Fran's Secret

by BinBagBrain

Fran has been keeping a secret and has been suffering all alone. Can Max get her to open up to him? *Total soap opera drama! Remember, none of this is real or even necessarily accurate! Have fun with the fantasy! This is a work in progress, so let me know if you want me to keep going!

39. Chapter 39

"My poor baby!" Sylvia whimpered. Fran shook her head at her mother, then pointed back at Dr. Carter.

"I know you're concerned, Mrs. Fine, but remember- the tumor was intact, and so far we have found no other evidence of other tumors in her abdomen. This is very good news!" Everyone looked at each other, then back at Dr. Carter, then at Fran.

"So, what are you saying?" Max asked. "That the tumor was the only cancer, and you've removed it all?"

"To the best of our knowledge, yes. Unless we find something to say otherwise, we'd like to consider her cancer-free. That's our opinion as of this moment." Everyone cheered and started crying. Max got up from his seat so he could kiss Fran on the lips, and she couldn't help but cry, too.

The doctors smiled at each other and watched the emotional exchange in front of them, then waited for everyone to settle down again so they could continue. Fran kissed Max again, then grabbed the notebook from him and wrote something down and showed it to him. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve and read what she wrote.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Fran. Ah, she wants to know what happens now," he said.

"Glad you asked. Fran, you still need to be monitored for a while, just to be safe. The first part of that is getting you in for a PET scan. That will show us if you may have any other tumors anywhere in your body. If your recovery is going well this week, we'd like to get that done on friday. You would come back here for that." Max picked up the notebook again and wrote it down. "Now, pending the result of that scan, we'll know for certain if we need to consider something like chemotherapy. But right now, we're leaning towards you being cancer free, and we'd like to keep it that way. If your scan is clear, then we want to do a followup ultrasound of your abdomen in a month. If that's normal, then we'd shift to every three months for a period of time, then to six months. I can't give you a guarantee of how long that would continue for, but the ultrasound is non-invasive and doesn't take too long to do. But I want to reiterate how important it is that you participate in the followup, okay? No matter what is going on in your life, or even if you happen to move away from here, you need to continue with regular checkups and screenings, alright?"

Fran nodded and Max smiled at her. He quickly wrote down everything the doctor just said.

"So she may really be fine now? I mean, once she heals from the surgery? You really think she really won't need any other treatment?" Val asked.

"That's right. As of this moment, even though she's just had surgery, we think her health is leaps and bounds better than it was when she came in this morning."

"Oh, my baby! I knew you were going to be okay! I knew it!" Sylvia gushed, and clutched Fran's arm.

"Consider this a win, Fran. And by friday we'll have the results of the PET scan and confirmation of the diagnosis from the outside lab, and you can get back to your recovery and get on with your life. How does that sound?" Dr. Gallahan asked. Fran smiled and gave the thumbs-up, then wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Good, good! It's good to see you smile- to see all of you smile. And if I may, we'd like to discuss some other things. You don't have to make a decision now, but we'd really like for you to consider it."

"A decision? About what?" Max asked, getting nervous again. The others looked over at the doctor, too.

"Well, this is the popularity part. Now, you may know that we are a teaching hospital here. We support advanced training, specialized surgical skills, research, that sort of thing. And you should all know that Fran here has brought us a potential bounty of new data to research and teach to our students, if she's up for it."

"Up for it?" Morty asked. "You don't mean like making her a guinea pig or anything, do you?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. She's already given us the bulk of the material we would need to study. From here on it might not be anything more than monitoring her for any changes in her health and occasional blood samples, that sort of thing. There may be new technology in the coming years and decades that allow us to learn even more about not just her tumor, but about her. The way her immune system has handled this aggressive cancer is not something we've really seen before, and that's why Fran's case is garnering so much interest. The pathologist is not only studying and getting samples of the tumor, but he's also creating slides and doing testing on the tissue that grew to protect Fran from the tumor. It's very impressive, and unusual, and we'd like to find out all the whys and hows. And it's not just the biology of this tissue, but it's also the procedures we had to decide on to deal with it so we could remove the tumor. You know that we used a camera in the surgery, and everything that camera saw was recorded so we have a record of it. We'd like to be able to share that video. We've had conversations with a couple other surgeons who are on the surgical board, and they agreed with us about approaching you to see if you would be interested and willing to participate as a case study. You don't have to decide right now, given the circumstances, but if it sounds like something you would like to do- to help us learn more about you and about your immune system and help us teach our students how to handle something like this, then we would absolutely be thrilled and would appreciate you more than you could know. We would also like to submit your records to our research department regarding what happened with your reaction to the anesthesia. That may also provide some valuable data that could help prevent that from happening to future patients. We can send some paperwork home with you all that you can look over and see if you are willing to participate."

Fran's brow creased, and she reached over and tugged on Max's sleeve. He turned to look at her, and saw her expression. She took the pen from his hand and wrote on the paper.

"What happened? You mean, with the anesthesia?" She nodded. "You don't remember that part? About why you were in recovery for so long?" Fran's face was blank as she looked around at everyone, including the doctors. She looked back at Max and shook her head, then tapped on the paper to ask him again what happened. "Darling, I'm sorry! I keep forgetting that it's still affecting your memory." Max looked over at the doctors, then back at Fran and took a deep breath. "Sweetheart, you had a problem coming out of the anesthesia. You wouldn't wake up. They had to give you a lot of drugs and fluids to try to get your body to flush out the anesthesia. We were really scared for quite a while. Do you remember that your mother and I were there when you finally started coming out of it?" Fran saw his worried expression, then looked over at her mother. Sylvia was getting tears in her eyes, and it made Fran cry, too. She covered her eyes with her hand. She shook her head and continued crying, and everyone's heart sank.

"Ms. Fine, if I may," Dr. Carter interrupted. "Everything is good now, alright? Write this down on the paper in case you forget again. Write down that you are okay, you made it through the surgery and you're okay, and now you can focus on recovering. You can write down that you had a hard time waking up, too, but you're okay now. Write down anything that somebody tells you if you don't remember it, alright?" Sylvia grabbed a tissue and handed it to Fran, then grabbed two more for herself and Max.

"He's right, sweetheart. Let's write that down, okay? It was a hard thing to get through, but you did it! Remember how you said you would fight, right? If anything happened? And you did! And we didn't leave your side. We talked to you, and played music for you on the Walkman, and we even tried to say something to irritate you to see if that would do the trick." Max smiled at her, and everyone chuckled. It made Fran smile, and then she gave a small laugh, and remembered that her throat hurt. She reached for her water and Max helped her hold it while she took several sips.

"I'm sorry you're still having this happen, Fran. But it will get better. It will. And before we go, we need to mention a few other things. First, you'll be allowed to start having some soft foods tonight. We'll start with Jell-o, and if that doesn't cause any issues, then if it sounds good to you we'll get you on small amounts of oatmeal and see how you do with that tonight. How does that sound?" Dr. Gallahan asked. Fran wiped her eyes with the tissue and nodded.

"She can really start having food tonight?" Max asked.

"Yes. We checked her intestines before closing her incisions, and everything looked great. But we don't want to push too much on her system so soon after surgery. Soft foods in small amounts first, and we'll monitor how she handles it tonight. Then tomorrow, we'll get her up and out of bed and moving around, and we can try some different foods. But tonight, she's to stay in bed and rest, and just eat small amounts if she feels up to it. But Fran, if you have any new pain or other issues, we need you to tell the nurses right away, okay? And Max, if she forgets that part, please write that down, too."

"Oh, yes, of course!" Max quickly added that to the writing in the notebook.

"Now, tomorrow, they'll remove the catheter, and the nurse will help you in the bathroom and will show you how to sit and stand to minimize your discomfort. We'll be back to check in on you at rounds in the morning. Before we leave you, do any of you have any questions or concerns?" Everyone was quiet for a moment as they tried to think of a question to ask.

"Ah, you're certain that her memory issues will improve?" Max asked.

"Yes, and especially as we taper her off the morphine. Just hang in there, everyone, and especially you, Ms. Fine. Do you remember what you went through this weekend?" Dr. Carter asked Fran. Fran thought for a second, and the horrible memories of her fever and getting sick came flooding back. She scrunched up her face and nodded. Max smiled, happy that she wasn't forgetting everything. "And we've been monitoring your temperature, too. No more fever. And once you're off the antibiotics, we don't expect them to come back. How does that make you feel?" Fran grinned, and tugged on Max's shirt. He smiled at her.

"That'll be fantastic, won't it, Fran?" She nodded and her eyes lit up.

