The Eyes Have It

Chapter 27 – Welcome Home

It was the longest day of Marlena's life. John's surgery had taken over 8 hours and not everything had gone smoothly. Repairing this kind of nerve damage was extremely intricate work and had only been attempted a handful of times. Eugene, Calliope and most of the nursing staff at University Hospital did everything they could to keep Marlena busy and thinking about other things. The baby was the most important, Marlena concentrated on that and tried her hardest to keep herself calm for that reason alone…..even though her heart was in the operating room with John. Marlena found out some time later that they had almost lost John twice during the surgery, but his heart and his will were strong and he fought hard to stay with her. She wasn't surprised.

But that was four weeks ago, and today Marlena was finally taking John home. He wasn't strong enough to support his own weight yet, but he had regained feeling in his legs and he was able to move them. It would still take a lot of work to rebuild his strength and train his muscles again, but his doctors felt that he was healed enough to live at home now and just come into the hospital for his physical therapy every day. Marlena was absolutely ecstatic. She almost couldn't believe that John was finally coming home with her and they could start to plan their future with their baby, together.

As Marlena pulled the car up to the front of the hospital, John was already sitting there in a wheelchair waiting for her.

"Are we in a hurry to leave this wonderful establishment?" Marlena said with a laugh as she walked around to open the passenger side door.

"Umm…no offense," he began, glancing at the nurse behind him, "but, yah…..get me the hell out of here, Woman!" He grabbed Marlena's face and gave her a big, noisy kiss.

Marlena laughed, "Yes, Sir!" she replied. "It will be my pleasure."

She held the chair as John lifted himself into the car. She leaned in and kissed him once more before she shut the door and went around to her side. They both had the biggest, happiest smiles on their faces as Marlena started the car and they headed home.

John was enjoying the scenery, both inside and outside of the car, when he realized that Marlena wasn't driving towards the penthouse. "Where are we going?" he finally asked her.

"Home," was all that Marlena replied while still looking straight ahead with a little smile on her lips.

John's eyebrow went up as he stared at Marlena and wondered what she was up to now, but he didn't ask any more questions. She obviously had something planned and he didn't want to spoil her surprise.

John just sat back and enjoyed the beautiful scenery going by, he was so happy to finally be out of that hospital. After awhile, he realized that they were heading towards the lake and moments later Marlena was turning into the circular drive of a beautiful 2-story French Country style home. She stopped and turned off the car.

"Well, here we are." She climbed out and opened the trunk to retrieve a portable wheelchair and brought it around to John's side.

"What's going on? Whose house is this?" John questioned as he lifted himself into the chair.

Marlena turned his chair so he was facing the house. "Ours," she replied. "..if you want it."

"Ours?...but I…..when?..." John began to stammer.

"Come on….I can't wait to show you around." Marlena interrupted excitedly. She pushed John up the ramp to the front door and quickly unlocked the door. As they entered into the foyer, John was speechless. The house was almost exactly what he had imagined living in with Marlena. There was a beautiful living room to the left and a curved staircase that led upstairs. Straight ahead led to the family room and large spacious kitchen and to the right were two closed double doors. Marlena walked over to the doors and opened them to reveal a large bedroom suite. "Isn't it perfect?" she asked. "We can use this bedroom until you're able to go up and down the stairs easily."

Before John could even say anything, Marlena was quickly pushing him in to the family room. "And wait until you see this," she continued with a huge smile on her face. She opened the set of French doors in the family room to reveal a large deck overlooking the lush green backyard which led down to the lake. She pushed John out onto the deck so he could see the entire view. It was breathtaking.

"Look John," Marlena pointed towards the far corner of the lawn, "isn't it just perfect for a…."

"treehouse." John completed for her as he saw the magnificent old oak tree. He grabbed Marlena's hand and pulled her onto his lap. "It's absolutely perfect, Marlena. I couldn't have dreamed up a more beautiful or perfect house. How did you find it?"

"I had to do something to keep myself occupied while you were in that hospital. Do you really like it?"

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen…almost."

"Almost?" Marlena asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"Yah," John said as he reached up and grabbed Marlena's face between his hands. "Come here, you beautiful thing." He pulled her down to his mouth and kissed her long and deep. Marlena wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tightly as their tongues enjoyed a slow dance together. For the first time, in a very long time, Marlena felt truly relaxed and happy. They spent the rest of the afternoon out on their new deck, enjoying the view. Marlena brought out some sandwiches and champagne which she had picked up earlier and they toasted to their future in their gorgeous new home.

John didn't want to wake up. He was having the most wonderful dream. He was curled up in bed behind Marlena with his arms wrapped around her after having just made love in their brand new bedroom, in their brand new house. He could remember every detail of the house and every detail of her body as he touched and explored it. He could feel and smell her hair against his face and as he moved slightly, he could feel her body pressed against his. It felt so real.

Marlena stirred and rubbed against him. She was dreaming too and didn't realize that what she was feeling pressing against the back of her thigh was indeed very real. She sighed as she reached back to rub John's thigh and hug him close. She was very surprised at what she found.

"John?" she questioned softly.

"Shhh...I think I'm still dreaming."

Marlena's heart began beating faster. "Oh?...and would you care to tell me what you're dreaming about?" Marlena tried to sound calm when inside she was full of nervous, excited knots.

"Hmmm...how about I show you?" John's hand slowly worked its way up Marlena's body to gently cup her breast as he nuzzled behind her ear, all the time pressing his hips against her so she could feel exactly what was happening and how she was affecting him.

Marlena began to breathe heavily. She was overwhelmed with feelings; happiness, desire, relief, passion...all at once. She turned in John's arms so she could look into his face, her concern for him being her first thought. As soon as she looked into his eyes, she knew that everything was going to be right again, that her John was back, completely; body, heart & soul. And that he loved her and wanted her more than ever and he was finally able to show her just how much.

They stared into each other's eyes, not needing to say a word, knowing exactly what the other was thinking and wanting. Their hearts were pounding to the same rhythm as their breathing became heavier. Marlena reached out to touch John's face as she pulled his mouth to hers. She began licking and sucking on his lips hungrily, finally able to let herself go and show him how much she wanted him. John let out a groan as he molded himself against her. It seemed like a lifetime ago since they had been together. He held her as tightly as humanly possible... just wanting to feel her body pressed up against his.

They made love slowly and carefully, each one concerned about the other. Marlena still worried about John's back and John worried about the baby. They took their time, getting reacquainted – touching, feeling, tasting, exploring. When Marlena finally felt John inside her again, filling her up completely, she couldn't stop the tears from overflowing. She wrapped herself around him and pressed her face against his, her mouth next to his ear.

"Oh God, I've missed you so much," she barely got out.

John held her tear-stained face between his two large, strong hands and kissed her deeply. "I'm back, Baby…..and I'm never letting you out of my arms again."

They held each other tightly as their bodies began moving slowly and rhythmically together...slowly climbing the mountain, wanting to reach the peak, but not wanting the moment to end. When they got there, it was together, as it should be, holding each other tightly as they convulsed against each other, deliriously happy and passionately in love. As they held each other, with tears slowly running down both their faces, Marlena simply whispered, "Welcome home, My Love."