this bed, not some stranger that you've only known a matter of minutes." She argued
"Will you let me speak?" He asked
"Okay." She said
"I was thinking about something." He began. "I'm not totally sure how to say it…"
"Say what?" She asked
"Taylor, you mean the world to me- over the last few months I can't stop thinking about you. I was scared, I still am. I'm scared that I'm going to lose you." A tear fell down his cheek. "I want us to grow old together. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know that I don't have a ring right now, and that we're in an ICU… but Alex Taylor, will you marry me?" He finally blurted out
Taylor stared at him for a moment- in shock.
"Did you just ask me to marry you?" She asked, not sure if she heard correctly
Walsh nodded with a fearful look on his face.
"Wow, this is a day full of events." She said
Walsh grew worried because she wasn't giving a direct answer.
"Are you okay?" She asked
"I will be when I hear your answer." He replied, fearing rejection
"Okay." She said
Walsh looked at her
"Yes." She replied
"You will?" He asked in surprise
"You really didn't think I would say yes did you?" She asked
He laughed. "I was paranoid that you'd say no."
"I'd hug you, but that'd be a little hard right now." She laughed
"I know." Walsh smiled
"Mrs. Alex Walsh." She said. "It kind of has a ring to it."
"Well, that it does." He smiled again
Even through the excitement of the moment, it was clear that Taylor was getting tired from her medications. A nurse came in and checked on her IV and then left again. Taylor slowly felt herself drifting off to sleep and she would try to fight it, but Walsh noticed it as well.
"As much as I would love to stay here and watch over you." He began. "You need to get some rest, so I'm going to head out. But I'll be thinking about you the whole time I'm gone." He smiled
A smile broadened across Taylor's face.
"You've made this whole ordeal better." She said
"I'll see you tomorrow." He leaned over and kissed her
"Thank you." She smiled again. "You better be here tomorrow- I plan on walking!"
Walsh laughed a little.
"Can feel your legs for a day now, and already planning on walking away with the place." He laughed
"You bet!" She laughed.
"Okay, I'll be here for that. I love you." He said
"I love you too." She replied
Walsh looked back as he left the room, pausing at the window for a moment. He really didn't want to leave, but she needed her rest and he could use a shower and something to eat. He changed back into his street clothes and headed out of the hospital. On his way home he thought about needing a new place to live. If he was going to have a wife, his tiny apartment wouldn't work. And then he suddenly became scared of the changes he was going to have in his life.
" I'm going to be getting married." He said to himself.
THREE WEEKS LATER
Taylor sat on the edge of her hospital bed wearing her FDNY sweats and a t-shirt. She leaned over and tied her shoes. Walsh walked into the room with a gym bag in his hands.
"You in a hurry to go somewhere?" He asked jokingly
"Yeah, I want to walk out of here." Taylor smiled
"Who would have ever thought that would happen." He replied
"Hand me my crutches would ya?"
Taylor needed the assistance of crutches, but a few more weeks of therapy and she would probably walk on her own again.
"I still think you should take it easy and use the wheelchair to leave." Walsh admitted as he handed the metal crutches to her.
"I've spent long enough in that thing, I want to walk." She smiled
It was still odd to be able to say that she could walk again. The scars on her legs were healing from the surgery. She'd spent much of the last 8 months in a hospital bed and a wheel chair. This time she could actually go home to her apartment.
Slowly Walsh walked beside Taylor as she made her way down the hall. The nurses all watched with smiles on their faces. They knew the adversity that Taylor had overcome. Finally, Taylor and Walsh made it to the elevator. Taylor was slightly winded from the walk because she still hadn't completely regained her strength.
"We can get you a wheel chair." Walsh said again noticing Taylor's struggle
"No. I said that I was walking out of here." She replied as the doors opened and they made their way into the elevator.
Taylor watched impatiently as the floors counted down. The doors opened on the third floor as a few people filed in, smiling politely.
Finally the elevator doors opened on the ground floor. Everyone filed out of the elevator and Taylor looked around in the lobby.
"You wait here while I get the car okay?" Walsh asked
"Yeah just try not to take too long." Taylor smiled. "I'm going home."