"Wonderful! Well, if you don't have any other questions, we'll leave you all to enjoy the good news, and help Fran on her road to recovery. We'll see you in the morning, and if anything comes up, please let the nurses know."

"We'll do that. But I think everything will be good now," Max said, and the others agreed. "Thank you so much, both of you! And please, if you see Dr. Brenner- please give him our thanks as well. He really did some amazing work, and we can't thank him enough, either!"

"We sure will! Now, enjoy the rest of your day, and we'll make sure your son gets a copy of everything as well. Oh- and maybe you'd want to bring up the idea of the case study with him. See what his take on it is."

"That's an idea… yes, we'll definitely let him know about that," Max nodded. Everyone got up from their seats to shake the doctors' hands, and they said their goodbyes. The doctors rolled their chairs out the door, and the door closed behind them. The room was quiet again, and they all processed what had just happened. The folders the doctors brought sat on the end of the bed.

"Wow!" Val exclaimed. "That's a lot of stuff to process! Don't ya think?" The others nodded.

"You okay, Frannie?" Morty asked, as he stepped over to the bed. Fran reached out her hand for his and they held each other's tight. Fran smiled at him and mouthed the words I love you. "I love you, too, sweetheart! I'm so glad things are really looking up for you now. You better make sure you do whatever the doctors say, alright? We need to get you all better, as fast as you can." Fran smiled and nodded.

"Oh my gosh!" Max turned to look at everyone. "What do we tell Niles? And the children? How- I mean, I don't think I can tell them all this over the phone! But they need to know. They must be going crazy, waiting for a call…"

Sylvia looked over at him with compassion, and then Val did, too.

"You know, Mr. Sheffield? What if- well, what if we went over there to tell them? In person? Would that help? I mean, if you guys are okay with that?" She looked at Sylvia and Morty to see if they thought it was a good idea. Max looked back and forth at them, too, then looked at Fran. Fran grabbed the pen and wrote on the paper in the notebook.

"Fran wants to know if you all would do that. We can call Niles, and let him know you're coming over. Maybe you could have dinner with the children?" Fran nodded in agreement, and wrote something down again and showed Sylvia.

"Morty, she says it would mean a lot to her. I don't mind, if you two don't. And we can't stay here all night, they'll kick us out right after dinnertime anyway. And Fran does need some rest. And Max, too."

"I don't mind it, if Niles says okay. But who's going to tell them all everything?" Morty didn't think he'd be up for relaying so much information, and figuring out the right way to tell the kids.

"We'll figure it out. Won't we, Sylvia?" Val asked. Sylvia looked like she wasn't sure she was ready to leave Fran.

"You know, Sylvia, you'll get to see the basket from Andrew Lloyd Webber. And maybe there will be a little time to go through the wedding magazines with Maggie…" Max nudged, and Fran elbowed him lovingly.

"Well, alright. As long as Niles is okay with having us over."

Niles sat with the children in the livingroom. Gracie flipped through the channels on the TV, not finding anything interesting to watch. Maggie slumped back on the couch, lost in thought, and Brighton and Niles did the same thing on the armchairs. They had been waiting for news about Fran, and didn't want to do anything until they heard something. Niles still hadn't told them about Fran and the anesthesia, and he was scared to death that there was a reason that they hadn't heard anything. A very bad reason. He hadn't even started working on dinner, he just couldn't, and the children had already made it known that they weren't hungry. Niles had just taken a huge deep breath and sighed when suddenly the phone in his hand rang, and he almost threw it in the air from the scare it gave him. The children jumped from their seats and ran over as he fumbled with the phone and answered it.

"Sheffield residence!" He gasped.

"Niles! It's me," Max said. "I can't talk long, but I had to call to let you all know Fran's okay. We're in the hospital room with her now. But Niles, can I ask you a huge favor?"

"Yes, sir! Of course, sir! What is it?"

"Would you be able to have a dinner for Morty and Sylvia and Val? If they came over in just a little while to have dinner with you all?"

"Dinner? With us? Well, sure, I suppose that would be fine. I haven't actually started making dinner, we've just been waiting for word on how Ms. Fine was doing."

"I'm sorry, Niles. I hope you can understand. Things were a bit chaotic here for a while, and then we met with the doctors. There's just so much to tell you all and to talk about, and I didn't feel it was right to try to relay all of it over the phone. But if it's alright with you, if you could make room for three more at the table tonight, they'll let you all know everything we talked about. And Niles, if it's too much to cook tonight, you can always have something delivered, if you want. I'll leave it up to you. But I can call the car to come pick them up and bring them over. And Niles? How are the children doing? And Brighton- is he better now?"

"Oh, yes, sir they're all fine. Just worried. We just miss her. It's been stressful, but I'm sure nothing compared to what you all must have been dealing with. Oh! But sir! There have been gifts showing up all day for you two! Please tell Ms. Fine! Beautiful flowers, and gift baskets, and even a few boxes. They'll all be waiting here for the both of you."

"Really? Oh, how wonderful! Yes, I'll tell her. Oh, hold on, she's writing something down. She wants me to tell you and the children that she loves you all and misses you, and she'll be home soon."

"How sweet of her! I'll be sure to tell the children. Well, I'll let you go, and I'll see about getting dinner sorted out. And please tell her we love her, too. We can't wait for you both to come home. Oh, and sir? How are you doing?"

"Better now. But we can talk about that later. Well, I'll give the driver a call. And thank you, Niles. Thank you very much."

"You're very welcome, sir. Be sure to get some rest tonight, I know you need it."

"Yes, I guess I do. I think we all do. But I can't promise anything. Well, I'll call sometime tomorrow and give you an update. Oh, and tell Brighton I'll be sending a folder of things with the Fines for him to look at. They can explain everything when they get there."

"Alright, I will. Goodnight, sir, and please give Ms. Fine a hug from us if you can."

"I will. And… tell the children I love them, and Fran loves them, and we hope to be home as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir. Goodbye, sir."

"Goodbye, Niles."

Niles hung up the phone and looked at the anxious children in front of him.

"Well?!" They exclaimed.

"She's okay, they're in the hospital room with her. She said to tell you she loves you all, and your father loves you all, too. But I need your help, right away! The Fines and Val are coming over to have dinner with us. Your father said they would tell us about everything. He said it's too much to say over the phone, and he didn't think it would be right to try to relay it all that way. Oh, and Brighton- they're bringing a folder for you. He said they would explain everything. But right now, we need to get things cleaned up quickly and get the table set. And oh my goodness, I have no idea what to serve!" Niles jumped up from the chair and raced to the kitchen, then children scrambling behind him.

Max stayed close to Fran as she quickly ate her Jell-o. He already finished his Italian sub that the others had gotten him at the cafeteria. After having no appetite all afternoon, once he knew Fran was alright, and wasn't consistently forgetting things, he suddenly found himself ravenously hungry. Morty, Sylvia, and Val had been gone for a while, having left for the house to have dinner with the children and Niles and let them know everything that had happened.

"How's your throat?" He asked Fran. She swallowed and thought for a moment.

"Better," she barely whispered. Max handed her the jug of water and she sipped from the straw.

"It's good to hear your voice again, sweetheart. Even if it's barely there," he smiled. She smiled back at him and finished the last few cubes of her Jell-o. "So, do you think you're ready to try some oatmeal soon?" Fran nodded.

"I'm hungry," she rasped softly.

"I'll bet. But please remember to be careful. I know they won't let you eat too much when you're here, but once we're home we really need to be careful. At least there isn't a fridge in the bedroom, or we'd really have a problem!" Fran swatted him playfully and he laughed. He took her dish from her and set it on the rolling table, then got up from the edge of the bed and began tucking the sheet and blanket back in, all the way around the bed. Fran watched Max as he fussed over her. He fidgeted anxiously, like he wasn't completely sure what he should do with himself.

"Hey," Fran rasped, and Max turned to look over at her. She waved him to her and pointed at the nearby chair. "Sit," she said. Max hurried back and sat in the chair, then scooted it closer to the bed. "You don't have to… fuss."

"Fuss?"

"Over me. Relax. Get a magazine."

"A magazine? Oh, well, I suppose I… maybe. It's just- hard to sit still, I guess. Do you need anything?"

"Just you… here… relaxing."

"I'm sorry. Am I being annoying?"

"No," Fran shook her head. "I just… feel bad."

"Bad? What is it? Are you alright?" Max jumped up from the chair and gently clutched her arm.

"Max! I'm okay. You've been worrying about me… all day. I want you to settle down, relax." She took several sips of water again and rested back on the pillow. Max took a deep breath and sighed.

