Never Forgotten

Part 23

Part 23

"John.." Her voice was faint.

"I'm right here baby, I'm right here.." John said, bringing her hand to his lips. It was warm compared to the last time he touched her.

Her body ached everywhere and her head was pounding, but having John by her side made the pain a little more bearable.
Marlena cleared her throat and attempted to speak. "John.... You came for me, saved me".

John blinked back his tears, watching her struggle with her words.
"Hey..shhh. Don't push yourself Sweetheart. You just concentrate on getting your strength back. I'm not going anywhere".
John leaned over her body and placed a kiss on her forehead, letting his lips linger there for a moment as he inhaled her scent.

Marlena placed one hand on his cheek and felt small tears wetting her hand.
She could feel his relief, his gratefulness that she was still alive.
But like herself, she knew that he was still scared. Afraid of what the doctor had just told her about her condition and the consequences of severe hypothermia and lack of oxygen. As a doctor herself, she knew that she was far from safe.
"John, the doctor said....oh God, I'm so scared" She let out a small sob.

Resting his forehead against hers, John looked into her eyes. "I know..me too Baby".
He wanted to make a promise to her that she was going to be fine and everything would work out, but the truth was that he couldn't promise her that, not right now.

Their lips met in a soft kiss as they whispered 'I love you'.

                              —————-

It had been 3 days since Marlena had woken up and John had been by her side as much as possible. He wanted to be with her 24 hours but he couldn't because of Roman.
John had told Marlena that he and Rebecca were over, but he left out the fact that she was actually behind the accident.
But they had not told Roman yet. It was John's idea that they should wait until Marlena was stronger. He didn't want her exposed to more stress than necessary right now, and an angry Roman would definitely not help her.
So therefore John would sneak away every time Roman came to visit. Thankfully it was only once a day for about 30 minutes, because he was as usual busy with work.
They hadn't told the children either, although they had to wonder what was going on.

Now, per Marlena's request, John, Sami, Eric and Carrie were all gathered in her hospital room waiting for the doctor to come in and give an update on her condition and the results from the donor tests.

"So...we were wondering what is going on between the two of you" Sami broke tense silence, looking at her siblings and then John and Marlena. "I mean..we have seen the looks between you two and...hmm.. John is here right now and not dad" Sami looked down, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed.

Marlena looked at John nervously, she should have known that they were suspicious. Anyone with eyes could see that they were deeply in love. John constantly fussed over her, the loving looks shared between them, the small touches and words of endearment that flowed so easily from them, were not easy to overlook.

Marlena cleared her throat and looked at John, giving him a small smile and a nod, silently telling him that now was the time to come clean.
"It's that obvious huh?" She smiled and reached for John's hand. "John and I, we...well, I was going to tell Roman the night of the accident..." She suddenly stopped as memories of being trapped in the sinking car entered her mind.
John sensed her unease and gently squeezed her hand, pulling her back and giving her the safety and comfort she needed.

"Mom, it's okay. You don't have to explain, we are all adults here and honestly we just want to see you happy again..it's been a long time!" Eric said.