The Neighbors

2.21 Good News

I woke up early the next morning. I laid in bed for a while, still in disbelief over the previous day's events. I was held at gunpoint, and Niall was shot. I was so thankful that he was going to be okay, since it was my fault. I was also thankful that Cortin, aka Victoria, would be securely behind bars after she got out of the hospital. I would still have to discuss the specific charges with the police, but since Victoria had a concealed weapon and she shot a police officer, she would undoubtedly go to prison for a substantial amount of time.

I sat up to get out of bed, but I was met with a sudden wave of nausea. Great, I thought. I didn't need to get sick again; I'd already had plenty to deal with over the past few months. I stood up carefully and made my way to the bathroom. After using the toilet, I went to see if my mom and the kids were up yet. I only made it as far as the kitchen before having to run back to my bathroom where I just barely made it to the toilet in time to vomit.

Once again, I shakily made my way out to the kitchen. My mom was there now, putting on a pot of coffee.

"Good morning, Mom," I mumbled.

"Good morning, Sweetheart," she said, coming over to hug me.

But I held out my hand. "Don't get too close, Mom. I think I'm sick again. I just threw up. Do you think you can get the kids to school. And maybe hang out with Danny for the day?" I pleaded.

"Of course I can stay, Lise. You know, you may not have a virus; your body could just be reacting to yesterday's events. Stress can make you sick, and yesterday was probably the most stressful thing you've ever been through."

"That's for sure," I said, sighing. "I'm so glad it's over."

"How's Niall?" She asked.

"He's going to be fine. Hope is with him now and, oh shoot! I told her I'd call to see if she needed anything."

"I can call her," my mom offered. "And I can drop something off to her at the hospital later, if she needs anything."

"Thanks, Mom," I smiled weakly, and then I went back to bed.

I wasn't sure how long I slept, but I was certainly surprised when I was awakened by my husband.

"Hey, there, love," Harry said, crawling on the bed next to me.

"Harry! What are you doing home?"

"Well, my wife could have gotten killed yesterday, so I thought I'd better come home and check on her," he said, leaning in to kiss me.

"You shouldn't kiss me, babe. You can't afford to get sick again."

"Nonsense," he insisted, kissing me anyway. "I'll be fine. Now come here." He gently pulled me toward him so that he could wrap his arms around me.

We laid there quietly for a long time. Finally he said, "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I know, babe. I'm sorry I went without Niall. And I feel like it's all my fault that he got shot."

"Shhh. You don't know what Victoria would have done if Niall had come with you. I'm just glad we're safe now."

"Babe?"

"Yeah, love."

"Can we please never, ever, ever let anything come between us again?"

"I think that's a wonderful idea," he said, kissing me again.

"As stressful as the past several months have been, the worst parts were when we were fighting. I just don't feel complete without you. Even when you're away in LA or on tour, I feel okay if we're okay. But if we're fighting, you could be in the next room and I still feel like we're separated by an ocean. You're the other half of me."