"I'm sorry, I- I just want to make sure you're comfortable, that you have everything you need. And I suppose I'm still full of all that- nervous energy."

"Come here," Fran whispered, and tugged at the front of his shirt to get him to lean over so she could kiss him. "I'm okay now. I made it through… the hard part. You suffered more than I did. I don't remember… all that bad stuff. I'm glad I don't. I wish I could take care of you, but that might… take a while. So I need you… to take care of yourself, okay? I want you to be able… to sleep tonight. And maybe tomorrow- maybe you can go walk some. Maybe go… to the cafeteria for lunch?" She smiled and patted his cheek.

"I don't know. Maybe. We'll see. I don't know that I want to leave you, though."

"I know, sweetie. It's just an idea. Too bad… they don't have a workout room here, you could burn off… some of that tension."

"Yes, well, maybe once we get you home I can get a workout. It's just strange here, and well, you know, it was quite a day. I just- I don't know. I wish I could hug you, and curl up with you. Maybe that's all I really need." He stroked her arm and squeezed her fingers. She wished she could do the same thing.

There was a knock on the door and a nurse came in to check on Fran.

"Hello again! I'm just here to grab your tray and see how the Jell-o is doing so far."

"Pretty good. But I'm still hungry," Fran's strained voice said.

"Good! And good news on that front, I'll bring you some warm oatmeal in just a little while, that'll be the last of the food for tonight. If everything goes well with that and you don't have any problems, then we'll bring you a breakfast in the morning. How does that sound?"

"Fantastic!" Fran smiled, and so did Max. "Oh, nurse?"

"Yes?"

"Is it okay… if I could scoot over somehow? So he can sit with me, up here?"

"Oh, sweetheart, that's alright, you don't need to-"

"Sure we can do that! Sir, if you can help, we can just use the sheet to slide her, so she doesn't have to try to do it herself."

"Oh, ah, well, if you're sure…"

"Here, let's just untuck the sheet on this side first… now come over on this side with me, and we'll just get a hold of the sheet and pull it a little at a time. Now, Ms. Fine, just try to stay still, don't try to help at all. We don't want you using your abdominal muscles at all, okay?"

"Oh, okay. I'll hold onto my… tummy pillow."

Max followed the nurse's lead and grabbed onto the side of the sheet and they carefully pulled Fran closer to the edge of the bed, making enough room for Max to sit on the other side of her. They tucked the sheet in all the way around the bed and Max walked over to the other side as the nurse grabbed Fran's tray.

"Let me get this out of here, and I'll be back in a jiffy with your oatmeal and some more water. Do either of you need anything else?" The nurse asked.

"Ah, no, I don't think so, thank you," Max said. The nurse left the room, and Max looked over at Fran. She patted the space beside her, so Max sat on the side of the bed, kicked off his shoes, and stretched out next to her on the bed. She grabbed his hand and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I know it's not exactly spooning, but we can still… cuddle a little this way, right?" Fran squeezed his hand and looked up at him.

"We sure can, thank you. Now, while we wait for your oatmeal, why don't you give that voice a rest? Here, have some water." Max helped her with her jug of water, then set it back on the table. Fran rested her head against him again, and Max rested his other hand on top of their clutched hands. It did feel good to sit closer to her, and feel her against him. They sat there quietly until the nurse came back in with another tray. This one had a small bowl of oatmeal for Fran and a freshly filled pitcher of ice water. She also brought a couple of extra plastic cups for Max.

"Now don't rush too fast with that, make sure you're drinking a lot of water with it, too, okay?" The nurse said.

"Okay," Fran said.

"I'll leave you to it, and if you need anything, keep that call button close to you. Try to get some sleep, both of you, and the doctor will be by in the morning to see how you're doing."

"Alright. Thank you," Max said. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome! Good night!" The nurse rushed out of the room and Fran reached for the bowl of oatmeal and took a spoonful.

Max helped Fran with her water as she continued to eat spoonful after spoonful of the oatmeal, until it was gone. He set the dish on the table for her and handed her the jug of water.

"Feel alright?" He asked.

"Mmm hmm. Not enough, though."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. But we still have to make sure your system can handle that before you can have a real meal."

"I know."

"But I'm glad you can eat at all. That makes me really happy." Max wrapped his arm over her shoulders and she leaned into him. He kissed the side of her forehead and clutched her hand in his.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too. I like this, being able to hold you this way."

"I thought you might," she rasped. "I need it, too. It's gonna be hard to be able to hug for a while, so can you sit with me like this?"

"Of course! As much as you want." He kissed her forehead again. "Would you like to turn on the television or anything? Find something to watch?"

"No, I don't think so. I think I need to have some quiet for a while. Maybe you, too. Settle down from everything."

"I understand. Yes, it was pretty chaotic there for a good while. We were all pretty wound up about things." He rested his cheek against her hair and stroked her arm.

"I'm glad they went back to the house… to see the kids," Fran's voice rasped.

"So am I. I didn't want to have to tell Niles everything over the phone, and then have him try to explain it to the children. I just hope they understand you're okay now."

"Yeah. I hope so, too. Poor B. He's already been… so worked up lately."

"Yes. We need to have as much family time as we can get once we're home. We might not all be able to have dinner in the bedroom, but we can bring some other chairs in if we need to, and let everyone spend some time together with you."

"And you, too. I know they're just as worried about you. But hopefully… we're past the hard stuff. And I'm sorry it was so hard. I never thought something like that would have happened."

"I don't think anyone could have imagined it, sweetheart. I'm so grateful Dr. Brenner really knew what he was doing. He was really meticulous." Fran looked up at Max.

"What exactly did he do? I mean, I don't remember, if you said. But, how-?" She asked.

"Well, if I remember right, he injected you with something first, in the leg. Then they had to get vials of some kind of drug to try to reverse the anesthesia. I'm not sure how all that works, but your body I guess wasn't metabolizing it. You know, flushing it out of your system so you could wake up. He got a syringe of the drug and injected it into your IV- in that port on your hand- like every five minutes. Your mother and I talked to you a lot, tried to get you to respond, and I put the headphones on you to see if that would do anything. It felt like it took forever. Oh! And something else- by any chance does your chest hurt?"

"My chest? Why?" She reached her had up to touch the middle of her chest. "Oh! Ow! Yeah. What happened?" She pulled her gown out and tried to look down the front. "It looks like there's a bruise! What happened?!"

"It's alright, darling! He had to rub his knuckles really hard on you. He had to do that to see if you would respond. Like testing your reflexes. He did it two separate times. It was horrible to witness, but it did make you raise your shoulders up just a little, like you felt it. He seemed to be encouraged. And later, he ran a tongue depressor on the bottoms of your feet, it made your feet curl up. We really started talking to you after that. They also did a urinalysis and some blood work to see if the drugs were working. I don't know if what he gave you had side effects too, but maybe that was part of why you couldn't remember things. And if you get some sleep tonight, don't be surprised if your mind is a bit foggy again, alright? I'm sure it will be better soon enough."

"Do you think that'll happen?"

"I don't know, sweetheart. I hope not." He squeezed her shoulder and they looked into each other's eyes. Max leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. "And I'll be here when you wake up, I'm not going anywhere. If you get confused about anything someone says, then we can talk about it, alright? Ask any questions you need to. We can even write that down now, if you want."

"That's okay. If my voice is better tomorrow, I might be talking a lot more. And asking a lot more, if I need to."

"That's my girl!" Max smiled. He stroked her arm gently and she rested her head against him again, and they sat there together for a while in the quiet room. The curtains were pulled most of the way closed and it was dark outside, and some of the lights from the nearby buildings could be seen. He gazed off in the distance as he held her to him and stroked her arm, and she took a deep breath and sighed. He glanced over at the monitors, just to check, and noticed that her pulse was down a little. She covered her mouth as she stifled a yawn, then adjusted her oxygen tube a little. "Darling?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you getting sleepy? Would you like me to get your toothbrush for you, so you can brush your teeth now? I can get a cup of water for you, too." Fran thought a moment.

"That might be a good idea. I might just need a little rest, but just in case, I probably should brush my teeth." Max moved his arm from around her and got off the bed, then went to the suitcase and removed the toiletry bag with their things in it. He got her toothbrush and put some toothpaste on it, then went into the bathroom for some extra cups. He filled one halfway with water from the sink, and left the second one empty, then brought it all over to her. He handed her the tooth brush and set the cups on the rolling table.

"Here you are, darling. Use the empty cup to spit into, okay? And I can get more water if you need it."

"This should be fine, sweetie. Thank you."

