The Woman of My Life

Back To Earth

I slowly open my eyes. I'm lookin' up and I see a white ceilin'. Where am I this time? I can hear a steady beepin', and thunder, but where is the beepin' comin' from?

I lower my head just a bit and I see Noodle with a white long-sleeved shirt layin' on my belly while she is sittin' on a chair next to me. Her eyes are wet. Apparently she has been cryin'. Is this another illusion? I stroke her soft hair to wake her up. When she opens her eyes she immediately embraces me.

"Oh, 2D! You're finally awake!", she exclaims with joy. I feel a sudden pain on my chest and I wince. "Oh, I'm sorry!", she apologizes while lettin' go of me. I look under my unfamiliar shirt and I see a pair of bandages on my chest. "Wait, what is this? Why am I wearin' this? What time is it? How long was I out?", I ask frantically as I try to slowly get up.

"Stuart, take it easy", she tells me as she lays me back down. She wipes the tears from her eyes with her sleeve. "You are in a hospital right now. You have been out for two days and it's around midnight right now", she explains between small sniffs. "Allow me to tell the doctor that you're finally awake", she says as she gets up and exits the room.

I slowly exhale and I listen to the beepin' once more. I look to my top right and I see one of them heart monitors.  I follow the wire to my right index finger. I look at the little white clip on my finger. It's very interestin'... I start lookin' around the room a bit more until Noodle returns with a male doctor.

"Hello, Mr. Pot. How are you feeling?", the doctor asks me. "I'm a little sore, but I'm feelin' better, I guess...What happened?", I ask. "Well, you were shot in the chest and the bullet punctured your lung. We had to remove the bullet from the lung and we placed a patch on the little hole. You are lucky that the bullet wasn't on the left side of your chest. If the bullet punctured the heart, it would've taken much longer for you to heal. The good part about this whole incident is that the man who shot you was arrested. Also, you were able to catch up on some sleep. It will leave a scar after it heals, but you'll be alright afterwards", he explains. Wow, I can't actually believed it happened... Apparently I show a look of astonishment because the doctor tells me, "I know it's plenty to take in...". "No, it's okay. Can I talk to my...fiancée in private please?", I ask. For some reason it feels good but unusual to use that word.

"Yes. If you need me, you know where to find me", he says while lookin' at Noodle. "Okay, thank you, Doctor", she replies as the doctor exits the room. Noodle looks back at me. I let out a little chuckle.

"Wow, your a sight for sore eyes, especially ones with hyphema", I joke with a smile. She chuckles back. I motion her with my hand to come lay down next to me on my left side. She smiles and we cuddle on the medical bed. "Where's Russel and Murdoc?", I ask. "They are at the house. Do you want me to call them?", she asks. "No, no it's okay. We'll let them rest and we'll call them in the mornin'", I reply. She let's out a sigh of relief. "I'm just really glad that you're okay. This is all my fault. If I wasn't so selfish...", she says as she starts cryin' again.

"Hey, Noodle. Look at me", I tell her as I lift her head and I wipe her tear with my thumb. "None of this is your fault, no matter how much you want to believe it, okay?", I tell her and she nods an 'okay'. "So how did you get me here?", I ask. She wipes her tears once more. "Well, after you were, you know, I knocked out Ryan, then I quickly told Victor to call an ambulance and the police. I was really scared because you weren't moving. When they came they arrested Ryan and they carried you into the ambulance. In the ambulance I called Murdoc and Russel and they came. When they told us that they were going to operate on you I didn't want to leave. Russel finally convinced me to go back to the house. All I did was change from the dress into this and I told them to leave me here alone with you", she explains.

"Wow, Noodle. I'm very sorry that I put you through all that. You know, while I was out I had a nightmare. I saw you mournin' over my grave and you were so down that you ended up...hurtin' yourself. It was as if hell was inside my head, or somethin'", I explain to her. "I can only imagine what you are going through", she comments sadly. I softly grab her left hand and we look at the ring. "Noodle, we are both dealin' with this, together", I encourage her. She smiles and she hugs me tighter. "Okay, I'd like to go to sleep now", I say to Noodle. "Okay", she says as she gets up to turn of the lights and she comes back.

I close my eyes and I wrap my arm around her chest. "I love you, Noodle", I say. "I love you too, Stuart", she replies.