Three Hearts Left Intact

Chapter 96: Discharged

After another long day in the hospital Mallix was getting ready to be discharged. Lain had stayed to keep him company between the various tests the doctors and nurses had run on him. Each time he would leave her, she would sit happily on the phone listening in to Nina rambling on about how Kaila was doing back at the cabin.

As the door to the hospital room opened, Lain looked up smiling widely seeing her husband enter as he was chatting to the doctor. "You're test results are looking great." The doctor noted.

"Thanks for everything." Mallix shook the doctors hand giving him a small wave as he left the room. Shutting the door after he left Mallix instantly turned towards Lain with an excited expression.

"I'm assuming that went well." She laughed as he made his way over to her.

Sitting down on his bed Mallix nodded with a grin spread from ear to ear. "He said my tests showed nothing but positive results. I'm free to leave today. I've just got to inform the nurse, sign the paperwork, and then we can head back to the cabin."

"That's great babe! Kaila's going to be so excited to see you again." Lain smiled taking a seat next to him and placing a firm kiss on his lips.

"I'm going to call Nina and tell her the news!" She squealed bouncing slightly in her seat before pulling her phone out. As she did so Mallix couldn't help but watch her.

Every movement was so fragile and precious, he didn't want to miss a single moment. The fact alone that he was even sitting in this room with his happy wife was a miracle. After everything that happened he had hoped everything between them was going to be alright and that their relationship would have been intact—and so far it was proving to be that way.

He didn't even realize he had been staring at her the entire time, as he came back to it she was already putting her phone down on the bed behind her. "Everything okay?" She looked concerned seeing him looking lost for a moment.

"Yeah..." he chuckled shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "I think I'm going to let the nurse know I'm ready to start the process to be released. I saw her down the hall on my way back with the doctor." He stood up only to be pushed back down as Lain stood.

"You've done enough. I'll go tell them for you." Thankfully Lain had brought him a spare change of clothes in a large bag where she kept all her necessities during her stay with him. Reaching into her bag she pulled out a pair of his favorite dress pants and polo button up. "Here, you just get dressed. I'll be back in a second."

Before he even had a chance to protest against her, Lain was already out the door. "I swear that woman always has to get her way," he rolled his eyes as a smile crept its way to the surface, "oh I've missed that."

Grabbing his clothes and stepping into the bathroom attached to his room, he quickly stepped out of the thin gown and into the shower. Letting the combination of warm water and soap clean his body, he was able to dry off and get into his clean clothes before Lain had even returned.

"Thats odd. I wonder what's taking her so long?" He asked the air before taking a seat in his bed grabbing hold of his wife's phone left behind. Opening it, he noticed she left it on her messages with Nina. The two of them were always open about everything and never minded the other going through their phones, after all they had nothing to hide.

He couldn't suppress the few chuckles of laughter that escaped as he saw images of Kaila with the biggest smile plastered on her face. One of the pictures of the small girl caught his attention the further into her history he got. Seeing the messages around it, Mallix knew this was the day he was admitted into the hospital. The image was dark but squinting into the abyss Mallix could see a small figure hurdled into the corner of a room.

The messages between the two women were concerning. Nina had been telling Lain about her concern for Kaila. She described the girl as being 'closed off' and 'constantly on edge'. To Mallix that was no surprise, he knew there were going to be steps in her healing process.

Scrolling back down to the most current image of her, Mallix was glad to see one of her running through the open yard at the cabin with Zander. He couldn't have been more proud. Getting to see that she had managed to work through this hard time and was still able to smile was assuring.

With a loud pop Lain had opened the door stepping in lightly as she hummed a little tune with a plastic bag in her hand. She was about to say something to Mallix before noticing the tear sliding down his cheek. As it threatened to fall off his chin she quickly wiped it away. "You saw Kaila?" She asked seeing her phone pressed against his heart.

He silently nodded. "God I can't wait to see her smile in person. I can't wait to hug her in peace and not have to worry about anything else. To let her know she's safe."

Placing the plastic bag down on the chair in the room she sat next to him taking his hand. "Then let's hurry so you can do that." She smiled pulling his hand to stand up. "I've grabbed some snacks from the gift shop for the road. I figured you'd be tired of the peas and mush they've been feeding you."

"Thanks babe." He kissed her cheek beginning to pack their remaining belongs still scattered across the room.

Once they finished they waited eagerly for his nurse to arrive and lead them to the reception desk where they pulled out the proper paperwork Mallix needed to sign to be discharged. As soon as he read through it and signed his name, he couldn't have been happier.

Walking out the front entrance hand in hand, Lain noticed how the wind gently moved through his hair. His usually slick back hairdo was now shaggy. She couldn't remember seeing him this way since they were in college. Thankful to have him still by her side, she stood tall leading him to the car.

Finally as they arrived Mallix stopped to open his wife's car door before stepping into the drivers seat himself. He situated himself for a moment as he repositioned the different car mirrors. Once he was comfortable he caught Lain looking at him with a goofy grin.

"You sure your okay to drive, right? I don't want to have to come back here anytime soon." Lain chuckled as he rolled his eyes and they both buckled up.

"Very funny." He looked over with a fake laugh as he put the car in drive. Easily maneuvering them out of the hospital parking lot the ride home was warm.

With the windows down letting the breeze run through his hair, Lain couldn't help but laugh seeing how his messy hair was dancing with the wind. "What?" He asked seeing his wife break into hysterics.

"No. Nothing." She kept to herself trying to contain her uncontainable laughter. Feeling a long stray of hair hit his nose and Lain cracking up even louder he quickly caught on. With his own devilish smile he brought Lain's window down letting her own hair flow with the natural breeze.

However, when the wind merely pushed back her hair brightening her face more—he looked at her in awe. A ray of sunlight shone down directly onto her face, a literal spotlight allowing him see the angel sat besides him. After taking in her undoubtable beauty he scoffed "so unfair" while shaking his head as they both laughed.
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Let me know what you think. Thanks Lexx signing off