"Good. Well, maybe I should get mine brushed, too. I don't think I'll be eating anything else tonight." Max went into the bathroom with the toiletry bag and hurriedly brushed his teeth, then came back out to help Fran. She managed to get her teeth brushed and rinsed her mouth out, then stuck the toothbrush in the now-empty cup that had previously had the water in it. Max took the cups back to the bathroom and rinsed them and the toothbrush out, then came back to sit with Fran again. She picked up the controller for the bed and slowly lowered the head down a little, then held onto Max's hand and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Will you stay with me here a while, Max? If I fall asleep, you can get up. It'll be okay. I want you to try to get some sleep on that bed tonight. I know it might not be easy, but please try."

"Alright, I'll do my best. But if I get up, do you want me to slide you back over some? Or I could do that now. I don't want you sleeping up against the side of the bed."

"Well, the rail will keep me from falling out," she smiled, trying to get him to smile, too.

"Hey, don't say that. I still worry that you could fall out. That's not allowed, you hear me?"

"I won't, Max. But maybe- maybe if you can slide me just a little. And can you still fit over there, maybe if you lay on your side with me?" Max looked everything over.

"Maybe. Here, let me get up and move this table just a little. And you just stay the way you are, maybe hold your pillow on you, and let's see here…" He untucked the sheet and pulled a little at a time, getting her a little closer to the middle. "Now, maybe if you lowered the head down a bit more, I can get comfortable up next to you for a little while. Get it situated the way you want it if you fall asleep, alright? And If I do get up if you fall asleep, I can move the table back so you can reach your water and everything, alright?"

"Sounds good." Fran lowered the head of the bed down more, then Max carefully crawled back on the bed to rest on his side next to her. Fran moved the pillow on her belly a little, then guided Max's arm over her.

"I'm not hurting you or anything, am I? Or making you uncomfortable?"

"No, you're good. I can still reach my button if I need another dose of drugs. It feels nice to have your arm around me."

"Good! Well, take it easy now. Rest your throat. We'll just hold each other for a while and settle down. Tomorrow will be much better. You'll get to eat, and maybe get out of the bed for a bit. And we'll try to talk to Niles and the children, too, at some point. I'm sure your mother will be here bright and early, and Val when she can. Hopefully your father comes over, too. I know this was all very hard for him to handle. Hopefully they all get some rest tonight. We all need to rest, so we can help you get better."

"Yeah. And pretty soon we'll be home again. I'm really looking forward to that."

"Me, too. I love you so much, Fran. And I can't wait to get you home. And we can see what those other gifts were that came to the house. And I really want to see those photos again. Brighton is a natural at photography."

"Mm hmm… he sure is." Fran's voice was soft, and getting more raspy, so he knew it was time for him to be quiet, and let her try to rest. He kissed her cheek softly and she smiled, her eyes closed. "I love you…" she whispered.

"I love you, too." He kissed her cheek again and then nuzzled against her and closed his eyes. He pressed his lips against her shoulder and stayed with her there as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Max tried to settle himself down, but it wasn't easy. He still worried about Fran, even though he knew she was being monitored well, and she was out of the woods as far as the surgery, and the reaction to the anesthesia. The whole terrifying experience was still with him, though, and would probably never leave. But he had to find a way to tame his anxieties, because Fran still needed him. She still had her whole recovery ahead of her, and she really was going to need him.

He listened to her breathing beside him, as she inhaled the oxygen through her nose. He peeked through his eyelashes at her, and watched her chest rise and fall softly with each breath. He lifted his head carefully and looked over at the monitor, making sure her numbers were still safe. When he was satisfied that he could let her rest on her own, he slowly pushed himself up on his arm and slid off the side of the bed. He paused a moment, making sure he didn't wake her, then tucked the covers around her and pulled the rolling table over her. After taking one last look at her, he smiled, then walked over to the bed where the suitcase was and dug out the sweats he would wear to sleep in. He hurried to the bathroom and pushed the door most of the way closed, then turned on the light and got changed and ready for bed. Before he left, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. It startled him at first, but after the day he just had, he realized he didn't look so bad. His eyes were bloodshot, and he had tired bags under his eyes. His face was pale and his hair a bit disheveled, but he really didn't care. He made it through the worst of it all, just as Fran did, and they were together now on the other side. Now they could start to continue their lives, and make plans, and be together. They could start working on being a family, on being partners. And he couldn't think of anything better than that.

Max filled his hands with warm water and splashed it over his face, then dried off, gathered his clothes, shut off the light, and quietly stepped out into the hospital room. He stuffed his clothes into the suitcase, zipped it up, and set it on the floor next to the bed. He pulled the thin covers down on the little bed and climbed in, sorted the pillow, and then rested his head. He looked over at Fran again to watch her sleep for a moment, then checked the monitors just to be sure, and finally rested back and made himself close his eyes. Even if he might not be able to get any sleep that night, he would try his best to keep his eyes closed and let them have a break. He was thoroughly exhausted. All he could do was focus on his breathing and take deep breaths, then work on trying to get every part of his body to relax. He pushed his shoulders back against the bed, then relaxed them, and then began working on all the muscles he could find, starting on his ankles, then his calves, all the way up his body and arms and finally to his face. He tightened each section as hard as he could, then let them relax for a moment before moving onto the next set of muscles. It was difficult at first, trying to focus on his body and not let himself relive the events of the day. But little by little, he could feel some of the tension leaving, and he could take deeper, slower breaths. By the time he had stretched the muscles in his face, he began to yawn, and felt an immense fatigue come over him. His first instinct was to fight back against it, but he didn't let himself. He realized that it felt good. It meant he was settling down. He needed this rest- desperately. So with a few more slow, deep breaths, he let the weight of his body sink into the bed, and little by little, he pushed the anxious thoughts from his mind, and was able to fall asleep.

Fran stirred during the middle of the night as the pain from the surgery began to kick in again. She winced a few times, then opened her eyes and looked around the room. She found the box that let her control her morphine, pressed the button a couple of times, then waited for it to kick in to give her some relief. She rested for a few minutes, hoping she would fall back to sleep again once the pain dissipated, but she couldn't. She opened her eyes again and looked for Max, remembering that he had been next to her before she fell asleep. She saw him across the room, his tall frame tucked into the small bed, his arm draped over his head as he lay on his back. She was pretty certain he was asleep, and she didn't want to wake him. He really needed the sleep after all the stress he had been through. She hoped everyone in the family was getting some good sleep.

She found the bed controller and raised the head of the bed so she could reach her water, then picked up the jug and took several long sips from the straw and put it back down on the rolling table. She leaned back against her pillow and took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. The pain was starting to fade, and she felt relieved. How would she be able to handle the pain if she had to wean off the machine? Would the pain pills they would give her be enough? She hoped so.

Fran looked at the other things on the rolling table- a few magazines, the notebook she wrote in when she had trouble speaking, and then she saw the envelope. She remembered how her mother had taken it out of the bouquet of flowers her father had gotten her when she was moving them out of the way, and she probably set it there. Fran must have forgotten about it. She reached over and picked it up, then quietly tore the envelope open and took out the card. She read the front and smiled, then opened it- and was surprised to see her father's handwriting inside the card. He had written her a letter.

Dear Frannie,

We're waiting here for you to come out of surgery. We miss you so much. Your mother and Val have been taking good care of each other, but I'm afraid me and Max aren't sure what to do. I just want to tell you how much I love you, and how much we all love you, and we can't wait to see you again. I am glad you had Max to lean on. I know I haven't been the most supportive of how you felt about him (it has always been obvious how you felt about him), because I thought he didn't take you seriously. But now I get it. I get him. He is obviously a very dedicated man, and it took everything he had to learn how to open up to you and learn that it was okay to love you. I can see that he is swept up in you, and I know now that he really would do anything for you. I don't even want to imagine the hurt he has been feeling, after having gone through something so tragic before. I can see the terror and worry on his face, and he's just trying to get through all this waiting one minute at a time. He's been very quiet, and I suppose I have been, too. We need you back, Frannie. We need you healthy and happy again, and Max really needs you. I know for certain now how much he loves you, and you both have my blessing- and your mother's too- for your future wedding. I can't wait to see my baby girl in her wedding dress, and I can't wait to give you away to such a good man.

So please hurry up, Frannie, and come out of surgery. It's time to get you all better.

I love you Baby Girl,

Daddy

As Fran read the words, her eyes filled with tears. She looked over the letter again after she finished reading it, and then looked over at Max, who was sleeping soundly. She smiled and put the card back in the envelope. She knew she was going to have to put the card in her album of photographs. She had never heard, or read, her father being so loving. She wondered if her mother knew anything about it. She was pretty sure she must not have read it before the envelope was sealed.

