"... ark? Wake up, Mark," I could hear someone talking to me, but I was so tired.
"Mark, baby, please open your eyes. The doctor is here, we need to talk to you." I managed to open my eyes to see Jack standing next to me, his face close to mine. "Hi, love," I managed to squeak out before a yawn overtook me.
"Heyyyy you..." Jack stroked his thumb on my cheek. "The doc has some news." He looked sad, but I was groggy from the medicine and I could have been mistaken.
I heard a somewhat familiar voice start talking, but I couldn't quite pinpoint the location.
"Mark, we took some blood and took you back for an ultrasound while you were sleeping. Your tests and the ultrasound confirmed appendicitis. We will have to perform an emergency appendectomy. You are scheduled for surgery in 40 minutes." Hearing this startled me, and I sat up, forgetting about the pain until I moved. I was fully awake now, and a loud yelp escaped me. I looked at Jack. He was standing next to me, his face dripping with worry. He flashed a smile, but I could tell it was forced and he was a wreck.
I forced a smiled at Jack, but I could tell my face was scrunched up in pain. I couldn't help it. Jack looked devastated.
"No worries, love. They do this all the time, right doc?" I tried to reassure him.
"Absolutely. Really, there is nothing to worry about." He clapped Jack on the shoulder and gave him a genuine smile. "Trust me, lad. Your boy will be just fine."
I could see some of the worry fade, and I could tell he was trying to be strong for my sake. The pain was intensifying again, and I told the doctor so.
"It's starting to get bad again," I said, trying to hold back tears.
"I will have the nurse give you another dose of Morphine," he said. "They are going to come prep you for surgery in just a few minutes."
"Thanks..." I managed to whisper.
The doc left Jack and I alone. He tried making small talk while we were waiting for the nurse and the surgical prep team, but he was failing miserably. Jack's sapphire eyes were swimming and shining with tears.
"No... hey, none of that now, Babe. I'm good. Remember how well this hospital took care of you when you were in a coma? This is just another Tuesday for them," I told him, taking his hand. My fingers felt the cool metal of his ring, and I held it between my fingers, spinning it. Jack looked down at what I was doing and smiled.
The nurse came in with more pain meds first. "This dose isn't as strong as the first one since they are going to be prepping you for surgery, but it will be enough to keep you comfortable until they put you under," she explained as she squeezed the medicine in my IV.
I felt better almost immediately, and I didn't fall asleep again. "Did you call Mekiah?" I asked him.
"Yeah, while you were sleeping. She will be here before you are out of surgery. Mark... I..." Jack leaned in close to me and sighed, "I just love you so much, and I can't stand watching you suffer. Why can't things just go smoothly for us? Why is there always something?"
"I dunno, babe. But, just like always, we will pull through."
Jack moved closer, then leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead just as two people came through the door.
"I guess this is it. Next time I see you I will be one appendix lighter," I joked. Jack smiled and leaned in again, this time softly covering my lips with his. Jack's hand drifted up to my jaw, and I felt his thumb stroke my cheek before he ended our kiss and backed away.
The two nurses started fussing with my bed and began to roll me out the door.
"I love you, Angel. I will see you soon." Jack said, his voice fading slightly.
"I love you too, Jack. For always."