Fran couldn't reach the box of tissues on a nearby table, but she had a stack of leftover napkins on the rolling table in front of her, so she grabbed one and wiped her eyes and nose, then took a few sips of water. She looked at the things on the rolling table- the magazines, the card from her father, and the notebook. She knew the notebook must have been full of little notes and questions, but she struggled to remember what all she had written down. The notebook was still folded over, and was open to the page of her last comments and questions. She picked it up and looked over the words, then went back through the pages to try to jog her memory. As she went backwards through the pages, her typically neat handwriting got messier as she got closer to the things she wrote right after finally being fully awake after surgery. It was strange to her to see things she was certain she had written, but had no memory of ever writing them on the page. She was glad she remembered the more recent things, so she hoped the memory issues were fading away. As she flipped to the front of the notebook, she was shocked to find a lengthy letter written there- in Max's handwriting. Her heart raced for a moment as she folded the notebook over so she could hold it easier. It was a letter Max had written to her. Her eyes went wide as she began to read, and just like what happened when she read her father's letter- her eyes began filling with tears. It was like Max was saying the words to her right then and there, and she could hear the worry and love in his voice. She held the napkin to her face, trying to stifle her whimpers as she held back the urge to cry. She knew she could easily start to blubber, and she just couldn't wake Max. She finished reading the letter and held it to her, then remembered that her chest was sore from what the doctor had done to her to try to wake her up. She winced, then closed the notebook and set it on the table. She wiped her eyes and nose and grabbed her jug of water, and drank as much as she could to try to wash away the lump in her throat. She couldn't believe how lucky she was to have so much love in her life, and to get it from the two most important men in her life, too. For two people who struggled so much to express their feelings, they had taken the time to write down what they felt about her when they were suffering so much. It made her feel so humbled, and so loved. It overwhelmed her.

She set her water down and grabbed another napkin to wipe her eyes and nose. She let herself cry for a little while as she watched Max sleep, and then she found that she was yawning herself. She took a few deep breaths and tried to settle down, then she picked up the bed controller to lower her head back down. She looked over at the little machine that controlled her morphine, then pressed the button a few times. She hoped it would hold off any more pain long enough so that she could get some more sleep. She rubbed her tired eyes and yawned, then took one last look at her sleeping fiancé before she closed her eyes and settled down. She couldn't believe how lucky she was, in so many ways.

Max woke with a start the next morning. He sucked in his breath, his panicked eyes darting around the room. He was disoriented, and tried to push himself up on the bed.

"Max!" Fran's hoarse voice called, startling him. His head whipped to the side and he saw her, and suddenly everything came rushing back to him, and he remembered where he was. She waved her hand, and lowered the magazine she was looking at.

"Oh! Gosh…" he said, and rubbed his hand over his eyes. "Sorry, I guess I- uh, I must have been having a dream." He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. He pushed the covers off of himself, then got up from the bed and headed over to Fran. "How are you doing? How long have you been up?"

"Not very long, I just started looking at the magazine a minute ago." She reached out for him and took his hand. He smiled at her. "I'm feeling okay, too."

"Good! So no pain? The oatmeal didn't cause any problems?"

"I think the oatmeal was fine. Just a little pain, when the drugs start to wear off. I just hit the button a few times, then it gets better." Max squeezed her hand and stroked her arm.

"So, you have been having some pain? How often?"

"Um, I'm not sure exactly. Maybe every two or three hours. It's not horrible. Just uncomfortable."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Well, I suppose we expected as much. But the drugs help enough?"

"Yeah, thankfully!" She smiled. Max grinned back at her, then leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"Can I get you anything?"

"Um… I guess I wouldn't mind brushing my teeth. Oh! And my makeup bag- can you get that? I'd like to be more presentable if the doctors come by this morning."

"Absolutely, darling! Whatever you need!" Max went to the suitcase and pulled out Fran's makeup bag, then hurried back to the bed to give it to her, then went to the bathroom to retrieve her toothbrush, and got a cup of water and a spare cup and brought it out to her. "Anything else? And speaking of being presentable, I should probably grab a shower now, if you don't mind, before things get busy and before your parents or the doctors get here."

"Okay. I'm good," Fran cleared her throat. "Go ahead, sweetie. I'll be here when you come back out!" She smiled. Max picked up her hand and kissed it, then let go and went back to the suitcase to retrieve his clothes.

"Hey, do you have the call button? Just in case?"

"Right here," she reached for the nurse's call button, which was sitting on her morphine controller, and waved it to show him. "I'll be fine, Max."

"I know, I just- well, I just want to make sure-"

"I know. I love you, too," she smiled. He gave a chuckle and nodded at her.

"Alright, then. I'll be as quick as I can. And I love you, too, Fran," he said, as he went into the bathroom. He gave her a big smile, and she waved her fingers at him, then picked up her toothbrush. Max shut the bathroom door behind him, and went about getting his shower taken care of.

Fran began by getting her teeth brushed, checked herself in her small compact mirror, and took out all of her makeup and lined it up in front of her on the rolling table. She had to take off her oxygen line to get her foundation on, then quickly powdered her face, then propped up her compact as she worked on her eyes. Once she was satisfied that everything was even and good enough, she tried to get a look at her hair. There wasn't much she could do about it, since it was still up in braids, so she ran her hands over it and tried to tame all the stray hairs. She checked herself again in the small mirror and thought she did a pretty good job. It would have to do. She hooked the oxygen back over her ears and into her nose and took a deep breath. As she put away her makeup back into the bag, a nurse tapped on the door and came in.

"Hello! How are you doing this morning?" She asked Fran.

"Pretty good, I think. I got some sleep."

"That's wonderful! Well, I've got some good news for you- we can get you a little more disconnected from things, so you'll have a little more mobility today. First thing is this oxygen- you can take that line off completely and I'll get it shut off over here… and I'll take that line and get it out of your way." The nurse helped Fran off with the oxygen line and shut off the control on the wall, then wound up the long tube and set it at the foot of the bed. "Now, the next part is getting rid of that catheter. So just remember now that you're going to have to get out of bed when you feel the urge to go, so I'll show you in just a minute what you need to be mindful of when you're standing and sitting, alright? I'll have you use the walker to help you do that. But let's move this table out of the way, and I'll do this as quick as I can, and I'll get all of this out of here and then I'll come back and help you practice getting out of bed. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great!" Fran's voice rasped. "Anything that gets me closer to being able to get out of here so I can go home." Fran helped the nurse lift up the covers on the bed so she could get to the catheter, and as quick as that- she removed it, then tended to getting the lines and bag removed. Fran did her best to put the covers back over her, and the nurse gathered everything to take with her.

"I'll be right back! Don't try to get out of bed yet!"

"Okay, I won't." Fran touched her face- it felt good to get the oxygen off of her. Though she hadn't really noticed the catheter at all, she was glad to get rid of that, too.

Max opened the bathroom door just then, and shut off the light behind him. He smiled at Fran and carried his clothes to the suitcase to put them away.

"Look, Max! No more oxygen! The nurse is coming back in a second. She's gonna show me how to stand up and sit down. I get to get out of the bed some today!"

"That's wonderful, darling! But what about-" he pointed to her lower half.

"No more catheter, either! You just missed that part, thank god!"

"Oh, you mean she removed that, too? Well, good! You'll be up and around in no time! Fantastic!"

"Oh, but Max- I have to use that walker to stand and sit. Can you grab it and bring it over here?"

"Sure, darling. I can do that." Max went to grab the walker and brought it over to the bed just as the nurse came back in the room.

"Oh, good!" She said. "You can help Fran get off the bed. I'll show you two how to do that, so that she isn't using her abdominal muscles." The nurse came around to the other side of the bed and moved the rolling table out of the way. "Okay, Fran, you can move the pillow off of your tummy, and let's sit you up all the way, then we'll lower you down as far as the bed goes, okay? So it's like you're getting off a regular bed."

"Okay," Fran replied. The nurse helped with the bed controller as Max watched.

"Now, while's she's here in the hospital, you need to be mindful of her IV and her morphine controller. That's why the controller has a strap on it, so you can just hang it over your shoulder like a purse, and then hold onto the IV cart if you want to move away from the bed. After you're standing, you can hang the controller over your shoulder, alright? We're gonna take this really slow. If you have any pain, please say something. Now, Max? I need you over here by her legs. Let's move the covers out of the way. Fran? He's gonna take your feet and guide your legs to the side of the bed, then he'll set your feet on the floor for you. I don't want you doing anything at all, understand? You might be tempted to try to move your legs yourself, but I don't want you doing that at all. Just keep yourself upright, and let Max take over, okay? Once your feet are on the floor, I'll show you what to do next."

"Okay. I'm ready," Fran said.

"Just take your time, Max, make sure you move slow and steady."

"Alright." Max reached for her ankles and kept them together, then with one hand holding her ankles and an arm under her legs, he turned her to the side until her legs were completely off the side of the bed, then he lowered her feet to the floor. "Is this alright? Are you okay, Fran?" He asked, looking over at her.

"I'm good, but give me a second," she winced and sucked in her breath, then took several slow breaths.

"You having pain?" Max asked, gently.

"A little, it's okay. I'm okay. I think I did exactly what she said not to do." Max stood up next to her and put his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"Take your time, darling. No rush," he said. He felt awful for her, and hoped he hadn't done anything to add to her pain. Fran took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Can I push my button a couple times?" Fran asked the nurse.

"Absolutely, go ahead. Max? Can you pull the walker over here? Let's put it front of her." As Fran reached over and pressed the button on the box several times, Max grabbed the walker and set it in front of her. Fran closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again.

"Okay, I think I'm ready," she said.

"Good! Okay now, can you grab hold of the handles? We can scoot it up a little closer if you need. Now, don't stand yet, just see if you can reach them and hold on for a second."

"Okay. Maybe just a little closer." Max scooted the walker closer to Fran and she grabbed hold of the bars.

"Now, I want you to use your arms to hold yourself up, okay? And then use your glutes to push yourself up into a standing position. Got that? Use your glutes, not your legs or your gut. Try to make your arms take most of your weight at first, okay? Take a second to think about it, then give it a try."

"Okay." Fran grasped the bars tightly, then thought about what the nurse said. Glutes, not legs, glutes, not gut, she thought to herself. Slowly, she leaned forward and began to push herself up with her arms, then focused on her glutes to do the job of making her stand up. Max stood close, ready to grab her if necessary. Slowly, she rose up, and then was able to stand. Max hadn't realized he was holding his breath as she did it.

"You did it! That's my girl!" He grinned from ear to ear.

"How does that feel, Fran? You doing okay?" The nurse asked.

"I think so. Yeah. I did it! I'm standing! Now what do I do?"

"Are you ready to put the morphine controller over your shoulder? I can help you with that. And then I want to see if you can stand without holding onto the walker. You can hold onto Max's arm if you need to. And I'll move the IV cart over so you can grab that, too." Fran clutched Max's arm as the nurse helped her with the controller and the IV cart, then she moved the walker out of the way so Fran could take a few steps.

"You're doing great, Fran. Go as slow as you need, I'll follow your lead." Fran clutched the IV pole, then looked down at her feet. She took one step forward, nervous that she was going to feel pain. When she didn't, she took another step and stopped.

"How does that feel?" The nurse asked.

"Uh, good, I think. My legs are tired, but I think I'm okay."

"Fantastic! Now feel free to walk around a little for a few minutes. I'm gonna set up this chair over here, and after you walk a little, I want you to come over here and we're gonna try your hand at sitting down. That might be a little harder." Fran looked over at the chair, then up at Max and made a face.

"It'll be fine, sweetheart! You need the practice so you can do this at home, remember?"

"Yeah, I know. Well, it might not bother me too much since I just hit my button a few times. Can you help me over to the window? I want to look outside." Fran pulled the IV cart along with her as she held Max's arm and they walked slowly towards the window. "It'll feels good to get up! And it looks like it'll be a pretty day today!" She said to Max, and smiled up at him.

"It does! You still doing alright? Can you walk a little without holding onto me?" He asked. Fran tentatively let go of his arm and took a few steps side to side, then turned to face him.

"I want to hug you…" Max smiled and opened his arms to her, careful to not bump into her abdomen. Fran wrapped her arms around his middle and nuzzled into his chest, also making sure not to bump her incisions. Max rubbed his hands over her back and she looked up at him and smiled.

"You ready to try to sit?" He asked, softly.

"Yeah, I guess I better face it, huh? Okay." They let go of each other and Max stepped out of the way, then Fran carefully walked over to the nurse and the chair she had set out for her. The nurse let Fran get situated in front of the chair and moved the IV cart to her side, then the nurse moved the walker in front of her.

"Here, let me hold that controller for you, and then I want you to step back a little until you're up against the chair. That's right. Now, remember how you stood up? You're going to do the reverse of that, but this time, I want you to try to get your glutes to do all the work. Let them lower you slowly down until you can sit. If you need to lean forward, that's okay, but the main thing is I don't want you flopping down on the chair, alright? No abdominal muscles, and let your glutes kick in and slowly lower you down. If it's too hard, then try to stand back up okay? And you can take a break and try it again. Just take your time with it."

"Okay… phew…" Fran said, and took a deep breath. She gripped the walker for a moment and looked behind her, then looked down at her legs. "Glutes… glutes… glutes…" she said out loud. Max couldn't help but grin a little as he watched her determination. She watched her legs as she began to lower herself, then she panicked and stood back up again.

"That's alright, sweetheart! Take your time," Max said.

"Are you having any pain?" The nurse asked.

"No, it's just hard. My legs are a little wobbly, and I felt like I couldn't hold myself up."

"Okay. How about this- Max, can you get behind the chair, and if you can hold her and help her sit, will that help, Fran?"

"Uh, maybe. I can try. I think I'm just scared I'm gonna hurt myself."

"I think you'll be fine. But this time, Max will help, and maybe that way you can get a better feel for it, so you know you can do it." Fran nodded, and Max stepped behind the chair, then leaned over to hold onto her under the arms.

"Okay, I'm gonna try again," she said, and Max got ready to help her. She clutched the walker again, then reminded herself how to do it, and slowly, with Max's help, she sat down on the chair.

"See? You got it! I barely held you at all!" Max cheered.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I think I just got scared."

"Well, take a break for a minute and try it a couple more times, then let's get you back to the bed to rest. Breakfast will be coming soon, and the doctors should be by for rounds, too."

"Oh, good, I'm really hungry!" Fran clapped her hands together, then put them back on the walker. Max stayed behind her to keep an eye on her, but was happy to see that she was now taking matters into her own hands. She stood up from the chair without assistance, then rested a moment before slowly lowering herself back down. She winced as she sat and took another break. "Glutes!" She exclaimed, and Max and the nurse laughed. Fran stood and sat several more times, making sure she could do it on her own.

"Okay, Fran, I think that's good for now. We need to see if you can get back on the bed now, with Max's help. Max, you'll need to lift her legs for her this time, alright?" The nurse asked.

"Oh, yes, of course," Max responded, and he watched Fran as she got up from the chair again. The nurse hung the morphine controller over Fran's shoulder and moved the walker out of the way, then she and Max followed Fran back over to the bed.

"Now, Max, let's try this without the walker this time. I want you to come stand in front of Fran, and she's going to hold onto your forearms." The nurse took the controller from Fran and set it on the edge of the bed, then moved the IV cart back to its place. Max stood in front of Fran and let her take hold of his arms.

"Do you want me to lower you back, Fran? Or do you want to do it yourself?"

"Um, maybe a little of both." Fran clutched his arms and moved back against the bed, then reminded herself again to use her glutes, and carefully lowered herself to the bed as Max held onto her arms and helped her lean back a bit until she was seated.

"Alright now, just stay sitting up, and let me do the work with your legs. Are you sitting back far enough, sweetheart? So I can turn you?" Max asked.

"Um, I think so. I'm ready when you are." This time, Fran put a arm over Max's shoulder as he lifted her legs up, and then pivoted her body on the bed until he could set her legs down gently.

"Is that alright?" Max asked.

"Yeah, I think so. If I need to scoot over more, you can pull the sheet some. But I think this is okay."

"Alright, good. Do you want the covers back over your legs?"

"Uh, no, I think I want to leave them off a while. It feels good." Max smiled at her and patted her legs.

"Well, if you two don't need anything, I'll get out of your way for a while. It shouldn't be too long before your breakfast is here, and the doctors, too."

"Oh! Can I ask if you know what they're bringing me? I mean, what they're allowing me to eat?" Fran asked.

"Well, I'm not sure exactly, but I would think you probably have more oatmeal, and maybe some scrambled eggs. I think they aren't worried as much about what you have, but they still want it in smaller portions for a while- even when you go home. But it will be a bigger meal than what you had last night."

"Oh, good! That will be good!" Max smiled at Fran, and the nurse left the room. Fran picked up the bed controller and raised the height of the bed again, and Max took a seat on the edge of the bed next to her legs.

"You did wonderfully with all that, darling. How are you feeling?"

"Good, I think. Pretty good. The drugs definitely help," she smiled.

"Aw, sweetheart! I don't want you pushing yourself so much that you need a lot of that. That can't be good, can it?"

"It's okay, Max. I'm gonna hurt no matter what right now, I'm sure I'm not overdoing it. If I didn't have the painkillers, I wouldn't want to move at all." Fran gestured for him to reach for her pillow, and he picked it up and handed it to her, then she gently set it back over her abdomen as he watched. She saw the worried expression on his face, and it bothered her. "Max! Don't worry! I'm okay, I promise! Here, come around the other side of the bed so I can reach you better." Max hung his head and trudged around the bed to the other side, and she reached her arms out for him. "Come here, I need to kiss you," she said, and it made him perk up a little.

"Oh, ah, well, if you insist," he smiled bashfully. He leaned over to kiss her, and she reached up for his shoulders as best she could, then kissed him firmly. They separated briefly and she looked into his eyes, then held his cheeks and kissed him several more times.

"I love you so much, Max. And I promise I'm okay. Even if the pain gets me sometimes, I'm pretty sure I can handle it. I know you worry, but I promise you I'll let you know when things go too far, okay? All this- the getting up and walking and sitting, all this was okay. I know I can do that much now. It feels good to know I can do it, and that you can help me, too. I just had a little bit of pain, and it made me worry for a second that I might do things wrong and hurt myself, but I didn't. I was just scared for a second, but that went away once I did it. You helped me with that part, remember? Now we know what to do next time, right?" She stroked his cheeks and looked into his eyes.

"Yes, I suppose we do. And I know you're tough, but I just wonder about how much pain you might be having. I remember what my pain was like, and, well, I'd just rather you not have that- if that's what it feels like." She kissed him again and let him stand up, then he sat next to her on the bed, facing her, and held her hand.

"Are you talking about the pain you had before you went to the hospital, or after you had the surgery? Because I'm sure it's nothing like what you had before- I know that was really bad for you. And if they had you on morphine afterwards, then you probably know what it's like for me right now. That controller box works pretty good, it only gives me just enough, so it's gonna wear off now and then. If I move when it's wearing off, then I'm sure that makes me hurt more than if I was still. But I will definitely tell you if it's more than I can handle, okay? I don't like feeling pain, especially this kind, but it hasn't been horrible. And my throat is getting better. It still hurts, but I don't care. It's not enough to make me stop talking!" She smiled, and Max laughed. He stroked her hand in his, and they sat there quietly for a little while as they looked at each other.

"Okay, I'll trust that you'll tell me if it gets to be too much, or if you think you might have hurt yourself. I'll help you as much as you need me to, and maybe a little more than that."

"I'd like that. And the next time I get up to walk around some more, I want a nice long hug with you."

"Absolutely!" Max smiled, and he leaned over to kiss her softly. Just as his lips met hers, the cell phone rang, startling them both. Max jumped up and hurried across the room to retrieve the phone, then answered it. "Hello? Oh, Sylvia! Hello, are you on your way?" He asked. He listened to Sylvia rush through what she was trying to tell him, and looked over at Fran as he listened. "Oh, I see… I can send the car over after the children get taken to school… Are you sure? Well, at least let me send it for Morty… It's no problem at all… Alright, then. Triple A Ace's Auto?" He gave Fran a questioning look, and she nodded to him like she understood. "Alright, Sylvia, I'll call Niles right now and will let him know. Fran? She's doing really well. You'll see when you get here. I'll let you go, but please let Morty know to watch for the car, but it will be a little while. Alright. Goodbye, Syl." Max hung up and walked back to Fran and sat next to her on the bed.

"What on earth is going on with them?" She asked.

"I should have arranged for the car for them. Apparently they were trying to leave in their car and it wouldn't start. I guess Morty tried to get someone to jumpstart it and it still wouldn't start, so they've spent a while trying to figure out how to get it out of the parking spot and towed to the shop. So do you know where that auto shop is?"

"Yes, triple A Ace's?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, it's that one we pass every time we go over to their place. Right before the last turn that goes over to their building."

"Okay, we can tell Niles to tell the driver. I guess your father and his friends will get it over to the shop, and your mother's friend is going to drive her over to the subway stop, so she doesn't have to take the buses." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. "So… 'Triple A Ace's Auto'? Sounds like somebody was trying to get to the front of the phone book listings!" Max grinned.

"Well surprisingly they didn't get to the front of the list. There's another shop on the other side of town called triple A Aardman's Auto." She grinned and Max laughed. He dialed the number for the house and waited for Niles to answer.

"Sheffield residence," the familiar voice said.

"Niles! It's me. How are things over there this morning?" Max held the phone so Fran could hear, too.

"Oh, we're fine! The children are having their breakfast right now. They've got all their things ready for school. How are you and Ms. Fine?"

"We're well. I suppose it's alright for you to tell the children that Fran was up and walking around earlier. The nurse showed us how to help her sit and stand. She's off the oxygen, too!"

"She is? Oh, wonderful! The children will be thrilled to hear that! Is there anything I can do for you two today? Will you need me to bring some meals for you?"

"Oh, well, I think I might be better today. I think if Morty and Sylvia will be here, I can ask them to stay with Fran while I run down to the cafeteria. But thank you for the offer. But Niles- I do need to ask you if you could have the driver head over to Queens after dropping off the children, and get Morty from the auto shop by their place, and then bring him to the hospital. Their car is broken down and they've had to get it to the shop to be repaired. Sylvia is taking the subway over, but I told her we'd send the car to get Morty. The shop is called triple A Ace's Auto- she says it's right before the last turn to her parents' place, and we pass it every time we go over that way."

"Oh! I think I know the place you mean. Sure, I'll let the driver know here in just a little while. Would you like to talk to the children?"

"Yes! Sure! Fran is right here with me, we'd love to talk to them!" Fran smiled and leaned in close to Max. Niles handed the phone to Gracie.

"Daddy?" She said.

"Yes, sweetheart! I'm right here, and Fran's right here next to me. How are you doing? Is school going alright?"

"Yes, everything's fine! And we got your room ready for Fran to come back! There's so much stuff for her to look at!"

"Hey, Gracie! I'm here. I miss you guys so much! I can't wait to see you and be able to sit down with you to look at all that stuff," Fran gushed.

"Fran! I miss you, too! You're talking! Your voice isn't so bad, it just sounds like you're a little sick or something." Maggie and Brighton looked at each other, excited to see that it was Fran on the other end of the phone.

"Hi, Fran! Hurry up and come home!" Maggie yelled.

"You should see all your presents here, Fran! We love you!" Brighton yelled out.

"Well, you see how excited everyone is for you to come home, Ms. Fine," Niles took the phone back from Gracie. "It's so good to hear that you're doing well. Your mother and Val explained everything to us last night, and we're just relieved at how well you are now. Just take it easy so they let you come home soon."

"I will, Niles. I got up out of the bed earlier, and practiced standing and sitting. So far so good. I'll have breakfast soon, then we'll talk to the doctors again. Oh, I have to come back on friday, so make sure the driver knows, okay?" Fran told him.

"Absolutely! Well, we won't keep you. I've got to get the children out of here in a minute, and let the driver know to go pick up your father. But please let us know when they are letting you come home, alright? And take care of yourself. There are so many things for you here! I can't wait for you to see!"

"I can't wait, Niles! We'll call you later when we can. Hug those kids, and hopefully I can come home soon."

"Yes, you take care now. And make sure Mr. Sheffield eats, alright? I can bring him food if he doesn't want to eat in the cafeteria."

"Okay, I'll make sure. Goodbye, Niles!"

"Goodbye, Ms. Fine."

"Alright, Niles, I'll call later if there's any more news to pass along. Tell the children we love them, and we can't wait to come home," Max said.

"Yes, sir! You take good care of Ms. Fine now, and yourself, and I'll go talk to the driver. Have a good day, sir!"

"You, too, Niles! Goodbye." Max hung up the cell phone and set it down on the rolling table. He sat down on the bed next to Fran and she immediately grabbed for his hand.

"I miss them!" Fran whimpered.

"I know, sweetheart. I do, too. But let's just work on today, alright? We'll be back home soon enough, and there will be so much to do once we get home. It sounds like they've got everything ready for you, and I know you'll have a good time going through all the wedding things, and getting ready for that. And remember about that bridal expo, too. You need to make sure you get rested up for that so you can make a list of everything you need to find out about- everything you want to have at the wedding…" he smiled, and leaned over to give her a kiss.

"Oh! I can't believe we're getting married! There's been so much going on, Max. I hope I can handle it all. But I think I'm really gonna need a vacation before the wedding."

"And a vacation you shall have! Whatever you need, sweetheart. We'll take that trip to the desert and have a nice, relaxing time. And you know there are a lot of people to help you with everything- to help you keep track of everything you need to do, and we can even hire a planner. You don't have to do it all- please ask for help. I just want you to have fun looking at everything first, and have fun making those scrapbooks with the girls, and your mother and Val. Have fun putting those together, and then we'll get some help finding everything. And then we can think about when you'd like to have the wedding." He kissed her forehead and she began to relax again. So many wonderful things to look forward to!

"I love you, Max."

"I love you, Fran."

"And hey, I need to tell you something."

"What's that?"

"I woke up during the night, and I was wake for a little while. I saw the stuff on the table- the notebook, and the card from the flowers Ma and daddy gave me. Daddy wrote me a really sweet note in there, and I'm pretty sure Ma didn't know about it. I want you to read it sometime, but maybe not until we get home. Daddy might be embarrassed if he found out you read it. But there was something else…"

"What's that, darling?"

"I looked through the notebook, too." She looked up at him, and then he remembered the letter he had written to her when she was in surgery. She smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Oh," his voice was soft. "Well, I was a bit stir crazy. I just felt like I needed to talk to you… to tell you things…"

"I'm glad you did, Max. I don't want anything happening to that letter, or daddy's either. You mean so much to me, and for you both to take the time to write something to me like that- I'll never forget it." She reached for his face and held it still so she could kiss him on the lips.

"Darling, I don't want you to ever forget how important you are to us- to all of us. We've got so much catching up to do! I wish I could take months off from work so I could spend all that time with you. And just think- once we get back home, we'll get to sleep next to each other every night for the rest of our lives! I'll hold you in my arms, and you'll wrap your arms around me. We'll keep each other warm. And you'll recover really fast. We'll go on our first real vacation as a couple, and share a room…"

"Mmmm… that sounds really nice! And don't forget the food… all the yummy food we can share… and maybe they'll have room service…" Max started giggling, then Fran realized what she was saying, and she started laughing, too.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm sorry! But what's taking them so long?" Max turned and looked out the small window in the hospital room door.

"There's someone out in the hall right now, it looks like the cart with all the food trays on it. Hang in there, I'm sure it will just be a minute."

"Ug. I'm almost ready to take my walker down to the cafeteria to get a pizza!" Fran stuck her lower lip out and Max laughed.

There was a knock on the door and an orderly pushed the door open, breakfast tray in hand.

"Oh, yea!" Fran cheered. "What did you bring me?" She asked the man.

"I haven't looked at it, but there's a note here to let you know that if you do well with this, then you're allowed to have a snack before lunch," the orderly told her, and then set the covered tray on the rolling table. He took off the cover and Fran got her first look.

"Oh, goodie! Scrambled eggs! And oatmeal," she made a face. "Oh, but it looks like it has brown sugar in it! Thank you!" She said to the orderly. She pulled the table closer and waved goodbye to the man, and Max got up from the bed and helped her get settled with her breakfast. "And I get to have hot tea, too! This is way better than Jell-o!" Fran smiled, and grabbed her fork and started with the scrambled eggs.

"Remember, easy does it! And drink water with all that, too, not just the tea."

"I will!" Fran smiled, as she took a bite.

Max went about cleaning up the room as Fran finished her breakfast, trying to make it more presentable for when her parents arrived. He made the small bed and sorted the clothes in the suitcase, then set it out of the way. Before Max had even finished cleaning up, Fran had already finished her meal.

"Well, that was alright, but I'm still hungry. I wonder what the snack will be…" Max looked over at her, then came back to the bed.

"My goodness, Fran! You really should be careful, you know. I don't want you having any more problems."

"Oh, I know. I couldn't help it. My stomach was gonna growl. And I'm sure it's fine- I'm just filling up my stomach, that shouldn't affect my intestines at all, right?"

"Well, let's hope so. Now please keep sipping that water, just to help matters."

"Okay, I will. You mind if I turn on the TV?"

"Not at all, sweetheart. Go right ahead."

"Will you sit with me?"

"Certainly, darling!" Max moved the table over and climbed up on the bed next to Fran. He put his arm around her shoulders as she turned on the television, then she began flipping through the channels. She landed on a channel showing a 1970s British sitcom, and she noticed Max perk up when he saw it, so she left it on that channel to see if it was any good.

A short time later, the doctors came by for their morning rounds. Fran grabbed the remote and shut off the television, and Max sat up on the bed, moving his arm from around Fran's shoulders to hold her hand instead.

"Hello, you two! Fran, how are you feeling today?" Dr. Carter shook both of their hands, and then Dr. Gallahan followed. They stood near the bed as they talked to Fran and Max.

"I think I'm doing really good. I'm talking, and eating, and I got out of the bed for a while to walk around, and practice standing and sitting."

"That's wonderful! No new pain or anything?"

"No, I don't think so. My throat still hurts a little, but not as much as yesterday. I still have to use the controller for pain sometimes, but it hasn't been really severe or anything. But when will I have to wean off of it? Will I get medication to take home?"

"Yes, you will. As a matter of fact, we'll start weaning you off the morphine during the night tonight, so you'll be off of it completely by breakfast. And speaking of which, we'd like to see you be ready to go home tomorrow morning. Do you think you'll be ready for that?"

"I sure will! Do you mean it?" Fran squeezed Max's hand and looked at him. His eyes were beaming at her.

"Well, provided that you are able to eat fine and you don't have any new issues, then yes, we'd really like to get you out of here and back home, where you'd probably be more comfortable. Now, you'll still have medications you have to take, like the antibiotics, and pain medication. The antibiotics you'll take for about five days, and the pain medication will start at a higher dose, then will taper down until you're finished with them by this weekend. If you still have some minor pain, then we'd recommend just taking Tylenol if you need to. But right now, things are looking good. We just want to keep you through tonight because of what happened with the anesthesia, and to make sure no issues come up with you trying to eat like normal."

"She's been very hungry. I'm worried I won't be able to get her to slow down. Is it dangerous if she eats too much, or too fast?" Max asked, and the doctors grinned.

"Well, it's good to hear that she's got her appetite back," Dr. Gallahan said. "She should be fine in the next few days to eat more normally, and I would think she's just starving right now because she's hardly had anything to eat for quite a while. So yes, Fran, please take it easy for a few days, alright? We'll let you have snacks between meals, but don't have your normal portion size at meal times, alright? Aim for no more than a half portion, and wait a couple hours before you have a snack, then another couple of hours before another meal. And drink lots of liquids, too. Can you promise to do that?"

"Yes, I guess I can. I don't want to do anything stupid and cause a problem, but I just had breakfast and it still feels like my stomach's gonna growl."

"Well, after being completely empty, expect that it may feel like that the rest of the day, but it will get better. They'll bring you a snack in a couple hours, and hopefully by lunch you'll feel a lot better."

"I hope so, too," Fran replied. "Oh- I was thinking about what you guys said about the research stuff- the case study?"

"Yes?"

"Well, I think I would like to do that. But could I maybe sign the papers on friday, when I have to come back here? That way I have time to talk to everybody about it."

"Absolutely! And we'll have the paperwork for you tomorrow to take home. Just bring it all back with you friday and we can get it all taken care of. Now, do either of you have any questions for us?"

"I don't think so, other than you're certain she'll be able to go home tomorrow- as long as nothing else comes up?" Max asked.

"She sure will, and I bet everyone will be glad about that."

"Oh, they will be when we tell them!" Fran smiled.

"Well, good. Now you take care, and go easy on the food, and make sure you get up and move around as much as you can. But remember, no using your abdominal muscles, alright? That morphine might make you feel like you can do anything, but once you wean off of it and you have to rely on Tylenol, you'll be reminded why you need to be careful. So please move slowly, and with some help."

"Okay, I promise. Thank you!"

"Yes, thank you very much, it's great to see her in such good spirits. We can't wait to get her home."

"Good! Well, we'll leave you to it. We'll be back tomorrow morning to make the final decision about things, but it's all looking good so far. If you have any questions or concerns, please let the nurses know and they can get in touch with us."

"We will, thank you, doctors!" Fran said.

"Yes, thank you. I'll keep an eye on her and make sure she isn't ordering any pizzas," Max said, and grinned at Fran. The doctors laughed and Fran playfully swatted him. The doctors waved goodbye and left the room, and Fran and Max couldn't help but smile at each other. "One more day, darling! And we'll have you back home, where you belong!"

"Yeah, I can't wait!"